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Unleashing Creativity and Innovation: Nine Lessons from Nature for Enterprise Growth and Career Success by Madan Birla (book review)

September 3, 2019 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

Creativity and innovation are the keys to both organizational growth and successful careers. People understand this, but they do not know how to unleash their natural creative potential. Drawing upon his twenty-two years of first-hand experience helping FedEx grow into a global icon and the last ten years consulting around the world, Madan Birla provides proven and practical answers.

Readers will learn:

-How to build a reputation as a creative thinker and become management’s go-to person for innovative business solutions.
-Four steps for unleashing their creative potential and generating creative ideas.
-Four communication skills to gain acceptance of your ideas.
-Two words that guarantee promotions.
-How to minimize internal and external negative influences that obstruct creative energy flow.
-How to stop self-censoring and how to confidently express their ideas.
-How to trust that all the resources for germinating creative ideas are within them.


Let me start by saying that I don’t think I’m the target audience for this book. I do, however, enjoy reading leadership books, so I thought I’d give this a whirl.

Overall, it was a bit choppy to read. In my opinion, this book is really more of a collection of quotes than guidance for unleashing creativity and innovation. Some ideas are repeated ad nauseam while others are briefly mentioned but never explained. I didn’t quite follow the flow of things through all of the chapters.

There are some great inspirational quotes in this book, though. I didn’t finish it feeling more prepared to create or innovate, but I did discover some new quotes and insights that I’ll be able to apply in various areas of my work and personal lives.

If you’re looking for some inspirational quotes from successful people, this book is a great resource.

Filed Under: book reviews Tagged With: creativity, Leadership, Madan Birla, small-business, success

Book Review: The Formula: The Universal Law of Success by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi

April 22, 2019 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

Too often, accomplishment does not equate to success. We did the work but didn’t get the promotion; we played hard but weren’t recognized; we had the idea but didn’t get the credit. We’ve always been told that talent and a strong work ethic are the key to getting ahead, but in today’s world these efforts rarely translate into tangible results. Recognizing this disconnect, Laszlo Barabasi, one of the world’s leading experts on the science of networks, uncovers what success really is: a collective phenomenon based on the thoughts and praise of those around you.

In The Formula, Barabasi highlights the vital importance of community respect and appreciation when connecting performance to recognition–the elusive link between performance and success. By leveraging the power of big data and historic case studies, Barabasi reveals the unspoken rules behind who truly gets ahead and why, and outlines the twelve laws that govern this phenomenon and how we can use them to our own advantage. 

Unveiling the scientific principles that drive success, this trailblazing book offers a new understanding of the very foundation of how people excel in today’s society.


I was assigned to read this book for an upcoming writers conference, and it’s absolutely fascinating. I was afraid that it would be too business-style for me, but I found it quite easy to read (though I’m still trying to fully understand his definition of “fitness”). I don’t read business books or self-help books at all, but this one really captured my attention and held it. If you’re at all curious about how to succeed in your field (or why people succeed), I recommend this book.

Filed Under: book reviews Tagged With: Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, book review, marketing, success, The Formula

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ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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Substantive Fiction Editing: A substantive edit looks at the big picture. Start here to tackle the big issues before moving on to the nit-picky details. Substantive edits not only point out … [more]

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