Listen to “#828 My Interview with Michael E. Gerber, Author of “The E-Myth”” on Spreaker.
On this episode of The Small Business Radio Show…
Inc. Magazine calls him “the World’s #1 Small Business Guru” — the entrepreneurial and small business thought leader who has impacted the lives of millions of small business owners and hundreds of thousands of companies worldwide for over 40 years.
Michael E. Gerber is a celebrated entrepreneur, author, and business coach renowned for his groundbreaking book, “The E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It.” With a career spanning several decades, he has transformed the way small businesses operate by emphasizing the importance of effective systems and strategic planning. Gerber’s philosophy encourages entrepreneurs to work on their business rather than merely in it, fostering sustainable growth and innovation. He encourages all small business owners to get out of the cycle of just “doing it, doing it, doing it”.
We discussed:
1. Where did your most famous phrase- work on your business, not just in your business come from?
2. What do most people get wrong about the E-Myth?
3. Some critics argue “working on your business, not in it” can strip away creativity and soul. Do you think entrepreneurs risk becoming “robots” of their own systems?
4. What’s a commonly held belief about business success that you completely disagree with?
5. You’ve spent decades teaching entrepreneurs to build businesses that can run without them — what happens to purpose and fulfillment when the founder’s role diminishes?
6. If you could challenge one assumption held by today’s startup culture (think Silicon Valley hype), what would it be?
7. What’s the biggest mistake you made early in your career that no one would guess from reading your books?
Why are we tie our self worth and identity to tech devices? Why do advances in tech many times disappoint us?
Allen Batteau is a cultural anthropologist, professor at Wayne State University’s Department of Anthropology, and former director of the University’s Institute for Information Technology and Culture. He is the author of “Tools, Totems, and Totalities”.
We discussed:
- Engineering accomplishments in Western Society before the concept of “technology” appeared in the 19th century.
- Physical, social, and institutional changes in society during the eighteenth and nineteen centuries that built the idea of technology as we understand it today.
- The role of engineers in technology and technological standards.
- Technology from a design perspective, noting how the aesthetic dimensions of technology, notably modernism, figure into popular understandings of technology.
- The emergence of modern design.
- Techno-totemism or the idea of defining ourselves through technology. For example, our cars can define who ae are and establish our identity in society.
- The relationship between technology and economic values.
- The brittleness of the technological society – algorithms offering fewer choices instead of the freedom promised by technology.
- The cultural roots of our love affair with technology.
- Questioning Artificial Intelligence and understanding the choices we make in technology is as important as the objects themselves.
- Technology journalist Kara Swishers and the impact of her book, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story (2024).
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