Want a NOOK? Explore Now
Master the fundamentals, hone your business instincts, and save a fortune in tuition.
The consensus is clear: MBA programs are a waste of time and money. Even the elite schools offer outdated assembly-line educations about profit-and-loss statements and PowerPoint presentations. After two years poring over sanitized case studies, students are shuffled off into middle management to find out how business really works.
Josh Kaufman has made a business out of distilling the core principles of business and delivering them quickly and concisely to people at all stages of their careers. His blog has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers to the best business books and most powerful business concepts of all time. In The Personal MBA, he shares the essentials of sales, marketing, negotiation, strategy, and much more.
True leaders aren't made by business schools-they make themselves, seeking out the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to succeed. Read this book and in one week you will learn the principles it takes most people a lifetime to master.
Key Terms xiii
A Note to the Reader xvii
Introduction: Why Read this Book? 1
You Don't Need to Know It All 2
No Experience Necessary 3
Questions, Not Answers 4
Mental Models, Not Methods 4
My "Personal" MBA 6
A Self-Directed Crash Course in Business 7
The Wheat and the Chaff 9
The Personal MBA Goes Global 10
Munger's Mental Models 12
Connecting the Dots 15
For the Skeptics 17
Should You Go to Business School? 17
Three Big Problems with Business Schools 18
Delusions of Grandeur 19
Your Money AND Your Life 20
Breaking Out the Benjamins 21
What an MBA Will Actually Get You 22
Where Business Schools Came From 24
In Search of Distribution 25
Playing with Fire 26
No Reason to Change 28
The Single Benefit of Business Schools 29
I Owe, I Owe-It's Off to Work I Go 30
A Better Way 31
What You'll Learn in This Book 32
How to Use This Book 35
1 Value Creation 37
The Five Parts of Every Business 38
Economically Valuable Skills 39
The Iron Law of the Market 40
Core Human Drives 41
Status Seeking 43
Ten Ways to Evaluate a Market 44
The Hidden Benefits of Competition 46
The Mercenary Rule 47
The Crusader Rule 48
Twelve Standard Forms of Value 49
Form of Value #1: Product 50
Form of Value #2: Service 51
Form of Value #3: Shared Resource 52
Form of Value #4: Subscription 53
Form of Value #5: Resale 54
Form of Value #6: Lease 55
Form of Value #7: Agency 56
Form of Value #8: Audience Aggregation 57
Form of Value #9: Loan 58
Form of Value #10: Option 60
Form of Value #11: Insurance 61
Form of Value #12: Capital 62
Hassle Premium 63
Perceived Value 64
Modularity 65
Bundling and Unbundling 66
Prototype 67
The Iteration Cycle 68
Iteration Velocity 69
Feedback 70
Alternatives 72
Trade-offs 73
Economic Values 74
Relative Importance Testing 76
Critical Assumptions 78
Shadow Testing 80
Minimum Viable Offer 81
Incremental Augmentation 83
Field Testing 84
2 Marketing 86
Attention 87
Receptivity 88
Remarkability 89
Probable Purchaser 90
Preoccupation 91
End Result 92
Qualification 93
Point of Market Entry 95
Addressability 96
Desire 98
Visualization 99
Framing 100
Free 102
Permission 103
Hook 105
Call-To-Action (CTA) 106
Narrative 107
Controversy 108
Reputation 110
3 Sales 112
Transaction 113
Trust 114
Common Ground 115
Pricing Uncertainty Principle 116
Four Pricing Methods 117
Price Transition Shock 120
Value-Based Selling 122
Education-Based Selling 123
Next Best Alternative 125
Exclusivity 126
Three Universal Currencies 127
Three Dimensions of Negotiation 128
Buffer 130
Persuasion Resistance 132
Reciprocation 134
Damaging Admission 136
Barriers to Purchase 137
Risk Reversal 139
Reactivation 141
4 Value Delivery 143
Value Stream 144
Distribution Channel 146
The Expectation Effect 147
Predictability 149
Throughput 151
Duplication 152
Multiplication 153
Scale 154
Accumulation 155
Amplification 156
Barrier to Competition 157
Force Multiplier 158
Systemization 160
5 Finance 162
Profit 163
Profit Margin 164
Value Capture 165
Sufficiency 167
Valuation 169
Cash Flow Statement 170
Income Statement 172
Balance Sheet 174
Financial Ratios 176
Cost-Benefit Analysis 178
Four Methods to Increase Revenue 179
Pricing Power 180
Lifetime Value 181
Allowable Acquisition Cost (AAC) 182
Overhead 184
Costs: Fixed and Variable 185
Incremental Degradation 186
Breakeven 187
Amortization 188
Purchasing Power 190
Cash Flow Cycle 191
Opportunity Cost 193
Time Value of Money 194
Compounding 195
Leverage 196
Hierarchy of Funding 198
Bootstrapping 202
Return on Investment (ROI) 203
Sunk Cost 204
Internal Controls 205
6 The Human Mind 208
Caveman Syndrome 208
Performance Requirements 210
The Onion Brain 213
Perceptual Control 215
Reference Level 217
Conservation of Energy 219
Guiding Structure 221
Reorganization 222
Conflict 224
Pattern Matching 226
Mental Simulation 227
Interpretation and Reinterpretation 229
Motivation 231
Inhibition 233
Willpower Depletion 234
Loss Aversion 236
Threat Lockdown 237
Cognitive Scope Limitation 240
Association 242
Absence Blindness 244
Contrast 246
Scarcity 248
Novelty 250
7 Working with Yourself 252
Akrasia 252
Monoidealism 255
Cognitive Switching Penalty 257
Four Methods of Completion 260
Most Important Tasks 261
Goals 262
States of Being 264
Habits 266
Priming 267
Decision 269
Five-Fold Why 271
Five-Fold How 272
Next Action 273
Externalization 274
Self-Elicitation 276
Counterfactual Simulation 278
Parkinson's Law 280
Doomsday Scenario 281
Excessive Self-Regard Te ndency 282
Confirmation Bias 285
Hindsight Bias 286
Performance Load 287
Energy Cycles 288
Stress and Recovery 290
Testing 293
Mystique 295
Hedonic Treadmill 296
Comparison Fallacy 299
Locus of Control 301
Attachment 302
Personal Research and Development (R&D) 303
Limiting Belief 305
8 Working with Others 307
Power 308
Comparative Advantage 309
Communication Overhead 311
Importance 313
Safety 314
Golden Trifecta 316
Reason Why 317
Commander's Intent 318
Bystander Apathy 319
Planning Fallacy 320
Referrals 322
Clanning 323
Convergence and Divergence 325
Social Signals 327
Social Proof 328
Authority 329
Commitment and Consistency 331
Incentive-Caused Bias 333
Modal Bias 334
Pygmalion Effect 335
Attribution Error 337
Option Orientation 338
Management 339
Performance-Based Hiring 342
9 Understanding Systems 346
Gall's Law 346
Flow 348
Stock 348
Slack 349
Constraint 350
Feedback Loop 352
Autocatalysis 353
Environment 354
Selection Test 355
Uncertainty 356
Change 358
Interdependence 359
Counterparty Risk 361
Second-Order Effects 362
Normal Accidents 364
10 Analyzing Systems 366
Deconstruction 366
Measurement 368
Key Performance Indicator 369
Garbage In, Garbage Out 371
Tolerance 372
Analytical Honesty 373
Context 375
Sampling 376
Margin of Error 377
Ratio 378
Typicality 379
Correlation and Causation 381
Norms 382
Proxy 383
Segmentation 385
Humanization 386
11 Improving Systems 388
Intervention Bias 388
Optimization 390
Refactoring 391
The Critical Few 392
Diminishing Returns 394
Friction 395
Automation 397
The Paradox of Automation 398
The Irony of Automation 399
Standard Operating Procedure 400
Checklist 401
Cessation 403
Resilience 404
Fail-safe 406
Stress Testing 408
Scenario Planning 410
Sustainable Growth Cycle 411
The Middle Path 413
The Experimental Mind-set 413
Not "The End" 414
Acknowledgments 419
Appendix A How to Continue Your Business Studies 421
Appendix B Forty-nine Questions to Improve Your Results 427
Notes 431
Index 435
Anonymous
Posted June 7, 2013
Received book slighty damaged after shipping. Was new condition but hard cover was bent where packaging was assembled. Could not fix. Not new condition.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 31, 2012
As an MBA student, I found this book to be very useful. Allthough I am a veteran and have the GI bill to pay for my MBA, if you are considering an MBA I reccomend this book, it could save you lots of money.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 7, 2012
At best this book presents first semester business topics. If i say any more about how disappointing this book is, it might come across as personal attacks agaimst the author and I do not want that to happen.
Invest in another book.
0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 25, 2012
This book gives you the lowdown on what an expensive MBA will not do for you, then proceeds to give you some alternatives. It's a high level view but a great intro and overview into what you need to know about business. I'd recommend it to everyone contemplating an MBA program.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 1, 2013
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted January 20, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted November 20, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted February 2, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted February 17, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted March 1, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted December 9, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted April 21, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted August 13, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted January 25, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted August 27, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted April 7, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted August 1, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted January 29, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted February 1, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted April 22, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
Master the fundamentals, hone your business instincts, and save a fortune in tuition.
The consensus is clear: MBA programs are a waste of time and money. Even the elite schools offer outdated assembly-line educations about profit-and-loss statements and PowerPoint presentations. After two years poring over sanitized case studies, students are shuffled off into middle management to find out how business really works.
Josh Kaufman has made a ...