Think Agile

August 18, 2014
Williams (Startup Blog) begins this well-intended but superficial business guide by announcing that he aims to help entrepreneurs become nimble in every part of their business. His proposal sounds plausible, especially considering his background: he’s founded a number of companies, including Colonial Technology Development Company. What he shares in this book is a collection of lessons for “entrepreneurs of all types,” starting with the importance of believing “you can do anything.” Throughout the book, Williams employs well-known entrepreneurial success stories—Argo Tea, Spanx, Pandora—to illustrate his points. To involve readers, Williams includes chapter exercises and assessments (“Putting Concepts into Action”). He covers a wide variety of topics, from funding sources to repurposing products and people to managing the unexpected. What the book rarely does, however, is dig deeply into the topic at hand and provide specific recommendations. Williams clearly understands the importance of “entrepreneur agility,” both practically and theoretically, but it’s less clear that this book will help readers achieve this skill set for themselves.