Author John Herman likes to consider himself to be an expert on failure, not just a person who is pretty good at being a failure like most of the rest of us. The fruits of his wisdom have been distilled into a series of anecdotes based on various business situations in which he has found himself over the decades or which have been brought to his attention. He wishes to share his wisdom with us because he wants to write a successful business book and also to pass on what he has learnt: “The simple effort of reading will put you ahead of those that don’t read. For one thing, it allows you to learn from the mistakes of others before you make them yourself (p.25).” This seems to be undeniable.

The envisaged reader of this book is either an early-career entrepreneur or else a person thinking of starting her own business. People, that is, who have not yet learned the various tips and tricks of the trade that can be picked up and summarised in anecdote form: “Before you start a new company, you should realise that it will most likely cost you more than you anticipate. It will take longer than you expect to hit the revenue stream that you have predicted. And it will cost more to do business than you planned on (p.82).” The Hermanisms – axioms from the author – cover much of the ground for being an entrepreneur, stressing the need to work hard, do your best, accept that one person cannot do everything and how to minimize some obvious risks. There are some other areas of entrepreneurial activity that I highlight when I teach – for example, most or at least many entrepreneurs have to be quite unpleasant (or unpleasantly driven) people to succeed. However, it is understandable why this aspect is downplayed.

There is, in fact, a great deal of good business sense in this book. It is presented in a generally readable and accessible format that will appeal to many. If you can look at the following and think it might be useful in your life, then this is a book for you: “Experience always costs you something, and it is always worth the cost (p.280).”

The above review was contributed by: John Walsh PhD:  Professor at Shinawatra International University CLICK TO VIEW  John Walsh's Reviews