Book Review: Growth in a Difficult Decade

FROM EMPLOYEE TO EMPLOYER- A MOTIVATIONAL COLLECTION Book: Growth in a Difficult Decade. 2012 Authors: Compilation by Minmetre.com and concept by Regus plc Published by : Regus. Price : GBP 19.99 Regus plc is a global business enablement partner. They make your transition from slave to entrepreneur easier by giving you fully equipped office space across nearly a hundred countries. Then there is a company called Mindmetre Research that is in to business and consumer analyses. Both these organisations are headquartered in UK. Regus is now present in India also. Both the firms have a keen interest in entrepreneurship. Looking at India, it is evident that the more the state tries to do something the less we achieve. World over, governments are thinking that they will print their way out trouble. However, sustainable growth can only be brought about by private enterprise. India has grown over the last two decades in spite of the government and not because of the government. Now, when the economy looks like staring at a potentially ‘lost’ decade, entrepreneurship is perhaps the way for nations to emerge out of the hole of ‘no growth’ that we seem to be staring at. Today, individuals are willing to take risks to become an employer rather than remain an employee forever. It is not essential that the drive being at age thirty or age sixty. Everyone can. Both the above organisations have put together a compendium of 64 entrepreneurs from across the globe. Six continents, sixty four snap shots. Unlike conventional biographies, this book is more a compendium from secondary and primary sources. The narrative style is unlike a normal book one reads. This book fleshes out the entrepreneurs with snapshots of their business growth as well as some quotable quotes that have been the driving forces for these entrepreneurs. The book is also like watching a trailer. Entrepreneurs like Marc Benioff who founded Salesforce.com or Leandro Rizzuto ( a must read section about a business that is in to aids for hair dressing ) can provide inspiration for those who want to cross the bridge from receiving a salary to setting up your own shop. The good part about the write ups is that there is a very brief write up about an entrepreneur and a commentary about the business growth. Each story is four to six pages on an average. You can read it at leisure, though if you are thinking of quitting being a slave or have just quit, you will read the book in one go. Some entrepreneurs and business stories that you find of more relevance will leave you with a sense of wanting to know more. So if you are expecting a life story of any business or businessman, don’t read this. However, if you want a pen portrait of entrepreneurial hunger, you can benefit by reading about this group of sixty four disparate personalities. The unifying thread is the fact that each one identified a gap in some business service or ventured in to something totally new. Reading about these varied people, one gets a sense of different thoughts bonded together by creativity, the ability to delegate, the need to choose the right team, the need to respect knowledge etc. In a sense, this book will help you look at all the factors that you may want to look at. There is reference to the website of each entrepreneur so that you can go for more depth of information if you desire. Entrepreneurship is about creating your own space. To create and nourish that space, you need to have your own guiding principles, some traits and skills. Here, you have a rich selection of people who share their thoughts with the reader and can help you to speed, up the learning curve. Importantly, this book showcases people who have created new spaces where none existed and in the process filled in some needs for the customer. Creativity, innovation, persistence and talent management seem to a common thread running through the sixty four chosen ones in this book. Most of us dream about having our own set up. We spend time dreaming and talking about it. However, not many actually venture out, due to a deep sense of insecurity and a fear of failure. And many will say that the economic conditions are not best to start a new venture or take risks. Andre Monteiro, co-founder of Compra3 (an innovative online shopping site) has this to say of risk taking, “Risk is part of an entrepreneur’s routine. The economic crisis is just another condition that highlights the risk, and entrepreneurs are used to these conditions. Most people are worried, but for the entrepreneur it’s just the natural habitat.” Among the cast of characters, there is also the flamboyant Donald Trump sharing some of his success mantras. Behind every brilliant idea and light hearted banter, there is also the extraordinary amount of hard work that people have put in to get to their goal. Sure, not everyone will make it, but if no one steps out the world stagnates. Do not look for too many details, since the focus of the book is to bring you the big picture and not the fine print. One important thing is that the revenues (presumably after costs) will be donated to the Red Cross. All the more reason for wannabe entrepreneurs to get a copy and dip in to the book at any place you can put your finger. Every page has some inspiration for you.