Snowpocalypse: Snowed In with Business Books
If you are in the Mid-Atlantic region you know what I speak of when I refer to the weekend’s blizzard as Snowpocalypse (or Snowmageddon). It was major snowfall, even for this Idaho girl. We ventured out briefly to trot around the city and take pictures of the sites in the snow, but most of the time was spent inside, catching up on some much neglected business book reading.
- A view from the back of the very white White House
- Snow maiden sculpted near the Capital
- The view up 11th Street NW
- Heavy snow means tree casualties
- Washington Monument through the fog
There’s no better time to catch up on some past due business reading than when you’re snowed in. If you’re like me, you probably have several books in the rotation, plus a couple that are on your desk or nightstand that are in queue. My most recent conquest:
Crush It: Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion (by Gary Vaynerchuk)
I recommend this book. It’s short and conversational, much like reading a blog. The content is a good mixture of anecdotes, detailed “how-to”s, and sage advice. While the social media information is fairly basic, I still felt that it was a good reminder. Most importantly, this book reinforced the importance of really doing what you love. I feel fortunate that I do that already, and even more fortunate that now is a great time to actually make a living doing what I love.
The books currently in the rotation:
ProBlogger: Secrets to Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income (by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett)
While I am only 2 chapters in to this book, I already find it to be very informative. In fact, I stopped after two chapters so that I could start working on some of their suggested exercises. This book definitely falls under “How-To” manual.
I was fortunate enough to hear Keith speak last year at Inc. Magazine’s GrowCo conference. This book is Good to Great for the smaller guys. Keith and his team took solid metrics and found a handful of businesses that have not only
survived but thrived by breaking through the entrepreneurial phase into the solid, established business phase. This aspect makes The Breakthrough Company even more fascinating to me than Good to Great as it feels closer to home.
What business book did you just finish reading and what do you have in the rotation?
Leave a comment and we’ll send you a copy of Gary’s book, Crush It!
Author: Alexandra Gibson
Alexandra is the CEO of Gibson Design Management and Managing Partner of interior design firm, Gibson Design Group. When she's not busy trying to build an empire, you can find Alexandra riding a horse, giving back to the community, playing with her Scottie, McCord, or drinking a martini (preferably not all four at once).
Follow Alexandra on TwitterTags: Alexandra Gibson, business books, Chris Garrett, contest, Crush It, Darren Rowse, Gary Vaynerchuk, Gibson Design Management, giveaway, GrowCo conference, Inc. Magazine, interior design management, Keith McFarland, ProBlogger, Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, The Breakthrough Company
This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 4:12 pm and is filed under Blogging, Business Development, Education, Fun Stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
February 8th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Just finished “Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days” by Jessica Livingston. Great insight!
Next up – “Linchpin” (Seth Godin).
February 8th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
Just finishing a re-read of The Next Level by James Wood. This is one I used while participating in an Inc. Business Coaching Program way before “the storm.” It is a really good “how to book” to find where you are in the business cycle and to plan to move up!
No snow here in Baton Rouge, but weatherman says there’s a chance by the end of the week!
Also making my way through Game Change and it is great for behind the scenes looks at strategies and game plans for political campaigns as well as the rest of the stuff that we might find ourselves doing.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
@Melissa I read Founders at Work a while back and thought it was a great book
I just started Blue Ocean Strategy after I finished up Stealing MySpace. Stealing MySpace was interesting, not as good as I thought, but gave a good deal of background on how MySpace was started and why it is failing now.
February 15th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Twitter Comment
What business books are you reading? Let us know & be entered to win a copy of @garyvee’s Crush It! Drawing on Friday! [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
February 15th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
Starting on “Change By Design” by Tim Brown (CEO of IDEO) in preparation for Brown’s talk/workshop at Darden later this week.
Also reading “Smart Financial Management” by William Sihler et al. for a Darden seminar I’m taking (Finanacial Management of Small Enterprises) with Dr. Sihler.
February 15th, 2010 at 6:16 pm
Currently reading “A Whole New Mind” by Dan Pink….pretty good so far!
February 15th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell. Blog readers may know his previous works, The Tipping Point (2002) and Blink (2007). This is not something I would normally read, but the reviews intrigued me.
I’m half way through and have already decided to read his prior books. Highly recommended.
February 15th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
I’m reading Success Principles by Jack Canfield — great material, very easy read and lots of “aha!” take-aways! I highly recommend it!
February 23rd, 2010 at 11:58 am
Congratulations Melissa Buck! You are the winner of Crush It! Please email alexandra@gibsondesignmanagement.com and give me your address so that I can send it on from Amazon.
All other entries- thank you so much for letting us know what you’re reading. These are a lot of great books that we now want to add to our bookshelves (and more importantly our reading lists!).
Let’s hope that the Mid-Atlantic is done with this snow stuff and can move on to some warm weather and sitting out in the warm sun with the books.