Rating: 
Summary: Enjoy the ride!
Review: An odd title for a business book, or rather a book about the business of life. I guess it is meant to hook you, draw you in, and much as the monk did, put your hand on the shoulder of the narrator and go for a ride. It is an easy ride with fun and laughter and serious business set in California. The fact that the stock euphoria has ended, that the internet bubble has burst, makes this all the more insightful. Randy Komisar is a native New Yorker who, while schooling in RI, gradually and eventually found his way to his current title of Virtual CEO in Silicon Valley. He did not start out heading this way. One connection led to another. One door closing led to another one opening. Patience and awareness of himself (his strengths, his opportunities) were his primary guides as he came to understand that "When all is said and done, the journey itself is the reward". Hop on and enjoy the ride!
Rating: 
Summary: Great read with a different perspective
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I've been recommending it to friends and colleagues, but I've had a real struggle trying to summarize what it's about. Regardless, a big part of my enthusiasm is that Komisar has given a voice to so many of my core beliefs about my own career.So, here's my attempt at summarizing the book. It's a story about a business plan being pitched by a budding entrepeneur that Komisar is reviewing for a VC friend. The (factitious...I presume) story includes Komisar's personal perspectives about how one's career interacts with one's life and passions, how his own career, life, and passions have evolved together, and how VC's look at business plans / ideas. The story is well written and not the typical Harvard Business School Press book, in that all of the wisdom and content are presented neatly within a story. If you need more from your job than a wage, you will likely find some pearls of wisdom in this story. If you like what you read here, check out Komisar's article in the March/April '00 HBR. If you're interested in some insight into how VC's look at business ideas, there is certainly plenty of information within this story for you too. Finally, about the five stars, the book is absolutely deserving of them. This story hit me right between the eyes in so many ways, was so elegantly presented, and so refreshing, that I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Virtual CEO: What a great concept!
Review: Learned a lot from this book. The best lesson is the link between the author's story and the rest of the book that some may have missed. My understanding is that sometimes the impossible can be done! (The egg riddle introduced in chapter 1 that you can get the answer to it in the last chapter). I have been trying all of my career to work as a "virtual CEO" though I did not think of this as the title for the job! This book really pushed me to explore the aspects of my knowledge much deeper and be able to put them to use. I have started my work consulting as a "virtual CEO" helping companies work their way through the rugged terrain of today's challenges facing every business.
The way Komisar put this book together made it much more interesting to me (the average business reader).
I recommend this book to anyone considering a change of career or starting a new venture.
I give this book five stars.
Rating:
Summary: Scrambled Eggs
Review: Mr. Komisar weaves an interesting story about his experiences as a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Along the way, he imparts important lessons for the would be start up company leaders. There are many practical business lessons here, but also some important life lessons such as making sure we do not sacrifice our lives, for the wrong reasons, working to start a company. For there is no doubt about the hard work that is necessary to start a company from scratch. So it had better be something that makes your heart sing. But even if you have no intention of starting your own business, this book is valuable to any of us working in the technology field. And technology continues to touch more and more of us every day, so it is vital that we understand what is driving the new emerging economy. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in where we might be going from here. The riddle? Imagine I have a raw egg in my hand, and I want to drop it three feet without it breaking. How would I do that? Don't answer now, sit with it for awhile. Think about it. Read the book to get the answer.
Rating:
Summary: Profound yet practical
Review: Randy Komisar imparts a couple profound lessons in this business fable. If you were able to learn the Theory of Constraints by ready the Goal, this a book that can imply some grander lessons about approaching life and business. On the surface, the story is a fable about Komisar providing business advice to an internet funeral planning startup. The lessons are deeper than "What's a VC looking for?" I picked up two major concepts:
1 - If you're not passionate about something, it's not worth doing, and you won't be able to convince others to join you.
2 - It's not good to defer enjoyment of life - the journey has to be of value in addition to the destination. These issues are brought up with two questions:
1 - What would you be willing to do for the rest of your life? Is the idea or change you're pursuing something that you'd be willing to do forever? If so, it's worth doing. If not, it's just another get rich quick scheme.
2 - If you drop an egg 3 feet, how do you keep it from breaking? This is the riddle in the title - I won't spoil the answer here, but it's different than what I thought (Boil it first!) and the key to concept 2 above. Komisar's credentials to speak on this subject come from his varied background: He was a lawyer & CFO (hard numbers quant guy), a Virtual CEO and investor in high tech companies. He lived what he speaks, and comes from a "hard skills" background. This adds credibility to his discussion of softer subjects. This is a great book for anyone wondering, "Why am I doing this?" or "Should I be doing something new?" It delves into "Why do we get into a business?" I highly recommend this profound, but practical read.
Rating: 
Summary: Badly written, Boring & Little (or no) value
Review: Randy tries to present an old concept in an old way. There are tons of books that tell you to do what you feel passionate about, how to succeed in investing and how to love life. Randy fails miserably in delivering his story that is a mix of all of the above. With less than 200 pages and big font, there's not much space to say in the book. Randy, get a lesson on collecting thoughts before you write a book.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful ... but incomplete.
Review: The insights offered in this book go beyond merely "educating" a silicon valley entrepreneur as suggested by the hardcover title. I like the paperback title better - "The Art of Creating a Life While Making a Living". The book explains the difference between oft-confused words: passion & drive, management & leadership, risk & uncertainty, comfort & fulfillment, the deferred life plan & the whole life plan. These differences are explained with the example of a business plan that is progessively improved from the initial "Better-Faster-Cheaper" look to a "Brave New World" look. The book is well-written and easy to read. Those who have read "The Goal" will find a similar organization of ideas in this book. After flipping through the last page, I found myself thinking about the best answers to many questions looming in my mind. These are all good signs about the book! However, in continuously driving the idea of getting out of complacency and into a 'brave new world', the book did not provide insights on how one may balance the two. Komisar speaks from personal experience in the book and recalls the turning point of his life when he decided that he wouldn't be a lawyer by profession any more. He says that a lot of what he did upto that point was living "The Deferred Life Plan" (do what you have to do now, do what you want to do later). The reader is left with the impression that Komisar even viewed his Harvard education in this light. But would he have been where he is today if he hadn't got an education from Harvard? The progression of events in our life is a related one. Your past actions definitely impact the future. His Harvard education led him to a good job at a law firm where he added to his network of contacts. In this context, Komisar failed to address the issue that we all *have* to do certain things in our lives. Not everything can be what we *want* to do - e.g., is it wise to pursue a 'brave new world' idea when you're 13 years old? Or if you're old enough, but do not have enough savings to sustain yourself through failure? Maybe, maybe not. There is always a goal we have to accomplish (pay off our debts, take care of our obligations) before we can do what we *want* to do. It is upto each person to realize for themselves that they're living "The Deferred Life Plan" when they truly don't *have* to, anymore. Only then will it make sense (and be more fulfilling) to switch to "The Whole Life Plan". The book would have been complete if Komisar had provided his insights about how one might attempt to balance the two points of view. That's the only reason I cut out 1 star from my rating. Bottom line: Get it!
Rating: 
Summary: Just a Fun-read; no un-obvious gospels
Review: The only interesting point Randy made was that "TRY and do what you love doing, instead of doing what you *have* to do for a long time before it is too late to do what you love doing". There is an assumption that one is doing what one *has* to do because one wants to make a lot of money, get fame, build big houses, etc. This assumption may not be acceptable or applicable to some. In any case, the tricky part is in being able to choose such a profession where one can do what one enjoys doing, instead of "showing up at work". It is easy to talk about this when one has enough financial freedom to do whatever one wants. There are so many extraneous reasons for doing what one is doing. Some of these are alterable to take one towards what one would really like to do. But, for most situations, the activation energy is very high, and many people dont have a strong burning desire to initiate that change, and hence decide to start "wanting" to do what they "have" to do. I liked his term "Deferred Living Plan". Many people in the Silicon Valley may enjoy reading this book, because they can relate to much of what he talks about (most of which is itself based in the valley).
Rating:
Summary: A pinch of philosophy and a cup full of practical advice
Review: There is no better way to learn than by story telling. In the tradition of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainence, Komisar and Lineback deploy an absorbing narriative to explore a complex topic. The parable explores all the ins and outs of raising capital for a tech start up. I have been reading and editing business plans for several years, and I will make this book required reading for anyone I work with in the future. There is a discussion of the importance of defining the targeted market for a business plan that is the best I have ever read. At the same time, the book offers a fine philosophical inquiry about the ultimate purpose behind each business plan. The authors draw a distincution between being driven and being passionate that is very valuable. We are driven to objectives, which may or may not be important in themselves. On the other hand, we are pasisonate about things that matter deeply. Ultimately, the lesson here is that passion should fuel our business objectives.
Rating:
Summary: Great Perspective
Review: This book by Silicon Valley legend Randy Komisar, beginning with its title, took me a while to get into, I have to admit. I was way into it (page 60+ or so) and still wondering what the big deal about it was. This is the reason why I give it four stars: it takes a while to hook you. But if you stick to it, Komisar has a wealth of experience to share with you, from his first days in the East Coast, litigating, all through his experiences with tech giants such as WebTV, Tivo and Apple. The main idea presented by Komisar is that you don't need to postpone your life's dream for later, by playing it safe and engaging in what he calls the Deferred Life Plan. To convey this idea, he presents the reader with the process through which he takes Lenny (an entrepreneur at heart, driven by money, who comes to him for advice) in his pursuit to push his Business Plan for Funerals.com into the attention span of some Silicon Valley VC that Komisar knows. Initially a great idea conceived as a community-building scheme, leveraging the Web to assist those in grief due to the loss of a loved one, Funerals.com had evolved into a very basic money-making scheme that didn't have much of a spark to it, tied to the sale of cheaper caskets by leveraging the efficiencies that the Web can bring about. In the end, if you take away the Silicon Valley specifics, Komisar's point remains not just valid, but a healthy proposition to lead life driven from within, by passion for what you do and pride rooted in leaving a legacy behind you, instead of ambition and short-term gratification. Highly recommended reading for those who are searching for their mission in life, as well as those who are considering pursuing the entrepreneurial path in their lives.
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