This post is for all the forum members who are bit by the entrepreneurial bug.
For me entrepreneurship is not about excitement or quick money or even freedom. It is about
creation. There is nothing more gratifying than playing a non-trivial role in creating something that is bigger than you and/or will outlive you.
In this regard, I was recently recommended this book called "Built to Last" by Jim Collins (
http://www.librarything.com/work/3276/book/32993347). I would in turn recommend this book highly to all those who are seriously considering entrepreneurship in the future. This book is about a research project spanning 6 years undertaken by Collins on understanding what makes some companies (called "visionary companies") so long lasting, while others with similar or even better talent fade away.
The research is very systematic and Collins has taken pain to explain and justify all the assumptions made for the survey. The study itself is made of
comparisons between a company that has lasted for long (the median age of a lasting company was something like 84 years or so) and is well-respected, in contrast with a company with more or less similar track record, but not as well known or respected. The rationale here is that the gold-medalist has to be compared with the silver or bronze medalist to find out what makes winners, rather than comparing them with complete non-performers.
The book also shatters some well-known myths about startups like the need for a killer idea, the need for charismatic leadership, etc. In fact, Collins has a lot to say about leaderships that build lasting systems. The best I can remember is the contrast between "time-telling" and "clock-building". True leadership is not about time-telling (or software development or retailing or ... you get the point); it is about clock-building (building an infrastructure for efficient time-telling)
This one gets a 4/5 star rating from me.
-Sri
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