The Lords of Strategy, Bain & Co, Habit and What Business Student Is Missing
Walking around the blocks at 3:30 in the morning in a chilling night of Linton University College is not a conventional practice by students here (except for the ladies who are in relationship turmoil). Its cold, the only shop opened is the internet cafe business ran by my friend's (soul) partner.
This is a habit i had whenever my mind was racing fast with ideas and cant stop thinking. I need to take a break by walking and looking at nature. Only one friend knows this particular habit of mine; Nanis.
3 hours before, i just finished reading this exciting and full of knowledge book. The kind of knowledge ive been seeking for. Information about corporate strategy. The book also tells a story about my admired company; Boston Consulting Group, the company i wanna be hired by; Bain & Co and the company ive been eyeing for for years; McKinsey. - The Lords of Strategy by Walter Kiecher III.
Admiration for Bain & Co came after meeting the great young and intelligent people of the company while i was working at Le Meridien, Kuala Lumpur.
Ive read quarter of the book in 3 hours (which is considered slow to excellent readers) and not many book able to keep me up at night. The most recent book that kept me up at night is E-Myth book by Michael Gerber - more than 5 months ago. This book opened up my view on different subject and it is important as i am planning to be hired by Bain & Co after graduation (its a wishful thinking which i hope to achieve).
The first ever book that got me into this excitement is Cashflow Quadrant by Robert T Kiyosaki.
I am Computer Science student but my passion in understanding how business works surpasses the passion of Business Administration student i have encountered in the past 3 years based on conversations i have gone through with them. You will be surprised that they dont even know who is Peter Drucker.
I Know Nothing About Conversation: The Dirty Truth
"You have great communication skill, I'm impressed with you!" - I will smile at you and i will say thanks. But i have to admit, you are totally wrong. And im sorry. FYI, I am far from being a great communicator. I have no idea how to systematically use persuasion, mind programming and psychology in communication. Those are critical skills in communicating effectively - and with success. Not being able to use those sub-disciplines of communication, i am far from being a 'great' communicator.
PS: Sorry friends and acquaintances, i have this wondering in my mind every time i hear you 'compliment' my communication skill.
I may have projected you great communication skill by being conversationalist, by being a good listener, by giving you an assertive respond, by being reflective on your view, by having people to get a long with my rythm and so on. But i have to admit, not to you, but to myself, i trained myself for years since 17 - this is no natural talent, this is no gift, this is trained skills which you can master it yourself. Only if you are willing to make some commitments. Again, only if you are willing to train yourself.
Now, back to my lack of knowledge. I have decided, i dont want to be sorry of my lack of knowledge about communication anymore. And i will do something about this.
I went to Quora and did some research. I went to Amazon to do some research. I went to Goodreads to do some research. I found the book i want. I have no idea how effective this book could be. But i have a strong believe this will be an awesome start. I told myself, dont call yourself a master communicator if you cant finish 3 books about communication. This is my first step. Another 2 waiting.
Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition : Done Reading! Gave 5 stars on Goodreads!
PS: One more book i am eyeing for is this book - (7L) The Seven Levels of Communication: Go From Relationships to Referrals. But MPH doesnt have it. Heading to Amazon.
Writing For The Web: What Book To Buy?
I started to have interest in writing in 2007, after reading this 2 remarkable books; Cashflow Quadrant by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I started blogging in 2008 (if im not mistaken) and never stopped since then. However, i have a strong believe that im still lack of skills in writing, specifically for the web. Web is a different beast. Writing for it is different. You should approach writing for the web differently from writing for papers (offline) - tho, it shares the same principle of writing. I hope this book, that im going to buy next month (March) will give me the edge.
This book is available on MPH Online Bookstore. However you will find it hard to get a book on leadership on MPH Online Bookstore. Partly because Malaysian is not much interested in leadership. Its not people's fault, research told us 90% of the worlds population is not interested in leadership. My advice: get out of the 90%! Join the 10%.
PS: Another intriguing fact, 97% of worlds population are followers and only 3% are leaders. Again, which demographic you want to fall in?
PS: I had a bad experience with MPH Online Bookstore shipping last time, but still, i like them. They should start engaging with their customers on Twitter. They really should.
PS: I just finished reading this book last night. It was engaging, practical and full of new ideas (for new entrepreneur). Head there - Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition. After finished reading the book, i started reading this one right after. I am currently reading this book - Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs.
Are you lack of any skill? What book do you buy to improve? Share and inspire.
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