The Age of Speed: Learning to Thrive in a More-Faster-Now World

I was desperate for a read for the flight back from Tampa, and finally found this book at the airport. I can understand why some folks are impatient with it and spontaneously derisive, but as someone with over 1000 non-fiction reviews under his belt, I'm going to come down solidly in favor of this book. The Lord's Prayer is short and simple and not the Bible. Let's keep this in perspective. Any book capable of getting me to put down five pages of notes on an airplane is a five star book. Either you get it or you don't. This book is not a how to build a company book, it is a how to think about building a company in an age when you either become one with the highway, or you become road kill. I found the presentation including the mostly dark separation pages attractive. This book is a "just enough" book for reflection, not a tome trying to prove there are ten thousand angels on the head of a pin. Now here are my notes, don't buy the book if you do not like my notes: + Speed trumps privacy, expense, convenience, and fear. + Crackberry can drop your IQ by ten points (2.5X smoking marijuana) + Speed no longer a luxury, now an expectation + Haves and Have Nots now joined by Haves NOW and Haves Later + Time is the ultimate irreplacable commodity (it is possible I appreciate this author more because I see the connections--for example, on this point, Colin Gray, author of Modern Strategy, says that time is the one strategic variable that cannot be bought or replaced. This happens to be REALLY IMPORTANT. + Transaction speed trumps "too much attention, too much interaction" + Learning to save time open more options which opens more trees + Herd resists speed--it still has a connotation of "reckless, naughty, impatient." GET OVER IT. + Speed is best applied to mundane repetitive tasks, then to the repetive important. At no time does the author suggest that one should not spend TIME on the special, but he does point out that short-cuts can be justified and should not be automatically scorned. + 1990's pushed us into constant digital learning, but many have not gotten with the program. See Don't Bother Me Mom--I'm Learning! + New game is speed. Will have an impact an ORDER OF MAGNITUDE more than the present infantile Internet (this will include many of the things Google is working on, including the hand-held as THE device, voice to text, text to voice, etc. + the TIME VALUE of activities can now be ranked and we must learn to do this. + the equation of TIME, QUALITY, COST has changed. LESS TIME is needed, and that opens options for packing more value into the same old time. + Stress today is from the sense that being "always on" blurs the lines between work and home,. The author excels at illuminating how liberating it can be if one is "always on" BUT ALSO always free to do work from home or elsewhere. The trick here is to not confuse the OLD ideas of work as being a place and time, with the NEW ideas of work and non-work from an

I knew that The Age of Speed was a business book when I bought it but I kept applying the numerous examples and ideas to my personal life as well. We have three kids and I put in some hefty hours. Learning how to get balance things and get ahead of all the busyness is probably the most valuable thing I gained from reading Poscente's latest book. I just purchased one each for my staff because it is a fun, quick, informative read.

The journey begins with Vince Poscente relating and identifying the enormous pressure cooker speed creates in every venue of daily life. Whether speed is embraced, ignored or is creating havoc in our lives, we all have built a wall trying to shield ourselves from its effects, in one form or fashion. Through his experience in speed skiing, Vince, brings a paradigm change to the sweet impact speed can have upon our lives. He provides insight and practical concepts we all can apply personally and professionally that will not only create the paradigm shift, but will also catapult us into a place where order and peace reign amongst the chaos of the rest of the world.

I've been a Vince Poscente fan for years. His new book hits the mark on perhaps the most critical competitive issue in business today: speed. While there have been other treatments of the subject, Poscente's great advantage is that he engages the reader in a way that motivates action. This book makes you want to go beyond just reading and actually DO something about it. Poscente looks at the power of speed from many angles, and almost all of them struck a chord with me. I've said for years that being quicker and faster is one of the great advantages in business. Poscente just said it better. This book even FEELS fast. Great graphics and a unique layout make this book one that you should buy and, need I say it, buy it NOW.

I've anticipated reading this latest book from Vince Poscente for some time now. He did not disappoint! His message of More, Faster, Now hits home not only for myself, but for every hard working, high energy, dynamic personality out there who feels they have to get it all done at break neck speed and yet still yearn to find some time for...well...a life! I loved the category mix of companies and identified the niche I want to be part of as I progress in my business and personal growth. I just want to do it all today. It's a great read. (What time is it?...NOW.)