Tag Archives: 59 Seconds
Switch & Tribes & Many Other New Business Book Synopsis Presentations now available at 15minutebusinessbooks.com
Karl Krayer and I have just completed our 12th year of monthly presentations of business books at the First Friday Book Synopsis.
Our webmaster (thanks, Dana!) has just uploaded a number of these on our companion website, 15minutebusinessbooks.com. When you purchase one of our presentations, you receive the handout, which includes representative key quotes from the book, and an outline of the content of the book. In addition, you receive the audio of our synopsis in an MP3 format, which you can listen to on your computer, load into your iPhone/iPod, of use in any other way you would like.
The way to take maximum advantage of this is obvious – listen to the recording while following along with the handout. This is what the participants at our live monthly event do each month. But you can get plenty of information by listening alone while you work-out or drive, or just by reading the handout alone.
Here’s a testimonial from the CEO of a mid-sized, growing company. He knew that a client was a fan of one the books we had presented, and wanted to discuss the book’s implications for his business. The CEO purchased our synopsis from our site, read over the handout (he did not have time to listen to the audio), and then met with his client. The client had read the book – the CEO had not. As they discussed the book, it was clear that our handout had provided enough of the important content that the CEO actually had a better grasp of the key content and transferable principles of the book than the other person had, who had actually read the book.
If you have never ordered from us, you might want to read the FAQ’s to understand where these presentations and recordings were made, and learn a little more about what we offer. Some of these were presented by my colleague Karl Krayer, and the others were presentations I made.
Here is a partial list of the new titles now available on our site. And more are coming each month.
| 59 Seconds
Book author(s) Richard Wiseman Presented at FFBS in 2010 March |
| The Design of Business
Book author(s) Roger Martin Presented at FFBS in 2010 February |
| Fierce Leadership
Book author(s) Susan Scott Presented at FFBS in TYBTL |
| The Healing of America
Book author(s) TR Reid Presented at the Urban Engagement Book Club |
| Inside Advantage
Book author(s) Robert Bloom with Dave Conti Special Presentation |
| Mastering the Rockefeller Habits
Book author(s) Verne Harnish Special Presentation |
| Supercorp
Book author(s) Rosabeth Moss Kanter Presented at FFBS in 2010 February |
| Superfreakonomics
Book author(s) Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner Presented at FFBS in 2009 December |
| Switch
Book author(s) Chip Heath and Dan Heath Presented at FFBS in 2010 March |
| Trade-off
Book author(s) Kevin Maney Presented at FFBS in 2010 January |
| Tribes
Book author(s) Seth Godin Presented at FFBS in 2009 January |
| Tyranny of Email
Book author(s) John Freeman Presented at FFBS in 2010 January |
59 Seconds Reminds Us Why We Do Science
On Friday, March 5, at the First Friday Book Synopsis in Dallas, I jokingly referred to my book, 59 Seconds, as a bathroom reader. The exact citation is:
Wiseman, R. (2009). 59 seconds: Think a little, change a lot. New York: Knopf.
I suppose that you could use it for that. The reality is that the book is filled with results from many different types of studies that revolve around self-help topics. In the book, Richard Wiseman surveyed the field of academic psychology and mined its research for practical ways to actually achieve goals, win friends, and find happiness. In his own words:
“I wondered whether there were tips and techniques hidden away in academic journals that were empirically supported but quick to carry out. Over the course of a few months, I carefully searched through endless journals…a promising pattern emerged, with researchers in quite different fields developing techniques that help people achieve their aims and ambitions in minutes, not months” (p. 8).
I would assume that for most of you, academic studies are not your favorite type of reading. They are not mine, and I wrote and read them for years.
However, let’s stop for a moment and examine why we do science. This book reminds you that science is all about verifying, debunking, or altering what we assume to be true, such as common-sense or myths. Instead of believing that there is some type of relationship between two items, or outcome that always results given some sort of stimuli, science tests these assumptions and tells you whether it is true.
This book has no shortage of these results. The good news is that Wiseman has provided us these findings without requiring us to go read the original studies. Of course, we must trust him – that he reported these results accurately. I think it is worth the risk. And the fact that we can read a summary of the findings really is good news – no matter where you end up reading this book.
You will be able to purchase my synopsis of this book at 15MinuteBusinessBooks.com. You receive the audio recording, a presentation outline, and a sheet of key quotes.
I Invite You to Attend the First Friday Book Synopsis this Friday — Books: Switch & 59 Seconds
This Friday is our March First Friday Book Synopsis. And, this will conclude our 12th year of gatherings. In April, we will begin our 13th year for the First Friday Book Synopsis. With a few “extra” presentations that we have done for companies and organizations, Karl Krayer and I have now read and presented synopses of over 300 business books. There aren’t many best sellers that we have missed in these dozen years. I admit that I am biased, but I think that people who attend our events really do receive valuable, useful business information and challenge. (Not to mention great networking, and a really delicious breakfast).
If you live in the Dallas area, I invite you to attend our event this Friday. We meet at the Park City Club, near Northwest Highway and the Tollway in Dallas. Here are the two books for this Friday:
Book #1:
59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot by Richard Wiseman. Synopsis presented by Karl Krayer. (read about this book on Amazon.com here).
Book #2:
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Synopsis presented by Randy Mayeux. Read about this book at Amazon.com here, and especially read Bob Morris’ review on our blog here (and on the Amazon site here). (Bob really liked this book, and so do I).
I hope you will join us for our gathering this Friday. You can register (and pay in advance) for the event here.
(Many of our synopses are available to purchase, with handout + audio, at our companion web site, 15minutebusinessbooks.com).
Coming in March – Switch by Chip Heath & Dan Heath, and 59 Seconds — for the March First Friday Book Synopsis
Here is our line up for the March First Friday Book Synopsis.
Karl Krayer will present his synopsis of 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot by Richard Wiseman.
I (Randy Mayeux) will present my synopsis of Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath & Dan Heath. (We’ve blogged about this book a little, and I can’t wait to read it!
March will close out our 12th year of the First Friday Book Synopsis.
If you live in the Dallas area, come join us. Friday, March 5, 7:00 am, at the Park City Club. (Just follow the links on our home page — they will be updated for the March First Friday Book Synopsis soon).
And — sign up for our e-mail reminder list here.
