I’ve never met Bo Peabody, but I know I’d like him. His half book – Lucky or Smart? – (Amy told me that if it only has 58 pages, it doesn’t count as a whole book) is a quick and delightful romp through his entrepreneurial brain. If you are too lazy to read a half book, you can try this Inc. Magazine article that will give you a feel for it.
Bo’s first company – Tripod (the one he sold to Lycos for $58m – maybe that’s why the book has 58 pages – and then was locked up for two years while Lycos stock went up 10x) – is still around. We were investors in Tripod’s competitor Geocities – also still around (and part of Yahoo) – which are both logical predecessors to the things we now call blogs.
Enough history – back to the book. Since it’s a short one, I’ll summarize by listing the table of contents. If you can’t figure out why you’d like this book from the table of contents, then it’s not for you.
- Lucky or Smart?
- Entrepreneurs Are Born, Not Made
- Entrepreneurs are B-Students. Managers are A-Students.
- Great Is the Enemy of Good
- Start-Ups Attract Sociopaths
- Practice Blind Faith
- Learn to Love the Word “No”
- Prepare to Be Powerless
- The Best Defense Is a Gracious Offense
- Don’t Believe Your Own Press. In Fact, Don’t Read.
- Always Be Selling Your Stock
- Know What You Don’t Know