The Personal MBA
Josh Kaufman
23 people recommended it in 14 threads, 2014–2024.
1 commenter pushed back on it — worth reading the threads.
What people on Hacker News said
The Personal MBA (for years I laughed off caring about the business of business and lived in my fantasy land of being satisfied with just the technical details and being focused on only implementing great software/learning how to do so. With a few years in the workforce under my belt, I realize that such an outlook was of great detriment to me.
PersonalMBA really is a my go-to reference because it is very comprehensive and extremely accessible online.
The real value of it, at least for me, is inspiration. I read a small chapter (which is often just a page or half) and think how it relates to my actual situation. This gives me some food for thought, and very often for action, for a couple of days.
If this is the first time you'd to be responsible for budgets, working with the board, finance teams, HR, etc, then I'd recommend a general business management book like "The Personal MBA" to give you an introduction to the concepts and language that those teams will use.
"Personal MBA" by Josh Kaufman - best introduction to business administration studies.
Sure, The Personal MBA is not a deep dive into any subject (it's not meant to be) but it's got a lot more meat than just quotes from other textbooks.
A friend bought this as a gift for me 10+ years ago: The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman [0]. I've given it as a gift to other friends.
Where it comes up
- The Best Textbooks on Every Subject 2018 · 6 recommendations
- DIY MBA: My Reading List (2019) 2024 · 4 recommendations
- Ask HN: As a technical founder what is the best business book you've read? 2018 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: What are good books/blogs to read for a first time CTO? 2023 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Books you read in 2022 and recommend for 2023 2022 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020? 2019 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Which books teach mental models? 2019 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Books you read in 2018? 2018 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What are some interesting books you read in 2017? 2018 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What books have made the biggest impact on your mental models? 2017 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What books are you reading? 2017 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Books you wish you had read earlier? 2017 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift? 2016 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What book are you reading right now? 2014 · 1 recommendation