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Friday, June 15, 2018

Domes of Fire by David Eddings

Domes of Fire (The Tamuli, #1)Domes of Fire (Tamuli 1) by David Eddings
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I read this book out of nostalgia. I like David Eddings as an author, and it's been a long time since I read this series. I read the previous Sparhawk books a while ago, and this second trilogy is similar to the first so far. Good story, fun characters, but with a underdeveloped writing style. Overall, it's a mediocre book, but I'm enjoying it anyway. On with the series.

Friday, June 1, 2018

How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It by Mark Cuban

How to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do ItHow to Win at the Sport of Business: If I Can Do It, You Can Do It by Mark Cuban
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So this was a quick read that had a lot of good on-the-ground advice from a guy who has been successful at business. Thanks to its roots as blog posts, it is less like a business book and more like a mentorship session. Is Mark Cuban my hero? Not by a long shot. His lifestyle, personal choices, and opinions about the role of business in your life are not healthy in my opinion. But that doesn't make his book less valuable, it just means I have to take the good stuff and leave the rest untouched. I did love the brevity, which was enabled by the lack of polish. I'll make that trade off pretty much every chance I get.

Here is a list of what I learned, mostly for my own benefit:


  • Win the battles you are in first. It is the same concept as the hedgehog model (Good to Great), but angled more toward the entrepreneur. Focus and win at what you are doing before trying to do something else. Don't drown in new opportunities.
  • The worst person to assess talent is the player themselves. We cannot be objective with ourselves.
  • Do what you are good at, and find others to supplement your weaknesses.
  • Consumers are lazy. Put your product in their path of least resistance and you can win. Make it more difficult to use your product instead of your competitor's product, and you will lose.
  • Good salespeople love their job, their product, and their clients. They show up every day excited to call prospects and share what they love about their product.
  • Living cheaply gives you lots of options (opportunities.) Reduce expenses and take risks.
  • Listen to customers to know how to make them happy, but don't let them dictate your road map. Innovation is your job. Customers are horrible at it.


So there you go. While only 3 stars IMHO, the minimum length makes it a bargain and a good investment of time for an entrepreneur.