Arthur Held

This book takes you on a journey of growing up and discovery from a child's point of view. It's an "adult" tape, (definitely not for children - I wouldn't want to explain parts to my 8 year old son, but its not salacious either). It has kept me fascinated for the 40 min. drive home every day for a week. Its like discovering parts of my own family from the viewpoint of one of my younger relatives.

Sometimes previews and marketing do a book a dis-service trying to lure people in. I found this to be true - the value far exceeds what I expected.

The reader is outstanding, bringing each individual character to life with a voice that seems to match the author's words exceedingly well.

The first 1 1/2 CD's are about sales forces, and how to lead them, setting goals, etc.

I don't lead sales forces, and I almost quit listening. I didn't like the reader's voice, and thought it "dippy". A bit like Zig Ziggler and Tony Robbins rolled into one.

But one day I didn't have any other CD's, I was caught in bad D.C. traffic, so I went on through 2 and .....

Disks 3-5 (and part of 2) are a wonderful set of stories about how to become self-aware enough to lead yourself, and thereby others. By disk four, I was so enthralled. I sat in the parking lot at work, and my driveway at home to hear the end of a point. I had to quickly turn it off so I wouldn't go through another one! I bought the book. (I bought multiple copies of the book.) I've listened to it again. I still don't like disk one much - I'm not a salesman. But I really enjoy this book.

Buy it. If you aren't a "sales manager" use disk one to get used to his voice (it grows on you, and won't seem "dippy" after about 90 minutes). Then forget it. Grow with disks 2-5.

To write this, I just went to the book to pick my favorite idea number (yes, there are truly 100). I thought it was #30: "Don't Go Crazy," but then I recalled 35: "Score the performance," and then..... you get the idea - every item here has something to offer.

Get it!

Upon starting this book, I felt like I was listening to a rather large ego telling me how great he was. But it rapidly became a great listen. I found his discussion of the evolution of the computer industry, and how IBM had to re-invent itself to fit the new paradigm, clear and true to what I've watched happening in the IT world.

Disk 5 was outstanding in his discussion of how he expected managers to be part of the solution, not spectators and supervisors of it. And his views on where the internet is going are extremely insightful.

A Must-Listen that finishes strong. A sure winner for anyone with an interest in IT, IT Companies, or our Business world and its IT components.

Great business isn't just about improving what you did yesterday. It's about coming up with new ideas, and understanding that there are numerous models for building success. I found this book an incredible source of ideas to try on, argue with, and agree with.

The presentation is strong and clear. My only problem is that some mornings my commute isn't long enough and I have to sit in the parking garage for 10 minutes to find a good stopping point.

This book is NOT about hard data and careful research. It is about understanding that CREATIVITY is a big part of business. This is Peter's view of what the next general step in business creativity is, and how to be a part of it.

HIGHLY recommended.

Nearly a decade ago I was captivated by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's books "Flow" and "Finding Flow". Here he takes his ideas to the next logical step - moving from the individual to the organization.

This program takes you first through why, and then HOW organizations can get better resuts, how executives can better themselves, and how everyone can be more creative and more rewarded by their jobs. It simply(!) requires creating an environment where flow is more easily achievable.

Yes, most of us probably could find a way to find flow in almost any work situation, with enough practice and thought. But few have the time and focus to achieve this. This book helps the manager see how (and why) to focus their organizations differently, to promote flow. It discusses PERSONAL choices in how we live, and why we live that way, and how changing the environment to promote flow will promote our entire wellbeing.

This is not a "How To" book. It is much more powerful than that, if you bring the right skills and background. Like the book "Learned Optimism", "Good Business" helps you learn and think about yourself, why you function as you do, and how you can change it.

In personal growth, there is no substitute for personal effort. But there are some outstanding guidebooks. They will be different for each of us - but this is one of mine.

I only listened to the first 20 minutes of this because I didn't have anything else in the car.

BOY, AM I GLAD I DID!

The authors read this, and at first they seem dry and without energy. But their content lured me in. I've learned more in four hours of listening that I have in 20 years of self-help books on active listening and communicating with people.

If you have ever struggled to have a good conversation with a spouse, child, co-worker, or boss, this is worth listening to. I am getting ready to start my second time through.

This is definitely not a "10 steps to the perfect life" book. There are no checklists, no outline of how to get from here to there.

What you will find is 2 hours of good thoughts and dialog that may help you understand how mysticism/shamanism/Yoga/mind-over-matter/common-sense/positive-attitude can be a powerful part of your personal toolkit for living a better life.

If you find HeartMath, Tony Robbins, or Martin Seligman ("Learned Optimism") useful, I recommend this as two hours well-spent in the car. I came away with some new neural pathways, some new discoveries, and will listen to it again.