Paul Ardens latest book, Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite, is the kind of book I want to like. Its written by a former Creative Director at Saatchi & Saatchi. It features lots of pictures and short bursts of thought. Its even got a great cover. Flipping through the pages, it looks like a lot of fun to read.

I want to like it, but I dont. This book is lousy.

Okay, thats pretty harsh. But stick with me. Ardens book claims to share no-nonsense career advice that can be applied to almost every field. Here are a few examples of what youll find in the book. One spread titled, Half Nelson Full Nelson, features two photographs of a statue of Lord Nelson, one on a tall pedestal, the other on a much smaller pedestal. The no non-sense career advice reads: If Nelson had been placed on a small pedestal, would he be only half the man he is today? Another page features a prominent red arrow pointing to the bottom of the page and says, Turn this book up side down. Doing this makes it easier to read the caption under the arrow, Things are looking up already. Another page simply says, Bread. You know it makes sandwiches.

These are the radical insights of a global business guru?

Actually, the advice gets worse. Dont go to university. And Being bottom or near the bottom has merit. And a contrived comparison between reckless Erica who bulldozes her way through several organizations, getting fired three times and steady Eddie who happily moves up the corporate ladder only to miss out on the final promotion that would make his career.

I get what Arden is trying to do here. Hes saying take chances. Be creative. Think differently. The problem is, he doesnt say it very well.

Fortunately there are books that deliver on Ardens promise, including Sally Hogsheads Radical Careering (a well-designed, well-thought-out book of career advice) and Orbiting the Giant Hairball by Gordon MacKenzie (in my opinion the best book on creativity ever written). Or if youre looking for interesting ideas from the world of advertising, try Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy, Hey Whipple, Squeeze This by Luke Sullivan, or Creative Company by Andy Law. All good books full of interesting ideas. And unlike Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite, these books are worth the money.

One thing about Ardens book is correct. If youre thinking of buying it, think the opposite.

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Reviewed by Rob Marsh

In some ways, this book is remarkably inspiring. In other ways, it is quite frustrating.

For me, the principle behind the book, which isn’t really apparent from the title is: Break the “rules” and do things your way. This echoes many of the current business books – Purple Cow, for instance, which emphasizes that never taking a risk is in many ways the riskiest decision of all. In all honesty, I probably wouldn’t have picked this book off of the shelf on my own. Which is a pity, because it is a wonderful blend of striking images and words that manages to deliver a lot of philosophy in a little over a hundred pages, many of which have almost no text at all.

I found this book inspirational, because it helped me feel better about some of the risky things I am doing with my life right now. For example, I’m writing a trilogy of novels in my spare time, while I work at a startup business, and run a set of blogs and a couple “microbusinesses” on the side. There are days when I have thought ‘You are in way over your head’. Yesterday, for instance. But reading this book, gave me a new perspective on what I am doing, and whether it really is reckless and foolish, or just a new way to approach my business life. Also, normally I would have simply mentioned ‘projects’, without saying what they were, but another message from the book is to be proud of what you are doing and trying to accomplish. Already, this book is changing my life

I also found this book to be frustrating, primarily because the people who need to read it, who desperately need to be shaken out of their 40 year carerer-slumber will find it frightening, simplistic and lacking in relevance. Some will even say ‘I believe in the premise, but how does this apply to my life?’ . They have spent so long following other people’s recipes that they no longer know how to write their own.

So – if you are comfortable with risk, if you are excited at the prospect of a ‘leap of faith’, if you refuse to live a “dignified” life, I bet you will find this book inspirational, challenging and fun, and it may just inspire you to take that next chance that you were hesitating on. But if you are looking for a book that will give you a roadmap of which risks to take, and which ones to avoid for your specific career goals, this book won’t help you, and it will seem like useless fluff.

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Reviewed by John Brothers

Several people have been reviewing various business books. Today I’ll be posting two reviews on the book Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite. The reviewers, John Brothers and Rob Marsh will give you two different perspectives of the book.

Here’s John’s review.

Here’s Rob’s.