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Against the Odds: An Autobiography
by
James Dyson
The maverick inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner recounts how he succeeded against the odds to become the UK's leading entrepreneur. This inspirational autobiography tells the remarkable story behind James Dyson and his most successful invention to date: the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner. With little or no support, Dyson endured years of personal struggle and fina
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Paperback
Published
December 7th 2000
by Texere Publishing
(first published 1997)
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dyson is an inventor, designer, engineer, entrepreneur, and iconoclast. he invented the dyson vacuum cleaner (amongst other products). dyson pulls no punches, and his candor is refreshing - there are no sound bites here. i found myself laughing out loud at least once a chapter. if you're into thinking differently about the "proper" way of doing anything (running a company, building a product, etc etc), i'd recommend this book. i wanted to give it 4.5 stars (otis, half stars please :) but gave it
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What a brilliant and inspiring book. It shows what a great and hard journey it is to be modern time inventor. You need very clear vision, strong character and a lot of faith in your product - because if you don't have faith no one else will. And if you have a good supporting system in place you just might make it.
I have long been a fan of the Dyson vacuums because they worked better than anything I have ever heard of (though I've yet to get one). Thus, when I saw this book sitting calmly on the library shelf, I reached out to it in wonder. I knew that Dyson raised himself from practically nothing, yet became a force to be reckoned with in the world of vacuums. I was curious as to the more in-depth story behind it. What I got was that as well as a touching insight to the depth of character, intellect, and
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Persistent character and very patient family to have survived the challenges of creating a new product and bringing it to market. Normal people would have surrendered earlier. I was annoyed by his tendencies to generalize about national characteristics, his imitations of Japanese pronunciation, his repetitive harangues regarding Thatcher politics and finally his constant use of British slang. Perhaps he hadn't imagine his book would receive an International audience. But then I had to order it f
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If you're in to vacuum cleaners or just inventiveness and determination you'll like the Dyson vacuum cleaner story.
I read this when I was on holiday and it happened to be in the rented cottage. Consequently it was an early edition from the mid-90s. I found James inspiring. I loved what he was doing at his factory and his new ways of business. As it was still early on in his success story, I felt rather depressed through most of the book at so much of the dreadful behaviour shown towards him. I thought James was magnificent in the way he persevered and lived his values but my goodness me, the sharp practice a
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What an inspiration. This Dyson faced so many challenges that makes me marvel he tenacity and persistence. What I've learnt?
1. Doing things unconventional is not only fine but good!
2. I'm the Bean counter that Dyson seems to be so wary about. I need to recognise the creative kinds around me and facilitate them rather than stiffle them with my analytical needs.
3. The amount of legal problems he handle just gives me the resolve to not be dishearten if I ever have to go through that.
1. Doing things unconventional is not only fine but good!
2. I'm the Bean counter that Dyson seems to be so wary about. I need to recognise the creative kinds around me and facilitate them rather than stiffle them with my analytical needs.
3. The amount of legal problems he handle just gives me the resolve to not be dishearten if I ever have to go through that.
This is an entertaining read for anyone, and I would recommend it whether you love Dyson's, you're an entrepreneur or just generally interested in business. It is the best business book I have ever read - purely because Dyson's business isn't about money, but is about the product and the customers. The world would be a better place if more businesses had this approach!
Sir Jame's Autobiography is an amazing candid writing by one of my favourite entrepreneurs & designer. A straight a shooter as they get and a guy who appears to still to get his hands dirty and toss back the odd beer - all while being knighted and a billionaire (two things he probably could care less about).
This book should have been a best-seller. It start slow and maybe boring but it gets very engaging quickly. There are alot of thing to learn from this book, how to think differenty, the Adisonian way of making new things, chasing your dreams and many other amazing stories.
Entertaining and interesting read, written in 2007 it seems like he totally saw the financial crisis coming. Lots of good points about inventions, iterative development and creating businesses.
The story of the man who invented the Dyson vacuum cleaner. A very inspiring book by the man who will remove hoover from the dictionary.
An absolutely brilliant book by and about an absolutely brilliant person. James Dyson is incredibly inspiring in so many ways.
May 23, 2012
Scott
added it
A great read for anyone that has a dream and the gusts to chase it until they succeed.
Brilliant, inspiring and easy to relate to as an engineer-entrepreneur when I read it.
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Sir James Dyson
is a British industrial designer and founder of his company called Dyson.
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