At the beginning of this year I made a pledge – a resolution if you will – to read 12 books. I did this for several reasons – I have never been much of a reader, I had books on my bookshelf I bought but never read, seeing my wife reading books all the time... you get the picture. As 2007 closes, I am pleased to say I met my goal.

I decided to tie these books into my newly-launched blog, and would write something on each one as I read it. Some of the books had been in print for many years, so writing a review would be no good, plus there are book reviews elsewhere. Instead I decided to personalize my responses by writing what I took away from each book. I would conclude my takeaways with whether or not I recommend the book for others to read, as I felt there would be a chance I didn’t like the book.

As I read each book, what would I do with them? My bookshelf was runneth over with books, documentation and of course sports memorabilia. As I was now a book reader, more shelf space was required. So rather than have these books become like trophies on the mantelpiece, I decided to give them away. Once I finished a book and wrote my takeaways, it was promptly sent off to someone who I felt it appropriate to them. Sometimes this was via my wife who became interested in my newfound passion, but they have all left my office and are in the hands of others.

It would not be appropriate to sum up a year’s effort without stats. Of the 12 books I read, only 5 were in my possession at the beginning of the year. One book was given to me by the author, a friend, and another was given to me by the city of Chicago (along with several thousand others I presume). Two books I heard about from articles I read, and one was mentioned in several of the other books I read. One book I read via email messages from the DailyLit service, and 1 was book was authored by someone with the same name as me.

You can read all of the book takeaways and supporting posts under the “Book Take-Aways” category, always available on the sidebar of The Hot Iron. Now onto writing my 12th takeaway post, then starting my first book for 2008!

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Growing up in Massachusetts I was well versed on the story of the Salem with trials in the town on the north shore of the east coast of the Bay State. But like many things in your backyard, I have only been there once, and that was just a few years ago. The story of the witch hunt came back to mind as I read The Crucible, the play written by Arthur Miller in the 1950’s. Little did I think beforehand I would find lessons of business as well as life in its pages.

Miller’s play was written at the time of anti-Communist sentiment and inquisitions in Washington DC, and these events inspired Miller to write The Crucible as he saw parallels to the inquisition of a few hundred years earlier. The book version of the play has a detailed introduction describing both time periods and how the play came into being, and is an excellent context to the play as well as a recap of history.

My greatest take-away from the play is a quest for the truth. It is needless to say the entirety of the witch trials were based on hearsay and emotion and not the truth. This is not to say business should be totally devoid of emotion or compassion, rather in the face of insanity and chaos that can slip into a business setting, a quest toward facts will more likely than not be the best path to take.

Another take-away from the play is considering the impact of your actions on your environment. Even if a decision you might make is unpopular and pursuing its resolution is the best course to take, you can take steps to minimize its impact on the community you are in. This can be everything from being completely covert to completely transparent. The way information is delivered as well can satisfy those who may not agree with the decision. Sometimes the medium is the message.

Speaking of community, I read this book as it was a gift from Chicago’s One Book, One Chicago program. This is an excellent promotion of literacy around the Windy City where thousands of people are reading the same book at the same time!

I enjoyed The Crucible and recommend it to anyone. It is a well-written story accurately retelling a dark period of the early history of the US. Its script format helps the reader get deeper into the characters and see the story as someone living at that time. Though Halloween has passed, read it now, and then re-read it next October.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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No matter how beautiful or comforting a home is, if it is not built on a solid foundation it will surely crumble. This analogy can be used for many things in our world, from ourselves to families to businesses to sports teams. Having a strong foundation and core values will provide a solid base for everything else in life. It’s not that everything else will come automatically, as anything in life worth achieving is worth working for.

There are many books published on the topic of motivation. Some speak more scientifically and others more organizationally. I have read a few of these books myself, as a self-employed entrepreneur keeping motivated is key. After reading the book Perpetual Motivation by Dave Durand, I learned to take a step back and look inward to find the motivators to keep me positive and progressing.

Perpetual Motivation, like many motivational books and stories, has an equation to help keep you going. The formula in the book was different from others I have seen, as it seemed more humbling and therefore more achievable. The equation states motivation is the result of balance plus influence plus creativity plus a sense of humor minus runaway self-esteem. Where Durand does a better job of describing all of these than myself, his exclusion of it being all about “me” and being about family and friends is a refreshing approach.

My greatest take-away from the book is focusing on the pursuit of balance. This goes contrary to the common notion where you must work hard and be focused on work and from that rewards will come, everything else being a distraction. The catalyst for many entrepreneurs is independence and calling the shots, allowing them greater control over their work and personal time, and hopefully more of the latter. However the demand of the job, revenue and success make the personal venture at times comparable to that previous full-time job. Durand reminds us that the pursuit of balance is necessary to keep everything in perspective and equal.

I recommend any of my readers to pick up a copy of Perpetual Motivation. It is a good read and packed with real world examples and stories and does not have excessive fluff or hype (just maybe one too many references to the Green Bay Packers!). I enjoyed reading this book and its unique perspective.

Ironically I had this book sitting on my bookshelf for sometime, and honestly I don’t recall where I got it, if I bought it or if it was a gift. The fact I am now going through and reading all of these books I have accumulated itself shows my belief in the message from this book.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Whenever one thinks of written word that has stood the test of time over the centuries, religious text or government laws may come to mind. Through the course of reading many of the books I have read and blogged about, I found references to one text in particular, The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, which intrigued me enough to read it myself. As much as the book itself was interesting was the fact it was published in 1532.

The Prince is written in the form of letters to a person who has newly become a prince. Additional reading of the time period when Machiavelli lived can help explain how princes and religious figures ruled Europe and especially his homeland of Italy. In this political treatise, he gives advice to a prince on how to rule and maintain his rule. As I read this short text, I began to see why many business books quote Machiavelli – many of his recommendations to political leaders almost 500 years ago hold true to business leaders today. His applicable advice is my take away from The Prince.

The one that rang truest to me was his recommendation of not using mercenary forces for the military and to build and maintain a military force of your own. This relates to today not only for the military but for business, namely in the hiring and development of a team of employees rather than working solely with contractors and consultants. His justifications included loyalty, and the fact that mercenaries are more concerned with getting paid than the work they do. Where this latter point is not always the case with hired help, having some “skin in the game” is a good motivator. As I am expanding my own operations, Machiavelli’s thinking is similar to my own.

Other advice from Machiavelli included seeking counsel from others while avoiding flattery but ultimately making the decision yourself, being decisive in your decision making, not seeking to be liked but to be respected and to takes sides in any battles.

If you pick up a copy you will find it has been translated into English from its native Italian and heavily annotated for the benefit of the reader. It is a short but powerful book, and you can glean a hint of sarcasm in Machiavelli’s approach to offering his advice. I recommend The Prince to any leader or would-be leader, as words of so long ago still ring true today.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Where I was behind on meeting my goal of reading one book a month this year and writing my “take-aways” from them here at The Hot Iron, I am well ahead on reading but behind on writing! This post gets me caught up on a journey of reading, not to mention clearing off my bookshelf. As I read books, I give them away. This makes room on my shelf and I can share what I read with others.

The book Not On The Level by Michael V. Maddaloni is a welcome departure from the books I have read so far as it is fiction. It is the story of Joe DeFalco, a first-generation Italian-American baby-boomer who grows up in Philadelphia and his life story from grade school to retirement. As an Italian-American myself, I greatly enjoyed reading this story.

If you read the story and then read the bio of the author, you will see they are very similar, so it can be assumed that much of the book is based on real events or stories heard through his life. The book takes you from his youth in Catholic schools to the Marines, college, the Secret Service and corporate America to this retirement. At each stage there are opportunities presented to Joe and decisions to be made. Where some earlier decisions in his life may not have been the best he made, many of these were influenced by his environment. As he grows and experiences more of life, his wisdom shows in his decision-making.

As a result a take-away from this book was on decision-making and how much they are influenced by our environment. Fresh in a new environment, these influences are greater than later as we get accustomed to it and make our own observations and couple them with past experiences. I also have to admit another take-away is to read something other than business books.

My overall take-away from this book is that you need to know who else is out there who shares the same name as you! Though our middle initials are different, I share the same name as the author of this book. I first found about the book and author when Googling myself, and many others have pointed this out to me as well. I don’t think we are related, as Maddaloni is a town in Italy and many people have surnames derived from where their ancestors are from. Nonetheless, in addition to my recommendation to read this book here on The Hot Iron, I will contact him directly with my praise for his enjoyable work.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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