Another HUB

Ours is a violent society. And it continues to be so, despite our best efforts. How to make it calm and serene, while, we too remain calm and serene? Surely, there must be a reason for violence, and we only need to liquidate the same before it erupts. Who or what is it, and how can we contain the same? Published my take on this.

Book Review: Open Turns

 Open Turns by Hendrika de Vries

A touching prologue and the 35 chapters of this book narrate an eventful journey of a Dutch family to Australia, and their successful foray with the new surroundings, fresh opportunities, and the challenges, they had to face. The narrative begins with a vivid description of her life in Holland, and follows it up with many an adventure while they all acquire their status as New Australians. Rendezvous with kangaroos, struggles with English lessons, and the assorted issues of becoming an Australian are all there, garnished by their infrequent bouts of desire to visit Holland. ‘Henny’ charts a successful path, becoming a swimmer of repute and an asset to her society.

This is a real page-turner. Each chapter of this book narrates an event to relish and is more engaging than every other chapter. Support from loving parents, a strong will, and powerful resilience reverberate through these pages that brings out the best of experiences.

Book Review: From Founder to Future

 From Founder to Future: by John Abrams

This is a book about cooperative models that can show magical ways to do business. How to transition leadership, implement shared ownership, and preserve your organization's core values to thrive for generations to come. How  when employees are empowered to be active owners in the business of which they’re a part, both they and the business do better. And how, five transitions, namely, leadership, mission, management, and impact can make this happen.

The first part of the book explains the process of building a company that is mission-driven and demonstrate the meaning of the five transitions, taking examples from author's own experience. In part II, the book looks at the intricacies of the different forms of employee ownership, like the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), or the employee ownership trust (EOT). The last part is about the nuts and bolts of all this, where practical issues of ownership conversion, next-generation leadership, and participatory democratic management practices are discussed. An insight-driven book.

Book Review: Transforming Healthcare Through Negotiation by Stacey B. Lee

Transforming Healthcare Through Negotiation

What connection is there between healthcare and negotiation? A lot, this book says, and proposes ways to circumvent it all. Traditional approaches to healthcare has certain shortcomings that ultimately affect patient well-being, ethical principles, resource constraints, and emotional undercurrents that render the system unhealthy. So, there is a need for a transformation approach developed for the healthcare space, if the competing interests of saving lives and patient safety with revenue and existing insurance are to be met satisfactorily.

Part I of the book introduces a novel idea in this regard, the HEAR Approach Framework (Healthcare-Specific Empowerment, Acknowledgment, and Recasting) developed by the author. Here, focus is on eliminating both the shortcomings and the flaws of traditional approaches to healthcare. Part II goes a  little more in depth. Practical strategies for negotiation are analyzed while familiarizing the reader with many tactics and planning tools that are there. Like advanced and specialized steps to address complex challenges and situations. Illustrative examples of real-life hospital scenes are placed imaginatively, making it easy to comprehend all of these.

Book Review: Last Nerve

Last Nerve by Mindy Uhrlaub
This memoir begins with the author's recollection of her ailing mother who is affected by ALS, and the prospect of she herself joining her mother. Enters her husband Kirk, chemotherapy, and quite a few hospital visits, alongwith the welcome pangs and revelries of their growing-up sons. Which is frequently cut-short by a fear - has she passed on the deadly genes to sons Ethan and Alex? Now she feels - my own affair with ALS can wait. 
The book chronicles many battles. Kirk's with cancer, Ethan's with his wilderness therapy and ADHD, of Alex with constant needs of re-assurance, and the author's one of balancing family needs and her therapy, not to speak of other emergencies like fights between brothers. There are also visits from an unending stream of specialists. And also of the author writing and publishing a book.
I found it difficult to put this book down. What came out is a determined fighter on a path to victory against a formidable enemy, who ended the narration with tears of hope.

Book Review: Crypto Moments

 'Crypto Moments: How Tech Visionaries Disrupted Global Finance' by BEN BRAUSER is a peep into how an email’s opening sentence revolutionized the world. How it unveiled a vision for an entirely peer-to-peer, anonymous, digital payment system. 

The narration starts with Bitcoin’s mysterious beginning with Satoshi Nakamoto,  and the first demonstration - an order for Papa Johns pizza. Which is followed by an insight into an explosion of transactions that followed, and of course, the controversies that grew along. The discussion now moves on to other aspects of this innovation, as well as introduction of new currencies or block chain. Like, Etherium Merge, Terra, Three Arrows Capital, and FTX. The world of technology operates at light speed. Innovations in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and blockchain infrastructure will shape the course of the future, the book sums up. 

This book is a good introduction to an evolving system of wealth. It covers the complete path, crypto took to go mainstream. Readers can feel encouraged to make a crypto exchange account and buy thousands of different cryptocurrencies, and make gainful use of the blockchain tools shown here.

Book Review: Forge Ahead

 Forge Ahead by Frank Vitale is a book about creating a winning strategy in business, life, and wrestling. It begins with an essential need for success, anywhere - show up and be actively present. Then comes the need to be involved at all times, going above and beyond every issue to keep delivering results. Need to motivate one's team comes next, followed by something very important - a failure is not a loss, it’s a lesson that can put every adversity to good use. Discipline and service can help you find a purpose, the ultimate drive, the book exhorts. After mentioning the need for acknowledging the strength in our differences, the book concludes by saying - while there is no single formula for success, leading with your strengths is the key.

This book is ideas flowing in a streamline path. It presents a big task of succeeding in business and in every aspect of our life as all about going forward. It also gives an easy solution to this, constantly create a forward momentum. With a conversational style, and with logical transition of ideas and topics between chapters, I find this book a real page-turner.