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This Is The Best Book I’ve Ever Read On Business | RP 103

This Is The Best Book I’ve Ever Read On Business | RP 103

PLUS: A reminder to do what works for you

Roxine Kee
August 04, 2023

Welcome to Rox’s Picks where I share 1 business lesson each week in 10 minutes or less.

My goal is to share the knowledge you need to grow your business and accelerate your tech career — without spending $100k on an MBA.

Hey friends!

I’ve been publishing a short, 250-word essay on Twitter every weekday. At first I was afraid I’d run out of ideas. But the bite-sized length and the short feedback loop means I get at least 1-2 new ideas each time I hit publish.

I’ll be doing this until at least mid-August. But I’m already pumped about doing this until the end of the year.

If you’re like me and trying to find creator-audience fit, I’d recommend taking on a daily publishing challenge like this.

Last week, I began deep reading Josh Kaufman’s The Personal MBA. I haven’t finished yet, but I’m ready to call is the best book I’ve ever read on business. And today we’re getting into why.

Here’s your 10-minute MBA for the week:

Business, Media, Technology

This Is The Best Book I’ve Ever Read On Business

There are thousands of books about business.

As a tech worker-turned-online-creator, I've read most of them.

But the best book I've found is The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman.

For a few reasons...

Reason #1: Mental models

Thanks to mental models and razors, Charlie Munger could famously read and diagnose a company's financial health in a few minutes.

Applying mental models simplifies problems and accelerate the path to solutions. This book highlights the most important ones for business decision-making.

Reason #2: Business first principles

Before reading this book, I was in the dark on what made up a healthy business.

After reading it, I could list every single business skill under one of the 5 parts of business from the book: value creation, customer demand, transactions, value delivery, and profit sufficiency.

Reason #3: The gateway to business skills

Any skill or piece of business advice can be filed under a part of business above.

Struggling with cashflow? Look at your finances.

Struggling to close a customer? Show that you can deliver what you promised.

If you're strapped for time and want a business crash course, I can't recommend this book enough.

😉 You're welcome

A selection of interesting links & fun recommendations.

🐦 A reminder to do what works for you (and not someone else’s morning routine…)
☕️ “'I Was Having Nightmares for a Few Weeks': Box CEO Aaron Levie Reveals How Hard It Was to Build a $2.5 Billion Business and Take It Public by Age 29” by Anna Mazarakis. Box offers cloud storage for businesses. I like Box’s story because (1) the original cofounders continue to run the company today and are still friends, and (2) they have executed incredibly well amidst a competitive niche that the cofounders did not have experience in.
▶️ ”How to Start a Movement”. A TED Talk by the sage-like Derek Sivers from 13 years ago, this clip is a hilarious but insightful reminder that all visionaries are lone nuts. They just didn’t give up.

That’s all for this week

Stay strong, stay kind, stay human.

Have a great weekend!

Till next week,

— roxine