Customer Reviews

The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As I began to read this book, I was reminded of comments by then CEO Jack Welch at one of GE's annual meetings when he explained why he admired entrepreneurial companies: "For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy."

Although there is a great deal of valuable material in this book for those who are planning to launch a new company or have only recently done so, what Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham provide can also be of substantial value to all other executives who also wish to establish and then sustain the kind of a company that Welch describes. Their choice of a first-person narrator is a wise one because it ensures an immediate and personal rapport with the reader. Presumably the voice is Brodsky's. but those who have read Burlingham's Small Giants will immediately realize that Brodsky speaks for both of them. It should also be noted that Brodsky launched seven successful start-ups and now provides a monthly column, "Street Smarts," in Inc. magazine.

They are impiricists whose insights are based a wealth of real-world experience; they are also pragmatists who understand what works...and what doesn't...in the contemporary business world. The "toolbox" metaphor is especially appropriate because the reader will find in this single source just about all they need to achieve and then sustain success. For example, in the first two chapters, Brodsky and Burlingham explain how to

Make the right decisions
Manage cash flow properly
Balance the sales mentality with the business mentality
Anticipate and then prepare for changes with analytics

Be resilient when countering failure and learn from it
Identify root cause rather than respond only to symptoms
Balance focus and discipline with resiliency
Recognize answers and solutions with peripheral vision

Then in Chapters Nine and Fourteen, Brodsky and Burlingham explain how to

Build relationships that retain your most profitable customers
Help those customers to become "smarter buyers" by understanding your business
Treat long-time customers like new prospects so they won't feel taken for granted
Allocate sufficient time for face-time with customers

Select salespeople who will be appropriate representatives of the company
Determine criteria for determining who should not be hired to sell
Compensate salespeople to avoid internal competition and division
Involve all other employees as an extended sales force

My references to "how to" are deliberate because all of Brodsky and Burlingham's suggestions and recommendations throughout their lively narrative are results-driven. They also explain various "how not to's" so that the reader can avoid unfavorable results. (As noted in the Introduction, "A smart person learns from his or her mistakes. A wise person learns from other people's mistakes.") In this context, I am reminded of what Peter Drucker said in a Harvard Business Review article in 1963: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all."

To repeat, this book will be of great value of those preparing to launch a new company or have only recently done so. It will also help an owner/CEO of a small company that is currently struggling to survive, especially given recent developments. But it will also be of substantial value to other executives who are under many of the same pressure to produce more and better (fill in the blank) in less time and at a lower cost, to retain both valued workers and valued customers, and meanwhile to be well-prepared to respond effectively to inevitable changes in the given competitive marketplace. Over a period of several decades, Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham have acquired the "street smarts" needed to cope with these pressures, and share them in this book. It is a brilliant achievement for which I congratulate them. Now it is up to their readers to absorb and digest the material, then apply what has been learned with both passion and determination. The choice is theirs.

Norm Brodsky has been a hero of mine for many years through his column in Inc. Magazine. His advice is a mixture of common sense and pragmatism -- ideas that make sense and can be used right away -- something that Brodsky and Burlingham provide in spades in their new book. The Knack isn't your typical guide to entrepreneurship. You're not going to learn about whether you should incorporate or form a LLC, or the latest marketing tactics. Rather, it's filled with stories about real entrepreneurs that illustrate several "Big Picture" concepts. In essence, this book will get (or keep) you thinking about fundamental ideas that can make your business more successful, including the value of focus, and the critical role for certain metrics. As a serial entrepreneur and teacher of entrepreneurship, I highly recommend The Knack and suggest that it's an investment that will provide a very high rate of return over the years.

Steven K. Gold
Author of Entrepreneur's Notebook: Practical Advice for Starting a New Business Venture

This is an excellent book for anyone thinking about starting their own business. It tells you how to think and what you need to understand in order to run a small business, from understanding cash flow to understanding and nurturing a healthy relationship with your bank to treating customers. The chapters are relatively short, and Brodsky talks alot about the companies he started, and what he learned from them. He breaks down gross margin, why the customers with the highest gross margins are the most important (and not sales), what makes a good business plan (and what makes a bad one), and what numbers are important to look at (EBITDA).

One of the best parts of the book is when he discussed whether or not to grow a company. Once people reach a certain level of success, they feel that the next natural step is to expand. Brodsky discusses what you really have to think about before you decide to expand: things such as how much money do you need to expand, why you want to grow, and how you should do it.

Another part I thought was noteworthy was the discussion on letting go of the day-to-day activities and hiring a manager. Not that I'm at that point, or will be in the future, but its an interesting take on how to view the transition.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone starting a business: it is informative and entertaining. Trust me, it doesn't drag.

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." -- Ezekiel 36:26

I've been teaching classes about how to start small businesses for many years and have many clients around the world who run small businesses. From these experiences, I've learned that those who want to learn about small business usually fall into one of the following categories:

1. They like the idea of being their own boss but have no idea of what's involved . . . but they would like to learn more.

2. Someone in the family had a successful small business, and they liked what they saw and want to do it for themselves.

3. They do something very well and work for an employer who doesn't treat them well enough. They feel they can strike out on their own, do well, and make more money.

4. The person has fallen in love with a dream of what a small business might be, but they aren't interested in changing anything about the dream . . . including things that doom the dream to fail.

5. They have been successful in a managerial role in a medium-to-large business, have some money, and want to take on a situation where they can improve effectiveness.

Why am I tell you all this? It's to help you understand who should read The Knack. This book will be highly valuable for those in the first category by filling in some of their knowledge gaps due to a lack of experience in running a small business. The book will also help them to realize they should find some experienced business people to learn from.

There's a drawback for this group: This book is a little too advanced for people who have few ideas about what a small business does. Mr. Brodsky has a quite sophisticated sense of the moving parts involved in a small-to-medium-sized business that won't be appreciated by those who don't even know what the tasks are. As a result, a lot of this book's wisdom will blow past its ideal readers. That's why I marked the book at four stars.

The book would have to be firmed up and made more detailed in its conceptual roots to be highly valuable to people in second and third categories. They will know most of the basic lessons. Not much can help those in the fourth category except painful experiences. The last group will fail to grasp how small businesses are different from what they've been doing if they read this book.

I plan to recommend it to my students who have pretty good instincts for small business, but lack the perspective of experience. I'm sure it will speed their learning.

I'm pleased to be able to make that recommendation.

As for content, the authors wisely focus on the key fundamentals: positive cash flow, developing profitable customers and keeping them, keeping track of how you are doing, leading your employees, developing and maintaining discipline, and avoiding mistakes that can be very costly (such as weakening what's working to start something that doesn't work). The book's strength is that it deals with the emotions and habits that underlie success and setbacks. Pay attention and be more deliberate in what you do, and the results will be better.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: Everyone thinking of buying or starting a business

I have been thinking lately about buying a business and The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Upcame highly recommended. This book is fantastic. It is packed with useful concepts and information. In addition to all of the tips and ideas it is very well written.

Each of the 17 chapters lays a crucial concept for the business owner and gives many real world examples of the principle in action. Brodsky's discussion of the importance of Gross Margin and its creation of cash flow was especially useful. He rightly illustrates that maintaining gross margin is key for a young business and that many fail because they go for higher volume with lower margins. It is not obvious until it is too late that this actually leads to negative cash flows and dooms many young businesses.

I also appreciated the many ideas about customer service. It is interesting that much of this is nothing more than treating others as you would want to be treated, but it is helpful to be reminded with examples.

In conclusion, I found this book to very insightful and it has helped me think about the issues I need to confront in starting or buying a business.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Warning: Reading this book will cause daydreaming and may result in you taking steps to plan how you will improve your life and your company.

I can't think of any book I have read many in years that has given me so many great ideas about business and philosophy. The concepts in this book are appropriate way beyond those who aspire to start and run their own companies. Norm and Bo show how pretty much anyone, at any level in an organization, can improve productivity and quality of life.

I got this book on Thursday night, started reading it on a plane ride Saturday, and stayed up until 1am Sunday to finish it! As an entrepreneur whose business involves occasionally offering advice to other would-be entrepreneurs, I've read a ton of business books. Most of them-- under the guise of providing 'essential' information-- offer common platitudes that are easily obtained elsewhere. Not so The Knack, which contains truly unique insights about how one needs to THINK in order to build a successful company.

Reading the book, I felt like I was getting unvarnished, pragmatic advice from a trusted mentor who'd been through the ups and downs, learned from his experiences, and now was taking the time to share his wisdom with me. It might be tough to face the truth of what he says (i.e. not all sales are good sales), but if I listen and learn I'll have a healthier, more profitable business.

I tell my clients who want to start their own business that they must, must read 'The E-Myth' by Michael Gerber. I will now add 'The Knack' to that list-- it is a classic of that caliber.

I have a file folder full of Inc magazine's Street Smarts columns by-Norm Brodsky & Bo Burlingham that I have torn out over the years. Thank goodness they wrote the Knack...now I can throw them away. Norm's no nonsense ability to say it like it is has challenged and changed the way I think about business. The Knack is a collection of ideas, advice and practical stories about the world of an entrepreneur. It's a delightful read and a great change of pace from so many of the business books out today. I liked it so much; I've been buying copies for my entrepreneur friends!

Length:: 6:55 Mins

Ian Duncan's review was made as part of a critical review assignment for the Fall 2011 Economics of Entrepreneurship seminar at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, taught by Art Diamond. (The course syllabus stated that part of the critical review assignment consisted of the making of a video recording of the review, and the posting of the review to Amazon.)

Basic information that unfortunately gets overlooked when most people get out and start businesses. Essential.