by Rob Yeung
I do like Rob Yeung. Of course, I have never met him, but I have read three of his books and I do like the tone of them. Simple, straight forward and personal, in that his own values come through.
(In fact, the book might inspire more than one person to stop and define what personal success means to them.)
The Extra One Per Cent will surely prove inspiring to entrepreneurs and those people who have big goals in mind, as it is full of success stories and ways of dissecting big plans to make them viable, as well as building self-confidence.
I particularly liked the reminder of the importance of relationships in attaining your goals. In his chapter on “Daring” (one of the capabilities of exceptional people), he describes a stepwise approach to working towards your goals. Then, in considering each step, he suggests thinking about “Who can/should help you?”. As someone who has never had a problem in asking for or giving help, I think this is fantastic (and essential) advice.
And while on the subject of goals, I also welcome his suggestion of being guided by positive goals rather than negative goals (e.g. “I want to run more workshops” rather than “I want to avoid having only one client”) and much prefer his PAST mnemonic (what a great word, mnemonic…) for effective goals: Positive, Ambitious, Specific, Timed – a more energy-charged term than the widely used SMART.
As someone who advocates for making room for creativity at work, I really welcome a few of his other points:
– “Creativity” does not mean “artistry”;
– One can experience “flow” and develop one’s creativity in any kind of job, it just has to be right for you.
The scientist in me continues to ask all the time: “How do you know?”, “Where is the proof”? And indeed, this is something that Rob Yeung does well, by supporting most of his suggestions and advice with research from studies and experiments (all neatly referenced at the back of the book for further reading). Of course plenty of the material comes from anecdotes, his own experience and gut feeling – else the book would lose its soul!
So, if you are looking for a light read, full of research, practical advice and inspirational stories, do go The Extra One Percent. And, as always, if you can think of any other literature along the same lines, please post your recommendation here!
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Think Write Draw 