Customer Reviews

Copy This!: Lessons from a Hyperactive Dyslexic Who Turned a Bright Idea into One of America's Best Companies

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As a longtime coworker who still works with Paul, I want to address a frequent criticism of this book: that it offers no new and earth-shattering business wisdom.

That kind of thinking permeates business and media; they would rather have new ideas than good ideas, they would rather be exciting than effective.

Every twenty years or so, someone has to remind us that quality matters, values matter, and the biggest secret of all: you should be nice to your customers and coworkers. Paul's values and methods may be found in other business books, but they will still seem absurd and dangerously revolutionary to the ruthless, greedy bastards who still dominate America's boardrooms.

This book is so excellent that I am recommending it to all my friends. I finished the tapes first, then bought the book and read through the whole book again.

He talked about so many enlightening points that they don't teach you in school. His real life experiences made fascinating stories. I enjoyed his book more than Jack Welch's which I also liked. I found what he highlighted in the book is more applicable to normal people like myself. It is also a fun book to read with lots of funny anecdotes, highly recommended.

The book is one of many I have read by self-made business people. It gives a historical account of the rise of Kinko's sprinkled with ample nuggets of Mr. Orfalea's philosphy and business principles.

It also (*very* unusual in these typically self-stroking autobiography/business tomes) covers the author's problems with anger management and openly discusses his psychological shortcomings. I feel the author's willingness to acknowledge his ugly side lends a tremendous credibility to his story -- unlike others in this class (Trump, Welch, Etc.), Paul doesn't pretend he is a God Who Walks the Earth.

The book, (and the author's business acumen) tend to be more touchy-feely a la "Ben and Jerry's" story than the pragmatic discussions of the "How I did it and Why" found in books such as "Dave's Way" by Dave Thomas or "Winning" by Jack Welch.

If you enjoy these types of entrepreneur-oriented books, have (or love someone who suffers from) Dyslexia, or are a Kinko's co-worker, you will find value in reading this book. Others may find the minutea of the chronological story of Kinko's and the frequent reminders of his Dyslexia to be somewhat dull.

In a very captivating, "auto"-biography (it certainly cannot be an "autobiography" if there is another author involved!), Orfalea narrates his trysts and travails which made him the person he turned out to be....from the dylexia that affected his schooling, friendships, first copy store idea, how his store expanded, 'fights' with Xerox, and finally his decision to "cash in" his chips with Kinkos. Each chapter provides an account of a critical episode of Orfalea's life, his reflections on it, and some witty aphorisms based on that episode ("integrity is like virginity - you can lose it only once" etc.). The beauty of the writing style is such that these three elements are neatly interspersed without any sense of pretense or didatic tone. The ever-pervasive witty tone and self-effacing narrative style makes the book seem like a intersting novel as opposed to being an autobiography. In addition, one gets to learn interesting stories about one of the most admired companies. The different appendices in the book provides a good snapshot of the author's personality - one of them is a long list of all people he thanks for their help! A 'collection' of his aphorisms that appear in various chapters is provided as a separate appendix for reference. That alone is worth the price of the book and will certainly make you pause and think about his words. Though the author titled the book, "Copy This!", it is unlikely that anyone can actually copy or imitate the style of the book or of his own! A must-read.

I was a Kinko's coworker for many years, and though I've moved on to other things I still refer to the Kinko's Philosophy and Commitments to Communication, and try to apply them in my current workplace. It's an uphill battle in the typical corporate environment, but Paul taught us all that you can respect and care for others and be more successful because of it. Paul, you're the best! Thanks for sharing.

Some success stories have become cliches in the world of business literature. How many times have we heard about FedEx? Ironically, this company now owns Kinko's. The story of how a poor student made a success with a series of copy shops has been told before. But this time we hear it from the real Kinko's. He got the name from his curly hair. After he sold the company, he got a haircut. Judging from the photos included, he probably should have kept the curls-and mustache. We get a frank telling of the author's struggles with what he calls "learning differences." One point he often makes is the need of educational reform. This honor student firmly agrees. His temper could be trying to family, friends, and employees. Seeing the problems with his family's businesses greatly influenced how he ran Kinko's. At this date I've never set foot in a Kinko's. There aren't that many in my area. But he makes it sound like a great place to work at. Much effort went into making the stores both customer and employee friendly. Some, but not all of that, got affected after he sold the company. I could have done without the gambling analogies. But many fit his points. Since retiring, he's devoted himself to teaching, other business ventures, and charitable work. It's an interesting book. Enjoy!

Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest (why did not I think of that?... well you didn't... that's all). A simple idea. A simple narative. A little Prozac. It is a good mix. A very enjoyable read.

A great lesson in persistence, leadership, and culture as told by the hyperactive dyslexic founder of Kinko's - a great reminder of everything we believe to be intuitive in a successful business but tend to forget as corporate America continues with the flavor-of-the-month (blah, blah, blah) consultant approach...

- you can preserve culture

- you can have fun at work

- you can value your people more than your profits

- you can have integrity (CEOs take note)

- there is life to look forward to after work (repurpose and give back)

Thanks Paul!

I read this book and was encouraged by Paul Orfalea's courage and how he laugh off dyslexia. He had over come a lot of problems to archive his passion to wealth. Best of all is the chapter about when to walk away, when to fold in a game. I recommend this book for the people apporching retirement, since there are many elderly suffered from retirement and have a hard time adjusting life outside of work.

Sometimes in our lives, we create something out of passion, it maybe wealth, it maybe fame or object. We could get too attached from all of these. We need to have control over our lives, and learn when to give freedom to people, objects, business entities. The wonderful lesson of this book is to have trust on people and things around. When you trust, and set things free, freedom comes back to you.

How did an ADD dyslexic build one of the best brand-named companies - Kinko's - in America? Copy This is both an inspiring personal story of using obstacles to build success and the story of how a huge corporate success was built from a 100-square-foot copy shop to a $1.5 billion-a-year company. Both personal achievement and business insights make Copy This a compelling read - and when you add Paul Orfalea's infectious humor, it's a real winner.