MyBookReview

This is a book about leadership not literary naked in a sense.  This books aims to strip away the myth and mystery, the jargon and the hype to make personal and professional success a matter of choice.  At the end of each chapter, you are given choices.  You may follow the choice you made or you can read this book in a conventional way.  But I can tell this book is non-conventional.

I’ve been to many meetings,  all sorts of meetings.  The kinds of meetings that I dread most is the long-winded and boring ones.  A heated one is interesting and dramatic as long as you’re not the one in the firing line. In one section of the book, it tells about influence in company meetings (boring or otherwise).  No matter how it is conducted, one should always utilise meetings to build rapport and to get to know your peers better.  Seating is important too.  If you want to provide some influence to the chairman, seat either to right or to the left of the chairman because the chairman tends to confide in the persons seat next to him/her.  If you are seated in the opposite side, you may risk getting into conflict.  This is just one of tips in the book. There are many more.

I recommend this book if you’re management level or in a position of influence.

About the book:

Paperback
The Naked Leader
Authored by David Taylor
Published by Bantam Books, 2003
ISBN 0553815652
351 pages

Photography is one of those activities that you can indulge as a hobby and also for livelihood. The best way is to turn your hobby into a profit-oriented activity. That’s what this book is all about. This book is quite old by today’s standards because at the of print, Digital Photography was still unheard. Nevertheless the concepts of photography is still valid with this book.

The book takes you from the basics of business sense in photography, finding your market and shooting stock. Of course these days with digital photography and the Internet, one can just do it easily. The downside of it is the competition are stiffer now because digital cameras are more affordable and also there are lots of quality photos available for free.

In section two of the book talks extensively about finding your niche. There are a few local photographers who specialize in wedding photography. They are good. But there are many others out there…so competition is tough. So they set up their blog and publish some of their best shots. The power of the Internet helps them get noticed.

About the book:

Taking Pictures for Profit: The Complete Guide to Selling Your Work
By Lee Frost
Published by David & Charles Publishers, 1998
ISBN 0715307878, 9780715307878
160 pages

Hannibal, regarded as the father of military strategy was able to shake the Roman’s military might to its core and almost conquered Rome.  He lived from 247 to 183 BC, son of Hamilcar Barca the Carthaginian general.  After his father’s death  he vowed eternal hostility towards Rome and made that promise to his father. Hannibal’s greatest military feat was marching to the Italian Peninsula by land.  On the way his army had to overcome not only physical environment but also hostile tribes.  His army crossed the Alps on to Rome’s doorstep.  What remains of his army, with 20,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry and few war elephants, Hannibal took on the might of Rome by decimating Gaius Flaminius’s army on the shores of Lake Trasimene.  His army also destroyed a calvary counterattack lead by Gaius Centenius. By then his army was too weary from battle to take on the undefended Rome capital.  He was just three miles away.   And at Cannae, southern Italy,  the Carthaginian army left 60,000 Roman soldiers dead.

He was finally defeated by Scipio Africanus at Zama, and went on the run eversince.  He committed suicide in 183 rather than submit himself to the Romans.  The Romans regarded Hannibal as a worthy adversary and recorded his exploits.

Hannibal is only one of 100 greatest military commanders feature in this book.  The commanders featured in this book, from the Spartan Leonidas of 300 fame to General Colin Powell during the first Gulf War.

For military buffs this is a good book to read and to have as reference.

About the book:

Who says training needs to be boring?  Training should be fun to be effective.  This is a good book for trainers who wants to make training as interactive and pleasantly fun as possible.  I believe one of the success factors for any training lies not only in the methods and techniques but also the personality of the trainer.  A fun and witty trainer will surely be more engaging and more successful in training.The book contains not only methods and techniques but also activities to include into your training.

Why I did I buy this book in the first place?  Training has been one of passion in the workplace as it allows me to share my knowledge to others.  By doing that I get a sense of fulfillment that I have done something good.  However, I was not trained as a trainer.  I learned it through experience and by reading.  This is one of the books that is useful.

Good book to have if you are into training.

About the book:

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One of my favourite comic is Dilbert a character created by Scott Adams.  Dilbert has a dog called Dogbert, whom I believe is Dilbert’s alter ego.  Anyways this book is basically a satire on management techniques.  I like this book because it is funny and witty but yet plausible sometimes.  Although I wouldn’t recommend one to take this book seriously and literally because you might end up in trouble if you’re management level.

The book provides illustrations in classic Scott Adams way. Dogbert reveals the many vital skills needed by managers in their daily lives, including:

• Pretending to care - learn how to hear without listening!
• Competition - experience the joy of setting your people agains on another!
• Making decisions - be a leader without making any decisions!
• Incentives - inspire employees by giving them worthless knicknacks!

About the book: