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jackfletch's review against another edition
5.0
This book should be required reading for any entrepreneur class. Written about a student made company, it lays bare all the growing pains new companies and their leaders experience. It can also give potential employees insight into why they have to do things like 360 feedback and why handbooks exist.
But the most important thing Hadeed talks about is company culture and how hard it is to create and maintain. She does a great job at showing the work that goes into all of it and how important it is to pick the right people and then letting go.
But the most important thing Hadeed talks about is company culture and how hard it is to create and maintain. She does a great job at showing the work that goes into all of it and how important it is to pick the right people and then letting go.
noortle's review against another edition
5.0
So I’m currently leading a cleaning crew. The entire first half of this book was like reading a transcript of my future; so many things Kristen tried, failed, tweaked, abandoned, introduced, changed, and grew in that I’m still in the early stages of implementing.
But the focus on being human brings it all together. Every time Kristen tried to fake it out, or detach herself from uncomfortable experiences, or outsource human connection, things fell apart. It’s easy to try and solve problems by throwing statistics and lists and apps at them. But when your most senior team member bursts out with “I just don’t enjoy the work anymore,” you know it’s either connect or disconnect completely.
If you work with people in any leadership capacity, read this book.
But the focus on being human brings it all together. Every time Kristen tried to fake it out, or detach herself from uncomfortable experiences, or outsource human connection, things fell apart. It’s easy to try and solve problems by throwing statistics and lists and apps at them. But when your most senior team member bursts out with “I just don’t enjoy the work anymore,” you know it’s either connect or disconnect completely.
If you work with people in any leadership capacity, read this book.
katherinecg's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the transparency and vulnerability displayed by the author of this book. It was like talking to an old friend and was extremely relatable. The writer comes off as naïve at first, but really learns some valuable lessons along the way. This is a great way to learn how to become a leader without being so hard on yourself.
christymcgee4018's review against another edition
5.0
Happy this was my first nonfiction book of the year! Kristen does a great job of painting her struggles and triumphs in a real way that I could relate to. I appreciated her vulnerability and that was the key takeaway from this book, for me. I hope all leaders I know read this book.
nicholeford's review against another edition
5.0
Very easy read, story based and reminded me of a memoir. Many leadership books kind be dry, but this was funny and touching at times, too. I’ve been in leadership positions for years and she makes some valid points that I’ll try to incorporate.
remindmetoread's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
I went into this book looking for self-development. I don't know why I started it thinking it was going to be about personal self development. But then I quickly realized it was about leadership development which is definitely something I want to work on. And then I realized, "oh she's talking about leadership as a CEO". So this book end up being irrelevant to me in the sense that I don't plan to run a company any time soon or be in charge of people in the way that I can make all the rules.
Reading this book was interesting. I liked the author's style. She gave us a unique perspective. I loved that her business was a cleaning service and not something tech related, though she does talk briefly about developing an app. It was a quick book with some great stories but I feel a few things she talked about implementing at her company wouldn't be acceptable elsewhere. She doesn't talk about how big her company really was. She didn't talk about selling it and how much it was worth. Interesting that she ended the book saying that she wanted to be transparent about hardships running a company but didn't feel comfortable disclosing that info or maybe it's confidential, idk. I was curious but it wasn't really that relevant to the point of book. It was all about managing a team, truly. But again, I felt she was implementing things at her company that just wouldn't be legal. Her dad's a lawyer, so maybe I'm wrong but I raised my eyebrow at the part where employees traded job responsibilities if they didn't like doing a certain task and another co-worker did like doing that task?? I guess for the cleaning staff that was fine, but the leadership team is a different story. The retreats where she shared a hotel room with Abby seemed inappropriate though I know Abby was her secondhand and they were close. I can't remember if she and Abby were close outside of work or if they were co-workers 24/7. It seemed like they were co-workers 24/7. And then when the retreats expanded to include employees, they shared a house and cooked together etc. Idk, she talks a lot about the millennial generation in this book, but I thought we were the generation that wants work/life balance and this author/ex-CEO made it seem like her staff and leadership team needed to eat, sleep, breathe her cleaning company. Don't get me started with the hiring requirements and the culture fit. She realized her requirements were too strict. The culture fit chapter was good, but for a cleaning company with unstable student schedules, I felt she was taking it too seriously. And then when I saw she was only paying $9/hour for a business operations position to a student who could have had a better opportunity working hospitality at a Marriot etc., I was curious how much she was paying herself and Abby. But it was 2007.
If you're interested in leadership books from a small business perspective, I think it is a good read.
Reading this book was interesting. I liked the author's style. She gave us a unique perspective. I loved that her business was a cleaning service and not something tech related, though she does talk briefly about developing an app. It was a quick book with some great stories but I feel a few things she talked about implementing at her company wouldn't be acceptable elsewhere. She doesn't talk about how big her company really was. She didn't talk about selling it and how much it was worth. Interesting that she ended the book saying that she wanted to be transparent about hardships running a company but didn't feel comfortable disclosing that info or maybe it's confidential, idk. I was curious but it wasn't really that relevant to the point of book. It was all about managing a team, truly. But again, I felt she was implementing things at her company that just wouldn't be legal. Her dad's a lawyer, so maybe I'm wrong but I raised my eyebrow at the part where employees traded job responsibilities if they didn't like doing a certain task and another co-worker did like doing that task?? I guess for the cleaning staff that was fine, but the leadership team is a different story. The retreats where she shared a hotel room with Abby seemed inappropriate though I know Abby was her secondhand and they were close. I can't remember if she and Abby were close outside of work or if they were co-workers 24/7. It seemed like they were co-workers 24/7. And then when the retreats expanded to include employees, they shared a house and cooked together etc. Idk, she talks a lot about the millennial generation in this book, but I thought we were the generation that wants work/life balance and this author/ex-CEO made it seem like her staff and leadership team needed to eat, sleep, breathe her cleaning company. Don't get me started with the hiring requirements and the culture fit. She realized her requirements were too strict. The culture fit chapter was good, but for a cleaning company with unstable student schedules, I felt she was taking it too seriously. And then when I saw she was only paying $9/hour for a business operations position to a student who could have had a better opportunity working hospitality at a Marriot etc., I was curious how much she was paying herself and Abby. But it was 2007.
If you're interested in leadership books from a small business perspective, I think it is a good read.
threeapplestall's review against another edition
5.0
Such an honest look at leadership. Quick, funny, and insightful, with lots of deeper things to reflect on about leading people and building a team.