The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E Gerber
My Rating of “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It” by Michael E Gerber: 9 / 10
It is rare that I read a book more than twenty years old. Unless of course it is a classic or on the topic of philosophy. The E-Myth Revisited was written in 1985, yet the business world has evolved so much since that time. There are many other books written by Gerber however this one was recommended to me. So I gave it a test run.
The “E” in E-Myth doesn’t stand for eCommerce. The E is for Entrepreneur. The myth here is that most entrepreneurs believe that because they know the technician aspects of their business they can scale and cover the management and business aspects. Gerber argues that this isn’t the case yet lays out an approach where you can certainly learn it.
Gerber uses Sarah and her pie making business as an example of how all of his theory can be applied to a business. Whilst the examples made sense, the advice was more timely versus timeless. Said differently, an example business back in the 80s is quite different to a business in the 2020s. Those that read this book can apply this theory to their own industry and business easily enough. Furthermore, as mentioned above you can read a more recent book written by Gerber.
I believe the title impacts negatively on the books ability to gain further traction in the business world. Given the rise (and rise) of eCommerce I mis-interpreted what the book was about due to the title. I only pursued this book due to a book recommendation from someone in my network. It really is a good book for its age. It would be a waste if you discarded the opportunity to read this given its title.
Three key takeaways from the book:
- The problem is that everybody who goes into business issues actually three people in one: The Entrepreneur, The Manager and the Technician.
- Once you recognise that the purpose of your life is not to serve your business but that the primary purposes of your business is to serve your life, you can then go to work on your business rather than in it.
- Innovation, Quantification and Orchestration are the backbones of every extraordinary business.
