I just finished reading the graphic-novel, Shooting War, and what a read it was!

Shooting War: The New Graphic Novel (trailer) from SMITHmag on Vimeo

Set in 2011, this is a look at the near-future from the eyes of Jimmy Burns, video blogger turned war correspondent. The story itself is hard-hitting, funny, and at times unnerving; and the visual story-telling is nothing short of brilliant - an awesome blend of art and photography.

I love how they have portrayed Jimmy, a blogger out of his depth, and their take on where the war in the Middle East could go (and America’s role in it) is, to say the least, thought provoking. However, the bits I loved the most was the subtle satire that the team threw in, such as the PS4 being used by American remote forces to control robotic-killers.

There’s a web-comic available to whet your appetite, however I cannot recommend the book itself enough. If you’re one of the people that always say to me, “You read comics? Aren’t they just for kids?” let this click answer your question…!

Title: Your Business Brickyard

Author: Howard Mann

Tagline: Getting back to basics to make your company more fun to run

Pages: 64

Dog ear score: 17:64 23%

So I just finished reading this book for the second time. I started it and finished it on a two hour flight to Cape Town (still having time to read the paper, eat terrible airline food, and generally rock the party).

This is a good business book. It’s the business book that the other business books wish they were. It’s the business book that gets all the hot chic-fic at the book parties. It’s well thought out, well written, and just about every page had a nugget of info that I scribbled down. Best of all, it respects the premium we place on our time - there’s hardly a wasted word in the 64 pages.

The basic premise is that we can make running our businesses fun again if we simply go back to the basics - and that’s why it works so well. It’s the diary of things that made a lot of sense back then that we’ve sadly grown out of. When you read it, you kick yourself, and if you’re anything like me, you change back.

That’s why it’s so handy that this is a one hour read, you’ll want to read it again in a year, and the “practice drills” the author provides will keep your grey matter busy long after you put the book down.

Here’s one of my favorite pull-quotes:

The ideas behind your purpose transcend your company. The truths of your idea exist whether or not a company is there to put them into practice. The ideas are universal.

Think about that for a second.

This is primarily a book for business owners of any size (your business, not your waist), however I believe senior management will get a lot out of it too.

Final word: Relevant

Okay, so I lied about the whole final word thing. Just an aside though, Howard Mann will be out speaking in South Africa in two week’s time at three invitation-only Standard Bank hosted events. So if you bank with ‘em, get a hold of your relationship manager okie-polokie and wrangle yourself a ticket.

So actually, the final word on the post is this…!