- Hardcover: 402 pages
- Publisher: Portfolio (30 Dec 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1591843529
- ISBN-13: 978-1591843528
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 483,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The premise of this book is that MBA courses are a waste of money and that just by reading business books you can learn all that you would do on a business course. In this book he sets out to provide all the basics that you will need.
He actually does a pretty good job. He is a decent writer and as far as I can tell all the information in this book is accurate. It is certainly very comprehensive. Occasionally it does seem a bit shallow and he doesn't always provide a lot of detail. A lot of this information is available for free from other sources.
His argument about MBA's providing poor value for money is convincing but there does seem a bit of a contradiction as he offers online courses that seem expensive to me. His website provides a lot of useful information for free though. He also has a reading list of 100 recommended business books.
One thing that I personally wasn't so keen was the section on "working with yourself" The information that he provides is mostly decent but he does quote from and recommend the books of several self-help bloggers who don't seem that credible to me.
I did really like the chapters on analysing and improving systems. I have a finance background and his chapter on finance seemed very credible and knowledgeable.
For a single volume it does a great job in providing the reader with the fundamentals of business. It is a lot better written than the average business book and it seems like a pretty useful resource to keep on your desk.
He actually does a pretty good job. He is a decent writer and as far as I can tell all the information in this book is accurate. It is certainly very comprehensive. Occasionally it does seem a bit shallow and he doesn't always provide a lot of detail. A lot of this information is available for free from other sources.
His argument about MBA's providing poor value for money is convincing but there does seem a bit of a contradiction as he offers online courses that seem expensive to me. His website provides a lot of useful information for free though. He also has a reading list of 100 recommended business books.
One thing that I personally wasn't so keen was the section on "working with yourself" The information that he provides is mostly decent but he does quote from and recommend the books of several self-help bloggers who don't seem that credible to me.
I did really like the chapters on analysing and improving systems. I have a finance background and his chapter on finance seemed very credible and knowledgeable.
For a single volume it does a great job in providing the reader with the fundamentals of business. It is a lot better written than the average business book and it seems like a pretty useful resource to keep on your desk.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'A world-class business education in a single volume'... a big claim on the front cover, and one that is only partly fulfilled. Once I'd forgiven Kaufman his very extensive rant against the formal MBA programmes (one which is very geared towards the uber-corperate USA model and ignores the much more valuable workplace based experience of many of us who have done UK based MBAs) I did enjoy the broad range of subjects covered, and the concise breakdown of a variety of management theories and concepts. It is a very simple and simplistic approach to a complex subject, and does pack a huge amount of material into a relatively short and readable form. Kaufman is a huge fan of 'book based learning'; this work is result of a serious amount of time spent trawling and cherry picking from the best literature, articles, blogs, and research. He's done a lot of the hard work here for us; the list of suggested reading looks very impressive and interesting.
My criticism of the book, is that there's very little real life application. It's very thin on case studies, or encouragement to apply to your own situation... ironically it was this element that I loved the most in my 'real' MBA experience. And for a man who loves his 'book learning', there is an annoying lack of academic referencing to the many useful theories and concepts that he presents. Evidence as to which of these theories might be more useful or proven is also lacking - but Kaufman's own intuition for these things seems to be good, and certainly has earned him a lucrative career! One thing that Kaufman admits to creating himself, and an exception to my criticism about lack of application, is the excellent exercise right at the end of the book '49 questions to improve your results' which is a polished model of reflective practice.
In summary: a good read, a good introduction to a panoply of management concepts, a fantastic resource to crib from if you're doing consultancy type work, a good refresher if you're feeling a little stale in you're own management practices and want some new ideas - but really no substitute for a properly applied MBA programme where you engage with real people in the real world.
My criticism of the book, is that there's very little real life application. It's very thin on case studies, or encouragement to apply to your own situation... ironically it was this element that I loved the most in my 'real' MBA experience. And for a man who loves his 'book learning', there is an annoying lack of academic referencing to the many useful theories and concepts that he presents. Evidence as to which of these theories might be more useful or proven is also lacking - but Kaufman's own intuition for these things seems to be good, and certainly has earned him a lucrative career! One thing that Kaufman admits to creating himself, and an exception to my criticism about lack of application, is the excellent exercise right at the end of the book '49 questions to improve your results' which is a polished model of reflective practice.
In summary: a good read, a good introduction to a panoply of management concepts, a fantastic resource to crib from if you're doing consultancy type work, a good refresher if you're feeling a little stale in you're own management practices and want some new ideas - but really no substitute for a properly applied MBA programme where you engage with real people in the real world.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book isn't as negative as you might think toward the MBA, it just asks a question. It sits on the new wave of thinking coming particularly from the US, where there is a growing awareness between of the difference between 'knowledge' and 'education'. Do you need the knowledge and core concepts for new perspectives and practical application, or do you need the accreditation on your CV? This makes sense as the American 3rd level education system is often on the scale of getting a mortgage.
Through all it's short chapters, the book sums up the core ideas and principles in an MBA course. From the dozens of great reviews at the start of the book, lots of people with MBA's found large amounts of useful informations and insights from it too.
I don't think this is going to put off that many people who are adamant about doing an MBA nor should it. But for those who don't really need the accreditation or want to take the time off work, this is an outstanding round up and clarification of the core principles to be aware of.
At present I'm building a new business. This book has helped me better analyse and then improve many facets of our product, our offer and how we go about delivering both. So for me, it has been practically applied.
Also I've bought this for a friend beginning to learn about starting and running a business, as it's an excellent grounding in all the facets and areas of planning, running and improving an enterprise.
Definitely worth buying and regularly dipping back into!
Through all it's short chapters, the book sums up the core ideas and principles in an MBA course. From the dozens of great reviews at the start of the book, lots of people with MBA's found large amounts of useful informations and insights from it too.
I don't think this is going to put off that many people who are adamant about doing an MBA nor should it. But for those who don't really need the accreditation or want to take the time off work, this is an outstanding round up and clarification of the core principles to be aware of.
At present I'm building a new business. This book has helped me better analyse and then improve many facets of our product, our offer and how we go about delivering both. So for me, it has been practically applied.
Also I've bought this for a friend beginning to learn about starting and running a business, as it's an excellent grounding in all the facets and areas of planning, running and improving an enterprise.
Definitely worth buying and regularly dipping back into!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An excellent and concise resource for those who want to know more...
A wonderful, concise overview of business topics, usually reserved for MBA students and business aficionados. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Lloyd Morgan
Back to basics
The book provides a candid view about the pros and cons of going to a business school. It's claim of providing a solid alternative for developing your business career... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Freelance
The Best MBA Book I've Read
This is a great practical guide for anyone interested in understanding the basics of business. Written in plain and simple English, it's easy to follow and laid out in a clear and... Read more
Published 1 month ago by 4evermore
Comprehensive and thorough - highly recommended
As someone who already has an MBA from a reputable school, I was a bit skeptical about what such a book had to offer. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Arvind Devalia
A self-help book disguised as a business book
After being put off of the high cost of MBA's, I purchased "Personal MBA" over Christmas (2011) to get me up to speed on MBA concepts, and perhaps to get help building a good... Read more
Published 4 months ago by AD
A top 0.1% well deserved.
I use what I have learnt in the personal MBA every day, have noted it, and recommended it to many friends. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. Harry N. Thuillier
Excellent, excellent, excellent (and perplexed)
Some of the reviews makes no sense to me, though I understand someone else may be seeing what I do not see, or not seeing what I do see - or both. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Chris Higgins
really well written business book
Very good, clear and logical advice. book is composed such as you dont have to start frim the very begining. you can just focus on one subject and explore it.
Published 6 months ago by Krzysztof
Nice, but not the kind of book that will help you start a business
Nicely written with sense of humour why you should not take an MBA. Not always very convincing though. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Peter
Very basic, too basic
This book contains extremely basic business information. Most of it is common sense, with some (very few) interesting ideas without any considerable depth. Read more
Published 7 months ago by adcitlali
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