An exuberant, mind-expanding, and at times enthralling call for inventive entrepreneurs.
In this debut book, an entrepreneur views intellectual capital as securing the world’s future.
Jain’s enthusiasm for the entrepreneurial mindset permeates a potent volume that is both a futuristic look at innovation and a recipe of sorts for success. Part 1 of this elegantly written treatise deeply explores in the broadest possible terms the thought processes of the entrepreneur. The author makes a solid case for the entrepreneur as an imaginative visionary. Jain, a serial entrepreneur, celebrates in particular those magnates who take “moonshots,” or reach for the impossible. He believes they “will emerge as leaders of the new world order,” a bold if not wildly audacious prediction. Equally daring are some of Jain’s educated guesses as to where entrepreneurial thinking will take readers in 30 to 50 years, examples intended to demonstrate exciting possibilities rather than accurately predict the future. The author waxes poetic about intellectual curiosity, motivation, perception, and wisdom, but none are more important than imagination—all elements embodied in the moonshot entrepreneur. Parts 2 and 3 of the book are shorter but no less enticing. Part 2 concentrates specifically on health care and education, two areas in which Jain thinks moonshots are sorely needed. Here, his pertinent illustrations are creative, stimulating, and thought-provoking; for example, his idea to “make illness ‘optional’ ” is discussed in the context of Viome, a company he founded, which works in the microbiome space. Part 3 is an exhortation for entrepreneurs to have “an openness to radical possibility” and to strive for moonshots, with some helpful advice for how to do so. “As long as you continue to learn,” advises the author, “you never really fail.” The “ten takeaways” offered at the end of Jain’s volume—written with Schroeter (Between the Strings, 2004, etc.)—encapsulate his thoughtful counsel. The prose conveys breathless, almost soaring optimism; the book exudes an infectious passion for the role of the disruptive entrepreneur in meeting the world’s challenges. There is so much genuine wisdom in this work that it is hard not to come away impressed with the breadth and depth of Jain’s insights.
An exuberant, mind-expanding, and at times enthralling call for inventive entrepreneurs.Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9997364-0-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Moonshots Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
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