The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business

Not an MBA, But A Damn Decent Experience.

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.

97 of 102 people found this review helpful

After a slow start there's some good stuff

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

80 of 86 people found this review helpful

Good Business Education

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,....

93 of 101 people found this review helpful

Very Good Business Basics Overview

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.

37 of 40 people found this review helpful

This is a must Listen

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.

76 of 85 people found this review helpful

Great Book that Covers the Basics & Provides Refs

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.

40 of 45 people found this review helpful

Good but grating...

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.

57 of 67 people found this review helpful

Good Information Overload

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.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

A great reference with a distracting narration

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.

50 of 61 people found this review helpful

A very basic intro to business

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Too much of the book is spent justifying the books existence, arguing against MBA programs, detailing trivia from the author's life, etc., and not enough on solid business analysis and advice. There is a long section of the book dedicated to personal improvement that is irrelevant to the main topic. Some good business advice and parables, and definitely not a total waste of time.

Any additional comments?

Production values are not as high as most other audio books, with cheesy chimes throughout and several parts where there appears to be audio errors resulting in the repeating of passages.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful