4 thoughts on “November Nomination – The 4-hour work week”
When this book was nominated lots of people who know me well said they bet I hated it. And…. on the surface there is lots here which I would normally rally against- an irritatingly superior writing style by an author who may just be a teeny bit unhinged*, completely unrealistic goals, and lots of ideas which only apply to certain business types (there is a heavy focus on business-to-consumer, and particularly on-line businesses, and for good reason). However, I’m coming out, I love this book. I took great pleasure in having an excuse to re-read it for book club, and as ever got loads from it. Sure, you won’t end up actually only working 4 hours a week (even the author eventually confesses that he doesn’t either), but you will learn lots of tips and tricks the will help you look differently at your business.
This book is also surprisingly spiritual – challenging all of us to properly re-examine why we do what we do, what rewards we value and how we look at our relationship with our organisation. The author cites e-Myth as one of his favourite books (link to bookworm page on this), and the influence is clear to see, but for me this book blows eMyth out of the water by focussing on the bigger picture of why dispensibility is important in our organisation. This book also more than tackles one of my most commonly cited critcisms of the business books we’ve reviewed this year – this book doesn’t just explain why we should do something, it tells us how, sometimes at near tedious length! Each chapter is absolutely packed full of links, companies and resources designed to take away any excuses we may have about why we can’t implement these ideas.
Yes itc’s a bit cheesy, yes some of the advice is obvious, and no it won’t be easy to implement….. but making even 1% of the changes recommended would revolutionise the lives of many an entrepreneur- well worth a read.
*If you have read this book and don’t agree with this statement, feel free to read the later chapters of his 4 Hour Body book and see how you feel then!!
I loved this book and hated this book at the same time. I didn’t sleep two nights because the ideas and suggestions were whizzing around my head. So the hates – he really is an unlikable chap – don’t like the tone ( patronising), felt uncomfortable with what he calls working smarter and I call cheating, some things don’t apply to all businesses and he is definitely unhinged Isla! The likes – was really challenged ( in a good way) by his overall approach to viewing life and the balance between that and retirement. Love the idea of mini retirements and think this is eminently do-able. And yes, there is lots of practical advice and guidance rather than just good ideas impossible to implement. Will I be working a four hour week – I don’t think so but I have taken away some specific ideas which I can and will implement. Great recommendation Lisa. thank you.
ps might give four hour body a loss!
Ha, if you think this is bonkers Catherine, definitely skip the 4H body! Totally agreed about the cheating thing too – especially the bit about sports competition, of course there are ways to “work the system”, but not sure it would (or should) feel like victory to win in that way. That said….. there are some grey areas- when does working smarter become cheating? For me it’s about whether your approach undervalues the approach of others. I’m still a fan of making decisions based on how I’d feel if what I’d done made the front page of the papers!
When this book was nominated lots of people who know me well said they bet I hated it. And…. on the surface there is lots here which I would normally rally against- an irritatingly superior writing style by an author who may just be a teeny bit unhinged*, completely unrealistic goals, and lots of ideas which only apply to certain business types (there is a heavy focus on business-to-consumer, and particularly on-line businesses, and for good reason). However, I’m coming out, I love this book. I took great pleasure in having an excuse to re-read it for book club, and as ever got loads from it. Sure, you won’t end up actually only working 4 hours a week (even the author eventually confesses that he doesn’t either), but you will learn lots of tips and tricks the will help you look differently at your business.
This book is also surprisingly spiritual – challenging all of us to properly re-examine why we do what we do, what rewards we value and how we look at our relationship with our organisation. The author cites e-Myth as one of his favourite books (link to bookworm page on this), and the influence is clear to see, but for me this book blows eMyth out of the water by focussing on the bigger picture of why dispensibility is important in our organisation. This book also more than tackles one of my most commonly cited critcisms of the business books we’ve reviewed this year – this book doesn’t just explain why we should do something, it tells us how, sometimes at near tedious length! Each chapter is absolutely packed full of links, companies and resources designed to take away any excuses we may have about why we can’t implement these ideas.
Yes itc’s a bit cheesy, yes some of the advice is obvious, and no it won’t be easy to implement….. but making even 1% of the changes recommended would revolutionise the lives of many an entrepreneur- well worth a read.
*If you have read this book and don’t agree with this statement, feel free to read the later chapters of his 4 Hour Body book and see how you feel then!!
I loved this book and hated this book at the same time. I didn’t sleep two nights because the ideas and suggestions were whizzing around my head. So the hates – he really is an unlikable chap – don’t like the tone ( patronising), felt uncomfortable with what he calls working smarter and I call cheating, some things don’t apply to all businesses and he is definitely unhinged Isla! The likes – was really challenged ( in a good way) by his overall approach to viewing life and the balance between that and retirement. Love the idea of mini retirements and think this is eminently do-able. And yes, there is lots of practical advice and guidance rather than just good ideas impossible to implement. Will I be working a four hour week – I don’t think so but I have taken away some specific ideas which I can and will implement. Great recommendation Lisa. thank you.
ps might give four hour body a loss!
Ha, if you think this is bonkers Catherine, definitely skip the 4H body! Totally agreed about the cheating thing too – especially the bit about sports competition, of course there are ways to “work the system”, but not sure it would (or should) feel like victory to win in that way. That said….. there are some grey areas- when does working smarter become cheating? For me it’s about whether your approach undervalues the approach of others. I’m still a fan of making decisions based on how I’d feel if what I’d done made the front page of the papers!
I’ve just been sent this via Tim Ferris’s blog – thought you might like it: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2013/02/01/case-study-what-does-a-real-4-hour-workweek-look-like-with-a-family/