Share <Embed>

Buy New

$14.88

List Price: $18.00
Save: $3.12 (17%)

FREE Shipping on orders over $25—or get FREE Two-Day Shipping with Amazon Prime

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Other Sellers on Amazon

Add to Cart

$11.79
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: allnewbooks

Add to Cart

$17.60
+ Free Shipping

Sold by: bargainbookstores-

Add to Cart

$17.74
+ Free Shipping

Sold by: BOOK- LAND

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 3 images

The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business Paperback – August 28, 2012

by Josh Kaufman (Author)

594 customer reviews

See all 7 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$16.99

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$24.00

$19.08

$11.50

Paperback

"Please retry"

$14.88

$11.59

$10.48

Audible, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Getting an MBA is an expensive choice-one almost impossible to justify regardless of the state of the economy. Even the elite schools like Harvard and Wharton offer outdated, assembly-line programs that teach you more about PowerPoint presentations and unnecessary financial models than what it takes to run a real business. You can get better results (and save hundreds of thousands of dollars) by skipping business school altogether.

Josh Kaufman founded PersonalMBA.com as an alternative to the business school boondoggle. His blog has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers to the best business books and most powerful business concepts of all time. Now, he shares the essentials of entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, negotiation, operations, productivity, systems design, and much more, in one comprehensive volume. The Personal MBA distills the most valuable business lessons into simple, memorable mental models that can be applied to real-world challenges.

The Personal MBA explains concepts such as:

The Iron Law of the Market: Why every business is limited by the size and quality of the market it attempts to serve-and how to find large, hungry markets.
The 12 Forms of Value: Products and services are only two of the twelve ways you can create value for your customers.
The Pricing Uncertainty Principle: All prices are malleable. Raising your prices is the best way to dramatically increase profitability - if you know how to support the price you're asking.
4 Methods to Increase Revenue: There are only four ways a business can bring in more money. Do you know what they are?

True leaders aren't made by business schools - they make themselves, seeking out the knowledge, skills, and experience they need to succeed. Read this book and you will learn the principles it takes most business professionals a lifetime of trial and error to master.

Frequently bought together

Total price: $40.39

Buy the selected items together

This item:The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman Paperback $14.88
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
The Ten-Day MBA 4th Ed.: A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering the Skills Taught In America's Top… by Steven A Silbiger Paperback $17.52
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
How Successful People Think: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life by John C. Maxwell Hardcover $7.99
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Steven A Silbiger

175

Paperback
$17.52
John C. Maxwell

479

Hardcover
$7.99
Kathleen Allen

44

Paperback
$15.37
Josh Kaufman

192

Paperback
$13.25
Karen Berman

163

in Managerial Accounting
Hardcover
$21.38
The Princeton Language…

71

Paperback
$8.98

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Steven A Silbiger

175

Paperback
$17.52
John C. Maxwell

479

Hardcover
$7.99
Kevin D. Johnson

464

Paperback
$16.95
Josh Kaufman

594

Paperback
17 offers from $4.62
Kathleen Allen

44

Paperback
$15.37
Josh Kaufman

192

Paperback
$13.25

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kaufman, a former middle manager at Proctor & Gamble and founder of personalmba.com, argues that those interested in business would be better served by skipping the M.B.A. and focusing on the critically important concepts that really make or break a business. According to the author, much of what is taught in business schools is outdated; you're better off saving the expense and finding other ways to learn about these core principles--which Kaufman synthesizes--in such areas as value creation, marketing, sales, and finance. He also explores the psychological side of business and examines how consumers take in information, make decisions, and decide what to do or not to do. Acknowledging the panoramic overview his approach necessitates, he includes a fairly lengthy list of sources to seek out if more information is needed. While Kaufman's rallying call will not eradicate the need or desire for M.B.A. degrees, he does provide a surprisingly solid alternative full of information that even those already in the workplace will respond to. (Dec.) (c)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"A masterpiece. This is the 'START HERE' book I recommend to everyone interested in business. An amazing overview of everything you need to know. Covers all of the basics, minus buzz-words and fluff. One of the most inspiring things I've read in years."

- Derek Sivers, founder of CDbaby.com and sivers.org

"No matter what they tell you, an MBA is not essential. If you combine reading this book with actually trying stuff, you'll be far ahead in the business game."
- Kevin Kelly, founding executive editor of Wired and author of What Technology Wants

"File this book under NO EXCUSES. After you've read it, you won't be open to people telling you that you're not smart enough, not insightful enough, or not learned enough to do work that matters. Josh takes you on a worthwhile tour of the key ideas in business."
- Seth Godin, author of Linchpin

"I've run across few people who conceptually 'grok' how to get things done better than Josh Kaufman."
- David Allen, author of Getting Things Done

"A creative, breakthrough approach to business education. I have an MBA from a top business school, and this book helped me understand business in a whole new way."
- Ali Safavi, executive director of international sales and distribution, The Walt Disney Company

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Series: the personal MBA master art of business
Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Portfolio; Reprint edition (August 28, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1591845572
ISBN-13: 978-1591845577
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.1 x 8.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 594 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9 in Books > Business & Money > Management & Leadership > Training
- #65 in Books > Business & Money > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Entrepreneurship
- #112 in Books > Business & Money > Skills

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Start reading The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Customer Reviews

Write a customer review

See all 594 customer reviews

Rated by customers interested in

What's this?

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Books

4.2 out of 5 stars

Marketing & Sales

4.5 out of 5 stars

Business & Economics Books

4.5 out of 5 stars

Is this feature helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Read reviews that mention

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

shez

This is what an MBA covers

April 4, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I teach MBA classes, he is correct and quite comprehensive, if he can add some exercises and problems to some of the chapters, like financial analysis, this book will become the one textbook MBA degree. It was a nice refresher for me. Great for entrepreneurs who need the application more than a piece of paper.

Comment 16 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

MakerMan

Breadth-Centric Approach Done Totally Right

December 14, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is broad and shallow, but impeccably indexed and thoughtfully curated. It's also beautifully and concisely written.

Everything is organized into topic with detailed outlines, so that you can pick and choose as needed. So many books (see any Tim Ferriss book) throw everything and the kitchen sink with no focus or filter just to fill pages and put out another crappy round of sales; they're all fluff and the meat they contain is so basic that the author tries to pass it off as something complicated and essentially passes off mystique as value. Not the case here. I have a very sensitive BS meter and it wasn't triggered at all. Everything included is purposeful, and while there isn't much of any depth, this is more like what you'd get from an actual MBA (minus the network) - a big picture view and the memory/awareness of what to consider and whether to look it up when the time comes around. The only caveat is that this is all meat, so this is a book to study and write notes on a few times and memorize.

As a techie-turned-entrepreneur who likes clear APIs and expects good crunch-bang documentation (think C++ interface guides), this is the perfect format and just what I was looking for. If you want a lot of depth, you'll have to sacrifice scope and go for a book that covers one or two topics. For what it is, this is about as good as it gets (and I've read TONS of books on business, organization, 'self-help', marketing, negotiation, etc.).

Thanks Josh for putting this out.

Comment 44 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Daniel Teeter

Solid overview of principles / Not a replacement for an MBA

November 12, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Pros: good overview of MBA principles, and a good read for anyone prior to an MBA (to help you understand what you are getting into, and inform your career recruiting decisions)

Cons: none. Pretty good.

Overall: I would buy it again. I don't know that it is a stand-out over the other handful of highly rated MBA books, but it is still a solid overview. You won't go wrong buying it.

Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

GKV

Great overview of business topics

November 14, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Great book! Obviously it's not a replacement for a 2 year MBA program, but it's certainly worth a read before you drop six figures on a degree.

This book is a great overview of many business topics and will help you identify which topics you need to learn more about. It also provides several other resources to learn about those topics more in-depth if you think you're weak in a topic.

My only wish was that the book had more case studies from the author's clients rather than focusing on some examples based on his own life. But that didn't happen too much.

Still a great read and a good reference book on business topics.

Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Shnobz

Excellent

October 13, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A great book that briefly introduces a great deal of concepts about the business world. Great personal advice too. Short & concise format that helps the reader stay focused. I picked it up mainly for the chapter on value creation which I loved. I read the whole book in a week with great passion. I recommend it for anyone interested in general knowledge about the business world in easy language. This is a good start & it has many references for continued education if the reader chooses to do so. Also good as a general reference.

Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Bucky Wison

Basic Business

February 24, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

So far this has been a pretty solid read.
The author seems well educated on many of the subjects he touches.
It reads like a checklist to prepare you or refresh you for key items you need to keep in mind while....
A. Starting a business
B. Maintaining a business
C. Bettering yourself professionally in your current career.

There is a lot of information within these pages.
It's a matter of how you perceive what he is teaching that determines what you're going to do with the information.

To me, short subject matter, and quick tips keep my attention more, and help better when using this as a reference.
It will also allow me to revisit the areas that I need to quickly while applying these methods and others in the real world.

I haven't made it through the full book, but the majority that I've read so far is great.
You don't have to read the book front to back if you don't need.

There are also references to different books that may help you in other areas to which the author does not elaborate on.

Simple, great, to the point.

This book alone is not going to give you the idea you need for business, but an idea of what it takes to start one, and to manage one.
Keep that in mind.
Please don't score poorly if you don't get your next business opportunity from the pages.

Great read!

Thanks

Bucky Wilson
www.facebook.com/bucky5676

Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

sunnydaysahead

i love this writer's style - no bull

February 11, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

oh how i wish i had read this when i started my business years ago. i read several books a month (used to read about 4 books a week!) and this one is one of my favorites of all time. SO MUCH info, simply put. i love this writer's style - no bull, just simple, striaghtforward. i really really really wish i had known about it about 6 years ago but better late than never. essential reading. this is one of the only books i got from the library and then ended up buying it for my kindle even though i'd already most of it. it's that good.

Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Andrew Miller

If you want to make sure you're smart, you will read this book

June 23, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book is essential and it's a crime this isn't a required before applying for a job. If you want to make sure you're smart, you will read this book. If you want to make sure you're employees are smart and on the same page as you, you will enforce them to read this book. No exceptions

Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes

Customer images

See all customer images

Most recent customer reviews

K. OBRIEN

Great book. I've read it twice

Great book. I've read it twice. Gets you thinking more internally and strategically as a business owner. Plus, yeah, don't waste your money on an MBA if you don't need to!

Published 1 month ago

The_Gentleman

My issue with the book is he writes a paragraph ...

My issue with the book is he writes a paragraph or two for about a thousand subjects. No real flow or way of helping you remember the material. But there is a lot of info.Read more

Published 1 month ago

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Amazing

Published 1 month ago

Shine

Five Stars

So much information!

Published 1 month ago

nonfiction reader

I had no idea MBAs had negative ROIs, but it makes sense.

The really great advice in short snippets will keep you reading.

Published 2 months ago

Nathaniel Morgan

Underrated book

This book is gold

Published 2 months ago

Holly Yao

Five Stars

I think this is a really useful book for non-MBA people to carry with

Published 2 months ago

Katie Danger

One Star

Can I give this zero stars?

Published 2 months ago

Mario

Definitely not better than an MBA

I immediately lost respect of this book, because, on page 2, the author says: "Over the past five years, I've read thousands of business books...".Read more

Published 2 months ago

Sarah H.

I love the way it's organized so you can open it ...

This book was very helpful. I love the way it's organized so you can open it and read from anywhere. It has very good info and content. love it

Published 2 months ago

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway

This item: The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business

Set up a giveaway