Clockwork: Design Your Business to Run Itself

Here is the entire book in one sentence: decide what the most important thing your business does/should be doing is and then find really good people to do it for you.In spite of flippant comments throughout that say, "Oh, if you're a solopreneur, this works for you, too," it's not true. It all boils down to hiring other people and then delegating to them.I can't help but wonder about all of the high reviews because not only are the ideas not new (some even directly lifted from others like Jim Collins), the writing style is so flippant ("Come closer to the book, no closer, SLAM! now I've slapped you with my leather glove") and sometimes even offensive (joke about suicide I found in poor taste), but it's so much longer than it needs to be. Surely this could have been a pamphlet.I am not someone who knows him or was given a copy of this book. I paid for it with my own money and I wish I had it back. I liked his Profit First book and used it. It had a similar writing style, but I don't think it was as bad as this. The Pumpkin Plan book wasn't as good as Profit First, but this one is nowhere near the value the others are. Do not buy this expecting it to teach you how to do anything other than tell other people to do your work. If those other people don't exist, this book will be of no/very little use to you.

Mike really blew it with this book. The concepts and exercises are really quite good. I heard about the book on the Building a Story Brand podcast, and it was a great interview. As far as the raw content of the book I'd say it's very good. The problem is that Mike's writing style is so distracting that it makes getting to the helpful insights painful. So painful that I don't think the nuggets are worth it.The formula of this book is anecdote, bad joke, anecdote that barely fits with the concepts, useful exercise/insight. He has turned what should have been a 20 page pamphlet into a 236 page quasi book, quasi stand-up comedy routine.It seems like publishers have encouraged every business author to be my "best bro". That is definitely how this book reads. Mike seems like the kind of guy who thinks he's the smartest, most charismatic, and funniest guy in the room.Despite Mike's best effort - his ego and stale jokes didn't keep me from getting something from this book. There are some solid ideas that we'll implement in our business. Unfortunately those concepts were well enough discussed in the podcast that I could have saved myself both the cost of the book (minimal) and the cost of my time (expensive).In the book Mike also plugs some of his other books. The one upside is that I have been able to add those books to my do not read list.

Clockwork gives you all the tools to set up your business to run itself. I have worked with the author since 2016 as we put these processes to work in my business. Mike is my business coach and I received an advance copy of the book. It is spot on. It is actionable and fun in Mike's typical style. By following his advice and determining my queen bee role, I was able to focus on what only I could do and maiximize my impact. The team developed to fill the other roles and it set us up to grow. The 4 D's helped us understand and truly delegate tasks. These are just two examples that set us up for success in the 4 week vacation goal that he described in the book. I just got back from our vacay and it was amazing for me personally. I came.back renewed and clear in my purpose. I was surprised at the way my team had grown and was taking ownership of the business. This the ultimate reward. This book gives you all the tools to make it happen for you!

Using the principles in Clockwork allowed me to step away from the business and not worry. You've heard of The 4-hour Workweek? Well, this is a manual for the entrepreneur's 4-Week Vacation.For nearly 10 years, I ran a business as a solopreneur. Partly, I never wanted employees. Partly, I thought that I was hot stuff and never wanted to turn over that "talent" to others. Then last year, I saw the author Mike Michalowicz deliver a presentation at the QuickBooks Connect conference last year, where he introduced the concept of the "Queen Bee" role. To be honest, it felt familiar, especially when he divulged the 4 D's -- A system of delegating everything in your business (even if that means delegating to yourself). It's a way of setting up systems that empowers everyone to be their best possible self.That's when I realized that I was ready to grow with this kind of system in place. I realized that not having this system meant that I wasn't trusting my employees to do the right thing, with or without me (preferably without). That tied me to my business. I couldn't take a vacation, not really, because I was always worried that I'd have fires to put out. I thought that I was the only one that could get it done. I was wrong, and this book proved it to me.FWIW (and some full disclosure), Mike has also been a friend/mentor/coach of mine since the launch of his other books, Profit First and The Pumpkin Plan. And this book really is the next step in the evolution of those for any business owner. Yes, I had an early copy of the book and concepts, so I've been able to test a few of them. There are still things I'm working on. The concepts, however familiar or not, are laid out beautifully in Clockwork and have taught me that it's even better when your team doesn't need you for every decision.

Started into the introduction last night and it fired me up, so I set aside appointments today.I remarked to my girlfriend that my business was running itself a lot more than a year ago and she retorted that I work more now than ever!So I've taken the first few action steps already and am committed to my 4 week vacation.Easy to read style, motivating and actionable. Have already recommended it to my business partner and he's downloaded the audible version.

This book is like a Switch Watch in that once you start you keep ticking along to read it. Mike's approach to systems is quite fun and makes sense. I can say this with conviction as I understand systems having worked with systems for many years in various industries from laboratories to aerospace and I too am an author of a book that uses systems to help property investors (Right First Time Property Investing).Mike's book is informative and interesting and gets his audience to look at their business in a new way that will help them become focused and efficient. Learn the simple techniques and keep this book close by and don't let it become a shelf help book.

I purchased this book whilst reading Mike's previous title 'Profit First'. 'Profit First' got me hooked on Mike's wisdom and teaching style and as a result of the effect on my business that is happening from working through 'Profit First', I wanted more of Mike's business wisdom. The reviews are also 5 star for 'Clockwork'. I can see why, and it's another 5 stars from me.Working through 'Clockwork' is, of course, a commitment, but nothing of value comes along with ease. Mike's describes every element of 'Clockwork' and it all just makes sense. It's eye-opening but also simple when you follow his guidance.I won't give anything away in this review ( as i didn't in Profit First review ) as I recommend this book to every business owner. Buy yourself a copy and learn from Mike. The humour in the book alone will lift your day.I wrote the next two sentences for my 'Profit First' review but I am repeating them here as they are also relevant for this title.This book is written by a genius businessman that has been there, done it and now has the kindness and generosity to share his wisdom and knowledge with us business owners. This is real advice, from a really clever guy that is proven and not a fly by night wannabee. If you need proof, watch Mike's talks on YouTube.Thank you, Mike, for sharing your skill and knowledge. It's making a world of difference to my business and I'm still working through your books. Thank you.

Love to see original thought in business and personal books and this certainly succeeds in that. As a bonus it is presented in a very readable and at times very humorous manner, nothing stuffy or hard to digest about this author. It really does work, as a veteran of a business for 18 years that I was finding hard to extract myself from, this has provided a well thought out path to follow. My 4 week holiday in February 2020 with zero contact with my business is booked in. Feels good.

… and sometimes you have to wake up and smell the coffee.This book gives you a step by step guide for getting the work off of you plate and onto someone else. I now have an 18 month plan to take a 4 week holiday. I've done this before but never been completely out of the loop. I look forward to putting this in action.If your an established business owner this is worth a read.If you are a new business, read this and save yourself 10 years!Good luck!