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Authors: Ken Blanchard, Don Hutson, Ethan Willis
Publisher: Doubleday Business
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $8.95
You Save: $11.00 (55%)
New (43) Used (15) from $8.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 19419
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
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New & unused. Clean, tight pages, nice cover.
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| Customer Reviews:
 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.
 Buy this title! It is a story with great lessons and its fun.... May 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Mr. Blanchard is a master story teller in regards to business. This little book will consume less than two hours. The lessons revealed can take an entire career to discover on your own.
Jud and Terri have a dream. Jud learns early on that the best source of information about success is given to us through quality relationships. He pays close attention to the successful people that he meets in his life. Jud and his wife, Terri start their dream business and begin to feel their dreams coming to fruition. Then life delivers its personal and professional twist and turns. Things start to go awry. Through their relationships they recieve fabulous advise and finally achieve a successful reality beyond their greatest ambitions.
If you are looking for a quick and powerful set of standards for your career and your business, OME is another sure fire best-seller from Ken Blanchard.
Don't wait, buy it today. It's great Kindlized too!
Comments are always welcome.
Outstanding May 12, 2008
I like this short and to the point book, told over in a form of storytelling instead of an advise book, the fable characters are Jed and Terri and they are trying to succeed at business and life. During the course of the book we meet with different advisors they use including a guy they call "tremendous" who is the real Charlie "tremendous" Jones. They take his advise along with many other "real" advisors and put together quite an impressive read.
The CEO's of this country are implementing the ideas of this book, and you can too (servant leadership etc). Its cutting edge and common sense.
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