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The Monk and the Riddle: The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living (Paperback)
by Randy Komisar , Kent L. Lineback
| Category:
Entrepreneurship |
| Market price: ¥ 208.00
MSL price:
¥ 198.00
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Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A great book about more than the inner workings of Silicon Valley finance - it's about how to live a life, of finding the passion to go with the drive and discovering your core values. |
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Author: Randy Komisar , Kent L. Lineback
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Pub. in: July, 2001
ISBN: 1578516447
Pages: 208
Measurements: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00836
Other information: New Ed edition
ISBN-13: 978-1578516445
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- MSL Picks -
What would you be willing to do for the rest of your life... ?
It's a question most of us consider only hypothetically-opting instead to "do what we have to do" to earn a living. But in the critically acclaimed bestseller The Monk and the Riddle, entrepreneurial sage Randy Komisar asks us to answer it for real. The book's timeless advice-to make work pay not just in cash, but in experience, satisfaction, and joy-will be embraced by anyone who wants success to come not just from what they do, but from who they are. At once a fictional tale of Komisar's encounters with a would-be entrepreneur and a personal account of how Komisar found meaning not in work's rewards but in work itself, the book illustrates what's wrong with the mainstream thinking that we should sacrifice our lives to make a living. Described by Fortune.com as "part personal essay, part fictional narrative and part meditation on the nature of work and life," The Monk and the Riddle is essential reading on the art of creating a life while making a living.
The book opens with a brief story of Mr. Komisar giving a monk a ride on his motorcycle. After a long afternoon of riding, he delivers the monk where he wants to go. A few minutes later, he learns that the monk wants now to return to where they started. Finally, it sinks in. The monk just likes riding on motorcycles. He doesn't really have a destination in mind. Mr. Komisar connects that anecdote to his life as a young lawyer where he was so focused on goals, that he didn't see the conflict between his ambition for the future and the selling out of his values. Through a number of job changes and experiences, he emerges as someone who understands that the journey is all that counts, and takes on the role of virtual CEO for start-ups. This role means that he tries to help management accomplish what it wants, rather than representing the investors as venture capitalists do. It's a shift in direction that makes all the difference.
Most of the book is a fable about a stiff would-be entrepreneur named Lenny who seeks Mr. Komisar's advice. To get some idea of this fable, Lenny starts his pitch by saying that his business concept is to put the fun in funerals. Through the course of the book, Lenny learns to connect to his original passion, to provide a place on the Web where geographically-dispersed families can connect to grieve when a loved one dies. They can also get advice on how to handle the grief and the funeral. Mr. Komisar interspaces his own experiences with the fable to provide context for his observations.
At another level, the book makes the point that the reason to be an entrepreneur is to avoid the stultification of companies without a soul, operating only to meet the numbers. But you will have learned bad habits of forgetting about your soul-felt needs in mainstream corporate America, so you've got to regear as you enter entrepreneurship.
You should also use this book as an opportunity to reexamine your beliefs about life and relationships. You may have lots of stalled thinking outside of your working life, as well.
- From quoting Donald Mitchell
Target readers:
Young Entrepreneurs, investors and financiers
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Randy Komisar is a Virtual CEO who has worked with companies such as WebTV and TiVo. He was CEO of LucasArts Entertainment and Crystal Dynamics, CFO of GO, and one of the founders of Claris Corporation.
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From the publisher
Transcending the typical leadership book model of lists and frameworks on how to succeed in business, The Monk and the Riddle is a lively and humorous narrative about the education of a unique Silicon Valley insider. Currently a virtual CEO who provides leadership on-demand to several renowned companies, Komisar's unique role was recently described as a combined professional mentor, minister without portfolio, in-your-face investor, troubleshooter, and door opener. But even more interesting than what he does is how and why he does it. Komisar has found a way to turn an ambitious and challenging worklife into his life's work. The book is at once a portal into the inner workings of Silicon Valley - from how startups get launched, to how venture capitalists do their deals, to how head-hunters make their matches - and a deeply personal account of how one mover and shaker found a payoff bigger than money. The Monk and the Riddle imparts valuable lessons about the differences between leadership and management, passion and commitment, and the meaning of professional and personal success. When all is said and done, writes Komisar, the journey is the reward.
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| View all 10 comments |
Bruce (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-12 00:00>
I don't usually read business books, but this is not your usual buisness book. Randy Komisar has been around the Valley for a long time, and here he tells the story of his wild career. At the same time, he takes readers along as he travels (on a Harley, I think) from deal to deal in Silicon Valley. You would think that his story would be all ego, like so many other business books. But instead he offers an entertaining portrait of a typical entrepreneur. Lenny, a guy who is all boast and energy, but doesn't really understand what drives him. Although the book touches on business issues--how VCs work, how to think through a business plan -its real focus is on personal growth and values. Unfortunately, this is a message sorely missing from most business books these days, and one that really needs to be heard. I know too many Lennys! |
George (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-12 00:00>
Komisar has hit an important nerve in his very readable story about his interactions with a hard driving would-be Silicon Valley entrepreneur who wants to put the "fun" back in funerals. At times this book is hilarious, but most importantly it illustrates what may be going wrong in Silicon Valley as the gold rush attracts a generation of "get rich quick" entrepreneurs who leave their souls behind. This is not at all like other Harvard Business School Press books where you get 90% of the value by reading the table of contents. It's a fun and entertaining read with an important point. I recommend it. |
Eskin (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-12 00:00>
The book is a first person account into the life of an individual (Randy Komisar) who is asked to review a business plan for a friend at a venture capital firm. The entire book centers around the interaction between Komisar and the individual(s) trying to start a new internet busines. Komisar offers tremendous insights into the positioning of a business for venture capital funding and how one should look at their life's work. This book is one of the best I have read. Do yourself a favor and spend 4 hours some weekend and read this book. |
Scott (MSL quote), USA
<2007-06-12 00:00>
Randy Komisar's book is a great read... a sort of parable about life in Silicon Valley. It's a combination memoir about his experiences in a number of roles and a number of startups - woven through a fascinating dissection of one particular business plan and (more importantly) the motivations of the two entrepreneurs behind it. Komisar's advice to these two entrepreneurs focuses on passion - what do they really want to do with the rest of their life and is this startup really it? Komisar challenges them: if the journey (and not the money!) really is the reward, is this the right journey for you? |
View all 10 comments |
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