Tag: Business

Richard Branson – Losing My Virginity | Review

Title: Losing My Virginity

Author: Richard Branson

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count: 520

Rating: 3.75/5

I’ve had this book lying around for a good few years now, but I’ve been putting off picking it up for whatever reason. It’s kind of strange really, because I remember giving the prologue a read back when I picked it up and quite enjoying it, I just never had the momentum to keep going. But that all changed when I had to travel back to Tamworth for a family engagement because it’s something of a tradition of mine for me to pick up my longest unread book.

One of the good things is that it’s actually misleading, because while this is quite long in terms of page count, it has pretty big text and a bunch of photographs in it too. It’s also just generally quite interesting, whether you’re a Branson fan or not. I can’t say that I knew too much about him going into it, but I had heard good things about this book and I knew that he was an interesting chap.

I guess the noteworthy thing here is the market that Branson was aiming for. It’s got a lot to offer just because he had an interesting, action-packed life, especially when it comes to some of his ballooning adventures. It also has a lot to teach you about what it takes to be successful in business, but they’re the kind of insights that you can apply at any kind of job, from a corporate role to self-employment.

I still haven’t made my mind up on what I think about Branson as a person, but I am glad that I know a little more about him. I think I pitched this book just about right because there’s no need to go out of your way to get to it in a rush. If you do see it lying around though, it’s not bad and worth your time. I’d definitely say it’s in the upper half of the “celebrityautobiographies that I’ve read throughout the years, at least in terms of quality.

It was also just a genuinely pleasurable reading experience, something that was nice and easy to absorb while still giving me a few little bits of food for thought. In fact, it basically set my expectations pretty well and then delivered exactly what I was hoping for from it. For a non-fiction memoir, I think that’s almost the best that you can hope for, and this really would have had to have been something quite special for it to stand out to me above all of the other great stuff that I’ve been reading.

This brings us on to the final question that I try to answer in my reviews, which is whether or not I’d recommend it. Honestly, I’d have to say yes, even if you have no particular reason for reading it. There’s a little something for everyone and while it’s not exactly going to hold up to a re-read, it was alright for a one time thing. Check it out, I guess.

Learn more about Losing My Virginity.


Kim Scott – Radical Candor | Review

Title: Radical Candor

Author: Kim Scott

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 250

Rating: 3/5

 

 

This is another one of the business books that I picked up and read because I had to write a spark notes style summary for a client. I actually listened to it on audio book first because that was what delivered to me, and then I had to buy another copy in paperback for my library.

The main issue that I had with this is that it felt as though there wasn’t enough here to fill the book. It’s the first book that I’ve read for this client so far where I’ve struggled to stretch the summary out to 2,000 words, although I do think that what Scott has to say is worth reading. I just think this could have been half the size and still communicated the core message.

The idea of radical candor is that people respect you more as a leader if you’re open and honest with them. One example of this in action is when Scott had an employee who was underperforming but who she also liked as a person. Instead of risking their friendship by confronting the employee, she kept on putting it off until eventually, his performance dropped to such a point that she had to let him go. Then, when she fired him, he was upset because he had no idea that he was doing anything wrong. It’s certainly food for thought.

 

 

Click here to buy Radical Candor.