The Personal MBA: A World-Class Business Education in a Single Volume. Josh Kaufman [Paperback]

Here's a book that takes out all the fear, doubts and worry out of the business world. As someone who has been owndering how to create value for the world, you sometime come to wonder how to read a wide audience. This book has given me the basics ( and so much more) about how the industry of fufilling needs and wants work. There's something incredibly fun about reading a well organized, concise and precise book like this one. If you never read anything about this field, this is a great book to begin with. Not only will you learn, but you'll understand and be able to actually do it!
On top of it, Josh put the 49 questions articles and the 100 books to read at the end as a reference. Pretty cool.

I picked up this book more out of curiosity than a planned event or intent. Besides all the MBA programs that exist in business schools across the continent, there is also a rising trend in executive education programs, where people in middle management (or line management) can enrol in a course, typically lasting forty hours to learn about what is advertised as "MBA Essentials". That is, getting managers up to speed on all the pertinent essentials in a typical MBA program.
Josh Kaufman has challenged the status quo by suggesting that you don't have to go to a very expensive business school (and rack up huge debts) to effectively learn the principles of business. I am sure he will have numerous challengers to that premise. That being said, Josh has done an excellent job putting this work together in almost 400 pages. As the publisher puts it, this is "A World-Class Business Education in a Single Volume". As a reader, you will definitely come away with a clear and concise knowledge of the five fundamentals of every business. He will stretch your mind on how to effectively work with yourself, in teams and with systems. Although the book is nearly 400 pages, it is an easy read as he divides this into easily manageable chapters. Finally, the Personal MBA "Recommended Reading List" is a treasure trove of business knowledge. This will remain as an ongoing reference on my book shelf.

As a business student in unviersity, I can personally confirm that the education you can give yourself through Josh Kaufman's Personal MBA program is far supperior in terms of content than what is taught in the classroms of business school. This book is absolutely the best place to start if you want to gain business knowledge that works in the real world. After finishing this book, the Personal MBA reading list material will give you all the information you need to give yourself a fantastic business education. Consider this book the foundation to build your business education on. If you've already gotten a business degree, be sure to pick up this book to learn what you weren't taught in the classroom.

I'd just like to reinforce a point that Josh makes. Simply reading this material will not be enough to turn you into a business genius. The real magic happens when you start applying the material and seeing how it works in real life. Personally, I chose to do this by taking a part time job at a start up company. Josh provides all the knowledge you will need to be successful in business, but ultimately, you need to take the initiative and make that knowledge work for you.

If anyone has any doubts that you can give yourself an education better than the one you'd pay tens of thousands of dollars for in university, here's a concrete example of the effectiveness of the Personal MBA. My university recently put on a business competiton to encourage entrepreneurs. It is the biggest annual competition in the school, and awards $5000 to the winner. Dispite being the youngest student competing, with the fewest completed credit hours, I was able to win the competition using only the material I learned from the Personal MBA program.

I am very excited to be launching my business in the upcoming months. The fact that I've already been able to get preorders makes me even more excited. Most of all, I can't wait to continue to learn how to apply the material from the Personal MBA program to my business. I read the Personal MBA last year and can honestly say that without it, I would simply be another business student sitting in the classroom, no different from the hundreds of thousands graduating around the world every year. Don't commoditize yourself like that. Take the initiative, educate yourself, and give yourself the tools you need to differentiate yourself. And there is no better starting point to do that than this book.