With Budget only days away, if taxation worries keep you sleepless, ‘The Big Book of Business Advice’ by Gerd de Ley and David Potter (Westland) may offer some relief. “In both good times and bad, business leaders should always be open to a few words of advice – especially if they come from the rich and famous or, indeed, fellow business people,” the authors write in the intro.
For instance, in a section on ‘financial advice,’ you hear Austin O’Malley saying that in levying taxes and in shearing sheep it is well to stop when you get down to the skin. And lest the anxiety of the yet-coming Budget measures lead you to a ‘spirit’-ed route, Robert A. Heinlein has a word of caution to share: “Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors and miss.”
To those considering investments, a simple risk-return counsel from J. Kenfield Morley is that the amount of interest you want should depend on whether you want to eat well or sleep well. Then there is the sombre pun of Richard B. Sheridan: “It is not in my interest to pay the principal, nor in my principle to pay the interest.”
Jack Dee dangerously prescribes: “Make lots of money. Enjoy the work. Operate within the law. Choose any two of three.” And Marshall McLuhan discovers: “Diaper backwards spells repaid. Think about it.”
You can learn a few basic ‘money’ lessons from quotes such as: Life is too short to balance a chequebook (Howard Ogden). Any problem that can be solved with a chequebook isn’t really a problem; it’s just an expense (Harvey Mackay). When large sums of money are concerned, it is advisable to trust nobody (Agatha Christie).
The ‘When’ section opens by warning that when the result of a meeting is to schedule more meetings, it usually signals trouble (Kevin Murphy). To those who are too senior to work, Woodrow Sears says, ‘Your work is going to meetings.’ When two men in a business always agree, William Wrigley Jr. suggests that one of them is unnecessary. And a down-to-earth quote of Colleen C. Barrett is that ‘when it comes to getting things done, we need fewer architects and more bricklayers.’
There are nuggets of insight in the innocuously-titled chapter ‘general advice.’ For instance, Bill Gates urges, ‘Deliver yesterday, code today, think tomorrow.’ Edward Albee finds that sometimes it’s necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly. And Ashleigh Brilliant notes, “A good way to get absolutely nowhere is to try to move in several directions at once.”
The final chapter of the book is ‘the secret,’ with snatches of ready takeaways. For instance, ‘the secret of getting ahead is getting started,’ says Mark Twain. “The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one,” he guides.
‘The first secret of success,’ according to Norman Vincent Peale is to believe in oneself, and to start thinking that one can do things. “Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success,” instructs Henry Ford. And Oswal Spengler observes, “The secret of all victory lies in the organisation of the non-obvious.”
Handy addition to the speakers’ shelf.
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