Earn Twice As Much With Half The Stress

I recently finished Earn Twice As Much With Half The Stress by Paul Lemberg and Tom Matzen. Tom is President, CEO and Co-founder of Parmasters Golf Training Centers.

Full disclosure, I did not purchase this book. It was a gift, from Tom.

The book is a very quick, light read. The approximately 200 pages, while chalked full of great content, insight and ideas, breeze by very quickly and easily. The book is well organized and indexed. You can jump to a particular area very quickly.

Systems thinking, as well as working ON your business, rather than IN your business, are two strong themes that repeat throughout the book. And rightly so. These two concepts are incredibly powerful!

The focus of the book is primarily value-based retail (or business-to-consumer or B-to-C) businesses. “Value-based” because many of the techniques noted within the book hinge critically on the fact that you’re selling based on value, not based on price. If you’re simply in a price war, buy a different book.

Tom and Paul note “four rules of systems”:
1) “Extraordinary systems, ordinary people. Systems should be designed for people with the lowest appropriate skill levels for the job, not for the experts.”
2) “If it’s difficult, something is wrong. … When it’s easy, you’ve got it right.”
3) “It’s not a system until it’s written down.”
4) “Deliver consistent predictable results every single time.”

The book also deals with scripting, checklists, etc.

Systems take much of the guess work out of running your business, as well as easing training and mentorship of your staff.

Tom and Paul also present the concept of Position Results Descriptions. Instead of the traditional “job description” which simply describes the periodic activities associated with a particular job, a Position Results Description focuses exclusively on the results that the successful candidate must produce. The first rule in hiring is to know what you want. You don’t want someone that will simply enjoy the daily activities that the job encompasses. You do want someone that will eagerly produce the results described, in detail, in your Position Results Description.

I won’t give away anymore of the punch line. I eagerly recommend this book to anyone operating a value-based business, especially such a retail establishment. I believe you can find information here.