Quick verdict - it's a good book, and I think it's worth reading.

Josh Kaufman sent me a message on Twitter a bit back, asking if I'd like a review copy of his book. Indeed, I would, I replied, and he sent me a digital copy.

Before I review the book, let me tell you how I read - when I get a nonfiction book that I'm not sure if I'm going to read, I "fastread" it. That's me starting to skim and move quickly, then I slow down and read in depth when something catches my eye, and speed up after I finish that section.

I fastread a lot of books. Especially reading a in-depth reference book on a topic you already know, I think you can get 90% of the lessons of a book in 30% of the time by fastreading. I typically fastread historical backgrounds about eras I'm very familiar with, thoughts on an aspect of business I know, introductions to technologies I'm already familiar with, etc.

My first thought when I was reading The Personal MBA was that this would be a good book to fastread.

Here's the chapters of the book -

Introduction
Chapter 1: Value Creation
Chapter 2: Marketing
Chapter 3: Sales
Chapter 4: Value-Delivery
Chapter 5: Finance
Chapter 6: The Human Mind
Chapter 7: Working With Yourself
Chapter 8: Working With Others
Chapter 9: Understanding Systems
Chapter 10: Analyzing Systems
Chapter 11: Improving Systems
Conclusion

Now, my first inclination is that this is a fastread book for me - some of it looks really really interesting, some of it seems like a road I've been down. Then I was thinking, well, that's kind of a jerk thing to start a review off with, I really should start by mentioning how well-read the author is, and...

But then I read this -

Here are a few tips that will help you get the most from this book:

Browse, skim, and scan. Believe it or not, you don't need to read this book cover to cover to benefit: browsing can give you better results with less effort. Periodically skim until you find a section that grabs your attention, then commit to applying that concept to your work for a few days. You'll begin to notice significant differences in the quality of your work, as well as your ability to "think like a businessperson."

Ah, good. The author, Josh Kaufman, is pretty self-aware. The book can easily be picked up, read at any section of the book, and put back down. This is good, since if you read on business at all, a lot of it is going to be familiar to you already.

Actually, this is something I noticed when I was reading the book. Kaufman makes no assumptions about knowledge you have - really, you could be almost completely unfamiliar with business, and he'll explain literally everything.

I had a think on this, and y'know, that's pretty impressive. It's kind of challenging to write a book that covers all the fundamentals, but is interesting to people who are experienced on the topic. But he's done it.

Take this section early on, for instance -

12 Standard Forms of Value

1. Product. Create a single tangible item or entity, then sell and deliver it for more value than what it cost to make.
2. Service. Provide help or assistance then charge a fee for the benefits rendered.
3. Shared Resource. Create a durable asset that can be used by many people, then charge for access.
4. Subscription. Offer a benefit on an ongoing basis, and charge a recurring fee.
5. Resale. Acquire an asset from a wholesaler, then sell that asset to a retail buyer at a higher price.
6. Lease. Acquire an asset, then allow another person to use that asset for a pre-defined amount of time in exchange for a fee.
7. Agency. Market and sell an asset or service you don’t own on behalf of a third-party, then collect a percentage of the transaction price as a fee.
8. Audience Aggregation. Get the attention of a group of people with certain characteristics, then sell access in the form of advertising to a business looking to reach that audience.
9. Loan. Lend a certain amount of money, then collect payments over a pre-defined period of time equal to the original loan plus a pre-defined interest rate.
10. Option. Offer the ability to take a pre-defined action for a fixed period of time in exchange for a fee.
11. Insurance. Take on the risk of some specific bad thing happening to the policy holder in exchange for a pre-defined series of payments, then pay out claims only when the bad thing actually happens.
12. Capital. Purchase an ownership stake in a business, then collect a corresponding portion of the profit as a one-time payout or ongoing dividend.

A lot of the book is like that. There'll be a list of things, much of which is fundamental, basic, straightforward, and you already know it. But then you'll come across a real gem that is new to you, or jogs your memory -

Form of Value #3: Shared Resource

“The joy that isn't shared dies young.”—Anne Sexton, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet

A Shared Resource is a durable asset that can be used by many people. Shared resources allow you to create the asset once, then charge your customers for its use.

In order to create a successful shared resource, you must:

1. Create an asset people want to have access to.
2. Serve as many users as you can without impacting the quality of each user’s experience.
3. Charge enough to maintain and improve the shared resource over time.

Gyms and fitness clubs are a classic example of a shared resource. A fitness club may purchase 40 treadmills, 30 exercise bikes, 6 sets of free weights, a set of kettlebells, and other useful but expensive equipment that lasts a long time. The club’s members benefit by being able to access this equipment without having to purchase it themselves—instead, they pay an access fee, which is much easier for an individual to afford. (Most gyms combine access to their Shared Resource with Services and Subscriptions, a common example of Bundling—discussed later.)

Businesses like museums and amusement parks work in much the same way. Whether studying a Monet or sitting on a roller coaster, Shared Resources allow many people to take advantage of experiences that would otherwise be too expensive.

Usage levels must be carefully monitored. If you don’t have enough users, you won’t be able to spread out the cost of the asset enough to cover up-front costs and ongoing maintenance. If you have too many users, overcrowding will diminish the experience so much that they’ll become frustrated, stop using the resource, and advise others not to patronize your business, diminishing your Reputation (discussed later). Finding the sweet spot between too few members and too many is the key to making a Shared Resource work.

Like, that's cool. I wouldn't have drawn mentally a distinction between a subscription and a shared resource, but there clearly is one, and Josh breaks down why. He's got good, straightforward examples.

Some of the concepts in the book are very, very basic, but I don't see that as a downside. The book is long - 437 pages including preface and table of contents. So, it's almost a 500-page book. It's not meant to be read cover to cover as a narrative story - it's meant to be picked up, referred to the relevant section for inspiration or clarification, and put back down.

One of the big questions I had before I picked it up is, "Does the book help you get the business lexicon down?"

I studied undergraduate business, and I found one of the most useful thing was that you'd get all the terms down, so you could have an intelligent conversation about business. Kaufman makes sure to define every term he introduces, and he introduces most of the fundamental business terms you'd need to know -

Agency involves the marketing and sale of an asset you don’t own. Instead of producing value by yourself, you team up with someone else who has value to offer, then work to find a purchaser. In exchange for establishing a new relationship between your source and a buyer, you earn a commission or fee.

Again, much of the book is fundamental/basic for people already studied in business. He doesn't make assumptions. But the book works for people at any skill level. Also, I think this would be a pretty amazing resource for someone who has English as a second language.

A few more observations -

Kaufman is incredibly well-read and knowledge about lots of things. He quotes a diverse range of businesspeople, philosophers, writers, etc. The quotes are funny and interesting. He references lots of other books, and gives a good roadmap on where to go for more information if you want elaboration on his concepts.

He introduces lots of short stories and anecdotes about business. These range from well-known business case studies to him talking about how his Vibram Five-Finger Shoes get questions from people when he is jogging, and generates free marketing for Vibram by being remarkable.

It's a pleasant read. You'll wind up remembering some of the quotes and stories. For instance, the quote on the Remarkability section is -

"Advertising is the tax you pay for being unremarkable." - Robert Stephens, founder of Geek Squad

Then there's the Vibram story about how he gets asked about his shoes a lot... it's the kind of thing that sticks out in your memory and gets remembered.

My biggest piece of advice about the book is that you've got to adapt your reading habits to it. I used to be a cover-to-cover reader on every book I read, but I don't think Personal MBA is well-suited to this. Cover-to-cover readers will need to get into either fastread-until-something-interesting-then-slow-down or look-up-table-of-contents-go-to-relevant-section.

Most likely, there'll be some absolute gems and eye-openers in the book for you. The problem is, which section that'll be will be different for everyone. For me, the Vibram point was fascinating, and has the wheels turning in my head. For someone who works in advertising, PR, or marketing full-time, that might be a very boring obvious piece, but the details on fulfillment or work habits will help more.

Here's a good example -

On his, "Get Feedback" section, here's the first four points -

Feedback

1. Get feedback from real potential customers instead of friends and family.
2. Ask open-ended questions.
3. Steady yourself, and keep calm.
4. Take what you hear with a grain of salt.

(There's more details beyond that, but that's the basics of it)

Now, this is fairly obvious in a way. But then #5 is an excellent insight that not enough people know -

5. Give potential customers the opportunity to pre-order. One of the most important pieces of feedback you can receive during the iteration process is the other person’s willingness to actually purchase what you’re creating. It’s one thing for a person to say that they’d purchase something and quite another for them to be willing to pull out their wallet or credit card and place a real order. You can do this even if the offer isn’t ready yet—a tactic called Shadow Testing (discussed later). Whenever possible, give the people who are giving you feedback the opportunity to pre-order the offering. If a significant number of people take you up on the offer, you’re in good shape: you know that you have a solid offering and you immediately boost your cash flow.

If no one is willing to pre-order, you know you have more work to do before you have a viable offer—by asking why they’re not willing to purchase right now, you’ll discover their major Barriers to Purchase (discussed later): what’s holding them back.

Most people probably realize that you should talk to lots of people to get feedback, and take the advice with a grain of salt. Fairly obvious advice. But then #5 - offer to take preorders - is fantastically important advice, which most don't know or would overlook.

The whole book is like that. If you're already doing business, you should be skimming probably 4/5ths of the book, but the last 1/5th is full of gems and good advice that make the price of admission well-worth it.

Finally, the sections on "The Human Mind" and "Working With Yourself" go beyond standard business studies, and have information on cognitive biases, willpower, working effectively, etc. I found these sections to have lots of insights, and this speaks to the depth of the author's reading and knowledge.

Verdict:

For people currently in management or entrepreneurship: A sold business book. Fast-read it and pick up the quotes and stories, and stop and slow down when you find an interesting section. You'll most likely find a few gems you can put into practice that'll make it worth it.

For people thinking of going into business: I think Josh does a good job reviewing/outlining most of the important concepts in business, and the book is interesting. But I can't comment as to how well the book will be absorbed by someone not currently in business, which I know is a big part of who it's targeted to. If you're new to business and wind up reading this, would you comment or email me once you start the book? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

For people who have English as a second language: A must-buy as a reference. He gives simple, clear, precise explanations in plain English of business concepts. The dictionary is extremely unhelpful with many business concepts.

For instance, here's Merriam-Webster's definition of "agency":

agen·cy noun \ˈā-jən(t)-sē\
plural agen·cies
Definition of AGENCY

1
a : the office or function of an agent
b : the relationship between a principal and that person's agent
2: the capacity, condition, or state of acting or of exerting power : operation
3: a person or thing through which power is exerted or an end is achieved : instrumentality
4: an establishment engaged in doing business for another
5: an administrative division (as of a government)

Here's Kaufman's -

Agency involves the marketing and sale of an asset you don’t own. Instead of producing value by yourself, you team up with someone else who has value to offer, then work to find a purchaser. In exchange for establishing a new relationship between your source and a buyer, you earn a commission or fee.

Much more helpful. This book will be a godsend for people who have English as a second language who want to discuss business in English.

Overall - a solid read. Don't read it cover to cover, fastread it until you come to a section that suits you. Solid, pleasant experience, with interesting short stories and lots of good quotes. Recommended.

Here's the Amazon link -

The Personal MBA on Amazon

Personal MBA Website