Allen Cheng, Author at Allen Cheng

#1 Book Summary: Influence, by Robert Cialdini

Have you ever wondered how persuasion works? How are salespeople, fundraisers, and politicians able to lure us into compliance— without us even thinking that we’re being manipulated?

This is what Robert Cialdini’s Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion sets out to answer. The book shows how the persuaders of the world use our basic mental instincts against us, transforming them into tools of compliance. By exploring the origins and common uses of six principles of persuasion—reciprocity, commitment/consistency, social proof, liking, authority, and scarcity—you’ll learn to spot when you’re being hustled and discover how to beat the persuaders at their own game.

#1 Book Summary: The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell

Americans might be the heaviest, sickest people in the world. The China Study suggests that we can lose weight and lower disease rates by removing animal foods from our diets.

What sets the whole foods, plant-based diet apart from the fads is the extensive research behind it, detailed and distilled in this book. The evidence is compelling and the message clear: Animal foods lead to disease; plant foods prevent and treat it.

Learn how a plant-based diet can give you more energy, reverse your heart disease, decrease your cancer risk, outsmart your genes, and make your life longer and healthier.

#1 Book Summary: Good to Great, by Jim Collins

In Good to Great, former Stanford business professor Jim Collins offers a primer on turning the average into the exceptional. Through detailed case studies of 11 companies that went from tracking the market to exceeding it by at least 3x, Collins presents the key factors that separate merely good organizations from great ones—from rare leadership to disciplined thinking to the dogged pursuit of a core mission.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a manager, or just an individual looking to improve, the concepts in Good to Great provide food for thought—and spurs to action. You’ll learn what it takes to be a “Level 5” leader, why assembling the right team first is more important than having the right idea, why you should be more like a hedgehog than a fox, and why “stop doing” lists are as important as “to do” lists.

#1 Book Summary: You Are a Badass, by Jen Sincero

You were born to be a badass, but are you getting the most out of your life? In You Are a Badass, author Jen Sincero helps you identify and change the self-sabotaging thoughts and behavior patterns that are stopping you from living up to your potential.

Creating a better life requires only one simple shift: Going from wanting to change your life to deciding to change your life. This book will explain why you are the way you are, how to change what you don’t like, and how to love yourself as you create a new, awesome life.

15 Examples of Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy is a powerful framework for finding new business opportunities. But it’s not always clear how to create a blue ocean strategy for yourself. We’ll cover 15+ Blue Ocean Strategy examples so you can figure out how to create your own blue ocean.

10 Red Ocean Traps You Must Avoid

Blue Ocean Strategy ends with ten Red Ocean Traps that can deter you from creating blue oceans or that jeopardize your execution. These will be phrased as myths that are then debunked:

Pioneer-Migrator-Settler Map

What is the Pioneer-Migrator-Settler Map? What does it mean for your business and Blue Ocean Strategy? Learn how you should have projects in each stage of the lifecycle, from pioneers to migrators to setller projects.

Cirque du Soleil – Blue Ocean Strategy, Explained

Cirque du Soleil is one of the key examples given in Blue Ocean Strategy. How did a circus performer create a blue ocean outside of the red ocean of circuses, and create an incredibly valuable company? Learn more about Cirque du Soleil’s Blue Ocean Strategy here.

Best Summary: Never Split the Difference, by Chris Voss

Never Split the Difference argues that emotion, not logic, determines the success or failure of negotiations. Being emotionally intelligent and empathetic is how you draw the crucial information out of your counterpart that gives you a decisive advantage. You get what you want by gaining a deeper understanding of what they want.

This approach flies in the face of a lot of traditional, old-school negotiating theories. Never Split the Difference argues that rational self-interest, win-win negotiating, getting to yes, and other traditional negotiating concepts are incomplete—they ignore the actual human beings doing the negotiating. We’re not robots, precisely calculating our best interests and formulating rational offers and counter-offers designed to maximize our utility.

Strategy Canvas from Blue Ocean Strategy

The Strategy Canvas is an important analytical tool from Blue Ocean Strategy. How do you use it in your business strategy to illustrate how your company differs? Learn more about the Strategy Canvas here.