The 51 Fatal Business Errors and How to Avoid Them
By: Jim Muehlhausen
Published: April 25, 2008, 3rd edition
ISBN-10: 0981608205
ISBN-13: 978-0981608204
Format: Paperback, 192 pages
Publisher: Mulekick Publishing
"I want to move past the temporary excitement of a new idea and into permanent gain created by making meaningful, lasting changes", writes management adviser Jim Muehlhausen in his conventional wisdom challenging book The 51 Fatal Business Errors and How to Avoid Them. With an iconoclastic style, that is long on practical advice, and short on the usual platitudes, the author turns the small business owner or manager into an effective CEO.
Jim Muehlhausen understands that much, if not most conventional wisdom surrounding business management is detrimental to the health and growth of the company. The author presents a series of what he considers fatal errors, organized into groups, that teach what he calls the School of Hard Knocks. Each of the fifty-one mistakes is described, along with a real world example of the error, and followed up by a solution. The format provides for easy reference, and a refresher course, in the event that conventional wisdom attempts to creep back into the CEO's thinking and management. Each chapter becomes an action plan, with an accompanying "Mule-kick" to jolt the reader into action.
Jim Muehlhausen (photo left) recognizes that many business books, and much of the advice given to CEOs is for large corporations. The author's goal is to turn every small business CEO into a great business builder and agent for growth. Because the author believes that every CEO has the potential for greatness, the book is designed to challenge, extract, and develop that innate talent. To that end, Jim Muehlhausen moves the reader far outside their comfort zone, creating the conditions for organizational change. The writing style is punchy, often humourous, and never dull, making it ideal for a busy CEO.
For me, the power of the book is twofold. First of all, Jim Muehlhausen takes a no nonsense, direct approach to challenging conventional wisdom. Many of the author's recommendations are in direct opposition to the usual business management practices. That iconoclastic technique, that forces the reader to examine every aspect of standard business thought, creates an environment for positive change. The second power of the book is the real world example, placed in every chapter. Every one of the fifty-one errors has a real world example, and each mistake has a powerful solution, presented for consideration by the CEO.
I highly recommend the thought provoking book The 51 Fatal Business Errors and How to Avoid Them by Jim Muehlhausen, to any small business CEO who truly wants to build and operate a superior business. The book covers all areas of business from personnel management, to sales and marketing, to financial management, to daily operations. At the end of the book is a section of "Mule-kicks", to encourage the CEO take positive action, toward applying the principles described in the book.
Read the action oriented book The 51 Fatal Business Errors and How to Avoid Them by Jim Muehlhausen, and become a business changing CEO, focused on building a growing company, with the best people, that achieves its full potential for greatness.
