Action Trumps Everything: Creating What You Want in an Uncertain World

by Charles F. Kiefer, Leonard A. Schlesinger, Paul B. Brown

Thank you for visiting this page! Because the initial response was so strong and so favorable, Harvard Business Review Press asked us to create a new, updated and expanded version for them. So, while you can no longer buy Action Trumps Everything (version I) you can buy version II which we are now calling Just Start. Paste this address into your browser. There seems to be no way for Amazon to link these two pages and make it easy on you. We think you will find worth the effort. Regards, Charlie, Len and Paul.

Genres: Business, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Nonfiction

164 pages, Paperback

First published December 27, 2010

Reviews

[Adrian Solorzano · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's ok. There is too much filler.

[Ben Debayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The entire books just hammers the importance of its title: Action Trumps Everything. Worth the read.

[Jerry Fultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this to be a surprisingly practical - and inspiring - model for taking action. Along with Jim Collins "Great By Choice," these two books provide an outstanding approach to advancing in uncertainty.

This book provides great direction in what to do next. In addition to the overall framework for entrepreneurial thinking, I found the discussion of desire especially useful.

Finally, I believe this books "gives legs" to the strategy canvas outlined in the outstanding book "Blue Ocean Strategy." The focus on internal assets & vision, irrespective of the competition, is in many ways reiterating the findings in Blue Ocean.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for breakthrough thinking in advancing their mission.

[Matt Maples · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard about this book after hearing Leonard Schlesinger speak at the 2011 Willow Creek Leadership Summit. He was an effective and engaging speaker and this book was as well. While I wish that the book was more in-depth the concepts are simple and easy to grasp. The idea of CreAction is something that I plan to use in my life in the future and this lesson alone was worth the price of the book and the time it took to read it. While this book is targeted toward business and entrepreneurial types the authors also do an effective job of demonstrating how the CreAction concept can be successfully transferred into numerous other areas of thought and life.

[Tim Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great content, but I found the writing style frustrating. The book is written so that anyone could understand the material, which means the language and phrasing is simplistic. The book is also quite repetitive, which is good for retention, but slightly painful.

Definitely worth reading - be sure to keep an open mind and skim over the repetitive bits.

[Julie Bridges · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book, short chapters, and a quick read. The writing is simple and easy to understand. I tend to be a planner so it introduced a new way of thinking to me. I must admit that while reading this book I actually made a decision to act on something that I had just been thinking about for a while.

[Mike Studdard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for anyone not just an entrepreneur. The tips are solid and based on the way I see successful people function. Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty is by the same authors and a little better but has the same information

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good insights but I find style excessively wordy. Could be more concise. Hopefully the next edition will be faster paced.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Co-authored by the President of Babson. A great read, applicable to all areas of life, not just business.

[James Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical and insightful. THe reason why I only give the book four stars is because it could have been half the length. The insights and the truths of this book are worth five stars.

[Nick Woodall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!