Every Mistake In The Book: A Business How-NOT-To

By F.J. Fenton

Easy to read, funny, and sound business advice on how to conduct yourself in all kinds of business situations. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0785818324
• ISBN13: 9780785818328
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Castle Books
• Length: 195 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

A Good Diagnosis Of Common Business Blunders

The author has had a varied business career and has made (or has knowledge of) a number of interesting mistakes in his life. People in the business world (and especially small business owners) should read and heed this book. The book is entertaining, yet makes excellent points with an uncommon amount of humor and flair for a business book. I liked the book as soon as I got to page 42, where he discusses reorganizations. Having seen a number of these, I was won over with this concise and on-the-money comment: "Too often, reorganizations are twisted games-even regular rituals-in which insecure, out-of-touch, or untalented executives juggle the lives and careers of their employees." Many of these points reinforce a central premise: if you are working for a jerk, call a good employment recruiter, just don't stay in an environment you hate. His best points are also the most basic (like "check your tongue at the door" and "keep your cool") but they are well illustrated and developed. I dislike getting correspondence and email which has not been checked for spelling, so the section "Spelling Still Counts" was a relief to see. It is now easier than ever to send non-proofread material electronically, but it is just as bad to blindly trust a spell check program to fix your errors without then checking for context and accuracy. (The example he gives on page 175 is priceless.) This book could have been a five star book with a few changes, but I awarded it four for two primary reasons: first, the author uses profanity relatively commonly, which doesn't enhance the professionalism of a business book in my opinion, and got annoying quickly. The second, and even more annoying, problem is his use of stupid names (e.g. "Denny Deathbytongue") in his stories that brought a childish quality to the book that was counterproductive. Overall, this is a strong effort and holds a lot of good lessons for anyone in the business world; his emphasis on truthfulness and ethical behavior is admirable, and I am glad I read it.

Funny - but on the mark

The cover illustration indicates that this book is marketed as a humorous but not very serious business study. The book is a very easy read and very funny at times, but is dead on the mark with regards to a lot of good business advise. The author is in the computer software-game industry (I am in the construction-engineering field) but much of his advise is pertinent to almost any business field that involves an office setting, and would also be useful to people thinking about starting their own business. Because the author used illustrations from his varied career, and was bluntly honest about his own failings, I thought the book was more practical than many other business "success" books-and also a lot more fun.