The basic premise of thesis book is the following: the entrepreneurial mindset and attitude are essential for anyone's career in today's economy. Thinking like an entrepreneur is not any more reserved just for the ultra-ambitious, well-funded Silicon Valley types; in order to succeed in today's job market everyone has to adopt many of the practices that successful entrepreneurs have been employing for decades. This, in and of itself, seems like a great piece of advice. Unfortunately, this book f...

I make it a point not to take career advice from people who make money off of giving me career advice; however, I am thinking of living by example and making money off of people for giving them career advice. But I wasn't looking for career advice from this book. Someone recommended it to me and thought it was something I'd like to read. I didn't get it at first. I care little about advancing in my career, and I only need to make enough money to live my life. You know, just enough money to do th...

Unfortunately cannot remember much after some months of reading it. Should write down my notes earlier :S* Re-readability: yes* Note: 4/5The motivation for the book is one idea: the steady career paths of the past are gone. Today's environment is extremely dynamic and we should be adaptable and ready to change jobs multiple times.The solution for the authors is to think one's life and career a start-up, or more simply put, be pro-active, create an identity that goes beyond your current employer,...

Possibly made a lot of sense and was way more useful when it was written. It looks dated and some of the advice is table stakes these days.However, it still has interesting insights. Primary ones:1 "Interesting People Fund": Set aside money for coffee, lunch, or travel to meet interesting people. 2. "The best way to make sure that lucky things happen is to make sure a lot of things happen."3. "To keep our ancestors alive, Mother Nature evolved a brain that routinely tricked them into making thre...

Other reviews provide a good summary of what's in the book so I'm just sharing some disparate things that stood out for me:* Upfront, Reid Hoffman states that this is not a job hunting manual. It's about giving you a mindset that you need to adapt to the future. In his true fashion of always thinking about how he can make an impact on the world, he says "More broadly, society flourishes when people think entrepreneurially. More world problems would be solved - and solved faster - if people pract...

When the former Executive VP of PayPal and co-founder of LinkedIn writes a book on networking and entrepreneurship, it's a good bet he knows what he's talking about and your time would be well spent reading it.His analogies and concrete examples of networking done well bring the strategic advice to life for the reader. The personal perspective on how networking between the former founders of PayPal influenced further career moves between the one time co-workers vividly painted a picture of mutua...

This will be the book that I will be dedicating my time to in 2015 to 'invest in myself'. I found the knowledge in this book to be extremely useful, especially about entrepreneurship, relationship building and self-improvement. My core takeaway:Permanent Beta: 1. To always be starting2. To forever be a work in progress

Creator of Linkedin and serial high-tech entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, part of the Paypal mafia (see next book read, by Peter Thiel) ellaborates on how each of us (and the "you" in the title also takes the shape of the plural) can treat our professional careers as a startup, and can work towards growth using similar tactics.I liked a lot that each chapter contained actions we can take "in the next day", "the next week" and the "next month". This review is part of the plan, the one I am always weake...

Pros: Nice examples of successful start-ups such as Pinterest, Flickr, Netflix, Paypal, etc. Personally, I really enjoy two examples, which are "Paypal mafia" and one way you can be helpful to Bill Gate is bringing him information about trends of youths to use technology.Cons: The author's arguments are generally simply and ubiquitous in every business book. For example, "find your competitive advantage", "find your aspiration", "seize opportunities through your contacts" and "you must try and l...

I stopped writing reviews but this one is a life changer, either you're an employee, young entrepreneur or a business man, you should definetly read it, it's a lifetime experience in a capsule. By one of the most successful people in our generation.

An easy read with lots of good nuggets on self-development, properly using your network, and giving back. Probably my favourite book on career advice.

If I should suggest a title for this book, I'll go with: "How to win friends and influence people in the business world"

I finished reading The Startup of You book recently, written by Reid Hoffman (LInkedin cofounder) & Ben Casnoca. I thought I'd share few comments about it.The book is great for those who want to enter the "Business World": - either fresh college graduates - or technical people who want to make the jump to business rolesIt gives a number of recommendations - that are frankly similar to a lot of other books. But the style is direct & clear, which makes for an easy reading.The book has some intere...

"Invest in yourself, invest in your network, and invest in society". This is "what" it is all about. The "how" is what makes this book a good reading material for career people who are clueless on why it is hard to get a dream job nowadays...much less hold one. In the olden days, the only requirement to have a job security is to show up at work on time, work efficiently, go with the flow, be loyal, stay with the company for so many years and retire at 65. Nowadays, that is not enough. I am sure

Most of us have heard the tips in this book but rarely have read it all synthesized in one go, nor written as clearly and succinctly as it is here. I've read many similar books and found this one to he absolutely, hands-down, the most important one yet. Granted, I'm already doing some things Reid outlines, but it's good affirmation and a good reminder to all of us to never stop hustling. Never stop building your network. To keep in motion the people that are the whirlpool of our "lives in beta."...

My take-aways:1 "The faster way to change yourself is to hang out with people who are already the way you want to be."2 The "Interesting People Fund" concept. Set aside a bit of money for going out for coffee, lunch, or flying to Boston for a meeting with interesting people. It's an investment in yourself.3. "The best way to make sure that lucky things happen is to make sure a lot of things happen."4. (Talking about negativity bias) "To keep our ancestors alive, Mother Nature evolved a brain tha...

What a waste of time this is. There is really no information that cannot be found in 100 (1000?) other business books that are better. This is an extended commercial for LinkedIn (which I use and really like for the record, but I don't need to read the infomercial.) Also, some of the message seems to be "its who you know." True dat, but not very helpful advice unless you are teaching people how to connect.By way of confession I will say I don't really like many business self-help books. I read t...

Another great book on the power of networking. It is co-authored by the creator of Linkedin, which has surprisingly to many, been around for a lot longer that new comers like Facebook. The book is primarily aimed at those people on the career treadmill looking to make a change, however the information provided is certainly applicable to anyone.This book addresses 'networking' as something you give before you receive. It demonstrates how cultivating a wide and diverse network is what will not onl...

This is a really good 'career' book. Perhaps I would have rated it a 5 earlier in my career. Reid Hoffman is really surprising. You'd expect from being the 'oracle of Silicon Valley' that he's a massive risk taker and is willing to bet the farm on any idea. Very pragmatic and intelligent approach to career development.

I have always been a fan of Reid Hoffman, and reading this book only confirmed what I always knew about him. He's one of the greatest entrepreneurs of my generation.In "The Start-Up of You", you will get insights and techniques from the inside stories of some of the biggest success stories such as Netflix, Paypal and more... In addition to Lesson learned from Reid & Ben about career development & investment in yourself that they structure them in an easy to understand the framework and where you...