Reviews by Beth Wallace and Alexandra Johnson

The AI Factor: How to Apply Artificial Intelligence and Use Big Data to Grow Your Business Exponentially

By Asha Saxena (Post Hill Press, 2023), ebook and audiobook. Run time: 6 hrs, 15 mins

Despite predictions that AI could add more than US$15 trillion to the global economy by 2030, only 35% of organisations around the world are actually using it in their business.

This book seeks to support those business leaders that haven’t yet made the leap. It urges organisations to embrace AI, machine learning, predictive analytics and other data technologies to unlock the value of data to drive opportunities and establish new levels of growth and success.

Author and data strategist Asha Saxena outlines step-by-step instructions for planning a data-focused strategy. These range from identifying the data an organisation already has and where it is on its data journey, to taking stock of data readiness and assessing the ‘power areas’ where AI could have the most impact. These are followed by the key elements required to implement, measure and scale a data strategy.

Although Saxena shares examples of large multinational companies such as Starbucks, Domino’s, L’Oréal and Netflix that have implemented AI on a grand scale, she advocates for businesses and non-profits of all sizes to consider how they too can use AI and data effectively to use its latent, transformative potential. To that end, she includes case studies of small businesses that have successfully executed AI strategies.

Reassuringly, Saxena points out that it’s important for people to understand the significance of data and its potential to transform organisations in a meaningful way, rather than just understand the ins and outs of the technology itself.

Fear and misunderstanding contribute to AI resistance, but this book breaks the topic down into concepts that are easy to follow and put into action. It is a valuable resource for any organisation wanting to take advantage of data technologies.

Stop Worrying About Money: Start Planning Now to Secure Your Financial Future

By Jacqui Clarke (Wiley, 2023), ebook

Money worries are universal. Whether driven by the nagging fear of ‘expense creep’ or a life-changing event such as divorce, they can have a serious impact on wellbeing.

As the title implies, this book aims to remedy such concerns. Author and accountant Jacqui Clarke FCA dispenses a well-rounded assessment of the many areas that can trigger money worries, plus tips for overcoming them. She shares anecdotes of her own money stories and the factors that have influenced her relationship with money today, alongside client case studies and hypothetical scenarios.

There are a myriad of questions to answer, tables to populate and exercises to complete, encouraging readers to take control of their finances and avoid common money mistakes. These move well beyond basic balance sheets, delving into areas spanning philanthropy, educating children about money and planning for future events, including sabbaticals, a new business, a sea/tree change and death.

Sobering statistics woven throughout the book relating to issues such as relationship breakdown, money cheating and financial abuse serve as a reminder that certain events, and subsequent financial implications, can happen to anyone.

At a time when interest rates are rising and inflation is exacerbating financial pressures, Clarke delivers a wake-up call to anyone whose busy life has left them little time to plan for the future, or those who assume bad things won’t happen to them.

She is adept at normalising discussions about money – removing the emotion so often tied to the subject and setting out simple ways to plan for the future.

Hidden Genius: The Secret Ways of Thinking That Power the World’s Most Successful People

By Polina Marinova Pompliano (Harriman House, 2023), ebook

What can the likes of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Elon Musk teach us about navigating life with greater confidence and clarity? Plenty, according to author Polina Marinova Pompliano, former Fortune magazine editor and founder of The Profile, a platform for long-form stories about successful people.

Hidden Genius offers insights into the mindsets of a broad spectrum of people, ranging from elite athletes to navy SEALs, astronauts, writers and actors, as well as people who have experienced life changing events. It is divided into 10 chapters, each of which explores a different life area: creativity, mental toughness, leadership, community and relationships, to name a few. The triedand- tested approaches of people who excel in these areas provide fascinating lessons that readers can pick and choose from as needed to replicate in their own lives.

Pompliano’s people-focused approach ensures an enjoyable and engaging read. Sagely, she writes: “If I want to improve my decision-making or develop mental resilience, I can choose a person who best embodies the idea about which I want to learn. From there, I’ll immerse myself in their stories and begin searching for their hidden genius, the differentiator that makes them truly exceptional.”

Whether you’re reading Hidden Genius to optimise your content diet (a theme explored in chapter nine), or to seek life advice, you’ll likely find a few pearls of wisdom that, as the author intends, will help you move with greater purpose towards your goals.

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Also recommended

Top Stocks 2024: A Sharebuyer’s Guide to Leading Australian Companies

By Martin Roth (Wiley, 2024), ebook

Martin Roth offers a current guide to investing in the Australian share market. Using clear factors of profitability, debt levels and performance projections, this jargon-free book offers a wealth of information to help you make wise investing decisions.

Masters of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You

By Brad Stulberg (HarperCollins, 2023), ebook

On average, people experience 36 major ‘disorder events’ in the course of their adulthood. Drawing on the world of business, resilience training, science, spirituality, philosophy and psychology, Brad Stulberg offers a framework to help overcome the challenge of change and thrive in the midst of flux.

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Listen

Beyond Disruption: Innovate and Achieve Growth Without Displacing Industries, Companies or Jobs

By W Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne (Harvard Business Review Press, 2023), audiobook. Run time: 6 hrs, 6 mins

From the authors of the global bestseller Blue Ocean Strategy comes a new approach to innovation that examines how it doesn’t need to result in job losses.

The Freelance Mindset: Unleashing Your Side Hustles for Better Work, Play, and Life

By Joy Batra (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023), audiobook. Run time: 6 hrs, 25 mins

Joy Batra offers doable strategies to navigate freelancing so it is financially and personally rewarding, from highlevel consulting to monetising hobbies. She interviews more than 50 freelancers and concludes freelancing doesn’t mean a life of chaos and insecurity.

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Podcast

How to Save Time Using ChatGPT at Work With Donna McGeorge

Episode 903 of How to Be Awesome at Your Job. Run time: 44 mins

Australian productivity expert Donna McGeorge provides practical examples on how to use ChatGPT to get work done faster and easier. She discusses how to get started with ChatGPT, what it does better and worse than a human, and the best tricks and prompts to get the most out of it.

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