Es la vida compleja o somos nosotros quienes la complicamos? Richard Gerver en este su tercer Simple Thinking, hace caer en la cuenta al lector sobre la innata facilidad de las personas para complicar lo sencillo. Nos abre los ojos ante la compleja realidad de vida; una realidad que podría hacerse más sencilla si llegáramos a desarrollar lo que él llama un pensamiento simple. Gerver muestra comportamientos para despejar y ordenar la mente y ayudarnos así a liberar el verdadero potencial de cada persona. Argumenta el éxito no es complicado. Nos invita a aprender de los más pequeños, para los que todo es posible. Con esta obra aprenderemos a apreciar en ellos, y desarrollar en nosotros mismos, la capacidad de vivir y actuar con resiliencia, autenticidad y pasión; de creer en nosotros mismos, sin importar lo que otros piensen; de renovar nuestros pensamientos, comportamientos y acciones; de dejar atrás las cadenas que nos impiden alcanzar nuestras metas. En definitiva, un libro sencillo para simplificar nuestra vida y así alcanzar el éxito y la felicidad. Un texto hecho de sentido común, el cual resulta ser a menudo el menos común de los sentidos
Richard Gerver has been described as one of the most inspirational leaders of his generation. He is an award-winning speaker, bestselling author and world-renowned thinker.
Richard began his career in education, most notably as headmaster of the failing Grange Primary School. In just two years, famously transformed into one of the most acclaimed learning environments in the world. He was celebrated by UNESCO and the UK Government for its incredible turnaround.
Richard has since transitioned to the global stage where he uses his trademark humour and natural style to deliver passionate, provocative and authentic speeches. He draws upon the first-hand experiences and unique insights garnered from frontline education to explore the links between great leadership, human potential, change and innovation. His ability to connect experiences across many seemingly different environments helps people to expand their thinking and perception of potential. It is this authenticity and uniqueness which has helped Richard win him global acclaim and invitations to speak on the most recognised stages, including TED, the RSA and BBC radio.
Richard Gerver has been described as one of the most inspirational leaders of his generation. He is an award-winning speaker, bestselling author and world-renowned thinker.
Richard began his career in education, most notably as headmaster of the failing Grange Primary School. In just two years, famously transformed into one of the most acclaimed learning environments in the world. He was celebrated by UNESCO and the UK Government for its incredible turnaround.
Richard has since transitioned to the global stage where he uses his trademark humour and natural style to deliver passionate, provocative and authentic speeches. He draws upon the first-hand experiences and unique insights garnered from frontline education to explore the links between great leadership, human potential, change and innovation. His ability to connect experiences across many seemingly different environments helps people to expand their thinking and perception of potential. It is this authenticity and uniqueness which has helped Richard win him global acclaim and invitations to speak on the most recognised stages, including TED, the RSA and BBC radio.
The three core principles underpinning Richard's philosophy are communication, empowerment and impact. He argues that great leadership is first and foremost about serving the needs of the people who work for you. His mantra: systems and structures change nothing; people do.
Having successfully transitioned from teacher to thought leader, Richard has had the opportunity to regularly advise governments and major corporations globally, including Google, Visa, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Deloitte, Harrods, Puig and Telefonica. His unique experience and insight into realising human potential also see him working in elite sport, with Olympic and Paralympic coaches, EPL Soccer coaches, England Golf and professional cricket teams. He has recently started working with the British music industry to help develop a capacity for forward, proactive and sustainable change.
Richard is also a bestselling author. His first book, Creating Tomorrow’s Schools Today (now in its second edition), has become a seminal text around the world for those engaged in the transformation of education. His other books are explorations of human potential, leadership and success. In Change and Simple Thinking, Richard explores the world beyond school, through the eyes of an educator. Both have received critical and public success; both achieving global bestseller status. All his books have been translated into a multitude of languages including Spanish, Chinese and Korean.
Most importantly, Richard is always humbled to be able to share his lifelong commitment to living, learning and laughing.
It is all too easy to make simple things way too complicated. I try to make my life simple but I don't always succeed so I was interested to read this book. It suggests that we lose that simple curiosity which we all have as children. Small children don't stop to consider whether the picture they paint will be perfect - they just paint it and are pleased with the results. In the same way they are interested in anything. Children learn at a far greater rate than at any other time in their lives.
This book urges is to reduce everything to its basic components and not to worry about whether what we're doing will be perfect. Many of us end up living our lives in a reactive manner instead of a proactive manner. We are victims of our own lives - not the heroes. Stop running around like a headless chicken and take time out to decide what is important to you and what your aspirations are.
I found this book inspiring and the author's own enthusiasm shines out from its pages. I enjoyed reading about other people who have used simple thinking in their own lives and got several ideas for simplifying my own thinking. The book is full of inspiring quotations from a wide variety of people and I found myself highlighting several passages for future reference. If you like self help and personal development books as I do then you may find this book of interest.
I read this book to learn how to simplify life, but all I got was random stories, motivational quotes and numerous anecdotes, which were a mishmash of business ideas.
All in all it was a book that didn’t deliver on the promise and should have been re-titled. The only reason I gave it a two star rating instead of a one star rating was because the simple thoughts at the end of the final chapter, were in fact meaningful.
These all seem simple and nothing here is a revelation…. But it is a solid summary of simple steps to take for us all. These ten bullets are found on www:
1. Clarity in Purpose: Define your purpose clearly. Understand what truly matters to you and align your actions and decisions accordingly.
2. Embrace Simplicity: Simplify your life by decluttering both physically and mentally. Eliminate unnecessary complexities to create space for what's essential.
3. Adaptability and Flexibility: Embrace change and remain adaptable. Learn to navigate complexities by being flexible and open-minded.
4. Focus on the Essential: Identify the essential tasks, priorities, and goals. Focus your energy and attention on what truly matters to achieve meaningful results.
5. Effective Communication: Communicate clearly and concisely. Simplify your message to ensure it's easily understood by others.
6. Continuous Learning: Cultivate a habit of continuous learning and self-improvement. Stay curious and open to new ideas and perspectives.
7. Resilience and Problem-Solving: Develop resilience to overcome challenges. Simplify problem-solving by breaking down complex issues into manageable steps.
8. Collaboration and Teamwork: Foster collaboration and teamwork by streamlining processes and encouraging open communication among team members.
9. Mindfulness and Presence: Practice mindfulness and being present in the moment. Simplify life by focusing on the here and now.
10. Authenticity and Values: Live authentically and in alignment with your values. Simplify decision-making by staying true to your principles.
Honestly, I stopped reading a little way in. I could not see what point the author was trying to make from the analogies he was using.
He describes how kids are full of wonder and curiosity. He recounts going to a museum as a kid and wondering around looking at the work without a guidebook. Tellingly, he can't remember any of it, who the painters were or why any of it was important.
He tells a CEO who wants to reduce complexity in his business to hire five year olds.
What comes across is an argument against experience, wisdom and appreciation.
It is one thing to say a Jackson Pollack is not a painting "of anything, " but it is another thing to explain why abstract expressionism was an important departure from the art that came before it.
Simplicity without context is "simple" in a derogatory, uninformed sense.
I am fairly certain the author did not intend for his metaphors at the beginning of the book to be such a turn off, but for this reader they were. The writer's argument to make things more simple were cumbersome, not clear and muddied the waters enough that I put the book down.
Simple thinking is a distillation of many self help books that the author has used to shape his own life. And the principles that he has made as own strengths.
Child like curiosity, continuous learning, focus on goals, resilience are some of the key attributes covered.
He gives numerous examples of his self as well as other know celebrities to nail down his point of view.
There is nothing complex here: nothing that you did not already know.
How to doing all these is up to you. (This is only a what book but not a how book).
This book was a decent reading experience.It is framed by looking at how kids interact with the world and uses that as a starting point. Unfortunately I do have to say it takes a while in getting there and does use some more rudimentary ways of using examples. These examples while compelling and very well written can be rather trite at times. That said the author's writing style is incredibly accessible and in a word 'simple'.
Simple Thinking: How to Remove Complexity From Life and Work, by Richard Gerver • "That's the real trouble of the world, too many people grow up." - Walt Disney • Is it true that young children are more creative than adults in solving problems, or through growing up, we become more and more passive in using our ability to be creative? As we grow up, life become more and more complex - we take in rules, learn protocols, and be part of the systems. • "Curiosity is the heartbeat of successful people. It ensures our mind active and challenging. Curious people always ask questions and search for answers." • There is a difference between being 'Childish' and being 'Childlike'. Many successful people out there, like Sir Richard Branson, appear to be chilidlike. They have full of optimism and positivity on how they see the future and the world around them. They are curious, they question, and they learn. They are resourceful. Maybe sometimes, we just need to ask ourselves, "What would the 7 years old version of me would do in this situation?"
I picked up this book because the title resonated with how I have been feeling - just overwhelmed at all the crap in life today. Overall a good book, gives you lots to think about, re-frames some concepts you might have heard before. Good balance between author's personal experiences as well as experiences from others. Almost lost me at the one Trump comment "...politicians like Donald Trump, Nicola Sturgeon and Jeremy Corbyn have enjoyed such success. They appear unrehearsed and, as a result, natural and authentic. You may well not agree with them but you trust that they mean and believe it." But I see where the author was trying to go with it. If you are looking for a little motivation, seeking to figure out what success means to you, or are looking for some ideas to break you out of your current thought patterns and habits, then I recommend this book.
It's a long time since I've read a self-help book. This one was given to me by a teacher at my school, and I read it to help me understand him a little better. I agree with a lot of the ideas in the book, and I hope I already do a lot of them, like remembering to play when I can, and focussing on positives whenever possible. A side benefit to the book was reminding me to go back and read some of Richard Branson's books again - I last read them as a teenager, and now as a manager I think they'd be much more relevant!
So simple yet important as our daily reminder in searching our life purpose. I simply finish it from Hong Kong airport, in-flight journey to Chengdu, China. A few great pointers that I’ve captured:
• Focus on what you think is right; • Those who agree with your thoughts would automatically join in your force; • March in together towards the simple goal.
This book is clean and written with integrity. I enjoyed the summarised point at the end of each chapter. This book helped me focus on an important piece of study for my career. Reading this book helps get rid of mental chatter that is nice, however it can overshadow clear thinking.