Member Reviews

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Roel de Graaf's "180 Business Hacks" offers a refreshing perspective on business strategy, emphasizing the power of small, impactful changes.

Through concise and actionable advice, the book encourages readers to challenge conventional thinking and embrace unconventional approaches.

De Graaf's "hacks" are not revolutionary, but rather clever tweaks to existing practices. They range from simple suggestions like "Flip the org chart and put the customer on top" to more complex strategies like "Write the press release before you start development." Each hack is presented in a clear and engaging manner, making it easy to understand and implement.
While the book's brevity is both its strength and weakness, it's ideal for those seeking quick, practical insights to improve their business performance. However, readers looking for in-depth analysis or extensive case studies may find the book lacking.

"180 Business Hacks" is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to revitalize their business approach. By implementing these small but impactful changes, readers can achieve significant results and gain a competitive edge.

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I do love these types of books as you can go back to them time and again. I found some of the hacks to be the obvious ones we know and use and others that had a bit more thought and practicality to them. A great guide for business!

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A no nonsense guide to business. This would be a good book to have at your desk at work to read one of the hacks each day. Formatted like a daily affirmation guide, each page provides a business hack to ponder and execute. Thank you for the opportunity to be an advanced reader.

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As a management student, I found this book interesting with some good hacks or other hacks not so good. But overall it was a nice read. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to John Murray Press and NetGalley for letting me read this book.

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This was an interesting dip in and out book aimed at people who run a small business with a team of staff. As someone who runs a business by myself this had limited value.

The book is a list of 180 business ideas and advice, some you will be familiar with and some you won't which you can apply to your business. I liked how at the end of most of the entries there was a reference to the book where the idea originated, and I took this book as a guide to a wider bank of knowledge.

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DNF. This started out okay, but I wouldn't consider these "hacks". You get a few sentences for each "hack", but nothing to truly make sense of them. I'm autistic and need wayyy more context than a few lines and questions. This would have been better as a blog post.

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Great book for VERY little bite-size hacks. This would be more geared to someone new in the business environment. It would also make a great gift.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

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"This tome is a veritable treasure trove of astute business acumen, replete with 180 pragmatic hacks designed to catapult your entrepreneurial endeavors to unprecedented heights. Each hack is a masterclass in perspicacity, distilled from the collective expertise of visionary thought leaders and battle-hardened business moguls.

Through its pages, you'll discover the arcane secrets of crafting marketing campaigns that mesmerize and persuade, the alchemy of transforming leads into loyal customers, and the subtle art of orchestrating team synergy. You'll learn to navigate the labyrinthine complexities of financial management with ease, and unlock the hidden potential of your organization through innovative growth strategies.

This book is an indispensable vade mecum for anyone seeking to ascend the rarefied realms of business excellence. Its insights are a testament to the transformative power of applied knowledge, and its wisdom is a clarion call to action for those who dare to dream big."

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This book provides bite-sized tips on business. Although the tips may be small, they are worth considering. It would be a great idea to read a page a week and consider how you can use the tips in your career or life.

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And here I thought this was just another one of those boring business books. I was very surprised to see that it’s just a series of snippets from various well respected, companies, resources. It’s a different take at writing these kinds of books. For me, this style easily captures my curiosity and interest but unlike most, I don’t get bored after a few pages. This nifty book can also be used for workshops and/or brainstorming sessions.

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Nice idea for a book but it felt at points poorly thought out with some “hacks” being detrimental to the mental wellbeing of you and your staff. In particular the give busy people more work to do so they prioritise better. I feel in the day and age adding stress to staff can be counter intuitive and a better idea would be to support staff to manage their current workload or see if the workload is a reasonable amount.

In all a great primer if you are entering business but I would advise caution on using some of the hacks provided and understand they are very generic and will not be applicable in all situations.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a review copy.

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Roel de Graaf has compiled an impressive list of “hacks.” Each is presented in groups and with short paragraph descriptions. Many come with a citation to the originator (author, book). As you read through them, you’ll need to discern which ones apply. Many overlap. The short descriptions whet your appetite but won’t allow you to execute the idea fully: for that, you’ll need to dive into the original source on those or look for other references. Some hacks overlap and seem redundant. Others are contradictory—but that’s okay at times. Business is full of contradictions, like there’s good friction (a slowing effect that keeps you from making a mistake) and bad friction (a slowing effect that hinders progress). Or adages like “never give up” but you want to also “fail fast and adapt.” The author doesn’t spend time to sort out the contradictions or the overlaps or describe what scenarios are appropriate for any particular hack. You’re on your own for that.

Still, this is a worthwhile collection if you need to learn from others’ experiences or thoughts or you need to drive your wheels out of a business rut.

I’m appreciative of the publisher for providing an advanced copy.

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Some interesting ideas and tips that really make you think. A very quick read that keeps things simple. Definitely worth a read.

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Lovely book with 180 ideas or hacks for different areas of business and professional life. Some of them represent wisom, some tell a story, some give you and example. Overall you can find short descriptions if 180 ideas on how to be more efficient and productive, to deal with people and lead teams, to build strategy and execute plans, innovate, manage situation and people, analyze and learn. Nice and short book.

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I highly recommend this book to anyone who has the desire to improve their performance at work or anyone in a leadership position. So often we start a job with an enthusiastic energy and it drains. We wonder what has happened and why has the job become sort of stale. This book was great in motivating me to become a better leader and employee. The ideas are simple but very effective. The author has put many great techniques in a short but powerful read to make us better as people and employees. Most definitely would recommend this book to a coworker!

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Gives you a lot of ideas in a lot of different directions. Could have been better structured in my opinion.

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This was a quick read that I read in about a day. This book sort of reminded me of Zero to One and I loved it. The information was concise and gave me so many ideas for how to approach different tasks and problems. If you’re a fan of gaining a great deal of knowledge without having to read hundreds of pages this book is for you. I’m such a fan of it and encourage anyone with a business or managerial position to check this one out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

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