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Passion, People and Principles

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More Bloggers Review “Fat Smoker” Book

post # 463 — November 9, 2007 — a Strategy and the Fat Smoker post

I’m grateful to those bloggers that are reviewing STRATEGY AND THE FAT SMOKER.

Clarke Ching says “The book is full of great ideas. I’m just over half way through the book and I’ve had several “ah ha” moments already. If you’ve read any of David’s other books then you’ll lap this one up too.” However, Clarke goes on to stress that he would prefer an audiobook version (which is in the works.)

Brian Sommer writes: “But, we really need to give up our bad vices if we are to become healthier and live longer. And while we all know the logic why we should live differently, we still choose to do that most illogical and irrational of acts. Remember that whenever your company or your client insists that your firm should embark on a new strategy. No matter how rational and logical your arguments are for change, don’t be surprised if countless thousands fail to follow your lead. It’s at that juncture you’ll wish you’d read David’s new book.”

Tom Collins says,”The uplifting message from Maister is that true believers can be helped and coached to achieve the excellence they desire. The problem is that there are so few true believers in leadership and management positions. If you are one of them, if you are a believer, if you think long term, if you believe that Passion, Principal and People are the path to excellence and that excellence is the only sound strategy, this is the book for you. Maister lays it out. He reinforces what you already believe in and gives you a checklist and guiding examples to become the best you can become.”

2 Comments

Ted Demopoulos, Blogging for Business said:

David,

Expect an extremely positive review from me soon — fantastic book!

posted on November 11, 2007

Tom "Bald Dog" Varjan said:

My big aha moment from the book is that if we manage our people at work with the same dedication, compassion and careas we “manage” our children at home, we can’t go wrong.

The other is that if we go first and set the expectation what we want to see in others, then most people step up to the plate. And the few just say, “Sorry but I can’t do this. Good bye”. Either way, they don’t remain at the firm as low performers leaching off on others’ performance. The approach itself is cleansing to the firm. Only the best remains, and the best areattracted.

The relationship between managers is similar to the relationship between parents. They respect each other and enjoy each other company. And their focus is to raise amazing children by maintaining a culture in which the kids are inspired to do amazing things. Similarly, managers’ focus ought to be to “raise“ amazing professionals who both love what they do and enjoy fulfilling personal lives.

Maybe because of my military past, I’m big on teamwork. Hence I enjoyed the comparison between the mountain lion, wolf pack, the beaver and the ants (humans).

What I also enjoyed in the book is that here we have a super-successful guy, David, but instead of bragging about what a genius he is, as so many – mainly – Internet experts love doing, he uses examples from his own life that sometimes paint him a bit of a tumbling, stumbling, fumbling loser. One must be a truly accomplished person with huge courage to do this. For instance, “hiding out” at the Harvard Business School.

I believe, David really went first in this book, just as he teaches. I’ve got all of David’s books, and this is the best for me, mainly due to its fairly informal “human” tone. When I’m reading the book (now the fourth time), I feel I’m conversing with a fellow human, as opposed to a celebrated expert, who, just like me, has made his fair share of mistakes in life, but his passion and love for the profession have always pushed him back on track, and has an amazing life.

posted on November 12, 2007