Success Book Reviews Samples For Students

Critical review of the book Outliers: The Story of Success

Malcolm was born in 1963. He is a Canadian Journalist, bestselling author, as well as speaker. He was the writer of the New Yorker magazine since 1996, in Fareham Hemisphere, in England by Joyce Gladwell, and his father Graham Gladwell. In his life, he was a young single-minded and ambitious boy, whose interest was writing and reading books.

His writings

He has also managed to write and publish five books at the tipping point; ‘How Little Things Can Make a Big difference’ (2002), ‘There is Blink: The power of Thinking without Thinking’ (2005), and ‘What the Dog Saw and the Other Continue reading...

The book “Professional Creativity” written by Eugene K. Von Fange is about creativity. The author of the book writes about the contribution of creativity in person’s professional life. He explains a logical view of creativeness and its effective use in aptitudes, planning and resources. By reading the book, the reader gets an understanding that how creativity helps in accomplishing goals successfully. Also, the deep study will let the reader know how to choose the path that will guide him towards creativity. The author of this book share his experience of professional use of creativity in the daily life Continue reading...

Jim Cramer, the author of the book entitled Get Rich Carefully, is a renowned television personality, and he is at the epicenter of the investment success. Jim possesses a breadth of knowledge about stock and bonds. Moreover, he is a reservoir of the financial information. Contrary to his previous books, Jim’s Get Rich Carefully focuses more on the roadmap and a checklist for an intelligent and disciplined stock investment process. Through his previous professional experience and as a manager of thriving hedge fund, he has engaged in heavy lifting and his professional and life experiences in the financial Continue reading...

What special insights did I gain from the readings?

Leadership is a skill that is developed through judicious application of power. I learned from Sharer that a leader goes through a lot of personal and corporate disappointments before making it. Effective use of power yields organizational success. I now understand that leadership is simply the effective utilization of various types of power to influence peers, subordinates and superiors towards a desired and noble ideal. Finally, visions and values give a human face to leadership.

Personal reflections

I know people are generally resistant to change. Now I understand that the panacea lies in the ability to influence and persuade fellow employees Continue reading...

In many great companies, the Level 5 leader has been found to be the most important factor for the company’s factor. It is not because they are able to do a great job themselves. Rather, it is because they are able to bring together disciplined and talented people to do the task. The Level 5 Leader simply sets the way for all the others to do the work. Among the four stages or principles, the Level 5 Leader is the most important to understand and emulate in an education or school environment.
The Level 5 Leader is not Continue reading...

Section 1: What is the something else that DeSoto argues is necessary for a capitalist economy to produce wealth? Choose and explain one example or counter example used by DeSoto to make his case. 
The developed capitalist economies have the wealth to produce more financial resources for the investors. The individuals in the developed countries have houses, lands, and many other assets depending on those they can produce financial resources through the developed financial markets to make relatively more and more investments. Consequently, according to DeSoto, the capital is the most influential factor to be relatively more competitive in Continue reading...

One of the most ancient books, the Art of War written by Sun-tzu in the sixth century BC still holds its value today. The wisdom and facts mentioned by Sun-tzu written in the context of military strategy apply not only to ancient militarism, but also to the daily conflicts, obstacles and goals of life. In the context of business, the Art of War is a guide that mirrors the competition between businesses and militaries. Successful CEO’s of world’s famous companies, namely, Chip Conley of Joie de Vivre and Larry Ellison of Oracle applied the concepts of “The Continue reading...

Leading a Local Congregation Based On Stewardship and Institutional Development

“When a group of Individuals in any arena of life does well, one of the keys to understanding their success is to examine the leadership practices of the key leaders of that,”
“Lead Like Butler” focuses on the manner in which a team leader can influence success through the building of a strong value system. Its focus on the role of the leader is meant to point to the fact that no other figure in a group or convention is of more influence than its leader. The book holds the view that success in a group is based on Continue reading...

Abstract

This book review examines how Tony Dungy deciphers the role of mentoring by leaders, in creating a lasting legacy of significance and integrity in the business or work of others. Written by a man all too familiar with the glories of NFL success, Tony Dungy experienced an early on and steadfast fulfillment of his own dreams and goals, whether as player or coach. In this collection of tightly woven symmetry Dungy voices a call for leaders to embrace a genuine interest in the people they manage, coach, nurture, and shepherd. Published by Tyndale House Publishers, a well-known Christian company, Continue reading...

Why Nations Faillooks to the past as well as today’s world in order to answer the age old question of why some nations prosper while others fail. Historically some countries’ citizens are considered wealthy, their nations in rich material goods, education and freedoms while and others are perceived a generally poor, or divided by lines of wealth and poverty.
It is obvious by looking at more universal factors of culture, weather, and geography that countries with similar external and internal factors can enjoy, or suffer different circumstances. North and South Korea and East and West Germany are evidence Continue reading...

Book Review

The book discusses the impact of centralization and decentralization of organizations. The authors show that while the lack of a leader may represent chaos, the lack of a traditional leader may be a good way for the organization to survive since there is no specific leader that the rivals can target in order to destroy the organization. The story of the Apache community is used to demonstrate the strength that exists in a decentralized organization. The Apache community was able to defeat the Spanish army because it did not have a centralized leadership. In the same manner, when MGM, Continue reading...

Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential for Excellence, is an inspirational book written by Ben Carson. Carson starts the book by telling the readers about the history of his life. He continues to narrate, how he made it through hard work and perseverance and introduces the audience to his mentors, and how they influenced his life. The second half of the book is now the core of his writing as he uses the acronym Think Big in explaining his success. In addition, he explains to the readers on how to focus a journey to success.
Ben Carson wrote this book Continue reading...

This book highlights the changes in the business industry over the years and the author believes that one has to speculate achievable goals as a way of being in the realms of being a Key Person of Influence. The book gives individuals advice to become an important and successful person in the business world. Given the dynamic in the business world, the author recommends individuals to form personal bands and micro niches as a way of creating job certainty. The author believes that a personal brand can be created by one examining some of the passions and ideas that Continue reading...

Book Review

The Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell is a nonfiction text. It incorporates a straightforward writing that presents clear points that are easy to grasp for the readers. In the course of the book, Gladwell emerges as a rational and a lively writer with a skill of presenting complex things in a simple way. The text provides rational explanations to various apparent mysteries, twists of fate, and day to day challenges. The author presents his work through logical reasoning and incorporating shrewd expressions that explain the occurrence of various social phenomena. This book attempts to dissipate the Continue reading...

Barry Nalebuff and Avinash Dixit wrote a very accessible and engaging work on Game Theory, which they support as a “Guide to success in business and life“. Game theory is the psychology and mathematics of social interactions in strategic situations. Drawing from their experience and professionalism, these authors sought to ensure that their audiences learn the concepts of their book. Avinash Dixit, an economics professor at Princeton University where he offered his popular freshman course in game theory for many years, and Nalebuff a professor of management and economics at Yale School of management both practiced their preaching. While Continue reading...

Introduction

Organizations are being forced to change rapidly in order to survive today’s technological world. Due to globalization, computerization and advanced communication, these changes are expected and must be acknowledged as the new norm. Today’s world requires managers to understand, accommodate and use change as part of their jobs. If the reality of change is resisted, conflicts are bound to arise leading to job dissatisfaction, reduced performance, and reduced morale. Dan Cohen and John Kotter in their book, the heart of change, interviewed several successful leaders in order to discover what contributes to successful change. According to these Continue reading...

In the book Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell takes the readers on an intellectual ride through the world of “outliers” (those people who break the norms) - the brightest and the best, the most eminent and the most triumphant. This paper aim is to analyze chapter 1 and chapter 2 of this book.
In chapter 1, the author (Malcolm) argues that success, occasionally is found in parable of rag to riches- instead there is glisten of talent noticed ,and then there is a big break to the individual (and not the rest). That give the gifted Continue reading...

Book Review: Taking on the Trust and Outliers

Summary and Analysis
Central to the story of Taking on the Trust is the story of Ida Tarbell, a journalist who specialized in muckraking – a form of journalism that tackles the main issue directly by pointing out moral implications and subsequently instigating activism for reforms. The successful career of Tarbell in journalism has made her one of the most iconic American journalists during the early 20th century. One of the most famous controversies Tarbell has covered is the one involving Standard Oil Company (Weinberg).
Tarbell never regarded herself as a specialist in writing on business stories. Having no profound Continue reading...

The open theory refers to the idea of governing organizations while holding the belief that organizational performances are strongly linked to the environment (Tompkins, 2005). The environment or the climate, as others would describe it, constitute of the economic, political and social nature of that society. Open theory is a reaction to the pre Second World War organizational theories of human relations postulated by Elton Mayo and the administrative theory of Henri Fayol both of these theories argued that the organization is a self-contained entity (p.249).
It is important to recognize that virtually all organizations have some degree of Continue reading...

Why do some people go far in life and achieve their dreams why others do not? Is there some secret or set of secrets successful people have that others can learn from to be successful too? Stephen R. Covy’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People works to answer this question by laying down seven habits that help people to become effective in life, family and work.
The seven habits are as follows. The first is to be proactive. That life does not just happen to you. You make your own luck by placing yourself in situations Continue reading...

Book review

Aakers book Building Strong Brands is a work that builds on the growing recognition of the role that image and marketing play in international business. Beginning by defining a strong brand as being directly associated with brand awareness, the development of a reasonable hypothesis is developed (Aakers, p. 10). The presence of a strong brand equity position will benefit every level of industry including reducing associated marketing costs, positive brand associations, increased perception of quality and a much higher overall awareness of brand. However, the quest to build a strong brand is full of liabilities (Aakers, p. 27).
Associated Continue reading...

Business

Question one
Leadership is an important trait that each individual should seek to nurture and develop. In her book ,the 85% Solution: How Personal Accountability Guarantees Success No Nonsense, No Excuses, Linda Galindo articulates this idea. Galindo is of the view that the fundamental way that people can be able to develop leadership is by acquiring a sense of responsibility in terms of the choices, behaviors, and the actions that people take. The lack of responsibility among the people is what has led to detrimental effects such as economic meltdowns. For example, in the 2008 recession, the lack of Continue reading...

Book Review: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Introduction
This review is of the best-selling book in the self-help genre by Stephen R. Covey, entitled “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, which – according to the front cover – has sold over 10 million copies since it was first published.

Following Covey’s extensive study of “success” literature going back over 200 years and in particular his and his wife’s experiences with their own son, Covey – using the ideas and lessons he had learned firsthand – wrote the book to provide others, his readers, with the means to improve their effectiveness on a personal level, by following a Continue reading...

Expectedly, many people in the US are still vague on who Benjamin Harrison really was. Some confuse him with his grandfather, William Harrison, while others confuse him with his great-grandfather, Benjamin Harrison. Well, it is this kind of confusion that Charles Calhoun seeks to demystify in his book Benjamin Harrison: The American President’s Series: The 23rd President, 1889-1893. Not only does the author succeed in giving a clear picture of President Benjamin Harrison’s life, but he also does this in a convincing way. The book is rich with vivid details, and gives a good account of the Continue reading...

Managing the team is an art rather than a science. There are no specific rules on how to manage a team and how to get the most out of the team. One leader may use different strategies and techniques in order to get the most out from the team, whereas another leader might come up with different style to enhance the productivity of the team. This essay highlights the philosophy of leadership from the perspective of Phil Jackson. The overall essay analyzes leadership and how Jackson built the team as explained by him in his book Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Continue reading...

Leadership is an attribute of a person with the capability of organizing a group of people or workers for a common goal or objective. In leadership, power pays less influence as compared with the influence. Leaders are visionary, with viable ideas and strategies aimed at achieving a given set of objectives predetermined in the activities. In today’s management leadership plays crucial roles in influencing the managerial processes to be adopted by an organization. Without key strategies of motivating workers or influencing them for a common mission, the organization performance trend is likely to be in a decreasing trend. Continue reading...

Raphael capitalizes on the social stratification that characterizes many societies today. Inequality within society has been perceived by many as being inevitable. Each society has both the rich and the poor. In Raphael’s perspective the rich continue being rich as the poor constantly grapple with lack. This paradigm is existent in many societies because it is difficult of move from one social class to the other. The lack of equal opportunities within society creates a situation whereby only the rich are able to progress being they have access to resources. However, Raphael introduces the idea that self-sacrifice and Continue reading...

Summary

A Coach's Influence: Beyond the Game is a book written by Grant Teaff. Teaff is a coach, a player and an executive director of the American Football Coach Association. Teaff’s book contains three parts; the introduction, part one and part two. The book talks about the power of influence from the coach. It is a book that discusses issues affecting the youth and solutions to these issues. The book celebrates how football coaches learn from each other through the life of Teaff. Teaff’s book gives coaches and teachers knowledge, experience and techniques to use in solving social Continue reading...

Book Report: Robert Remini, The Battle of New Orleans

Introduction and Thesis
Robert Remini was correct that the War of 1812 was mostly a disaster for the United States except at the very end, when Andrew Jackson defeated a superior British force at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. Three attempts to invade and annex Canada had failed, and although these events are forgotten in the U.S. today, they are remembered north of the border as a key aspect in creating a sense of Canadian national identity. At sea, the British navy was far superior to the Americans and easily able to blockade the ports and Continue reading...

The Defense of Hill 781 is a book written by James R. McDonough. This book talks about A. Tack, a deceased Army officer who was denied an entry to Valhalla until he learns and completes the lessons required before being transferred to the final goal in the sky. Always Tack was assigned to a purgatory base in Nevada desert where he had to learn the hard way through victory and defeat and life or death as long as he learns the vital lessons needed. Through attending the American National Training Center, Always Tack learned how to lead a mechanized Continue reading...

ABSTRACT

According to John William Ward, the political and military career of Andrew Jackson was a merger between a man and a myth, with his political supporters deliberately crafting an image of him as a self-made man of destiny and a product of nature. He was presented as a man of the people who had no inherited wealth or family connections, but had risen through his own determination, will and effort to become president. He became a symbol of frontier democracy and populism, as well as of the United States itself and its destiny to expand to the Pacific Continue reading...

Introduction

Dr Stephen Covey is as a highly influential management guru, whose book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, become a useful and sequential framework for understanding personal development. Some have argued that The Seven Habits may prove easy to understand but not easy to apply. The author tries to put across life changing ideas on being more effective in all areas of life including family, professional, emotional, and spiritual, thereby creating satisfaction and happiness from all life endeavors. The importance of the book has increased than ever before, as the business world has shifted to humanistic concepts. Continue reading...

Galbraith’s book ‘The Affluent Society’ looks at the socio-economic organization of the United States and the political forces that are necessary for creating a strong economy not only in the short-run but also in the long-run. Galbraith central macro-economic concept is that the US economic is based on the European Economic theory. In his argument, Galbraith argues that there has been an inclination by the US market to take a trajectory that seeks to maximize production rates. Effects such as increased technology and the machine-based industries have been adopted over the years so as to maximize production. However, Continue reading...

Steve Jobs - What a biography of the iGenius says

Academic brilliance matters in life. So does dedication and hard work. But something which differentiates the great men from the good ones is a resilient and perceptive vision. When we talk of vision or insight, one name emerges without delay- Steve Jobs. The man did not invent the techniques pertaining to integrated circuitry, flash memory or touchscreen but employed those very technologies and much more from his own expertise to build something exceptionally expedient and fascinating. The man who always stimulated others to follow Continue reading...

Summary of the Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Art of War highlights several ideal points which could easily be used in the process of risk management and military capabilities. It is one of the finest books written on military treatise that has been translated from the Chinese languages into various other languages globally. This book by Sun Tzu remained anonymous to England till the 1872 and entered the scene when a French priest with the name of Joseph Amiot, who was residing in China, translated it.

However, the translation was poorly produced. Nevertheless, in 1908, Capt. Callthrop re-wrote it. He came up with a better piece Continue reading...

Judgment in Managerial Decision Making

Question 1
Max Bazerman’s book, Judgment in Managerial Decision Making, has a lot of positives that could be captured from its main topic. The topic teaches readers different concepts and practices of leadership that exist in different settings (Bazerman & Moore, 2008). According to critics, whereas numerous leaders show distinct characteristics, great leaders have similar characteristics of success. Prominent leaders should inspire motivation and confidence in their followers. Above all, researchers suggest that community building and shared values are the basis or grounds for great leadership. This book offers insight to this topic of the concepts and practices of Continue reading...

The Five Dysfunctions of a team is a powerful book that offers a practical framework for people particularly the readers to form successful and formidable teams within an organization. Patrick Lencioni is the author of the book. He is the president and founder of the Table group, a consulting firm that focus on organization health and executive team management. The book published in the United States by Jossey-Bass Publishers in 2002.

Sources of Information

Five dysfunctions of a team have two parts the fable, which is a fictional tale with short vignettes and demonstrations. The second part entails the models that serve Continue reading...

For Hanson-Carnage and Culture, I agree with the theme of reason being an important aspect in comparison to technology. This is because without reason technology cannot aid overcoming social problems. Considering the Mexico battle, despite the ability of Spaniards to use advanced levels of technology, they lost in the battle. As the Spanish fought, they paid more focus on their higher levels of technology, which made them to look down upon the opponents. Unfortunately, they could not win the battle because the opponents used reason instead of technology to fight them back (Hanson, 2002). Moreover, reason and war are Continue reading...

Chapter 6

Chapter six of this book addresses technology and reason in war. This chapter basically illustrates a theme of reason being more important in war than technology. Looking at this theme from all perspectives, there is some truth in it. The chapter draws its contents from battle of Mexico who took place in the 16th century.
As the battle continued, the outnumbered Spaniards fought with all available resources ranging from swords to cannons which dropped their opponents from 100 yards or more. This technology made them superior in the war though they were fighting a losing battle.
The Spaniards were Continue reading...

In Everyday Use by Alice Walker, the themes of heritage and education are explored through the conversations and interactions of the characters. This short story is narrated by “Mama,” who describes how Dee, her educated and successful daughter, is coming home to visit her mother and other daughter, Maggie. Maggie and Dee are sisters, but they do not necessarily get along well, in fact Mama says how she used to believe that Dee “hated Maggie” (PAGE # FROM TEXTBOOK). Maggie is described as having “burns and scars down her arms and legs” which came from a fire (Page #). Maggie is Continue reading...