I'd subtitle it "Applied Objectivism," in the same sense that one would speak of applied electronics where principles are applied to create all kinds of devices and equipment run by electricity. "Ayn Rand and Business" applies the principles of Objectivism to the business of marketing, capitalization, management, customer service, etc.

The book presents a brief biography of Ayn Rand covering her years in Russia, her coming to America, her struggles, her triumphs, the Objectivist "movement," that started with NBI (Nathaniel Branden Institute), the 1968 "break" between Branden and Rand and the ensuing excommunications, schisms and rifts that led to the sad decline in the "movement" and the quantity of her writings. 

But, more importantly, the focus of the book is on the application of Objectivist principles to business life. (And to personal life, which comes before but also runs parallel with business life.) The authors take the Objectivist values and virtues, explain them so very clearly and illustrate them with concrete examples how they apply in the business world. They use characters from Ayn Rand's novels as models, but they also use real-life business people who practice these virtues and values.

Their presentation of Objectivist principles is clear and concise. This is not a treatise, but outside of the business focus, the book could be considered an excellent introduction to Objectivism. They deal with all of the heavy philosophical subjects and issues in what we used to refer to as "layman's terms."
 
You don't have to be a philosopher to understand Ayn Rand. Her writing is crystal clear. Nonetheless, jumping into metaphysics and epistemology cold turkey may not be the best way to get an introduction to Objectivism or any other philosophy. When, as a kid, I started to read about relativity and physics, many books that put those ideas in "layman's terms" were invaluable. "Ayn Rand and Business" does this superbly. 

Fans of Ayn Rand and long time readers will find nothing new, philosophically, in the book though they should be impressed by its clarity and thoroughness in explaining Objectivism. I would particularly recommend it to people who show an interest in ideas and who might be prime candidates to become Objectivists. And because it is focused on Objectivism in business, I would highly recommend it for such prime candidates in the business world. 

It's not clear where the authors discovered Ayn Rand. The biographical information is silent on this subject. But it is obvious from the sources they cite and the bibliography that they know their subject. They quote from virtually every book, article and newsletter Ayn Rand ever wrote. They appear to have read every book by or about her and Objectivism.

The only flaws I see in the book are in editing. In several instances, needed words are missing or the wrong words are used. Additionally, there are a couple of instances where the wording of a sentence initially gives the opposite impression than that intended. And it is incorrectly stated that "The Objectivist" preceded "The Objectivist Newsletter." But the errors, except for the last one, are obvious to any reader and do nothing to detract from the content.

Overall, the book gets my highest rating. For a book written so clearly and favorably about Objectivism, by two people apparently unknown in the Ayn Rand "movement," to suddenly appear on the scene is remarkable. It's something to be celebrated and is an indication that, more than anything else I've seen, Objectivism is breaking through to and is reaching the common man who Ayn Rand correctly remarked is not so "common."

8 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Insightful!  Apr 15, 2002
By Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract"
Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism celebrates the underlying principles of capitalism: reason, independence and just plain selfishness. Donna Greiner and Theodore Kinni lay out the fundamentals of Objectivism and attempt to describe how you can integrate its beliefs into your life and your business. The book is written in the spirit of Rand's own outlook: It is anchored in practicality, well organized and goal-oriented. Even so, some executives might lose patience with the philosophic nature of the work. We advise such readers to move on. However, we from getAbstract recommend this book to intellectually curious readers in search of a moral, ethical, or even philosophic foundation for their business life.

12 of 15 found the following review helpful:

Distorted Portrait on Cover + Abundance of Sarcasm  Nov 01, 2001
By Alexander Fürstenberg "salesbooks-de"
This book is a fine example of how a "no-set" can be created in a reader by using:

An abundance of sarcasm from cover to cover, a pseudo-balanced account to attack without having to use any logical arguments, and scaring potential prospects away by utilizing discrepancies within the Objectivist movement that are non-essential for beginners.

Presenting itself to the unsuspecting prospect as the much needed introductory book to the application of Objectivism to business, the only thing it achieves, is making look the founder of Objectivism a somewhat weird and eccentric person. If it was the goal of the authors to convince productive businesspeople that applying Objectivist principles to their problems of work is impractical, they were without doubt successful in completing their job.

If you are a businessperson honestly interested in learning about Objectivism in the context of management, you should look into one of these books instead: Nathaniel Branden's Self-Esteem At Work, Edwin Locke's The Prime Movers, and Ayn Rand Institute's Why Businessman Need Philosophy. While all of these books are not perfect, they are by far better then the Greiner/Kinni text. I gave it nonetheless two stars, because it provides -- for those who are interested in such a sinister task -- an easy to understand pattern that can be modified for one's own propaganda purposes.

Ayn Rand's portrait on the cover seems to be deliberately distorted with a software program. A black cloud was added to the skyline on the upper right. It's November 2001.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

Useful but slanted  Nov 16, 2003
By Eric Kassan
This book does a decent job of showing how application of Ayn Rand's philosophy can improve your performance at work and your company's performance, but the authors have some incorrect notions of the scope of Ayn Rand's philosophy and it's proponents. The book can best be enjoyed by skipping the first section of the book which doesn't really pertain to the subject of the book. For the essence of her philosophy, I'd recommend Ayn Rand's "For the New Intellectual".

10 of 14 found the following review helpful:

Great Insight, Advice, Stimulation  Oct 09, 2001
By Roger E. Herman
Ayn Rand made a mark for herself as a philosopher, as an author, and as leader of a philosophical movement called Objectivism. Her books still sell well today, twenty years after her death. Best known are "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged," required reading for many high school and college students.

I enjoyed reading those two masterpieces by Ayn Rand. Good stories, well-told, with some interesting points. But, truth be told, I didn't really get the whole message. Perhaps I was too young, too inexperienced, too sheltered, or too something. Part of my has always been curious about who Ayn Rand was, where she was coming from, and what lessons she was trying to teach. What was this Objectivism concept, anyway?

Now, I understand. No, I won't claim to be a philosophical scholar of Objectivism and comparative schools of thought. But, from reading this book I have a much greater appreciation of the Objectivism approach. I enjoyed reading "Atlas Shrugged" and have recommended the book many times over the years. As a result of reading "Ayn Rand and Business" I have a much better idea of the motivations behind the characters and the theme.

I really like the way Greiner and Kinni put this book together. They teach us quite a bit about Rand, her life, and the personal side of this controversial acclaimed author and her followers. Fascinating! (Did you know that Allan Greenspan was one of Ayn Rand's disciples? Reading this volume was an enjoyable journey; I hated to put the book down and was always eager to return to its pages. The authors reach into history and into Rand's writings to explain how her teachings relate to business, and they use modern (very recent) examples to illustrate how Objectivism concepts apply to business today.

The book is simple in its organization: three sections. The first section devotes three chapters to Ayn Rand and Objectivism to give us a platform for understanding. The second section, Randian Work, presents eight chapters on Rand's philosophical principles applied to business. Included are rationality, independence, integrity, honesty, justice, productiveness, and pride. All are linked to the reality of today. This book really connects for students-of all ages-of business philosophy.

The third section of the book, Randian Management, delivers leadership-focused chapters on Winning through Innovation, Managing People to Their Ultimate Potential, and Leading with Purpose. The value of the book is enhanced with a comprehensive bibliography of Rand's writings and an index. The smaller size of the book, 5 inches by I inches, gives a feeling of reading something from a long time ago, like the book should be leather-bound. There is "long ago" in the book, wonderfully linked to right now.

If you enjoyed any of Ayn Rand's writings, you'll get a lot from this book. If you are in business-as an owner or a leader or a manager, you will also benefit from "Ayn Rand and Business." And if you like to read though-provoking writing, spend some time with this book.

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