Customer Reviews

Beans: Four Principles for Running a Business in Good Times or Bad

5 star:		(43)
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3 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Elegantly simple! I usually loathe fables, preferring gritty text in business writing. It was recommended by a friend and I found it to be entertaining, engaging, and beautifully written. Its unique way of conveying the reassuring message that "the basics mean as much as ever in this chaotic world" is one we all need to be reminded of. This is a cautionary tale for consulting types (like yours truly) who tend to turn business problems into nuclear physics.

Even your most reading avoidant client or friend will love this. Buy a supply, I keep handing them out to people. Apparently there is another book in the works . . . I've pre-ordered it.

You will never look at another cup of coffee again in quite the same way . . . likewise, you will never approach a business challenge again in quite the same way.

I like books that tell a story, use examples and create benefits that is I can use. "Beans: Four Principles for Running a Business in Good Times or Bad" is that kind of book!

The authors choose the "Ps" of Passion, People, Personnel and Product. They lead us through the success of Jack and Diane's coffee shop. It is an easy read. It will urge you to understand your workplace journey. It doesn't matter if you are an employer or the employee.

"Beans" is a journey from employment for a major airline (working for money), the unfulfilled entrepreneur step of self-employment selling martinis, and arriving at a passion for selling a cup of coffee. The realization that the "Ps" of Passion, People or Personnel will not make up for a quality Product leads Jack to develop the "best" cup of coffee! It takes all 4!

If you liked "Fish!" - you will like "Beans."

You might like to buy extra copies and give them to your personnel!

I have never written a review on Amazon before, but I was so surprised and, frankly, taken aback by this book that I felt I had to share my feelings. First of all, I didn't buy it but saw it among the books my husband received thanks to his status as a book reviewer. He doesn't review books like this, so he was ready to take it to our son's school library. I picked it up because the cover looked appealing, and I was hooked the moment I started.

First of all, it's a refreshing story about a business that is succeeding almost in spite of itself, and certainly in the face of heavy competition from the chains. This little coffee shop can be seen as a David amid the Goliaths in Seattle. The story itself is pretty simple, but the way it's told is just very special. You really start to pull for the owner of this place, and, before you know it, you've started internalizing some of the principles the author (who I'm assuming is really the consultant in the story) talks about.

My own little company, an interior design/upholstery business in Westchester County New York, has had it's share of problems, primarily with employees who don't really want to pay the dues they say they will. I am going to give this to everyone I interview, ask them to read it and be prepared to discuss it at the final interview. If they can tell me how they will use the principles on the job, then I will probably hire them. They're so simple yet so often forgotten by employees who think they know it all when it comes to customers.

While it may be easy to dismiss this as a book just for small businesses, I think it has excellent, real-world advice even for the smug CEOs who have removed themselves so far from the customer that they don't even know what their own products cost. Get this book, read it, and see if it doesn't make a difference in the policies you make for your business. It may be a humbling experience, but I suspect you will be a better executive because of it.

I just wanted to let people know that though this is one of those "feel good" business books, it has some real lessons that, if people will heed, should make a difference in how your company is run. For me the most important thing was being reminded how big a part passion plays in whether your work is rewarding or not. Several years ago I decided to quit the corporate BS machine to do computer and website consulting from my home. I thought I would be good at it, but I soon realized that I was doing it primarily so I could work from home - not because I felt like it was a true calling. I ultimately gave that up and opened a small catering business with a friend and it seems much more closely aligned with what is meaningful to me. I think just about anybody would find this book inspirational if you're considering a similar path. Let it begin with passion!

I started reading this book over the shoulder of a woman sitting next to me on a plane. She began telling me about hearing the author at some event and how she was planning to use it with her staff. She said there was a message in it that really spoke to her.

I didn't think much more about it until I saw it sitting on my boss's desk the next week. I mentioned that I had been meaning to read it and he went off on this tirade about how everyone in our department should read it because they were concentrating too much on their own problems and not on the patients (I work in a managed-care facility.) I asked him if I could borrow it and he almost thrust it into my hand.

I read it and have now been talking throughout the office about the basic principles that are at the core of this book: be passionate about what you do, remember that it's about people, make every interaction personal, and serve a great product (which is health-care, in our case). A lot of people look at me like I'm nuts, but my boss is right - many people on the staff have forgotten that it's not about their problems but about serving our patients/customers. I think this was one of the best reminders ever about the power of getting back to basics. I am hoping we all get a chance to read it.

Who can argue with the four P's: Passion (experience and sustained passion about work), People (enduring staff relationships), Personal (a community of regulars), and Product (product excellence)? It is obvious that the P's make a business successful.

I also recommend Optimal Thinking-How to Be Your Best Self by Rosalene Glickman Ph.D. to integrate the thinking necessary for every employee to become an optimizer -- doing their best, optimizing profits and making the most of every situation.

I have been reading business fable books since my first boss gave me one at least ten years ago. Now I give them to my own staff, because I think they show rather than tell. Ken Blanchard has kind of had the market to himself, and many of his books have been good in the past. No so anymore. This one reminds me of vintage Ken Blanchard - real, easy-to-digest business lessons in a story that I found to be just charming.

I work for a large corporation, but my department is run like a small company with our own cost center and everything. So fortunately I can buy a dozen books and give them to my people without approval from anyone. Read it yourself first, but if you're looking to motivate your people, remind them that the customer comes first, and renew their energy level, then I recommend this book highly.

There is nothing new here, but it is presented in such a charming story-like framework that I felt like I was hearing it for the first time. Maybe that's really why these parable and fable books work so well for solving so many problems. In this one, however, the characters are totally engaging and believable and you really root for them to do the right thing. I also liked the fact that you were kept guessing as to whether they would decide to expand the business, close the business, or change the business. If you are a small business owner or manager, I can't recommend this book highly enough. You can read it in just a few hours and I think it will not only inspire you to be a better manager but maybe even make you realize why you ended up in small business in the first place. Small business propels the world economy, yet I feel I get a bit of a sneer when I tell people I run a little flight instruction business and not a Fortune 500 company. Maybe they're thinking of the 9/11 connection and I don't even know it. If so, then that's not fair either.

A short easy to read book with profound principles. The ideas are common sense, but achieving the correct mix and right balance may be difficult to implement.

Moreover, I like the fact that this book has a "discussion forum" via the internet. A useful read for people studying marketing / management.

On second thought, a MUST read for all (employers + employees) on how to improve the enjoyability of their working lives!

This is just a delightful little book. I picked it up at La Guardia Airport after the blackout and read the whole thing while waiting for them to figure out how to get me home. It completely took me away from my problems and inspired me to be a better manager when I got back to work. My department managers tell me I try and control things too much, and I am going to try and practice what the owner of this coffee business did - he trusted his employees. Easy to say, I realize, but I am going to really try and let go a bit more and trust!

More than anything else, however, I think this is a book that could give a message to your staff that THEY can make a difference in improving your business. They are the ones on the front line with your customer, whether it's the cashier or the person who cleans the dressing rooms, so make sure the attitude on display is the one you're proud of.

Read this book (it takes about two hours) and see if you don't agree.