There’s something altruistic and even a little spiritual in author and former firm CEO Jeffrey A. Martinovich’s recent effort, Just One More: The Wisdom of Bob Vukovich. Many would consider the book at first glance to be in the ranks of motivational and leadership advice non-fiction titles such as The Art of the Deal, Settle for More, Lean In, and Think Big and Kick Ass – assured, statistically backed, but not necessarily inspirational emotively. The kind of accomplishments more recognized for being intellectually invigorating and exciting because of the prospects they promote, rather than the actual technicalities of the writing itself. However the book bucks this formula, and isn’t even non-fiction. It’s an effective hybrid of both leadership advice analogies and an actual, fictionalized narrative – the latter in essence a character study of two men, likely symbolic of values and ideas Pertinent to the author’s own life journey.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: https://jeffmartinovich.com/jeffs-books
The text is crisp and fresh, unsparing in detail yet not overabundant in a way that would make the piece feel superfluous or maudlin. It’s surprising how much Martinovich proves himself to be an apt storyteller, as you wouldn’t think coming from his line of work the man would possess that kind of sentimentality. The former head of the billion dollar wealth management company MICG, room for sentimentality is not even a dime a dozen. Yet nothing he expresses within Just One More’s pages feels calculated or disingenuous. As a result, the technical aspect of the narrative, particularly the marketing advice the titular character gives the novel’s budding young protagonist, is all the more compelling. The fact there is a story, with characters you care about and might even be inspired by, makes otherwise expansive and somewhat exclusionary concepts understandable for a wide audience.
The book throws the reader for a loop though by what it says in spite of said qualities, however. For all the shrewd and hard-earned wisdom Martinovich indirectly communicates to the audience by way of Mr. Bob Vukovich, complete with world’s greatest martini at an urban bistro, it also has a surprisingly purist message about how to approach said goals. Question everything, trust nothing…blindly. In a world where prediction and achievement is typically approached based on a set of rules backed by statistics and data, Martinovich essentially teaches one to never go for passive.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Just-One-More-Wisdom-Vukovich-ebook/dp/B08ZVB5S2H
After all, even in a world coldly comprised of elaborate ones and zeroes, there is always room for innovation, or “improvement.” The basis for that “improvement” lies in one’s capacity to retain informed, individual thought. As Bob Vukovich says himself, “I’ve always found the most intelligent people to be the ones who frequently have the courage to say ‘I don’t know.’” It’s this kind of sentiment that elevates the book from just out-and-out character study to full-on philosophical and psychological inquiry.
Kendall Townsend
