The Right Decision: A Mathematician Reveals How the Secrets of Decision Theory - A Review

I love this book! But solutions to some of the questions didn't sit well with me.

In "Hacking It", I felt the 2nd possible solution was the better bet compared to the 3rd because if you stayed at a well-paying job for a little while, you'd be able to have enough financially to start off as an independent contractor. Even if you had a lot of contacts, it won't matter much if you can't even stay afloat for a few months while waiting for payment from your clients.

Sometimes, I think the author is purposefully trying to make sure that the right solution never involves taking a life. While that is correct, I do wonder whether it made sense to let Napoleon live as in the "Nine Lives" quiz. I didn't think that the exile solutions were best because he was a popular guy. And I think he didn't escape from Elba without some help.

Flip: How to Turn Everything You Know on Its Head--and Succeed Beyond Your Wildest Imaginings - A Review

Really liked this book. His writing is engaging and the book is filled with a lot of examples.

What I really liked what his “Fast, Good, Cheap – Pick 3 & add Something Extra” concept. For many years, I always believed that 2 out of 3 would be good enough, but Sheahan has proven that it’s no longer so because all 3 are actually achievable and are no longer points of difference for business but are now entry requirements. If you wanna play, you’ve gotta have all that or don’t bother.

And I do agree with his position on ‘sweating on the small stuff’. I think it’s important that it’s not just one or a few of the small details that need to be looked into, but a series of small stuff that can add up to a profitable bigger picture.

Herd: How to Change Mass Behaviour by Harnessing Our True Nature - A Review

Fantastic! It's a book about 'we' thinking that we're an 'I' when all the time we're behaving like a 'we'...very useful for marketers or all those in the 'changing behaviour' jobs like advertising.

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior - A Review

Sway holds a particular interest to me in that no where do I see it more played out than in the world of consumerism.

Celebrity endorsements, price offs, real people testimonials etc. etc. All these methods are used to get people to part with their money.

While some may say that such tactics are useful to consumers i.e. that they present benefits to consumers, they are still sneaky tactics because in the end they serve to sway you towards irrational behaviour.

Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail - A Review

I'm not a Gen Yer unfortunately. By definition, I was born 4 years too early. And it seems, 4 years is a wider gap than I thought.

Illuminating is how I judge this book as it describes the American Gen Yers so clearly. I must admit that the American Gen Yers are far more sophisticated than other Gen Yers across the globe. I mean, how can a flashlight be an essential item for prom?.....sigh, only in America.

The authors described how retailers are bending over backwards to cater to this group. One example, the Urban Outfitters and their snazzy outlets. The problem that I have with this is that, I think it's all very gimmicky and can easily be copied by their competitors. Therefore, it will no longer be a point of difference. So, then what?