Beans: Four Principles for Running a Business in Good Times or Bad

by Leslie Yerkes, Charles Decker, Bob Nelson

Beans is the story of The El Espresso, a legend in its own time in Seattle and a coffee company that has prospered by intentionally staying small, inspiring fanatical customer loyalty in the process. Told over the span of a single day, it follows The El's founder, Jack Hartman, through a business crisis that will challenge him and make him clear on why he does what he does. Unsure of whether he has lost the passion needed to sustain his business, Jack hires a consultant who flies to Seattle to "help" him but in reality bears witness to the secrets of good business, whether it's a company of 20 employees or 20,000. In the process, Jack learns about "the Four Ps" and how applying these universal principles can reenergize his employees, his customers, and even himself. Though fictionalized, this is a true story in the best sense of the word. It arrives at a time when people are yearning to return to honest ways of doing business―before corporate dominance, inflated executive salaries, accounting trickery, and outright greed became so much a part of our everyday business headlines. It is the story of how a pushcart David up against the corporate Goliaths succeeded by focusing on what is core to good business and a good life: honoring customers, trusting employees, building passion around a product, and turning an honest profit.

Genres: Business, Audiobook

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small coffee shop owner looks at the future of his business as he looks to his past...what motivated him to get to this point and why has that 'something' been 'filtered' out of his current situation. A nice look at what it takes to motivate yourself and others. Sit down with a cup of coffee and read this book!

[Yvette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short easy to read book with profound principles. The ideas are common sense, but achieving the correct mix and right balance may be difficult to implement.

Moreover, I like the fact that this book has a "discussion forum" via the internet. A useful read for people studying marketing / management.

On second thought, a MUST read for all (employers + employees) on how to improve the enjoyability of their working lives!

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the business analysis in a narrative format. Seemed more like a story than non-fiction. Interesting business principles which also apply to employees and all relationships, not just for business owners.

[Shaun · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just an okay business parable book. A quick read and I learned no real earth-shaking principles. It gave four common sense things to focus on to have a successful business: Passion, People (employees & customers), Personal (make it personal for employees and customers), and Product.

[Jack Zhong · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story would be a real fiction in China. Too many shops changed hands from time to time. Hard to imagine a small coffee / tea shop could survive for 20 years. Customer loyalty is hard to gain due to various reasons. One of them is the customers relocates very often.

[Brian Kirby · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really disappointed and annoyed with this book. It read too much like a corporate manual. But, considering what it's written for, I shouldn't have been surprised. I don't recommend this book to anyone other than .....well, I just don't.

Basically, a guy who owns a coffee shop is seeing his sales slip. So he hires a consultant to find out why. And through cheesy, half-witty dialogue, the consultant tells this guy that he needs to think about why he started his business and start running it similar to that again. End of story. Also in the book is a nice little sales pitch for the consulting company. Sales pitches in books really annoy me.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Easy, short but I was disappointed that it was fiction but based on a true story as opposed to being an actual true story. Raising The Bar is a much better book that covers everything in this book plus a lot more and it's all true, written by the founder and current owner of Clif Bar, Co.

[Lisa Weber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, it tried not to be too dry. Tips to help small business owners interact more positively with customers and employees.

[Omar Velásquez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sencillo. Aporta poco. La historia es forzada. Dice verdades, acaso muy obvias.

[Alberto Lopez · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of those pathetically slow narratives with very little value.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, easy read. Good reminders for business.

[Cariz · Rating 4 out of 5]

el corazón de todo buen negocio se disfruta con café :)