cover image Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck: What it Takes to Be an Entrepreneur and Build a Great Business

Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck: What it Takes to Be an Entrepreneur and Build a Great Business

Anthony K. Tjan, Richard J. Harrington, Tsun-Yan Hsieh. Harvard Business Review (Perseus, dist.), $25 (236p) ISBN 978-1-4221-6194-4

This team effort from the business-savvy trio of Tjan, Harrington, and Hsieh is a well-written, high-energy guide and "framework" for increasing entrepreneurial effectiveness. Beginning with a brief self-assessment to help readers glean whether they are heart-, smarts-, guts-, or luck-dominant, the authors move on to consider real life examples of each, such as Jeff Bezos of Amazon and eBay's Meg Whitman (both are "smarts" people). What follows is an in-depth examination of each type of businessperson, including brief interviews with key entrepreneurs, discussions of crucial habits, probing self-assessments, and succinct summaries at the close of each chapter. The combination of anecdote, homework, and shared wisdom is a powerful one, and the text's tendency to frequently shift gears makes for a dynamic and engaging read. The authors note that in addition to helping readers raise self-awareness (and with it productivity and profits), they hope "to communicate the wisdom and habits that we have either developed or seen in action." They meet their goal and then some%E2%80%94there's plenty here for business newbies and old pros alike. Illus. (Aug.)