Studying for the PMBA

So my project is to read 99 books from this list in 1 year…52 weeks and
giving you a review and my comments every week of 1 book.

Starting on June 8, 2020 until June 8, 2021

So why a personal MBA, you might ask? Josh came up with the idea of acquiring the essential knowledge distilled in the MBA – that 20% of people accomplish 80% of the results – by reading a carefully chosen list of the best books covering the subject areas taught in the MBA –for less than $3,500, if you buy the books new, and even less than that if you buy the books used or borrow them. So please read The Personal MBA Manifesto which is still very relevant today.

My dear readers, by creating this blog, I want to come along with me and let’s do it together with the reasons below:

• Let’s prepare our future together
• Take this challenge with me
• We share this adventure together
• We get support from each other
• Let’s have your opinions and comments

I’m taking this project seriously, and I’m preparing for it as I would for a marathon: I know that the challenge will be long and difficult, especially when the initial motivation – linked to the enthusiasm of the start – is gone. Why am I doing this? Here are my reasons:

• Because I feel the need to acquire knowledge because I didn’t finish university and to find a job today I need to show my diplomas etc. therefore to better manage my life, to better understand the workings of the business world in which I am, to be more efficient in all the projects I lead or will lead, and to better understand the world in general.

• In order to experiment in real life if it is possible to change one’s life by reading relevant books. This is the purpose of this blog – I didn’t want to create a blog that would only talk about this challenge – and I will try to demonstrate that it is possible by sharing with you what it brings me in my creation of an online business my in my projects, in my everyday life.

• Because I feel the need to continue to obtain more knowledge to better run my businesses and to better understand the workings of the business world in which I find myself. To be more effective in all the projects that I will take on and to get a better appreciation for the world in general. Things are moving and evolving very quickly nowadays, I intend NEVER to be left behind!

“You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library. ”Good Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon)

This page lists all Personal MBA recommended books and resources for easy printing, bookmarking, and reference. For more information about the Personal MBA and book selection criteria, read the manifesto. (https://personalmba.com)

Here are the 99 business books The Personal MBA officially recommends… click on the title of each book to read a detailed description of each book and why it’s
important, or the below to the right for additional reviews.

Books stated through this section of blog comes from affiliate links and support indirectly The Personal MBA’s ongoing research.

I also highly recommend learning about effective non-fiction reading techniques to decrease the time it takes to complete each book. 10 Days to Faster Reading is a great place to start for best results.

Click on the Title of the books to be directed to Amazon to get your Kindle, Audio or Paperback Copy

Business Creation

• Go It Alone – Bruce Judson The Personal MBA – Josh Kaufman – Review Here
• The Lean Startup – Eric Ries– Review Here
• Street Smarts – Norm Brodsky & Bo Burlingham – Review Here
• Ready, Fire, Aim – Michael Masterson – Review Here
• Escape from Cubicle Nation – Pamela Slim – Review Here
• Bankable Business Plans – Edward Rogoff instead – Business Model Canvas by – Alexander Osterwalder – Review Here

Value-Creation & Testing

• Rework – Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson – Review Here
• The New Business Road Test – John Mullins – Review Here
• How to Make Millions with Your Ideas – Dan Kennedy– Review Here

Marketing

• All Marketers Are Liars – Seth Godin
• Permission Marketing – Seth Godin
• The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing – Al Ries & Jack Trout
• Getting Everything You Can Out of All You’ve Got – Jay Abraham

Sales

• The Psychology of Selling – Brian Tracy
• Pitch Anything – Oren Klaff
• The Ultimate Sales Machine – Chet Holmes
• Value-Based Fees – Alan Weiss
• SPIN Selling – Neil Rackham

Value-Delivery

• Indispensable – Joe Calloway
• The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement – Eliyahu Goldratt
• Lean Thinking – James Womack & Daniel Jones

Finance & Accounting

• Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs – Karen Berman & Joe Knight
• Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits – Greg Crabtree
• The 1% Windfall – Rafi Mohammed
• Accounting Made Simple – Mike Piper
• How to Read a Financial Report –John A. Tracy
• Venture Deals – Brad Feld & Jason Mendelson

The Human Mind

• Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman
• Brain Rules – John Medina
• Making Sense of Behavior – William T. Powers
• Driven – Paul Lawrence & Nitin Nohria
• Deep Survival – Laurence Gonzales

Productivity & Effectiveness

• Getting Things Done – David Allen
• The Power of Full Engagement – Jim Loehr &Tony Schwartz
• StrengthsFinder 2.0 – Tom Rath
• Bit Literacy – Mark Hurst
• 10 Days to Faster Reading – Abby Marks-Beale

Problem Solving

• The 80/20 Principle – Richard Koch
• Accidental Genius – Mark Levy
• Learning from the Future – Liam Fahey & Robert Randall

Behavioral Change

• The Power of Less – Leo Babauta
• The Path of Least Resistance – Robert Fritz
• Re-Create Your Life – Morty Lefkoe
• Self-Directed Behavior – David Watson & Roland Tharp

Decision-Making

• Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions – Gary Klein
• Smart Choices – John S. Hammond et al
• Ethics for the Real World – Ronald Howard & Clinton Korver

Communication

• On Writing Well – William Zinsser
• Presentation Zen – Garr Reynolds
• Made to Stick – Chip and Dan Heath
• The Copywriter’s Handbook –Robert Bly
• Show Me The Numbers – Stephen Few

Influence

• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion –Robert B. Cialdini
• How to Win Friends and Influence People – Dale Carnegie
• Crucial Conversations – Kerry Patterson et al
• The 48 Laws of Power – Robert Greene

Negotiation

• Bargaining For Advantage – G. Richard Shell
• 3-D Negotiation – David Lax & James Sebenius
• The Partnership Charter – David Gage

Management

• First, Break All The Rules – Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman
• 12: The Elements of Great Managing – Rodd Wagner & James Harter
• Growing Great Employees – Erika Andersen
• The Essential Drucker – Peter Drucker
• The Halo Effect – Phil Rosenzweig

Leadership

• Tribes – Seth Godin
• Total Leadership – Stewart Friedman
• What Got You Here Won’t Get You There – Marshall Goldsmith
• The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan – George Bradt et al

Project Management

• Making Things Happen –Scott Berkun
• Results Without Authority –Tom Kendrick

Systems

• Thinking in Systems – Donella Meadows
• Work the System – Sam Carpenter

Analysis

• Thinking Statistically – Uri Bram
• Turning Numbers Into Knowledge – Jonathan Koomey
• How to Lie with Statistics –Darrell Huff
• Marketing Metrics – Paul Farris et al
• The Economist Numbers Guide – Richard Stuteley

Corporate Skill

• The Unwritten Laws of Business –W.J. King
• The Effective Executive – Peter Drucker
• The Simplicity Survival Handbook – Bill Jensen
• Hire With Your Head – Lou Adler

Corporate Strategy

• Purpose – Nikos Mourkogiannis
• Competitive Strategy – Michael Porter
• Blue Ocean Strategy – W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne
• Seeing What’s Next – Clayton M. Christensen et a

Creativity & Innovation

• The Creative Habit – Twyla Tharp
• Myths of Innovation – Scott Berkun
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Peter Drucker

Design

• The Design of Everyday Things – Donald Norman
• Universal Principles of Design – William Lidwell et al

Consulting

• Getting Started in Consulting – Alan Weiss
• Secrets of Consulting – Gerald M. Weinberg

Personal Finance

• Your Money or Your Life – Joel Dominguez & Vicki Robin
• The Millionaire Next Door – Thomas Stanley & William Danko
• I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Ramit Sethi
• Fail-Safe Investing – Harry Browne

Personal Growth

• Lead the Field – Earl Nightingale
• 7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness – Jim Rohn
• A Guide to the Good Life – William Braxton Irvine

My Challenge kicked off officially on June 8th. Let’s meet next week for the first review of the first book on this list; “>Go It Alone – Bruce Judson.

And I will attempt to publish weekly thereafter.

Thanks for joining me on this new and amazing journey!

Rodney