Rules of Thumb: A Book Review

I’m back on a business book kick and have some pretty good stuff I want to share with you. For now, let me introduce you to Alan Webber. If youhaven’t met him yet, I have to tell you; he’s a pretty fascinating guy with an interesting perspective on life. Among other notable things, Alan founded Fast Company (one of my favorite business-related magazines out there) and he’s had the opportunity to meet and work with some great people.

Alan has a habit of carrying around index cards and when something interesting happens or he hears something that he wants to remember, he jots it down on one of his cards. (Side note: I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this idea. And yes, I bought a pack – or two – of index cards as soon as I finished this book.) From those cards, Alan came up with the idea of Rules of Thumb (Amazon link).

There are 52 of Alan’s Rules in total. At first, I figured I would read one rule a week. But that did not happen. Each chapter is very engaging through stories that Alan tells and the underlying principle of each rule really makes you stop and think.

One of my favorite rules is “Don’t implement solutions. Prevent problems.” That has always been one of my mottos and Alan lays it out magnificently.

I’ll admit that not every rule got me excited about work and I don’t feel that every rule applied to me directly. But when 75% (at least) of a book hits home with you, that says a lot. This book is great at making you evaluate how you are approaching business and how you want to fit work into your life rather than making work your life. Highly recommended for anyone in business at any stage of the game.

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