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A review by juliannealkire
The Art of the Start 2.0: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything by Guy Kawasaki
3.0
DISCLAIMER: Although the following review might lead you to believe otherwise, I'm not obsessed with Apple products or Steve Jobs. It's just that for the past couple of weeks, I've been listening to this book, which has multiple sections that go something like this:
...when MacIntosh...Steve Jobs...Apple...Steve Jobs...Steve Jobs...Mac...Steve...
Now, the review. You know it's got to be good when I haven't even started and I'm already trying to defend myself. :p
Despite the fact that he claims in the subtitle that this is a guide for "anyone starting anything," he focuses quite a bit on tech start-ups. (You might have guessed this from my disclaimer.) There's good advice here, but if your goal in life isn't to be the next Steve Jobs, be prepared to do an awful lot of translating in order to apply these examples/principles to your org. This is an unfortunate trend I've been noticing as I peruse entrepreneurship material, and it has deepened my appreciation for The Boss of You by Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears even more.
That being said, if you do want to be the next Steve Jobs, this is exactly what you're looking for! Be prepared to wade through some swear words and reminders that you are not, in fact, Steve Jobs. You know, just in case you'd forgotten.
*pauses typing, re-reads last paragraph*
*thinks: I wonder how many times I can say Steve Jobs in this review?*
*resumes typing*
Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs Steve Jobs Steve Jobs.
Sorry! I think this author is wearing off on me! I'd better watch out that I don't start making creative swear words out of the names of Asian mushrooms!
Anyway, other than the problems above, which I'm sure Steve Jobs would tell you are a small price to pay for all this wonderful advice, this book is pretty good. Like I said earlier: there's good advice here, and this is a long book, so there's a lot of it. I also appreciated the layout: he covers the larger concept at the beginning of each chapter, then breaks it down into do-able chunks. This makes for a very practical, learn-and-do-as-you-go kind of book, which fits entrepreneurship perfectly.
...when MacIntosh...Steve Jobs...Apple...Steve Jobs...Steve Jobs...Mac...Steve...
Now, the review. You know it's got to be good when I haven't even started and I'm already trying to defend myself. :p
Despite the fact that he claims in the subtitle that this is a guide for "anyone starting anything," he focuses quite a bit on tech start-ups. (You might have guessed this from my disclaimer.) There's good advice here, but if your goal in life isn't to be the next Steve Jobs, be prepared to do an awful lot of translating in order to apply these examples/principles to your org. This is an unfortunate trend I've been noticing as I peruse entrepreneurship material, and it has deepened my appreciation for The Boss of You by Lauren Bacon and Emira Mears even more.
That being said, if you do want to be the next Steve Jobs, this is exactly what you're looking for! Be prepared to wade through some swear words and reminders that you are not, in fact, Steve Jobs. You know, just in case you'd forgotten.
*pauses typing, re-reads last paragraph*
*thinks: I wonder how many times I can say Steve Jobs in this review?*
*resumes typing*
Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs Steve Jobs Steve Jobs.
Sorry! I think this author is wearing off on me! I'd better watch out that I don't start making creative swear words out of the names of Asian mushrooms!
Anyway, other than the problems above, which I'm sure Steve Jobs would tell you are a small price to pay for all this wonderful advice, this book is pretty good. Like I said earlier: there's good advice here, and this is a long book, so there's a lot of it. I also appreciated the layout: he covers the larger concept at the beginning of each chapter, then breaks it down into do-able chunks. This makes for a very practical, learn-and-do-as-you-go kind of book, which fits entrepreneurship perfectly.