Rules of Thumb: 52 Truths for Winning at Business Without Losing Your Self

by Alan M. Webber

“Alan Webber’s wise words give guidance and hope in a world gone upside down. Incisive and practical, timely and timeless, he is a mentor of the highest order.” —Jim Collins, New York Times bestselling author of Good to Great   In Rules of Thumb, Alan Webber—co-founder of Fast Company and one of the most important thought leaders of the last two decades—provides 52 rules of thumb, one for each week of the year, to help leaders stay productive and inspired even in the most turbulent times.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Self Help, Management, Personal Development, Productivity, Leadership

270 pages, Hardcover

First published April 21, 2009

About the author

Alan Webber is an American entrepreneur, writer and progressive Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for Governor of New Mexico in 2014.

Reviews

[فادي · Rating 4 out of 5]

الكتاب جميل جداً لأسباب كثيرة:
1- الكتاب ليس من نمط كتب التنمية البشرية المعروفة القائمة على التفاؤل المبالغ به والتشويق.
2- الكاتب خبير في مجاله وصاحب تجربة في بناء المشاريع (هافارد بزنس ريفيو ) ومن ثم ( فاست كومباني).
3- القواعد هذه لا تنطبق فقط على عالم الأعمال؛ بل حتى في الحياة اليومية.
4- سهل ممتنع، لا حشو فيه والقصص جميلة ومعبّرة.
5- الترجمة سلسة.
استمتعت بالكتاب طوال أشهر، وكنتُ كل يوم أقرأ قاعدة أو اثنتين وأتفكر بهما، وأفكر بقراءته مرة ثانية.

[Ahmed Elkholy · Rating 4 out of 5]

من عنوانه هوه ٥٢ قاعدة للنجاح.

بيبدأ كل قاعدة بقصة وبعد كده يشرح.

الكاتب اصدر مجلتين عالميتين في البيزنيس فاست كومبني، هارفرد بيزنيس ريفيو.

الترجمة رايقة والقواعد جزء كبير منها ينفع مع كل الناس والاسواق.

#بس_بنقول

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alan M. Webber founded Fast Company magazine with Bill Taylor and helped define a Zeitgeist. It was the Internet era, it was cool, and it was fast. A decade later, it doesn't seem so cool or fast, unfortunately. There's nothing wrong with these 52 rules of thumb; most of them are good. It's just that Alan is late to the party. Most of them have been put forward in other management books of the past decade. Alan's stories are good, but he's coasting with this book.

[Daniel Pink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great lessons in business and life in an easy-to-read form. (Full disclosure: The author is a friend.)

[John Pabon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review #41 of my 52 week book challenge: Rules of Thumb. ⁣
⁣
Sometimes, you need a little reminder (read "kick in the ass") of how to deal with life's little challenges. In Rules of Thumb, Fast Company founder Alan M. Webber reminds us what needs to be done. From remembering your audience, to going with the flow, to knowing where you're trying to end up, these lessons are those you probably already know...but aren't doing. ⁣
⁣
Oh, and if you love this book check out Pig Wrestling as well. ⁣
⁣⁣
To find out why I started my 52 week book challenge, what I've been reading, and how you can get involved, check out my original LinkedIn Publisher article or follow me.

[Juan Rivera · Rating 1 out of 5]

And why do I read?

I read to learn and to have fun.

Without disparaging the author, this book did not teach me any lessons. The author has read a lot about administration, psychology and had an interesting life experience and he tells it here.

For me, no new concept. And that doesn't mean that I'm perfect, but that I already know them intellectually.

But as the author says, knowing what to do is not the same, so let's work...

[Max · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Change happens when the cost of the status quo is greater than the risk of change."

"A drill company thought it was selling drills. Their customers were actually buying holes."

That's all I got from this.

[Pavel Annenkov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Очевидные истины про ведение бизнеса. Без глупостей. Но многие подходы уже не работают сейчас.

[Chike Darnayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Practical strategies and advices of Alan during his time in Fast Co Magazine. full of wise and wisdom leadership teachings.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

No original ideas here. Just tired, recycled, self-help tropes.

[Sue Cartwright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terrific book written by the co-founding editor of Fast Company, a resource I have always rated highly for publishing the latest thinking in business, leadership, technology, productivity and other interesting topics.

This collection of 52 useful and honest insights based on Alan's experience working with the world's most interesting and creative people, was written to stimulate, inspire, challenge our own rules of thumb that guide us through times of great turbulence, uncertainty, and opportunity.

Things like, 'When the going gets tough, the tough relax', 'Ask the last question first', 'Learn to see the world through the eyes of your customer', 'Everything communicates', 'Tough leaders wear their hearts on their sleeves'.

Fantastic guidance and ideas for smart working and professional development. And no better time than now to get these proven approaches on board when 'business is going to change more in the next ten years than it has in the last 50' - as predicted by Bill Gates.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who haven't heard of Alan Webber, he is the co-founding editor of Fast Company Magazine, and a former managing editor of the Harvard Business Review.

Rules of Thumb gathers all the lessons and pivotal stories he has learned through forty years of working in the public and private sectors. For example, Rule #9 tells us that "Nothing Happens Until Money Changes Hands", while Rule #45 reminds us that "Failure Isn't failing. Failing Is Failing to Try". For each rule, Webber tells us a story, of how he came by the rule and what he learned in the process.

The result is a fascinating and provocative text that's both a guidebook for business and entrepreneurs and also a revealing glimpse into the "value of experience and observation".

You can learn more about Rules of Thumb and Alan Webber at http://rulesofthumbbook.blogspot.com/.

[Edward · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book jacket bio says of Alan Webber, "he calls himself a 'global detective,' which has the benefit of meaning little but sounding cool." That's a nice summary of a lot of the business advice in this book. Webber seems to have spent too much time writing speeches, so the book is loaded down with sound bites in which he's sacrificed meaning for quotability. My favorite example: "It's a race to the future. Whoever gets there first wins." Now THAT is some useful stuff.

There are occasional pearls of wisdom gleaned from interviews with business leaders and innovators, but they're buried among a lot of pop-business-speak, self-congratulatory recollections, and nuggets of wisdom that seem to assume that the average small business owner has a rolodex full of millionaires.

[Kevin Eikenberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Among other things, Alan Weber has served as Editor of the Harvard Business Review and is the co-founder of Fast Company magazine. In this book he has taken his experiences from these roles and others (which admittedly have given him access to interesting situations and people), tied them together with his writing skills and created an easy-to-read collection of Rules of Thumb.

Rules of ThumbEarly on he talks about a habit of collecting truths and ideas on 3×5 cards. He took the best of the ideas and insights on those cards and created this book. What it leads to is 52 somewhat random ideas, lessons and, yes, rules of thumb.

- See more at: http://blog.kevineikenberry.com/leade...

[SalsaAram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I'm not in business, this book is definitely worth reading. I am a psychotherapist by profession and almost all the rules that Mr. Webber suggests fit very nicely into that work. I was quite surprised by that but very intrigued and look forward to reading his new book, "The Global Detective".

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read many business books, and found Rules of Thumb very good. The manner is which Webber provides the background information for each rule and the describes the "So What?" of each rule makes a pairing that clearly and insightfully supports the rule. The text is engaging; I had difficulty putting the book down. I recommend this for anyone in business.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that has 52 chapters. Each chapter is highlights a "rule of thumb" including how the author learned the rule, a story or anecdote of how it was applied and how the reader should think about and use it.

The writer also encourages further dialog by letting the reader add his own 53rd rule to the book and has a discussion forum online.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, I've learned that I'm being overly influenced in my book selection by Amy! No really, this is pretty good--nice, brief little anecdotes that are very manageable over lunch... Useful stuff, even if you aren't in "business" per se.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pithy, accessible rules. Bite-size format allows for the reader to easily dip in and out of the book.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much wisdom. Want to re-read again sometime. Proabably will have to buy.

Great little rules -- not just for business, but for life. Really inspiring. :D

[Anita Lobo · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you plan to start a business or reinvent an existing company, then this book is a must read. Jargon free, straight-talking style and superb content that distills the learning of a lifetime.

[Shaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty good book with some nice insights on business and life. I did not agree with all of his "rules of thumb" but overall it was informative and insightful.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read with a lot of food for thought.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting insights and anecdotes. Tried a bit too hard to be American. To be honest, I lost interest before the end.

[EAL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practically every other page was folded down. Highly interesting and useful. Lots of good questions to ask yourself.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and easy to read chapters. You don't have to read in order. Good tidbits from the founder of Fast Company magazine.

[Eliot · Rating 3 out of 5]

founder of fast company. Interesting, some nuggets.

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't actually finish this book...It was informative, though.

[Theodore Kinni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great stories lead to insights for business readers from a co-founder of Fast Company.

[Abdallh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is nice to have, just some stories here and there, it's enjoyble stories more than lessons.