Review by pabman -- Underdog Thinking by Atul Vir
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Review by pabman -- Underdog Thinking by Atul Vir
[Following is a volunteer review of "Underdog Thinking" by Atul Vir.]
Underdog Thinking by Atul Vir is not your typical entrepreneur’s advice book. Sub-titled “A Bold Idea, A Business Adventure And 101 Lessons Learned Along The Way”, this book reads more like a biography of both the author and of the company he started. While you accompany Mr. Vir on his journey, he points out the lessons he learned, both positive and negative, that affected the state of his business, for good and bad.
Mr. Vir writes that the “elements of entrepreneurship were formed in my youth”, but he didn’t take the steps to become an entrepreneur until circumstances forced his hand. He was working and living in Lagos, Nigeria until a military coup d’etat. Being on the ground in Nigeria, Mr. Vir saw the ongoing chaos, heard rumors of the upcoming coup and had tried to warn company management. The company’s chairman refused to believe there were any issues and the ensuing coup caused the company to go under and cost everyone their jobs. Therein came Lesson Number One: management decisions must be made by listening to those closest to the action. Leaving Africa for America, with a brief stop in London, Mr. Vir finds that his work experience isn’t valued, the expectation being that his African business experience doesn’t translate into American business experience.
At this point, Mr. Vir decides to setup his own shop. For me, for others who might be curious about what drives entrepreneurs, the story that unfolds is fascinating. I learned that the drive is to do, run, start something, but what that something is not the most important thing. Again, at least for me, that’s a fascinating insight. Rather than starting a company to make something better, solve a real-world problem or to do something one loves, the actual “problem” being solved is the desire to be one’s own boss or to create something from scratch. In Mr. Vir’s case, that turned out to be an import/export business. Trying to spend more time with his wife and family, a problem to be solved emerges: the time required to do laundry. This leads him to put a major focus on an all-in-one combination washing machine and dryer.
I enjoyed the story-telling style of this book. Instead of reading advice on what you should or shouldn’t do, what you have here is a case study of a real company. With hindsight, the author can look back at the history of the company and point out what works and doesn’t work. Hence the 101 lessons learned along the way. Mr. Vir does not shy away from pointing out his mistakes and I appreciate that he takes responsibility for them. Rather than blame circumstances, rather than blame others, a lesson is taught. It would be refreshing if this kind of candor was found in more advice books.
Why do you always find what you’re looking for in the last place you look? Obviously, once you’ve found what you’re looking for, you can stop looking. There are three instances where Mr. Vir pushes this maxim to the extreme, all at tradeshows. In these three instances, it’s the last booth left in the entire show where he finds the company that can manufacture what he needs or it’s on the last day in the last hour of the tradeshow that he makes the deal necessary to keep his company afloat. Once, twice…okay. But three times? It’s almost unbelievable.
I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I couldn’t give it 4 stars because there were a few too many mistakes in the book. Unlike other advice books where you can turn to a chapter on a particular subject, the advice here is interspersed within the story. The lessons are worthwhile so if you’re a budding entrepreneur and would like practical advice, make the time to sit down and read the book from start to finish. It’ll be time well spent.
******
Underdog Thinking
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Underdog Thinking by Atul Vir is not your typical entrepreneur’s advice book. Sub-titled “A Bold Idea, A Business Adventure And 101 Lessons Learned Along The Way”, this book reads more like a biography of both the author and of the company he started. While you accompany Mr. Vir on his journey, he points out the lessons he learned, both positive and negative, that affected the state of his business, for good and bad.
Mr. Vir writes that the “elements of entrepreneurship were formed in my youth”, but he didn’t take the steps to become an entrepreneur until circumstances forced his hand. He was working and living in Lagos, Nigeria until a military coup d’etat. Being on the ground in Nigeria, Mr. Vir saw the ongoing chaos, heard rumors of the upcoming coup and had tried to warn company management. The company’s chairman refused to believe there were any issues and the ensuing coup caused the company to go under and cost everyone their jobs. Therein came Lesson Number One: management decisions must be made by listening to those closest to the action. Leaving Africa for America, with a brief stop in London, Mr. Vir finds that his work experience isn’t valued, the expectation being that his African business experience doesn’t translate into American business experience.
At this point, Mr. Vir decides to setup his own shop. For me, for others who might be curious about what drives entrepreneurs, the story that unfolds is fascinating. I learned that the drive is to do, run, start something, but what that something is not the most important thing. Again, at least for me, that’s a fascinating insight. Rather than starting a company to make something better, solve a real-world problem or to do something one loves, the actual “problem” being solved is the desire to be one’s own boss or to create something from scratch. In Mr. Vir’s case, that turned out to be an import/export business. Trying to spend more time with his wife and family, a problem to be solved emerges: the time required to do laundry. This leads him to put a major focus on an all-in-one combination washing machine and dryer.
I enjoyed the story-telling style of this book. Instead of reading advice on what you should or shouldn’t do, what you have here is a case study of a real company. With hindsight, the author can look back at the history of the company and point out what works and doesn’t work. Hence the 101 lessons learned along the way. Mr. Vir does not shy away from pointing out his mistakes and I appreciate that he takes responsibility for them. Rather than blame circumstances, rather than blame others, a lesson is taught. It would be refreshing if this kind of candor was found in more advice books.
Why do you always find what you’re looking for in the last place you look? Obviously, once you’ve found what you’re looking for, you can stop looking. There are three instances where Mr. Vir pushes this maxim to the extreme, all at tradeshows. In these three instances, it’s the last booth left in the entire show where he finds the company that can manufacture what he needs or it’s on the last day in the last hour of the tradeshow that he makes the deal necessary to keep his company afloat. Once, twice…okay. But three times? It’s almost unbelievable.
I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I couldn’t give it 4 stars because there were a few too many mistakes in the book. Unlike other advice books where you can turn to a chapter on a particular subject, the advice here is interspersed within the story. The lessons are worthwhile so if you’re a budding entrepreneur and would like practical advice, make the time to sit down and read the book from start to finish. It’ll be time well spent.
******
Underdog Thinking
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Latest Review: Beyond the Golden Door by Ali Master
