I haven't read the print version, but I think in this case it would be better because some of the information and concepts he teaches really need to be written down or viewed to fully understand them.

The performance was terrible. I saw one review that said that the author sounded like a robot before I bought it, but I got in anyways. After awhile I just couldn't listen to it anymore. Even thinking about it makes my shoulders tense up and makes me feel irritated.

Not only is his performance completely robotic, lacking any emotion or inflection, but it is also extremely nasally. It's almost as if he's holding his nose while reading. At some point his voice changes to be slightly more human, but it seems to go back and forth in different chapters. I just cannot finish the book, which is unfortunate because there is a lot of good information.

This book provides an excellent overview of business concepts and terminology. The book covers value chains, finance, process modeling, and other universal topics, so it's not at risk of dating itself. The author/narrator's delivery is smooth and easy to listen to, and the information is highly valuable to anybody working in a business environment. His explanations are very down to earth, so you don't really need anything beyond a high school vocabulary.

Though I agree with Kaufman's thesis that a degree is not the same thing as an education, I'm not sure what makes him the expert that he claims to be. Like David Bach or Timothy Ferriss, Kaufman's business is the book. He's not like Guy Kawasaki, who can reflect on his experience marketing the Macintosh in the 80's when people didn't know what a home computer was. Kaufman's experience, when you trim out the fluff, is two mid-management positions at a single company, which he couldn't have held for very long because he was only 28 when the book was published. However, since this is an introductory text, and consists mostly of theory, I don't consider that a major handicap. I'd just be a little wary of any specific advice he offered.

My only serious complaint is that the book takes forever to get going. The Introduction (track 2 of the audiobook) consists of the author describing his personal experience in detail, how he succeeded without an MBA, and why MBA programs are useless and expensive and out to get you. It runs for an hour and four minutes. That's about five times longer than it needs to be. Having been a brand manager, he should know that it's important to make an impression on the customer right away, before they get bored and change the channel.

No, not my intelligent ones.

NO

The book rambles with multiple analogies and stories when one will do. For example, do I really need 5 reasons why sometimes more is not better? Most adults can handle 1 reason/story. Also chapters about diet and brain chemistry are not his expertise and a waste of my time. I fast forwarded through much of the second book. I expected more useful knowledge about business - too simplistic. Fine if you're 18-20 years old, but if you're halfway intelligent, you know most of this. Could have been condensed into 1-2 hours of useful information.

It doesn't matter if starting a business or just wanting to learn more about running a business I highly recommend this book. The title put me off for a while as it is a bit cheesy and I figured it was a series brand of the books and the content would be fairly hit or miss but boy I was wrong and it would go in my top 10 must read business books. It is an easy listen and I find things explained very clearly.

There are many concepts you have already known if you are working in corporate for more than 5 years. But, still this is good book to cover most of the topics.

Maybe

Disappointment. Good start with the work down of the problem with MBA programs which was helpful, although a bit long. When he started getting into the nuts and bolts of the different types of business structures and such he lost me. I was bored. It was like being in a real MBA program I guess. I think he is well researched and has good ideas, but not the best book overall.

No clue

Something to pull me out of my deep depression the narrator put me in.

He ruined it.

The narator

What can I say? I stopped after ten minutes, tried again a few days later and made it another ten minutes.

Best book I have ever listened to...It is packed with so much information that I have listened to it 4 times. It is a very energizing listen for my ride into work.

Ch. 1: Value Creation & Ch. 4: Value Delivery

It's always nice to hear the author narrate the book.

It was nice that the book journeyed into other disciplines, such as psychology, since it plays a big role in business. I agree; don't spend tens of thousands (or hundreds of thousands) on MBA debt. Just get some good books, a good notebook, and learn from experience.

Lots a good info to get one started on the right track to learning more about the business world.