Break the Rules!

Break the Rules!

by John Mullins
Released January 2023
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781394153015

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Book description

Discover the six counter-conventional mindsets to be a changemaker

In Break the Rules!: The Six Counter-Conventional Mindsets of Entrepreneurs That Can Help Anyone Change the World, celebrated London Business School entrepreneurship professor, keynote speaker, and best-selling author Dr. John Mullins delivers an eye-opening and insightful exploration of what sets successful entrepreneurs apart from other business people and from those who fail to reach their goals. You’ll discover a compelling argument that successful entrepreneurs exhibit one or more of the six break-the-rules mindsets revealed in this book.

Each of these six mindsets can be learned, practiced, and built upon—by anyone, in any business setting large or small, old or new—, to create thriving businesses that grow and prosper. Mullins draws on over two decades of research to show you how to do exactly that. You’ll also find:

  • Explanations of why the six break-the-rules mindsets fly in the face of conventional business and business school wisdom
  • Strategies for dealing with, skating around, or otherwise overcoming the daunting obstacles that stand in every innovator’s way
  • Ways to challenge assumptions and mitigate risk in order to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves along your entrepreneurial path
  • Steps you can take now to make one or more of these mindsets your own.

An essential new take on entrepreneurship and on what it takes to be or become more “entrepreneurial,” Break the Rules! sheds new light on an oft-discussed—but rarely understood—area of business.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. What thought leaders and investors are saying about Break the Rules!
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Preface: Why This Book?
    1. My Epiphany: It's Your Mindset That Can Take You Where You Want to Go
    2. Making Their Mindsets Yours
    3. Who Should Read This Book?
    4. Why John Mullins?
    5. Off You Go!
    6. Note
  7. 1 It's Time to Break the Rules
    1. A $1.5 Billion Story That Begins with “No”
    2. So What's a Mindset?
    3. Breaking the Rules
    4. Why Break the Rules Now?
    5. What Lies Ahead
    6. Notes
  8. 2 When You're Tempted to Say No, Instead Say “Yes, We Can!”
    1. The Reshaping of Amazon
    2. Arnold Correia Said, “Yes, We Can!” Time After Time
    3. MOVE Guides Strays and Stumbles
    4. Lessons Learned for Times When You Yearn to Say, “Yes, We Can!”
    5. How to Add “Yes, We Can!” to Your Entrepreneurial Mindset
    6. Closing Thoughts
    7. Notes
  9. 3 It's the Customer's Problem That Matters, Not Your Solution
    1. Distance Runners' Problems: Philip Knight to the Rescue
    2. Simon Cohen: Freight Forwarding Service Need Not Be So Bad
    3. Jon Thorne: What If Surgical Instruments Did Not Stick?
    4. Apex Ski Boots: Is There a Compelling Customer Problem Here?
    5. Lessons About Problem‐First versus Product‐First Mindsets—and More
    6. How to Add “Problem‐First, Not Product‐First, Logic” to Your Entrepreneurial Mindset
    7. Closing Thoughts
    8. Notes
  10. 4 Why “Moving the Needle” Doesn't Matter Much to Entrepreneurs
    1. Nespresso: Will Single‐Serve Coffee Capsules “Move the Needle”?
    2. Pandora's Rocket Ship Ride
    3. The Visual Optical Team Thinks (Too) Broadly
    4. Lessons About Thinking Narrowly, Thinking Broadly—and More
    5. How to Add “Think Narrow, Not Broad” to Your Entrepreneurial Mindset
    6. Closing Thoughts
    7. Notes
  11. 5 How Entrepreneurs Get Things Done with Almost No Money
    1. Tesla: A Customer‐Funded Carmaker? Really?
    2. Budgetplaces.com: Thank You, Google!
    3. The Loot: “I'd Always Had Profits…”
    4. Lessons Learned About Asking for Cash and Riding the Float—and More
    5. How to Add “Ask for the Cash, Ride the Float” to Your Entrepreneurial Mindset
    6. Closing Thoughts
    7. Notes
  12. 6 Make the Future Winnings Yours!
    1. Bharti AirTel: Selling Mobile Phone Minutes Profitably for Practically Nothing
    2. Alex Ikonn and Mimi Naghizada Borrow It All!
    3. GoApe: Living Life Adventurously!
    4. Cambridge Analytica: When “Borrowing” Crosses the Line
    5. Lessons Learned About “Borrowing” versus Stealing
    6. How to Add “Borrowing Your Assets” to Your Entrepreneurial Mindset
    7. Closing Thoughts
    8. Notes
  13. 7 What Entrepreneurs Can Do That Big Companies Can't
    1. Travis Kalanick: Visionary Disruptor, Bare‐Knuckled Brawler, or Unethical Scoundrel?
    2. Putting India to Work
    3. Josephine's Home Cooking
    4. Lessons Learned About Not Asking Permission—and More
    5. How to Add Never Asking Permission to Your Entrepreneurial Mindset
    6. Closing Thoughts
    7. Notes
  14. 8 Act Your Way to a New Way of Thinking (Because the Reverse Won't Work!)
    1. What You Should Do Now Depends on Your Starting Point
    2. So What's to Stop You?
    3. Closing Thoughts
    4. Notes
  15. About the Author
  16. Index
  17. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Break the Rules!
  • Author(s): John Mullins
  • Release date: January 2023
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781394153015