If you are considering starting a new business then this is a worthwhile read.  However if your startup is in the area of professional services (such as consulting) then you might be slightly frustrated at the end of the book because the examples given don’t cover the nuances of this type of business.  You might also need to abstract and distil the main themes from the book in order to see the relevance to your situation.  But if you do this with an open mind and interpret the authors example of opening a pie franchise then the leaning points are valuable indeed.

The main message from this book is that a technical specialist is likely to fail at a new business venture unless they change their mindset to work on the business (Direct) rather than in the business (Operate).  They need to be the owner in the true sense not the cornerstone employee.  This requires a strategic approach to business development.

Considering that much of our life is spent in our professional work, it is essential that we are fulfilled.  There is nothing admirable about working in an environment that is not allowing you to express your life purpose.  The author emphasises the importance of finding your own true mission and how you can integrate your new business into this purpose so that they are in synergy.

The creation of a scaleable, repeatable business model (the franchise) is a mindset change that is possible for technical people,  but this mindset shift needs to be deliberate since busy technical work is more compelling to many technical personalities.