When I read, I generally have pretty strong feelings one way the other about a book within the first few pages.  The really good ones, I have to pace myself as I read, because I’ll fly through them in a matter of hours.  I don’t want to put them down.  The problem is, if I read them too quickly, I miss half of their importance.  I force myself to ONLY read one chapter in each sitting, so I have time to think through their concepts and take from them what is going to help most.

This is how Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky was for me.  I didn’t want to put it down, and I find myself thinking about his concepts on a regular basis.  Have you ever had a BRILLIANT idea, that you just KNEW would change the whole world if you could just figure out the best way to implement it, or get it in front of the right people, but somehow 3 months later, nothing has been done with it, or worse, someone else did something with it?  One of these 2 scenarios happen all the time to a million good ideas.  Implementing the practices laid out in Making Ideas Happen, can help see ideas through to their completion, give insight into when it’s time to let go of an idea or save it for later.

It’s become the text book for our office.  I refer to it, re-read the underlined passages, try to remember what he said about note-taking or Insecurity Work, etc., and then work hard to implement his ideas, because they just make sense!  As an organized person and a lover of order, I appreciate how succinctly he answers questions that I didn’t know I should be asking, and he offers really practical insights into how to work to get to desired outcomes.

Read the book, then tell us what your favorite concept was from it.  We’d love to hear what you liked best!