More Reading:

* Tom Peters “Reinventing Work – The Brand New You 50” http://www.tompeters.com/

I was looking for something new here, and I’m already there on many fronts. So in a sense it was a wasted read. Pursuit of focus and a great elevator speech can wrap around on you, to the extent that you don’t see new things and curse your bad luck as a result. I’m in a phase now where I’m trying new things that are outside of my brand because I want to do more and I can’t predict the future. This isn’t in the book.

* Mark Costello “Big If” A Novel http://www.salon.com/books/review/2002/06/20/costello/

The thing that grabbed me was only two reviews on the back, one by Jonathan Franzen (“The man who snubbed Oprah”) (“But who cares, his book The Corrections rocks”), and the other was David Foster Wallace (of Infinite Jest fame, which I read 3 times seriously, the book wraps too. Plus it’s so long by the time you get to the end you’ve forgotten the beginning.) DFW’s review sounds like he picked it off of multiple choice (Please select the review you’d like to supply for Costello's book). But who cares, they’re both my favorite writers and that puts me in the Big If's market. You know what? He wins: the book is a combination of Snow Crash and the West Wing. A little flubby on the technology (no one spends that much time “compiling subroutines”) but I’ll forgive him.

* Fast Company Magazine www.fastcompany.com

I used to read this magazine at home after work, usually in bed. Then I realized this was completely nauseating and I never looked back. Tom Peters mentions it, as some sort of mecca for folks who see themselves as their own company (whether employee or no), and I suppose he’s right. I looked at the magazine's web site again, this time under normal working conditions, and it’s still not working for me. I think they work so hard at seeming upscale that readers searching for something that won’t cost money are alienated. The magazine I really want is Fast Company LEAN. This would cover all the topics (leadership, career, strategy, innovation, hr, internet, technology, marketing, branding, education, resources, sales, customer service) BUT with a shoestring attitude.

comment []7:25:05 AM