Thank you. To take this one step further, these books fall into the Bermuda Triangle of bullshit: taking successful experiences and expecting that they'll work for others; make you feel good -- you can do it! Don't let your boss stand in your way!; selection bias, survivor bias, ....
I don't know if I've read it somewhere and I'm regurgitating it or if it's my own original thought, but I'm going to call this the Malcolm Gladwell effect. Take your limited scope, strip away the "irrelevant" pieces (regardless of how much they could've actually mattered), package up a bunch of anecdotes that convey the point you want them to, and make people feel good about that part of themselves.
I find this particularly true for the "163 Ways to Pursue Excellence" book. I haven't read it, but the idea is laughable. Am I supposed to be "pursuing excellence" while I sit on the toilet with this "very compelling and browsable book"? It's worthless - just a way of providing people with their small fix of self-fulfillment one paragraph at a time by giving a "helpful hint" on how to improve their lives.
Sorry for the excessive use of quotations, I just wanted to emphasize the bullshit.
I don't know if I've read it somewhere and I'm regurgitating it or if it's my own original thought, but I'm going to call this the Malcolm Gladwell effect. Take your limited scope, strip away the "irrelevant" pieces (regardless of how much they could've actually mattered), package up a bunch of anecdotes that convey the point you want them to, and make people feel good about that part of themselves.
Complete bunkum.