The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How does The Personal MBA challenge traditional assumptions about the value of formal business education, and to what extent did Kaufman’s approach change your view of what it means to “study business”?

2. Kaufman blends psychological, economic, and systems-based insights throughout the book. Did you find this interdisciplinary approach accessible and persuasive, or did it make the book feel overly technical in parts?

Compared to other business or self-development books you have read (for example, Peter Thiel’s Zero to One), how distinctive or original did The Personal MBA feel? Did it provide new mental models or simply reframe familiar ideas in clearer terms?

Encourage readers to reflect on how the book relates to their own life or work and how its lessons could help them.

1. Kaufman defines every business as a system built on five parts—value creation, marketing, sales, value delivery, and finance. Which of these areas do you understand most clearly in your current work or venture, and which feels most underdeveloped or neglected?

2. The book encourages readers to treat learning as an independent, lifelong pursuit rather than a credential-based process. How does this idea sit with you? Do you tend to value formal accreditation? If so, are there benefits to such accreditation that Kaufman does not consider?