Rules for Renegades: How to Make More Money, Rock Your Career, and Revel in Your Individuality by Christine Comaford-Lynch makes my Top Shelf reading picks not because it’s a great book, but because it raises a bunch of issues worth discussing. As I mentioned to a commenter who wanted me to stick just to reviewing the text, that’s not the point of this blog. Call me a “renegade� but I consider this blog more of a book group or discussion about issues that may be relevant to entrepreneurs. So, now that the disclaimers are in place, here are some interesting discussion points that this book raised for me.
When to judge a book by the cover. Despite the use of the word “renegade,� I didn’t like the title because the whole point of being a renegade is to not have rules. And while we’re on the title, I found it interesting that the subtitle in the UK version is: How to Storm the Boardroom, Build Power, Harness Your Individuality and Get Stuff Done! So, it’s just the Yanks who care about “money?� And, actually, I like the UK cover much better (the Geisha on the motorbike is definitely an attention-getter).
PR can sometimes derail a project. When I was first contacted about the Rules, even though I’d never heard anything about it or the author, I loved the idea of a book by a rebellious female entrepreneur. But, when the PR team then tried to dictate to me exactly when my review should appear so as to coincide with other PR they had planned, I pulled it out of the stack and put it at the bottom of the pile. The only thing that brought it back to the top was that I put it under the stack of leadership books that had been piling up. For some reason, I can’t bring myself to crack one because they all seem to be written by Boomers advocating the command and control style which just doesn’t work with the business models I care about. (But, more about that in future weeks).
PR can sometimes overcome mediocrity. So, I started reading the book. And, I really, really wanted to like it. And it did have some good parts. I liked whenever she described her interactions with powerful individuals. That is when Comaford-Lynch is at her strongest. Her description of her dates with Bill Gates and Larry Ellison, and conversations with Hillary Clinton, and even her conversations with some of the management at Microsoft left us with insights into how these individuals operate, and ideas about interacting with them. Unfortunately, the rest of the book was name dropping (yes, you mention Steve Jobs, Jane Fonda, etc. but why not tell us about your meetings with them?)Â
Despite those highlights, overall there was not much new and the lack of coherent organization and weak writing were distracting. So, that brought me to the Amazon reviews of the book. And while I know all authors prod friends and family to write a few nice reviews on the site, these seemed a bit excessive. Especially the ones who salivated about how “well-writtenâ€? it was. Yet, it seems I was not the only one to notice the disconnect as some of the reviewers had interesting opinions and comments about the role of “professional reviewers.â€? Â
What is a bestseller? As an author, I know that we personally care about book rankings (see this great posting from Anita Bruzzeze about that). And, I know that I can influence my rankings by buying 25 of my own books in one day from Amazon. Imagine if I could afford to buy more? I mention this because it struck me as odd that a book I had never heard of, by an individual I have never heard of, could, at the time I first checked, be ranked #2 in business books on Amazon, sandwiched between books by Alan Greenspan and Bill Clinton. Today I checked and it’s at #85 (and Greenspan and Clinton are still up there at #1 and #4). No judgments here — it’s just one of those things that struck me as odd, and made me curious as to what’s really behind anyone’s book rankings.
Getting away from the marketing and back to the book. I think there are some great lessons in there for someone who is not already a renegade and who needs to hear that the important lessons for entrepreneurs are getting stuff done, asking for help, taking risks, and learning from failure. Unfortunately for me, this wasn’t anything new. And, perhaps, if you don’t mind “new agey� stuff, you wouldn’t tune out of those parts like I did, nor would it bother you that a book recommends watching the movie The Secret again. My loyal readers know how I feel about The Secret. I’m also not fond of the push for more materials on her website at the end of every chapter. Once in a while is fine. But, if there’s so much more there, why not include it in the book?
Good chapter on networking. As the author of two networking books, I applaud her because she has the right attitude, energy and some great anecdotes. So, this is where I disagree with the critics who claim she is shallow in her networking. Perhaps she should have expanded this with more examples. I also liked her chapter on leadership. Definitely fits the new collaborative approach. And, again, her detailed interactions with people are the strongest part of the book. Her chapters on getting funding were also helpful. VC is not for everyone and she details some great alternatives with real candor.
The Bottom Line. I wish the author would’ve taken the second half of the book (networking, leadership, funding) and expanded on that. Then, she could’ve taken the first half of the book and handed it over to a chick lit author. Perhaps my favorite, Jennifer Crusie? Crusie does a great job with rebellious women. Besides, chick lit needs a heroine who does not work in PR, event planning, or the publishing industry. Why not a sexy, ballsy entrepreneur who can program her own computer? Nothing’s wrong with a few chick lit lovers learning some business lessons along the way. And, bring back the Geisha on the motorbike!
This entry was posted on Saturday, September 29th, 2007 at 5:50 pm and is filed under Nonfiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.2 Responses to “Renegades have rules?”
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September 30th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Thanks for the review, Diane. Quick comment on the book’s companion web site: it’s full of forms, templates, and other resources which are easier to use in electronic format (and would’ve made the book over 400 pages!). Hope you get a chance to check them out–some solid career and life boosting goodies up there. Best, C
October 1st, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Christine forgot to mention that the companion site is http://www.mightyventures.com. I haven’t had the chance to check it out, yet. But, it looked like it might have some useful templates.