Business

The Personal MBA

The Personal MBA

  • Downloads：9109
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-28 07:53:31
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Josh Kaufman
  • ISBN：0525543023
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

The 10th anniversary edition of the bestselling foundational business training manual for ambitious readers， featuring new concepts and mental models: updated， expanded， and revised。

Many people assume they need to attend business school to learn how to build a successful business or advance in their career。 That's not true。 The vast majority of modern business practice requires little more than common sense， simple arithmetic， and knowledge of a few very important ideas and principles。



The Personal MBA 10th Anniversary Edition provides a clear overview of the essentials of every major business topic: entrepreneurship， product development， marketing， sales， negotiation， accounting， finance， productivity， communication， psychology， leadership， systems design， analysis， and operations management。。。all in one comprehensive volume。

Inside you'll learn concepts such as:

- The 5 Parts of Every Business You can understand and improve any business， large or small， by focusing on five fundamental topics。
- The 12 Forms of Value Products and services are only two of the twelve ways you can create value for your customers。
- 4 Methods to Increase Revenue There are only four ways for a business to bring in more money。 Do you know what they are？

Business degrees are often a poor investment， but business skills are always useful， no matter how you acquire them。

The Personal MBA will help you do great work， make good decisions， and take full advantage of your skills， abilities， and available opportunities--no matter what you do （or would like to do） for a living。

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Reviews

Olaseni Kehinde Precious ，

The book gives clarity on the importance of self-education in business and explains the core principles of business。 It's a great read indeed！ The book gives clarity on the importance of self-education in business and explains the core principles of business。 It's a great read indeed！ 。。。more

Meen Nattiya ，

It's a really informative book。 It's especially useful for beginners into the business world or people who are interested in it。 A friend recommend me this book when I say I want to take MBA course。 He says this covers it all。 I would have to say it really open my eyes to alot of business concepts。 It is more like reading a cheat sheet of businesss concepts than a book。 Similar to reading friends lectures note in college。The author is very generous in providing reference when there is more to le It's a really informative book。 It's especially useful for beginners into the business world or people who are interested in it。 A friend recommend me this book when I say I want to take MBA course。 He says this covers it all。 I would have to say it really open my eyes to alot of business concepts。 It is more like reading a cheat sheet of businesss concepts than a book。 Similar to reading friends lectures note in college。The author is very generous in providing reference when there is more to learn in a certain topic。 Personally， I would definitely read up more on topics related to my field 。。。more

Ray ，

Heh nothing like a library deadline to get you to power through a book。To be fair， I didn't read every single word in the book。 I read good chunks of the sections that were most unfamiliar to me。 That being said， as someone who did management for undergrad and has read many psychology books， there wasn't too much new to me here。 It is a pretty solid and nearly comprehensive overview of topics you'd want to know and read more about。For me， the one nugget I got out of this wasn't something new。 Ju Heh nothing like a library deadline to get you to power through a book。To be fair， I didn't read every single word in the book。 I read good chunks of the sections that were most unfamiliar to me。 That being said， as someone who did management for undergrad and has read many psychology books， there wasn't too much new to me here。 It is a pretty solid and nearly comprehensive overview of topics you'd want to know and read more about。For me， the one nugget I got out of this wasn't something new。 Just something timely。 That is people are going to be more willing to do what you ask if they understand why。 I've definitely felt the "why am I doing this？" recently and it can be demotivational。 However， keeping this in mind is helpful as I try to plan some work for our team。 We definitely don't need everyone involved in planning but I'll be making special effort to emphasis the why when sharing the upcoming work。 。。。more

Tuncay Özdemir ，

Kitabın sloganı biraz iddialı: "MBA eğitimine on binlerce dolar vermek yerine bu kitabı okuyun！" MBA eğitimindeki görünen amaç eğitimin kendisi olsa da gerçek amaç bir seçkinler topluluğuna girerek etiket sahibi olmak ya da basit elemelerde direkt öne fırlamak gibi konular olduğu için bu slogana tam katılamıyorum。 Harvard'dan mezun olduğunuzda kazandığınız en önemli şey orada verilen bilgiler değil; sizin gibi yüzlerce Harvard mezunu insanı tanıma ihtimaliniz， onlarla bağlantılı olmanız yani art Kitabın sloganı biraz iddialı: "MBA eğitimine on binlerce dolar vermek yerine bu kitabı okuyun！" MBA eğitimindeki görünen amaç eğitimin kendisi olsa da gerçek amaç bir seçkinler topluluğuna girerek etiket sahibi olmak ya da basit elemelerde direkt öne fırlamak gibi konular olduğu için bu slogana tam katılamıyorum。 Harvard'dan mezun olduğunuzda kazandığınız en önemli şey orada verilen bilgiler değil; sizin gibi yüzlerce Harvard mezunu insanı tanıma ihtimaliniz， onlarla bağlantılı olmanız yani artık o kulübe girmiş olmanız。 Kaldı ki bir şeyi bilmek， onu çok iyi yapacağınızın garantisi değil。 Yani işletmeye dair temel konseptleri öğrenince iş bitmiyor。 Herkes futbolun kurallarını biliyor ama bazıları Real Madrid'de bazıları amatör ligde oynuyor。 Bu konuyu kenara bırakacak olursa içerik başarılı bir şekilde oluşturulmuş。 Çok ciddi araştırma yapılmış， değerli kaynaklardan güzel derlemeler tecrübeyle harmanlanmış。 Kısa kısa bölümler halinde sıkmadan okutuyor kendini。 Sonundaki okuma listesi de devamına merakı olanlara yönelik güzel bir yol gösterici olmuş。 Tüm genç profesyonellere， danışmanlara， yönetim kademesinde rol arayanlara ve kendi işini kuracaklara tavsiye ederim。 。。。more

Ema Olnew ，

I would recommend it to anyone to read it， not only to those with business or MBA related interests。 It gives a great overview of how things/systems are working and for more in-depth info it has a great list of reading suggestions。 Not to mention that it's easy to read， on point and I didn't have a single dull moment while reading it。 I would recommend it to anyone to read it， not only to those with business or MBA related interests。 It gives a great overview of how things/systems are working and for more in-depth info it has a great list of reading suggestions。 Not to mention that it's easy to read， on point and I didn't have a single dull moment while reading it。 。。。more

Emily ，

This was a great read！！！

Emily ，

Exactly the business 101 I was looking for。 It's like an easy to read， well organized and sequenced encyclopedia。 It was as helpful for me to realize what I already know and do， and put a name to those things， as it was to learn new concepts and incorporate them immediately to my work。 Exactly the business 101 I was looking for。 It's like an easy to read， well organized and sequenced encyclopedia。 It was as helpful for me to realize what I already know and do， and put a name to those things， as it was to learn new concepts and incorporate them immediately to my work。 。。。more

Nathan ，

Josh Kaufman’s The Personal MBA gives an overview of value creation， marketing， sales， value delivery， finance， the human mind， understand/analyzing/improving systems without getting bogged down into the minutiae of each topic but presenting general themes for each one。Every successful business （1） creates or provides something of value that （2） other people want or need （3） at a price they're willing to pay， in a way that （4） satisfies the purchaser's needs and expectations and （5） pro vides th Josh Kaufman’s The Personal MBA gives an overview of value creation， marketing， sales， value delivery， finance， the human mind， understand/analyzing/improving systems without getting bogged down into the minutiae of each topic but presenting general themes for each one。Every successful business （1） creates or provides something of value that （2） other people want or need （3） at a price they're willing to pay， in a way that （4） satisfies the purchaser's needs and expectations and （5） pro vides the business sufficient revenue to make it worthwhile for the owners to continue operation。At the core， all successful businesses sell some combination of money， status， power， love， knowledge， protection， pleasure， and excitement。 The more clearly you articulate how your product satisfies one or more of these drives， the more attractive your offer will become。Service involves helping or assisting someone in exchange for a fee。 To create value via Services， you must be able to provide some type of benefit to the user。 In order to create a successful Service， your business must: 1。 Have employees capable of a skill or ability other people require but can't， won't， or don't want to use themselves。 2。 Ensure that the Service is provided with consistently high quality。 3。 Attract and retain paying customers。 Services can be lucrative， particularly if the skills required to provide them are rare and difficult to develop， but the trade-off is that they're difficult to duplicate。 Services typically depend on the Service provider's investment of time and energy， both of which are finite。 If you're developing a Service， be sure to charge enough to compensate for the time you'll be investing on a daily basis in providing the Service to your customers。 Otherwise， you'll discover that you're working too hard for too little a reward。In most companies， each of these offers is handled separately， and the customer can pick and choose which offers they want to take advantage of。 By making offers Modular， the business can create and improve each offer in isolation， then mix and match offers as necessary to better serve their customers。Don't be shy about showing potential customers your work in progress。 Unless you work in an industry with unusually aggressive， competent， and well-funded competitors， you really don't have to worry about other people "stealing" your idea。 Ideas are cheap-what counts is the ability to translate an idea into reality， which is much more difficult than recognizing a good idea。Iteration is a cycle-once you measure the results of the change and decide whether or not to keep it， you go back to the beginning to observe what's happening， and the cycle repeats。 For best results， clearly define what you're trying to accomplish with each iteration。 Are you trying to make the offering more attractive or appealing？ Are you trying to add a new feature people will value？ Are you trying to make the offering cost less without detracting from its value？ The more clearly you can define what you're after， the easier it'll be to understand the Feedback you're receiving and the more value you'll extract from each Iteration Cycle。As a rule， people never accept Trade-offs unless they're forced to make a Decision。 If the perfect option existed， they'd buy it。 Since there's no such thing as the perfect offering， people are happy to settle for the Next Best Alternative。 The best way to discover what people actually value is to ask them to make explicit Trade-offs during the research process。Critical Assumptions are facts or characteristics that must be true in the real world for your business or offering to be successful。 Every new business or offering has a set of Critical Assumptions， and if any Critical Assumptions turns out to be false， the business idea will be vastly less promising than it appears。 The more accurately you can identify these assumptions in advance and actually test whether or not they're true， the less risk you'll be taking and the more confidence you'll have in the wisdom of your decisions。A Minimum Viable Offer is an offer that promises and/or provides the smallest number of benefits necessary to produce an actual sale。 A Minimum Viable Offer is essentially a Prototype that's been developed to the point that someone will actually pull out their wallet and commit to making a purchase。 Creating a Minimum Viable Offer is useful because it's impossible to predict 100 percent accurately what will work in advance。 You don't want to invest a ton of time and money in something that has no chance of working， and the faster you can figure out if your idea will work or not， the better off you'll be。The purpose of starting with a Minimum Viable Offer is to minimize your risk。 By keeping the investments small， incremental， and learning oriented， you'll be able to quickly discover what works and what doesn't。Incremental Augmentation is the process of using the Iteration Cycle to add new benefits to an existing offer。 The process is simple: keep making and testing additions to the core offer， continue doing what works， and stop doing what doesn't。Attempting to appeal to everyone is a waste of time and money: focus your marketing efforts on your Probable Purchaser。 By spending your limited resources reaching out to people who are already interested in the types of things you offer， you'll maximize the effectiveness of grabbing activities。The essence of effective marketing is discovering what people already want， then presenting your offer in a way that intersects with that preexisting Desire。 The best marketing is similar to Education-Based Selling: it shows the prospect how the offer will help them achieve what they desire。 Your job as a marketer isn't to convince people to want what you're offering: it's to help your prospects convince themselves that what you're offering will help them get what they really want。Always remember that the marketplace is the final arbiter of your Reputation， and that it's always watching what you do。 Building your Reputation takes time and effort， but it's the most effective kind of marketing there is。There are four ways to support a price on something of value: （1） replacement cost， （2） market comparison， （3） discounted cash flow/net present value， and （4） value comparison。 These Four Pricing Methods will help you estimate just how much something is potentially worth to your customers。Education-Based Selling requires an up-front investment in your prospects， but it's worth it。 By investing energy in making your prospects smarter， you simultaneously build Trust in your expertise and make them better customers。 Be forewarned， however， that effective education requires your offer to be superior in some way to your competitors。It seems like a common gesture of hospitality。 It's not。 Accepting this small offer creates a psychological need to Reciprocate， subtly stacking the deck in the salesman's favor。 Prospective car buyers who accepted this free offer were far more likely to purchase a vehicle， add optional accessories， and agree to less attractive financing terms。 As a result， these customers spent thousands of dollars more than the people who did not accept anything from the salesman while negotiating。If you want to maximize your sales， it almost always makes sense to offer a very strong Risk-Reversing guarantee and to extend the risk-free period as much as possible。 If you don't already have a Risk-Reversal policy， implement one and you'll see your sales increase。The best way to consistently surpass expectations is to give your custom ers an unexpected bonus in addition to the value they expect。A System is a process made explicit and repeatable-a series of steps that has been formalized in some way。 Systems can be written or diagrammed， but they are always Externalized in some way。 The primary benefit of creating a system is that you can examine the process and make improvements。 By making each step in the process explicit， you can understand how the core processes work， how they're structured， how they affect other processes and systems， and how you can improve the system over time。Profits are important， but they're a means to an end: creating value， paying expenses， compensating the people who run the business， and supporting yourself and your loved ones。 Dollars aren't an end in themselves: money is a tool， and the usefulness of that tool depends on what you intend to do with it。 Your business does not have to bring in millions or billions of dollars to be successful。 If you have enough profit to do the things you need to do to keep the business running and make it worth your time， you're successful， no matter how much revenue your business brings in。The Cash Flow Statement is straightforward: it's an examination of a company's bank account over a certain period of time。 Think of it like a checking account ledger: deposits of cash flow in and withdrawals of cash flow out。 Ideally， more money flows in than flows out， and the total never goes below zero。the Income Statement contains an estimate of the business's Profit over a certain period of time， once revenue is matched with the related expenses。 Income Statements are very useful: there's a reason businesses go to the trouble of creating them。 By matching expenses with revenue， it's easier to look at the company's profitability and make decisions that will improve the company's bank account in the weeks and months to come。large expenses like equipment purchases may involve a huge cash outlay， but the Income Statement attributes a small piece of the expense to each sales period， a practice called Amortization。 This practice helps match the expense to the associated revenue: looking at a huge negative cash flow statement for that period would be misleading。A Balance Sheet is a snapshot of what a business owns and what it owes at a particular moment in time。 You can think of it as an estimate of the company's net worth at the time the Balance Sheet was created。If your goal is to increase your profitability， cutting costs can only take you so far。 Creating and delivering value will always cost at least some amount of money， so there is a lower limit to how much you can cut costs before the cuts begin to diminish the value you provide。 Cutting costs that are wasteful or unnecessary is certainly a good idea， but Diminishing Returns always kick in。 Creating and delivering more value is a much better way to enhance your bottom line。Sunk Costs are investments of time， energy， and money that can't be re covered once they've been made。 No matter what you do， you can't get those resources back。 Continuing to invest in a project to recoup lost resources doesn't make sense-all that matters is how much more investment is required versus the reward you expect to obtain。Guiding Structure means the structure of your Environment is the largest determinant of your behavior。 If you want to successfully change a behavior， don't try to change the behavior directly。 Change the structure that influences or supports the behavior， and the behavior will change automatically。 If you don't want to eat ice cream， don't buy it in the first place。Dr。 Mischel found a correlation between Willpower and success: kids with a greater ability to "defer gratification" were more successful in school， as well as later on in life。 Overriding our instincts can often make it possible to collect larger rewards later-spending is easy， but saving is not， even if the latter is more beneficial over time。Loss Aversion is the idea that people hate to lose things more than they like to gain them。 There are very few relationships that psychology is able to quantify， but this is one of them: people respond twice as strongly to potential loss as they do to the opportunity of an equivalent gain。Loss Aversion is why Risk Reversal is so important if you're presenting an offer to a potential customer。 People hate to lose， which makes them feel stupid and taken advantage of。 As a result， they'll go to great lengths to ensure that they don't lose， and the best way to ensure that they don't make a stupid decision is to not buy your offer in the first place。 If you're in the business of making sales， that's a big problem。 Eliminate this perception of risk by offering a money-back guarantee or similar Risk Reversal offer， and people will feel the decision is less risky， resulting in more sales。If you're trying to sell the absence or prevention of something， you're fighting an uphill battle， even if your Product is great。 Always state benefits in positive， immediate， concrete， and specific terms by focusing on things the user can directly experience。If you walk into a department store to buy a business suit， you're likely to notice a few options that appear to be abnormally expensive。 The store will very rarely sell these suits-that's not their purpose。 Compared to a $3，000 suit， a $400 suit doesn't sound like a lot of money-even if the same suit could be purchased at another store for $200。 The same principle applies to the order in which products are presented by the salesperson。 After choosing a suit， you'll be directed to shirts， shoes， and accessories。 Compared to a $400 suit， what's another $100 on shoes？Even the most Remarkable object of attention gets boring over time。 Human attention requires novelty to sustain itself。 Continue to offer some thing new， and people will pay attention to what you have to offer。Very often， we're not consciously aware of why we want what we want。 Conducting a "root cause analysis" is a useful way to discover the motivations behind our desires。 The Five-Fold Why is a technique to help you discover what you actually want。Discover the root causes behind your Goals， and you'll discover new ways to get what you actually want。When you run a Counterfactual Simulation， you assume the event or end state you're simulating is already true。 By supplying your mind with an artificial destination， it will automatically start to fill in the blanks between point A and point B。This cycle is called the Hedonic Treadmill: we pursue pleasurable things because we think they'll make us happy。 When we finally achieve or acquire what we're seeking， we adapt to our success in a very short period of time， and our success no longer gives us pleasure。 As a result， we begin seeking something new， and the cycle repeats。Knowing your monetary point of Diminishing Returns is useful: by consciously limiting your consumption beyond a certain point and establishing long-term savings， you can reap the benefits of financial security and Resilience without spending every waking moment working to pay for pleasures you'll adapt to in less than a month。Here's a useful rule of thumb for these types of situations: make the other party tell you no。 This is a Habit worth installing: you may believe you're going to be turned down when you make a request or propose an idea， but make the other party say it instead of assuming it's a given。There's a reason high-performing surgical teams， military units， and sports teams tend to be small and focused: too much time spent in communication and coordination can kill a team's effectiveness。 Communication Overhead is the proportion of time you spend communicating with members of your team instead of getting productive work done。Once group size expands above eight， each additional team member requires more investment in communication than they add in productive capacity。Fortunately， making others feel Important is not particularly difficult if you make an effort to be present and curious。 It mostly has to do with un divided focus: paying attention， listening intently， expressing interest， and asking questions。 Being the complete focus of someone's attention is so rarein today's world that it makes a memorable impact almost immediately。Langer’s students asked people waiting in line to use the copy machine if they could move to the front of the line， using various approaches。 A straightforward request was honored 60 percent of the time， but Langer found that adding a reason for the request increased the compliance rate to 95 percent。 The technique worked even if the reason was vacuous。Given the choice， people always prefer to interact with people they know and like。 Referrals make it far easier for people to Decide to work with someone they don't know。 Referrals are effective because they transfer the qualities of being known and liked。If you're in a position of Authority， your Authority will change the way others interact with you。 Simply because you express an opinion， your subordinates will be far more likely to Interpret your position as a truth or as a command。 As a result， people will begin to filter the information they give you based on what they think you want to hear-which may not be what you need to hear。 This filtering behavior is how Authority figures often end up "living in a bubble"If you're a leader or manager， it pays to consciously suspend your judgment long enough to thoroughly consider the perspectives and suggestions of the people you work with。Key Performance Indicators （KPIs） are Measurements of the critical parts of a System。 Measurements that don't help you make improvements to your System are worse than worthless: they're a waste of your limited Attention and energy。When something bad happens， it's tempting to "fix" the situation by installing additional layers of limitations， reporting， and auditing。 The result isn't an improvement in Throughput or efficiency: it's an increase in Communication Overhead， waste， and unproductive bureaucracy。 The best way to correct for Intervention Bias is to examine what scientists call a "null hypothesis": examining what would happen if did you nothing or assumed the situation was an accident or error。Here's the Paradox of Automation: the more efficient the Automated sys tem， the more crucial the contribution of the human operators of that system。 When an error happens， operators need to identify and fix the situation quickly or shut the system down-otherwise， the Automated system will continue to Multiply the error。Creating a Checklist is enormously valuable for two reasons。 First， Checklisting will help you define a System for a process that hasn't yet been formalized-once the Checklist has been created， it's easier to see how to improve or Automate the system。 Second， using Check lists as a normal part of working can help ensure that you don't forget to handle important steps that are easily overlooked when things get busy。 。。。more

harima ，

"What I began by reading， I must finish by acting" "What I began by reading， I must finish by acting" 。。。more

Abhishek ，

Often I've wondered about the huge gap between the situations encountered at day to day work （operational， tactical or strategic） and the knowledge gained during my MBA course， it's mind boggling。 As we move towards specialization， we tend to lose appreciation for the larger systems at play which requires atleast basic fundamentals of all encompassing aspects of the business。 This book truly substitutes for half an MBA if not for the whole。 The MBA is also so much about peer learning， networking Often I've wondered about the huge gap between the situations encountered at day to day work （operational， tactical or strategic） and the knowledge gained during my MBA course， it's mind boggling。 As we move towards specialization， we tend to lose appreciation for the larger systems at play which requires atleast basic fundamentals of all encompassing aspects of the business。 This book truly substitutes for half an MBA if not for the whole。 The MBA is also so much about peer learning， networking and the head start one gets as part of a good job。 So there's atleast half a truth in terms of what author is trying to play at。 The book exhaustively outlines the most recurring business concepts and when combined well， it can be quite helpful at work！ The examples and anecdotes given are rock solid。 This book can be a good precursor or a primer to anyone who's looking to transition from a technical to a business role。 Glad I read this book！！ 。。。more

Corinne ，

Great snippets on every facet of business！ Reinforced learnings and built new。 Easy to pick up and put down。

Vlad Toie ，

Personal MBA？ More like Personal Development Bible！Really now， apart from Business and Finance， this book tackles psychology， personal finance， and well-being， as well as some specks of philosophy。 Usually while reading I'm trying to find those "golden eggs" ideas/ quotes， however， it was almost impossible to do here since there were so many！ =）On the first reread， I'll also take notes along the way。 Pure gold！ Personal MBA？ More like Personal Development Bible！Really now， apart from Business and Finance， this book tackles psychology， personal finance， and well-being， as well as some specks of philosophy。 Usually while reading I'm trying to find those "golden eggs" ideas/ quotes， however， it was almost impossible to do here since there were so many！ =）On the first reread， I'll also take notes along the way。 Pure gold！ 。。。more

Dmitry Maksyoma ，

I wish I read Personal MBA， when I was graduating school。 It contains so much fundamental things I'd benefit from knowing。 E。g。 correlation vs causation。It is so well written that it's exceptionally easy to understand。It describes business as a machine that makes money。 The machine is made of systems that create value， deliver value， market， sell。 You put money and effort in， and get more money as output。Highly recommended。 I wish I read Personal MBA， when I was graduating school。 It contains so much fundamental things I'd benefit from knowing。 E。g。 correlation vs causation。It is so well written that it's exceptionally easy to understand。It describes business as a machine that makes money。 The machine is made of systems that create value， deliver value， market， sell。 You put money and effort in， and get more money as output。Highly recommended。 。。。more

Mert Gürkaynak ，

Pegasus yayınları naçizane bir arzum var lütfen benim de yorumumu Seth abinin altına koyun。Bu kitabı okumadan ne bir kuruş harcayın ne de karar verin。

Laurence ，

This is almost a guide to life and society as much as business。 If you want to start your own business， improve a current one， or get better in your current position it is worth a read。

Giovanni Hale ，

Josh Kaufman's Personal MBA was an excellent choice to start my summer reading。 I felt the book was well written， informative and if you are not much of a reader and prefer audiobooks， this is a great listen。 TPMBA （The Personal MBA） will be a book you will want to give to your new grad or someone looking to understand how business work， even if they do not intend to go into business for themself。 Josh Kaufman's Personal MBA was an excellent choice to start my summer reading。 I felt the book was well written， informative and if you are not much of a reader and prefer audiobooks， this is a great listen。 TPMBA （The Personal MBA） will be a book you will want to give to your new grad or someone looking to understand how business work， even if they do not intend to go into business for themself。 。。。more

Derek ，

Great book， and I want to reread this。

Shams Muhammad ，

One of the most valuable purchases I ever did。 The book is comprehensive and gives an entrepreneur more than the essentials from zero knowledge to advance knowledge to start or improve his/her business。

jennet wheatstonelllsl ，

Kx

Jaki ，

If you're the kind of person who uses the Blinkist app you will probably like this book （I am basing this off of knowing no one as far as I know who actually has used that app， but just based on the podcast ads for it， this book is basically that but for business school。。。kind of）。Otherwise， kind of shallow， kind of dry， be a little suspicious about how rigorous the evidence may be behind some of the statements。There are some useful things to pull out of here or be reminded of， none of them uniq If you're the kind of person who uses the Blinkist app you will probably like this book （I am basing this off of knowing no one as far as I know who actually has used that app， but just based on the podcast ads for it， this book is basically that but for business school。。。kind of）。Otherwise， kind of shallow， kind of dry， be a little suspicious about how rigorous the evidence may be behind some of the statements。There are some useful things to pull out of here or be reminded of， none of them unique to this book however。 Asking yourself questions， making people feel important and safe， assigning responsibility to individuals， etc。 - all useful to internalize even though you already know they're things to do。If you're really seriously ready to start learning about business-y things but don't know if business school is right for you （and don't have much of a background in it）。。。maybe a good jumping off point？ Otherwise， can't recommend。 。。。more

Brahm ，

This is one of the top "biz-help" books I've read as there is very little fluff。 Kaufman attempts to condense all of the key business knowledge from a typical MBA program into a single book。 He did this by spending years and years reading business books， identifying key concepts， and condensing those key concepts to 1-2 pages of no-frills writing。 Instead of a drawn-out， overly-narrated， anecdote-filled， way-too-many-case-studies typical business book， this is essentially a list of terms， groupe This is one of the top "biz-help" books I've read as there is very little fluff。 Kaufman attempts to condense all of the key business knowledge from a typical MBA program into a single book。 He did this by spending years and years reading business books， identifying key concepts， and condensing those key concepts to 1-2 pages of no-frills writing。 Instead of a drawn-out， overly-narrated， anecdote-filled， way-too-many-case-studies typical business book， this is essentially a list of terms， grouped into about 10 chapters， with 1-2 pages defining each term。 I liked this format as it made it easy to skip sections I wasn't interested in， but I could see how the lack of overall narrative might be disengaging to some。 Much of the content in here was SUPER useful， both in the context of the small business Robyn and Kaila are building， as well as food for thought for my career。 A great book to buy a physical copy to attack with a highlighter and pen。 I was not wild about the chapters on finance （too dry）， or the chapter on "working with yourself" （too self-helpy）。 The rest was solid。 I could see this sitting within reach for years to come; lots of good reference material on basic business concepts， conflict resolution， delivering criticism， and managing people。 Again， all with minimal fluff。 Was Kaufman successful in convincing me I don't need an MBA？ I was biased against getting one before I picked up the book， so my opinion was reinforced。 I found his take-down of the value of most MBA programs in his intro entertaining， and I feel the $30 for the book was money well spent。 I learned about this book and author when Kaufman was a guest on the Knowledge Project podcast with Shane Parrish。 。。。more

Giordano ，

Dense with information and a great link to other books

BeUnlimited ，

This is the Bible for EVERY lesson I’ve accumulated over my past 3-4 years in business。 While reassuring， it’s also a highly convenient reference guide to source valuable information that I otherwise would have paid thousands of dollars and countless hours obtaining。 Plus， as a bonus he offers quotes， resources， and worksheets。 Fantastic book。

Amr ShawKey ，

Whoever wishes this book to be a replacement for an MBA is delusional。 however， the book is a great summary/Introduction for the main business concepts。 Also， the way the book is written and segmented is very elegant which makes reading it very smooth and easy。 I recommend this book for people who are beginners in business

Rama ，

good

Tricia ，

I love how concise each section is， it makes the information easier to digest。

Zulfiqar Khan ，

This is the MBA to replace the actual MBA。 The author contends that rather than waste several hundred thousand dollars， those seeking to understand the essentials of business are better served by reading this book。 The book underscores what the author believes are the main principles of business。 I found the most useful chapters to be on soft skills ie working with yourself， working with others。 Also useful was the chapter on value creation; some topics might seem too obvious to those who actual This is the MBA to replace the actual MBA。 The author contends that rather than waste several hundred thousand dollars， those seeking to understand the essentials of business are better served by reading this book。 The book underscores what the author believes are the main principles of business。 I found the most useful chapters to be on soft skills ie working with yourself， working with others。 Also useful was the chapter on value creation; some topics might seem too obvious to those who actual did a university MBA course or those who have been in the world of business long enough and received on the job training。 Despite some of the content being somewhat familiar and obvious， the book is well written with small segments in each chapter making it easily digestible。 In summary， its useful both for those who have done an MBA， and those who wont or cant enroll for one。 。。。more

Robin Ellam ，

400-page glossary with a repetitive format that doesn’t actually teach you how to DO anything。 Getting an MBA is a lot more than learning vocabulary。

Jorg van Gaal ，

That it is no use doing an MBA （for me at least）。 The author starts explaining why an MBA is mostly a waste of money。 Afterwards， he runs through various key business concepts that are the contents of any MBA。 The book is aligned nicely and pretty easy to read。 Pretty comprehensive as it talks about many concepts。 Luckily for me， most concepts are known by me and it was a great repetition to sink in again。

Hamse Daród ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 its one of the best books to read about business field。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Personal MBA

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Personal MBA&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Personal MBA&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0