This excerpt from Josh Kaufman's "The Personal MBA" is an introduction to the fundamental principles of business. The author, who chose to learn business on his own instead of attending business school, distills a wealth of business knowledge into concise, easy-to-understand concepts. The excerpt highlights the structure of a business as a repeatable process for creating and delivering value that people want and are willing to pay for. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the psychology of customers and the dynamics of human behaviour in business contexts. The excerpt also criticizes traditional business school programs, arguing that they can be unnecessarily expensive and often focus on theory rather than practical application. Throughout the excerpt, the author emphasizes the importance of testing, iteration, and experimentation, encouraging readers to learn by doing and to develop their own understanding of how businesses actually work.
