Customer Reviews

Never Wrestle with a Pig: And Ninety Other Ideas to Build Your Business

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

 

 

The book was quite clear and informative. It had many experiences that were shared and communicated well. It did give me many interesting tid bits and pointers, but -

I started to get the feeling that the author was really full of himself, and it seemed after a while that he kept saying: "only after I stepped in did things improve most of the time because I am such a smart guy..."

That started to wear me down and it started to get a little annoying. If it wasnt for that, the book was good.

I would not recommend this book to any friend of mine because I think there are other books out there that tell the reader more with less personal glory attached to it.

Perhaps I should read biographies more?

I usually tend to find career development/strategy books simplistic and mind-numbing. After having my attention caught by the title of this book though, I decided to give it a try. I couldn't put it down and have already recommended it to many people. The format is very reader-friendly with McCormack's having done a great job of packaging his points in morsels that are easy to absorb. You'll probably find yourself nodding in agreement with his bits of common sense as you're reading. It's the kind of book that you want to share with everyone, but on the other hand keep it to yourself because what you learn from this book will make you appear like a genius. The only detraction from the material is that the author does come off as pompous at times, but looking at his accomplishments, I think this attitude is warranted.

(This book was previously published as 'Staying Street Smart in the Internet Age').
It's not the first book by Mark McCormack I've read. Like the others, its very readable, and gives a collection of homespun philosophies, interspersed with personal life experiences. There's a strong emphasis on Sales, but 'selling' is surely part of all of our business relationships.
Just don't believe in the gospel of everything McCormack has to say; there are contradictions, just as life is full of them, such as :
In Part 8 'When you are in Charge', there is the lesson "unlearn the bad habit of not trusting your 1st impression", whereas in Part 9 'Etiquette for the New Millenium', under 'reading people requires more than one reading', there is a "caveat about reading people too quickly" - so which is it to be?
Consider it light reading to just remind you of the good & bad things that you can do to others & they can do to you, and re-adjust & compensate accordingly.

A book like this should sell better than the one-minute manager-fish-who moved the cheese type of simplistic stuff that's flooding the bookstores these days. Are we, the readers, such knuckleheads that we can't take in more than 100 pages of written text?

For those who want more management "meat", here's an excellent collection of advice from a real pro with interesting examples. I first heard Mark McCormack on the Tony Robbins' interview tapes and he came across as a very enlightened and sharp business man. So I take his advice very seriously. He also would not have been chosen by Mr. Robbins as his "business expert" for his interview series either.

This book which was title "Staying Street Smart" in its hardcover edition is filled with great ideas. I particularly liked: Beware the Small Defining Moments, Letting Go Is a Good Goal, Too, Pick Up the Pace with the Little Tasks, and the entire section entitled "Etiquette For the New Millenium."

Of all the concepts that I found most useful for me was the "What is the 'but...' about you? question. (Like Steve is a good self-hellp author and reviewer, but he's too nice.)

I hope people will buy this book instead of the shallow stuff out today. Mark McCormack is a businessman's businessman with vision, integrity, and street smarts. He and this book give business a good name.

You can't go wrong with this one!!!

Nuggets of wisdom for business and life in general. Lessons derived from business. I guess they may be useful for life in general as well. Having read so many titles and columns from the author, the examples are becoming a little de javu. Overall a good read.

I usually tend to find career development/strategy books simplistic and mind-numbing. After having my attention caught by the title of this book though, I decided to give it a try. I couldn't put it down and have already recommended it to many people. The format is very reader-friendly with McCormack's having done a great job of packaging his points in morsels that are easy to absorb. You'll probably find yourself nodding in agreement with his bits of common sense as you're reading. It's the kind of book that you want to share with everyone, but on the other hand keep it to yourself because what you learn from this book will make you appear like a genius. The only detraction from the material is that the author does come off as pompous at times, but looking at his accomplishments, I think this attitude is warranted.

I started reading business books with Mark McCormack's "What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School" years ago. So, I couldn't resist "Never Wrestle with a Pig," and am glad I picked it up. McCormack reminds us of the fundamentals and basic goals of business in order to succeed and prosper - whether today, tomorrow or way back in the 20th Century. I'm done wrestling with pigs, but I am going to give humans in business more chances with my refreshed knowledge from McCormack. It's a quick read with long-lasting benefits.

Great read for the attention span challenged. Question what he writes, challenge it, but read it. McCormack has great insight to corporate mental processes. He should, he's helped report on, if not shape, those executive processes for 30 years.

You can read this book in an afternoon, and if you are looking for ways to boost your business, I'd definitely recommend you check this out from the library rather than buying it. 70 - 80% of the recommendations here are focused on the career side of improvement.

Much of the recommendations are, as one reviewer posted, common sense, and certainly these have nearly all been covered by other books. There are a few that are well-done and that I've certainly not seen before:

* Not every budget deserves your respect
* Shrink your world into a small town
* A "heads-up" has consequences too
* Your job is just another project

And a handful of others. I'm not convinced the book is worth the money at an individual level; check it out from your local library first. If you find yourself taking 2+ pages of notes and you're only one-third of the way through the book, then go and buy it yourself.

J. Avellanet, Co-Founder of Cerulean Associates LLC

(This review is of the paperback edition re-published as 'Never Wrestle with a Pig').
It's not the first book by Mark McCormack I've read. Like the others, its very readable, and gives a collection of homespun philosophies, interspersed with personal life experiences. There's a strong emphasis on Sales, but 'selling' is surely part of all of our business relationships.
Just don't believe in the gospel of everything McCormack has to say; there are contradictions, just as life is full of them, such as :
In Part 8 'When you are in Charge', there is the lesson "unlearn the bad habit of not trusting your 1st impression", whereas in Part 9 'Etiquette for the New Millenium', under 'reading people requires more than one reading', there is a "caveat about reading people too quickly" - so which is it to be?
Consider it light reading to just remind you of the good & bad things that you can do to others & they can do to you, and re-adjust & compensate accordingly.