SHY Entrepreneur.com

Category: Tools

(Resources, products, and services) tools that aid in the sport of business.

  • Finding a Purpose with Donald Miller’s Hero on a Mission: A Path to a Meaningful Life

    I just finished going though Donald Miller’s new book Hero on a Mission: A Path to a Meaningful Life. I was exposed to the book while listening to the radio. Dave Ramsey had Donald on his show and gave him a short interview discussing the book. The hook that got me interested was when Donald said something like the following (I am paraphrasing):

    Many people feel like they are sitting in the movie theater of their life watching a blank screen. The story of their childhood is over, the story of their college years are over, the story of finding love and having kids are over and now they don’t have a story to live into.

    If you would like to hear the interview here is the link: https://youtu.be/W58tn7-agOE it is 41 min 30 seconds into the show. As Donald says he is attempting to take what Viktor Frankl discusses in his work Man’s Search for Meaning and distill it down to something less esoteric. He discusses logo therapy and provides actionable steps to move his readers along.

    Having spent a good deal of time trying to nail down mission statements and organizational focus I can really appreciate the angle he is taking. If you have ever written a personal mission statement or tried to identify a direction for a company you know how surprisingly difficult it can be to put this into words. I believe the tools Donald provides will be a great help for anyone that has wrestled with this.

    Re-framing the idea to read as a story is amazing. As an engineer in my early years I hated the idea of marketing. I still hate the idea of playing into people’s emotions but I have come to appreciate that separating people from emotion is not possible. Decisions are made on emotion not logic. I don’t care who you are you can never fully separate yourself from emotion to the point that a purely objective decision is made.

    So, if you are having trouble finding meaning in your day to day or can’t quite nail down your personal mission give this book a go.

  • The Effective Executive. Peter F. Drucker

    So I have another note worthy book for anyone looking to become more effective as either an entrepreneur or in their place of business. The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done (Harperbusiness Essentials) by Peter F. Drucker is a classic resource for anyone looking for more exposure into the world of top executives. One of my favorite things about this book is that it came out in the 1960s. Why does this matter you ask? It matters because the fundamental truths that surpass the test of time will read as plain as day. It is also entertaining because it is as though you are taking a peak into the past.

    Mr. Drucker has written many pieces but this one stands out as one that many have found informative. You can read all over the net about what the book is about and its contents so I will simply say it reads in a way that will allow you to find more ways in which you can become effective in your place of business. Mr. Drucker maintains that anyone within an organization has the power to be an effective executive and challenges the paradigm that an executive is only at the top of the organization.

    One of the things we focus on at Shy Entrepreneur is that the individual is his/her first business and on that idea this book speaks volumes to those who are wondering where they are headed or what direction would be best for them. If you get a chance to check this book out let us know what you think.

  • How to get a Better Memory for Business and Networking

    How many times have you met someone and forgot their name right after they introduced themselves? How often do you forget to do one of the many tasks you wanted to complete in a day? If you are like me these type of things happen on occasion and although they aren’t the end of the world they are an inconvenience. These type of things along with the prospect of taking the P.E. exam to get my professional engineering license have pushed me to dig into how my memory works and what I can do to improve it.

    I did some looking and found that a book called
    Your Memory : How It Works and How to Improve It.
    The reviews for this were high and oddly enough the author is from my home town of Spokane WA. Anyhow I picked up a copy and devoured it. Books like this can often times be difficult to read and touch on things I don’t really care about but the author, Kenneth L. Higbee, does a great job of explaining things in a way anyone could understand. He has also studied the memory enough to know which topics are worth addressing and which ones are hogwash. I don’t usually read books twice but this is one I think I will read again.

    By focusing on the things you or I would care about and walking the reader through how to get results I found the read to be quite enjoyable. Mr. Higbee walks through how the filing system of the memory works, where things are lost, and why we have difficulty at times retrieving things we know we know. He builds a quick foundation and then expounds on how anyone can take advantage of the memory and become more efficient at learning. This is a book I wish I would have ready before going to college it would have saved me hours of study time.

    He covers study methods such as SQ3R and its derivatives (you will have to look this up), the “Peg” system, the “Loci” system, and what he calls Phonetic mnemonics. Phonetic Mnemonics to me was one of the most impressive ways to learn long numbers. Using it one could quickly memorize the first 20 digits of pie(the ratio of a circles diameter to its circumference). A few of the systems take a little bit of study up front to familiarize yourself with how they work but once you have them nailed down you will be able to remember things you never thought you could.

    The Loci system is also very impressive. I had heard about this before but until I read this book didn’t know exactly how it works. This isn’t proprietary to Higbee so I will expound a bit. The Loci system is a mnemonic that ties familiar physical locations to a list of things you want to remember. It works by mentally walking down the physical path and associating your list with the items you pass. To this day I can remember ( paper, tire, doctor, rose, ball) an arbitrary sample list Mr Higbee gave as an example. I may have missed an item or two but to I know he provided those five elements.

    I would highly suggest everyone to take the time to go through this work; it is an easy read and can be picked up used for a few bucks. It has also been around a while so your local library may have a copy. I promise you anyone can learn a thing or two that they can take with them to improve their business and networking skills regardless of the industry. So, if you want to learn how to get better memory for business and networking, remember names, and get everything done on your schedules check this book out. If you do read it I would love to hear what you think.

  • The Goal by Eli Goldratt

    Every practitioner of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) is familiar with “The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement – 30th Anniversary Edition” by Eli Goldratt. The book is an oldie but a goodie with the first edition published in 1984. I don’t know that it was Eli’s first book but it is most certainly his most recognized work. In it he illustrates many fundamental concepts of TOC through the story of Mr. Rogo, a plant manager, who is fighting to keep his plant from going under. The nice thing about the book and the reason I think it has been around for so long is that the principles are presented in a non-esoteric manner. You follow Mr. Rogo as he works through his day to day challenges of optimizing his organization.

    I really appreciated the book because it applies a scientific bent to operational management. As a physicists, Dr. Goldratt was quite capable of applying the scientific method to the phenomenon’s found within organizations. It gained popularity because he was able to do this without losing the dynamic of entertainment.

    If you have ever experienced the strain of bottle necks in your organization this would be a good book for you. Pay close attention to Herbie…

  • How To Win Friends and Influence People

    If you have not read this book by now, log off you computer, drive to your local book store and pick it up. “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie is a must read for every business professional.

    The coolest thing about this book which is explained in the foreword is that it was not produced for commercial gain, rather it was the result of over 10 years of research on business professionals. Consequently it is rife with fundamental truths that govern our behaviors.

    I also enjoyed the structure of each thought. It is very much a point by point read that can be used as reference tool as much as it can be enjoyed as a book.

    I pick up my copy while I was perusing through a book store one day and noticed it fit my purchase algorithm;

    My algorithm for purchasing a book

    • Have I heard people reference this title before? (Implies other people liked it)
    • Are there more than one copy of the book currently on the shelf?(Implies that it is a commonly sold item)
    • Was it published more than 5 years ago?(Implies value)

    If the answer to all of these questions is yes than I have just found a recourse to add to my collection.

    How to win friends and influence people will change your life. It is pertinent not only in business but in all of your relationships. I would love to hear what others think about the book. Have you been able to put its principles into action?