The personal MBA
by Josh Kaufman · first published 2010
69% recommend30% neutral1% critical
Why HN recommends it
Broad, clear overview of core business concepts and mental models, with a reading list for going deeper. Suits developers, founders, and self-learners wanting MBA-style knowledge without the cost.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
A thematic encyclopaedia of concepts that are relevant to succeeding in business.
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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…Overcoming Cognitive Bias 3) Creativity/Innovation 4) Problem Solving/Decision Making 5) Any other similar area in business/life. For example: Peter Bevelin - Seeking Wisdom - From Darwin to Munger The Personal MBA - Josh Kaufman Charlie Munger - The Psychology of Human Misjudgment Predictably Irrational - by Dan Ariely Daniel Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and Slow The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life…
on “Ask HN: What books to read on developing mental models and increasing cognition?” ↗…at most. I've worked about 20 hours a week for the last 8 years, lived in lower cost of living areas, and spent the rest of my time on doing whatever I feel like. Some resources I'd recommend: * The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman - a nice overall summary of how to run a business * The corpus of Kai Davis's material (https://kaidavis.com/), including his super valuable/highly entertaining podcast Make Money Online…
on “The Complicated Financial Lives of Freelancers” ↗Not open source, but worth checking: The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman. Will help you know what those $xx.xxx MBAs can teach you. I believe that's not an actual MBA substitute; but it's good to know if the content is for you before enrolling into an actual…
on “Ask HN: Are there any open source MBA curricula?” ↗Don't bother with an MBA course. Just go read "The Personal MBA" by Josh Kaufman. It covers the stuff business tracks do for MUCH cheaper. It'll save you a ton of money, and you can make a better investment. Seriously... grad school for business is NOT worth it. It…
on “MBA vs. Bloomberg Terminal Subscription” ↗No, but my buddy Josh Kaufman, author of the great “Personal MBA” book, is doing a new project (and book) about exactly that! He's using speed-learning techniques to learn 6 different skills fast, and one of them is learning a new instrument. Contact him here - http://joshkaufman.net/about/…
on “There's no speed limit (2009)” ↗…Your Education by Dale Stephens - http://goo.gl/O27Z8 Lean Startup - http://goo.gl/YVGuU Startup Communities by Brad Feld - http://goo.gl/CaGTA Rework by Jason Fried and DHH - http://goo.gl/IzGeB The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman - http://goo.gl/Ucf3u
on “Suggested reads for a startup... given we have oh so much time to read?” ↗I was in a similar position 4 years ago, before my first startup. On reflection, the books I got the most out of that actually shaped my behaviour are... THE PERSONAL MBA, JOSH KAUFMAN Was blown away by this. Couldn't believe how much stuff I didn't know about. It covers everything you've asked about and more... It's also written a bit like a Software Patterns/Recipes…
on “Ask HN: Blogs/Books with an impact on a small business' success?” ↗…blogs and posts : I use Zite, Flipboard and medium 3. A book that helped me to a large extent is Good to great by Jim Collins (http://www.amazon.com/Good-Great-Companies-Leap-Others/dp/00...) Also The Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman http://www.amazon.com/Personal-MBA-World-Class-Business-Educ... 4. Video from people in the same field. 5. This article https://medium.com/@noah_weiss/50-articles-and-books-that-wi...…
on “Ask HN: Dev promoted to more strategic role in startup. What literature?” ↗…debt excite you? In my opinion, it's too costly, and not a good return on your investment. The things you'd learn from an MBA track can be learned from books, much more cheaply. I'd start with "The Personal MBA" by Josh Kaufman. He's got several other books in there that he recommends.
on “Ask HN: Why should or shouldn't someone do MBA?” ↗1. How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie 2. Deep Work - Cal Newport 3. Personal MBA - Josh Kaufman
on “Ask HN: What book do you recommend everyone should read?” ↗The Personal MBA. Deep Work. How to Win Friends and Influence People. Think and Grow Rich. The E-Myth Revisited. The Science of Selling. (stuff about stoicism)
on “Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier?” ↗• The Prize • The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich • The Lean Startup • Poke the Box • The Elements of Computing Systems • The Death of Common Sense • Up the Organization • The Personal MBA • The Wisdom of No-Escape • The Adapted Mind • Brain Rules • Getting Things Done • On Writing • Steal Like An Artist • George Orwell: A Collection of Essays And these are technically not books,…
on “Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models?” ↗…Herman Hesse * Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl * The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holiday * The Daily Stoic, Ryan Holiday * The Effective Engineer, Edmund Lau * The Lean Startup, Eric Ries * The Personal MBA, Josh Kaufman * Certain to Win, Chet Richards * Left of Bang, Patrick Van Horn & Jason A. Riley * Native Set Theory, Paul R. Halmos EDIT: list formatting
on “What are the best books you read in 2017?” ↗I recommend these books, in this order: Think and Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill (this is timeless!! MUST READ) The Personal MBA - Josh Kaufman (this will give you a well-rounded education on business, if I had this before college I wouldn't have been a Business Management major!!) The First 20 Hours - Josh Kaufman (rapid skill…
on “Ask HN: What are some books for first-time entrepreneurs?” ↗"Atomic Habits" by James Clear - best book on the psychology and practice of habit formation. "Personal MBA" by Josh Kaufman - best introduction to business administration studies. "Why Switzerland?" by Jonathan Steinberg - book on why Switzerland is the best European country.
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗