The End of Competitive Advantage Rita Gunther McGrath

Review: The End of Competitive Advantage

Chances are the strategies that worked well for you, even a few years ago, no longer deliver the results you need. Dramatic changes in business have unearthed a major gap between traditional approaches to strategy and the way the real world works now.

In short, strategy is stuck. Most leaders are using frameworks that were designed for a different era of business and based on a single dominant idea – that the purpose of strategy is to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Now, Columbia Business School professor and globally recognised strategy expert, Rita Gunther McGrath, argues that it’s time to go beyond the very concept of sustainable competitive advantage.

4/5* Read!

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Books Of 2017 (So Far)

Life has been whopping my ass, therefore this post is about a week late. BUT I couldn’t let the mid-point of 2017 go by without marking it in some way (HOW is it past the halfway mark of this year already, HOW?!). I had a solid start to reading this year, but I’ve fallen a little behind due to work commitments and studying. My final exam is the 20th of July, and then I’m free! Figuratively speaking, I still have to work and earn dolla. But you get my drift. That said, here are my top ten books of 2017 (so far)…

Review: The Hate U Give

Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised, and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

5* Read!

Review: Through The Barricades & Giveaway!

She was willing to sacrifice everything for her country. He was willing to sacrifice everything for her

“Make a difference in the world” are the last words Maggie Gilligan’s father ever says to her. They form a legacy that she carries in her heart, years later when, at the age of fifteen, she tries to better the lives of Dublin’s largely forgotten poor.

“Don’t go getting distracted, now” is what Daniel Healy’s father says to him after seeing him talking to the same Maggie Gilligan. Daniel is more than distracted. He is intrigued. Never has he met anyone as dismissive, argumentative… as downright infuriating.

4.5* Read!

Review: Seven Steps to Happiness

Is there such a thing as a formula for happiness?

If it’s Netflix + 2 for 1 Malbec + the perfect toasted-cheese sandwich, Lenny Dublonsky has it covered. Even if she works for a tech company where her colleagues ride scooters round the office, and is in a relationship with a man who doesn’t do relationships.

A funny and moving novel of friendship, heartbreak, and the restorative power of melted cheese.

4.5* Read!

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Books of 2016

From thrillers to fantasy, and contemporary to historical, I share a breakdown of my Top Ten books from 2016!

The Double Life of Mistress Kit Kavanagh Book Cover

Review: The Double Life of Mistress Kit Kavanagh

Of all the dangers she faced, the greatest was discovery… When Irish beauty Kit Kavanagh’s husband is taken to be a soldier, Kit enlists in the Duke of Marlborough’s regiment, disguised as a man, to follow him across war-torn Italy. Risking her life in battle, she forms a close bond with her wry and handsome commanding officer, Captain Ross.

But even when she dresses once more as a woman to evade capture, the war is not over for Kit. She catches the eye of the scheming Duke of Ormonde, who recruits her to spy upon the French. Torn between Captain Ross and her husband, and under the orders of the English Crown, Kit’s life will be in more danger now than on any battlefield.

5* Read!

Review: The Crying Tree

Irene Stanley thought her world had come to an end when her son Shep was murdered during a robbery at their home. 19 years later, Shep’s killer is placed on death row, awaiting a date for execution. Irene, having reached the brink of suicide, now realizes that she needs to face the secrets that surround her son’s murder.

4.5* Read!

Top Ten Tuesday – Favourite Books Of 2015 (So Far)

Top Ten Favourite Books Of 2015 (So Far) I feel like I’m finally getting to grips with reading this year – I had a great start to 2015 with reading and blogging, but hit a slump in the Spring, but it’s beginning to feel like I’m back on track again! So, here are the top ten books […]

Review: Slammed

Layken’s father died suddenly, leaving her to gather every ounce of strength to be a pillar for her family, in order to prevent their world from falling apart. Now her life is taking another unexpected turn…Layken’s mother gets a job which leads to an unwanted move across the country. However, a new home means new neighbours… and Layken’s new neighbour is the very attractive Will Cooper.

Will has an intriguing passion for slam poetry, and a matching passion for life. The two feel an irresistible attraction but are rocked to the core when a shocking revelation brings their romance to a screeching halt. Layken and Will must find a way to fight the forces that threaten to tear them apart… or learn to live without each other.

5* Read!

Review: The Good Psychopath’s Guide To Success

What is a good psychopath? And how can thinking like one help you to be the best that you can be?

Dr Kevin Dutton has spent a lifetime studying psychopaths. He first met former SAS hero Andy McNab during a research project. What he found surprised him. McNab is a diagnosed psychopath but he is a GOOD psychopath, able to dial up or down qualities such as ruthlessness, fearlessness, conscience and empathy to get the very best out of himself – and others. Drawing on the combination of McNab’s wild and various experiences and Dr Dutton’s expertise, together they have explored the ways in which a good psychopath thinks differently and what that could mean for you. What do you really want from life, and how can you develop and use qualities such as charm, coolness under pressure, self-confidence and courage to get it?

4* Read!

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover Book Cover

ReRead Review: Maybe Someday

I originally read this book for the first time in May 2014, giving it 4.5*.
I wish I had more time to reread, BUT I did manage to fit this one in, and compare my reread thoughts to my original thoughts!

4.5* Read!

Babes and Books Review: Before I Go

Daisy is 27-years-old and has only months to live. And, each day, she’s finding her way through what needs to be done. Her major worry is what her wonderful, charming husband, Jack, will do without her. She knows that he won’t take care of himself so Daisy has to do it for him. As she searches for Jack’s next wife, she begins to realise that her plan to ensure Jack’s happiness is much more complicated than she expected.

4* Read!

Babes and Books Review: Never Never

Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen. Complete strangers since this morning.
He’ll do anything to remember. She’ll do anything to forget.

4.5* Read!

Review: Bad Feminist

A collection of essays spanning politics, criticism, and feminism from one of the most-watched young cultural observers of her generation, Roxane Gay. In these funny and insightful essays, Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman (Sweet Valley High) of color (The Help) while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years (Girls, Django in Chains) and commenting on the state of feminism today (abortion, Chris Brown). The portrait that emerges is not only one of an incredibly insightful woman continually growing to understand herself and our society, but also one of our culture.

4.5* Read!

Review: Heir of Fire

Consumed by guilt and rage, Celaena can’t bring herself to spill blood for the King of Adarlan. She must fight back…

The Immortal Queen will help her destroy the king – for a price. But as Celaena battles with her darkest memories and her heart breaks for a love that could never last, can she fulfil the bargain and head the almighty court of Terrasen? And who will stand with her? Crowned by Evil. Bound by Duty. Divided by Love.

4.5* Read!