Greg Fisher

Shades of gray between startup failure and success

Revisado: 04-04-21

This is an interesting, educational, insightful, and extremely well-structured book on startup failure. In exploring "Why Startups Fail" Tom Eisenmann provides a full and rich perspective of what can happen in a startup as it (a) launches and then (b) scales. The book is not only about failure but about all the shades of gray between the black and white of startup success and failure.

The main reasons I really liked the book:
(1) It is well organized and logical, with very good [and mostly unfamiliar but very interesting] case studies to illustrate key points.
(2) For many of the cases described in the book, the author had a very deep, behind the curtain perspective, so the details are fascinating.
(3) The book encapsulates many of the concepts we often teach in business school classes (customer development, MVPs, pivots, CAC vs. CLV, etc.) but it does so in a well-organized and quite structured way.
(4) I am a business school professor and the insights and perspectives are highly relatable for a business school audience (especially MBA level)
(5) The book deals equally with success and failure and many of the shades of grey in-between, which means that readers get a somewhat realistic perspective of entrepreneurship rather than many of the other purely rah-rah success stories

Criticisms that some readers may have of the book include the following:
(1) It is very strongly oriented to VC-funded startups, so the cases and perspectives may be less appealing to the broader swath of entrepreneurs seeking to mobilize resources via other means (e.g. crowdfunding, bootstrapped, etc.)
(2) I suspect the book may at times seem a little too structured and clinical for some readers, some may find it too academic (yet this structure and organization is what I liked)

I will be recommending this book to many people with an interest in entrepreneurship.

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Excellent Book

Revisado: 12-18-20

Thie book offers a fascinating insight into Ethiopian running culture and performance. I had always assumed that Ethiopian success could be attributed to similar factors as those used to explain Kenyan running success, yet this book highlights that while there are similarities, there are also key differences. The depth of insight and nuanced perspective offered on Ethiopian running culture is really intriguing, and I loved the way the author is able to capture the voices and perspectives of Ethipioan runners in the text.

The things I found particularly fascinating about Ethiopian running culture: (1) Running is an occupation in Ethiopia; (2) Ethiopian runners place great emphasis on where they run and they draw energy from their surroundings; (3) Running on different surfaces is part of a runners development and each different surface serves a specific purpose; (4) Running is a social activity, very few serious runners ever run alone and they run in single file, or two abreast, following a leader; (5) Serious runners make careful choices about when to use a GPS and when not to; (6) They almost always use time as a key guide for how long to run (not distance).

If you enjoyed Adharanand Finn's books ("Running with the Kenyans", "The Way of the Runner") or Chris McDougall's "Born to Run" then you will really enjoy this book. It is highly recommended!!!

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Remarkable book on many dimensions

Revisado: 03-14-20

I thought this was going to be a book about just the Trans-Continental bike race, but it was about so much more than that. It's about Emily's discovery of endurance bike racing, her doubts fears and breakthroughs, her failures (in all their glory) and her successes (mostly downplayed). It also covers her friendship with the endurance cycling legend, Mike Hall, who was tragically killed in a bike race in Australia. For anyone with an ounce of interest in endurance cycling, this is a MUST READ -- it is beautiful, sad, inspiring and amazingly well written.

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Fantastic perspective on the power of movement

Revisado: 02-02-20

Movement is so fundamental to so many aspects of human existence, yet very few books have been written on its physiological and social benefits -- this book tackles this in a direct, inspirational and insightful way.

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Great book!

Revisado: 02-02-20

This book transforms research findings into practical insights and combines those with great stories to provide readers with a set of valuable principles for overcoming adversity to do well in almost any field of human endeavor. It is particularly relevant to entrepreneurs, business people and academics but I bet almost anyone would benefit from listening to this and applying the principles.

The book is read by the author and she does so brilliantly.

It is a great listen.

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Excellent

Revisado: 11-26-19

Great book with wonderful stories plus excellent tips for those embarking on endurance cycling events. The narration is superb - a really enjoyable South African accent.

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The harsh (and wonderful) reality of pro cycling

Revisado: 11-20-17

A very real and insightful account of what its like to be a pro in the world tour. It's not easy, but it is also awesome in many ways. Phil Gaimon captures this paradox with a wonderful array of stories, anecdotes and insider perspectives. As a lover of cycling books, I really appreciated the opportunity to see the pro tour from the perspective of a mid-tier pro. Its different from that of Chris Froome or Cadel Evans. For those who want real juicy insight into what it takes to get the world tour, read/listen to Phil Gaimon's first book first: Pro Cycling on $10 a Day. Then follow it up with this one. It makes for 14 hours of brilliant listening.

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Brilliant

Revisado: 06-10-17

If you could sum up Peak Performance in three words, what would they be?

Insightful, action-orientated, powerful

What did you like best about this story?

The combination of great research, lively story telling, useful examples and practical application.

What does Christopher Lane bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Clear and easy to follow with great pace.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES

Any additional comments?

Anyone who whats to be more effective in sports, business or life should read this book. It is the best book I have listened to in 2016 (along with Stretch)

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Excellent historical account and great story

Revisado: 07-18-13

Where does The Perfect Mile rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 10 of all audio books

What did you like best about this story?

The rich descriptions of the characters and the clear details of their training, their lives and their motivations.

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Brilliant!!!

Revisado: 06-25-13

Where does The Boys in the Boat rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Best audio book I have listened to thus far (along with Born to Run).

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Boys in the Boat?

The description of the relationships between the crew members and how they depend on each other and learn to trust each other. The description of "swing" in the eight oared boat.

What about Edward Herrmann’s performance did you like?

Very east listening. Good pace and expression.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I would spend more time running so I could listen more (I listen while running).

Any additional comments?

A must must must listen!

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esto le resultó útil a 10 personas