I call this book ‘BIBLE FOR ENTREPRENEURS’ – BE 2.0 by JIM COLLINS

Introduction

Hello booklovers and the focus24 family. Today’s book, which we are going to discuss, is very very special. I have read hundreds of books on the subject over the past 12 years, but this book has got special place in my heart.

Authors

The book is co-authored by Jim Collins and Bill Lazier. Now, as far as Jim Collins is concerned, he does not need any introduction in the field of entrepreneurship. Various masterpieces of entrepreneurship literature, like Built to Last, Good to Great, How The Mighty Fall, and Great by Choice, are all contributions of this magnificent author.

Background

BE 2.0 is basically the enhanced version of famous ‘Beyond Entrepreneurship’ and is as good as the original one. Stay for a while as I bring to you the main lessons and takeaways from the book.

Lessons Learned From The Book

Financial Incentives: The 1st entrepreneur concept that I learned from the book and which is going to stay with me for the rest of my life is about ‘financial incentives’ to your team and employees. The Financial incentives, according to the author, are the most unproductive reasons for the people in your company and team to perform well. Listen to that once again: the ‘financial incentives’ are the most unproductive reasons for the people in your company and team to perform well. What the author means by this is that you would need to encourage and acknowledge employees’ efforts by rewarding them with financial incentives. However, if that is the only purpose that drives your team to work harder and harder, you have a very weak foundation of your mission conveyed to your team, or probably you need to reconsider your team.

Different Shades of Leadership:  Another beautiful concept the book has given me is understanding different shades of leadership. I always heard and considered that there set number of qualities whose possession would make someone a good leader and whose absence will turn him or her into a bad leader. The book says that every leader has a unique characteristic and quality to be called a leader. (Do not confuse leadership with charisma. Charisma does not equal leadership, and some of the most effective leaders have very little charisma.) Examine the spectrum of world leaders and notice how much their styles differ: Mahatma Gandhi (frail and soft-spoken), Abraham Lincoln (melancholy and thoughtful), Winston Churchill (the fierce and indomitable bulldog), and Martin Luther King Jr. (impassioned, eloquent). Yet, despite the wide range of styles, each of these leaders was highly effective.

Every Leader has his unique style. Cultivate your style; don’t try to be someone you’re not or to take on a style that does not fit. Can you imagine Winston Churchill trying to imitate Gandhi’s style, wearing a loincloth and speaking in a soft, almost inaudible voice? Conversely, can you imagine Gandhi chewing on big fat cigars and growling, “Our policy is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and all the strength God can give us . . .”? These images are absurd. But they’re no more absurd than if you try to copy someone else’s style. An effective style grows from within you. It should be entirely yours. No one except you should have a style exactly like yours.

Identifying faults isn’t genius: Another takeaway from the book for me is understanding that it does not take a genius mind to find fault, criticize, and negate other people’s ideas. The hard thing, indeed, is finding enough good things in something to convince a person that he/she has done something valuable. Meanwhile, corrections can be recommended. Sadly, however, most of us have been trained to do just the opposite; we’re well-schooled in criticism, having learned that the way to show how smart we are is to cite all the reasons that something is a stupid idea or doomed to failure. Don’t shoot down an idea by pointing out all its flaws and warts before the idea gets tested. The world is full of critics—critics who never stimulate anything truly great. Don’t be one of them.

Conclusion

Dear booklover, if you are an aspiring entrepreneur, do yourself a favor and pick this book. You can thank me later on. Here is the Amazon link to purchase the book: https://amzn.to/4ht4Y40 (affiliate link). That’s all for today. Hope you liked this blog. Till next time, stay hard, stay strong, and stay focused with Focus24.