Book review

The military is the only profession that teaches leadership under extreme circumstances. And they have been teaching that for thousands of years. Which is why have started to read up on leadership practices in the military and in particular the special forces. Can you lead when you are being shot at? Can you lead when

There is a lot of asymmetry in managing innovation and transformation. You need the loonshots to ensure the future (read “Loonshots“), but you also need to keep the day to day routine of making money while one of the loonshots pay off. Managing both streams in the business is difficult. And there is no quick

As one of the business coaches of tibor.nl, I have the pleasure of working with people with special forces background. I think CEOs and entrepreneurs can learn a lot from special forces, particularly in areas such as mindset, discipline, routine and fitness. Hence, “Niet te breken”, or “unbreakable” in English by Sander Aarts. Unbreakable A

Habits are structure. Habits are routine. Habits are short cuts. By the time we become adults, we rarely notice the habits that are running our lives. You are your habits. When you read books about top athletes, top entrepreneurs, top CEOs and special forces, it is all about ingrained behaviour that is repeated and repeated

I have read some brain-blowing books over the years. “Prometheus Rising” is one is definitely one of the weirdest, but also one of the most interesting. Particularly if you are interested in the mind, self-awareness, mindfulness, quantum physics. Reminds me of “The not so secret rules to the game of life“. Here is what I

I have a particular interest in intrapreneurship. It seems to make a lot of sense. Everything a startup needs, such as money, clients, talent, channels, systems are already available in abundance in an existing business. The only thing, that large companies don’t seem to be able to crack are the ideas that startup come up

There is a war going on for your brain. Which means you need to develop the instruments to guard you against the ongoing manipulation by social media, your mobile phone, your laptop, Google, Facebook, Amazon and many others. Read “Likewars” and “The four”. That is why I read a lot of books about mindfulness and

Rene Savelberg is the brains behind the national growth plan in Holland. A very nice man. He is also the author of “Groeikracht”, which translates into Power to grow. It is in Dutch, but it definitely deserves an English translation. The secret The secret, according to Rene, is standardisation, partnerships and people. Based on his

I am working with a client on a book about system thinking for business, a particularly in the service industry. You will find a description of the book here. Which meant I had to read up about system thinking. It is like watching paint dry. Very dull and boring. I was recommended to read “Thinking

Storytelling is the new marketing. Where storytelling goes beyond online conversations and touches every part of your business, from packaging and distribution to customer care and beyond. Moving marketing to culture. Moving from brand-centric to customer-centric. From marketing to customer experience. From head marketing to heart marketing and from story to action. Living the story.