Greg MckeownReseñas

Teens+

So much great information, I just know I'm going to have to read it again sometime down the road. A lot to process, a lot to ingest, and a lot to grow from. I saw some features in myself which pleased me, and some which I consciously need to work on. This is a must read for anybody who wants to improve themselves in anyway whatsoever. The principles you read here can be applied to everything in life.

The first half of this book was actually really good, and I ended up taking a lot of notes on how to better prioritize my goals, work, and planning, as well as living a more productive life. However, the second half became much more of just a collection of business analogies that seemed a bit repetitive and not as helpful as the beginning. It ended up dragging the book down and just didn’t seem as solid as it could have been. But again, definitely some good advice in the beginning, especially if you’re looking to cut out unnecessary distractions and trivial matters in your life!

I checked this out at the library because it was mentioned by literacy expert Pernille Ripp as a book that changed her outlook on life. I recently read [b:Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals|54785515|Four Thousand Weeks Time Management for Mortals|Oliver Burkeman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1627425434l/54785515._SY75_.jpg|85465206] and liked it a lot so I thought reading more on the topic of doing less would help me commit to a less harried lifestyle.

I was surprised to find a book targeted mainly at busy business people. Most of the examples are about wealthy CEOs like Steve Jobs, Jack Dorsey, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, the usual suspects. But I don't find anecdotal success stories very compelling (particularly after reading [b:Outliers: The Story of Success|3228917|Outliers The Story of Success|Malcolm Gladwell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344266315l/3228917._SX50_.jpg|3364437]).

One part made me laugh out loud -- he's talking about reading something classic and important every morning and then he gives some examples and the list is like Zen Buddhism, Confucious, the Torah, the Bible, the Tao Te Ching, the Quran, and the Book of Mormon. I was like, one of these things is not like other. Then I saw that he went to Bringham Young and I was like of course he's LDS. The vibe of the book is very wholesome privileged white male who believes in the gospel of prosperity.

If you're busy because you serve on too many boards of trustees, this might be the book for you. If you are busy because you have a normal job, don't have a stay-at-home spouse taking care of all things domestic, have to take care of your aging parents, and get guilted into volunteering to keep the school PTA afloat, I'm not sure if this is all that helpful.

Author frequently references other management and nonfiction writers such as Drucker, Kahneman, Duhigg, whom I've read, and effectively pulls their best bits to illustrate his own point. Can't decide if this is more for management, or self-improvement. In the end it gushes too much like self-affirmations. Also, assumes that reader struggles with work/family balance, which is not necessarily the same thing as work/life balance. There were a few jewels that I would consider looking up the print book for. Audiobook read by the author.

Kind of repetitive and simplistic, but an ok read.

I rarely read business books, as they're generally boring in their simplicity and repetition. I did like the key idea of this text, effectively summarized at the blog Prof Hacker: If it isn’t a clear yes, then it’s a clear no, and the suggestions for implementing this and other strategies for implementing only what is essential. But his appropriation and use of the term essentialism, which already has a well-established meaning in philosophy, critical theory, and feminism, drove me BANANAS. It made it seriously difficult for me to get through the book.

Esencializmi është një disiplinë përmes së cilës mund të arrish rezultate maksimale me përpjekje minimale; është një mendësi; është një ide e përkryer për t’u aplikuar në realitetin e sotëm.

This book would have been a life-changer for me a few years ago. Since then, however, I've figured out most of what McKeown talks about on my own. As a result, I found the book trite, superficial, and boring. A string of cliches positioned as earth-shattering wisdom, but with no actionable advice.

I expect the message of this book will resonate deeply with the people who desperately need to hear it. I'm no longer one of those people, so I struggled to finish this one.

"Do Less. Only Better."
I've had Essentialism on my list of books to read for quite a while. Still, it wasn't until I received it as a welcome gift from my Mastermind facilitator that I finally put reading it at the top of my priority list. In addition, I've been listening to Greg McKeown's podcast for the past few months. While I was familiar with his approach to simplifying and prioritizing, I appreciated the book's in-depth examination of taking the concepts and integrating them practically into my own life.

One message that really stuck with me was being invited to answer this question: "If you could be excellent at just one thing, what would it be?" As someone who often flitters from one interest to another, one hobby to another, one business to another, being asked this question was both confronting and challenging. And yet, it also brought a measure of relief. Understanding that I didn't have to do everything - or be excellent at everything - forced me to name the essential areas of my life. Then I could acknowledge that most things I currently spend my time on frankly don't matter.

This kind of single-minded pursuit of the essential will be an ongoing process, but one that's so worth it in the long run.

Compiling best practices for a life of focus sounds like solid material. But I found myself losing interest with each chapter. In the end, I returned the book to the library without finishing it.

Vigorous editing could have whittled this title into a succinct and helpful pocket guide. Instead, each point was padded with non-essential examples. The layout and design drew me in; I only wish the content and organization had worked as well so that I'd have wanted to read to the very end.

This book immediately made the shortlist that I consider my leadership canon. Put simply, essential is: less, but better. I immediately started using it to execute faster, focusing on first things first, and with minimal chaff.

The earlier book (Essentialism deals) with how to define the most important things to focus on, vs this one focuses on making those important things activities also the easiest ones to achieve. In this summary, you'll learn:
• How to into the Effortless State, where you’re relaxed and functioning at an optimal mental, emotional, and physical condition.
• How to take Effortless Action to get better results with less effort.
• How to enjoy Effortless Results that deliver repeated benefits with little or no additional effort.
In a way, none of the ideas are new. But McKeown has presented and combined them in a refreshing and compelling way to show how you can get into an effortless state and take effortless action to achieve effortless results. A nice read!

Book summary at: https://readingraphics.com/book-summary-effortless-greg-mckeown/

Learn principles (can be applied again and again) not just facts. Teach something to someone else - only way to truly understand and master something. Solve problems before they happen. I would re-read this and recommend it as a good life refresher.

Today’s world is an increasingly complex place. Many of us feel like we live disintegrated lives and are pulled in many directions. Yet people who have the highest societal impact tend to have the ability to focus, and throughout the centuries, writers like Henry David Thoreau have reminded us to simplify instead of complicate. In this book, McKeown seeks to convey these timeless philosophical lessons in a more contemporary format, geared around modern business lives and personal well-being.

Some might say that there is nothing new in this book, and in one sense, they will be right. Most “self-help” books focus on finding the good and amplifying it as much as possible. This book does the same. Yet its examples are very interesting and fit more with contemporary life than many of the more classic works. Indeed, McKeown cites many of the classics along with modern scientific examples.

McKeown is a business writer who seeks to better the lives of modern workers. He also seems to genuinely care for his family and uses this philosophy to carve out a healthy space for them. He’s from the UK and holds an MBA from Stanford. The book itself seems to coalesce with his course taught at Stanford. His message especially tries to help executives and executive teams work better together by focusing on less instead of more.

This book has made an obvious impact on the business community, but that should not limit it. McKeown’s take borders on behavioral psychology and philosophy. Researchers who try to carve out a specialist’s niche will find this book relevant. The focus is more about getting the most out of life and work instead of how to benefit the bottom line. Because of this, even religious readers might find some benefit from reading this book. Thus, a wide variety of audiences can be engaged. In many ways, this book embodies McKeown’s philosophy: By focusing on less (i.e., the essence), it reaches a broader audience than it could by doing more. By my reading, it does its job with excellence.

Aveva 14 figli. C’era stata una pandemia. Aveva un fastidioso disturbo allo stomaco. Stava prendendo lezioni di filosofia. Lui era l’imperatore di Roma. Il suo dominio si estendeva per circa 2,2 milioni di miglia quadrate e comprendeva oltre 120 milioni di persone per le quali era sia responsabile che incaricato di governare. Come fece a gestire il tutto? Come fece senza perdere la testa? Sappiamo che una domanda ha giocato un ruolo enorme nel suo comportamento. Riguarda l’essenzialità. “La maggior parte di ciò che diciamo e facciamo non è essenziale”, scrisse Marco Aurelio nelle sue famose “Meditazioni”. “Se riesci a eliminare ciò che non è essenziale avrai più tempo e più tranquillità. Chiediti in ogni momento: ‘È necessario?”

Quanto o quanto poco lavori, dove vivi, come sono il tuo matrimonio o le tue relazioni, le tue idee politiche, come spendi i tuoi soldi, quali sono i tuoi obiettivi, il modo in cui è organizzata la tua vita, le cose che occupano spazio nel tuo cassetto della spazzatura, in una parola i pensieri che ti passano per la testa. Chiediti su tutto ciò che fai, dici e pensi: “È necessario? È essenziale?” “Deve essere così?” “Perché lo sto facendo?” “Cosa succederebbe se cambiassi?”. Ci chiediamo di continuo perché non facciamo del nostro meglio. Ci chiediamo perché non siamo felici. Ci chiediamo perché le cose sono difficili. È perché stiamo facendo troppo, o stiamo facendo le cose sbagliate, anche nel modo sbagliato?

Guardate l’intelligente e sintetico disegno della copertina del libro che ha scritto Greg McKeown su quell’arte o disciplina chiamata essenzialismo impiegata per acquisire non il di più, ma il meno: essentialismo. A sinistra della immagine il caos, la confusione, la spazzatura. A destra, nel cerchio, l’essenziale. Una parola che, guarda caso, rivela la sua … essenzialità.

Vogliamo arrivare in un luogo in cui la nostra vita possa essere definita da essa, un luogo dove possiamo fare solo ciò che deve essere fatto, nel modo migliore. Bisognerà sentirsi a proprio agio nel dire “No”. Significherà tagliare il grasso inutile dalla vita, forse anche ferire alcuni sentimenti. Ma va bene. Presto ci si renderà conto che quando diciamo di no a qualcosa, stiamo dicendo di sì a qualcos’altro.

Viceversa, quando pensiamo di dire di sì a una cosa, dobbiamo capire tutte le cose a cui stiamo dicendo di no. Quindi potremo far arrabbiare alcune persone dicendo di no, ma renderemo anche le altre persone molto più felici. Importante è conoscere come funziona la “sintesi essenzialista”. Quando non distinguiamo tra ciò che è e ciò che non è essenziale, come si decide a cosa dire si e a cosa dire di no? Di solito, per impostazione predefinita, filtriamo le opportunità in base a ciò che è più redditizio o più impressionante. Ricordiamoci di quello che disse Seneca:

“Ci viene detto che la vita è breve e l’arte è lunga … Non è che abbiamo poco tempo da vivere, ma che ne sprechiamo molto. La vita è abbastanza lunga e ce ne è stata data una quantità sufficientemente generosa per il risultato migliore soltanto se il tempo fosse tutto ben investito.Quando è sprecato nel lusso incurante e speso in nessuna buona attività, siamo poi costretti dall’ultima costrizione della morte a renderci conto che è passato prima che sapessimo che stava passando. Così è: non ci viene data una vita breve, ma la rendiamo breve. Non siamo mal forniti, ma ne sprechiamo. Proprio come quando una ricchezza ampia e principesca cade su un cattivo proprietario, viene sperperata in un attimo, ma ricchezza comunque modesta, se affidata a un buon custode, aumenta con l’uso, quindi la nostra vita si allunga ampiamente se gestita adeguatamente “.

Una cosa in cui la pandemia ci ha aiutato è che ci ha mostrato, nella maggior parte dei casi senza il nostro consenso, cosa significa fare di meno. Meno voli. Meno cene fuori. Meno incontri. Meno reddito. Meno commissioni. Si potrebbe sostenere che COVID-19 è stato il più grande esperimento di stile di vita forzato nella storia. Ha infranto così tante delle nostre supposizioni su ciò che è e non è essenziale.

Ma questa cosa non può essere fatta da remoto, a distanza? Certo che sì. Oh, non potrei vivere senza i miei bambini. Bene, ora devi tenerteli tu a casa ed accudirli ed educarli. Oh, non avrò mai tempo per fare quello voglio. OK, eccolo qui. Hai tutto il tempo che vuoi, sei in isolamento. Abbiamo dovuto pagare con meno.

Abbiamo dovuto reinventare il modo in cui venivano fatte le cose. Abbiamo dovuto riorganizzare tutto. Alcune parti di questo comportamento sono state difficili da sopportare. Alcune imposizioni ci hanno reso tristi e soli. Ma altre parti sono state decisamente liberatorie. Questo è il problema di “less”, “meno”, per questa ragione chiediamo a Marco Aurelio la versione della domanda: è necessario?
Perché per quanto siano stati duri gli ultimi mesi di un isolamento che continua, significa anche che abbiamo la possibilità di continuare a pensare a noi stessi, a guardare altri tramonti dalla veranda sul retro di casa, altre cene in tranquillità, altre scritture più mirate, su argomenti più importanti, nuovi contatti a distanza che dovranno essere confermati di persona, più apprezzamento per le persone e le cose che contano veramente.

“Fare l’essenziale”, ha detto Marco, “porta una doppia soddisfazione: fare di meno, meglio”. Quindi prendiamoci un minuto oggi e facciamoci la domanda di Marco. È necessario? È essenziale? Ho davvero bisogno di farlo? E se avessi detto di no? E se avessi rinunciato? Cosa succederebbe?

Troveremo la risposta. In molti casi, è no, non è essenziale. Non è importante, né necessario. E dicendo di no, non stiamo “sottraendoci” alle nostre responsabilità. Al contrario, siamo più in forma, meglio in grado di adempiere effettivamente ai nostri doveri importanti: verso la famiglia, il lavoro, noi stessi e anche verso gli altri. E questo è il vero doppio vantaggio.

Took a long time to get to the point. I found myself frustrated, waiting for the author to quit the stories and get on with the meat of the information.

I agree with some of the other reviewers that this was not necessarily the best written book. The chapters were fairly formulaic, and the advice and the examples became repetitive.

But that doesn't really matter -- at least not to me -- because this is one of those books where the value is the framework that the authors introduce. This book explores the difference between Multipliers and Diminishers. A Multiplier is someone who increases the potential and impact of those around them. A Diminisher is someone who decreases the potential and impact. The authors looked at people strongly identified as working in one of these modes and analyzed what made them different from each other. (As the authors note, the distinction here is a continuum, not binary, and the same person can have some of the tendencies of a Multiplier and some of a Diminisher. By presenting the two as a dichotomy, the authors aim to highlight the key differences in practice between the two modes of operation.)

Examining different leaders, Wiseman and McKeown found five key practices that differentiate Multipliers and Diminishers. Multipliers want to optimize the talent of those they work with, create intensity without fear, extend challenges that stretch the capabilities of those they work with, debate decisions openly, and give people a sense of ownership and accountability. Underlying each of these practices are the assumptions that people are smart and can figure things out on their own and people will grow given the right challenge.

The practices themselves sound a bit like common sense once you see them listed -- although, that which sounds like common sense but is backed by research is worlds more valuable than that which just reflects intuition. What makes this book really valuable is that Wiseman and McKeown go over each practice of a Multiplier and describe concrete practices that you can use to move further to the multiplier side of the continuum for that practice. A lot of these things sound like common sense too, but as always with this sort of book, the key is in actually turning the advice into practice.

Overall, I look forward to choosing one or two of the Multiplier practices to focus on and seeing if I can grow my team more effectively!

Turn tedious tasks into meaningful rituals. Bring joy to something you don’t enjoy doing. Each time you complain find something to be grateful about in the situation. Give yourself
permission to fail when you try something new. Take naps! Don’t try to power through, work for a set amount of time and then take a break. Aim for residual results, not linear results.

“Getting clear on what done looks like doesn’t just help you finish, it helps you get started.”

“How many of us put up with problems, big and small, for so much longer than we have to because on any given day it takes less time to manage a problem than to solve it?”

As someone who tries to do all of the things, I found myself taking notes during this one. I have a hard time saying no, and I’m grateful for the advice of how to focus and decide what’s really important instead of saying yes to everyone. I found this one helpful for both my personal and professional life.

“If I didn’t already own this how much would I spend to buy it?”

“Multitasking is not the enemy of essentialism, pretending we can multifocus is.”½

I chose to read this self help book by Greg Mckeown because a number of reviews lured me in. I went into it with the expectation of learning more than I knew, although that doesn't mean I am good at getting all the essentials done in my life. In the end, this turned out to be largely commonsense, although commonsense presented well and in a simplified manner. It begins with an introduction named Not Everything Has to be so Hard, and the rest of the material is divided into three sections, the effortless state, effortless action and effortless results. McKeown illustrates his methods with real life examples from our contemporary world, such as from those that have done well, the military and successful sports people. I can see many people finding this helpful to get what needs to be done in their lives, its just that for me, I wanted and expected more, something that surprised me more. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Not bad but felt like a brief survey/recycling of ideas promoted by others (Tim Ferriss, Atul Gawande, etc.). Greg shares some helpful examples of how people have applied the ideas.

I agree with his basic premise (though he does restate some stuff that is pretty old news, scientifically).

However, I am coming to the conclusion that the people who write these books are on a different social/economic level than most of the population. 90% of the time I can't walk up to my boss and say no. He really doesn't care/want to respect me. Most people are pretty similar. I guess that is where Simon Sinek really resonates with me. He addresses people who can probably solve the problem.

Maybe in 10 years I'll be at that point. Today, though, I'm not.

I already knew the basics because... well, my connection with Coach Gelwix necessitated it. The thoughts are valid and I wish they were implemented more.

Side note: leaving a Diminisher type job often leaves you with something like PTSD. And it's hard not to take that to your next job.

Manufacturing a few more hours in the day has been ruled out, so when things get busy it's time to say no, or to stop doing things and see if anyone notices. Labor-saving devices are largely ignored by this middle-management confection, which argues that most labor is too trivial to pursue-or at least its value is untested, as in overbuilt software. Managers know much of this, but may still benefit from the chance to contemplate the time and money freed up by skimming all the nice-to-haves from their next project.