Developing the “code of honor” for the team is the essence of the book.

A team must first establish first the code of honor, by which the team will operate. This is like a ground rules that sets the tone for the team. The author stresses the importance of having the team members develop the code themselves so they can abide by. A good set of code of honor will keep the team going at a time of crisis, much like the marines have been trained to support one another during combat.

A reasonable good book with good examples but did not go into details about building each function of the business team. The message is very simple; I guess the function/expertise is not as important as the cohesiveness and dynamic of a team. The audio book was narrated by the author himself. He’s a natural salesman; he delivers the message with force and conviction. I don’t think you would get as much reading the book.

Daniel Pecan Cambridge, the narrator and main character in this novel, is a rather interesting person, walks a fine line between being a paranoid and a genius – a bit autistic with lots of idiosyncrasies, some mathematic talent and a very good heart.

The book chronicles the journey of a man going from a hopeless man not capable of going outside and dependent on an intern psychiatric help, to a fully functional man enjoying a good career and a lovely partner (wife). The journey involved his admiration for his intern psychologist and her child – Teddy. The breakthrough happened during his adventure with his psychologist and Teddy to Texas, his hometown, where his grandma passed on a great deal of money to him. After this adventure, he rediscovered that he was able to overcome the constraints he sets upon himself and took significant risk and courage, which won him the girl that he has been secretly admiring – all because of his good heart towards others and innocence.

This novel has so much of the “wild and crazy” guy – the pubic persona of Steve Martin, himself. What stood up for me is how purely and innocent he interpreted the world around him, like through the lens of a child. One cannot help feeling sorry for him when he was rejected by so many women (the psychologist, the real estate lady) and cheering for him when he finally became “normal” and won the heart of the woman who’s most deserving of his affection.

Before reading this book, I had only heard of Sidney Poitier as a black actor that open a lot of doors for black actors who followed. He appears to be an intense guy, though I never saw his movies before. (I have queued up a bunch of his movies on my Netflix account.) He is a good looking guy with a good voice; I could see the great acting attributes in him.

After reading this book, I found him a very good critic of himself – able to look at things from a very high level – the God’s (nature’s) view. He is also very non-judgmental, despite all the difficulties he encountered. He carried with him great pride and integrity, instilled in him by his parents, as part of the upbringing in Cat Island, Bahamas. His unwillingness to sign the “loyalty” letter (due to the racism nature) at the risk of not getting a job and being poor showed his great courage and integrity. He also took a lot of risks while trying to survive, like moving out of Bahamas to Florida, and then from Florida to New York. He seemed to have the vision on what he’s capable of becoming – someone great. When the environment turned against him, like in Florida, he was willing and proactive enough to make a change instead of being a victim, not allowing the circumstances to dictate what he can become. This showed a great deal of courage and tenacity.

Poitier’s main legacy, according to him, was his six daughters, who he mentioned only briefly. His troubled daughter, at the end, also showed a lot of Poitier in her by going back to school and getting a degree after being “lost.” Poitier showed a great commitment to his family. I’m certain some of the black actors would give him a lot more credit than that. Not succumbing to the degrading treatment of blacks in the film industry definitely set the tone for the future generation and kick-started the careers of some black actors that followed.

The measure of a man, according to his father and supported by his mother, was to be able to support and bring up his family. The family was very poor by our standard but was rather “happy.” The book ended with the tragic death of his good friend Charley Blackwell, who helped him to write a solo play. How well a person contends with and overcomes human’s imperfections, through nature or circumstances, is perhaps the true measure of a man. As he put it, “we are all imperfect and life is an unending struggle against those imperfections.”