The book that I decided to read for this reflection assignment was "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big" by Scott Adams. This book was a very interesting read and I highly recommend it.
1. The general theme or argument of this book was the idea that by creating and implementing "systems" into your everyday life and practically all that you do, you will eventually get to a point with these systems that will prove to be successful. This idea of systems was being compared to the idea of goal setting, and how setting all of these goals for yourself may not be the way to "win big." It was very interesting to read this perspective on these topics as it is almost opposite of what I hear in the environment I am in right now. Being in college and specifically the business school here at UF, goal setting seems to be the key to success. Of course, you have to implement these goals and the actions to achieve them, but without setting goals you have no direction for your life, so they say.
2. In my opinion, this book is very relevant to the material we are learning in this course. Specifically with the idea of developing systems, I believe it may be beneficial for myself as an entrepreneur to think systematically when it comes to the world around me. I say that not meaning to have a closed mind and think only one way, but to go through a process in your mind when it comes to identifying opportunities to potentially solve. I believe it is great for an entrepreneurial mindset to include goal setting, but I also believe there is a point to what Scott Adams talks about with creating systems.
3. If I had to create an exercise for this class that relates to this book, I would have the students create a post that forces them to develop a system for their lives. It doesn't necessarily have to be anything related to a business idea or anything professionally, but to create a system that they can implement in their everyday lives. I would then have them reflect on the outcomes of these systems weeks or even months after its inception to draw conclusions on what they believe to be the best course of action in their particular situations.
4. This book was very surprising and almost enlightening to me. I very much enjoyed reading about Scott Adams' perspective and his way of approaching the sought after "success." The "aha" moment came for me when I realized it may be a combination of both that will lead you to success. Goal setting and systems development can be used in collaboration with each other, and it is really about identifying the situation and adaptability that will lead you to the best you can be.
Hey Brandon!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your reflection. This sounds like an interesting read as failure can affect anybody. I think this teaches a great lesson as learning how to handle failure is a vital skill. I think its great that you took away so many great perspectives from this book and I think it was great that you were able to implement this new information into exercises
Hey Brandon,
ReplyDeleteI thought that you did an excellent job on this reading reflection. I actually also chose to read this book, and I found it very interesting. I also have to agree with you about the book's relevance to this course especially when it came to systems. I felt that after reading the book, systems were a way better way to do things such as track personal and professional goals, as opposed to setting and completing goals. I actually thought that it would be a great exercise to complete a weeks worth of systems for this class. That way, students could track what they were actually able to complete in a certain week, and how that could set them up for future success. Great post and keep up the great work!