Number



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Hardcover
268 pages
ISBN 9780743270311 Published Jan. 2006
Free Press
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[INACTIVE] Number
A Completely Different Way to Think about the Rest of Your Life
By Lee Eisenberg 

Related Blog Posts
Addressing The Behavior Gap in the New Year
Posted Dec. 28, 2011 12:03 p.m. by dylan
In - 800 CEO Read Blog

We don't recommend too many personal finance titles around here. The last one I can remember us being really excited about was Lee Eisenberg's The Number, which came out in 2006 and didn't do as well with the general readership as we thought and hoped it would.

Financial literacy is a immensely important topic, but most personal finance books are rather dense—as well-written, easy-to-understand and exciting to read as the assembly instructions to the bar stool you just got for Christmas. They're also very often written by folks who are just "selling water by the river," bottling a resource you could easily get for free if you'd just take a few more steps. And at other times, their message just seems to be painfully obvious—such as in the lovely little video below.

And that's the honest ones. The darker side of the field is filled with get-rich-quick schemes and late-night infomercial charlatanry.

But every once in a great while a diamond comes out of the personal finance rough. The Behavior Gap: Simple Ways to Stop Doing Dumb Things with Money by Carl Richards is one such gem. And if getting your finances in order is on your list of resolutions for the New Year, it's coming at the perfect time—January 3rd.

You may know Richards from the Bucks Blog over at The New York Times. If so, you know what to expect: a calm, clear, honest and reasonable voice that peppers its insights with "back-of-the-napkin" sketches and diagrams. (If you're not familiar with him, take a peak at A Plan for 2012 That You’ll Actually Follow to get an idea of what you'll be getting into here.)

Richards coined the term "behavior gap" to describe the difference between average investment returns and investor returns, which are much lower. And he makes a persuasive case that closing this gap doesn't require learning a secret financial formula or finding the perfect investment—which he argues does not exist abyway—but overcoming irrational instincts and finding balance.

I don't believe that there is a secret to getting rich. But in the end, financial decisions aren't about getting rich. They're about getting what you want—getting happy. And if there is a secret to getting happy, it's this: be true to yourself.

That sounds somewhat out of place in a book about finance, but it's a vitally important core to have. (And, though this book doesn't address larger financial issues, I think the same could be said for the finances of any company large or small, and any country in the world.) Perhaps the best advice he gives in he book is to "Focus on your own behavior, not the market's behavior:"

"Have you seen what the market is doing?" People often say this when they are in a state of shock or exhilaration. They're ready to go to cash until things "clear up," or they're preparing to load up on stocks before it's "too late." Notice the implication that the market is "doing" something right now. In reality, we only know what the market has already done.

The Behavior Gap won't show you how to predict the market or get rich quick—not financially anyway. You'll learn what financial matters you can control and which you can't, what you should plan on and what you shouldn't, and that it's okay to make mistakes from time to time, because you will. It provides a framework and a mindset with which to approach your financial life that enriches the quality of your life as a whole—the best return on investment I think you'll be able to find. Instead of providing easy answers, it prompts you to ask the right questions. After all, only you can be an expert on what you want, and only you can find it.

It won't identify your behavior gaps, but it will help you identify them for yourself. He addresses this reality in the book's conclusion:

I wish I could be more specific about how to solve your problems, but because I don't know you personally, I can't give you specific advice about your individual behavior gaps. Remember: taking financial advice from a stranger is dangerous.

It is that honest, sober and reasonable assessment&mash;along with the questions and tools he provides for you to make your own personal assessments—that makes The Behavior Gap so valuable.

I don't know about you, I'm tired of personal finance (all finance, really) being treated as if it's a game we're all playing, tired of all the yelling, bells-and-whistles, irrational exuberance and (by-turn) panic. I'm tired of feeling as if I need to be plugged into the news 24/7, seeking out the advice of analysts and gurus who seem to be only pretending like they know what they're talking about to keep my head above water. That makes some people happy, and I wish those people all the money and happiness they can possible hold onto, but it makes me nauseous. As Dan Heath says in his blurb for the book, "Carl Richards is the anti-Jim Cramer," and that's exactly what I'm looking for.

If you feel similarly, and improving your financial outlook (in the best sense of that word) is on your list of resolutions for the New Year, The Behavior Gap is the first book you should pick up in 2012.



Lee Eisenberg's Shoptimism (and 50% off of The Number)
Posted Nov. 6, 2009 6:20 a.m. by dylan
In General Business - 800 CEO Read Blog

One of the books we really tried to get people to read in 2006 was Lee Eisenberg's The Number: A Completely Different Way to Think about the Rest of Your Life, published by Simon & Schuster imprint Free Press. We were huge evangelists of the book, constantly blogging and telling everyone we could about it. It was a Jack Covert Selects and Todd picked it as one of his best books of 2006. And, even though it was a best-seller, it never caught on as much as we thought it should. As Todd wrote looking back on it that year:

The book was released with high hopes from Free Press and the book never meet the expectations of the publisher. Adrian Zackheim, the publisher at Portfolio, said that people don’t want to read about how they are not going to have enough money when they retire. I agree with him. Eisenberg takes you on a emotional roaster coaster ride through what it is going to take to deal with the second half of your life. It has been a long time as since I have been that depressed from reading a book. My reaction came from his vivid storytelling and the stark realities he forced me to face.

What I Learned: The magnitude of your number is driven by future lifestyle. People struggle is how they are going to spend their post-workforce years. Your life needs purpose and meaning whether you are 38 or 88. Calculate accordingly.

Mr. Eisenberg's new book, Shoptimism: Why the American Consumer Will Keep on Buying No Matter What, is decidedly more upbeat. Released earlier this week (again by Free Press), it is not only an examination of our current consumer culture, but a look at the American history of shopping (what he calls in the video below a social history of the United States). It is a candid and sober book, but not at all depressing or admonishing. It is engaging, fun, and as its title suggests, imbued with optimism. To get an idea of the book's tone and Eisenberg's point of view. Check out the excerpt below of his interview on last night's episode of Tavis Smiley.

You can access the entire interview here.

In honor of the new book's release, and to encourage you to go back and read Eisenberg's last, I am offering the next 20 people who order the original, hardcover edition of The Number from us 50% off the list price--that makes it $13.00. To get the discount, simply enter "thenumber" in the coupon field (the field will be on the right side of your screen when you check out)*.

*if for any reason, this does not work for you, email me at dylan at 800ceoread dot com.



Todd's Best of Business Books 2006
Posted Dec. 13, 2006 8:08 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Lists - 800 CEO Read Blog

I started with a list of 22 books that I thought deserved year-end honors. The narrowing of the list was the hard part. I quickly marked the ones I knew should be on my list and looked to see if they had something in common. What I saw was each of the books changed the way I looked at the world. I went through the list again with that criterea and found three more books.

Here are my six favorite books of 2006:

*The Origin of Wealth by Eric Beinhocker

This is my favorite book of the year and you will not have seen me talk about it anywhere on the site. How is that possible? It is a hard book to talk about in 100 words. Beinhocker has taken all of the literature on complexity theory and put it into one book. The information is accessible and the research explained through extended stories. More importantly, Origin of Wealth is written for a business audience. What many are going to find daunting is the book is 512 pages. My solution: take three books off your night stand and replace them with Origin of Wealth.

What I Learned: The complex nature of the universe makes it impossible to predict. What makes it worse is that our brains are not wired to see the complexity in the world and we often make poor decisions because of it. The only thing you can do to survive is keep trying new things (and understand that most will fail). I know that sounds obvious, but are you doing it?!

*The Number by Lee Eisenberg

The book was released with high hopes from Free Press and the book never meet the expectations of the publisher. Adrian Zackheim, the publisher at Portfolio, said that people don't want to read about how they are not going to have enough money when they retire. I agree with him. Eisenberg takes you on a emotional roaster coaster ride through what it is going to take to deal with the second half of your life. It has been a long time as since I have been that depressed from reading a book. My reaction came from his vivid storytelling and the stark realities he forced me to face.

What I Learned: The magnitude of your number is driven by future lifestyle. People struggle is how they are going to spend their post-workforce years. Your life needs purpose and meaning whether you are 38 or 88. Calculate accordingly.

*The Ultimate Question by Fred Reichheld

Fred has been talking about customer loyalty for years. I remember when The One Number You Need to Grow ran in Harvard Business Review in 2003. Kate says it was a part of her coursework. I felt Net Promoter Scores (NPS) finally put some numbers to the power of word of mouth. Companies like GE and American Express have created corporate initiatives while others question if NPS really predicts corporate growth [WSJ - sub. needed].

What I Learned: In one question, I could find out the most important thing I need to know about my customers - would they recommend me to friend. This is not the sort of thing that can be corrupted. 800ceoread adopted the NPS philosophy when the book came out and believe wholeheartedly its effectiveness. We found out (and continue to find out) what matters to our customers. All you have to do it ask.

*The Change Function by Pip Coburn

Pip advises the investment community on technology. For him, technology is not about earnings per share and software release dates. It is about whether people will adopt it. It is about change. The book is a quick read with great examples. If you are in IT and you want to know why the functional groups around you are implementing their own solutions, this book is for you.

What I Learned: All you have to think about is whether the crisis greater than the pain of adoption. If the answer is no then nobody is going to buy. And this applies to all sorts of change like moving from PC to Mac or lowering your cholesterol. Simple, but powerful.

*Purpose by Nikos Mourkogiannis

I wrote my love letter to this book yesterday.

*D.I.Y. (Design It Yourself) by Ellen Lupton (editor)

I saw this book showing up on a number of design websites in the last year, and it piqued my interest. The book gives you some thoughts on the craft of design, but the cool part is Ellen and her students showing you how to make stuff. D.I.Y has instructions on how to make t-shirts, books, business cards, wall-graphics and more. Knowing what is possible help you be more creative.

What I Learned: You can make it yourself. You don't need to go to the store and choose the least worst. I made a batch of t-shirts for a side project that turned out great. My annual Christmas CD turned out wicked cool with some pre-silkscreened CDRs and slick jewel cases. I am already plotting my D.I.Y. projects for next year.

******

I was going to stop there, but I think there are some others titles that our dear readers need to make sure they considered. Consider these my honorable mentions.

-Firecracker Category (everyone needs a little inspiration):

Small Is The New Big by Seth Godin (best of his short writings)


Radical Edge by Steve Farber (another killer business novella)


Mavericks At Work by Bill Taylor and Polly LaBarre (the energy of Fast Company returns)

-The Company Books (read about the companies shaping how business is done):

The Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman (best book on the company. Period.)


The Elegant Solution: Toyota's Formula for Mastering Innovation by Matthew May (spent time inside to find out what makes them tick)

-Thinking Cap Category (time to start thinking differently):

More Than You Know by Michael Mauboussin (this one is really about making better decisions)


One Great Insight Is Worth A Thousand Good Ideas by Phil Dunesberry (describes and illustrates the power of insights)


Are You Ready To Succeed? by Srikumar Rao (self-help for business people)


Undercover Economist by Tim Harford (economics are all around you, Tim show you where)


Questions of Character by Joe Badaracco (uses fiction to teach lessons in leadership)

-Nuts and Bolts Category (things to help run the organization better)

Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense by Jeff Pfeffer and Bob Sutton (based your decisions on evidence, not conjecture)


The Prepared Mind of A Leader by Bill Welter and Jean Egmon (matches my view of leadership)


Setting The Table by Danny Meyer (the NYC resturanteer share his brand of managing)


12: The Elements of Great Managing by Rodd Wagner and James Harter (ten million Gallup interviews can't be wrong)



Place your vote.
Posted Sept. 20, 2006 5:33 a.m. by kate
In Current Events - 800 CEO Read Blog

The finalists for the annual Quill Book Awards have been announced. Place your vote before the end of September. Your business book choices:

Congrats to the finalists!



Chain of Links
Posted May 3, 2006 4:06 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Personal Finance and Investing - 800 CEO Read Blog

Here is a dump of some of those links that have been building up in my bookmarks:






More on this book