Customer Reviews

The Go-Getter: A Story That Tells You How To Be One

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This one needs to be added to every young business person's essential reading list. Though written in the 1920's, it does not feel dated, and its lessons and examples are still applicable today.

The young character in the book, Bill Peck, has just returned from the war and is determined to get a job with the leading lumber company. He displays confidence, and that's the first lesson in the book. He refuses to take no for an answer when rejected by two of the top executives of the company. He takes his case directly to the founder of the company, who is impressed by his determination. Bill's confidence is demonstrated by the fact that he had his business cards printed before he had even spoken to the company.

The second lesson is execution. Bill doesn't just throw out empty promises, but promptly delivers when turned loose in the field. It does not matter that he has been given an inferior, difficult to sell product. He finds a way to make it irresitible to his customers.

Finally, the company's founder decides to give Bill the final test, asking him to "deliver the blue vase." Bill shows his resourcefulness and refusal to quit in fulfilling this quest.

Though you can knock this book out in just one sitting, its lessons will stay with you throughout your career.

I realize this is the minority opinion, especially for a book with a price tag of $0.00, still in all, I found "The Go Getter" a very strange book.

The protagonist is a one-legged, 1 1/2-armed ex army sniper who lands a job with a lumber company. The guy clearly can sell ice cubes to Eskimos but as we go deeper into the story we find there's a bit of Joe Pesci's character in "Goodfella's" in him. To achieve his ends he bullies, threatens to beat the crud out of those who stand in his way, and at one point considers robbery to fulfill a promise to his boss.

And I thought Kevin Trudeau was extreme.

Stick with "A Message to Garcia". The Kindle edition will set you back $.95 but it has one thing going for it the other doesn't come close to: it's a classic of the genre. You don't have to plunge for this, of course, but as the protagonist of "The Go Getter" might say, "Listen, chum. You're going to download this or by God, I'll beat you with my stump and throw you off a bridge!"

There have been times in my life when I was behind the eight ball and I remembered the story of the go-getter. It has gotten me through many a tough situation.

It is not a very long book. If it takes you more than an hour to read, then you have reading problems. However, it is the story that makes the book amazing.

I have read hundreds of books, and I would rank only four or five of them five stars, and this is one of them.

If you want to succeed at something then read this book first. You will not regret it!!!

It took me a few times to read the first chapter--I kept saying "huh?" (a weird opening) then finally got into it. Some of the best books start this way!

DON'T QUIT IN DISGRACE ACE, FACE THE VASE!

Greg "failing forward on my way to success" Rebuck

Mr. Peck's attitude is the greatest point he never quits. Young people today need to learn from the attitude of Mr.Peck. This world today is competative and Mr. Peck shows a CAN DO attitude. He demonstrated that one must win the person first to gain there confidence. Easy reading and quick. Excellent book recommend it to everyone!!!

The Blue Star Navigation Company has a problem. It hasn't been able to find a manager who will stick to his mandate once he is sent overseas and away from immediate supervision. The company needs a "go-getter", but how will it find one?

Along comes Bill Peck, a war veteran who will not take "no" for an answer. He asks for a job, any job. The company relents and gives him a sales job, selling lumber that nobody in their right mind would want. He proves himself worthy by excelling in his sales position despite the odds. He is now ready for the ultimate test.

From this point on, he encounters obstacle upon obstacle. As you read this story, consider at which stage you would give up. The Go-Getter displays just how much one person may accomplish if they decide to go beyond their usual point of giving up.

Do you ever catch yourself saying, "I tried but...", "If only I had more time/money/resources...", "I'm just not good at..."? Read this little treasure and you will discover that in all likelihood you are selling yourself short. You'd be amazed at what you can do, by simply deciding it shall be done.

Larry Hehn, author of Get the Prize: Nine Keys for a Life of Victory

The Go Getter is an excellent little book, packed powerfully with motivation! I would recommend that this little gem be required reading for all students before they graduate. What motivates you? How hard would you be willing to work for your dream? How quickly do you give up or are you motivated to accomplish the task to the very end? Read this book and find out how the challenge was met and conquered! You WILL be inspired!

This is book is a very quick read and I actually read it twice to make sure that I did not miss anything! This book can be applied to anyone at any job doing any thing! One thing is for sure - you cannot help but be motivated after reading this book and probably changing your attitude from a negative one into a positive one!

I highly, highly recommend this book!

If you've read anything by Spencer Johnson or Ken Blanchard and enjoyed their work, you need to read this precursor to the latest rage. This is far superior even if it is a bit dated.

Do you have the blue vase in your life? Are you in the "get it done" club?

Fun, interesting and with enough twists and turns that you will enjoy the quick hour you will spend reading this book. You'll want to let all your colleagues and friends read this (but not your competitors).

This used to be mandatory reading for ServiceMaster employees in the 1970s, and I got my copy from a retiring SM manager in the mid-1980s as he was cleaning out his office. This was the time when Tom Peters, fresh off his "Excellence" writings, was descending into his "break all the rules" type of exhuberant speechifying, and before "business process reengineering" hit the scene with Dr. Hammer, in suit and horn-rims from MIT. The Go Getter, by contrast, portrays a simpler, more direct world of business. You want the job? Pass this test.

You only have one arm because the other one was blown off in WWI? Pass the test. No ADA type accomodating here, no "norming" of the test. And the guy does it. He goes on the wild goose-chase treasure hunt and locates the object defined as his goal: the blue vase. All to prove he's fit to represent his new employer in Shanghai.

After hearing about business in China from a Chinese guy who shared our house in grad school, this seems like a good way to qualify for managing things over there. You want some guy spouting off about "seeing the future first" and making up slide shows? Or the relentless one-armed veteran who will stop at nothing to get the job done? If the job is all about moving lumber down rivers to be stacked and processed, doesn't sound too theoretical to me.

So I like this book, and for several years forced summer law student clerks of our firm to read it, to disabuse them of the notion that practicing law is some lazy, sit around and blow air all day type of undertaking. Don't clients want lawyers who are go getters? ServiceMaster did.

This book was given to me by the President of a Lumber Company I once worked for. It is what I've patterned my sales technics after... Always going the extra mile. In short... Service above all. I recommend it not only to all sales people, but to anybody who's job it is to service the public. Oh, by the way, the Lumber Company President?... He's my best customer!