Steve Blank releases updated book | Hacker News Reader

Steve Blank releases updated book

steveblank.com

58 pointsrfrey24 comments

I don't get what he's got against eBooks. Half the comments are asking him about Kindle versions.

Looks like it could be a very interesting book though, if it's written top to bottom, and not just a bunch of his blog stuff lashed together with duct tape and twine.

I recently read The Lean Startup, against my better instincts, and was duly disappointed. A few key ideas and lots of what felt like hand waving to me. I think Eric is the real deal, but somehow managed to produce a book aimed at the management of large companies, rather than people running actual startups. Steve's book, on the other hand, promises "lots of details" and "metrics that matter". Hopefully, actual things that can be measured, rather than "innovation accounting"...

I wondered about that too for "Four Steps to the Epiphany" until I saw this post on Quora: http://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-book-Four-Steps-to-Epiphany-...

Essentially he wants people to be able to use it as a workbook, and not as a quick read (if that's even possible).

His opinion is certainly not unreasonable, and I'm impressed that he's willing to give up a significant amount of revenue to release the book the way he wants to see it.

That said, I'm fairly frustrated that there is no electronic version. I like to take book notes too, but I like to take them on my Kindle, and I have no plans to buy more paper books. I feel like both the author and I are missing out because of his uncompromising position. (Assuming his position is what the Quora post claims..)

> I'm impressed that he's willing to give up a significant amount of revenue to release the book the way he wants to see it.

I don't think that revenue would be as significant to him as it would be to the average person.

So it seems more of a control thing, which I find unfortunate. Maybe the paper version is 'better', but presumably, if the book is good, an eBook version would be better than no version, and for some people, that is the choice.

And the Lean Launchpad class is not cancelled and is coming in 60 days based on a new material.

Great news. It seems like everyone who ever mentions Four Steps to Epiphany says the same thing: Amazing content, you should take the time to read it, but I haven't actually been able to get through it yet.

Absolutely. It really feels like the book has a lot of useful information, but after the first couple of chapters it becomes almost impenetrable. (And I am used to reading technical papers!)

Slogged through it. Later chapters are very heavy - and worth their weight in gold.

If you've never done Enterprise sales/mktg for a new product before, you will hear practically every objection written there.

It's sad that the writing is too heavy for people. It's well worth the read.

There's always custdev.com, the "cliff notes" edition, which I liked. But it covers the first chapters.

But deep down, I'm looking for step by step instructions. Standing on the shoulders of giants, someone will eventually write it.

I read the whole thing. Great book. It helps to keep a red pen handy if you're perturbed by typographical and grammatical errors.

Actually, skip it. It's not that good. There were some solid ideas in it back when he wrote it, but it was/is very raw, and has been fleshed out and refined by Blank and others in the years since. That, and the writing/editing is really bad - not up to the quality of what you find on his blog, which I like a lot.

I completely disagree with the above comment, but why is it being downvoted? Down voting people because they have a differing opinion just makes HN an echo chamber. Downvote trolls and irrelevant comments, not stuff that promotes reflection and discussion.

That being said, damoncali, I never thought the blog was that great compared to the book

Different strokes, I suppose. To be clear, I think there is lots of good info in the book - I just think it is better presented and expanded upon elsewhere, including his own blog, the many lean startup themed sites/books, and other places. In my view, the book reads like a big-company consulting manual, and does not get to the point very quickly or well. An important work, but not a must-read any more.

Will I buy his new book? Probably.

Yeah, I couldn't disagree with you more on this, but this comment doesn't deserve to be downvoted.

FWIW, I think The Four Steps to the Epiphany is absolutely in "must read" category. Sure, you can crib together most (if not all) of the same material from reading hundreds of different blog posts, spread over dozens of blogs.. but if you just read the book, you get all of the important content, in one place, with the methodology all laid out in order, with the diagrams, etc.

Honestly, I'd argue that reading TFSTTE should be a prerequisite to reading any of the various blogs and articles out there that touch on Customer Development and the Lean Startup approach. But that's just my take...

If possible, see Ries or Blank in person. They're both great presenters and I suspect you can get 75% of what you need just from listening to that and taking good notes.

The book probably has some good worksheets in it, though, so maybe worth it for that.

Too bad that the Kindle version will come later this year. I'd buy this one instantly.

EDIT: Before you buy, check this link out: http://www.bookdepository.com/Startup-Owners-Manual-Steve-Bl... - it's 25% off + it offers free shipping (worldwide!).

I will never trust bookdepository. Last year I bought a digital book which was DRM protected. For some reason DRM failed to work so I contacted them within 2 hours of purchase but they just refused to understand my situation. After that incident I stay away from DRM too.

You obviously don't live in australia. Free Shipping to AU makes bookdepository super popular for physical books.

Yeah, I was talking about the physical copy as well. I'll get my digital version from amazon.

Do you trust amazon? Because they're owned by them now...

I have experience with Amazon customer service and they are excellent. Bookdepository was exactly opposite.

Any idea when the book will actually ship? I know it goes to press Feb 14th, but when can we actually expect it in our mailbox?

I think it releases on March 1.

Sweeeeeeeet

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