Insanely Simple Nominated for Book of the Year

Subtitled, "The Obsession that Drives Apple's Success," "Insanely Simple" was written by a man who would know.

Ken Segall worked closely with Steve Jobs for over a decade, and was part of the team that created Apple's legendary "Think Different" campaign, as well as being the man responsible for the "i" in front of iPad, iPhone, etc. He has also served as creative director for IBM, Intel, and Dell, giving him an insight into firms that are not so simple, too.

But is such a "big company" guy capable of informing and inspiring "mom and pops," the audience for which entreBOOKS.com was designed?

"There is no greater threat to small business owners than complexity," said entreBOOKS founder David Shepherd. "And the antidote to that is simplicity, a topic I have been studying at length. 'Insanely Simple' takes us inside the tyrannical world whereSteve Jobs' wields his "simple stick," and demands a one button, one box orthodoxy. Segall writes well, and the book is entertaining, educational, and inspirational. It's a must read for entrepreneurs who need to be focusing on their own 'one button' approaches. That's why I'm pleased to announce that it has been selected as our Book of the Month for Aug. 2012.

Marketing is just one of the areas where simplicity becomes critical for small business owners as they don't have the resources to break through the noise and communicate complex solutions. Only a single, laser-like focus on a key competitive advantage will penetrate and resonate. Too many small business owners spend countless hours trying to create multiple products, multiple layers, multiple memberships, etc. But you don't get to sit prospective clients down for four hours with flip charts and spreadsheets until they "get it." They aren't going to get it unless it is dead simple. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple after his forced exile, he drew a rectangle on a white board with four quadrants, announcing that Apple would reduce its then current product line from dozens, to four.

Of course rooting out complexity is hard work as Segall warns. "This means erring on the side of overkill," he says in a chapter entitled "Think War." There, he insists that the battle against complexity is no only a war, but a never-ending one. "So it must become your nature never to relent… There is no nicking the arm of complexity—you need to blow it away."

entreBOOKS.com is the personal book Website of David Shepherd—a long-time teacher and practitioner of entrepreneurship. Shepherd developed the site to host the most influential books he has ever read, drawn from his personal library of over 350 business books. His hope is that he can save entrepreneurs enormous time by avoiding the need to root through book sites that list just about every book every written…great and horrible. Shepherd's selections have stood the test of time for him, and for the thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs he has taught.

For the "Top 50" entrepreneurial books, Shepherd is also busy writing essays. Far more than simple reviews, these "essays" are extensive, stand-alone treatises designed to help entrepreneurs learn new skills, even if they don't buy the actual book.

Visitors to entreBOOKS.com can read essays by David Shepherd, purchase the top all-time books for entrepreneurs, and purchase books written by David Shepherd for only $4.99. His latest, released just this month, is "Your Best Business Plan: A Numbers First Approach That Takes the Pain Out of Planning and Gets Results."

Using Segall's book, and many others as guides, Shepherd will be conducting an extensive live Webinar entitled Simplify on Aug. 29, 2012. The Webinar is a benefit for members of entreINSPIRE.com. Interested entrepreneurs may attend this expansive online seminar for only $1.

Ken Segall image courtesy: Cult of Mac