Book Review: Crazy is a Compliment
Collaboration with Nora Palladino, Regional Marketing Manager of NXTP Labs.
Linda Rottenberg, Co-Founder of Endeavor, put together a collection of entrepreneurial stories, called it “Crazy is a Compliment.” The stories aren´t just based on entrepreneurs selected by Endeavor or the big names in history such as Ford, Disney and Jobs. The whole book Las historias no solo están basadas en emprendedores seleccionados por Endeavor, sino también por otros emprendedores, los grandes nombres de la historia como Ford, Disney o Jobs. The entire book looks at how good of an idea it is to start a company.
This is a work of great rankings. After reading the book, you are able to identify what kind of entrepreneur you are: gazelle, dolphin, skunk or butterfly. You can also identify your entrepreneurial personality: diamond, star, transformer or rocket. This book is for those who are “joining companies, changing companies, creating companies or for those who aren’t planning to ever step foot in a company.”
Here is a brief summary of what I liked:
- “Don’t bet the farm”: We always hear that entrepreneurs have to leave everything and put everything into being an entrepreneur. This book puts a different twist on this, and says that you can first generate some interesting income before fully committing to the endeavor. However, to grow the full commitment, it is necessary. None of the stories show great growth without being fully dedicated to the company.
- There are many ways to start a business. Rottenberg cites many stories of entrepreneurs. Each company with its unique testimony. But after seeing so many cases, the streak of investigator and administrator allows you to trace route and propose similar models.
- Many of the cases involve women: Leila Velez of Beleza Natural, Bette Nesmith Graham of Liquid Paper, Lucille Ball Muchos de los casos son mujeres: Leila Velez de Beleza Natural, Bette Nesmith Graham de Liquid Paper, Lucille Ball, producer of “I Love Lucy,” Veuve Clicquot are just some of the examples illustrated in the book.
Maybe some of the categories or cases that I highlighted don’t make much sense to you now. If they don’t, I highly recommend that you read this book and make your own conclusions. Also, I’ll leave you with a video, in which the author talks about some of the stories.