Lazy Book Review: The Dip
I do tend to read a lot of pseudo-inspirational business books. My criteria is that a business book has to deliver at least one good idea (that I didn’t already know) in order for me to consider it a success.
Seth Godin has chosen to not over-deliver with his book, The Dip. I’m afraid to even talk about it too much, because at only 80 pages, there’s really only one main idea. If I tell you what it is, is it worth reading the book?
Spoiler below!
The idea in a nutshell (and that’s how its delivered) is that some things in life start easy, get hard, and then become rewarding. Other things never become rewarding. The trick is to figure out which is which, quit the non-rewarding stuff, and slog through the stuff where there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
Okay. Seems reasonable.
But Godin never really gets into what I consider the heart of the matter – how do you tell the difference between the good scenario (called the “Dip”) and the bad scenario (called the “Cul-de-sac”). What advice can he give for telling whether its worth continuing down the difficult path ahead? Alas, he never says. Maybe that will be a sequel.
On the upside, it does contain one of the best quotes I’ve heard in a long time:
“‘I can’t take it anymore!’, he cried, mistakenly.”
The perfect book for a Lazy Book Review -
The Lazy Project Manager
The lazy project manager illustrates how anyone can apply the simple techniques of lazy project management in their own activities in order to work more effectively and consequently improve work-life balance. This ‘productive laziness’ approach builds on the Pareto principle that states that for many phenomena, 80 per cent of consequences stem from 20 per cent of the causes. To put it simply, only 20 per cent of the things people do during their working days really matter.
Inside this insightful and informative book you’ll discover:
• The intelligence of laziness – why smart, lazy people have the edge over others;
• Why the Jungle Book’s ‘Bare Necessities’ should be the productive lazy theme tune;
• How to get the maximum output for a minimised input;
• Quick tips to productive lazy heaven.
In addition you can learn some really interesting things about eating dinosaurs, wearing ermine cloaks, and how to spot a psychopathic woman at a funeral. Also find out why you should never go ballooning, how to deliver a good Oscar acceptance speech, and why it is important for your team that you read the newspaper each morning.
And yes, you may also learn some, quick, simple but incredibly important things about project management. If you are lazy enough
http://www.thelazyprojectmanager.com