The Start-up of You Book Review

I recently read The Start-up of You by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha and it has been one of the most insightful books I have ever read.  If that causes me to seem illiterate, that’s a shame. This book brought about principles that every individual should apply into their life whether they plan to start a company or not. I mean the book starts out saying that “all humans are entrepreneurs”.  They express that “all humans are entrepreneurs not because they should start companies but because the will to create is encoded in human DNA, and creation is the essence of entrepreneurship”. 

            Our world, our society, and our life around us are in a constant state of motion and change. We need to be able to adapt to those changes. According to the book, in order to “adapt to the challenges of professional life today, we need to rediscover our entrepreneurial instincts and use them to forge new sorts of careers”.  Entrepreneurs are not only capable, but always at the ready to adapt to change because they know “if you fail to adapt, no one is going to catch you when you fall”. This was one of the big principles touched upon in the book: Plan to Adapt. I love how it refers to your life as being in “Permanent Beta”. You should constantly be in a mode of bettering and improving. “We are all works in progress. Each day presents an opportunity to learn more, do more, be more, grow more in our lives and careers”.  In regards to adaptation, it refers to the plans needed in order to adapt. They refer to it as ABZ Planning and to them, “ABZ Planning isn’t something you do once early in your career. It’s a process as important for someone in their forties or fifties as for a newly minted college grad.”  ABZ stands for Plan A, what you are doing right now, Plan B, what you “pivot” to when you need to change your goal/route, and Plan Z is your fallback, also known as your lifeboat when all other plans fail. “There is no beginning, middle, or end to a career journey; no matter how old you are or at what stage, you will always be planning and adapting.”

Another principle referred to in the book, is the need to develop a competitive advantage. They mentioned three puzzle pieces that help make up that advantage: aspirations (your deepest wishes, goals, and vision), assets (what you have/know right now, both soft and hard assets), and market realities (the supply and demand for what you offer, relative to the competition); these puzzle pieces will fit together in different ways at different times in your life.  The book suggests that a good career plan accounts for the interaction of the three pieces and that those pieces are ever evolving and need to be analyzed regularly. In order to build a competitive advantage, it encompasses joining those three pieces at every career stage in life.

A major principle that the book vested in was the need for networks, and it’s not about having the biggest network, it’s about having the best network. Simply put, if you want to accelerate your career, you need the assistance and support of others. The book talks a lot about networking, how to build your network, how to strengthen your network, utilize your network, and how to navigate professional challenges with network intelligences. Having and maintaining a network is crucial in order to be successful in business. The tips given in the book can really be advantageous toward ones’ career.

One of the final principles from the book, that I haven’t mentioned yet, is the need to take intelligent risks. Risks seem to carry a bad omen about them, however you will find that risks are a perpetual part of life. So instead of fearing them, we need to be intelligent about them so that we can assess and manage them wisely and to our advantage. And the last principle that I almost forgot about is the urgency to pursue breakout opportunities as success begins with opportunities. These opportunities can be fleeting and we need to be able to recognize them and snatch them when they become available.

We were all born entrepreneurs, but that doesn’t ensure we will live like one. We live in a very competitive and quick-paced world and need to adapt to keep up. The book points out that the “You” in The Start-up of You is plural, as you grow as an individual - your network is what keeps you alive. This book has burned a deep motivation within me to build my network and give it the nourishing that it needs. I have been inspired to use my assets and aspirations to find my place in the world, a place where I can make a meaningful impact and show the world what I am worth. I will take the necessary risks, be wise in my endeavors, and push myself to the limit. I will live a life in “permanent beta” where I am ever progressing and do something that’s in line with my values and helps to make the world a better place.