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36 of 40 found the following review helpful:
 Do not buy this book May 29, 2006
By D. Kidd
"DK"
I read Lucky or Smart after receiving a recommendation from a very creditable source. However, it was a great disappointment, and in my opinion, a waste of money. $13.95 (as per the inside cover of the book) for 58 pages that delivered little value.
Bo Peabody may himself be both lucky and smart for founding and selling a low revenue-no profit generating internet company during the internet bubble; I hope you are lucky enough to read this review and then smart enough to avoid purchasing his book. My brief summary of the lessons from the book follows:
Chapter 1: Start a company that is innovative, morally compelling and philosophically positive; this will attract smart, motivated people that will do great things because they are smart and motivated (Enron aside)
Chapter 2: you are born an entrepreneur or a manager - accept who you are because you cannot change
Chapter 3: entrepreneurs are B students, managers are A students - unfortunately I was a B student in high school and an A student in college, something the author does not address
Chapter 4: strive to be good enough to survive; if you do you will be bought by a company that can make you great; but don't be great on your own or you will not survive
Chapter 5: have faith
Chapter 6: don't take no for an answer
Chapter 7: entrepreneurs don't have power - "get used to it"
Chapter 8: stay calm and be gracious in difficult situations
Chapter 9: read the WSJ daily, the NY times on Sunday and pick one other reputable weekly or monthly business magazine - and don't read any other form of press
Chapter 10: always sell
Chapter 11: know what you don't know
after reading the above there is no reason for you to purchase the book unless you want to know more about Bo Peabody or the companies he founded. That is all there is, except for a number of tangentially related stories that involve Bo and his limited experiences in the business world (I say this because he was in his early thirties when this book was written).
Instead of reading Lucky or Smart I would highly recommend the Richest Man in Babylon or Rich Dad Poor Dad.
12 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 Good weekend reading Jan 09, 2005
By Alex Krooglik
I enjoy reading stories about entrepreneurs and the (sometimes) crazy stuff they do. Bo Peabody is a crazy and, might I add, highly entertaining, entrepreneur. Bo made wads of cash selling his internet company Tripod at the height of the bubble. He was in his mid 20s.
"Lucky or Smart" is a small book, in length no greater than a weekend NY Times magazine article. The tone is positive, irreverant, and homely. There is some classic diatribe. For example, in talking about the corrosive effects of Blackberry's on the concentration span of executives nowadays, he recommends that smart entrepreneurs send them to competitors to rob them of their power of thought (p45). Sad but very likely true.
Bo sees the business world as made up of A-students and B-students, the former being primarily managers, the latter entrepreneurs. Each plays a very important role in a new venture. There is a symbiotic relationship between the two, with the B-students pushing the envelope, selling, and ignoring accepted wisdom in search of new frontiers, while the A-students refine and focus based on the view in the rear-view mirror.
There isn't a lot in the way of inspiration or guidance but Bo shows us that you can be lucky or you can be smart, and a truly smart person realizes when she's getting lucky and capitalizes on it.
If you enjoyed "Dot Con" by John Cassidy, "Dot Bomb" by J. David Kuo, or "A Good Hard Kick in the Ass" by Rob Adams, you might enjoy Bo's book.
9 of 11 found the following review helpful:
Will be a classic "Little Book" Jan 11, 2005
By Ray Salemi
It seems that whenever you are looking for deep insights into some aspect of business someone will say, "There is this great little book called ..."
"Think and Grow Rich", "Richest Man in Babylon", and the "One Minute Manager" all fall into the category of "A great little book..."
The beauty of little books is that the author has managed to buck the economics of publishing (which values books by page count and size) and has focused clearly on one topic. This clarity is priceless and hard to find.
Bo Peabody has created another in a list of "Great little books..." He clearly paints a picture of the kind of person who should be an entrepreneur and the things that person needs to focus on and learn.
The book makes its points well and has compelling stories that illustrate the ideas. It has a frank view of the mystique of the entrepreneur and the way that ego can destroy our companies.
It's a great little book!
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Smart enough to realize he was being lucky.. period May 22, 2006
By Humberto Mejia
"Still alive and kicking"
My profile: 42 yo Sales Engineer.
I must admit this is an audiobook that is extremely enjoyable to listen in the road for it tells a story much fascinating with unsual characters and an insiders story on the internet bubble, but other than that, what can I do to learn something? Just realize that I have to be smart enogh to know when Im being Lucky??
Yes, he does point out a basic distintion between managers and enterpreneurs, and the recognition that both must co-exist to make a biz flourish.. yet at the end of the day, there is a message of fatalism.. he asserts either you are or you are not an enterpreneur and there is nothing much you can do about that.
He rode on the wave of free advertising when the inetrenet boom thought all their enterpreneurs were free living young spirits.. he did sell his stock of a Co that NEVER made profits..its this the way to go???
As I said.. its very enjoyable to listen to.. but I did not find much to do for myself afterward.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Hilarious and engaging Jan 14, 2005
By Emma Jane Taylor
If you spent the latter part of the '90s working with brilliant, slightly unhinged tech wizards with a disdain for footwear and an even greater disdain for being "managed," then you'll love this book. Or if you spent the '90s trying to decide which brilliant, slightly unhinged dot com ideas you should fund, then you'll love this book. Even if you spent the 90s working on your stamp collection, this book is a very funny look at the inner workings of a small company, with words of wisdom, wit and inspiration that extend way beyond the dot com era.
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