Customer Reviews

Power of An Hour: Business and Life Mastery in One Hour A Week

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is an amazingly thorough, dense, content-packed work that should be on every business person's bookshelf. It is a tremendous resource for business consultants and coaches as well as the business owner. Dave Lakhani offers an effective system to implement not just change, but mastery in your business and personal life.

That being said, this book is not for everyone. In some ways, this is a difficult book. The exercises that Dave leads you through are thorough and and you will end up asking yourself some hard questions. Fortunately, you only have to tackle it an hour at a time. Dave doesn't do things half-way; his attitude seems to be "Why wouldn't you want to be the best in whatever you do?" The man is ferocious.

In that regard, I think this book is brutal and will weed out all but the people most determined to get their businesses and their lives to a level of excellence. And maybe that is okay. Too many people are happy comparing themselves favorably to mediocre competition. Let the slackers read the feel-good, warm-fuzzy books. This book is designed for people who work on a level of excellence and demand more from themselves and their lives.

I bought the book at the suggestion of Harv Eker, whom I respect. However, I found this book to be dogmatic and lacking the inspiration that I expected. I found that many of the chapters were dry, brief, and did not connect with me. I had the sensation of having someone who had heard "this is how to be productive with your time" from someone else and was passing on the cliff notes. Instead of this book, I would recommend Brian Tracy's Goals! - which gave me much more inspiration and practical exercises.

I've read Dave Lakhani's book on influence and persuasion and, when I saw this title, I thought, "OK another author who sold a bunch of books and the publisher said - do you have another idea so we can bleed your market." Just being honest here. But boy was I surprised. I really enjoyed the book.

I have been teaching a model we call "The Foundations of Effectiveness" for more than four years. This book is a great resource for all those who've heard me talk about the importance of DISCIPLINE, which is one of the four knowledge areas within the SELF-MANAGEMENT Foundation. This book provides a set of simple techniques that can be used to form new habits and life patterns. This is in line with the definition we use for DISCIPLINE: the sum total of your habits.

In addition, Power of An Hour, will help you in the other two foundations: Relational and Technical abilities. Overall, this book is a great read and one that I would encourage you to read through at least twice to get all that it has to offer.

Tom Carpenter - Author: Wireless# Certification Official Study Guide, CWSP Certification Official Study Guide, and Foundations of Effectiveness: Making a Success of Your Career.

I bought this book based on the strength of six five-star ratings. Alas, it was a disappointment. There are a few good nuggets of wisdom here, but maybe a magazine article's worth, certainly not a complete book. It's barely 200 pages long and this number was padded through the liberal use of wide white space breaks between paragraphs and a huge number of dot-point lists. It is also poorly written, full of redundant phrasing, non-sequiturs, and improper use of language. Note to the author (and to the author's editor, if there was one): the proper term is "risk averse" not "risk adverse." If you're looking for truly practical advice on improving your productivity, I'd recommend any of David Allen's books over this one.

Have you ever felt stagnated in business ... in life ... and just wish you had the time to get your mind organized, free of clutter, and back on the fast track to getting things done?

I have ... a lot.

I've had the opportunity to read this amazing book and can tell you, I found the answers I was seeking within. I've always known that I should be spending a set amount of time each week to focus on the things I need to do to become more successful. Well, this book gives you the blueprint to do just that. It shows you how to devote only one hour per week - just one - to move ahead by leaps and bounds. You'll learn how to develop and apply your mental capacities, creative thinking, critical thinking, destroy blocks, and move forward exponentially in all of the important areas of your life.

This book reminds me of a new high-intensity workout routine I started recently. The workout itself is short - but VERY intense - and results in stepping up your metabolism so much, you can feel it all through the rest of the day. This book does the same - you spend one short yet highly focused hour per week, and you experience the positive results forever. Highly recommended.

An Hour! Just one short HOUR! What can the Author Dave Lakhani teach me to do in one hour?

Dave teaches you that your whole life, you very being and your futures can all be determined within how you spend a single hour. When was the last time you sat down, emptied you head of daily rubbish and focus on a task for the solid hour? No interruptions, no requests for coffee, no can you do this for me? I read the book and was astounded about just how much time I give up to help others who should know how to help themselves and all at the determent of my own success.

FEARSOME FOCUS: Remember this term as this book will coin the term and i can be sure that other books, companies and tv programs will start to use the phrase. It's an awesome book and my hat goes off to Dave and the work he has produced. Superb!

Gary May
Author: SELLING: Powerful New Strategies for Sales Success
www.garymay.co.uk

"Power of an Hour" is a must read for anyone wanting to get more productivity out of their day. I was extremely frustrated with all the time wasted each day doing things that didn't really matter. I had started a daily calendar to schedule more "work that matters" and I had even made some headway on being more productive. Then I read "Power of an Hour" and the light came on! I discovered that an hour is a wonderful thing! I am so surprised at just how much I can get done when I "focus" on one project for an hour at a time. Read this book and you will be surprised at just how much work you can get done in one hour!
I now schedule my day around several "must do" projects. Each project receives an hour of "fearsome focus". The "Power of and Hour" shows me how to set up the hour for peak performance. You will love the feeling that comes from getting so much accomplished in just one hour. Put several great hours in your day and you will soon come to realize the "Power of an Hour". My productivity has sky rocketed! Yours will too!

Focus is something I know I need more of and have struggled with various ways to get that done - from shutting the door to arranging like tasks together. I find the suggestions and practical applications in this book to be extremely helpful. I never thought about focusing on other areas of my life to improve them - focus on personal issues also helps tremendously. I find myself getting more of those tasks that I previously neglected - checked off my lists. It is absolutely amazing how much more I can get done by pulling together all the resources I need and setting aside a specific time to tackle them.

My compliments! Your book is one of the best written books with an amazing approach that drives clients forward. I am a success coach for CEOs and Executives, and I started to use some of your suggestions. The results are incredible!

Dave Lakhani's latest effort may just be the feel-good business book of the year. Not enough time in the day? Too many distractions competing for your attention? Not sure what to attack first? Take heart: All you need is one solid distraction-free hour and Lakhani's instruction manual (which won't take much more than an hour to digest), and you're on your way to achieving a Zen-like state of what he calls "Fearsome Focus" that will blast your troubles away. Few of his instructions are revolutionary, but Lakhani's energy and enthusiasm propel his common-sense message to new heights of can-do optimism. The bulk of the book is composed of 18 chapters that focus on specific hour-long business or personal tasks, but these chapters simply extrapolate the essential idea of learning the skill of focus described in the first 35 pages. Once you've mastered focusing, you can choose from the chapters' tasks or make up your own. We prescribe this book as a cheerful pep talk for anyone who is pressed for time or struggling with an overwhelming to-do list.