I suspect no one who grabs this book will do as I did: search the index for "Jesus', "Bible' and "repent'. I found none of these things, but I'll tell you why I looked.
Fl!p " yes, it does use an exclamation mark so I have to do so at least once " is billed as presenting the mindset of the business world's vanguard: counter-intuitive thinking.
This counter-intuitive approach is bold enough to ignore prevailing wisdom. So says the media release as well as the book's front and back covers. A person who flips is a "flipstar'.
This raised my interest. Jesus calls for repentance, the complete flip in action and attitude. Jesus also insisted that the first will be last, the meek will inherit the earth. Most extraordinary of all, he calls all his followers to lose their lives in order to gain them. In all of history, Jesus must be the star flipstar. Such was my thinking, but the index did not agree.
Past the front cover, Fl!p is thoroughly conventional. In the scattered personal touches, we learn that Sheahan loves Ferrari, expensive suits, travels extensively, has a wife who won't accept imitation Gucci, and they share a very expensive and exclusive Italian leather lounge. Here's an Australian who loves consumerism " hardly a "different perspective or paradigm'.
What's more, Sheahan's generation is the most influential group in the world. He tells us so. He's young: again, the marketers don't allow us to open the book without knowing this. He's part of Gen Y, those born since 1980. Gen Y "alters the dynamic of older generations in a more immediate and dynamic way than any previous youth cohort has ever done". My reaction is summed up in Job 12:2, "Surely you are the people, and wisdom will die with you!"
Ultimately, Sheahan's flips are as superficial as using "!' instead of "i'. It catches the eye, but there's no real difference. It is about business, so the result is Anthony Robbins with a spreadsheet.
Now that's not very positive, is it? That doesn't mean it's a poor book. Quite the opposite! This is a book to read and enjoy. It's even a book to ponder in relation Christian ministry. For example his chapters, "Business is personal' or "Action precedes clarity.'
But we need to have right expectations: by the standards of Jesus, Flip is not revolutionary, radical or even mildly "flipped.' So read this book " just don't go there looking for real transformation.