BizBook Nuggets

Rules for Renegades by Christine Comoford-Lynch

This book rocks. I knew it was going to be part autobiographical, part business, part career-oriented. After all, the sub-title reads, "How to make more money, rock your career, and revel in your individuality." I didn't know it was going to be so profound.

I'd never heard of the author, Christine Comoford-Lynch, before I picked up the book. And I wasn't sure that this wasn't a kind of "look-at-me-ain't-I-wonderful" story. But the book more than delivers quality stories and life lessons. Comoford-Lynch is a real authentic "player" in a man's world of venture capital and high-tech.

I'll admit I was attracted to the book for the title - and I'm probably not the only one. Who among us doesn't feel they too are a rebel? (Even while we sip our Starbuck's...) Especially those of us who have forged our own paths into self-employment at home on the Internet...

But this woman - well, she went from high-school drop out, to monk, to being one of the few women to work at Microsoft in the early days, to multimillionaire. Christine Comaford-Lynch dated Bill Gates, Larry Ellison and other powerful figures, and she also faced humiliation by association with a con-artist guru.

Rules for Renegades is full of life lessons including some excellent ideas for networking and facing rejection. Read it for fun, for business tips, for personal development. But be sure to read it. I loved it.

egonomics: by David Marcum & Steven Smith

Have you seen first hand how ego gets in the way of performance, results, and good decisions?

You're not alone. For the first time, a couple of consultants have measured the costs of ego to the bottom line.

David Marcum and Steven Smith have just published egonomics: What Makes Ego Our Greatest Asset (or Most Expensive Liability), Fireside, (2007).

I love the name egonomics - what great branding by combining ego (notice the small "e"...) with economics, a trend started with the book Freakonomics.

If you're a coach or consultant working with organizations, you've seen the detrimental affects of ego.