Paid to Think

A Leader's Toolkit for Redefining Your Future

By: David Goldsmith

Narrated by: Jason Culp

Length: 30 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

Have you ever thought about the fact that a craftsman has more and better tools to solve challenges on the job than the leader of a business or organization does? Leadership tools” are usually defined as computers, spreadsheets, data, and even experience, but in reality, leaders need thinking tools that are hard to come by, so they find themselves hunting and pecking for answers in books, at seminars, through on-the-job training programs, from mentors, and at business schools, and still, they’re left with gaps. Surely, most leaders are good at what they do, but the daily challenges of their jobs - like accelerating growth, increasing productivity, driving innovation, doing more with less, and balancing work with life - don’t come with some sort of leadership toolkit...until now.

In Paid to Think, international consultant David Goldsmith presents his groundbreaking approach to leadership and management based on research revealing the 12 specific activities that all leaders perform on a daily basis, and he provides you with each activity’s accompanying tools and instructions proven to boost your performance and that of your entire organization.

Take the uncertainty out of everyday leading, convert ideas to realities, and maximize your intellectual value. Learn how decision makers at some of the world’s most successful organizations have already used Paid to Think’s universal and easily transferable tools - regardless of their industries, sectors, geographic locations, or management levels - as their greatest advantages in achieving more, earning more, and living more.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2012 David Goldsmith (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Great book

I strongly recommend this book for visionary leaders, especially those with global presence. I really enjoyed the ET concept!

Exceptionally Theorized and Proven

David Goldsmith paid to think, is so exceptionally written, thought out and presenting until it literally takes my breath away. Exceptionally well-written, theories and proven methodologies that he suggesting are so phenomenal until it literally Sparks the productive mind thinker to think above they're normal Innovative way of thinking!

Overly verbose academic paper full of jargon

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

It realistically could have been about 10% the length without the constant self-appreciating and sales drivel that surrounded the few key concepts. Anyone who creates an acronym for "Wildly Successful Projects" (WSP's) needs a reality check, especially when the acronym isn't used any further within the book.

Has Paid to Think turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, but I will be much more cautious before I spend $35 on another "leadership" book

What didn’t you like about Jason Culp’s performance?

The reader was fine however there were sections of the book where there was no audio for 30 - 60 seconds.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

severe disappointment

Too Much Fluff and Bragging

Remove the stories of bragging about the companies you worked with and dive more into how your theories helped those companies reached higher production or better results. The book is a collaboration of many other business author's ideas and theories presented slightly different with an overload of arrogance. Removing the unnecessary stories would reduce the book to a manageable read in time investment.

Pompous Drivel

Would you try another book from David Goldsmith and/or Jason Culp?

I could not get further than a few chapters in this. David Goldsmith praises himself more than he delivers any content on the topic.

What could David Goldsmith have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The authors could work to not talk down to the reader as if she were a second grader.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger (wasted money) & disgust (at how someone could think their contribution to the world was so magnificent).

The bleeding edge of incrementalism

Listeners will be hard-pressed to find any pearls of wisdom amongst the cotton-wool dullness of rehashed ideas, lame examples, laughable acronyms and obsessive, maniacally dull procedures that stuff this book to bursting point.