Robert Kuok, a Memoir is the autobiography of one of Asia’s most prominent and respected Chinese businessmen. At 94 years old, the life story of this private tycoon is finally unveiled. Famously known as Malaysia’s Sugar King, Mr Kuok built an empire which includes the famous Shangri-la group of hotels, oil palm plantations, properties as well as a shipping conglomerate. Estimated to be worth US$13.9 billion, Mr Kuok’s autobiography is one of the most fascinating books published this year.
Book Reviews
A national best seller, ‘Talent is overrated’ is written by the Geoff Colvin. He seeks to demystify some popular beliefs about an intriguing topic – talent. Is talent inborn? Can we cultivate people with talent? What separates world class performers from everybody else?
Geoff Colvin believes that talent is not merely about having the innate and natural ability to do things better than others. Tracing back to studies done in England in 1992, where 257 children with musical abilities were analysed in detail, he concludes that the only factor that mattered was practice. Children who practiced the most were the ones who were the most accomplished.
As parents and educators, we spend many hours thinking about what motivates us and consequently, our children and students. Many parents use material gifts to motivate their children to do well for their exams. Are we setting ourselves and our children up by teaching them to expect rewards? Do these incentives truly motivate children?
The Background
‘Drive’ is a book that tells us otherwise. Daniel Pink writes about studies conducted by psychologists decades ago. The first was done by a man named Harlow in 1949. The second man was Deci who carried out his experiments in 1969. These men’s studies revealed that adults and children alike were not motivated by short term rewards. In fact, they discovered that such material benefits made people less motivated in the long term.