The Art of Being Unreasonable: Lessons in Unconventional Thinking [Tapa dura]

Eli Broad's title, The Art of Being Unreasonable, is misleading. Instead of being unreasonable, Broad champions logic over the unreasonable desire to stick to convention because it's comfortable. He advocates efficiency in every aspect of life. Both nuggets are good advice, but I can find little else in the way of practical, specific advice that the title indicates I'll get.

Instead, Broad's book is a memoir. It's well written, brief, and easy to read.

But I didn't pick this book up because I was interested in his life story. I could've found that on the internet. For that, I can't give his heavily marketed book more than two stars.

Although I am retired from corporate America and now enjoy the nonprofit sector I can't seem to grow out of my love for business books. This is a terrific one and like the good ones Broad's advice applies to business, art and life in general. The provocative title may lead the reader to think that it is another rant by yet another billionaire with a puffed-up chest, but it is compact, surprisingly subdued, sometimes self-deprecating and shines the spotlight on his team over the years--especially his wife, Edythe. I highly recommend it for anyone with an entrepreneurial dream, a tough management job or a thirst for learning about an amazing success story.

Saw this book at the Broad museum in East Lansing, and picked up a copy to read on my e-reader.

Read it in a day, found it to be a fun and inspirational page-turner. One of the reasons I enjoyed this book is that he is an incredibly successful man who doesn't theorize about life - he just went out and did it. Think that a lot of the things he wrote in the book can help everyone be more critical with their time, and also more giving.

One of the favorite quotes from the book:

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends upon the unreasonable man." - George Bernard Shaw

Here are some things I personally took away/learned from the book:

1. Help people meet their essential needs

2. Be unreasonable

3. Research, meticulously

4. Appeal to the interest of others

5. Ask a lot of questions

6. Revise expectations upward

7. Take risks

8. Seek out the best in your work

9. Seek the best in yourself

10. Be focused in your goals

11. Ask: "why not?"

12. "Conventional wisdom abhors innovation."

13. Keep innovating, keep moving!

14. Learn from the mistakes of others in history

15. Be stingy with your time

16. Delegate work efficiently (but do critical work yourself)

17. Put your money where your mouth is

18. Invest in solid mutual funds (don't do it yourself)

19. Focus on assymetric opportunities (when the payoff is higher than the downside)

20. Diversify or die

21. Ask people: "Is this the best you can do?"

22. Keep control of your emotions when making decisions

23. Don't wait for opportunities, create them

24. It is better to be respected, than loved

25. Share the things that you love (you wouldn't want to cook a nice meal just for yourself)