This book describes the journey of finding the lost painting by Caravaggio, called “The Taking of Christ.” It also goes into more details about Caravaggio’s tumultuous life. It reads like a novel, full of twists and turns. The main characters were interesting. I learned a lot more about restoration of painting and techniques to authenticate a painting. An artist’s life, like Caravaggio’s, was fragile and at times suicidal. Living between feast and famish, Caravaggio was at his best when driven to the extreme, running away from the authority after killing a man in a fight.

The secret aristocratic, art society was revealed somewhat. The competition to find the lost painting was fierce.

I utterly enjoyed the audio book.

Mr. Darwin was a very careful man. Like a good scientist/engineer, he would check and double-check his data to prove his hypotheses. The hypotheses of evolution was and still is a difficult subject to prove, as it would like thousands and millions of years for evolution to take place. His painstaking work on barnacles and other species showed that he assumed a lot of pride in his work.

His peculiarity in dealing with deaths of loved ones and respected colleagues by not attending funeral services showed his deeply seated belief that our lives end at the time of death. There was no afterlife or heaven and hell to him. This ran into conflict with his religious wife, who gave births 10 children, 3 of those died at young age. Through his love for this children, he seemed to express deep dissonance that the afterlife doesn’t exist.

His rush to publish the “Origin of Species” as an abstract was prodded by another colleague, who had similarly reached the same conclusion about evolution/transmutation, and etc. This had resulted in a writing more concise and easy to understand than his other writing. (I haven’t read the “Origin of Species” yet. It’s on my to-do list).

Fortunately, Darwin had a rich father, who passed on to him lots of wealth and assets. This allowed him to concentrate on his research/field work. Without the wealth, Darwin may need to resort to academia that would probably put him in the same group as any others. His uniqueness may have been a byproduct of his financial independence.

For a man living in that era, it took a lot of courage to publish his work and his belief. Darwin may have been reluctant to go against the grain of the largely religious society, but he finally gave in to speak his mind, risking ridicule of others. How’s that different from a modern hero?

This is another interesting in-depth discussion of some interesting topics in micro-economics. It’s all about how people respond to incentives.

The surprise about the key ingredients for global warming is not even CO2 but water vapor. And the quick fix for the problem may be just pumping sulfide dioxide to the stratosphere 16 miles above the sea level. Some smart people at IV (Intellectual Venture) are working hard addressing the issue.

The fact that prostitution has lower value now compared to the 60~80 years ago because the “easier” sex nowadays. And the various kinds of sex fetch different price levels. In the epilogue, it was told that even monkeys respond to incentives and may even resort to prostitution if necessary.

Messing around with nature like reducing the likelihood of hurricanes could be as simple as putting some floaters on the ocean just to reduce the surface temperature by cycling the surface ocean layer to the lower layer.

Why the suicide bomber terrorists should buy life insurance? Because it could avoid being profiled as most terrorists don’t ever buy life insurance. Why bother?

The stories are interesting and I enjoyed listening the the audiobook.

The author describes a good story about the birth of the first antibiotic drug – sulfa. Discovered accidentally in the German lab, the early form of sulfa paved the way to all the variants of the antibiotics that followed. In addition, it brought about the current powerful state of US FDA to help reduce the abuses by pharmaceutical companies. The ironic part is that sulfa was born out of the necessity of curing the soldiers in World War I and used extensively in World War II.

The author tells a very interesting story while educating the readers the science of how the antibiotic medicine works. The book also goes into the politics and world as seen by Germans in Hitler’s Germany. In addition, the politics and competitiveness among the drug researchers in the pursuit of the super drug are so vividly described.

This book reminds me a lot about Malcolm Gladwell’s books: Tipping Point and Blinks. It has a lot of anecdotes but I’m not sure exactly the essences of book. It seems common sense that we derives our experiences from what we pay attention to. But I didn’t get many suggestions on how to control what attention we pay to.

You can shape your life experience by directing what you pay attention to. For example, paying attention to birds in the park may enhance your favorable experience in the park. Bottom-up vs. Top-down directed attention: the evolution has allowed human to spend less time worrying about immediate threats in the Savannah (bottom-up), thus more time on thinking what we want to pay attention to (top-down).

We’re apt to focus on unpleasant experience and emotions. Need to concentrate more productive, life-enhancing sort – toward courage or forgiveness.

What you see is what you get: Need to treat your mind as you would a private garden and being as careful as possible about what you introduce and allow to grow there. The elders tend to maximize opportunities to attend to the meaningful and serene.

Nature & Nurture: We are born with certain innate ability to focus but it’s still trainable. For example, Asian culture encourages efforts that makes the children focus their attention on the jobs at hand than their natural ability. The attention’s ability to change your brain and transform your experience prevails throughout life.

On relationship: Simply paying paying attention to someone else – the essence of bonding – is highly beneficial for both parties. Unlike the western culture, most of the rest of the world pay attention to the relationship with others.

On working: “If most of the time you’re not particularly concerned about whether what you’re doing is work or play, or even whether you’re happy or not, you know you’re living the focused life.”

On decision-making process: “Don’t worry if the choice you made wasn’t the absolute best, as long as it meets your needs… Good enough is almost always good enough.” Many poor decisions spring from focusing on the wrong things, like avoiding loss or exaggerate something’s importance.

On creativity (an eye for details): Vigorous, searching, questioning, elaborative style of focusing is the weapons against ideas and attitudes that stifle creativity. When you pay rapt attention, your spirits lift, expanding your cognitive range and creative potential, and perhaps even poising you for that personal renaissance.

On goals: focus forges the connection between your goals and personal resources. The old-fashioned quality of grit may be a better predictor of real-world performance. Attention’s mechanics ensure that when you lock on your objective, you enhance that aspiration and suppress things that compete with it, which helps you stay focused.

Attending to what matters the most: pay rapt attention to carefully chosen top-down targets. Spend 20~30 minutes focusing on something you enjoy or suspect you might but have never done. At the end of the day, you revisit and relish that pleasurable interlude and plan the next sojourn.

This book is easy to read without too much technical terms but it lacks focus, which is what it’s trying to preach. There are a few good points here and there, nevertheless.

The author enjoyed a long career at Disney but he first started out very low as a dishwasher without a college degree and gradually moved up.

The 10 strategies:
1. Remember, everyone is important. Treat everyone with respect. RAVE (Respect, Appreciate, Value Everyone).
a. Make sure everyone matters …. and everyone knows it.
b. Know your team.
c. Let your team get to know you.
d. Greet people sincerely.
e. Reach out to everyone on your team.
f. Make yourself available.
g. Listen to understand.
h. Communicate clearly, directly and honestly.
i. Stand up for the excluded.
j. Forget about the chain of command.
k. Don’t micromanage.
l. Design your culture.
m. Treat your people as you would want your customers to be treated. 4 Guest expectations: Make me feel special, Treat me as an individual, Respect me and my children, Be knowledgeable.

2. Break the mold.
a. Be clear about who’s responsible for what.
b. Remember that responsibility and authority go hand in hand.
c. Make every position count.
d. Get as flat as you can.
e. Eliminate overwork.
f. Rethink the meeting structure.
g. Anyone can take responsibility for change.
h. Be prepared to take risks. Evaluate reversible and irreversible decisions.
i. Expect resistance.
j. Don’t try to win every battle.
k. You’re never really done.

3. Make your people your brand. People, especially the front line people, represent you and your brand.
a. Define the perfect candidate.
b. Don’t settle for a clone.
c. Look for good people in unlikely places.
d. Involve the team in the selection process.
e. Select by talent, not resume.
f. Find a good fit.
g. Hire people who are smarter and more talented than you.
h. Describe the job completely.
i. Check out the candidates personally.
j. Ask revealing questions.
k. Use structured interviews when possible.
l. Find out what really matters to your applicants.
j. If possible, have candidates demonstrate their expertise.
k. Select the best candidate, not the best one available.
l. Look for people to nurture and promote.
m. Constantly evaluate performance.
n. Recognize when the job doesn’t fit the talent.
o. Terminate quickly and kindly.
p. Don’t lose touch with those you lose.

4. Create magic through training. Make sure everyone has the right training.
a. Give people a purpose, not just jobs. The vision statement: What we want to be. The Essence Statement: What we want our guests to feel. The Mission Statement: What we must do.
b. Take your role as a teacher seriously.
c. Become a COACH (Care, Observe, Act, Communicate, Help)
d. Teach by example.
e. Teach the principles of great service.
f. Train people for Magical Moments and Take 5’s.
g. Teach them how and where to spend their time.
h. Communicate constantly.
i. Give feedback immediately and effectively.
j. Prepare them for the unexpected.

5. Eliminate hassles:
a. Ask what than who.
b. Listen to your customers
c. Learn firsthand of what’s working and what’s not.
d. Constantly query employees.
e. Harvest process solutions from employees.
f. Try an audit exchange plan. (Cross organization audit)
g. Stay technically up-to-date.
h. Think ahead to prevent.
i. Look at your personal processes. Take 5 to 30 minutes each morning to plan your day. Use that time to list all the things you need to get done or get started on that day. Ask yourself, of all which ones should I start on today? What should I start today that will not pay off for 1, 5, 10, 20 or more years from now? What did I do yesterday that I need to go back and do better.
j. Expect resistance.
k. Periodically evaluate the changes you make.

6. Learn the truths.
a. Get out and about routinely.
b. Get a ground-level view.
c. Meet regularly with direct reports. Discussed 4 P’s (people, processes, projects and profit).
d. Assemble small groups.
e. Make them feel safe.
f. Probe for the whole story.
g. Answer the tough questions. Be prepared.
h. Get formal feedback about yourself.
i. Constantly evaluate your spending.

7. Burn the free fuels. Give people the recognition and acknowledge their accomplishment.
a. Spend meaningful time with employees
b. Recognize employees by name.
c. Catch them doing something right.
d. Make it public.
e. Include their families.
g. Recognize and encourage good ideas.
i. Give extra ARE (Appreciation, Recognition, and Encouragement) to frontline employees
j. Make ARE a natural part of your routine.
k. Watch your language.

8. Stay ahead of the pack. Sharpen your pencils – keep learning.
a. Be a knowledge sponge.
b. Fill in your gaps in Technical, Management, Technological and Leadership competencies.
c. Master business fundamentals.
d. Learn from the best.
e. Learn from your competitors.
f. Keep up with your colleagues.
g. Study your customer base.
h. Follow the compass. (Compass points based on customer psychogrophics: needs, wants, stereotypes, and emotions.
i. Expand your horizons: opens your eyes to better ways of doing things. Coming up with great ideas is like fishing; the wider you cast your net, the better your chances of hooking some good ones.
j. Keep the people you lead ahead of the pack.

9. Be careful what you say and do. You can’t stop being who you want to be because “People are always watching you and judging you.”
a. Demonstrate a passionate commitment to your role.
b. Do what it takes to get the job done.
c. Set high standards.
d. Have a positive attitude.
e. Look and carry yourself like a professional.
f. Be a full time professional – even when the curtain is down. True professionals do the right thing in the right way, even when no one is watching.
g. Model personal ownership.
i. Don’t lose your sense of humor. Take the work seriously but not themselves.
j. Be a great partner.
k. Stay humble. Great leaders are great followers. They worry a whole lot more about their mission and the people they work with than they do about themselves and their stock options.

10. Develop character. Have integrity.
a. Anticipate ethical dilemmas.
b. Live your values. Honesty: deal with one another in a straightforward manner. Integrity: act in a manner consistent with our words and beliefs. Respect: treat others with care and consideration. Courage: pursue our beliefs with strength and perseverance. Openness: share information freely. Diversity: seek, value and respect difference among our fellow workers. Balance: strive for stability and vitality in our lives.
c. Train for characters, not just skill.
d. Teach your values.
Lots of good ideas especially around carrying yourself as a leader. It takes lots of efforts and experience to lead people all the way down to the front life people; it’s not a natural act.

Disney has a lot to offer to those who want to learn. This is a good advertisement for Disney and its training offerings. Creating magic in a Magical Kingdom is not as easy as people thought and it’s not fairy tale either. Learning from the best in class is the best way to become the best in class.

Listened to the audio book again after a couple of years. I have heard people mentioned this book as life-changing influence on their lives. Indeed, after hearing about his suffering in the concentration camp, it’s not hard for the readers to decipher that life is full of chances and opportunities. One wrong choice (like joining the liberated crowd to move to a different camp) could have cost him his life. And yet, opportunities are abound for those who search them out and place a meaning behind it. This is especially important for those who are lost and couldn’t find a way back on track. Seeking out a meaning for every thing you do is the best way to avoid boredom in our everyday life.
Especially when you’re suffering, find a meaning behind it. Then you’d find the suffering more tolerable.

Logo-therapy, touted by the author, may be the right solution for those who could not find an anchor and direction for their busy lives. Indeed, one can always get lost in today’s hectic work life. Seems to me people keep looking for materialistic fulfillment – not spiritual and definitely not attaching meaning to it.

This is an excellent book to keep people focused on the ultimate goal of human existence – searching and fulfill the meaning of life.