Discussion
SWMBO has talked me into taking a beach holiday in Malta in a few weeks and have suddenly realised I've nothing to do on the Island and nothing to read. I don't "do nothing" well so I figure I'll use the time to inspire myself.
Does anyone have any good recommendations for inspirational books? I'm most interested in B2C retail and start ups.
Does anyone have any good recommendations for inspirational books? I'm most interested in B2C retail and start ups.
I'll also be taking my laptop and spending a bit of time writing up plans, but don't tell the misses!
10JH said:
'BooHoo' combines both your interests.
About an online clothing retailer that went bust in the early 90s.
Well written and easy to read too, ideal for the beach!
Brilliant title. I assume it's about boo.com? Is the material (reasons for its failure) relevant today as it was riding on the dotcom boom?About an online clothing retailer that went bust in the early 90s.
Well written and easy to read too, ideal for the beach!
ShadownINja said:
10JH said:
'BooHoo' combines both your interests.
About an online clothing retailer that went bust in the early 90s.
Well written and easy to read too, ideal for the beach!
Brilliant title. I assume it's about boo.com? Is the material (reasons for its failure) relevant today as it was riding on the dotcom boom?About an online clothing retailer that went bust in the early 90s.
Well written and easy to read too, ideal for the beach!
I'll have to give it a read.
ShadownINja said:
10JH said:
'BooHoo' combines both your interests.
About an online clothing retailer that went bust in the early 90s.
Well written and easy to read too, ideal for the beach!
Brilliant title. I assume it's about boo.com? Is the material (reasons for its failure) relevant today as it was riding on the dotcom boom?About an online clothing retailer that went bust in the early 90s.
Well written and easy to read too, ideal for the beach!
I seem to recall it was a case of mass over-spending and over-hiring. Plus the site was almost impossible for most users to view properly. Almost all people had dial up back then, so it was also horrendously slow to load.
It was a good idea, badly done and ahead of its time. Just think how successful Asos, Zappos, Net-a-porter etc.. are now.
Felix Dennis - "how to get rich"
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Get-Rich-Felix-Dennis/...
I personally don't "get " inspirational books, but this is both inspiring and piss funny. He takes you through all the mistakes he's made, from "coke and hookers" to trust issues, how having 8 girlfriends around the world is a bad thing etc etc.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Get-Rich-Felix-Dennis/...
I personally don't "get " inspirational books, but this is both inspiring and piss funny. He takes you through all the mistakes he's made, from "coke and hookers" to trust issues, how having 8 girlfriends around the world is a bad thing etc etc.
Outliers - Malcom Gladwell
From the same guy as The Long Tail.
About what makes a successful person, looked at from a psychology and statistics point of view.
Very interesting and readable. I read it one sitting on a long flight!
From the same guy as The Long Tail.
About what makes a successful person, looked at from a psychology and statistics point of view.
Very interesting and readable. I read it one sitting on a long flight!
"How to get rich" by Felix Dennis really is a very good book. Not how you'd expect it to be...
If you're interested in tradinng/financial markets, you can try Cityboy by Geraint Anderson or Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis. LP takes more interest in the actual workings of the markets, whereas Cityboy is simply a story... Cityboy actually made me laugh out loud at some points, which is quite an achievement for a book I think.
The Real Deal by James Caan is pretty interesting, as is Theo Paphitis' Enter The Dragon... Don't think anything to blow you out of the water though...
Lastly, a wildcard... The Game by Neil Strauss.
If you're interested in tradinng/financial markets, you can try Cityboy by Geraint Anderson or Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis. LP takes more interest in the actual workings of the markets, whereas Cityboy is simply a story... Cityboy actually made me laugh out loud at some points, which is quite an achievement for a book I think.
The Real Deal by James Caan is pretty interesting, as is Theo Paphitis' Enter The Dragon... Don't think anything to blow you out of the water though...
Lastly, a wildcard... The Game by Neil Strauss.
jon- said:
Posting from Malta on wifi, Boohoo was excellent. Recognised a few names from dealing with Venda too which made me smile. I can't believe how much money they wasted, it was cringe worthy at points! A great inside into that era of startups though.
Just starting "How to get rich"...
BooHoo was an ace book... the 3 that ran it were seriously sJust starting "How to get rich"...
te! how they ever made a business work amazes me .. would love to know what they are up to now!How to get rich was another ace book, nothing like the title suggests. Felix Dennis is a funny guy!
Half way though outliers and I'm only really reading it because I've nothing else to read. I'm finding the author is really labouring his point, for example he's taken about 50 pages so far stressing the point that having a birthday just after an age cutoff makes a difference, hardly rocket science!
Half way though outliers and I'm only really reading it because I've nothing else to read. I'm finding the author is really labouring his point, for example he's taken about 50 pages so far stressing the point that having a birthday just after an age cutoff makes a difference, hardly rocket science!
10JH said:
Outliers - Malcom Gladwell
From the same guy as The Long Tail.
About what makes a successful person, looked at from a psychology and statistics point of view.
Very interesting and readable. I read it one sitting on a long flight!
Gladwell didn't write "The Long Tail". I think it was Chris Anderson.From the same guy as The Long Tail.
About what makes a successful person, looked at from a psychology and statistics point of view.
Very interesting and readable. I read it one sitting on a long flight!
Gladwell's other iconic book is "The Tipping Point" is an excellent read. His follow up book "Blink" wasn't as good IMO. "Outliers" was interesting.
seaninog said:
10JH said:
Outliers - Malcom Gladwell
From the same guy as The Long Tail.
About what makes a successful person, looked at from a psychology and statistics point of view.
Very interesting and readable. I read it one sitting on a long flight!
Gladwell didn't write "The Long Tail". I think it was Chris Anderson.From the same guy as The Long Tail.
About what makes a successful person, looked at from a psychology and statistics point of view.
Very interesting and readable. I read it one sitting on a long flight!
Gladwell's other iconic book is "The Tipping Point" is an excellent read. His follow up book "Blink" wasn't as good IMO. "Outliers" was interesting.
Chris Anderson just wrote another book, 'Free' which was really interesting, though as with a lot of these books, doesn't acknowledge any exceptions to their rules. Worth a read still.
I read The Magic of Thinking Big when on holiday a few weeks ago. A business coach I know gave it to me and I'm really glad she did. It was like a slap in the face. It woke me up to quite a few things I was doing wrong and lit a fire under me so much so that I've already made a few large changes that have put us on course to more than double turnover this year.
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