Velocity (Book Review)

Velocity. Or rather, how fast are you travelling in a specific direction. Pretty simple if you think about it. It’s the most popular event of the Olympics: who can travel the fastest in one direction. But what does it really mean for us non physicists and athletically beta lot? Sorry I don't have the universal answer, but for those who love business and are young aspiring entrepreneurs, there is an answer.

Ajaz Ahmed and Stefan Olander, two titans of business and innovation, have offered up the meaning of velocity within this arena and it’s a must read for any young entrepreneur. Essentially, within business, it’s the ability to do the right thing at the right time. That means a multitude of variables, a variety of decisions and an infinite number of outcomes, so there's no real formula. Instead, the two authors, along with help from their network group, aim to breakdown the core principles of velocity and strip it down to the point where u can make use of the most important aspects of velocity. 

It’s no nonsense and down to the point with no lengthy introductions or bullshit to waste time with. Written in a conversational format, it is almost like a script for a podcast rather than a traditional book. One of the best parts about the book is that it’s almost an encyclopaedia which you can always quickly look back on with short summaries at the end of each chapter.

In my opinion, any new age entrepreneur who has any degree of online presence, needs to have this book as a reference or rather a check list when building their brand.

Nevertheless, with a tag line as bold as “The Seven New Laws for a World Gone Digital” This is a book for pretty much everyone and anyone who has the slightest interest in internet business or even the world which consumerism is based around today. Some of the top brands in the world use these exact principles in order to establish new products and make us fan boys/girls for their brands. This simple, enlightening book will make you a whole lot wiser as to the psychology which goes into making you Apple fiends go crazy every time a new one drops. (See you all straight away thought about Apple iPhones; I was talking about apples the fruit)

The only downside I could find with this particular book was the fact that a few of the examples used are options only available to large brands with huge amounts of capital. Nevertheless, the idea and the principle behind it can be readily understood and applied on smaller scales, it’s just up to you how creative to get on a smaller budget. Overall however, the principles which this book offers, lays bare the coveted secrets of most global brands and goes some way in exposing some fundamental truths about business which often get lost behind the cut throat, boisterous behaviour shown in the boardroom of the apprentice. Ajaz Ahmed and Stefan Olander have essentially deconstructed the one of the most important parts of developing a successful business in an ever changing world.  

They leave us with one law which pervades all others however: velocity. Very simple seeing as that’s title of their book, but remember what I said about it being no nonsense?  Without velocity, you’re stationary according to Newtonian Physics. But we live in the Quantum age now, so you’re always going to be moving, just depends if your moving in the direction you want or not. Ahmed and Olander know that this is as true as in business as it is physics and if you want to be successful, you can’t just wait for time to eventually get you to where you’re going. You have to take massive action, and you need to take it now. 

By Viren Samani (@VirenSamani1)