Copy This!: Lessons from a Hyperactive Dyslexic who Turned a Bright Idea Into One of America's Best Companies

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Workman Publishing, Jan 1, 2005 - Biography & Autobiography - 225 pages
Bill Moyers said this about Paul Orfalea after reading Copy This!: "If I could live my life over again, I would sit at his feet and listen to everything he has to say." And David Brancaccio, host of NOW on PBS, wrote: "As the host for a decade of a daily business program, I had to read what seemed like every business book published in the English language. It is, therefore, with authority that I can say Paul OrfaleaÕs book is wonderful, heartbreaking, and profoundly useful."

Now in paperback, Copy This!, Paul Orfale's memoir of turning lemons into lemonade, is wise, personal, funny, unflinchingly honest, and filled with wisdom, business lessons, and his inspired Orfalea Aphorisms. It's the story of how a struggling kid who could barely read, write, or sit still managed to grow a 100-square-foot copy shop named Kinko's into a $1.5 billion empire that Fortune named one of the best places in America to work. And it's the story of an individual who saw his learning disabilitiesÑADHD and dyslexiaÑas learning opportunities, which molded the homegrown, compassionate culture that allowed Kinko's to thrive, and guided the behavior of a CEO who had no choice but to think different. A terrifically entertaining read from a born storyteller, but with the hardcore guts of true business acumen, Copy This! will blow fresh air into the thinking of any manager, entrepreneur, executive, or business owner.
 

Selected pages

Contents

Anybody Else Can Do It Better
1
Are You In or On Your Business?
10
Manage the Environment Not the People
22
The Business of Business is Emotion
40
Face Outward
51
Find Your Philosophy
72
Life Is a Picnic
85
Deal with Your Dark Side
99
Know When to Fold Em
155
Know When to Walk Away
168
Repurpose Yourself
180
The Cast of Recurring Characters
190
Stories That Didnt Fit in the Book
192
Orfaleas Aphorisms
199
About the Authors
204
The Big Thank You
205

Watch Your Karma
116
Fail Forward
126
Make Money While You Sleep
139

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About the author (2005)

Paul Orfalea founded Kinko’s in 1970 and retired from the company in 2000. He frequently teaches at the University of Southern California and talks to educational and business organizations around the country. Through the Orfalea Family Foundation, Mr. Orfalea supports a broad range of educational initiatives. He lives with his family in Santa Barbara, California.

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