Benton Crane

Before my wife and I made our four hour drive to Utah for Thanksgiving, we stopped at the library to find an audio book that would entertain us on the drive. The Johnstown Flood caught my eye because I was already familiar with David McCullough ( I heard him speak at BYU a couple years ago).

The book is a historical account of Johnstown Pennsylvania being flooded because the South Fork Dam broke in 1889. McCullough writes in such a way that you don’t feel like you are reading a history text book laden with boring facts. It’s not as fast paced as a novel, but McCullough keeps the story moving and for the most part kept my attention.

The story was especially fascinating to me because I’ve spent the past few months in Rexburg, ID; a town that was flooded when the Teton Dam broke. I’ve been dying to go through the Teton Dam Museum, but its hours are like a Bank’s–only open when I’m at work.

Back to Johnstown . . . I’m not going to summarize the story, but I do recommend the book, especially to anyone who loves history.

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I met Jason Alba through blogging–we have yet to meet in person, but have stayed in light touch for over a year. He is the founder of jibberjobber.com, a tool for managing personal contacts in a career management context. So for example, I’m graduating next April and using jibberjobber as a way to keep track of the companies where I apply and the people within the companies who I interact with. The more involved I get in this job search, the more I’m glad I have Jason as a resource (imagine all the other relationships I could build if I were consistent in my blogging).

Jason’s book, I’m On LinkedIn–Now What??, is a quick easy read that packs some great ideas for an experienced LinkedIn user. Its greater value, however, would be for someone new to LinkedIn or someone who has tried Linkedin but didn’t see the value of it.

For me, the most valuable part of Alba’s book is the chapter on how to use LinkedIn as a tool for personal branding. I haven’t been consistent in my blogging, and need some other ways to build my personal brand on the internet.

The book is overpriced for a 100 page paperback ($19.95, but S&H brought it close to $26). I felt like I should be getting a nice hardbound book at that price. Once you get past buying a paperback book at a hardbound price, however, it’s easy to see that the content of I’m On LinkedIn–Now What?? has a value far greater than $26.

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Keith Ferrazzi is a super networker who has the ability to keep in touch with thousands of people. Even when he was young, and before he made a name for himself, Keith had a knack for meeting and befriending individuals who most people would consider “untouchable.”

In the book Never Eat Alone, Keith shares many of the principles and tactics he uses to make and keep these contacts. One I really liked, is inviting people to your home for a dinner party. My wife and I frequently invite other couples over for dinner, and it has proved to be great way to build friendships. Keith helped me realize, however, that we should be inviting a more diverse group to our home (most of the couples we have over are students just like us).

Although I enjoyed Never Eat Alone and I gained a handful of insights, the overall principle that I took from the book is exactly what I got from Love is the Killer App: Relationships are based on giving. Except with Love is the Killer App, I gained some other principles to supplement that relationship building. So if you are pressed for time and have to choose between the two, go with Love is the Killer App (It’s a bit shorter too).

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I’m currently reading Good to Great by Jim Collins. I found out about it through a recommendation from Neal Harmon. It is one of his favorites.

Collins and his team do an empirical study of a group of companies that made the transition from average to exceptional. They compare data from other companies in the same time periods and markets. They look for and report on the factors that appear to have made the difference.

I’m half way through the book, so I will wait until I’m finished to review it. But I will say, however, that Collins’s empirical approach is very refreshing. The book isn’t filled with theories and philosophies–only interpretation of data. The numbers tell the story.

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