Review: Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I added this to my list of books to read after it being recommended by Shawn Blanc’s monthly book club. Although new books go to the bottom of my list, this one looked like a quick read and given Easter Monday I was able to consume within the hour. What I liked about this book was Siver’s open and honest approach to running a business. To him, it is about having fun, being happy and ultimately about the customer; money didn’t play a role. It is certainty a healthy approach to have in a business however sometimes I think reality can bite into this approach given our fast paced world of technology and disruption. There were many anecdotes on both his successes and failures along with lessons we can all take from it. For example, the tried and true test of trusting and verifying, to delegate but not abdicate and to make every decision based on the impact to the customer. I don’t believe that this approach to business works carte blanche in every industry and idea however there are some great fundamentals for any entrepreneur to take on board with a new venture.
Three key takeaways from the book:
1. Delegation is key in the business (especially when you grow), however, with delegation trust but verify. Furthermore delegation doesn’t not mean abdication.
2. If you’re not saying “Hell Yeah!” to an idea/approach etc. then say no!
3. Siver’s Tao of Business: Care about your customers more than about yourself and you’ll do well.