University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
EntreLeadership
Book

EntreLeadership

20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches

Dave Ramsey
Howard Books, 2011
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Financial adviser Dave Ramsey is an expert entrepreneur with a radio financial advice show and a regular slot on Fox Television. He also is a bold, brash conservative and a dedicated Christian who often mentions his faith and shares Bible verses. However, religion and politics aside, Ramsey’s book focuses on your entrepreneurial dream. He knows a lot about small business start-ups, and he shares his expertise. He offers lots of good advice and some advice you may want to weigh before taking it, like his suggestion that you should have dinner with an applicant and his or her partner to make sure the spouse isn’t nutty – maybe that’s a bit much. Ramsey also quotes other business authors often, so Stephen Covey, Patrick Lencioni and a few other big guns should take a bow here. That aside, this is a warm, worthwhile book on how to launch and run a business. getAbstract believes entrepreneurs of all creeds, political stripes and levels of experience can learn a lot about managing a business from this smart, small-business playbook.

Summary

Becoming an Entrepreneurial Leader

A leader is disciplined, visionary, passionate and charismatic. An entrepreneur is driven, determined, creative and courageous. Combine these traits and you have an “EntreLeader,” someone who can ably lead an entrepreneurial endeavor. EntreLeadership is “the process of leading to cause a venture to grow and prosper.” Because start-up businesses are normally small and intimate, they often take on their leaders’ traits. Strong leaders create strong enterprises, but if the leader is weak, the businesses also will be weak.

Strong leaders derive power from who they are, not from their ownership or status. They rely on “persuasional leadership,” not “positional leadership.” They treat employees as trusted, valued team members and see themselves as their staffers’ “servant leaders,” just like parents who both serve and lead their children. EntreLeaders care deeply about their people and lead with passion. They are big dreamers. They think constantly about better ideas and the great things they can accomplish in the future. But EntreLeaders’ dreams are not fanciful meanderings. As focused businesspeople, EntreLeaders turn their dreams into...

About the Author

Financial adviser Dave Ramsey appears regularly on Fox Television and moderates the weekly Dave Ramsey Show on radio. He also runs Financial Peace University classes in offices and churches, and on US military bases.

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