Elemental

A few years ago, just before I started this blog and around the time I started my MBA, I followed an eclectic bunch of folks on RSS. At the time there were not that many green blogs and even fewer construction industry ones, and the proportion of UK blogs was much lower. So my RSS feed consisted mostly of marketing, entrepreneur, venture capital and tech blogs from the US. In amongst them was an intriguing proposition called Escape from Cubicle Nation.

Pam‘s blog does exactly what it says on the tin. And now she has written a book, summarising the best posts and comments and condensing the advice into a highly readable tome.  Through the magic of Twitter, she requested reviewers to read and write reviews, so I offered to give a UK perspective. Happily, Pam was willing to ship the book over to me and over the last week or so I devoured it.

As you can probably tell already, I enjoyed Escape from Cubicle Nation. It is a lifestyle choice book, aimed squarely at those who are considering a career switch, from something safe and corporate, to something more scary, but ultimately fulfilling. Initially, I was worried that it might be a little too touchy feely, Oprah style. Whilst it’s most definitely not a “butch, get rich quick, stomp the competition and watch them weep” kind of book, it’s not at all prissy and condescending either. Neither is it a step by step “nuts and bolts” book, with spreadsheets and cash flow projections, although she offers plenty of advice as to where to find such resources. The book concentrates on the mental preparation involved in becoming an entrepreneur for the first time. It would also serve as a timely resource for those who find themselves at a career crossroads not of their own choosing, through redundancy.

Pam’s prose is chatty and funny, with healthy doses of reality thrown in. My favourite phrase from the book by far was:

hating your job intensely is not a business plan

From a UK perspective, the advice stands up to scrutiny. Obviously, as the book is aimed at an international market, specific technical financial advice would not be appropriate. Too often I read a book from the US and they are peppered with references to Roth IRA’s and 401k’s. Pam has the good sense to corral all this into chapter 13, which is specifically about addressing benefits (health insurance etc). Very easy to skip over, but at the same time it acts as a mental jog to check out your own situation.

The takeaway lessons from the book from me were the importance of building up a network of support before you make any leap and also the need to check the finances and if necessary plan to keep that ‘cubicle’ job in the short term to finance your dreams.

Why should you buy the book rather than just read the blog? I have a well established fondness for books and there’s something about being able to flag up pages and flick through a hard copy that online just can’t yet compete with. The book is 300 odd pages, whilst Pam’s archives (which I recommend, but for new readers may be daunting due to the sheer volume) has over 42 months of content.

Escape from Cubicle Nation does not release in the UK until 9 July 2009, so I’m truly grateful to Pam for letting me get my mits on it so early. I would heartily recommend it to anyone who is toying with the idea of starting their own business but has been put off by the image of the blood thirsty “personalities” which are portrayed as entrepreneurs in the UK media (such as Dragons Den and the Apprentice).

admin Book Review Book Review, entrepreneur, Pam Slim

A debate I often have with folk is what constitutes sustainability in construction? Carbon and M&E is only one part of it.

The framework given in the BRE publication BR 436 ‘A sustainability checklist for developments’ gives a fantastic starting point for educating clients as to what sustainability can encompass. It takes the 4 themes the government set out in 1999 in ‘UK strategy for sustainable development’ and expands on them. The 4 themes are:

• maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment
• social progress which recognises the needs of everyone
• effective protection of the environment
• prudent use of natural resources

Much broader than carbon. Since then the government have issued ‘Securing the future‘ in March 2005, but the checklist is still very relevant. It applies to larger development and regeneration sites and covers 8 headings:

• land use, urban form and design
• transport
• energy
• buildings
• natural resources
• ecology
• community
• business

The checklist addresses what is often referred to as the triple bottom line of environment, social and economic considerations. The framework gives a starting point for assessing any developments credentials, or conversely to develop a mantra or strategy for a development. For details of the checklists used in the document see after the jump: Read more…

mel starrs Uncategorized Book Review, drainage systems, Energy, less energy, roads/car, Sustainability, United Kingdom

I have to confess my biggest vice (and surprisingly, it isn’t a good Rioja, although that comes in a close second).  It’s buying books.  I can’t seem to help myself.  And the more I read, the worse it gets.  I start one book and I find a link to yet another book I want to read.  The guys at the amazon dispatch warehouse in Milton Keynes must feel they know me personally.  My bookshelves are groaning under the weight of all the unread tomes, and the guilt of not reading them… worse than not being able to keep up with the blogosphere.

So in an effort to catch up with all that reading, I ensconced myself in an apartment in Cyprus last week and chipped away at the pile:

Apart from the David Mitchell, I managed to get through the whole pile (with about 150 pages to go on ‘The World is Flat’).  I feel I got a good mix of fiction to non-fiction and I’ll try to write some reviews over the next while. I ought to get my fiction from the library, as it’s rare that I re-read them.  But I find myself constantly referring to the non-fiction stuff.

mel starrs Uncategorized Book Review, Cyprus, Productivity