Shortform Books

How to Evaluate a Book and Its Author

Do you want to know the best way to evaluate a book? How should you handle a disagreement with a book’s author? What are the different categories of disagreement? In their book How to Read a Book, authors Adler and Van Doren discuss the steps you should take to evaluating a book. They say that you must first determine whether the author has answered your questions, evaluate the author’s answers, and then try to understand the author’s point of view before arguing with them. Continue reading for more on how to evaluate a book and its author, according to Adler

What Is the Role of Government in an Economy?

What is the role of government in an economy? Would economies function better if left to their own devices? A government makes a capitalist market possible. Though people, including many politicians, sometimes speculate about how much better the market could operate if there were little or no government around, the truth is, countries without strong governments have almost non-existent markets in which it’s difficult to conduct even simple transactions. In this article, we’ll explore the different ways a government can facilitate a functioning market economy. We’ll also explore the ways it can destroy one: Government intervention in the economy isn’t

Cognitive Bias in Negotiation: Use It Strategically

What role does cognitive bias play in negotiation? What biases have the greatest impact on your and your counterpart’s decision-making? In negotiation, cognitive bias plays a crucial role in how we receive information and determine our best interests. And as a skilled negotiator, you can take advantage of universal human cognitive biases to frame your position in a way that makes it optimally attractive to your counterpart. In this article, we’ll discuss how to use two cognitive biases (the framing effect and the loss aversion bias) to steer a negotiation in your desired direction.

College Is a Business: Students Are Just Customers

How did colleges start running like businesses rather than educational institutions? What impact has this had on the students? These days, colleges are run more like big businesses than educational institutions. This is because education is so profitable that the administrators started looking at students as customers and valuable assets that need to be catered to or they’ll lose money. Keep reading to learn why college is a business and students are merely customers.

Why Do We Feel Shame & How Can We Overcome It?

Why do we feel shame? What are some healthy methods of handling shame and how can Brené Brown’s advice help? In her TED Talk The Power of Vulneraility, Brené Brown discusses what causes shame, how shame develops from childhood, and provides five methods for handling shame. Only when you overcome shame can you start to embrace wholehearted living. Continue reading for Brené Brown’s discussion about shame.

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

Napoleon Hill: How to Outwit the Six Ghosts of Fear

How do you learn how to outwit the six ghosts of fear? What are the 6 basic fears in Think and Grow Rich? You can learn how to outwit the six ghosts of fear by recognizing fear as a state of mind and replacing your fears with positive alternate thinking. The six basic fears are poverty, criticism, poor health, loss of a loved one, old age, and death. You will overcome fear when you conquer each of these ghosts. Read on to learn how to outwit the six ghosts of fear.

Richard Rumelt: Good Strategy, Bad Strategy Overview

What is Richard Rumelt’s Good Strategy, Bad Strategy about? What makes a good organizational strategy according to the author? In Good Strategy Bad Strategy, Richard Rumelt lays out the essential components of good organizational strategy and the faulty thinking behind a bad strategy. He also describes specific and measurable techniques for designing a focused strategy that gives your organization the best chance of success. Below is a brief overview of Good Strategy, Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt.

Committed Sex: It Doesn’t Have to Be Boring

Are commitment and desire mutually exclusive? Do you think it’s possible to maintain sexual desire in a lifelong relationship? Many couples therapists think that it’s normal for desire to fade and that lust is immature or based on fear of commitment. But according to psychotherapist Esther Perel, you can have both commitment and desire in the same relationship, they just may not always take place at the same time. Here is what Esther Perel has to say about committed sex.

How to Support Your Team: Leadership Skills

How good are you at supporting your team? Do they ever feel let down by your leadership? Submarine captain David Marquet’s experience can help you learn how to support your team and understand what difference it can make. Marquet found that, when officers and chiefs supported their teams, they developed trust. Ultimately, this advanced the ship’s objectives. Read more to learn how to support your team—and how that care fits in with your organizational goals.