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Copy This!: Lessons from a Hyperactive Dyslexic who Turned a Bright Idea Into One of America's Best Companies
Bill Moyers said this about Paul Orfalea after reading Copy This! : " If I could live my life over again, I would sit at his feet and listen to everything he has to say ." And David Brancaccio, host of NOW on PBS, " As the host for a decade of a daily business program, I had to read what seemed like every business book published in the English language. It is, therefore, with authority that I can say Paul Orfalea’s book is wonderful, heartbreaking, and profoundly useful ."
Now in paperback, Copy This! , Paul Orfale's memoir of turning lemons into lemonade, is wise, personal, funny, unflinchingly honest, and filled with wisdom, business lessons, and his inspired Orfalea Aphorisms. It's the story of how a struggling kid who could barely read, write, or sit still managed to grow a 100-square-foot copy shop named Kinko's into a $1.5 billion empire that Fortune named one of the best places in America to work. And it's the story of an individual who saw his learning disabilities—ADHD and dyslexia—as learning opportunities, which molded the homegrown, compassionate culture that allowed Kinko's to thrive, and guided the behavior of a CEO who had no choice but to think different. A terrifically entertaining read from a born storyteller, but with the hardcore guts of true business acumen, Copy This! will blow fresh air into the thinking of any manager, entrepreneur, executive, or business owner.
Now in paperback, Copy This! , Paul Orfale's memoir of turning lemons into lemonade, is wise, personal, funny, unflinchingly honest, and filled with wisdom, business lessons, and his inspired Orfalea Aphorisms. It's the story of how a struggling kid who could barely read, write, or sit still managed to grow a 100-square-foot copy shop named Kinko's into a $1.5 billion empire that Fortune named one of the best places in America to work. And it's the story of an individual who saw his learning disabilities—ADHD and dyslexia—as learning opportunities, which molded the homegrown, compassionate culture that allowed Kinko's to thrive, and guided the behavior of a CEO who had no choice but to think different. A terrifically entertaining read from a born storyteller, but with the hardcore guts of true business acumen, Copy This! will blow fresh air into the thinking of any manager, entrepreneur, executive, or business owner.
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First published July 11, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 19, 2012
Going by the Cover, this book sounded like a fascinating story about a person who even with all his shortcomings and disadvantages managed to become what he did. And for most part, this book is fascinating. There are lot of good things to take from Paul's life but there is lot of advice and views given by Mr.Orfalea which I personally cannot relate to and thus cannot agree with. I believe in 'taking the best and leaving the rest' policy when it comes to reading books. But one thing that was evident was that Paul was unique and so was his management style and ideas. You should read the book just for that.
January 26, 2015
Interesting ideas in business and in life. The story flows somewhat chronologically, but is mostly conveyed in thought/lesson sections, so it was hard at times to figure out where the business was at the point of the story. On the other hand, it was nice to have a specific theme and hear the examples as they applied to his business experiences. I got such a mixed view of Paul. It seemed like he really did a great job making the best of the difficulties in learning he had, but then he got to his "dark side" and pretty much said what a complete ass he is. While on paper he seems to have some pretty great ideas, I doubt I could ever get along with this guy.
August 17, 2018
WOW fascinating man. Here is an excerpt that think will help explain where he is coming from with his laid-back approach to business. "Humor is a diversionary tool many kids with earning opportunities employ to subvert authority. Many dyslexics grow up with a strong distaste for authority. Our earliest experiences with teachers and parents as authority figures are usually pretty negative. That certainly was the case with me, as it was several of my cousins and business partners who are also dyslexic." I enjoy his humor and thinking. Does not talk a lot about his private life but does tell a few facts about himself so you could see his drive and personality.
April 14, 2012
I read this based on a coworker's recommendation, and I wasn't disappointed. It's entertaining and an easy read, and provides insight into Kinko's and its founder (Paul Orfalea). Orfalea is dyslexic, bombed at school, built a tremendous business, and made a ton of money. His approaches and philosophy defy conventional business wisdom, but it's hard to argue with results. As you read it, you'll gain insights into ways you can change what you're doing to be more successful.
I think FedEx chose poorly when they retired the Kinko's brand and trotted out that silly FedEx Office.
I think FedEx chose poorly when they retired the Kinko's brand and trotted out that silly FedEx Office.
December 7, 2008
From what I can remember from this book, it was an interesting story about the evolution of Kinko's. Orfalea has ADHD and dyslexia, yet he started the world's most ubiquitous reprographics companies. It was a quick, easy read. He could be a bit dictatorial and temperamental in running his company, but it was interesting...
November 8, 2016
A Book about Copies is a True Original
Copy This!
By Paul Orfalea and Ann Marsh
Workman Publishing, 2005
$23.95
Not often does the autobiography of a modern business icon make you laugh while reading one page, force you to think about serious educational policy on the next and make brash pronouncements about how to succeed in business on the following.. “Copy This!”, the charming autobiography of Kinko’s founder Paul Orfalea (OR-fah-la), does just that.
Unlike too many books by successful business leaders that offer more of the same, all to obvious business advice, “Copy This!” is a refreshing and honest look at what makes Orfalea tick. From the very first page, an introduction by part-time Montanan Charles Schwab, you know this book is going to be different. Schwab, who is credited by many for revolutionizing the brokerage industry in America in the 1980s, lets us in on a secret – both he and Orfalea had a h
ard time fitting in at school as kids because they suffered from dyslexia. They didn’t learn less – they just learned differently – Schwab relying on Classic Comics to get by and Orfalea on television broadcasts of plays assigned in literature class. Both went on to change the way business is done from coast to coast.
Any question of just how different Orfalea thinks is answered in the very first chapter. In it he tells about teaching a class at the University of California at Santa Barbara and asking a male student to tell the class which girl in the class he would like to ask out. He then has the student ask her on a date – then and there. This Paul Orfelea is different indeed.
Orfalea founded Kinko’s – now FedEx Kinko’s – after a frustrating experience finding a place to make copies of a report for a class while an undergraduate at USC in 1970. It dawned on him that he was likely not alone in this frustration and followed the first
tenant of business – find a need and fill it.
Cursed by incurably kinky hair, Paul Orfalea was dubbed by one of his friends as “Kinko.” The nickname stuck and became the name of his first, quite humble, 100 square foot store in Santa Barbara, California. Little did he know then that within a decade that nickname would be a household term in nearly every community in America and in countries across the globe. Before retiring in 2000, Orfalea had made millionaires of literally hundreds of partners in Kinko’s around the world.
His book is, like Orfalea, honest to the point sometimes of over-sharing. It is that transparent quality that makes the book so special. Orfalea spends no time patting himself on the back, and plenty of time thinking out loud about his successes and his failures. In so doing he gives the reader unique access to the real thought process behind one of America’s most successful businesses.
Likewise, his opinions abo
ut public policy in general and education in particular are thoughtful and impossible to predict. He says frankly in one chapter that “If George W. Bush ever truly succeeded with his ‘No Child Left Behind’ program, I’d still be in the third grade.” Straight talk indeed.
“Copy This!” will likely not get on a lot of bestseller lists but it should. Flaws and all, Orfalea tells it like it is and lets the reader sort out what they like and what they don’t. That’s his leadership style as a businessman and it comes through loud and clear in the writing of co-author Ann Marsh who does a masterful job of letting Orfalea be Orfalea.
This book about copies is a true original and a breath of fresh air in a book section that is all too often stuffy and arrogant. And whatever you do – don’t overlook the usually overlooked “Appendix” to this one – titled “Stories that Didn’t Fit in the Book.” Kind of like the outtakes at the end of a
movie – it provided a funny ending to a good story.
Copy This!
By Paul Orfalea and Ann Marsh
Workman Publishing, 2005
$23.95
Not often does the autobiography of a modern business icon make you laugh while reading one page, force you to think about serious educational policy on the next and make brash pronouncements about how to succeed in business on the following.. “Copy This!”, the charming autobiography of Kinko’s founder Paul Orfalea (OR-fah-la), does just that.
Unlike too many books by successful business leaders that offer more of the same, all to obvious business advice, “Copy This!” is a refreshing and honest look at what makes Orfalea tick. From the very first page, an introduction by part-time Montanan Charles Schwab, you know this book is going to be different. Schwab, who is credited by many for revolutionizing the brokerage industry in America in the 1980s, lets us in on a secret – both he and Orfalea had a h
ard time fitting in at school as kids because they suffered from dyslexia. They didn’t learn less – they just learned differently – Schwab relying on Classic Comics to get by and Orfalea on television broadcasts of plays assigned in literature class. Both went on to change the way business is done from coast to coast.
Any question of just how different Orfalea thinks is answered in the very first chapter. In it he tells about teaching a class at the University of California at Santa Barbara and asking a male student to tell the class which girl in the class he would like to ask out. He then has the student ask her on a date – then and there. This Paul Orfelea is different indeed.
Orfalea founded Kinko’s – now FedEx Kinko’s – after a frustrating experience finding a place to make copies of a report for a class while an undergraduate at USC in 1970. It dawned on him that he was likely not alone in this frustration and followed the first
tenant of business – find a need and fill it.
Cursed by incurably kinky hair, Paul Orfalea was dubbed by one of his friends as “Kinko.” The nickname stuck and became the name of his first, quite humble, 100 square foot store in Santa Barbara, California. Little did he know then that within a decade that nickname would be a household term in nearly every community in America and in countries across the globe. Before retiring in 2000, Orfalea had made millionaires of literally hundreds of partners in Kinko’s around the world.
His book is, like Orfalea, honest to the point sometimes of over-sharing. It is that transparent quality that makes the book so special. Orfalea spends no time patting himself on the back, and plenty of time thinking out loud about his successes and his failures. In so doing he gives the reader unique access to the real thought process behind one of America’s most successful businesses.
Likewise, his opinions abo
ut public policy in general and education in particular are thoughtful and impossible to predict. He says frankly in one chapter that “If George W. Bush ever truly succeeded with his ‘No Child Left Behind’ program, I’d still be in the third grade.” Straight talk indeed.
“Copy This!” will likely not get on a lot of bestseller lists but it should. Flaws and all, Orfalea tells it like it is and lets the reader sort out what they like and what they don’t. That’s his leadership style as a businessman and it comes through loud and clear in the writing of co-author Ann Marsh who does a masterful job of letting Orfalea be Orfalea.
This book about copies is a true original and a breath of fresh air in a book section that is all too often stuffy and arrogant. And whatever you do – don’t overlook the usually overlooked “Appendix” to this one – titled “Stories that Didn’t Fit in the Book.” Kind of like the outtakes at the end of a
movie – it provided a funny ending to a good story.
September 10, 2018
I highly recommend this book as the one written by the achiever rather than a researcher. The tips found in the book can be profoundly useful for budding entrepreneurs. It’s funny on the back cover it’s written “Paul Orfalea is a true inspiration to anyone who has been told, no, you can’t” - author? Bill Cosby :) Here are some excerpts from the book that resonated with me:
• Best way to live is by sharing the burdens, as well as joys with others
• My motto has always been Anybody else can do it better
• 1+1 equals 4; people are always stronger together
• The best student think they have to do it all themselves
• When you are an employee you are only as good as your last paycheck
• About Kinko’s : They speculated this company has as much chance of success as fur company in Death Valley
• It’s not the things you do but the things you don’t do that drive you crazy
• Being on your business and your life means having enough detachment every day that you are constantly assessing your direction, thinking creatively about your overall strategy and scrutinizing you competitors tactics
• If you are in your business you are not leading, just putting out fires
• Accountants are in the past, managers are in the present and leaders are in the future
• When you call people too much they don’t take you seriously
• The best way to show people you trust them is to leave them alone
• Your eyes believe what they see. Your ears believe others’
• We tried to instill a sense of entrepreneurship in all our workers. Share of profit from their store
• I never wanted to work with people I made money on. I wanted to work with people I made money with
• Nobody works for anybody else
• There is no need to expand in neat geographic progression. In fact, we did not need to respect geographic boundaries at all
• Build a better environment overall. When people are properly motivated they will essentially manage themselves
• I learned not to ask my kids how was school today? But instead ask them what questions did you ask today?
• Offer people the real incentives to work there
• Give your coworkers a fraction of their action
• I wanted a smaller piece of a bigger pie
• Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry alone
• Continue making money while you sleep
• Retail is detail
• We tried to build a company at Kinko’s in which we subordinated ourselves to the needs and demands of our customers
• It would not hurt to pair a psychology minor with your business degree
• Starbucks business is not so much about coffee as it is about taking a break and letting your soul catch up with your body
• To succeed in a business you have to dress like a republican
• 80/20 rule - managers spending 80% of their time with coworkers and customers and 20% behind the door
• When everyone faces inward guess who’s left staring at a bunch of backs?
• Annual best ideas contest, people being interested to provide new ideas - we would reward all workers from the store
• As a management we were subordinate to our customers and our workers
• I wanted them to think for themselves that way not only would the stores run by themselves but our coworkers could constantly surprises us with ideas
• Franchising sets up adversarial relationship
• When Fred Smith the founder of Fedex wrote a paper on overnight delivery service for his professors at Yale they gave him a C
• If you want to have an effective democracy it is ought to be an educated one
• You can't beat an environment of friendly competition for motivating people
• All of the stuff Jack Welch stands for we’re against - that the bottom 10% performers should be taken out to to dig their graves before they were shot
• You’re only as good as your dreams goal setting should be more like an impressionist painting, pushing too hard to open 3rd store went wrong - expand your business instead opening 3 stores
• Best part about goal setting is going through the process, first make a plan, then throw it out
• Controversy and debate is necessary for every healthy company
• Without enough rent and recreation we lose the ability to get any good thinking done
• Best human relationships are forged when people can be stupid
• Bath suit factor at Kinko’s everybody has seen another in it
• Corporate execs who take salaries, but don't have stake like to be lied to
• Successful businesses are rarely started by laid-back personalities
• Fight your emotions. Don't let them rule you
• If i yell at you for an hour a day it means I love you the other 23
• A different kind of organization that values arguments more highly than serenity and encourages doubt and contradiction rather than belief
• God hates a coward
• In life to create anything a business, a friendship, or a child passion is the necessary ingredient
• What you put out in the world will come back to you
• Integrity is like virginity, you only lose it once
• Trust but verify
• Whenever you see a cockroach it is rarely a lone bug
• Paradoxically, life is filled with sets of opposing values, that seem to cancel each other but both are needed to keep a business afloat
• Running a business is learning to go to sleep at night with unresolved issues
• We need to be able to speak to one another, clearly and succinctly
• All we did was leaving cheaters alone, laws of Karma were at work
• Fail at something means one or more of three things: 1.you’re a risk take, that’s a good thing to know hot to take an initiative 2. You’ve learned something about yourself or the world along the way 3. There’s probably better opportunity elsewhere
• Optimism and perseverance are the only antidotes of setbacks
• The biggest cause of failure is your past success
• The most important ways I have learned to deal with setbacks is by letting go
• We should celebrate their failures not their successes
• Out in the real world failure and benefiting from it is the name of the game
• Either you can earn your way into fortune or save it into one
• Your integrity is directly related to your liquidity
• I knew damn well I was not going to make it in life if I did not have money
• If your boss treats you unethically you can't walk out the door especially if you have wife and two kids
• If the monthly rent was 1 percent of the purchase price i’d buy the property
• If your business is so dependant on you and your presence, that you have to be there every minute of the day to make money, you don’t really own your business, your business owns you
• Cash flow is the most important financial measure of any business
• The most fortunes are lost in good times - hubris and illusion of invincibility are one of the reasons
• Minimize emotional swing and maximize intuitive strength
• To be a good investor or a good in business you’re to trust your feelings, look beyond financial reports and analysis recommendations
• Whenever business goes poorly I should brag, whenever it goes well I should complain
• Never show your cards or tell true reasons you do things
• I managed situation keeping everybody off balance, management through chaos
• Relationships that start out friendly do not always end up that way
• I believe in the luck of virgin rollers
• Marginal revenue and marginal cost are two of the most important measures in assessing the viability of any business
• No matter what anyone says walking away from something to have spend 30 years nurturing whether it is a child or a company or even a hobby is going to take a toll
• It is a bad attitude for everyone to think you are doing somebody a favor when paying them
• For the entire time I was at Kinko’s I did not let another person invest my money for me
• Great thing about investments is they are like grandkids, you can love them and leave them
• The great thing about life is making something out of nothing, imagination is your only limiting factor
• I have found that if you want to succeed you have to spend time helping people build themselves up
• Learn to be immature
• Kids stop asking questions because they find it irritates grown ups
• Give the glory, take the money
• You can’t make money while you are running scared
• You want to be bulletproof with interests, dividends, rent and liquidity
• Make your customers comfortable and they will give you their lives
• People rise to the level of trust you give them
• If my partners would fight for themselves I knew they would fight for me too
• Best way to live is by sharing the burdens, as well as joys with others
• My motto has always been Anybody else can do it better
• 1+1 equals 4; people are always stronger together
• The best student think they have to do it all themselves
• When you are an employee you are only as good as your last paycheck
• About Kinko’s : They speculated this company has as much chance of success as fur company in Death Valley
• It’s not the things you do but the things you don’t do that drive you crazy
• Being on your business and your life means having enough detachment every day that you are constantly assessing your direction, thinking creatively about your overall strategy and scrutinizing you competitors tactics
• If you are in your business you are not leading, just putting out fires
• Accountants are in the past, managers are in the present and leaders are in the future
• When you call people too much they don’t take you seriously
• The best way to show people you trust them is to leave them alone
• Your eyes believe what they see. Your ears believe others’
• We tried to instill a sense of entrepreneurship in all our workers. Share of profit from their store
• I never wanted to work with people I made money on. I wanted to work with people I made money with
• Nobody works for anybody else
• There is no need to expand in neat geographic progression. In fact, we did not need to respect geographic boundaries at all
• Build a better environment overall. When people are properly motivated they will essentially manage themselves
• I learned not to ask my kids how was school today? But instead ask them what questions did you ask today?
• Offer people the real incentives to work there
• Give your coworkers a fraction of their action
• I wanted a smaller piece of a bigger pie
• Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry alone
• Continue making money while you sleep
• Retail is detail
• We tried to build a company at Kinko’s in which we subordinated ourselves to the needs and demands of our customers
• It would not hurt to pair a psychology minor with your business degree
• Starbucks business is not so much about coffee as it is about taking a break and letting your soul catch up with your body
• To succeed in a business you have to dress like a republican
• 80/20 rule - managers spending 80% of their time with coworkers and customers and 20% behind the door
• When everyone faces inward guess who’s left staring at a bunch of backs?
• Annual best ideas contest, people being interested to provide new ideas - we would reward all workers from the store
• As a management we were subordinate to our customers and our workers
• I wanted them to think for themselves that way not only would the stores run by themselves but our coworkers could constantly surprises us with ideas
• Franchising sets up adversarial relationship
• When Fred Smith the founder of Fedex wrote a paper on overnight delivery service for his professors at Yale they gave him a C
• If you want to have an effective democracy it is ought to be an educated one
• You can't beat an environment of friendly competition for motivating people
• All of the stuff Jack Welch stands for we’re against - that the bottom 10% performers should be taken out to to dig their graves before they were shot
• You’re only as good as your dreams goal setting should be more like an impressionist painting, pushing too hard to open 3rd store went wrong - expand your business instead opening 3 stores
• Best part about goal setting is going through the process, first make a plan, then throw it out
• Controversy and debate is necessary for every healthy company
• Without enough rent and recreation we lose the ability to get any good thinking done
• Best human relationships are forged when people can be stupid
• Bath suit factor at Kinko’s everybody has seen another in it
• Corporate execs who take salaries, but don't have stake like to be lied to
• Successful businesses are rarely started by laid-back personalities
• Fight your emotions. Don't let them rule you
• If i yell at you for an hour a day it means I love you the other 23
• A different kind of organization that values arguments more highly than serenity and encourages doubt and contradiction rather than belief
• God hates a coward
• In life to create anything a business, a friendship, or a child passion is the necessary ingredient
• What you put out in the world will come back to you
• Integrity is like virginity, you only lose it once
• Trust but verify
• Whenever you see a cockroach it is rarely a lone bug
• Paradoxically, life is filled with sets of opposing values, that seem to cancel each other but both are needed to keep a business afloat
• Running a business is learning to go to sleep at night with unresolved issues
• We need to be able to speak to one another, clearly and succinctly
• All we did was leaving cheaters alone, laws of Karma were at work
• Fail at something means one or more of three things: 1.you’re a risk take, that’s a good thing to know hot to take an initiative 2. You’ve learned something about yourself or the world along the way 3. There’s probably better opportunity elsewhere
• Optimism and perseverance are the only antidotes of setbacks
• The biggest cause of failure is your past success
• The most important ways I have learned to deal with setbacks is by letting go
• We should celebrate their failures not their successes
• Out in the real world failure and benefiting from it is the name of the game
• Either you can earn your way into fortune or save it into one
• Your integrity is directly related to your liquidity
• I knew damn well I was not going to make it in life if I did not have money
• If your boss treats you unethically you can't walk out the door especially if you have wife and two kids
• If the monthly rent was 1 percent of the purchase price i’d buy the property
• If your business is so dependant on you and your presence, that you have to be there every minute of the day to make money, you don’t really own your business, your business owns you
• Cash flow is the most important financial measure of any business
• The most fortunes are lost in good times - hubris and illusion of invincibility are one of the reasons
• Minimize emotional swing and maximize intuitive strength
• To be a good investor or a good in business you’re to trust your feelings, look beyond financial reports and analysis recommendations
• Whenever business goes poorly I should brag, whenever it goes well I should complain
• Never show your cards or tell true reasons you do things
• I managed situation keeping everybody off balance, management through chaos
• Relationships that start out friendly do not always end up that way
• I believe in the luck of virgin rollers
• Marginal revenue and marginal cost are two of the most important measures in assessing the viability of any business
• No matter what anyone says walking away from something to have spend 30 years nurturing whether it is a child or a company or even a hobby is going to take a toll
• It is a bad attitude for everyone to think you are doing somebody a favor when paying them
• For the entire time I was at Kinko’s I did not let another person invest my money for me
• Great thing about investments is they are like grandkids, you can love them and leave them
• The great thing about life is making something out of nothing, imagination is your only limiting factor
• I have found that if you want to succeed you have to spend time helping people build themselves up
• Learn to be immature
• Kids stop asking questions because they find it irritates grown ups
• Give the glory, take the money
• You can’t make money while you are running scared
• You want to be bulletproof with interests, dividends, rent and liquidity
• Make your customers comfortable and they will give you their lives
• People rise to the level of trust you give them
• If my partners would fight for themselves I knew they would fight for me too
February 20, 2009
Really great timing when I read this book.....I was feeling a bit out of sorts and questioning my business decision making ability when I popped the CD's in on a long drive to Paso Robles.
OMG! This is such an affirmative book. The author 'failed' in school, but was able to succeed in college (USC) AND start Kinko's at the same time! He had many disadvantages which, it turns out, carried with them silver linings of talents in business and relating to people! Just what the doctor ordered!
The rest of the book outlines the philosophies and business practices which were unique at the time, overwhelmingly successful, and resulted in an infinite benefit to the author's community. Read. Read. Read.
The interview at the end is also terrific!
OMG! This is such an affirmative book. The author 'failed' in school, but was able to succeed in college (USC) AND start Kinko's at the same time! He had many disadvantages which, it turns out, carried with them silver linings of talents in business and relating to people! Just what the doctor ordered!
The rest of the book outlines the philosophies and business practices which were unique at the time, overwhelmingly successful, and resulted in an infinite benefit to the author's community. Read. Read. Read.
The interview at the end is also terrific!
November 7, 2010
I was intrigued by Orfalea when I read that his dyslexia forced him to rely on others and made him a better manager. Orfalea is certainly charmingly unconventional, but his book is disappointing in that it conveys little of practical use to managers except for a few truisms such as trusting your partners and relentlessly focusing on customers. And like many business success stories, the rise of Kinko's has a "right place, right time" aspect: with huge growth in the 80s and 90s, someone was going to dominate and consolidate the print/copy industry. I like Orfalea, but I'm not sure there's much to be learned from his dumb luck.
August 20, 2007
I thought this book was great--his description of ADD/ADHD was pretty good. He was also really honest about his flaws and very descriptive of how they hindered him and how he could overcome them. In my historical training, this is unusual for an autobiography.
It was interesting to hear about how his business started and how it became enormous.
The rest of the story is that the merger between FedEx and Kinko's isn't working all that well because they can't just get the culture that Kinko's had.
It was interesting to hear about how his business started and how it became enormous.
The rest of the story is that the merger between FedEx and Kinko's isn't working all that well because they can't just get the culture that Kinko's had.
August 27, 2007
What I liked about this book: Emphasis on how important vacations are; how disabilities/learning differences can have positive aspects to them; hearing his story of how he grew his business; the comparison of business to poker and Monopoly and the lessons learned from that; the idea that he was never around the shop--always out promoting.
What I did not like: How the employees chanted the Kinkos mission statement- gave me the creeps; he could be very explosive and blunt with people; a little too much time in the book talking about his family background.
- Lorie Marrero
What I did not like: How the employees chanted the Kinkos mission statement- gave me the creeps; he could be very explosive and blunt with people; a little too much time in the book talking about his family background.
- Lorie Marrero
December 26, 2017
"Kinkos" (now "FedEx Office") is my "go-to" place for photocopies, faxes, or other similiar office needs. The former "Kinkos" gave my my first exposure to Mac computers. This book is a "reader-friendly" book into the life and background of both "Kinko's", as it was; and its founder, Paul Orfalea. I recommend this book to you, if you are familiar with "Kinko's", are a business major, or just interested in business or business biographies.
January 20, 2017
Probably the best book ever to illustrate that a child deemed doomed for failure by academics and teachers can go on and accomplish amazing things. As a child his mother was told by adults at his school that her child could *maybe* amount to holding a job carpeting floors. Great story of a mom who knew better and worked with her kid to show them who was boss.
January 20, 2010
This book is great inspiration, business style reference, and investment advice all in one! I think this book should especially be listened to by anyone with dyslexia. My son is definitely getting a copy from me!
August 21, 2013
Really interesting story of how he managed his business and how he had to deal with his learning opportunities. I like how talks about his lack of reading forced him to come up with his own view of things as well as trust his intuition.
October 15, 2014
I enjoyed this interesting biography about Paul Orfalea and the Kinkos industry that he created, but it did grow a bit tedious and repetious at times.
I'm glad I read it and learned about this significant part of American commerce.
I'm glad I read it and learned about this significant part of American commerce.
August 15, 2007
If the title of this book looks interesting to you, you'll probably really like this book. If not, you probably won't.
April 7, 2008
Listened to this on audiobook.
September 13, 2008
Engaging story about a dyslexic kid who grows up to start a business...Kinko's.
January 2, 2009
Best business book out there. Unconventional advice, but the most common-sense.
April 4, 2009
If you are an entreprenuer you MUST read this book. It is easy to read and really teaches you about how to manage your business. It's funny too and uplifting. I highly recommend this book!
September 5, 2009
awesome read check it out. Love the fact he is a free thinker and overcame a learning disability,
February 23, 2011
A very interesting book telling the story of Orfalea's failure in school vs success in business. Funny that now his favorite place to be is in the classroom....
May 25, 2012
Great motivation and advice from a good friend and unconventional success
September 8, 2012
Had a blast reading this and interviewing the author: http://raintaxi.com/online/2005fall/o...
April 29, 2015
I enjoyed learning about Pauls struggles and how they were compensated. I will never look at Kinkos the same way again.
Want to read
July 11, 2015library gen
January 14, 2016
this is one of my "collection" of business books. My son, the business major, received copies of my entire collection. I thought he should read the "out of the box" way to do business
August 16, 2023
We rarely speak about this distinction between different kinds of people: some of us are workers, some are bosses. Some have the capacity for leadership, dominance, entrepreneurship, and others do not. In my experience, both categories are born, not made. This is especially true of successful entrepreneurs like Paul Orfalea. This observation explains a great deal, when receiving the strengths and weaknesses of this book.
It is not likely that you are a high-powered entrepreneur, for two reasons. 1. High-powered entrepreneurs are rare by definition; if the marjority were born unfit to follow a leader, civilization would end. 2. This kind of person is rarely an enthusiastic reader. Some claim to be, and many who make that claim are lying [as entrepreneur Donald Trump claims to have read the Bible]. Their success depends upon the concentration of their own ideas, undilluted by the ideas of others. Paul himself has a convenient excuse; he’s dyslexic and partly started his business in order to pay other people to read for him.
Why then would a Beta worker bee like you and me read an autobiography of an Alpha overlord? For the thrill of his story, and to get some good ideas along the way. He thinks differently from us, and we might benefit from his different thinking. Now that we’ve set the table, let’s enjoy the first course.
Paul was a college student at the University of Southern California in the late 1960s. One day as he stood in line, waiting to copy a paper for an assignment, he flashed on an opportunity. USC had a copy center, but the state school in Santa Barbara did not. Paul would open one there. Now you and I have ideas like this, too, but we don’t act on them. Going into debt and running a business far away would disrupt our lives too much for us to actually do something with the inspiration; not Paul. You probably know the rest of the story. Over the next 30 years his company, Kinko’s, grew like a force of nature and he became a billionaire.
Paul does not say he was born to run this business, although he does credit his Lebanese family of entrepreneurs for modeling the life. Instead he attributes success to his strategy of “being ‘on’ your business, not ‘in’ your business.” By this he means to avoid drowning in minutiae like budgets and memos (they didn’t use email). Instead, focus on the larger issues that will make or break your business. What do customers want from you? How can you give them more of what they want? He writes:
“On days I was [at the first Kinko’s] I rarely made copies or worked behind the counter. To be honest, I was bored at the store. What I really enjoyed was getting out and meeting people—in a word, marketing. . . There’s no better way to stay ‘on’ your business than to think creatively and constantly about your marketing: how you are marketing, who you are marketing to, and always, how you could be doing a better job at it.”
This is the best, almost the only idea he shares in the book, although I’ll summarize the rest. It sounds good, inspiring even, but it is far more practical when you are The Boss. Paul did not want to be ‘in’ his business, but somebody had to work behind the counter and their opportunity for being ‘on’ the business was small. We can imagine how open Paul was to their ideas about marketing, when the customer line was five deep.
For the rest of the book, Paul becomes a character I encountered many times, both in life and in literature, which I call Mister Big Talk. By his account, Mister Big Talk almost never made a wrong step. Even his mistakes turned out to be genius moves. Mister Big Talk begins his inspiring stories on solid ground, but they spin out of Earth orbit, inch by inch, until he’s talked you into the Asteroid Belt. Paul devotes a whole chapter to his superstitions, such as stomping on a found coin, and the business lessons learned by gambling at Las Vegas casinos. He considers this a good use of time and money. I kept waiting for him to admit this was a joke, especially the coin stomping, but apparently he believes he controls the universe in this way.
Along the way, Paul tells us how much he cares about his Kinko’s partners. Now let’s get real: He needed workers. Mister Big Talk does have a genius for pulling people in and rerouting their lives to his own purposes. As long as they give up their own goals in favor of his, they are one big happy family. When any of them disagreed with The Master, things got dark.
Human society needs this kind of person, and we can’t blame them for being the way they are. Greatness demands this kind of narcissism. Charles Lindberg became the first human being to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in one hop, solo. Later in life, he made political speeches that scorched his reputation. His wife warned him repeatedly that he was making enemies for no benefit, but he refused to listen to her. She related the reason to her daughter:
“He had grown up listening only to himself and relying on his own judgment: his survival as a pilot had depended on following his own instincts. ‘If he had listened to others,’ Anne told her daughter, ‘he never would have gotten to Paris.’”
This book is an excellent example of Mister Big Talk, and it may help worker bees like us to handle this kind of person when we meet them. I can’t be hopeful that a worker bee will read it and become Paul Orfalea, because as I observed at the outset, this kind of person is born, not made.
It is not likely that you are a high-powered entrepreneur, for two reasons. 1. High-powered entrepreneurs are rare by definition; if the marjority were born unfit to follow a leader, civilization would end. 2. This kind of person is rarely an enthusiastic reader. Some claim to be, and many who make that claim are lying [as entrepreneur Donald Trump claims to have read the Bible]. Their success depends upon the concentration of their own ideas, undilluted by the ideas of others. Paul himself has a convenient excuse; he’s dyslexic and partly started his business in order to pay other people to read for him.
Why then would a Beta worker bee like you and me read an autobiography of an Alpha overlord? For the thrill of his story, and to get some good ideas along the way. He thinks differently from us, and we might benefit from his different thinking. Now that we’ve set the table, let’s enjoy the first course.
Paul was a college student at the University of Southern California in the late 1960s. One day as he stood in line, waiting to copy a paper for an assignment, he flashed on an opportunity. USC had a copy center, but the state school in Santa Barbara did not. Paul would open one there. Now you and I have ideas like this, too, but we don’t act on them. Going into debt and running a business far away would disrupt our lives too much for us to actually do something with the inspiration; not Paul. You probably know the rest of the story. Over the next 30 years his company, Kinko’s, grew like a force of nature and he became a billionaire.
Paul does not say he was born to run this business, although he does credit his Lebanese family of entrepreneurs for modeling the life. Instead he attributes success to his strategy of “being ‘on’ your business, not ‘in’ your business.” By this he means to avoid drowning in minutiae like budgets and memos (they didn’t use email). Instead, focus on the larger issues that will make or break your business. What do customers want from you? How can you give them more of what they want? He writes:
“On days I was [at the first Kinko’s] I rarely made copies or worked behind the counter. To be honest, I was bored at the store. What I really enjoyed was getting out and meeting people—in a word, marketing. . . There’s no better way to stay ‘on’ your business than to think creatively and constantly about your marketing: how you are marketing, who you are marketing to, and always, how you could be doing a better job at it.”
This is the best, almost the only idea he shares in the book, although I’ll summarize the rest. It sounds good, inspiring even, but it is far more practical when you are The Boss. Paul did not want to be ‘in’ his business, but somebody had to work behind the counter and their opportunity for being ‘on’ the business was small. We can imagine how open Paul was to their ideas about marketing, when the customer line was five deep.
For the rest of the book, Paul becomes a character I encountered many times, both in life and in literature, which I call Mister Big Talk. By his account, Mister Big Talk almost never made a wrong step. Even his mistakes turned out to be genius moves. Mister Big Talk begins his inspiring stories on solid ground, but they spin out of Earth orbit, inch by inch, until he’s talked you into the Asteroid Belt. Paul devotes a whole chapter to his superstitions, such as stomping on a found coin, and the business lessons learned by gambling at Las Vegas casinos. He considers this a good use of time and money. I kept waiting for him to admit this was a joke, especially the coin stomping, but apparently he believes he controls the universe in this way.
Along the way, Paul tells us how much he cares about his Kinko’s partners. Now let’s get real: He needed workers. Mister Big Talk does have a genius for pulling people in and rerouting their lives to his own purposes. As long as they give up their own goals in favor of his, they are one big happy family. When any of them disagreed with The Master, things got dark.
Human society needs this kind of person, and we can’t blame them for being the way they are. Greatness demands this kind of narcissism. Charles Lindberg became the first human being to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in one hop, solo. Later in life, he made political speeches that scorched his reputation. His wife warned him repeatedly that he was making enemies for no benefit, but he refused to listen to her. She related the reason to her daughter:
“He had grown up listening only to himself and relying on his own judgment: his survival as a pilot had depended on following his own instincts. ‘If he had listened to others,’ Anne told her daughter, ‘he never would have gotten to Paris.’”
This book is an excellent example of Mister Big Talk, and it may help worker bees like us to handle this kind of person when we meet them. I can’t be hopeful that a worker bee will read it and become Paul Orfalea, because as I observed at the outset, this kind of person is born, not made.
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