The first thing I would say about this book is that it completely re-defined every single notion that I had about being a business owner. I read this back in 2010 when I was still an employee for a corporation and even then, it completely changed me and I've come back to it multiple times since then. This book is pretty much a complete distillation of what it means to have a business in the 21st century, a lot of effective shortcuts that have served me greatly. Here are my top 3 lessons from this book:
Lesson #1: ASAP Is Poison:
We have become so accustomed to everything being urgent. You check your email and inside the body you see that dreary acronym; I need X done ASAP.
What? No, you don't. First of all, I have a million other requests I have to tend to. Secondly, you don't have a monopoly on my time no matter who the hell you are. Respect my time and I'll respect yours.
Lesson #2: Say No By Default:
Continuing the spirit my previous favorite lesson, this one is extremely important. As humans we prefer to say yes to stuff. But as you have probably noticed, saying "yes" to everything will mean saying no to yourself a lot of the time.
People have become accustomed to being given stuff and get tasks done for them just because they ask for it. No, fuck you, no. You have a limited amount of time in your day and you should use it as best you possibly can, whatever that looks like for you.
Lesson #3: Quick Wins
As the world continues to become larger physically and smaller digitally, it's very important to remember that speed is our greatest advantage. Limits don't have to be constrains, they can be sources of empowerment.
Speed will remain king over anything else. Think you can have a better company than your competitors because you think you have a competitive edge? Whoops, sorry, they already put out the latest version of their product out. Don't rest on your laurels lest you want there to be no laurels to rest on.
So there you have it, my Top 3 lessons from this wonderful book. It's actually one of my favorite business books ever and I've taken a lot of the lessons in it to heart and implemented them in my own business and life repeatedly to great results.
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