تميز دائما عن الآخرين : 15 سرا لتحقيق أفضل أداء في العمل والحياة الواقعية

by Rohit Bhargava

"هذا الكتاب مغاير لجميع كتب الإرشاد المهني التي قرأتها من قبل بسبب ما به من اقتراحات مثل: اجعل الآخرين يبكون، تجاهل وظيفتك، هل جربت التدخين. كلها اقتراحات كانت تبدو غير قابلة للتصديق... حتى قرأت هذا الكتاب. والآن أرشحه لجميع الموظفين والمتدربين والموردين وأي شخص أعرفه يستطيع استخدام دفقة من الصراحة القاسية في طريقه نحو تحقيق المزيد من النجاح".

- بن توبو، نائب رئيس برنامج تنوع الموردين، والت ديزني

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook, Business, Psychology, Management, Leadership

180 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 2013

About the author

Rohit Bhargava is a leading authority on marketing, trends and innovation. He is the founder of the Non-Obvious Company and is widely considered one of the most entertaining and original keynote speakers on marketing disruption and innovation in the world. He is the #1 WSJ and USA TODAY bestselling author of eight books on topics as wide ranging as the future of business, building a human brand with personality, and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world. Rohit is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and writes a monthly column for GQ Brazil. He is married and lives with his wife and two boys in the Washington DC area, loves the Olympics and actively hates cauliflower.

Reviews

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too short. Way too short.
Some of the advice fun, actually. Some I actively disliked.

The good ones:
Q:
Take the Window Seat. (c)
Q:
are two words that project managers need to use all the time: deadlines and dependencies.  Everyone knows about deadlines, but dependencies are actually what controlled your timeline.  Every task on a project usually had other tasks which had to be completed first.  You couldn’t build a homepage, for example, until the design was done and approved.  If the design was delayed, the homepage would be delayed.  That was a dependency. (c)
Q:
How To Acquire Useless Knowledge. (c)
Q:
Ignore Job Descriptions
Lesson - Deliver What They Don't Ask For. (c)
Q:
Have Integrity When No One Is Looking. (c)

The bad ones, IMO:
Q:
Build a bookshelf. Overspend On Yourself. (c)
Q:
Always eat left-handed. (c)
Q:
Be a connector. (c)
Q:
Use a Sharpie. (c)
Q:
Why Delight Beats Satisfaction Every Time. (c)

[Kelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

At 38 minutes in, the author is advising us to stop reading books that aren’t holding our interest and I immediately consider taking his advice. Does that make this a good book or a bad one? To me this felt mostly gimmicky, with a few good points tossed in here and there. Most ideas were barely fleshed out, giving me the feeling this was written for the younger set (swipe right was mentioned, as was the 1000s of friends the reader probably has “across social media platforms”).

I found the narrator robotic and tremendously distracting. He sounded part SNL skit, part robotic. (In some ways this made the book funny and therefore better). As a personal pet peeve, reading the letter a as “ay” instead of “uh” sounds as though I’m listening to someone read a manual out loud. And also, do not start smoking!

[Iryna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Дочитала до фрази "Я вважаю, що ваш час надто цінний для того, щоб марнувати його на дочитування до кінця книжки, яка не приносить ні задоволення, ні користі.", вирішила, що хоч тут можу погодитись з автором і закрила цю книгу.

[Green Hedgehog · Rating 2 out of 5]

Вот смотрю я на свои прочитанные книги и думаю, что в последнее время, я как-то сильно увлекся книгами по саморазвитию - подобная закономерность слишком сильно бросается в глаза. С другой стороны, чем больше подобных книг я прочитал, тем чаще во время чтения очередной книги, я ощущаю себя золотоискателем. То есть читаю все эти книги, в первую очередь в поисках каких-то оригинальных идей и неожиданных выводов. И, казалось бы - эта книга, с таким провокационным названием и неожиданным вступлением про «вам об этом никто больше не расскажет..» - прямо золотая жила для подобных исследований. Да?

Ну, как вам сказать - все оказалось не совсем так. Я бы даже сказал - совершенно не так. Сразу заспойлерю - основной плюс этой книги - она легко и незаметно читается, потому что написана довольно бойким языком. На этом положительные моменты книги собственно и заканчиваются. Первое что раздражает - автор очень активно использует свое имя и кичится прошлым опытом. Настолько активно, что это бросается в глаза уже в первой половине книги, а не ближе к середине, как обычно бывает в подобных книгах. Да, понятно, что личный опыт автора - это гораздо более ценная субстанция, чем просто теоретические выводы. Но по тексту складывается впечатление, что автору было важнее не поделиться собственным опытом, а продемонстрировать собственные достижения. Работа в этой крутой компании, работа в этой крутой компании, начал работать в таком-то возрасте и так далее.

А вторая большая проблема в этой книге - это подмена понятий. Вот казалось бы - такие противоречивые советы, которые вы бы никогда не дали своим знакомым. Кури больше, перебивай собеседника, прокрастинируй. Как это может привести к успеху? А вот если вычленить из этих советов самую важную составляющую, то советы будут вполне логичны и общеприняты: не бойся рисковать, практикуйте активное слушание, отдыхайте. Но понятно, что с такими советами «так ты книгу никогда не продашь». Вот и приходится автору придумывать более провокационные варианты этих советов.

И хотя до этого, во вступлении он рассказывал о том, что мол - подобных советов вам никто больше не даст, чем дальше читаешь, тем больше понимаешь, что нового и оригинального в этой книге просто нет. Все-таки не хватило автору вдохновения, чтобы создать действительно интересные и парадоксальные советы, которые никто бы кроме него не посоветовал. Просто взять обычный совет «общайтесь чаще и не бойтесь рисковать» и превратить его - попробуйте покурить, чтобы у вас была возможность ходить с коллегами на перекуры - это много мозгов и не надо. Но вот понять, что например, не для всех этот совет сработает - тут уже можно было применить какие-то размышления. Но, видимо у Рохита Бхаргавы как-то с этим не срослось.

Если быть откровенно честным, я даже и не знал такого человека. Но потом, когда прочитал книгу, полез в интернет, чтобы понять - что же он за человек. В результате, понял, что по факту - это такой стандартный представитель «людей, которые чего-то достигли и хотят об этом рассказать». Другое дело, что подавляющее большинство из них шли по путям уже проверенным временем и вытоптанными тысячи людей до него. И если честно, то рассказать им уже особо нечего. Поэтому и появляются такие книги - ничего нового в них не скажут, и выделиться они могут только оригинальностью подачи.

Но, как я уже сказал - с оригинальностью тут тоже не все хорошо. Читать легко, советы - банальны, интересной штуки с «переворотом» тоже особо не получилось. По крайней мере, до «Волки в овечьих шкурах» явно не дотягивает. Поэтому и тратить времени на эту книгу я бы не особо советовал. В ней нового ничего не найдете. Конечно, если вы не хотите узнать чуть больше об авторе, и его жизни. Но это вряд ли.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, short read with surprising, inside out advice about improving interactions with people. Especially working-with people. Whether it is people you engage with on your day job, or as you flesh out your Big Idea, or your "My Time" crew - the author provides surprising "secrets" that provide a follower with a view from another window as they gaze on their usual fare. Inside out, back from behind sort of advice. For me, not going to do literally, but I get his point, that we can get further by getting out of our box and looking at it from a different direction. This Quarantine has certainly given us plenty of that kind of time, eh?

Oy! This response has too many metaphors, mixed and otherwise.

Forgive all errors, please (how dear Aunt Betty ended every letter).

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biggest takeaway: take yourself seriously...but not all the time.

A lot of the reviews here are negative, and I get it. Sure, he toots his own horn and all of his examples are self-studies. However, READ THE TITLE. It's not supposed to be read without a humourous soul, and he even advises readers to discontinue reading if they can't be light-hearted whilst reading.

I thought it was a funz quirky read intended to be light with a side of knowledge mixed in. I'm a book-finisher by nature, but I don't mind Bhargava's reasoning to abandon books that don't hold your attention... Realistically, if people aren't readers already, holding onto a book they aren't enjoying is just going to keep them from BECOMING a reader. So I get it.

I also appreciated the Appendix and list of recommended books! They don't all sound up-my-stream, but I wrote down a few of them!

[Lotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent tips, not very innovative

[Fit4Life218 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I agree 100% w/Deb’s 2-star review ~ ‘nothing new & a whole lot of gloating.’ 🤦‍♀️

An arrogantly written book ~ I was grateful it was an easy, quick, & short read.

Moving on to my next book. 📚

[Shaylee Barney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tried way too hard to give quirky advice, but it all came off too gimmicky.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the appendix the author explains the process of this book. Namely, he wrote the first version in 3 weeks and then years later added 30% after a couple renditions in between. I think that is a concise description of what this book feels like. Bhargava is a blogger and a professor. It feels like he has taken his blog posts and made them even shorter (blog posts are generally short) and adds some case study-style examples to emphasize and empathize. It didn't really work. It was too brief, too concise, and not nearly persuasive enough. To be honest, it feels like he either wrote it A) out of pride because people said, 'you know stuff, you should share the best of what you know' and/or B) for people that are already familiar with his style and like it (which seems to me like a passive way of writing to his ego). Could have had a lot more impact if he expanded the explanation and didn't share everything as a take-it-or-leave it approach of I know best.

[Sushant Sharma · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first thing I disagree with the book is it asks only to finish good books, a BIG NO to any reader. One should finish both types, good and bad books just to develop their yardstick of book quality, like this #badlywritten, #selfemphasizing #blowingmyown trumpet kind of book. And yes read it until the last page to see the bottom or how low one can get. The second star in my review is complimentary for some commonsensical advice. Do read just don’t expect much.

BTW the best sellers on Amazon are cheapest products. Not necessarily a measure of quality.

[Azamat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Какой-то набор историй, какого-то чувака. Осилил половину книги, но так ценности в ней и не нашел. Местами интересно, но всегда непонятно почему я должен ему верить?

[Christine Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3/5. I've never met a self-help book I've loved. Some advice was fun, others didn't appeal as much. I don't like the author's humor much. There were some points the author seemed a tad entitled and out of touch, but overall it was alright.

[Roxanne]

Always Eat Left Handed had innovative ideas and even reminders on how to navigate the world. I gave a page of the book to my son in hopes he would understand the need to prepare tweets that show his intelligence rather than for their provocative shock value. He doesn't need 'Mom' telling him this, but am hoping he'll be open to man to man advice.

And my takeaways were reminders about listening skills. I'm already pretty good listener being an introvert, I fold into quiet passivity when bowled over by extroverted types, but I do jump in too quickly when given the chance with people who do give me conversational space. I'm a serial head nodder and his advice is nod less and ask reflective questions more.

I also found his be true to yourself experiences very refreshing, especially that he discovered he created better in jeans and even found his best workplace after scoping out companies with a more relaxed dress code.

Bhargava also ends his book with a 21 book recommendation section (with great descriptors) which helps me to decide might be what's next for my self-help book choice.

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. It might be because I'm left handed and therefore biased. Mostly, though, this was a really quick read (I think it took me an hour, all told) but it had solid advice. Was it unconventional? Sure. But it'll be rattling around in my head for a goodly while.

[Deb Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was not one idea that was really exciting that stood out to me. I have read similar books and I could be taking this the wrong way, but it had a feeling of "gloating" in each chapter. I was happy to just get through this one.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

~3.0 stars

While the target audience for Always Eat Left Handed: 15 Surprising Secrets For Killing It At Work And In Real Life is recent graduates, I do think that there are some tidbits that are useful for you regardless of your point on the career ladder.

[Ирина Дмитриева · Rating 3 out of 5]

Книга быстро читается - хватило часа. Все написанное - очевидно и я это и так знала, думала будет нечто эдакое, но увы. Для студентов. Снова решилась купить книгу Альпины, и снова поняла, что ничего там нового не будет никогда. Как и в книгах МИФа. Так что больше такое не куплю.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book, I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because there are sections that I would have like more information on. Helpful ideas, definitely worth a read.

[Danil Filonov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Хорошо подходит для того, чтобы слушать фоном. Пользы примерно как от болтовни ведущих утреннего шоу на радио.

[Heather Balog · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read (or listen...I had the audiobook version). I was looking for some life advice that hadn't been completely overdone in the past five years and I expected this book to have it...sort of the anti-self help book. But other than the idea that lefties see the world differently and have to problem solve for basic tasks that us righties take for granted, there was nothing ground breaking in this book. In fact, I found some of the advice to actually be the worst I've ever heard. Take up smoking???
The author's point of taking up smoking was to "connect" with co-workers who would socialize outside of their workplace by taking smoking breaks. He justified this as okay and dismissed how unhealthy it was by saying he was only going to smoke for a month and he would not get addicted. Not only is that the stupidest thing I've heard (why would you subject yourself to ANY smoke???), it is making the assumption that addictions are simply a matter of willpower and are personal flaws and moral failings, rather than an illness that must be worked on. After that, I pretty much lost respect for the author and dismissed his advice. Thank goodness this was short.

[Sushi ♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars..

I'll be honest if I were to rate this book half way through reading it I probably wouldn't even have given it a star (seriously why recommend taking up smoking as a way to "work better"??). But I'm glad I didn't listen to another piece of the author's advice (don't finish books you don't like). This book is written in a formulaic and clear sense. Each chapter reads like an essay, with a clear thesis statement and then 3 supporting points. Personally, I appreciated this style of writing. I also appreciated the anecdotes, the author added as it made for interesting read and set the book apart from any other self help book. Now for the cons, some of the advice, as I highlighted earlier, was questionable. I also couldn't help but feel the author came across a bit condescending at parts.

Overall, it's a short, easy read and worth picking up and judging for your own if you're interested or looking for this type of book.

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a very quick read or in my case listen, I borrowed the audiobook from the library. I don’t know that this book actually gives any advice. It is an amusing collection of anecdotes from the author’s life. And he does hint at tips. But he doesn’t actually give you any follow-through or further suggestions to actually apply the tips that he’s giving you. Lastly, he states in the beginning of the book that this is geared more towards new graduates or people early on in their careers. However, as you get into the book you realize that what he’s asking you to do requires you to be further along in your career especially financially. I don’t know that this book is a win. And I don’t know that I took anything away from it that I can use in my career at all.

[Ayat Saleh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fed up with the traditional wisdom quotes and advise that we hear everywhere like "never give up", "take risks", "make mistakes", or "do what you love"? Despite how much these tips are real, they became too consumed. This book gives a new set of secrets on how to improve four aspects of our lives; how to think better, work better, communicate better, and connect better.

You may not agree with all of the points in the book nor you will not find a lot of pieces of evidence to back them up, but the book is a very good one for a quick read while commuting or as a break between reading difficult topics.

[Cumberland BlueDevil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like so many self-help books, this book has value. Suggests that contrarian thinking breaks muscle memory and helps to be creative. Personally, I read a few of them before, so didn't find any 'aha moment' for myself but appreciate the value of reinforcement for sure.

One nitpick though. The narrator horribly mispronounced the author's name (and every other Indian name referenced in the book) and don't understand why author didn't care to correct. Maybe that's what he is going for. Contrarian prospective!

[Edward V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun little anecdotal book with many good lessons, Always Eat Left Handed helped me get back into reading this summer because of it's easy to grasp concepts, well thought out personal anecdotes, fun facts, and practical appliances that helped the author, and other well-known personnel. I enjoyed it's whacky titles, and well thought out paragraphs. This book helped me reshape my thoughts on the workplace and more relations I have with my time and how I could upend and start more practical, unorthodox habits in my life.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a fast read, but he lost me on a couple of his ideas. The worst one was his idea that you should take up smoking so you can take smoke breaks with employees who smoke. The idea behind this advice is for you to get to know those employees better while you are smoking with them. Oh, and make sure you quit smoking so you don't get addicted. Give it only a couple of months of lighting up the cigs, but make sure that even when you quit you keep taking those smoke breaks. Honestly, about the most stupid thing I have ever read. It negates the rest of the book in my opinion.

[Michael Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and short. There are likely to be a number of tips that don't appeal to you, and a few that do. In my opinion, the few that do will make this worth reading (and the ones that don't may clarify your thoughts on those topics, and help you understand others better).

Did this change me? Not really, but I felt like I was already living life by many of these ideas (I switched to my left hand to do my PhD years ago).

[Наталія Волошина · Rating 4 out of 5]

Книга сподобається не всім, бо комусь поради здадуться банальними. Але для мене вони були влучними, бо підсумували те, що я вже знала. Тільки поглянула на це ще раз під іншим кутом. І стосовно назви - тут не про те, що всім треба тепер стати шульгами, а про те, що шульги звикли з дитинства виділятися серед інших та шукати нестандартні рішення аби пристосуватися. Короткі історії з життя автора зі спостереженнями, які допомогли йому та може ще кому допоможуть

[Lexi · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a barrage of common advice thrown at the reader as of it was something novel.

The author reminded me of a guy who went to a bunch of business and empowerment conferences, sat through half and then went to stand at the complimentary food table for the rest of the session. Thinking hearing half and just being in the room was enough to piece together this “book”.