Ben Nesvig

The home of Ben Nesvig's Daily Musings.

  • About Me
  • @BenNesvig
  • Archive
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Book Review / Book Review: End Malaria by Michael Bungay Stanier

Book Review: End Malaria by Michael Bungay Stanier

September 12, 2011 By Ben Leave a Comment

End Malaria Michael Bungay Stanier Book Cover

No, this isn’t a book on malaria. It’s a book full of advice from 62 of the best and brightest minds in business.

If you organized an Olympic Dream Team of the best and the brightest business and tech authors of our time, 99% of them would be found in this book. In the book you’ll find essays from Kevin Kelly, Pam Slim, Sir Ken Robinson, Derek Sivers, Danielle LaPorte, Gary Vaynerchuk, Tom Peters, Seth Godin, Josh Kaufman, Dan Pink, and many other great people.

To say I was excited to hear about this release was quite the understatement.

Initial Thoughts After Reading:

There is a lot to take in here. From productivity tips to finding your true calling, this book has a lot of solid advice.

The writing is in the style of other Domino Project books, broken down into short punchy riffs. This made for a rather quick and entertaining read. Paging back through the book, I noticed a fairly consistent amount of highlight throughout the entire book.

What I Learned:

Many of the essays are finding me at a relevant time, specifically Kevin Kelly‘s essay on what you don’t have to do and Sir Ken Robinson’s chapter on finding your element. The $20 for the book was paid for by those two chapters alone.

Kevin Kelly’s essay “What You Don’t Have To Do” came at a time where I’ve been reflecting on what I do every day and what work I need to cut out. The best work I can do is the work that only I can do. Very important to think about.

Sir Ken Robinson’s essay “Finding Your Element” had me reflecting on all my past jobs and where I was at my element. It turns out one of my jobs in college fits the exact description of my element. I’ll go more in-dept in a future blog post.

Favorite Quotes:

“It comes from a deeper place, from the part of your soul that understands that the work you do is not about you; it is about the people you affect with your work.” – Pam Slim

“Caring about the customer is a mindset, not a tactic.” – Gary Vaynerchuk

“Not only is it okay to have a few people hate your brand; it’s absolutely necessary. If you’re not eliciting a negative response from someone, then you’re probably not very compelling to anyone.” – Sally Hogshead

“Work at its smartest means doing that work that no one else can do.” – Kevin Kelly

The Verdict: Must Buy

Buy it. Even if you don’t read it. It will save a life and you’ll get far more than $20 worth of advice if you actually read it. Look for several blog posts inspired by the book to follow. Find it on Amazon.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Book Review

About Ben

Ben Nesvig is an author, writer, idea spreader, and creative dabbler.

Search

minnesota state fair book cover
first world problems book cover
Get my book First World Problems: 101 Reasons Why The Terrorists Hate Us on Amazon.

Recent Posts

  • I’ve Been Making Memes
  • Should I write another book?
  • Random Thoughts on Becoming a Father
  • What happened in 2016 and Why New Years Resolutions Fail
  • Why do first world problems exist?

Copyright 2018