Thursday, August 17, 2017

Review: The Science of Success: What Researchers Know that You Should Know by Paula J. Caproni


Genre: Non-Fiction/Self-Help

Description:

“In this book you will learn what you need to do to achieve the success in life that you desire and deserve. The author provides you with a practical framework that will help you get better results at work, be successful in your career, and enjoy a fulfilling life outside of work.”

In short, this book answers these three main questions:

(1) What do the most successful people do differently than other people?

(2) How can those characteristics and behaviors be learned?

(3) How can you apply these lessons to your own life?”

Author:

Paula J. Caproni is a faculty member in the Management and Organizations Department at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Professor Caproni received her MBA from the University of Massachusetts and her Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Yale University. In addition to teaching about leadership skills, effective coaching, developing power and influence, and creating high performing teams in the University of Michigan MBA and Executive Programs, she has served as the Academic Director of the Full-Time and Part-Time MBA Programs. She has coached over 500 executives and served as the lead Professional Development Coach for the Executive MBA Program and several Executive Education programs.”

Appraisal:

At its foundation, this book is looking at the scientific studies that have been done that pertain to being successful and based on that explains the steps you or anyone could take to become more successful, whatever that word means to you. In other words, Ms. Caproni has provided the data.

As I was reading I found myself providing anecdote in support of the theories. For example, there were multiple times the author mentioned joining and participating in a Toastmasters Club as something to help in a particular area, and I compared her suggestion to my own Toastmasters experiences, and they agreed. I found myself looking at successful people I know or situations I’ve been in and saw that they fit the patterns she describes.

One big takeaway that some people would benefit from learning is that a big part of success is believing you can achieve your goals and then taking the actions to get there, one step at a time. This is a book I wish I’d read years ago, but think even those getting a bit old like me could still profit from what it teaches.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 50-55,000 words

No comments: