How to Read Harvard Business Review for Free

What is Harvard Business Review about? It showcases articles from subject matter experts ranging Managing Yourself to Organisational Culture to Decision Making. I like to read it for self improvement and when I am unsure of how to handle certain situations at work. Reading Harvard Business Review is like getting advice for free.

A quick check online shows that a Harvard Business Review annual subscription costs SGD $221. Many of you may be 'broke' and are not willing to pay to read the articles especially when you do not intend to read all the articles on offer. The non-subscription business model is limited to three (3) articles per month.

Read: How to Read Books for Free

How to Read Books for Free

These days time starved professionals do not have much time to read books, much less pay a visit to their nearest library to borrow books. Gone are the days where people visit the library as a past-time. With the advent of technology gadgets and entertainment (read: distractions), the amount of time spent reading has dropped. 

According to a study done by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the average time an adult spent reading is 25 minutes/ day in comparison to spending 200 minutes/day watching the telly. Various articles have been written about why you should spend time to read, such as allowing one to be more creative and open-minded and being successful in life. 

Reading should not be an expensive and inconvenient habit. In fact, it is free and easily accessible as long as you have access to a mobile device. 

How to Borrow National Library Board's eBooks using the OverDrive App for FREE

21 Dirty Tricks at Work by Mike Phipps

21 Dirty Tricks at Work by Mike Phipps

This book touches on the common experiences one faces in the office. I have worked in a few places before and I can say that politics is everywhere. Rather than avoid them, why not face it? Certain issues one faces at work are more prevalent which is worth taking note of. This book also serves as an emotional intelligence exercise to see how well you fare in such political situations. 

I have summarized the key points in this book below. Feel free to comment below whichever experience you face at work. And if the recommendations the author presented is helpful. 

Also check out my related posts on similar topics such as How to Retrench Proof Yourself and How to Negotiate Your Salary. 

One Up Wall Street by Peter Lynch

Book Summary on One Up Wall Street by Peter Lynch

How to Use What You Already Know to Make Money in the Market

For those Time Starved Professionals, I have compiled the list of points which I feel are relevant to the man in the street. Although this book is about navigating the financial markets, it is easy to read as Lynch wrote this with the intention for the everyday people to read. His aim is to show us that understanding the markets is not rocket science, arm yourself with knowledge and be patient. This book aimed at long term investors. If you are here looking for fast gains and strategy play, then this book is not for you.

Reading List

Reading List

1.Option B: facing adversity, building resilience and finding joy by Sheryl Sandberg 

- an open tell-all book by Sandberg. really enjoyed reading this book as i see her in her most vulnerable state. Not being a sadist here, more like the reader can click better with the writer and see that after-all, we are all humans. 

- i never knew that we have the capacity to increase our resilience by taking concrete steps in the face of adversity

- thru the eyes of Sandberg, she took the readers on an emotional healing journey with her

2. Never split the difference : negotiating as if your life depended on it by Voss Christopher

- STRONGLY RECOMMENDED

- before reading this book, I always think of negotiation as 50-50, give and take. Only when going through this book did I realize I got the concept wrong all these time. To truly win at negotiation, we have to make the other party give in fully, without them thinking that we are extracting more than we deserve. 

3. Blink: the power of thinking without thinking by Gladwell Malcolm

- I personally feel that Malcolm has a similar writing style with the Freakonomics writer duo. Their tongue-in-cheek writing style, combined with eccentric ideas makes this book really enjoyable to read. 

- so do I see things differently now? .. applying "out of the box"/ innovative ways of going about my daily routine tasks? I hope :)

4. Get the truth : former CIA officers teach you how to persuade anyone to tell all by Philip Houston

5. Emotional intelligence 2.0 by Bradberry Travis

- Understanding the 4 skills

  - Self awareness

  - Self management

  - Social awareness

  - Relationship management strategies

- accurately identifying our emotions as we experience them. Don't generalize.

- good to know. my main takeaway? be mindful of my own emotions; think of the big picture, long term consequences, don't get carried away in the now. 

6. The Panama papers : breaking the story of how the rich & powerful hide their money by Obermayer Bastian

- the reveal- all book by Bastian, a German investigative journalist who received The Panama Papers from an anonymous source. The source went on to forward extensive volume of internal documents which forms the basis of the investigations for this book. A compelling read for those who are curious how the rich get richer by evading taxes and much more. How Bastian et al research helped launched investigation by local authorities and made us aware of the legal loopholes out there.

7. Super Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

- interesting applications of economics and everyday "common sense" logic that most of us fails to think of, or even bother to sit back and ponder.

8. Think like a Freak by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

- Authors challenges us to think out of the box. Many a times the solution to everyday problems is very simple and right in front of us. We don't have to think deep, just take a step back and look at the big picture.