The E-Myth Revisited
Why Most Small Business Still Don't Work & What You Can Do about Yours
By: Michael E. Gerber
Published: Mar 3, 1995
ISBN: 9780887307287
Format: Paperback, 268pp
Publisher: HarperBusiness
The E-myth is the myth of the entrepreneur, and it runs deep in America, writes Michael E. Gerber in the revised and updated edition of the landmark business classic The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Still Don't Work & What You Can Do about Yours. Businesses fail because entrepreneurs make the fatal assumption, that understanding the technical work, is the same as understanding the business that does that technical work.
Michael E. Gerber faces the mistakes and false mythology that doom business to failure. From the fatal flaw of the technician who believes doing something right means doing it themselves, to the manager unable to give up control and micro-management, the worst business vices are exposed to scrutiny. The result of examining these and other business destroying errors is the chance to correct the flaws before they destroy the fledgling company. The many stages in a business lifestyle from startup infancy to adolescence to maturity possess different pitfalls.
The powerful solution, as described by Michael E. Gerber (photo left), is what he calls the turn-key revolution. The engine driving the revolution is the franchise prototype, with the business becoming the product itself. Instead of depending upon individual skills and business stars, the introduction of systems allows for standardization of personnel. This removal of individual variation from the equation results in consistency of product and service.
By incorporating a business development process into the organization, any small business can be transformed into a predicable and more easily managed company. At the same time, using the prototype format builds a more innovative business, bursting with new ideas that work. Each innovation can then be incorporated into the system, adding more consistency to the operation. The result of the turn-key prototype is system runs the business, and the people run the system.
For me, the power of the book is its practical approach to running a successful small business. The application of predictable, and consistent systems removes the often encountered wide variation in customer experiences found in many businesses. By incorporating the turn-key prototype, hiring becomes easier as the process for integrating new staff, into the company operational system, becomes much easier than with the usual haphazard approach. Overall strategy is easier to understand and develop, and the company is much better organized, resulting in less waste of personnel and other resources.
I highly recommend the best selling The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Still Don't Work & What You Can Do about Yours by Michael E. Gerber, for anyone starting or building a small business. Instead of leaving operations to chance, a system can be developed that runs the business. Staff can be then put in place to run the system effectively, with everyone understanding their role in the organization.
Read The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Business Still Don't Work & What You Can Do about Yours by Michael E. Gerber, and you will never fall prey to the bad decisions and fatal mythology, that destroy many promising small business ventures.
