82 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Glorified Brochure for Gerber's Consulting Services, September 18, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The E-Myth Manager: Why Management Doesn't Work--And What to Do About It (Hardcover)
This book was a real disapointment. I really enjoyed Gerber's "E-Myth Revisited", and I was expecting something similar in this book -- wrong. After summarily lambasting practically every management practice, he offers his solution; which was written in a "One-minute Management" -story style. The book was little more than an expensive promotional piece for his consulting services. It told just enough to get you interested in learning more, but there was nothing tangible that you could really take and use in your business practice. Lots of philisophical fluff -- little substance.
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A big surprise for managers and business owners, November 17, 2001
This book is less enjoyable than Michael Gerber's original E-Myth Revisited super-success. However, it still has extremely valuable lessons to share with its readers.
In my opinion, you really NEED to read E-Myth Revisited BEFORE you get and read this book, as much of it's content and teachings requires a good understanding of the concepts and ideas he talks about in his previous bestseller. Believe me when I say that reading E-Myth Revisited will be worth your time and effort, so please do get your hands on it.
E-Myth Manager deals with the subject of Management in a way that most managers would probably never have thought of. He suggests managers need to think of themselves as mini-entrepreneurs within their organisation, and act accordingly. I suspect most managers (and business owners) reading this book will be somewhat horrified at Gerber's heretical ideas, but if you take the time to read the book fully and truly understand what it's trying to teach you, you will (hopefully) come to a realisation that Gerber's ideas are not as dumb as you may initially have thought. :-)
It took me time to understand that what he was recommending was a PARADIGM shift in the thinking of managers and business owners - one that would empower and respect all of them as both individuals AND business people.
In my opinion, MANY business owners and managers have set up an adversarial environment in their workplace, which explains why their staff are never as dedicated, loyal, accurate and hard working as they would like. Yet the STUPID thing is that many businesses continue to perpetuate that self-destructive model, all in the pursuit of the short-term buck! One of the very reasons trade unions exist (and cause problems for many companies) is solely because of this adversarial model (just for the record: by no means am I implying or saying that trade unions are perfect either!), and until managers and business owners understand that EVERY SINGLE PERSON in their company is a individual human being first, and treat them with basic respect and value their contribution, things probably won't improve much.
E-Myth Manager, while not a thesis on worker/management matters, does cover the value created when all employees are given basic respect and treated as individuals, and vice versa. Managers are often the people implementing these policies and procedures, so it's valuable for them to see the big picture.
Gerber paints a picture that shows current day management as archaic and ineffective. In fact, he even goes so far as to say it is partially responsible for some of the more common problems in many businesses today, and why.
Now, don't go getting all defensive on me. Gerber is NOT taking cheap shots at managers, just for the sake of selling his book. Rather, he is trying to show current managers and owners a better way - one that will improve everybody's life in business.
As I said at the top of this review, while I found this book less enjoyable than his original E-Myth Revisited, it was still an extremely valuable read, and it deserves a 4 star rating, if only for it's ideas, if not for its delivery.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Wife of an Entrepreneur, February 9, 2001
By A Customer
First of all, the E stands for Entrepreneur, not anything to do with E-commerce. I bought this book and the "E-Myth Revisited" to better understand my husband and his approach to business. He took the "E-Myth Manager" on a business trip, and immediately ordered a copy for each of his managers. The tools and concepts in this book will be the topic for his next management retreat. What did I get out of the book? A much better understanding of how to work and live with an Entrepreneur.
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