“The E Myth” (Michael Gerber, 2004). This blog post is my critique of the personal and business development book. Each of my critiques review the key message of the book, the high-level concepts, the book’s areas of strengths, and where it falls short. I conclude each critique with an overall assessment ranking (1-10 ascending) of its effectiveness in providing the reader applicable lessons in personal and/or leadership development.
Overview: “Simply put. Your job is to prepare yourself and your business for growth.” Gerber argues that one should seek to build a business that works not because of you but without you. His book provides practical information for how to do this.
High-level concepts: The book has three main parts. Part I: The E-Myth and the American Small Business. Part II: The Turn-Key Revolution. Part III: Building a Small Business that Works. Part I reviews the roles of a small business owner and how best to mature past your comfort zone. Part II discusses the franchising industry and how to work on your business, not in it. Part III is in essence a business plan that helps you think through strategies and measurement approaches.
Areas of Strengths: The framework of Entrepeneur, Manager and Technician is easy to grasp and also help measure at a high-level your time spent as you are building a business. It’s easy to recall and recalibrate in your daily life.
Supplemental Information: His main website: Welcome | Michael E. Gerber Companies (michaelegerbercompanies.com) and his latest book Awakening the Entrepreneur Within: How Ordinary People Can Create Extraordinary Companies: Gerber, Michael E.: 9780061568152: Amazon.com: Books. Source Material: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It: Gerber, Michael E.: 9780887307287: Amazon.com: Books
Where it Falls Short: I think the book’s content was fine, but it should be ‘revisited’ again! 2004 is a long time ago and marketing strategies and online tools have shifted e-commerce and they way services are scaled!
Overall Assessment & Why: I rate the book an 7 out of 10 because I think Part I is the most impactful, Part II provides mediocre insight to those who ultimately want to sell their model, and Part III I believe is better in action in a workshop, not read in a book.