Rules for Renegades: How to Make More Money, Rock Your Career, and Revel in Your Individuality (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: goal setting worksheet, finesse failure, financing pitch, Bill Gates, White House, American Geisha (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. High school dropout turned self-made multimillionaire and five-time CEO, Comaford-Lynch presents an upbeat, irreverent business book for entrepreneurs, free spirits and eponymous renegades. Focusing on passionate young people who have grit and vision but limited experience and/or resources, the author presents practical, step-by-step advice for starting a company, making it in a cutthroat environment and reaching life goals in record time, while recounting her entertaining, often hilarious life story. To some extent, all first-time CEOs are making it up as they go along, she says. Sure enough, she's found herself brazening her way through plenty of bizarre and touching situations: hiring employees before she actually has a firm; posing as a man to score a programming job in the macho world of '80s Microsoft; dating Bill Gates to learn confidence; making (and losing) millions of dollars through guts, sales know-how and force of personality. Emphasizing visualization and self-confidence, she tackles the spiritual issues of prosperity as well as the down-and-dirty details of payroll and writing a killer business plan. Entrepreneurs and leaders at all levels of their careers will find this inspiring, rags-to-riches story as pleasurable to read as it is thought provoking. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

As an entrepreneur, Comaford-Lynch has built and sold five of her own businesses and served as a board of director or advisor to 36 start-ups. She has also invested in more than 200 start-ups as a venture capitalist, counseled 700 of the Fortune 1000 and the Clinton White House, all without either a high-school diploma or college degree. With a background as a teenage runaway, Buddhist monk, and software engineer for Microsoft and Apple, her unique vision allows for a seat-of-the-pants style of management that is both refreshing and invigorating. The book combines humorous, fast-paced anecdotes with practical advice obtained from a whirlwind career building several million-dollar businesses from scratch before the age of 40, including an $8 million business loss and other failures and rejections that provided important life lessons. With an irreverent style all her own, Comaford-Lynch forges ahead with a stream of inspirational advice that readers will want to turn to often in times of both struggle and success. Siegfried, David

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (August 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071489754
• ISBN-13: 978-0071489751
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #203,520 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

182 of 195 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Beware of the Professional F/T Reviewers, August 14, 2007

By	TD (Boston) - See all my reviews

There are people who market their consulting services by writing glowing 5 star reviews of *every* new book that appears on Amazon. Ignore these people.

Here's an honest review.

This book is basically the business version of "Chick Lit". The author's real passion is for recounting her affairs with various billionaires. First, there's Bill Gates with whom she had a one stand. Frankly, I thought Bill was too much of nerd to do this sort of thing. Then there's another short-lived relationship with Oracle's Larry Ellison who, according to her, has "buns of steel." Talk about TMI! Finally, there's a third mystery billionaire who is never identified.

Then there is the tiresomely long section on her problems with her New Age guru. He turned out to be a con man just like most western religious leaders. Apparently she couldn't see this coming.

The remainder of the book consists of high school level "wisdom" on how to succeed in life. For example, you need to master GSD (Getting Stuff Done). What a great insight!

To pad RfR out to book length she throws in a completely out-of-place chapter (CEO as Cash Extraction Officer) near the end on business funding sources which feels like a quickie Google "cut n paste" job.

The book's greatest strengths are the catchy chapter titles. Just scan them and you will absorb the book's total value in seconds.

Before the dotcoms exploded the author claimed to be a venture capitalist. All I know of her exploits as a VC is that she appeared in a business magazine sitting in a bubble bath wearing nothing but a cowboy hat and holding a cigar. That picture sums up the author nicely: a self-promoter and lime-light seeker with little of substance to offer the reader.

I was really hoping to like this book since there's so little writing from female entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, it's just disappointing fluff.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hoped for alot, got lost in the sexual relations, December 28, 2007

By	T. Lewis "Goal minded with peaceful intentions" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Ok, found this book in Business Week. A HUGE ad. Should have listened to my intuition. Great book for breaking old thoughts, getting out there and doing it! Yeah! But... Then the numerous parts on her 'relations' with 'various billionaires'. Yes, she outright brags! It's ridiculous and ruined her credibility for me. I did get something from the book, but without the kissing scenes. I reaffirmed my empowered feelings etc... but not much else. I did join her website: she sends you 'SPAM' about her teleconferences (the 1st wasn't too bad). Then builds you up for the Finale: the $200 conference she's holding. You had me at 'Unsubscribe'. Don't really recommend this one, but would highly recommend: The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz (Wow, REALLY gets you going) or 4 Hour work week (bit analytical but good inspiration and NOT just for those who want to quit their job). Hope that helps. Smile everyone, Have a great day!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More Entertaining than Self-Help, November 18, 2007

By	Meryl K. Evans "Content Maven behind meryl.net" (Plano, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Renegades usually don't follow rules because that is what makes them renegades. Rules for Renegades aims to share Christine Comaford-Lynch's experiences. She states that she started with no special advantages and that 10 life lessons -- the rules -- she shares will help readers gain confidence and self-esteem, build strong relationships, and become financially independent.

The book oozes Comaford-Lynch's fiery style and rivets. This is a woman whose history consists of running away to New York to try modeling, becoming a Buddhist monk, inventing several products earning millions of dollars, and making a mistake that cost $8 million. She tells fascinating stories while interweaving advice on funding and starting a company. Reading the book is akin to reading People Magazine and getting the inside scoop on celebrities from a business perspective. Instead of reading about actors, read about an executive who meets celebrities and attempts to motivate.

What are the chances any of us will experience such meetings? Very little. The celebs with the biggest parts are Microsoft's Bill Gates, Oracle's Larry Ellison, and an anonymous billionaire. She drops plenty of names of people she meet along the way including Connie Chung, Maury Povich, Jane Fonda, and Barbara Walters. This book qualifies more the autobiography section than for the self-help section.

The author's writing feels loud and she sounds like she bounces off the walls. Few successful people have a personality resembling Comaford-Lynch's maniacal and hyperactive style. Thus, her experiences aren't something many of us can do or make happen even if we tried. Her advice seems more kitschy than insightful.

In talking about what it takes to be success, she believes a person's GSD (Gets Stuff Done) is more important than an MBA. She doesn't mean to slam education, but tells readers that the real world experience is what matters instead of the pile of degrees. A GSD means you know how to get your foot in the door, set goals, listening to the voice in your head, and avoiding pushiness. If you want to earn a GSD-style degree, David Allen's GTD (Getting Things Done) is better.

The most interesting thing in the "Work Your Money Mojo" chapter is its title. The advice on raising money from outside the company doesn't offer anything new: Prove you have a viable product, set measurable goals to track progress, and report to management. However, she does a valuable service in providing resources for getting funding. This information, though, feels out of place in the disjointed book.

Comaford-Lynch deserves congratulations for making millions, working as a CEO for multiple companies, and learning from her mistakes. Her path to all of money, career, and happiness isn't one most people would want to take to grow and prosper. In sum, Rules for Renegades proves an entertaining read with too much emphasis on things that are bigger than they really are.