Erin Peterson

Erin Peterson

ADPR5910

Lariscy

February 14, 2012

Ramsey, Dave. Entreleadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches. New

York: Howard, 2011. Print.

“EntreLeadership” Review

Summary:

“EntreLeadership,” by Dave Ramsey, is a very personal and innovative guide to managing

any sort of business with the attitude and spirit of an “EntreLeader.” Ramsey, a successful

entrepreneur who has grown his small business into a very large and profitable corporation, shares his

many successes and failures associated with running his company. He teaches the reader how to

embody the passion, drive, and willingness to serve others that has molded him and others into

the “EntreLeaders” that they are today.

“The Lampo Group, Inc. is providing biblically based, commonsense education and

empowerment which gives HOPE to everyone from the financially secure to the financially

distressed,” is the mission statement with which Ramsey bases his entire business and managerial

strategies. His Christian beliefs and morals are the foundation to his approach towards himself, his

business employees, better known as “team members,” and his business. He then creates goals and

objectives on top of the statement that guide him in working with others to achieve specific tasks

throughout his day. An “EntreLeader” creates goals that epitomize the passion and ambition that he or

she has for that particular business.

After Ramsey introduces the goals that he has made for his company, he then provides a

guideline into every aspect of business and how these goals tie into certain decisions that he has made

along the way. He shares many examples of the choices that have and haven’t worked for him and

what he would have done differently. Some examples include his insight into time management,

marketing, hiring, firing and how to inspire “team members” to also become “EntreLeaders.” Overall,

Ramsey’s book is a very unique guide to becoming the influential and passionate leader that will

motivate others to help pilot a business team into the success that was imagined in the creation of the

mission statement.

Analysis:

Many of the strategies within “EntreLeadership” reflect a combination of management

theories. Ramsey’s insistence on working with and inspiring others reflect the basics behind theories

such as collaborative management, the human relations movement and the Hawthorne studies. A

profound idea embedded within each of these theories is the belief that employees are actually

humans and should be treated as such. A leader must work together with his or her team members,

bring out their inner creativity and drive, and work collaboratively in pursuing a common goal.

On a more specific level, one of Ramsey’s more significant leadership guidelines from a

public relations perspective includes “The Map to the Party: Grasping the Undeniable Relationship

Between Great Communication and Great Companies.” The section outlines how an “EntreLeader”

actually inspires his business team members in communicating his vision, passion and drive with

them in everything from office memos to annual reports. This section is very important to a PR

professional because it includes how a leader communicates inspiration internally to the employees as

well as externally to the customers. If “EntreLeaders” and PR professionals consistently embody and

communicate the ideals behind “EntreLeadership,” then team members and customers will follow.

Recommendation:

Overall, although the book didn’t exactly teach me how to lead and was very redundant in its

reminders about how “EntreLeaders” inspire others, it did convince me of the importance of a positive

attitude. It proved to me that a team is much stronger when every member is passionate about the

work. A business is more successful when the customers actually believe in the product or service. A

PR professional must be able to embrace and communicate the spirit of “EntreLeadership” to become

more inspirational and effective in his or her work. Therefore, I definitely recommend Ramsey’s

book. I believe that it is an important perspective to consider in today’s world of continuously

changing business models, new modes of communication and the growing necessity to be constantly

innovating and open to new ideas.