Synopses & Reviews
Copy This!, Paul Orfalea's inspiring, personal story of turning lemons into lemonade, may be the most unusual business memoir ever published.
Paul Orfalea struggles mightily to read, to write, and to sit still through a business meeting. So what's the problem? By working with the obstacles life dealt himand#8212;he calls his dyslexia and ADHD andquot;learning opportunitiesandquot;and#8212;he grew a 100-square-foot copy shop named Kinko's into a $1.5 billion-a-year company that Fortunenamed one of the best places in America to work.
This is the story of a boy who flunked out of second gradeand#8212;a boy who was fired by a gas station for writing illegible receipts. But it's also the story of a boy who learned from the world directly, who was brave enough to fail, who knew he had to rely on other people. A boy who developed empathy, a particular gift of his dyslexia that gave Orfalea the crucial insight into what makes Kinko's work. When Paul Orfalea first looked out on the worried, hopeful faces of his customers, he knew that he was in the problem-solving businessand#8212;at four cents a page. Kinko's doesn't so much handle paper as it handles dreams.
Paul Orfalea really did do it his way. With humor, wisdom, and compassion, he shares his invaluable experiences and unorthodox business lessons with the millions of those who are just a little bit andquot;different,andquot; and who wonder if there's a place for them in the world. There is: at the top.
Review
"Irresistible. Paul Orfalea is witty, charming, and wise. If I could live my life over, I would sit at this feet and listen to everything he has to say."
—Bill Moyers, author of Healing and the Mind
Review
"I loved
Copy This! A must read for every independent-thinking square peg who finds him- or herself in a round hole."
—Sally Shaywitz, M.D., author of Overcoming Dyslexia
Review
"An effervescent memoir." - School Library Journal School Library Journal
Review
"As amazing, as ebullient...as its founder, Mr. Orfalea." - Santa Barbara News Press Santa Barbara News-Press
Synopsis
A charismatic, heart-warming business memoir that’s filled with life lessons on overcoming obstacles,
Copy This! is a book for every business owner looking to grow a company, every manager helping his team perform, every visionary trying to launch a new idea—and for every mother and father of a child suffering from dyslexia or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Because
Copy This! is the story of how Paul Orfalea opened a small copy shop called Kinko’s in 1970 and turned it into a $1.5 billion-a-year company, while barely being able to read, write, or sit still through a business meeting.
Here is the story of a dyslexic, hyperactive boy who flunked two grades—yet succeeded in using his learning differences as opportunities, molding the compassionate, unconventional, partner-driven culture that allowed Kinko’s to thrive, and made it, according to Fortune, Forbes, and Mother Jones, one of the best places in America to work. In fourteen chapters narrated with the engaging voice of a born storyteller, Orfalea takes as much pleasure in discussing his shortcomings as he does his successes, and imparts the valuable lessons he’s learned along the way: Manage the environment, not the people. Fail forward. Be “on” your business, not “in” your business. Let your soul catch up with your body. Keep a poker face—and a poker mind. And know when—and how—to walk away. Which Orfalea did in 2000, having made millionaires out of dozens of his friends and partners, after an extraordinary 30-year run.
Synopsis
Copy This! tells the story of how a struggling kid who could barely read, write, or sit still managed to grow a 10'-by-10' copy stand into a $2 billion business empire. Of how an individual used learning disabilities—ADHD and dyslexia—as learning opportunities to mold the homegrown, compassionate culture that allowed Kinko's to thrive. No reader, in business or out, will leave this book without looking at the world and its problems with fresh eyes and ideas.
Synopsis
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 Orfaleas 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 disabilities—ADHD and dyslexia—as 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.
About the Author
Paul Orfalea founded Kinkos 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.Ann Marsh first met and wrote about Paul Orfalea as a staff writer for Forbes magazine. She lives in Costa Mesa, California.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: Anybody Else Can Do It Better
Chapter 2: Are You "In" or "On" Your Business
Chapter 3: Manage the Environment, Not the People
Chapter 4: The Business of Business is Emotion
Chapter 5: Face Outward
Chapter 6: Find Your Philosophy
Chapter 7: Life is a Picnic
Chapter 8: Deal With Your Dark Side
Chapter 9: Watch Your Karma
Chapter 10: Fail Forward
Chapter 11: Make Money While You Sleep
Chapter 12: Know When to Fold'Em
Chapter 13: Know When to Walk Away
Chapter 14: Repurpose Yourself
The Cast of Recurring Characters
Appendix I: Stories That Didn't Fit in the Book
Appendix II: Orfalea's Aphorisms
About the Authors
Appendix III: The Big Thank You
Index