The World's Best Book Summaries
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.
What makes a great leader? What qualities do successful leaders possess? Can leadership ability be cultivated or is it more of an inherent personality trait? Leadership is a misty, intangible concept. To the uninitiated eye, high-profile leadership is difficult to conceive of which is why there are so many myths on the matter. But it doesn’t have to be confusing. Here are some of the most entrenched leadership myths debunked.
What are the most common myths of innovation? How does buying into these myths hamper business innovation? Because it’s so difficult to structure and do on-demand, innovation comes with its fair share of myths. Businesses must break free of these misconceptions if they aspire to revolutionize their respective markets. Here are three top myths about innovation, according to organizational psychologist Adam Grant.
What is Reid Hoffman’s Blitzscaling about? What are the nine rules of blitzscaling? Why do the rules of blitzscaling contradict common business sense? Reid Hoffman’s Blitzscaling is a book about the method of scaling up your business quickly without attention to efficiency. The method is very risky but can produce massive rewards. There are nine rules for blitzscaling. Continue on for Reid Hoffman’s blitzscaling rules.
Is talent an essential prerequisite of success? Can talent be taught? Traditionally, organizations have held onto the belief that talent can be trained into employees or that employee talent isn’t a necessary component of success. According to Marcus Buckingham, the author of, First, Break All the Rules, both of these beliefs are inaccurate. Here is why you should vet your employees for talent instead of trying to create it.
Is Jim Collins’s Great by Choice worth reading? What are the key qualities that help 10X companies survive crises, according to its authors Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen? In Great by Choice, bestselling author Jim Collins and management professor Morten T. Hansen shed light on what it is that sets apart companies that stay afloat during crises when their not-so-successful counterparts go bust. Here is a brief overview of Great by Choice by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen.