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A totally revised, new edition of the best-selling guide to business school basics.
The best-selling book that invented the "MBA in a book" category, The Portable MBA, Fifth Edition, is a reliable and information-packed guide to the business school curriculum and experience. For years, professionals who need MBA-level information and insight - but don't need the hassle of business school - have turned to the Portable MBA series for the very best, most up-to-date coverage of the business basics.
In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition: how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct complex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By completing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you'll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. What do you want to learn?
No skill is more important in today's world than being able to think about, understand, and act on information in an effective and responsible way. What's more, at no point in human history have we had access to so much information, with such relative ease, as we do in the 21st century. But because misinformation out there has increased as well, critical thinking is more important than ever. These 24 rewarding lectures equip you with the knowledge and techniques you need to become a savvier, sharper critical thinker in your professional and personal life.
Since its release in 2006, Financial Intelligence has become a favorite among managers who need a guided tour through the numbers, helping them to understand not only what the numbers really mean but also why they matter. This new, completely updated edition brings the numbers up to date and continues to teach the basics of finance to managers who need to use financial data to drive their business.
Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.
To achieve unimaginable business success and financial wealth-to reach the upper echelons of entrepreneurs, where you'll find Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sara Blakely of Spanx, Mark Pincus of Zynga, Kevin Plank of Under Armour, and many others-you have to change the way you think. In other words, you must develop the Entrepreneur Mind, a way of thinking that comes from learning the vital lessons of the best entrepreneurs.
A totally revised, new edition of the best-selling guide to business school basics.
The best-selling book that invented the "MBA in a book" category, The Portable MBA, Fifth Edition, is a reliable and information-packed guide to the business school curriculum and experience. For years, professionals who need MBA-level information and insight - but don't need the hassle of business school - have turned to the Portable MBA series for the very best, most up-to-date coverage of the business basics.
In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition: how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct complex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By completing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you'll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. What do you want to learn?
No skill is more important in today's world than being able to think about, understand, and act on information in an effective and responsible way. What's more, at no point in human history have we had access to so much information, with such relative ease, as we do in the 21st century. But because misinformation out there has increased as well, critical thinking is more important than ever. These 24 rewarding lectures equip you with the knowledge and techniques you need to become a savvier, sharper critical thinker in your professional and personal life.
Since its release in 2006, Financial Intelligence has become a favorite among managers who need a guided tour through the numbers, helping them to understand not only what the numbers really mean but also why they matter. This new, completely updated edition brings the numbers up to date and continues to teach the basics of finance to managers who need to use financial data to drive their business.
Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.
To achieve unimaginable business success and financial wealth-to reach the upper echelons of entrepreneurs, where you'll find Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sara Blakely of Spanx, Mark Pincus of Zynga, Kevin Plank of Under Armour, and many others-you have to change the way you think. In other words, you must develop the Entrepreneur Mind, a way of thinking that comes from learning the vital lessons of the best entrepreneurs.
Ray Dalio, one of the world's most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he's developed, refined, and used over the past 40 years to create unique results in both life and business - and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.
The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won’t make a search engine. And the next Mark Zuckerberg won't create a social network. If you are copying these guys, you aren't learning from them. It's easier to copy a model than to make something new: doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to n, adding more of something familiar. But every time we create something new, we go from 0 to 1.
Jump-start your reading skills! Speed reading used to require months of training. Now you can rev up your reading in just a few minutes a day. With quizzes to determine your present reading level and exercises to introduce new skills quickly, 10 Days to Faster Reading will improve your reading comprehension and speed.
Four-time New York Times best-selling author Gary Vaynerchuk offers new lessons and inspiration drawn from the experiences of dozens of influencers and entrepreneurs who rejected the predictable corporate path in favor of pursuing their dreams by building thriving businesses and extraordinary personal brands. In this lively, practical, and inspiring audiobook, Gary dissects every current major social media platform so that anyone, from a plumber to a professional ice skater, will know exactly how to amplify his or her personal brand on each.
Managing your money is like going to the dentist or standing in line at the DMV. Nobody wants to do it, but at some point, it's inevitable: you need to clean your teeth, renew your license, and manage your finances like a grown-up. Whether you're struggling to pay off student loan debt, ready to stop living paycheck to paycheck, or have finally accepted that your Beanie Baby collection will never pay off, tackling your finances may seem intimidating. But it doesn't have to be. By approaching personal finance as a game, it can not only be easy to understand, but it can also be fun!
At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. Habits aren’t destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.
After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a hostage negotiator brought him face-to-face with a range of criminals, including bank robbers and terrorists. Reaching the pinnacle of his profession, he became the FBI's lead international kidnapping negotiator. Never Split the Difference takes you inside the world of high-stakes negotiations and into Voss' head.
Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people say yes - and how to apply these understandings. Dr. Robert Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding field of influence and persuasion. His 35 years of rigorous, evidence-based research, along with a three-year program of study on what moves people to change behavior, has resulted in this highly acclaimed book. You'll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader - and how to defend yourself against them.
What do Starbucks and JetBlue and KrispyKreme and Apple and DutchBoy and Kensington and Zespri and Hard Candy have that you don't? How do they continue to confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind former tried-and true brands to gasp their last? Face it, the checklist of tired P's marketers have used for decades to get their product noticed - Pricing, Promotion, Publicity, to name a few - aren't working anymore.
Help your employees help themselves. As a manager in today's business world, you can't just tell your direct reports what to do: You need to help them make their own decisions, enable them to solve tough problems, and actively develop their skills on the job. Whether you have a star on your team who's eager to advance, an underperformer who's dragging the group down, or a steady contributor who feels bored and neglected, you need to coach them: Help shape their goals - and support their efforts to achieve them.
Perhaps once a decade, a book comes along that transforms people's lives in a very real, measurable way. This is one of them. Crucial Conversations exploded onto the scene 10 years ago and revolutionized the way people communicate when stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong. Since then, millions of people have learned how to hold effective crucial conversations and have dramatically improved their lives and careers thanks to the methods outlined in this book. Now, the authors have revised their best-selling classic to provide even more ways to help you take the lead in any tough conversation.
If you had the opportunity to work where, when, and with whom you wanted - all while getting paid very well - would you take it? Self-made multimillionaire and best-selling author Michael Masterson did, and with Ready, Fire, Aim he'll show you how to do the same.
Audie Award Nominee, Business and Educational, 2013
Getting an MBA is an expensive choice - one almost impossible to justify regardless of the state of the economy. Even the elite schools like Harvard and Wharton offer outdated, assembly-line programs that teach you more about PowerPoint presentations and unnecessary financial models than what it takes to run a real business. You can get better results (and save hundreds of thousands of dollars) by skipping business school altogether....
Josh Kaufman founded PersonalMBA.com as an alternative to the business school boondoggle. His blog has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers to the best business books and most powerful business concepts of all time. Now, he shares the essentials of entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, negotiation, operations, productivity, systems design, and much more, in one comprehensive volume.
The Personal MBA distills the most valuable business lessons into simple, memorable mental models that can be applied to real-world challenges.
True leaders aren't made by business schools - they make themselves, seeking out the knowledge, skills, and experience they need to succeed. Read this book and you will learn the principles it takes most business professionals a lifetime of trial and error to master.
What made the experience of listening to The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business the most enjoyable?
Minuses - 1) The author starts off with an attack on MBAs and a justification for the book. That is not necessary and doesn't resonate well. I very nearly gave up on it for that reason, so skip the first chapter. 2) This is not anything like an MBA, which is fairly obvious, but I think the title is unnecessarily misleading and should be changed to 'Shortcut to an MBA' or something like that.
Pluses -1) The author has done an enormous amount of good research. 2) He covers a large amount of ground 3) He has some good insights on the topics he covers 4) The author narrates and it comes across really well. 5) There are ongoing online resources.
Overall a good purchase - I bought it on audio and kindle
44 of 46 people found this review helpful
If you're expecting this to be a substitute for an MBA course, you'll be disappointed, and rightly so. If, however, you are looking for an excellent summary of a great deal of critical business, psychology and marketing concepts, that any aspiring entrepreneur or successful business owner should know, then this is the audiobook to get your hands on.
It's 13 hours, but i'll still be giving it another listen in a few months or so, a testament to it's quality. Highly recommended.
55 of 58 people found this review helpful
Where does The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I bought this for my daughter, but I decided to listen to it and I was suddenly flooded with business ideas!! I'm 53 years old and I am now on the cusp of some great ideas!! Excellent "read"
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business?
For me, it was the author's prologue on how he got to this point in his own journey. It was inspiring.
What about Josh Kaufman’s performance did you like?
Sounded a bit robotic, but nonetheless, a good narrator.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
It's 13 hours, so I could not. Plus it's something you need to listen to and then digest.
Any additional comments?
This information is rich; it's valuable. The most important component to any MBA is the student. How hungry are they? You can have all the Harvard and Yale MBAs you want, but unless the individual is proactive,....
83 of 89 people found this review helpful
Would you listen to The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business again? Why?
Yes. Plenty of relevant material to educate the business owner (and there staff) with no formal business education.
Very well arranged progression of topics and concepts.
Any additional comments?
Only reason I gave it a 4 star was the completely unnecessary and relevant beginning which goes on much much much too long about how useless a regular MBA is. Skip this, it adds nothing to the content.
The real meat of the book is excellent. I will be buying the hard copy for visual reference to accompany the audiobook.
Would make and excellent base for the developing staff basic business training.
31 of 33 people found this review helpful
This audio book is packed with plenty of useful information on critical business concepts. Additionally, Josh provides a wealth of references that can be used to further investigate a particular concept in more details. Great resource for anyone who runs a small business or is seeking to understand the fundamentals of running a business.
38 of 41 people found this review helpful
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business?
Chapter 1 first 10 Min, Amazing
Any additional comments?
After the Intro is done and dusted, WOW amazing wealth of knowledge.
Must Listen. I really Enjoyed it.
Skip the Intro! It is an hour of moaning about MBA programs.
72 of 79 people found this review helpful
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I recommend this book for it's functional information.
Would you be willing to try another book from Josh Kaufman? Why or why not?
I would hesitate to try another book by Josh Kaufman, unless it had a different narrator.
Would you be willing to try another one of Josh Kaufman’s performances?
Unfortunately, his clipped voice and unusual pronunciation made it difficult to concentrate on the otherwise interesting subject matter.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Listening to this book is a personal battle between loving the content and trying to tune out the talker.
Any additional comments?
I probably should have gone old-school and bought the printed version, or at least the ebook.
49 of 58 people found this review helpful
It's rare that I listen to audio book and then run out and buy the dead-tree edition. But I will with this one. This is a reference book that should be on the desk of every entrepreneur or business owner. In clear, simple terms, devoid of buzz words Kaufman lays out everything you need to know about business. It truly is an MBA-lite.
However, as a reference book, it's really not a great listen on your daily commute. Think dictionary-on-tape. Maybe that's a little harsh, but it's not exactly a pot boiler that makes you miss your exit.
My only other complaint is the narration. Ever since listening to William Gibson read "Neuromancer," I've avoided books read by the author, but I decided to make an exception in this case. That was a mistake. Kaufman is no Frank Muller or Scott Brick.
Fantastic content and very useful. I'll be referring to this title again and again.
44 of 55 people found this review helpful
I really got a lot of good practical stuff out of the first part of the book. That part of the book seemed relevant to daily business practice... then most of the rest of the book had good information, but it was about human behavior and behavioral science... this was good info, but not what I wanted the book for. It almost seems like he should have done a separate but related book to cover all that. All of the scientific experiments and results mentioned were interesting, but it was way too much information for what the book implies. However, too much is better than not enough in this case and I would use a credit & recommend to a friend just because of the practical value of the first few hours alone. Hope this helps someone.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
I purchased this book as a refresher to the MBA I recieved 5 years ago from a local college. I found the subject matter very superficial and generic. The author did not appear to have a strong background in business. Few real word examples other than his experience in marketing at Proctor and Gamble or non-business examples were used to make a point.
The content in this book may be beneficial to a recent college graduate looking for a basic synopsis of general business principles or an entry level business major trying to improve oppurtunities in the workplace.
20 of 27 people found this review helpful
Probably the worst audiobook I've ever heard.
I thought this was going to be an interesting book - giving an overview of the topics covered in an MBA from a layman's point of view, with references to further reading materials. Instead, it was a 13 hour advert for some guy's blog.
The first hour of the audiobook is setting the scene, with a variety of weak arguments about why an MBA is a waste of time and money, but giving absolutely no evidence that the Author's approach (of just reading lots of books without going to school) isn't also a waste of time and slightly less money.
When he finally gets to the actual topic at hand, the material is covered at a very high level, and is mostly just a list of bullet points to think about. This would probably be slightly less useless in printed format than in audio form. Each brief chapter recommends further reading, and badgers you to go visit the author's blog.
I would recommend anyone interested in this book to just skip the audiobook, go straight to the guy's website and look at his reading list. That will give you a good list of books that are more useful than this one.
I would also caution that this is more of a self-help book than a business book. Many of the books that he recommends for further reading are also more about "motivation", than actually learning about business.
28 of 37 people found this review helpful
having read this I decides that the audible would be a fantastic tool on the go. This is the perfect book to use the audible bookmarking as there are so many snippets of knowledge that chime into every day work.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Was skeptical about this book because of other reviews. But I found it very helpful. It gives a clear introduction to a variety of areas and provides recommendations for further reading
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
The previous review put me off purchasing this, but I had seen the book and decided to give it a go.
I was glad I did - I found the information very easy to understand and useful: it has helped me to see where I am going right in my two businesses as well as spot where I am going wrong. It is thought provoking and has helped me think about things - for this reason it has been a worthwhile purchase.
The author does mention his website - but not too often and I did not find it particularly self-promoting or distracting. It is certainly far better than many of the charlatans that write books to promote the author's own websites, seminars and tapes.
This book has substance and is enjoyable to listen to.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful
What did you like most about The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business?
I liked it's clear structure, which had impact and purpose. Lots of example stories and case studies also make this a book worth getting.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business?
The ongoing analysis and criticism of top flight MBA business schools. The message is clear: if you've got a spare $100k+ to buy entry to an exclusive members club, then these top schools are for you - but don't be under any illusion that you'll learn anything different than any other of the good MBA schools out there. Save your money and learn about the topics explored in MBAs yourself - you'll save yourself a lot of money, which you could put towards your business venture.
Which character – as performed by Josh Kaufman – was your favourite?
N/A
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It reaffirmed what I'd suspected - and potentially saved me a £££s of money in fees.
Any additional comments?
One of the few business books worth reading, given that it provides practical and common sense advice, but in a crystalised / useful form.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
Great insights put together in a structured way. Really enjoyed and I've shared with many people already
I do find some audio books/books that just ramble on leaving my attention searching for interest.
interesting. I would recommend taking notes or saving bookmarks
in the beginning of this audiobook I loved how he clarified business and the details to it. later on there are stories to follow and points to find
Pleased with the varied knowledge that Josh put into this book. Useful references for further education
worth a read, take the chance and read this book. it will definitely benefit you in one way or another.
some concepts can be better narrated with examples. but missing. pls skip chapter 1 n 2. he is just promoting the book in those 2 chapters.
Great book for identifying the fundamental ideas for being successful in business. The first part of the book that talks about the need for an mba could have been condensed down.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
Josh Kaufman utilises clear and relatable language that educates new arrivals to the world of business and personal development. This book is a testament to his personal life story including the high regard for personal development which is key to his success.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
Would you consider the audio edition of The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business to be better than the print version?
I do believe the written version might be better. This book is a great pool of value concepts from several best sellers in a condensed way. Good to be able to consult every now and then.
What did you like best about this story?
It does go through the whole of business in a short and direct way. At the beginning sounds a bit odd but, once you get used to the language, is really engaging and efficient in passing the message.
Have you listened to any of Josh Kaufman’s other performances? How does this one compare?
No, I haven't.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I felt enlightened by some of the information provided and help me assess the real value of a Professional MBA.
Any additional comments?
If you are not sure to invest in a Professional MBA the book might give you all the reasons not to. So would be a good counter-point to all the reasons you think you should do it.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Good concise breakdown of the MBA syllabus. Easy to listen to and well written. A must listen! Worth a look!
10 of 14 people found this review helpful
The book is insightful in parts, but ultimately lacks depth where you might want it. At times the language leans very heavily on buzzwords without substantial or clear meaning. overall, OK read, but might not recommend to others
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
great info. precise. real world. not boring. well worth the listen. recommend to not just business owners but anyone working
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Enjoyable and easy to listen to. I have an MBA and it was a nice refresher on basic concepts I haven't thought of for a while.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
I have read quite a few business books and This is a fantastic, thoughtful reference for the executive, owner or startup venture. I know I will come back to it again and again for concepts, quotes and references. Its a must-have if you're looking for the best comprehensive guide to key concepts.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
loved it. very informative, everything in an mba in one book and simplified, and I have done an mba myself.
7 of 10 people found this review helpful
This was an eye opener not only applicable to business but also to life. A great read
7 of 11 people found this review helpful