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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Of Dreams and Dusters: Offer It and They Will Come, November 7, 2000
This review is from: Peterman Rides Again: Adventures Continue with the Real "J. Peterman" Through Life & the Catalog Business (Hardcover)
The is one of the most interesting and best written business books that I have read about a single company. Strange as it may sound, this book is a cross between Field of Dreams and The Disney Way. John Peterman was a founder of the J. Peterman Company which developed much notoriety for its unconventional catalog and offerings. As a young man, he had been a professional baseball player. He draws on his experiences in fulfilling his dreams of playing major league baseball to help you understand the lessons of his entrepreneurial voyage. Starting with items like his always-present cowboy duster, he offered ways for others to have more fulfilling lives with "dream" goods that would transport people into the imaginery world of the beautiful copy and illustrations in the company's Owner's Manual. When the company strayed from its dream concept, it faltered, and Chapter 11 became a living nightmare. Mr. Peterman then recounts the lessons of his experience, and describes how he is ready to ride again in a new entrepreneurial venture. This book has many good qualities not usually found in a business book. First, the text includes many examples of copy from the J. Peterman catalog. These are uniformly well-written and interesting. They also help give a sense of the "dream" that the J. Peterman Company was selling. Second, the personal stories about baseball are very well connected to lessons for running an entrepreneurial business. These are very well thought through and executed. You will never think about baseball in exactly the same way again . . . or business, for that matter. Third, the "war stories" about buying trips and developing new items are fascinating. I would have enjoyed a whole book that just focused on those. Fourth, the story is told like a business school case history. You get to observe the mistakes being made that brought the company down, but without comment at the time. You can imagine yourself in Mr. Peterman's boots (and duster) and wonder what you would have done. As a result, the lessons of the company's successes and failures become more personal and useful to the reader. The company's mistakes seem to be primarily related to weak financing and pursuing aggressive growth at the expense of keeping to its values and strengths. These problems were compounded by "trusting without strings." If a trusted person suggested the company jump off a cliff, people would follow. In essence, they did not "play within themselves" in keeping with the sports analogies in the book. Major changes can be good for a company, but it's a good idea to test them first before plunging ahead to "bet the company." J. Peterman often bulled ahead without testing after its sales success became too heady for its leaders. There is a lot of popular culture embedded in the book. You learn a lot about people by understanding which J. Peterman items sold best, and what dreams they represented. The J. Peterman Company was like a big focus group among upscale, well-educated consumers. What really interested me was that the amazing television publicity that the company got on Seinfeld and on Oprah came from the television writers' awareness of the catalog, not from company public relations efforts. That experience spoke volumes to me about the deep emotional needs that the company was touching. We see those needs continuing to be met today in the Dudified resort towns of the Old West like Aspen and Jackson Hole. One of the most interesting "what ifs" that occurred to me was what might have happened if the company had gone in the direction of the Internet rather than retail stores near the end. Perhaps it would be a very valuable and successful company today, if it had. The ugliness and unpleasantness of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings described here will serve as a cautionary tale for all entrepreneurs that job one is keeping the company in enough cash to operate. That may mean getting the most reliable financing, rather than the cheapest. After you finish dreaming along with Mr. Peterman, I suggest that you think about ways that no one helps people fulfill their dreams today. How could you design a service that would do that and build it into a successful business? Dream on and test to help the optimistic dust settle away from your decisions!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not just for old times's sake, April 7, 2003
This review is from: Peterman Rides Again: Adventures Continue with the Real "J. Peterman" Through Life & the Catalog Business (Hardcover)
You remember Peterman, don't you?
The "Owner's Manual" that read like literature? Open it, and you found yourself sipping martinis on the veranda at Raffles (you know, don't you, that gin was invented so the British could choke down their quinine tablets). Or sharing a tent with the Tuareg under the endless stars. Or watching an entrancing -- and very well dressed -- young woman glide through the Gare de l'Est, the crowds parting effortlessly before her.
How many catalogs made you want to run a bath and settle in to read about luggage and clothes?
This book is like that. But different.
Different?
Different.
It has some of that same flair. Some of the same locales. Even some of the same copy, printed in excerpts (and a name to go with it, copywriter Don Staley, my new hero).
But it's not escapist. It's valuable, real-world information ... like what to do when you find yourself stranded up the Yangtze with nothing but a toothbrush and silver cuff links, the kind an archduke would have worn to a Vienna ball.
Okay, not that.
But it does take an honest look at the rise and fall of a company many people loved. A catalog countless people waited anxiously -- really! -- to receive. So many people wanted it to work. "Clearly, people want things that make their lives the way they wish they were."
In some ways, it was a classic case. Entrepreneur with vision, passion, soul, creates a company with soul too. The business catches fire. It gets huge. Too huge. Too much time crunching numbers. Soul gets crowded out.
"Classic cases" become classic because people keep making the same mistakes.
For years, the business looked like nothing could stop it.
Then the bottom fell out.
Peterman knows why. And he tells you why. Some of it was his fault, and he doesn't pull punches, even when they're directed at himself.
I like that in a man.
I like that in a book, too.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Will the real Peterman please stand up..., January 5, 2001
This review is from: Peterman Rides Again: Adventures Continue with the Real "J. Peterman" Through Life & the Catalog Business (Hardcover)
Being a big Seinfeld fan, I knew once I saw this book I had to have it.The back cover carried many quotes, the first being, "As my boat sank into the Zambezi I watched my luggage float downstream over Victoria Falls. But the day wasn't a total loss..." If there was ever a question that I'd actually get the book, those two lines convinced me to pick it up. After reading it, I feel as though I've sat down with John Peterman himself and listened to his triumphs as well as his failures. Feel like I've had a beer with the man as he described some of his most memorable trips as well as the beginning and end of his catalog and outlet business. Listened to him tell about the many people he's met through his adventures, including the man that would play him on TV. If you're a Seinfeld fan, pick this book up and read about the actual J. Peterman. If you're starting your own business, pick up this book for inspiration (and maybe for some of the things you should avoid in business). Lastly, if you're looking for something with a light-hearted approach to life, PICK UP THIS BOOK!!
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