| |
| |
|
WebsiteAlways |
|
How Would You Move Mount Fuji? - AchieveMax® Top Ten Book Review
For a number of reasons, today's hiring managers from Wall Street to the Silicon Valley are totally restructuring their approach to interviewing job prospects. Few will admit it has anything to do with the fact that our litigious society makes it very difficult to ask almost any personal question of today's job applicant. The majority of those interviewing today don't even bother checking references because they know anyone they call will provide little or no information on the employee in question for fear of legal retribution. Again, few will admit these facts for obvious reasons. However, for these and other motives including a hypercompetitive global marketplace, a hot new trend in hiring is emerging. "Puzzle interviews" using tough and tricky questions to gauge job candidates' intelligence, imagination, and problem-solving ability, are becoming the norm in many companies. How Would You Move Mount Fuji?: Microsoft's Cult of the Puzzle - How the World's Smartest Company Selects the Most Creative Thinkers is a study of corporate hiring, an assessment of IQ testing's value, a history of interviewing and a puzzle book. The author, William Poundstone, is a science writer who explains the thinking behind this kind of interviewing. In a straightforward manner, the author describes the roots of logic questions in interviews, drawing on the history of IQ testing in hiring interviews, psychological studies and interviews with Microsoft ex-interviewers and interviewees. He certainly makes a strong case for eliminating standard questions like "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" and replacing them with logic puzzles. For years, Microsoft's interview process has included a notoriously grueling sequence of brain-busting questions that separate the most creative thinkers from the merely brilliant. Anyone who's interviewed for a job at Microsoft is intimately familiar with questions like the one in this book's title (How would you move Mount Fuji?) They've probably also pondered such problems as:
Questions like these, which test problem-solving abilities, not specific competencies, are commonplace during job interviews at Microsoft and the many other firms who have adapted this unique approach. Basically, this book is separated into two parts: The first discusses the history of puzzles and their intellectual and academic standing. This section starts off by narrating the origin of puzzle-solving as a criterion for selecting people; then, it talks about how and why many companies use them in interviews. Mr. Poundstone talks about the general approaches to solving puzzles, and then closes on a note for employers on how to design puzzles that are useful. The second part of the book is strict puzzle solving. The book has plenty of puzzles scattered through it and two chapters devoted solely to listing puzzles. The author goes on to discuss the puzzles he has listed and suggests thought processes about how to solve them. This exposition is more interesting than it sounds. Mr. Poundstone not only explains his answers thoroughly, but also uncovers many layers of thinking that show the complexity and beauty of the art of solving puzzles. Almost half of the book is devoted to an "answer" section, where Poundstone gives possible solutions to the brainteasers. Although it lacks a specific focus, this is a fun, revealing take on an unusual subject. This book will give interviewers insights into what kind of questions to ask, and why. You should probably read this book if you fall into one of the categories below: More than 100 business book reviews written by Harry K. Jones are available at http://www.AchieveMax.com/books/. Reprint Information Your organization may reprint this article for your newsletter, online publication, or mailing list. We ask that you print the:
We would appreciate a tear sheet or electronic copy of the articles you reprint. Harry K. Jones is a professional speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a firm specializing in custom-designed keynote presentations, seminars, and consulting services. Harry has made presentations ranging from leadership to employee retention and time management to stress management for a number of industries, including education, financial, government, healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing. He can be reached at 800-886-2MAX or by visiting http://www.AchieveMax.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Book-Reviews - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Legend of Juggin Joe - A Preview of the Comedy Sensation You Dont Want to Miss! THE FROGGIN INCIDENTAs I recall this particular happenin', which we all referred tah as the "Froggin Incident", it all started out innocent enough. T'were on a pleasant summer Saturday gatherin at Doc an' Isabel's. Review for Broken Angel, by SW Vaughn Broken Angel, by SW Vaughn, breathes with an insistent life of its own, pulling readers along through the dark underworld of barbaric fight clubs and prostitution.The story unfolds as twenty-two year old Gabriel Morgan, destitute and starving, discovers a lead to his missing sister's whereabouts deep in the seedy underbelly of Manhattan. Book Excerpt: Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam -- 5 May-Day!The school bus had long since disappeared over the last hill toward the main road one afternoon when I set my books on the kitchen table and hurried into the living room to talk to my mother.Mom was sitting in her favorite easy chair by the picture window, and her crutches were laid neatly on the floor next to the chair where she could reach them. IZEE Growing Up In A Logging Camp: Chapter One Chapter OneI was ready to start the fourth grade, the year we moved to Izee. Prior to that time, the Miles family had lived in Bates, Oregon. Rat Race Blues E-book Review RAT RACE BLUES: How To Break The Stranglehold Darlene Arechederra DAR N-Centives 25 Della, Fenton, MO 63026, 636-343-5495 October 2002, ISBN: None, Format: E-book 92 pages, $16.95 http://www. On the Brink of Risk - A Book You Wont Put Down On the Brink of Risk is a fiction novel inspired in true events; it has a love story turned evil, hate and vengeance, intents to kill, negligence and malpractice at more than one hospital that almost lead to death, harassment and persecution by the political organizations and government officials as well as comments on everything the average citizen has to go through to endure everyday life in that Caribbean country.It was written under the pseudonym of Nancy Cruz and writing was at first an intent to make a catharsis and finally put to rest everything that had been a load in the author's mind and life for too many years, she thought that was the only way to really start anew. Workshop-In-A-Book® for Dating Again, A Must-Read EBOOK The Joy Of Dating Again is designed to be a do-it- yourself workshop. This book features 21 self-empowering keys. The Power of 2 - AchieveMax® Top Ten Book Review The Power of 2: Win Big with People in Your Work and in Life by Anthony C. ScireHere is another in a growing number of "mini-books," 170 pages in this case, which seem to be taking over book store shelves from coast to coast. Dragon Tales - Book Review Dragon Tales by Mary C. Fairbanks is truly and entertaining book, chock full of twenty-four dragon stories. 72 Hour Hold Bebe Moore Campbell weaves a tale of unrelenting love and pain in her latest novel 72 Hour Hold. 72 Hour Hold tells the story of Keri, a successful owner of an upscale Los Angeles Boutique whose beautiful, intelligent 18 year old daughter has been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators, by Gordon Grice The black widow spider is notorious for eating her mate as they copulate, but how many of us know much more than that about this beautiful, mysterious, spider?Grice collects black widows and keeps them in jars and studies them, and he tells us more than we care to know at times. But it is not just black widows that interest Grice, it is rattlesnakes, praying mantis, tarantula, pigs, dogs, and the recluse spider. Putting it on Paper - Book Review "Dawn Josephson, author of 14 books, has written a fantastic author resource with her latest book Putting it on Paper - The ground rules for creating promotional pieces that sell books. This book discusses the development and use of contents within a media kit, and other marketing materials. Free Ebook Offer: The Story of America: Discovery - Article 2 Just think. If the Vikings had made just that little extra effort to stay on in America when they first arrived just over 1000 years ago then the modern history of not only North America but the whole continent might have started 500 years earlier in 992AD rather than 1492AD. Life Lines Joyce Meyers has been inspiring Christians for decades with the pearls of inspirational wisdom which she has faithfully shared via her radio program and books. Now, her husband Dave shares a powerful devotional crafted from a strong, personal walk with the Lord. Sorat and the Modern Day Evil "Sorat's evil will be spread by his infernal army of soulless followers, willing to give their lives for his pleasure in subjecting mankind to horror of the ultimate magnitude."The above mentioned quote summarizes one of the main themes in Hearne's political thriller, "Hulagu's Web". Never Fry Bacon in the Nude - AchieveMax® Top Ten Book Review Never Fry Bacon in the Nude (And Other Lessons from the Quick and the Dead) by Stone PaytonIn Never Fry Bacon in the Nude, we find another offering that falls into the category of "a title that grabs you and content that holds you!" You've got to admit that this title generates a visual that's difficult to ignore. However, it doesn't stop there. Giving Feedback or Writing Reviews of Bad Stuff Some book reviewers say that when they don't like a book, they simply don't review it. I'd love to take the easy way out, but when I think about it from a reader's perspective? I want to know when a book sucks. Hug Your Customers - AchieveMax® Top Ten Book Review Don't panic. Jack Mitchell, the author of Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results, isn't suggesting that you take his title literally. Ferns Dragon - Book Review "Fern's Dragon is a wonderfully fun read that stimulates the imagination of both young people and the young-at-heart alike. It is a good mystery-fantasy story that is artfully composed. Book review on Finite Capacity Scheduling, Part I Finite Capacity Scheduling by Gerhard Plenert PhD and Bill KirchmeirI met Gerhard and talked with him for an hour at a customers office of one of our franchisees in Reno NV, which specializes in antique car restoration and maintenance. Gerhard was in the waiting room reading what may have been Steven Hawkins, so we began talking.
|
| Interesting articles | Home | site map | Link |
| © 2006 |
