Mega-bestselling author Ken Blanchard and celebrated business leaders Don Hutson and Ethan Willis present an inspiring story that reveals the secrets to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

In THE ONE MINUTE ENTREPRENEUR, Ken Blanchard (coauthor of the #1 bestselling business classic The One Minute Manager), Don Hutson, CEO of U.S. Learning, and Ethan Willis, CEO of Prosper Learning, tell the inspiring story of one man’s challenges in creating his own business. Through a powerful and engaging narrative, we confront many of the typical problems all entrepreneurs face in starting up their business, from finding new sources of revenue to securing the commitment of their people and the loyalty of their customers. More important, we learn the secrets to becoming a successful entrepreneur, including how to build a firm foundation, how to ensure a steady cash flow, and how to create legendary service. In addition, the book offers invaluable advice, delivered through One Minute Insights, from such entrepreneurs and thinkers as Sheldon Bowles, Peter Drucker, Michael Gerber, and Charlie “Tremendous” Jones.

Today, in the midst of the largest entrepreneurial surge in U.S. history, four out of five small businesses continue to fail. THE ONE MINUTE ENTREPRENEUR offers businesspeople and would-be entrepreneurs a treasure trove of wisdom on how to think, act, and succeed in creating and sustaining a business, no matter what their industry.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Awful, Blanchard really phones this one in.
Comment: Compared to some of his previous books this one really disappoints. The story is told as a hokey narrative (as is Blanchard's style) of the hapless protagonist as he struggles to start his career in sales and then start his own business. It quickly dissolves into a shameless ad for a half dozen or so motivational speakers and fellow authors. Very little meat on the bone. Each chapter ends with a list of a few folksy hints and tips our hero learns, but they are often not well developed or supported in the story and add little to this boring shallow book. Pass on this one. For a good getting started in business story with better take-aways read Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World's Most Unusual Workplace by Ricardo Semler.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Inspirational
Comment: Overall this book was filled with inspirational wisdom and while somewhat common sense approaches to life I still felt it was a good experience to read them.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Dont hope for too much
Comment: A pleasant book to read as it conveys ideas and teachings in the form of a story. 3 stars for the content though...as it could have conveyed more useful information as suggested by the lucrative front cover.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Fast, Easy Read
Comment: This book is a fast, easy read to remind those in business to keep what is important in the forefront of their minds. For most business professionals the key points are common sense, however, sometimes we all need to be reminded.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Flat, traditional, and sickeningly 'wholesome'
Comment: I understand that this is supposed to be a "parable," but I find the characters one-dimensional and difficult to identify with. There is a traditional, conservative thread running throughout the book -- Jud is very, very much a down-home, clean-cut type. He marries (of course), has two children (of course), and ends up creating a corporate culture that includes the typical terminology we're all so sick of -- "contact with the customer" is relabeled as "moments of truth," the company's philosophy is centered around some acrostic of the words "I CARE," and so on.

I couldn't quite finish this book, short though it was. There were some pieces of wisdom that may or may not be obvious ("play to your passion," "listen to others," "don't be afraid to ask for help"), but overall, I found the characters and story to be too flat and smarmy to endure. The book seems to be a poor approximation of life. I like the fact that the authors made an attempt to put their advice into context by forming a story around it, but the entire book is unrealistic.

Jud and Terri are not like real people. I couldn't identify with them. The whole adventure reads like a "family-values" sitcom written by conservative businessmen.

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