A forceful, helpful, and smoothly readable collection of nuggets of CEO wisdom for entrepreneurs.
A famous CEO and entrepreneur offers his observations about life and business.
Thalheimer, the founder and former CEO of The Sharper Image when it was dominating its corner of the retail market—$750 million a year in revenues, 200 stores, 4,000 employees, and, of course, the famous catalog—now runs The Sharper Fund, a private investment fund. In these pages, he conveys all the lessons he’s learned along the way on matters large and small, everything from relevant technology to hiring and firing, cash flow, corporate savings, and many aspects of customer service. As he touches on each of these subjects, the author draws on his long experience in order to dispense some insights—acknowledging up front that his fellow entrepreneurs at any level of development will find some of these tips more useful than others. “Short and personal (but not too personal) conversations keep you in touch with the human side of the people you work with,” he writes at one point, spelling out what might otherwise be taken as a given. “Check in with them every month or so.” Thalheimer’s tone is brisk and very inviting; he comes across as an ideal boss, the type readers may have dreamed of encountering, the kind who’s always open to chatting and yet is still firm in leading. Readers of this category of business literature will be prepared for bromides, and they’ll certainly encounter plenty of them here. Like most CEOs looking back on their early endeavors, the author often resorts to truisms, such as “When you start, you need people around you who get things done,” and “It is crucial that you treat suppliers with respect.” Both the obvious observations and the original tips are always couched in a friendly, authoritative tone—Thalheimer is certainly correct in predicting that even experienced entrepreneurs will find thought-provoking ideas in these pages.
A forceful, helpful, and smoothly readable collection of nuggets of CEO wisdom for entrepreneurs.Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5445-1791-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Perhaps not magic but appealing nonetheless.
Want to get ahead in business? Consult a dictionary.
By Wharton School professor Berger’s account, much of the art of persuasion lies in the art of choosing the right word. Want to jump ahead of others waiting in line to use a photocopy machine, even if they’re grizzled New Yorkers? Throw a because into the equation (“Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine, because I’m in a rush?”), and you’re likely to get your way. Want someone to do your copying for you? Then change your verbs to nouns: not “Can you help me?” but “Can you be a helper?” As Berger notes, there’s a subtle psychological shift at play when a person becomes not a mere instrument in helping but instead acquires an identity as a helper. It’s the little things, one supposes, and the author offers some interesting strategies that eager readers will want to try out. Instead of alienating a listener with the omniscient should, as in “You should do this,” try could instead: “Well, you could…” induces all concerned “to recognize that there might be other possibilities.” Berger’s counsel that one should use abstractions contradicts his admonition to use concrete language, and it doesn’t help matters to say that each is appropriate to a particular situation, while grammarians will wince at his suggestion that a nerve-calming exercise to “try talking to yourself in the third person (‘You can do it!’)” in fact invokes the second person. Still, there are plenty of useful insights, particularly for students of advertising and public speaking. It’s intriguing to note that appeals to God are less effective in securing a loan than a simple affirmative such as “I pay all bills…on time”), and it’s helpful to keep in mind that “the right words used at the right time can have immense power.”
Perhaps not magic but appealing nonetheless.Pub Date: March 7, 2023
ISBN: 9780063204935
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper Business
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
Career and business advice for the hashtag generation. For all its self-absorption, this book doesn’t offer much reflection...
A Dumpster diver–turned-CEO details her rise to success and her business philosophy.
In this memoir/business book, Amoruso, CEO of the Internet clothing store Nasty Gal, offers advice to young women entrepreneurs who seek an alternative path to fame and fortune. Beginning with a lengthy discussion of her suburban childhood and rebellious teen years, the author describes her experiences living hand to mouth, hitchhiking, shoplifting and dropping out of school. Her life turned around when, bored at work one night, she decided to sell a few pieces of vintage clothing on eBay. Fast-forward seven years, and Amoruso was running a $100 million company with 350 employees. While her success is admirable, most of her advice is based on her own limited experiences and includes such hackneyed lines as, “When you accept yourself, it’s surprising how much other people will accept you, too.” At more than 200 pages, the book is overlong, and much of what the author discusses could be summarized in a few tweets. In fact, much of it probably has been: One of the most interesting sections in the book is her description of how she uses social media. Amoruso has a spiritual side, as well, and she describes her belief in “chaos magic” and “sigils,” a kind of wishful-thinking exercise involving abstract words. The book also includes sidebars featuring guest “girlbosses” (bloggers, Internet entrepreneurs) who share equally clichéd suggestions for business success. Some of the guidance Amoruso offers for interviews (don’t dress like you’re going to a nightclub), getting fired (don’t call anyone names) and finding your fashion style (be careful which trends you follow) will be helpful to her readers, including the sage advice, “You’re not special.”
Career and business advice for the hashtag generation. For all its self-absorption, this book doesn’t offer much reflection or insight.Pub Date: May 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-16927-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Portfolio
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
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