Summary: Simply Better


Book Description

The must-read summary of Patrick Barwise and Sean Meehan's book: "Simply Better: Winning and Keeping Customers by Delivering What Matters Most". This complete summary of the ideas from Patrick Barwise and Sean Meehan's book "Simply Better" highlights how the benefits of differentiation have been overstated. Instead of wanting something unique or even a cutting edge product, most customers simply want a quality product at a fair price which does what it promises consistently well. In their book, the authors encourage you not to obsess over trivial points of difference, gimmicks, branding or outside-the-box thinking and instead do the basics well. This summary offers six rules that you can follow to ensure that you perfect the basics and exceed your customers' expectations to deliver long-term success. Added-value of this summary: • Save time • Understand key concepts • Expand your business knowledge To learn more, read "Simply Better" and discover the key to delivering excellence by perfecting the basics.




Simply Better


Book Description

In this radically conservative book, the authors advocate a back-to-basics approach to marketing that replaces the relentless quest for differentiation with a relentless focus on these types of basic customer needs The authors’ research shows that most companies have been ignoring the basics for too long. At the heart of the authors’ approach is a view of why customers buy what they do. Barwise and Meehan argue that marketers must understand what customers want from the entire product or service category. So rather than focus on new luxury attributes for a specific car —marketers need to understand what basic needs customers have for automobiles in general (ie: safety, handling, etc). Once they figure that out—they need to deliver on those basic needs better than everyone else.




Simply Said


Book Description

Master the art of communication to improve outcomes in any scenario Simply Said is the essential handbook for business communication. Do you ever feel as though your message hasn't gotten across? Do details get lost along the way? Have tense situations ever escalated unnecessarily? Do people buy into your ideas? It all comes down to communication. We all communicate, but few of us do it well. From tough presentations to everyday transactions, there is no scenario that cannot be improved with better communication skills. This book presents an all-encompassing guide to improving your communication, based on the Exec|Comm philosophy: we are all better communicators when we focus focus less on ourselves and more on other people. More than just a list of tips, this book connects skills with scenarios and purpose to help you hear and be heard. You'll learn the skills to deliver great presentations and clear and persuasive messages, handle difficult conversations, effectively manage, lead with authenticity and more, as you discover the secrets of true communication. Communication affects every interaction every day. Why not learn to do it well? This book provides comprehensive guidance toward getting your message across, and getting the results you want. Shift your focus from yourself to other people Build a reputation as a good listener Develop your written and oral communications for the greatest impact Inspire and influence others Communicate more effectively in any business or social situation Did that email come across as harsh? Did you offend someone unintentionally? Great communication skills give you the power to influence someone's thinking and guide them to where you need them to be. Simply Said teaches you the critical skills that make you more effective in business and in life.




Better, Simpler Strategy


Book Description

Named one of the best strategy books of 2021 by strategy+business Get to better, more effective strategy. In nearly every business segment and corner of the world economy, the most successful companies dramatically outperform their rivals. What is their secret? In Better, Simpler Strategy, Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee shows how these companies achieve more by doing less. At a time when rapid technological change and global competition conspire to upend traditional ways of doing business, these companies pursue radically simplified strategies. At a time when many managers struggle not to drown in vast seas of projects and initiatives, these businesses follow simple rules that help them select the few ideas that truly make a difference. Better, Simpler Strategy provides readers with a simple tool, the value stick, which every organization can use to make its strategy more effective and easier to execute. Based on proven financial mechanics, the value stick helps executives decide where to focus their attention and how to deepen the competitive advantage of their business. How does the value stick work? It provides a way of measuring the two fundamental forces that lead to value creation and increased financial success—the customer's willingness-to-pay and the employee's willingness-to-sell their services to the business. Companies that win, Oberholzer-Gee shows, create value for customers by raising their willingness-to-pay, and they provide value for talent by lowering their willingness-to-sell. The approach, proven in practice, is entirely data driven and uniquely suited to be cascaded throughout the organization. With many useful visuals and examples across industries and geographies, Better, Simpler Strategy explains how these two key measures enable firms to gauge and improve their strategies and operations. Based on the author's sought-after strategy course, this book is your must-have guide for making better strategic decisions.




Just Listen


Book Description

Getting through to someone is a critical, fine art. Whether you are dealing with a harried colleague, a stressed-out client, or an insecure spouse, things will go from bad to worse if you can't break through emotional barricades and get your message thoroughly communicated and registered. Drawing on his experience as a psychiatrist, business consultant, and coach, author Mark Goulston combines his background with the latest scientific research to help you turn the “impossible” and “unreachable” people in their lives into allies, devoted customers, loyal colleagues, and lifetime friends. In Just Listen, Goulston provides simple yet powerful techniques you can use to really get through to people including how to: make a powerful and positive first impression; listen effectively; make even a total stranger (potential client) feel understood; talk an angry or aggressive person away from an instinctual, unproductive reaction and toward a more rational mindset; and achieve buy-in--the linchpin of all persuasion, negotiation, and sales. Whether they're coworkers, friends, strangers, or enemies, the first make-or-break step in persuading anyone to do anything is getting them to hear you out. The invaluable principles in Just Listen will get you through that first tough step with anyone. With this groundbreaking book, you will be able to master the fine but critical art of effective communication.




Simply Christian


Book Description

Why is justice fair? Why are so many people pursuing spirituality? Why do we crave relationship? And why is beauty so beautiful? N. T. Wright argues that each of these questions takes us into the mystery of who God is and what he wants from us. For two thousand years Christianity has claimed to answer these mysteries, and this renowned biblical scholar and Anglican bishop shows that it still does today. Like C. S. Lewis did in his classic Mere Christianity, Wright makes the case for Christian faith from the ground up, assuming that the reader is starting from ground zero with no predisposition to and perhaps even some negativity toward religion in general and Christianity in particular. His goal is to describe Christianity in as simple and accessible, yet hopefully attractive and exciting, a way as possible, both to say to outsides ÔYou might want to look at this further,Ö and to say to insiders ÔYou may not have quite understood this bit clearly yet.Ö




Atomic Habits Summary (by James Clear)


Book Description

SUMMARY: ATOMIC HABITS: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. This book is not meant to replace the original book but to serve as a companion to it. ABOUT ORIGINAL BOOK: Atomic Habits can help you improve every day, no matter what your goals are. As one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, James Clear reveals practical strategies that will help you form good habits, break bad ones, and master tiny behaviors that lead to big changes. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. Instead, the issue is with your system. There is a reason bad habits repeat themselves over and over again, it's not that you are not willing to change, but that you have the wrong system for changing. “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems” - James Clear I’m a huge fan of this book, and as soon as I read it I knew it was going to make a big difference in my life, so I couldn’t wait to make a video on this book and share my ideas. Here is a link to James Clear’s website, where I found he uploads a tonne of useful posts on motivation, habit formation and human psychology. DISCLAIMER: This is an UNOFFICIAL summary and not the original book. It designed to record all the key points of the original book.




Gnomon


Book Description

From the widely acclaimed author of The Gone-Away World and Tigerman, comes a virtuosic new novel set in a near-future, high-tech surveillance state, that is equal parts dark comedy, gripping detective story, and mind-bending philosophical puzzle. "A Pynchonesque mega-novel that periodically calls to mind the films of Inception and The Matrix…. What a ride!" —The Washington Post In the world of Gnomon, citizens are constantly observed and democracy has reached a pinnacle of 'transparency.' Every action is seen, every word is recorded, and the System has access to its citizens' thoughts and memories—all in the name of providing the safest society in history. When suspected dissident Diana Hunter dies in government custody, it marks the first time a citizen has been killed during an interrogation. The System doesn't make mistakes, but something isn't right about the circumstances surrounding Hunter's death. Mielikki Neith, a trusted state inspector and a true believer in the System, is assigned to find out what went wrong. Immersing herself in neural recordings of the interrogation, what she finds isn't Hunter but rather a panorama of characters within Hunter's psyche: a lovelorn financier in Athens who has a mystical experience with a shark; a brilliant alchemist in ancient Carthage confronting the unexpected outcome of her invention; an expat Ethiopian painter in London designing a controversial new video game, and a sociopathic disembodied intelligence from the distant future. Embedded in the memories of these impossible lives lies a code which Neith must decipher to find out what Hunter is hiding. In the static between these stories, Neith begins to catch glimpses of the real Diana Hunter—and, alarmingly, of herself. The staggering consequences of what she finds will reverberate throughout the world. A dazzling, panoramic achievement, and Nick Harkaway's most brilliant work to date, Gnomon is peerless and profound, captivating and irreverent, as it pierces through strata of reality and consciousness, and illuminates how to set a mind free. It is a truly accomplished novel from a mind possessing a matchless wit infused with a deep humanity.




Work Simply


Book Description

Make work simple by using the tools and tactics that are right for you Your time is under attack. You just can’t get enough done. You find yourself wondering where the hours go. You’ve tried every time-management system you can get your hands on—and they’ve only succeeded in making your work more complicated. Sound familiar? If you sometimes feel you spend more time managing your productivity than doing actual work, it’s time for a change. In Work Simply, renowned productivity expert Carson Tate offers a step-by-step guide to making work simple again by using the style that works best for you. Tate has helped thousands of men and women better manage their time and become more productive. Her success owes partly to the realization that most of us fit into one of four distinct productivity styles: Arrangers, who think about their projects in terms of the people involved; Prioritizers, who are the definition of “goal-oriented”; Visualizers, who possess a unique ability to comprehend the big picture; and Planners, who live for the details. In this book, you’ll learn How to identify your own productivity style as well as the styles of those around you—bosses, coworkers, staff, and family. How to select your “tools of the trade” to maximize your effectiveness, from the style of pen you use to the way you decorate your office. When face-to-face conversations are more effective than e-mails—and vice versa. What it takes to lead the perfect meeting. Why a messy desk is right for some, but a disaster for others—and how to tell. After reading Work Simply, you’ll come away with a productivity system that truly and fundamentally fits you—and you’ll never feel overwhelmed again.




Simply Better


Book Description

We already know what works in schools; we just need to focus on getting it right. This is the premise of Simply Better: Doing What Matters Most to Change the Odds for Student Success, which offers a practical, research-based framework for improving student achievement. According to author Bryan Goodwin, decades of research have shown time and again that focusing on the following five essential practices can vastly increase students' chances of doing well in school: * Guaranteeing that instruction is challenging, engaging, and intentional * Ensuring curricular pathways to success * Providing whole-child student supports * Creating high-performance school cultures * Developing data-driven, high-reliability district systems Whether at the district-, school-, or classroom-level, educators don't need to reinvent the wheel or pursue the latest trends to ensure that students succeed. This powerful book reveals what research clearly shows works best in schools, and provides a valuable blueprint for turning that knowledge into visible results.