You don’t need to be a wordsmith to know what two words combine to form the title of Dave Ramsey’s book: EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches. They’re two words that all small-business owners have heard many times: entrepreneur and leadership. Ramsey’s book brings these two concepts together, providing invaluable advice on what he defines as “the process of leading to cause a venture to grow and prosper.”
Way Beyond Personal Finance
A lot of people know Dave Ramsey as a personal finance guru. He’s presented us with popular books like The Total Money Makeover. But Ramsey’s isn’t just an expert at helping individuals get out of debt and manage their finances. EntreLeadership is deliberately written for business owners. It tells the story of how Ramsey grew his company from a card table in the living room to a multimillion-dollar enterprise.
The story covers not just his successes, but also the mistakes he made along the way. EntreLeadership sets itself apart from many other books on business by giving hard-won practical advice and words of wisdom.
There’s no universal formula for business success, but EntreLeadership gives a pretty close approximation, advising readers on everything from funding to hiring talent to creating a vibrant company culture. And he does it all with energy, enthusiasm, and straight talk.
To get a sense of just how excited Ramsey is to help you become a better business owner, check out this video of a talk he gave at a recent EntreLeadership summit.
The Leader In The Details
Aside from the big-picture lessons here, Ramsey relays countless gems that will stick with you about being a better leader in your business. For instance, calling people “team members” rather than “employees.” Here at The Newsletter Pro, we’ve adapted our gossip policy and our hiring practices to align closely with the advice Ramsey gives in this book — and we’re thriving because of it.
In Chapter 11, for example, Ramsey talks about team unity. He explains that people who complain laterally (to people on the same level) add negativity to the culture. These gripes are the definition of gossip — a poison that tears the company apart, rather than bringing it together.
An employee in sales shouldn’t gripe about their slow computer to a fellow salesperson who can’t help them. Instead, they should talk to a manager or to IT. Complaining to someone who can’t do anything is futile and destructive. Plus, it prevents anyone with the power to fix the problem from doing it. In this blog post, Ramsey goes into a little more detail about the destructive nature of gossip.
There are so many lessons in this book, it’d be impossible to squeeze them all in here. Nevertheless, here’s one more that we live by: “People aren’t managed. Money and things are managed. People are served.” This effectively sums up what it means to be an “EntreLeader” — someone who’s passionately serving; a maverick with integrity; a disciplined risk taker, and so on.
It’s Not Just A Book; It’s A Program
EntreLeadership has helped so many business owners that the book that spawned the phrase was just a start for Ramsey. EntreLeadership is now a full program for business owners, including a website, a podcast with over 200 episodes, a coaching program, and multiple events every year.
Some of us are born leaders, capable of stirring up enthusiasm in our teams. Others are natural entrepreneurs. They understand what it takes to grow a business from one person in a garage to a thriving organization.
Ultimately, though, if you want long-term success, you need to be an EntreLeader. Dave Ramsey offers a path to becoming one, all based on his personal experience. If you want to lead your business with vision, integrity, and passion, EntreLeadership should be on your bookshelf.
