I just finished reading Christine Comaford-Lynch’s book “Rules for Renegades” and have to give it the thumbs-up for being the “real-deal.” That is, it’s real knowledge that can be put to use directly as opposed to the endless supply of business school theories that might in some way correlate with the real world of business.

The reader will correctly assume I have a somewhat jaded view of most B-School educations having sat through four years of one myself in the 1980s. In fairness I should differentiate here. The courses in the mechanics of business such as accounting and core finance were good stuff that can be applied. Where I think the BS meter up ticked strongly was in the area of theories such as efficient markets and related that were all the rage in that day. Theories that have since been rather substantially discredited and which to anyone with good sense knew applied only remotely in reality. Any way you slice it theories don’t make it happen in the real world of business; only revenue generation and net profits matter there.

Lynch, having not finished high-school, was spared a lot of this B-School BS and in her “ignorance” directly went about becoming a successful entrepreneur and adding a number of millions to her net worth.

The title of the second chapter says it best in “An MBA is Optional, a GSD is Essential.” Business is about “getting stuff done”, not theorizing endlessly. I think it’s worth noting that a number of reviewers on Amazon have criticized the book and given it low marks. While I agree with certain points they have made I think at least some of these folks are missing the overall message.

I recall a similar experience in B-School where the professor who held a Ph.D in Industrial Economics was criticizing Steve Jobs, who at that time had been bounced out of Apple Computer in 1985. The professor rambled on for a bit about how “this kid wasn’t capable of running such a company” and “that professional management was needed” which may have been true to a degree but regardless Jobs and “Woz” (Steve Wozniak) had a major hand in the early success of Apple and the company didn’t do as well after Jobs’ departure.

My retort was quite succinct when I asked said professor, “Dr. <name-withheld>, you clearly don’t have any respect for these young entrepreneurs so I’m curious. How many billion dollar companies have you created?” The answer of course was “none.” The facts are that almost all the successful early companies of the computer revolution were founded by action oriented people many of whom dropped out of school to focus on the “getting stuff done.”

I tend to go with “them’s that have done it” versus “them’s that’s talked about it.” Christine has the proven track record of success.

There’s a lot of useful lessons amidst the successes, tales and travails of this text. Well worth the modest investment and time.