The World's Best Book Summaries
How was Amazon started? How did the online bookstore that started in a basement grow to need a warehouse in just two years? Jeff Bezos had the idea for an online bookstore in 1994 and launched it in 1995. At first, they pulling all-nighters and packing boxes on their basement floor. By 1996, the revenue was growing 30%-40% every month and Bezos was forced to buy a warehouse. Continue on to learn how Amazon was started and how it grew so rapidly.
What is the most important thing when it comes to personnel development? What can you, as a leader, do to help your employees level up their performance and contribution? According to Marcus Buckingham, the author of First, Break All the Rules, personnel development is not about trying to transform your employees by weeding out their weaknesses. Rather, it is about building up their existing talents and navigating around their weak areas. When designing your personnel development system, keep the following in mind.
Do you want to know how to be original? What makes someone original? Is originality more of an inherent trait or a skill that can be improved through practice? Originality is not locked on genetics—it can be cultivated through practice. According to Adam Grant, the author of Originals, the key to being more original is two-fold: 1) go against the status quo and 2) brainstorm lots of ideas. Here is how to be more original, according to organizational psychologist Adam Grant.
What are your main business objectives? Do you think your objectives align with the purpose of your business? Every organization has different goals. For example, a retail store may focus on customer satisfaction whereas a medical organization— on patient safety. While these goals aren’t mutually exclusive, these organizations have different priorities because they have different purposes. When defining business objectives for your organization, ask yourself the following three questions.
What is a SMaC recipe? Does your enterprise currently have a SMaC recipe—a plan you can turn into in case of a contingency? SMaC stands for Specific, Methodical, and Consistent. A SMaC recipe is a set of defined practices that a company can turn into in extreme circumstances. If your enterprise doesn’t have a SMaC recipe, think about specific practices that have led to success in the past. Here is how creating a SMaC recipe can help you increase your chances of surviving and thriving in the world of chronic instability.
What is a talent interview? How do you identify the talents of a candidate in an interview? As the name suggests, a talent interview is geared towards discovering the talents of a candidate. In this interview, don’t discuss money, the company, or expectations. Focus solely on identifying the applicant’s talents. When designing your talent interview, think about the following concepts.
What’s more profitable— to open a physical store or grow an online business venture? What are the most common features of successful online businesses? According to Reid Hoffman, the author of Blitzscaling, it’s much more profitable to grow an online business than to run a physical store. There are many reasons for this but the biggest is that there are virtually no overhead or advertisement costs when you’re selling software. Keep reading for more reasons on why you should grow an online business rather than a physical one.
What role does luck play in business success? What do you think is more important when it comes to becoming massively successful in business—luck or strategy? Some people see luck as the only explanation for massive business success; others see luck as a non-factor. But the research found that neither extreme holds true. While luck has a place in business success, whatever luck you get requires action on your part to determine the outcome. Here is what science has to say on the role of luck in business success.
What are the four growth factors that are incorporated into most great business models? What business models are more suitable for scaling a company? The four growth factors that affect scaling a company are market size, distribution, high gross margins, and network effects. There isn’t one business model that will work for every company but incorporating these growth factors will help you scale. Continue reading for more information on scaling a company.
What criteria do you base your hiring decisions on? Do you—like most organizations—hire candidates based on skill and relevant work experience? What other variables do you factor in? Historically, organizations have hired based on three criteria: experience, intelligence, and determination. However, these things don’t necessarily translate into excellent performance. According to Marcus Buckingham, the author of First, Break All the Rules, the key to effective hiring is to hire for talent, not experience or intelligence. Here is why you should, first and foremost, hire fore talent, not experience or other factors.