Guy Kawasaki recently blogged about a book which has been increasing in rankings in part because of an online, interactive test that people can take to find out if they are the ones that the book is talking about (it deals with jerks in the workplace). Apparently anyone can take the test. Without a doubt, I believe that this would help increase sales of the book. So, why aren't the authors of "Now, Discover Your Strengths" doing that same thing? They have one of the best online tools that I've seen in a while that helps individuals identify the innate strengths that they have. You can only take the test if you buy a copy of their book first and get a keycode from inside. Even worse, if you buy the book used and the first person has already taken the test, you're out of luck. Their response: You should have bought it new. You can't buy a keycode. Not only is that some of the worst marketing that I've ever seen, but it seems incredibly arrogant. I understand that their is positioning and they may be trying to use the strengthsfinder tool as a tool to complement the book, but it would help spread the word and spread the ideas to offer it to everyone. I loved the book and wanted to do a summary of it for some classes and have the students take the profile. Apparently that can't happen without everyone in the class buying their own copy of the book. So you might think that this will help sell more copies, but instead, we're just not even going to mention the book or the strengthsfinder profile. Why mention something that the people can't access if you know they aren't going to go out and buy the book? So, lost sales versus position. It's a hard debate.

Labels: books

At the beginning of the month, I posted on the 2007 Mutual Theme for the Church, "Let Virtue Garnish Thy Thoughts Unceasingly..." We are going to provide content throughout the year in an effort to help individuals garnish their thoughts with virtue. In the original post, I included an audio reading of the Foreward and first section of James Allen's "As a Man Thinketh." Well, I am not a professional reader, so forgive any mistakes, coughs, or mouse clicks, or page turns that you might hear. But this content is public domain and so there is no copyright violation. I've finally finished the rest of the book. You can download it from this page and also find a lot more content in our Readings and Podcasts section of LDS Teen Help and Help for Guys. Undoubtedly, I will one day move these mp3s into a different folder called books/AsaManThinketh or Asamanthinketh or jamesallen or something to better organize them so that I don't have lots of mp3s sitting around unorganized. I will then probably update the Readings and Podcasts section links but forget about this post. When that happens, check the Readings section.

As a Man Thinketh

• Foreward
  
• Thought and Character
  
• Effect of Thought on Circumstance
  
• Effect of Thought on Health and the Body
  
• Thought and Purpose
  
• The Thought Factor in Achievement
  
• Visions and Ideals
  
• Serenity
  

Thanks, and keep looking back for more content.

Labels: books, lds, MP3

Well, it hasn't been 24 hours and it hit me that yesterday that I had decided to create a network map of books thinking that as I casually read I could take a few notes and have the information for the map. My reading is going to have to be a lot more intense. I'm going to have to create a new line for every time that a book is mentioned and label each line with a page reference and topic. I realized this as I continued reading Sanders' book and hit more Tipping Point references. There should be some indication that The Tipping Point was referenced more than others and I think multiple lines will do that. Yed will take into consideration the number of lines when it places the nodes. I'm going to create a Google spreadsheet to keep track of all of the information so that we can use it later to organize the references however we want. Anyone that wishes to become a collaborator on this one, just let me know. Also, if I'm going to keep reading at the gym, I'm going to have to get one of those bookmark pens. They're extremely small and just barely thicker than a large needle.

Labels: books, network mapping

I am in the middle of reading "Love is the Killer App" by Tim Sanders and as constantly recommended by Paul Allen. It didn't take long before I realized that I was going to have to make a list of the books that Tim talked about because it was more than a few. I then listed to a discussion by Malcom Gladwell and another by Steven Levitt in which they both referenced other authors. It seems like they are all familiar with each other and are constantly quoting one another and referencing ideas brought up in each other's books. I'm going to make a network map of books. I'll start with the one that I'm reading and as I go through it, I will make a list of those connected to it. As I go through those and other books, I'll do the same. I don't know if there will ever be an end to it, but maybe there is. Maybe there is a ring of books that reference each other. Of course there will always be other books that reference that ring, but unless it's connected by someone else referencing it, it most likely will not make it into our network map. I can already tell you that my own book list will make it just because I'm going to read them anyways and most of those on Paul Allen's list will make it because I respect his opinion on books. One that might be a node completely unattached, for example, is "Mindless Eating." I'm excited to read it, but I haven't seen it linked to by any other books. Well, the image involved will most likely be constantly changing, but I will try and make sure that I always update it. I'll also provide the ygf file for anyone that uses Yworks or Yed (which I recommend for any lightweight network mapping). I imagine that with this info we'll also be able to make a network map of the authors and then maybe the topics and which topics are linked to other authors, etc. Anyone can feel free to include their own networking and I'll add it to this. Also let me know if I make a mistake. You'll notice the different colors. These will probably change but right now the darker yellow is the book that I'm mapping or have mapped. The pastel green are those listed as a must read by the author and the pastel yellow are all others mentioned in the book. I'm only on page 76 of Sanders', so there is more to come.

YGF File Download

Labels: books, network mapping