In my never-ending quest for awesome images / metaphors / similes / sentences, I came across this gem:
It’s like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell.
– Steve Jobs on why Windows users love iTunes’ jukebox software so much.
From Scott Rosenberg’s excellent recap of the Gates / Jobs conversation at the D conference today.
Penelope Trunk’s book Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success is an excellent guidebook for under 30 year-olds who are trying to make sense of what they can and should do with their careers.
She presents quick hitter after quick hitter, every few pages introducing a new pithy "rule" such as "Be a Sponge" or "A Resume is a Sales Tool, Not a Work Summary" or "Hunting for a Job is a Lifestyle" or "The Difference Between Fear and Excitement is Breathing". Most of her advice is spot-on.
Penelope tries to be provocative, and she succeeds. And she does it with the same honest, accessible voice that’s made her a successful columnist online and in the Boston Globe.
The only weakness in the book is its lack of in-depth stories and narrative. For me, longer stories are a fantastic way to really understand the issues at hand, and more, I tend to remember the lessons well beyond 24 hours after reading the book. If you like longer prose where the messages are a tad more subtle and nuanced, I recommend you pair a Po Bronson book with Penelope’s.
All in all, though, Brazen Careerist is an awesome resource for young people thinking about their career. I also recommend Penelope’s blog. She’s a great person.
Marty Nemko is probably the top career coach in the country, editing the career section for U.S. News & World Report as well as hosting a popular radio show in the Bay Area. I had the pleasure of being a guest on his show the other week and we chatted for thirty minutes. Here’s the link (Real Player only). Below are the show notes / his questions. I actually haven’t listened to it yet, but I recall an entertaining conversation.
1:50 – Do you really have any doubts that entrepreneurship is The Way?
2:30 – Why not being a medical researcher or heading a non-profit or being a government leader?
3:15 – Is your motivation really is to change the world?
3:30 – If your motivation is a pie, what percentage of the pie is to make big bucks? What percentage is to change the world? The percentage to make fun? What is the real ratio for Ben?
4:06 – I was fascinated by the way you spend a typical day; I want you to describe in micro detail, start from the minute you wake up. Tell me what time you wake up and tell me microscopically what you do because in the details are lots of clues to what makes you different than the millions of nineteen year olds are lacking.
4:31 – Did you cut classes in all of those days?
6:27 – You and me have a drive to get a ton done, how many hours a week would you say you are working?
7:05 – Can you, from your nineteen year old perspective, do you have any ideas as to what differentiates nuts like us from other folks?
7:35 – Were you not motivated before those people?
8:30 – Would you call happy somebody like Mother Teresa who died in poverty helping people, living in squalor and fighting malaria and all of that. I would say that she was content which in my judgment should be the goal of life, but I certainly cannot define that as happy.
9:34 – Could you describe high school for us please?
10:29 – Tell me something more, give me a specific anecdote that comes to mind about your high school life. I know you spent a lot of time cutting and going and doing your business and then going back to school, but you’re still got school and you’re still very much a part of that community. You play basketball for your high school. Give me an anecdote that exemplifies the BS of high school life.
12:38 – Why would you go to college rather than follow the rule of Steve Case or Michael Dell?
12:58 – Opportunity costs means that instead of spending a hundred and fifty thousand, or any brand name school, and years of time when your mind and energy is at its absolute maximum, think what a guy with a potential like Ben Casnocha could be doing in not just starting a business but experiencing and learning and even the dabbling you were saying, look at that as the opportunity cost.
15:00 – One of the things that you’ve done well is you network well. How much of that is simply…you’re a nice guy, you’re an interesting guy, you’re smart, you’re a verbal guy, you’re a handsome guy…very easy to network! What advice do you have for the rest of us who don’t make a great first impression?
15:34 – What if you’re shy? Studies show that 41% of people are shy. What if you’re one of those 41%?
16:35 – One of your great networking successes was you got to attend the Keiretsu Forum and thereby met a billionaire. Walk me through the steps of how you networked your way into that.
18:26 – How did you meet Marc Benioff? I mean Salesforce.com is one of the hottest hosted software companies in the world. How did you meet him?
22:00 – Do you believe that you would have been significantly less successful in the absence of your father? Your father’s tutelage and/or the lead he initially gave you?
23:42 – Tell us about the BlackBerry story.
24:55 – Since then have you checked your Blackberry in the car?
29:56 – What keeps you up at night? What do really think hard about?
31:42 – Being an entrepreneur is the key to being sure you’ll never be obsolete. Do you buy that?
A good analogy does not just invoke some chance resemblance between the thing being explained and the thing introduced to explain it. It capitalizes on a deep similarity between the principles that govern the two things…A good analogy helps you think: the more you ponder it, the better you understand the phenomenon. But all too often in Angier’s writing, the similarity is sound-deep: the more you ponder the allusion, the worse you understand the phenomenon.
This is Steven Pinker, reviewing a book on scientific illiteracy.
The most impressive thinkers I know are quick on their feet with analogies. Good use of analogies doesn’t just represent a communication skill. It’s a thinking skill. It’s making sense of a thing based on its relationship to other things. It’s viewing an idea in context and explaining it to others as such.
Anyone have tips for how we can improve on this thinking skill, besides being self-aware of its importance?
I’ve always loved haiku. And with my new interest in all things Japan, my interest in haiku has risen correspondingly. (Female sources also whisper from the shadows that poetry helps a man get in touch with his soft side?)
The best haiku experiment I’ve done was for my birthday last year, when I asked dozens of adult friends what they regret not doing when they were younger. Many answered, per my request, in haiku form.
Last week venture capitalist Brad Feld asked his readers to submit their best haikus with the word “start-up” in it. We’re happy to announce the winner, Scott Yates, who will receive an autographed copy of my book My Start-Up Life in the mail:
startups, like parents,
get heaps of good, bad advice.
which bits to ignore?
There were several other good entries which you can read in the comments to Brad’s post. One last-second entry made me chuckle:
Jack Bauer start-up
damnit damnit damnit damn
it damnit damnit
In other book news, here are some reviews that have been trickling in from early readers (who I don’t know personally):
“Ben holds nothing back in his account, describing all the successes and failures, good decisions and mistakes that he experienced along the way. For anyone interested in the entrepreneurial process, this account will prove very revealing.”
– David Wilson
“What’s…jaw opening is the level of wisdom and self-awareness he displays. A simply written yet remarkably direct, honest, and, yes, a bit heart-wrenching account about a lost teenagerhood.”
– Barbara Jacobs, American Library Association
“When it comes right down to it, this book should help everyone realize that if you want to get somewhere, you have to continuously battle through sticky situations with an undying desire to learn, willingness to teach yourself, eagerness to find new information, an egoless disposition that makes it easy to ask for help when you need it, and on a very basic level, how to continue putting one foot in front of the other. On a lighter note…this story will not only give you inspiration, but will make you spit coffee if you are not careful. For such a young writer, you wouldn’t expect the entertainment level of the book to be so high. But it is.”
– In Bubble Wrap, Business Book Reviews from 800CEORead.com.
“Even if you’re not an entrepreneur, this book offers lots of great anecdotes and ideas that will help you do any job better or improve your career path…. He has a crisp, clear writing style that wastes little time on platitudes and navel-gazing and focuses more on sharing his lessons learned and vision.”
– Chip Griffen
“If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, this book will give you the kick in the ass you need to start doing something about it.”
– Ryan Healey