Book Review: The Martha Rules
Kate Kohler (OA), Contributing Writer
Issue date: 11/21/05 Section: A&E
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Martha Stewart has written a book about entrepreneurship that is almost an MBA primer. In her newest book, The Martha Rules, Stewart covers not the latest recipe for sticky buns or the latest in glue-gun advancements, but the topics of our first year MBA program in hopes of offering readers a guide to starting their own business. As I was reading it, I said to myself, "OK, this is the strategy chapter" and "Here come Porter's Five Forces" or "This is the marketing five C's."
I found each of these chapters did cover the material, as I know it, generally very well. I mentioned marketing and strategy, but she also covers entrepreneurial finance (how to structure the deal), lead (how to hire and who to partner with), operations (efficiencies), entrepreneurship (managing risk). However, I am not sure in which class "make it beautiful" would apply.
I also had to wonder if it would have been more clear just to come out and say "this is my take on Porter's Five Forces," but then it wouldn't be Martha's rules, would it?
Did she set out to cover all these first-year MBA subjects? If not, she did a heck of a job doing it. The key messages of our first year were really clear in the book.
Martha does a great job, in particular, in talking about the "Big Idea" and when and how to bring the idea to market. She clearly dissects the market: customers, company, competitors, collaborators and context. She spent a lot of time discussing customers and fixing a need versus giving them something for which they won't find a use (which I feel is the most important point of entering a new market, so I was happy to read this). On the Four P's, she also discusses product and service in depth, place/channels and promotion a little (Kmart!), and didn't really discuss pricing. I thought it would have been interesting to hear her talk about how she prices fancy roasted, baby mushrooms at Kmart.
In covering these topics, I found she used two types of examples: some from her experience starting MSLO and the people she interacts with every day, and the others were examples of ultra-successful entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Steve Jobs among others. I found that the examples from people she knew were much richer in explaining her points or expanding on her lesson/rule. These bi-modal examples also yielded a gap in discussing mid-sized companies and their paths to growth or issues with managing a growth product and firm.
I found each of these chapters did cover the material, as I know it, generally very well. I mentioned marketing and strategy, but she also covers entrepreneurial finance (how to structure the deal), lead (how to hire and who to partner with), operations (efficiencies), entrepreneurship (managing risk). However, I am not sure in which class "make it beautiful" would apply.
I also had to wonder if it would have been more clear just to come out and say "this is my take on Porter's Five Forces," but then it wouldn't be Martha's rules, would it?
Did she set out to cover all these first-year MBA subjects? If not, she did a heck of a job doing it. The key messages of our first year were really clear in the book.
Martha does a great job, in particular, in talking about the "Big Idea" and when and how to bring the idea to market. She clearly dissects the market: customers, company, competitors, collaborators and context. She spent a lot of time discussing customers and fixing a need versus giving them something for which they won't find a use (which I feel is the most important point of entering a new market, so I was happy to read this). On the Four P's, she also discusses product and service in depth, place/channels and promotion a little (Kmart!), and didn't really discuss pricing. I thought it would have been interesting to hear her talk about how she prices fancy roasted, baby mushrooms at Kmart.
In covering these topics, I found she used two types of examples: some from her experience starting MSLO and the people she interacts with every day, and the others were examples of ultra-successful entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Steve Jobs among others. I found that the examples from people she knew were much richer in explaining her points or expanding on her lesson/rule. These bi-modal examples also yielded a gap in discussing mid-sized companies and their paths to growth or issues with managing a growth product and firm.