Insights and Paths of Action from the Best Books

The book: Charles Duhigg explains how habits are created and how they can be changed. In the first section, the author explains what neuroscientists and social scientists have discovered about habits. Like every chapter, this one is full of real stories that illustrate the concepts. Then, with a similar approach, Duhigg explains organizational habits and how they affect a company's culture and performance. In this section, he also tells how much big companies know about us (what you think is not even close) and how they use that information to change our buying habits. In the third chapter, Duhigg focuses on social habits (that is, habits shared by large communities) using examples from the civil rights movement and a thriving church. In the prologue, the author summarizes the process to change a habit. Takeaways and Paths of Action:  How to change a bad habit Bad habits can be biting nails, eating the candy that you promised you wouldn't, not exercising, spend...

The book: Dale Carnegie was famous for his training programs in  self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills, and he has condensed most of his lectures into this book .  The book is divided into principles that the author explains and illustrates with stories from Amerian public figures or his own students. This book is practical, universal, and can improve your life immensely. I recommend reaming it entirely. T akeaways and Paths of Action: 1. A person's name is to that person the most beautiful sound in any language: "I am bad with names" is the most ridiculous excuse somebody has come up with. Anybody can remember another person's name if they put enough effort into it. (And it is worth it!) Try repeating the other person's name many times during the conversation. For example: "Gloria, nice to meet you, Gloria!" or "Nuria, where does your name come from" You will be surprised by...

The book: Ashlee Vance takes an in-depth look at Elon Musk's life and events that shaped his personality and goals. There's information about how Musk sees life, work, and relationships. In the first chapters, the author talks about Elon's family and childhood, which was influenced by his grandfather and a bad relationship with his dad. Later, Vance tells stories about Musk's college life and first businesses. Despite his initial reluctance, Elon Musk participated in the creation of this book, that is what makes it so real and special.  Takeaways and Paths of Action: 1. Create the right environment: While Elon Musk refuses to spend a couple thousand of dollars in electronics that he thought could be developed for less, he spends hundreds of thousands in factory floors, work areas, and inclusive-workspaces. Look for things that improve productivity, like high-speed internet, close or shared desks, available printers, and so on. Ans why not a coffee machine ...

The book: Ray Dalio, billionaire investor and founder of Bridgewater Associates, explains his proven systematic approach to life and business.  He thinks of himself and the organization he manages as hypothetical goal-oriented machines and develops algorithms (or principles) to achieve the "machine's" goals. It is very information heavy if you consider all the principles he shares (100+). The main idea, however, is to understand how to build an idea meritocracy, which he explains, and to guide your personal decisions based on your own values and principles. Takeaways and Paths of Action: 1. Planning: The planning process is pretty mainstream; you set goals, identify problems, identify the root of the issues, consider alternatives, choose, act, and evaluate at the end. However, some things are often missed. a. Don't tailor the mission to the available people but find the right people to accomplish the mission. b. Use checklists and measurable objective...