Anyone who has followed me over the last few years will have noticed that each successive book gets shorter and more expensive. Kick-Start was 298 pages and £10.99 and the most recent Beating The Credit Crunch was 98 pages for £20.00.
Well, the next book will be even shorter. In fact, this may well be it! But I won’t be charging for it.
In 20 years time, by a logarithmic progression, the book would be condensed to just over a page. Rather than waiting all that time I thought that we should just cut to the chase.
Those of you who have followed the “Stop P***ing Around” and “Take Massive Action” book chapters, blogs, articles and presentations probably know exactly where all this is going...
All my work has a series of specific themes running through it. The themes inter-relate and support each other. They are as follows
Theme 1: Be clear about what you want
Theme 2: Be clear about:
* Where are you now?
* Where are you going? Where do you want to be?
* How are you going to get there?
Theme 3: Focus on what you want and how you are going to achieve it
Theme 4: If in doubt, “Fake it till you make it!”
Theme 5: Stop p***ing about! Take massive bloody action.
That’s it. All the rest is commentary.
RELEVANT LINKS
Checklist For Success - blog post
Entrepreneurial Qualities - blog post
Seeing The Bright Side - blog post
Bish! Bash! Bosh! - article
32 comments:
This is exactly right. Dare I say, profound. You have got to the nub of it.
Mark
No - you are too modest... Try:
"The shortest, best, most profound and only business book you need ever bother to read!"
Madge (Creep, creep)
sweet.
But Robert, how are we supposed to do all this???
We need detailed manuals,step by step guides, plans, work-flow charts etc etc etc.
We don't need shorter books, we need even larger ones, larger than Kick-Start was/is!
How on earth do you expect business owners to get anywhere with only these 5 short themes without you holding their hand and guiding them through every single step. It's not fair!!
;-) ;-)
Karin H (Keep It Simple Sweetheart, specially in business)
Karin
I like your sense of humour. The answer:
YOU
JUST
DO
IT
----------
end of story.
There I was hoping on a never-ending story ;-)
Karin H
If I have got it right then I can stop writing now.
(Unless I can make it even shorter!)
RC
A mini masterpiece!!
Revisiting!
No-one likes a smart Alec but this is rather good.
S
Just received this anonymous email:
Again Mr C - you hit the sweet spot.
Numerous courses whitter on about all manner of stuff. Numerous books do the same. Yet the reality is simple.
Very flattering but anonymous.
Anonymous because ... I am not sure why. Anyway, thank you...
Saw this form Dave Clarke:
What comes first in business networking?
The first habit of highly effective people is being proactive* according to the best selling book by by Stephen R. Covey. I was reminded of this when reviewing the video interview in my recent post, 'Just how important is a network in business?'.The last question I was asked in that interview was what key piece of advice I would give to someone new in business.
I was pleased to find my answer in line with some great advice from Robert Craven in his article, 'The Shortest Book on Business?'. According to Robert success is down to some very simple basics - clarity, focus, confidence and activity. And as he says in regard to activity, "Take Massive Action".
It's great advice for networking your business. You do need to be clear about what you do and who for. Some people, however, spend huge amounts of time and energy on honing their service offerings before undertaking any business development activity.
The important thing is not to put off the activity itself. Go out confidently and build your network first and they will help you refine your messages and offerings.
http://business-networking.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-comes-first-in-business-networking.html
I am going to cut and paste (again) from my comments from your 'what is the message?' post:
"1) It is all your fault
2) Stop procrastinating
3) Speed is of the essence
4) Decide which side of the fence you're going to sit on
5) Just do it - now
6) Take massive action
7) DIY my foot!"
see also
http://www.directorscentre.com/article-elusive-magic-million-GB.php
and also
http://www.directorscentre.com/article-how-to-energise-your-business.php
and finally
"Now is the time to step back and review the business (performance to date, the potential to grow) and put together a simple plan (one page maximum) to get you onwards and upwards. Stop procrastinating. Decide what you are going to do and do it, but do it properly. Stop playing around the edges… be decisive and take action."
http://www.thedc.co.uk/article-recession-blues-SYB.php
OK - I'll stop now otherwise it starts looking a bit creepy and you'll think I am a stalker.
Peter, time to stop! You can get blacklisted for less!
Jeremy
I think this puts your message across in a very crisp manner. Yes, it appears elsewhere (thank you Peter) but this is a good aide-memoire.
And so short and to the point. Even better.
Very neat.
You can't make it shorter. A world record?
Brilliant concept. Naff image. Surely you can do better than this (in terms of the image).
ed
and no, I am not a graphics artist or branding person
Who needs research when you can fit the key messages on the back of business card. This is what I call a blueprint.
Phew. Great. Finished in one reading.
Yes. Very precise and succinct.
Enough flattery.
This is really right on the button. Too many people faff and dither when action is nearly always the right answer. Yes, you need to think first but not for too long.
Hurray. the truth is out. Most biz books are over long nonsense.
Brad
Hurray. the truth is out. Most biz books are over long nonsense.
Brad
Who needs research when you can fit the key messages on the back of business card. This is what I call a blueprint.
You can't make it shorter. A world record?
Peter, time to stop! You can get blacklisted for less!
Jeremy
There I was hoping on a never-ending story ;-)
Karin H
This is exactly right. Dare I say, profound. You have got to the nub of it.
Mark
Check out the Shortest Effective Business Book (www.theshortestbusinessbook.com) - doesn't get much shorter than that!
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