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 enlarge | Authors: Ken Blanchard, Don Hutson, Ethan Willis
Publisher: Doubleday Business
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $9.00
You Save: $10.95 (55%)
New (41) Used (14) from $7.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 32675
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.7
ISBN: 0385526024
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.11
EAN: 9780385526029
ASIN: 0385526024
Publication Date: April 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Dont hope for too much June 26, 2008
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.
Fast, Easy Read June 26, 2008
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.
 Flat, traditional, and sickeningly 'wholesome' June 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
 Disappointing... May 21, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've read and learned from other books in the "One Minute" series, but this book was pure drivel. The entire book revolves around simple, common-sense concepts any entrepreneur better already know - make more money than you spend, treat your customers well, don't abuse your employees...
In the world this book was created in, everybody wants to help, be on your advisory board, donate money, mentor you, etc, and totally for free (including the time to talk with you, be on your board, fly to your office at their own expense...). It's pretty rare for any of that to come in the real world without a steep price tag.
I remember their advice on open-book finances being a quickly passing fad 15 years ago or so. If you're having financial problems, don't count on your employees to care as much about the business as you do. For the most part, employees care about their paycheques, not about your bottom line. Yes, you can be careful with your screening process and get some good employees, but people are more worried about their own problems, not yours. Nothing is as simple as this book would lead you to believe.
There is nothing practical about the advice in this book. Nothing in the book will help you start a business from scratch. Go read The One Minute Salesperson instead.
Weak May 17, 2008
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
The stories in this dreadful One Minute tome are told in a way that isn't realistic. People don't just don't speak like the characters in this weak, so-called helpful book for entrepreneurs do.
But nevermind that.
I read The One Minute Manager 14 years ago and I recall enjoying it and coming away with a couple of pointers. Maybe I was not only younger but more easily impressed then. If you must read this hokey book, and you find it as boring and unhelpful as I found it, then at least save yourself some time and skip to the end of each chapter where you'll find such gems of advice as "Ambition is the fuel that can drive life-changing events." Or, "If nobody will pay you to do what you love, you have a hobby, not a career." I kept waiting for there to be something better, but it didn't come.
Just watch the video above. I think it speaks for itself. The author's trying really hard to sell you on this unhelpful book.
This book is about Common Sense 101: work hard, keep the cash flowing, strive for balance in your life, and treat others with respect.
Maybe All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten would be more apt of a guide. I'd follow one point of advice from that book regarding 1-minute Entrepreneur:
Flush.
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