Here’s a rundown of some recent business books I read (or started):

Confessions of a Public Speaker, by Scott Berkun

Verdict: thumbs up

Confessions cover

Jan Schultink recommended this book and I enjoyed it.  The book has enough useful substance, and a healthy dollop of humor, to get my vote.  By this point, I’ve done a fair amount of public speaking to audiences ranging from the tens to the thousands. A lot of Berkun’s points resonated true.

In particular, I wanted help understanding my nervousness before speaking.  It’s incredibly irritating, but my body starts giving me an upset stomach even when I am confident about my content, preparation, and audience; even if I’m doing something as simple as joining a panel of 5 other people.  It all disappears the minute I open my mouth, but I hate that waiting period before you can talk.  In one situation before a huge NRF keynote, I copied some of my off-broadway acting friends (who will do crazy, fun stuff to amp themselves before a show, like roaring at each other like lions). In this case, I literally jumped around backstage like Tigger.  I probably looked silly to the A/V techs and organizers back there, but it worked and it helped me deliver a good talk.

Berkun demystified subconscious “stage fright” for me in a very helpful way, and for that alone the book was worth it.  He has good tips on how to work a tough room, the importance of preparation, and how to deal with things that go wrong.  Yes, some sections are better than others, but overall I think this book is worth it.

Addendum: I couldn’t agree more on the importance of preparation.  One of my career moments of shame was being asked to speak to a bunch of Fidelity business units about virtual worlds.  The date of the talk was right smack in the middle of a crucial and intense product launch. I was completely focused on my team and customers, and ignored the talk until the last minute.  I know I did a crappy job, was extremely pissed at myself, and swore from there on out that I would always properly prepare, and only accept a speaking request if I knew I had the time to treat it properly.

Getting to Plan B, by John Mullins and Randy Komisar

Verdict: Couldn’t finish

Plan B cover

I was really hoping to like this book, because Komisar is an impressive guy.  It contains some good ideas around documenting your assumptions, dashboarding your results & metrics, and what Eric Ries calls the pivot.

Here was my problem: entrepreneurs like blogs from Mark Suster and Chris Dixon not because those guys can write a check (although that helps), but because you can tell that these guys have been there in the trenches.  My impression of Getting to Plan B was that it was written mostly by the business school professor, not Komisar, and the combination of language, the examples they chose, and what felt like filler just turned me off.  I have never had patience with books written by academics, and this was no exception.

The Speed of Trust, by Stephen M. R. Covey

Verdict: Couldn’t finish

Speed of Trust

A tweet from someone I respect led me to try this book, so clearly they enjoyed it, but I personally failed to see the value of the read.  I have a pretty strong opinion about ethics, the value of trust and relationships in business, and even quit a job because I didn’t like the ethics of what I was being asked to do.  As I waded into the book, I felt like I was merely reading platitudes and faux-science on the value of trust in relationships. Frankly, I don’t think anyone who believes in setting aside their ethics for a fast buck is going to be much influenced by this either — for that kind of person, when blood is in the water, all these issues go out the window.  My patience ran short at page 77.

I’ve seen references to Steve Blank’s startup guide (for lack of a better description) “4 Steps to the Epiphany” and recently picked it up.  There is a lot of good stuff in the book, and I can see what the accolades have been about.  Like all business books, you have to decide for yourself which concepts you love and want to adopt.  However, after Blank spent a fair bit of time examining the Webvan flame-out as a counter-example, it has spurred a little mini rant:

Companies from the dotcom bubble do not define how “tech used to do business”.

The dotcom bubble was an exercise in rewarded irrationality.  Entrepreneurs and their investors attempted to massively accelerate technology adoption curves and spur cultural change by spending money, and quite obviously that didn’t work.  Businesses were created off of press releases, not value.  A lot of stupid things were tried (although there were also good ideas which were just way ahead of their time, many of which we see attaining success today 10 years later). Yada yada.  Everyone who was there knows the story.

It was built off of rewarded irrationality.  If you were a conservative seed-stage entrepreneur, you saw funding instead go to the pitches that said “we will exit in 16 months”.  If you were a conservative early-stage company, you saw big exits go to companies that spent like money grew on trees (and it looked like if you get plugged in the right way, it did grow on trees). And on the other side, if you were a conservative investor, you saw huge windfalls go to your neighbor or competing VC fund who bought into the craze.

The same dynamics were at work again with the recent housing and mortgage crisis.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that if the reward system incentivizes irrational behavior, irrational behavior will ensue.

All of this behavior makes for a fascinating study of human psychology and economies, and some glaring examples of what not to do, but it does not provide a solid foundation for studying “how business has been done” in the tech sector.

I’m sure Blank wasn’t trying to say that, but it still got my goat as someone who entered tech before the bubble.  It doesn’t take many dotcom examples before I’m muttering, “yeah yeah, how about some lessons from a more rational time period!”

Still, it is a book that offers excellent food-for-thought for any entrepreneur!