Review Archives | Shortform Books

Our Iceberg Is Melting: Review, Context, and Reception

Is the fable Our Iceberg Is Melting worth reading? How can this book help drive change in your company? John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber’s fable is about a colony of penguins who must make quick and drastic changes in order to save their colony. This fable is meant to help companies during the change process and was a New York Times bestseller. Continue below for our Our Iceberg Is Melting review, including the book’s background and critical reception.

Way of the Wolf: Review, Context, and Approach

Is Jordan Belfort’s book The Way of the Wolf worth the read? Does Belfort’s Straight Line method work? The Wolf of Wall Street’s source material, Way of the Wolf, was a book written by Jordan Belfort which combines his personal stories as a salesman with practical sales advice. This book had a very mixed reception both due to Belfort’s sales advice and his personal, criminal background. Keep reading for a Way of the Wolf review.

Superforecasting: Review, Context & Critical Reception

Budgeting and Planning: Why Is It So Important?

Is Phillip Tetlock’s Superforcasting worth reading? What was Tetlock’s inspiration in writing the book? The idea for Superforecasting came from Tetlock’s experiences with the Expert Political Judgment and Good Judgment Project forecasting experiments, during which Tetlock and his team discovered that some people are significantly better at predicting the future than others. Tetlock and Gardner set out to explore exactly what sets “superforecasters” apart from regular people; Superforecasting is the result. This Superforecasting review takes a look at the book’s intellectual context, background, impact, and discusses its key strengths and weaknesses.

The Gifts of Imperfection: Review (Brené Brown)

Are you thinking of reading Brené Brown’s book Gifts of Imperfection? What is the book about and how can it help you? Brené Brown is famous for her works regarding shame, worthiness, and vulnerability, among other topics. Her book The Gifts of Imperfection was an instant bestseller, but that doesn’t mean it’s free from flaws. This review of The GIfts of Imperfection covers the book’s content, structure, and more. Continue below for our Gifts of Imperfection review.

John Maxwell: The Five Levels of Leadership—Review

Is The 5 Levels of Leadership worth reading? What are the five stages/levels of leadership, according to its author John C. Maxwell? In The 5 Levels of Leadership, author John C. Maxwell gives a shape and form to something seemingly indefinable. He culls his knowledge and experience to come up with the Five Levels of Leadership, a roadmap to help you reach your full leadership potential: 1) positional leadership, 2) permissional leadership, 3) production leadership, 4) empowerement-based leadership, and 5) pinnacle leadership. This The 5 Levels of Leadership review takes a look at the book’s context, background, and discusses its

Never Split the Difference: Book Review (Chris Voss)

Is Never Split the Difference worth reading? What is the main factor, according to its author Chris Voss, that drives decision-making in a negotiation? Chris Voss’s 2016 book Never Split the Difference (with co-writing assistance from Tahl Raz) was seen as an important contribution to the literature of negotiation theory and strategy. Voss’s main thesis is that good negotiation happens on the emotional level of the brain, not the rational level. This Never Split the Difference book review takes a look at the book’s inspiration and background, intellectual context, and its key strengths and weaknesses.

The Effective Executive: Book Review (Peter Drucker)

Is Peter Drucker’s The Effective Executive worth reading? How does the author define effectiveness? The Effective Executive, a 1966 classic by management expert Peter F. Drucker, explains how to manage yourself to be effective. He defines effectiveness as choosing and doing the right things—that is, the things that significantly improve personal and organizational performance. This The Effective Executive book review takes a look at the book’s context, background, and critical reception by the readers.

Ego Is the Enemy: Book Review (Ryan Holiday)

Is Ryan Holiday’s Ego Is the Enemy worth reading? Why does Holiday argue that ego kills success notwithstanding the fact that many successful people are famously egotistical? In Ego Is the Enemy, Ryan Holiday defines ego as an unhealthy belief in one’s own importance that goes beyond mere confidence He notes that many successful people are famously egotistical, and he contends that as a result, society tends to think that ego is an important ingredient in success as if ego leads to accomplishment. However, Holiday argues that ego leads far more often to failure and that people find success only

The Infinite Game: Review, Inspiration, and Background

Is The Infinite Game worth reading? What qualities, according to its author Simon Sinek, make for a truly exceptional leader? The Infinite Game, published in 2018 by Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is Sinek’s fifth book. It follows up and continues exploring many of the concepts in the Leaders Eat Last and Start With Why. Throughout these three books, he explores different takes on the idea that what makes a leader exceptional is a commitment to a higher purpose. This The Infinite Game review takes a look at the book’s inspiration and background, intellectual context, and strengths and