Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business

I liked Charles Duhigg's first book, so I read this second one with enthusiasm. What called my attention is that the book is very practical and useful.
What worked for him, to write this book, works for virtually everyone.
Here are his key concepts to become more productive and work smarter, faster and better:
First: prove to yourself you are in control (when answering to e-mails, write short sentences then fill in).
Second- ask Why you are doing this (marines)- affirmations of our deeper values and goals.
Third- two kinds of aims: stretch goals (to spark big ambitions) and a smart goal - to form a concrete plan- write to do lists with overarching ambitions and subgoals (plans) and timeline- did you do in a week what you planned? If not, change plans
Fourth- maintain focus- what to expect to see (envision once a week or every day)- mental model of what to ignore or go after (a story inside his head)
Fith: decision making, when confronted with the unexpected- envision multiple futures beforehand- wiser decisions

Definitely a great book, worthy of listening to.

This book has a lot of useful insights and examples that can improve individual and team effectiveness in many situations. It's written in the typical style that journalists use, (the Malcolm Gladwell approach) and so it's engaging, interesting, at times even riveting. Where I think it falls short is in the application department. There is a short chapter at the end where the author briefly explains how he applied what he learned writing the book to how he actually works. Mostly, the listener is left to work out the application of the principles for themselves. This would have been a much more effective book if the author had paused at the end of each chapter and taken the time to suggest how the principle covered in the chapter could be applied to individuals and teams with practical examples instead of story examples.

I think it's worth a read and full of useful material, but I feel that the author failed to complete the last lap.

Wow. Simply wow. This is a book that gripped me from the first chapter all the way to the very end. Duhigg is masterful storyteller, on top of that, he is a skillful and in-depth researcher. My favorite aspect about Duhigg's books is the fact that he uses so many different scientific studies. More than some academic scholars use in their publications. He makes sure to get the whole story. Just when you think he's run of examples... Boom another one. Don't get me wrong. This is not just a book laden with stories. However, Charles has way of giving you lesson by giving you the story. Then backing up the story with scientific research, and then providing very concrete and practical steps to apply the principles in your life. This book, even more than his last book, has made me a better person. I'm going to to buy at least 2-3 physical copies. For myself to highlight and read again. And at least two to give and invest into someone's life. This book will show how to do, how to think, and think about how do, and how to do what you think. Yea.... All of that! Chamberlain's rendition of narration is another smashing hit with Duhigg. I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book.

Enjoyed the format of dramatic stories to explain the individual themes. The appendix pulls the eight themes together into an actionable strategy.

Was really hoping for a continuation to his book on habits but this just did not deliver for me. The stories were entertaining but at times all over the place making it difficult to actually ascertain the point. Did not take as much away from this book as I expected, hence the disappointment.

Mike easy to listen to, lots of interesting stories to take in and apply.

The stories were excellent, The voice of the narrator was excellent.this was my second audio book from the author. The ending summary was much better than his last book,but the summary compared the the title of the book was greatly lacking. The percentage of the time on "how to " be smarter faster better... Was...small,smaller,tiny.

Found this book was much more useful, than "The Power of Habit," when it came to describing how to get things done.

Very easy to listen to and drew my attention throughout the book. There are 8 different ideas on being more productive, each idea is referenced to a few different real life experiences. It leaves me a little overwhelmed with wanting to jump right in and apply them, but I will try to remember that it's not a rule book. Take what you like, leave what you don't.

A mix of a variety of subjects: TQM-Lean, Goal Setting, forecasting, visualization, psychology, evolution... Looking forward to putting the techniques to work.