Imagine Bill Gates decides to write a self-help book on how to succeed in business.

Step 1: drop out of school or quit your job
Step 2: start a software company
Step 3: Find a dumb customer that will help you turn your ideas into the largest, most profitable software company in history
Step 4: Become the richest man in the world
Step 5: retire and create the largest charity in the world.

"Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time" (Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz)

Thus we learn that not every life creates a path that others can follow. I found myself thinking about that as I started reading "Never Eat Alone".

I happened to see the author speak about his new book a month ago and it got me interested in his first book. The Amazon reviews included a few strong criticisms and as I read the book, I found myself agreeing with them.

In the first chapter the author explains that he got into Harvard Business School even though he had no business education or training and he wasnt good with numbers. It appears that spreadsheets gave him migraines. But it gets better. With the MBA at his side, he then landed a job at a top 5 consulting firm where he was unable to do the work. Since he couldnt do his actual job, he started doing a completely different job. Instead of getting fired, he got promoted and soon became the head of marketing. This lead to more promotions and executive level jobs.

That story alone was enough to put me on edge. But I find the book to be an interesting read nonetheless.

The book is similar to another experience I had last year. I listened to a senior software developer who left Microsoft, went to Google, and 2 years later returned to Microsoft. This guy was speaking about the different cultures. I did not agree with his conclusions but I did appreciate his observations which let me draw my own conclusions.

So it is with this book. The author's life story is hard to take at times. It seems that he has had a career of "falling up" while others have made him a success. He is totally unselfconscious about telling us the details of his good fortune.

I dont agree with all of his conclusions or all of his advise but I do think his observations about how some things in life work is spot on. And worth consideration.

After only a few chapters, it seemed clear to me that the author is clearly someone I will never be. There are different social systems in life and "sales" is one of them. Many sales people become successful and many people use sales techniques to become successful. I personally find them to be very foreign but it is useful to be aware of them and use them whenever possible.

His idea that successful network is the result of generosity is intriguing. As is his idea that the more you give, the more you give; networking and contacts are not a scarce resource to be hoarded.

But I also think it is true that it takes a certain kind of person, say someone that gets a migraine from spreadsheets and math, that really excels at the world of "you wash my back, I'll wash yours."