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156 ratings | 147 reviews | avg rating:4.10

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290 books | 42 friends

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Jason Braatz

Goodreads Author

Born

in Des Moines, Iowa, The United States

October 22, 1975

Website

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncbraatz/

Twitter

jasoncbraatz

Genre

Business, Nonfiction, Philosophy

Member Since

January 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/jasoncbraatz

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* Graduated from Stanford University with an MBA and a M.S. in Computer Science, Summa Cum Laude
* Graduated from the University of the Pacific in 1997, magna cum laude with a B.A. in Business and a dual B.S. in Physics and Computer Science
* Graduated from Manteca High School in 1993, Salutatorian. Go Buffaloes!
* Espoused personal views as a self-proclaimed Libertarian since age 9
* Wrote a book and didn't market it (bad idea)
* Bought and run businesses in the retail, tech and art sectors (good idea)
* Bought commercial/residential real estate
* Starting a new venture as of late 2024, my 8th startup (1-7 exited successfully).
* AI is a good thing, I can't help it though that we have morons implementing it. ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

is The Personal MBA book by Kaufman really that bad? You seem to have the only credentials out of all the reviews. I always say to put something in perspective, take it where it comes from. Thank you for the insight.

Jason Braatz I'm so sorry for the late (one year late!) reply. Goodreads doesn't prominently show me questions waiting or I would have responded to this quickly.

Mr…moreI'm so sorry for the late (one year late!) reply. Goodreads doesn't prominently show me questions waiting or I would have responded to this quickly.

Mr. Kaufman's Personal MBA is garbage. Most MBA programs now borrow the case method (pioneered in Harvard's MBA program) which is not only more effective in understanding the underlying principles of business, but it also puts it into context of a real problem faced by a real company. Mr. Kaufman had put together a "dictionary" of terms with that book that became dated before they even went to press. The meanings behind these terms or concepts are in constant flux. Quality Control used to be Six Sigma but now it's CI/CD or Manufacturing 4.0 . The vernacular in management is always changing, and thus a repetitive book on concept names and definitions is not only boring, but it's downright useless.

That said, there are many old books and old authors who, within a short period of time across a few books, would in effect give you the same knowledge (more or less) that an MBA program has to offer without the updated vernacular. The benefit of an MBA program is the ability to network with new peers, and to build effective tools on how to do solution finding in a collective environment. By reading books only, you'll miss that part, but depending on your personality, it may not be a detractor in the end.

The basis of all business begins at the Theory of Constraints developed by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. He wrote a book on it that's extremely easy to read ("The Goal") that brings it to life. Everything else as a tool learned in an MBA program is a module that plugs onto this theory. The theory sounds like what it is: there is only so much money, manpower and other resources, so it's about allocation of those resources that is the most important part of a business manager or CEO's job.

If you read The E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber and The Innovator's Dilemma by Clay Christensen, you'll have the concepts of a full MBA program. You won't, however, have the vernacular nor the deep dive into a particular topic (like accounting or queuing theory, etc). In those particular cases, you are much better off with a case method and either subscribe to Harvard's Business Review (or) find books on particular companies and read about how they grew or how they fell. They often disguise themselves as a biography of the CEO, so if you picked up the biography of Michael Eisner, you can pick up the essence of how he took Disney from an almost-tragedy in the early 1980s to the media and entertainment powerhouse it is today. Same thing with Lee Iacocca, Elon Musk, etc.

Keeping up with the more popular books in business (about 4-5 a year) will always keep your vernacular fresh. The concepts don't change but their implementation does (which is why the vernacular changes).

Good luck! Once again I'm so sorry for the delayed response.(less)

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Getting 5-Star Reviews on Yelp, Guaranteed: Unofficial Guide to Ensuring your Business Wins on Yelp

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2015

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Jason’s Recent Updates

Jason Braatz is now friends with Ayushmaan
May 22, 2026 07:21AM · like
Jason Braatz rated a book it was amazing Technology and the Rise of Great Powers: How Diffusion Shapes Economic Competition (Princeton Studies in International History and Politics) by Jeffrey Ding	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Great book, 5-star read - though not in the basket of a 'must read,' it's a 'make-you-think' theory of technological advancement. The tome is an interesting thought experiment but it's not required reading for you to order DoorDash tonight. It'll be ...more
Apr 11, 2025 10:31AM · 3 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Technology and the Rise of Great Powers by Jeffrey Ding. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Technology and the Rise of Great Powers by Jeffrey Ding <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Jason’s Quotes

“You rarely win with money. The best you can hope for is not to blow it completely.”
― Jeff Hoffman

tags: perspective-on-money

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“Wisdom consists not so much in knowing what to do in the ultimate as in knowing what to do next.”
― Herbert Hoover

tags: wisdom-quotes

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“A correctly tuned system must be able to run for years at full load without slowing down nor crashing.”
― David M. Finkel, Build a Business, Not a Job: Grow Your Business & Get Your Life Back

tags: business-systems

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“Talk does not cook rice.”
― Chinese Proverb

tags: proverbial-wisdom

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“The government should be afraid of the people, the people shouldn't be afraid of the government.”
― Edward Snowden, Permanent Record

Jason’s Year In Books

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Jason Braatz

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