Book Review: Bounce! by Barry Moltz

Bounce!: Failure, Resiliency, and Confidence to Achieve Your Next Great Success was written by Chicago entrepreneur, investor, advisor, and speaker Barry Moltz. Barry’s first book, You Need to Be a Little Crazy: The Truth about Starting and Growing Your Business, debunks the myths of business start-ups by telling the truth that you really do have to be crazy to start a business. With his second book, Bounce!, Barry discusses that resiliency to the successes and failures in business will ultimately determine who will succeed. Also, Barry blogs about entrepreneurship at BarryMoltz.com.

Book Description from BarryMoltz.com

Conventional business wisdom tells us that there is always something to learn from failure. Not true—sometimes it just stinks! Failure that offers no real learning value becomes a big jolt to the basic business belief system. Both success and failure are simply outcomes in the lifecycle of business where repetition is inevitable and overall process matters far more than any single event or outcome. Barry demonstrates that developing the resiliency to “bounce” through these cycles determines who ultimately will succeed. Using real life business examples, he shows that with true business confidence, we can face our fears, let go of shame and failures, use all our choices, be better risk-takers, and define our own brand of success.

My Take on the Book

Barry’s style is very conversational so it is an enjoyable read.  One of the great aspects of this book is that Barry has experienced everything that he writes about.  Because the book is filled with his experiences, the reader really connects with Barry.

Below are the chapter titles to give you an idea of the content:

Chapter 1: Get Ready for Adventure: You Have Never Heard a Speaker Like This Before
Chapter 2: Archetypes of Success: Be Careful What You Wish For
Chapter 3: I’ve Got Your One-Hit Wonder: 867-5309
Chapter 4: The World from Here: Start Where You Are
Chapter 5: Forget the Archetypes: Messy Lines Teach Humility
Chapter 6: Failure Is an Option: Flying Fear in Formation
Chapter 7: Embracing Failure When It Happens
Chapter 8: Failure Provide Choices
Chapter 9: Do It Anyway: Be a Smart Risk Taker
Chapter 10: A Little DAB Will Do Ya! Drive, Accept, and Build
Chapter 11: Goal Setting: Establishing Your Own Scorecard
Chapter 12: No Longer Black and White: Measure for Success in Technicolor
Chapter 13: Read This Book-Then Throw It Away

As evidenced above, Barry does an excellent job discussing the ups and downs of building a business. At the same time, you don’t need to be an entrepreneur to appreciate what Barry has written. The lessons taught in this book go beyond starting a business and really speak to any business professional. With any career path, you will have your setbacks and successes so you need to learn how to bounce back.  The metaphor that the book uses is a rubber band ball that bounces back and forth.

Bounce!: Failure, Resiliency, and Confidence to Achieve Your Next Great Success not only is a business book, but also a motivational book that will leave you with a new mindset about the business world.  Barry interviews many successful entrepreneurs so the book also brings in other perspectives.  Because I live in Chicagoland, it was great to hear the stories of some of the local entrepreneurs who I know. 

For a fresh perspective on business, it is worth a read.

For other reviews, go to my Reviews Archive.

Comments

[Business book critic]

Thanks for the heads up, I loved Barry's first book but didn't know this second was out. I'll pick up a copy and see what I can glean from it.