Includes interviews wi
Trade Review
"I loved Wesner's comment that the Amish ‘don't need an M.B.A. to run an effective business....There's life in commerce for those more dedicated to the Golden Rule than the Golden calf.’ Nonprofit managers and employees would do well to take the lessons of personal responsibility, hard work, and a cheerful attitude to heart. After all, they really do engage in work that matters." —About.com, April 11, 2010
"Erik Wesner's new book, "Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive," might have been titled "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Being Amish." This fascinating and engagingly written book spells out the principles that guide Amish business owners, based on interviews with 60 Amish CEOs employing about 400 people in various enterprises."
—LancasterOnline.com, April 10, 2010
"How can a people whose preferred mode of transportation is a horse and buggy do so well in the modern marketplace? That question intrigued Erik Wesner, a former sales manager. His exploration of the Amish approach to business can be found in his fascinating book Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive. Despite the group's insular nature, Wesner was able to live and work among its members for three years. ‘We're not going to become Amish,’ he says, ‘but I think some of the cultural values that the Amish display consistently are things that non-Amish people can adopt and incorporate.’"
—Time magazine, April 8, 2010
Articles, excerpts, slideshows, and mentions with the author also from:
—MSNBC Live with David Shuster, April 2, 2010
—Slideshow, FastCompany.com, April 1, 2010
—Michael Dresser, Business Talk Radio, March 23, 2010
—Q&A, The New York Post, March 22, 2010
Table of Contents
Foreword ix
By Donald B. Kraybill
Preface: Unearthing the Secrets xiii
A Note on Names xix
1 Eye to the horizon 1
Cultivating a Vision and Thriving Through Crisis
2 Getting smart 27
Hands-On Versus the Hallowed Halls
3 Market-bound 49
Excelling at Sales and Marketing
4 Doing unto others 75
The Crucial Customer Relationship
5 Choosing up sides 103
Getting the Right People in Place
6 Fishing lessons 127
Empowering Your Most Valuable Asset
7 Around the edges 155
Honing an Efficiency Mentality
8 The big picture 183
Getting What You Came For
conclusion 205
Barn Raising
appendix 207
Research and Interview Methodology
Bibliography 211
Acknowledgments 215
About the Author 217
Index 219
