Customer Reviews

The Flake Filter - How to Handle the Unreliable People Who Waste Your Time

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Almost everything in this book is blindingly obvious, naive or patronising to the point that it put my teeth on edge. The author seems entirely self-absorbed and bent on reminding us mere mortals of his marvellous achievements (on paper) and in making money from this book (in my admittedly not-very-absorbed read of which I have already come across 3 blatant instances of begging/threatening the reader to buy the book - sounding more like the threats from a cheesy chain letter).

(an example from the first chapter: )
"Note to reader: if you are standing in a bookshop still reading this, then go and buy it now. Do not be a deadbeat. Go to the register and part with some money. We are not giving you this infomation for free; plus you will need this book and its insights with you at all (italicised!) times to identify the various Flakes that pop up in your everyday life."

And while the author failed to make me feel like I wasn't merely a pawn in his latest get-rich-quick scheme, a quick flip to the back should definitely help you to feel like a valued fan: (NOT)
"Your Opinions:
Earlier on, I promised you a space all your own, where you could write down your own opinions. Please do not send them to me, because I really don't care. I do, however, keep my word. The following space is just for you, and it is all your own. Please take this time to "get it all out of your system." Whatever is burning you up, please write it down for your own benefit(s). Enjoy." Followed by a rectangle in case you could not find the space below.

I was extremely unimpressed with the content of this book; the formatting and style seem hurried and amateurish, and the spelling and grammar errors provide some light relief. However, if you feel that you can benefit from an entire bookful of the above, and feel that you need help in spotting your own flakes to the tune of the cost of this book, please don't let me be the one to waste your time.

Save yourself the money - this book's contents are common sense and a blinding flash of the obvious to anyone who has been working in business for more than a few years. Got an extra star because it did make me laugh in places!

Buy a copy of Robert Ringer's book Winning through intimidation instead, which IMHO is 1000% better value

I received an email (not quite spam as it came as an 'extra' through a daily email service that I quite enjoy reading) about Toby Unwin's guide to getting rich through commercial property - yes even you or I could do it with no money down. It seemed to be too good to be true, so I thought I would google it to see if anyone else had written about it.

I then came across his other works - Flake Filter, Practice Without Fear (a physician's guide to asset protection), How to be a Powerseller on ebay and Wealth Without Fear (not a get-rich-quick book--it's a stay-rich-forever book - how lovely...). All of these approaches allegedly have made him rich beyond belief at age 26.

Having read the reviews (the one at the bottom is clearly a cut and paste job by either the author himself or his publisher and I wouldn't be surprised if the other 5 star reviews are as well considering they contain basic cheerleading rather than offer any insight), I have come to the conclusion that Toby Unwin is following the old adage that the best way to get rich is by writing about how to get rich. Personally, I very much doubt the author is an expert in all (any?) of these fields and I think the real benefit of reading the book will be marginal as attested by some reviewers. If you are feeling philanthropic, you could however help the author reach financial freedom. It's your decision, i've made mine.

I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it as a resource on the topic of personal integrity. In my opinion The Flake Filter is a practical examination of those who intentionally waste other people's time.

The author proposes what to do; how to deal with the type of person who makes promises loosely and simply does not follow through. There are many examples of how to evaluate potential business partners prior to doing a deal with them. I liked the tips on how to spot a track record of flakiness.

As far as the other reviews I honestly cannot understand how they take such great offense to this book. I have been in the business world for over ten years and I cannot think of a single instance when there was a process for dealing with BS people.

Get the book and use the exercises as I did and you will benefit at the very least by making yourself aware of some original ways to deal with people who just don't get it.

I'm always being forced into wasting time by people not doing what they promised - "flaking out". I've read every book on people skills and have finally found something that tells it like it is.

Not only can I now see these losers coming a mile away, I now know how to deal with quickly, so I can get on with my life.

Everybody who hates having their time wasted needs to read this book.

This book is really, really good at getting to the important points you really need to know. And that other books don't cover.

Many people will not like this book because they will see too much of themselves in it. I believe that the negative comments for this book may come from this.

Flakes waste your time and money. You will learn how many, many flakes there are in the world, and how to identify them relatively quickly.

We all have some flakiness in us. But once Toby has helped you to zero in on EXACTLY what you do and don't do that makes you flaky, then all have to do is improve.

This book could save you a ton of money and grief. I am buying another two copies for some flakes I care for.

We all know the situation. People let us down, make promises they won't keep and we spend weeks on the hook waiting for them. At last there's now help in the form of a new book from the best selling author of Practice Without Fear, Toby Unwin.

Unwin has retired from a successful career in the business world. He retired at 26, so I suppose he must have been doing something right. His career was in the Internet world, then in financing other .coms. He was one of the few people to actually run a profitable company in the sector and he shares some of the methods he used to get rich in The Flake Filter.

As you can imagine he met more than his share of unreliable, or "flaky" people as he calls them, during the Internet heyday and in business after. He found it difficult, as we all do, to spot these timewasters in advance and set out to develop a system to "filter" them out before he did business with them. The result was "The Flake Filter".

In addition to the advice on how to avoid the people who'll waste your time and money he's included a score chart to put a number on how likely the person is to be a "flake" and even included some "Certificates of Flakiness" that can be faxed anonymously to offenders.

Sometimes we don't have a choice who we deal with. Bosses, co-workers, contacts at other companies, etc. can all waste our time. Unwin lists 16 ways to deal with them. They range from the nice, "I'm glad you're working on this as I know it's going to get done" to the not so nice, a 3AM call to the head of the company. The book even tells you how to get any CEOs home number!

Lastly Unwin gives 25 ways to tackle the business world and pack as much result generating activity into the minimum time including how to spot a liar and how to bind someone to a contract that they haven't signed. If we knew this stuff, we might have been able to retire at 26 too!

Fantastic book. Although, if you yourself are a flake, prepare to be slapped around because your comeuppance is finally here; you're going to hate this book if you love wasting other peoples' time. Since implementing the practical advice in my business, I've able to greatly streamline my operation and manage my time more effectively. I found the section of contracts particularly interesting.

I have not read the book, nor do I intend to read it. I'd just like to comment on this brilliant turn of phrase from the author's note:

"there are lots of books around with pretty pictures, you might enjoy one with a cloth cover, or that in which you can color in."

I love when people try to sound witty and intelligent and fail miserably.