If you are a follower of my blog, you will notice that reading and business are two of my passions (and English is not my native tongue. Please be patient if you find a grammatical mistake. I will apreciate if you email me to notify it). What I am doing with this book review, contains both passions, which occupies a bit of my leisure time.

When I was studying my MBA, a teacher of mine recommended me the reading of Winning by Jack Welch (former CEO and Chairman of General Electric). Since that moment, I started to read about the extraordinary professional career of Jack Welch. I have readed, at least three times, his book Winning, I bought his book Straight From the Gut (which I will read soon) and I have readed the book which today I review: The Real Life MBA.

I started to read this book seating on a bench at Patacona beach, Valencia. I was working as a real estate agent at Engel & Völlkers. My goal that day was to rent that apartment close to the beach. I organized some consecutive visits to that apartament (to create the necessity to my clients, who viewed that there were other clients interested on it too). One of my visitors cancelled his visit, taking advantage of an hour free, I crossed the street and, seating on a bench, I started to read this book. And, yep, I got my goal, renting the apartment that afternoon.

I had to restart the reading of the book, because the last months has been actively frenetic for me. I got a better job and I have been very busy lately (I finished the reading of the book at night, in a hotel room in Barcelona, after more than 700 km driving and visting clients, tired but strongly happy with my new and passionate job).

The same as with the bestseller Winning, I have enjoyed and learned a lot with The Real Life MBA, this why I strongly recommend its reading.

The book is divided into three parts. In the first part, It’s about the game, Jack and Suzy Welch talk us about the importance of growth, finance and marketing in business and about how to compete in a global market. Ending with a master explanation about how to manage a crisis.

The second part of the book is dedicated to explain how to build a great team and how to use the 2.0 tools. At the last  part, the authors talk about how to identify your dreamed job, how to improve your carreer and how to front facing big changes.

The book is full of enriching examples and real stories of workers and managers, some of them anonymous, other ones with their real names and even identifying their positions and companies.

After Winning success, Jack and Suzy Welch gave hundreds of speeches and conferences, collecting questions, experiences and feedback of an enthusiatic crowd of followers. These experience took them to work as a consultants and even to create its own MBA on line.

If you want to know more about successful careers of the authors and others managers which are mentioned and explained in the book, if you want to get some tricks which help you in your professional carreer, this is your book.

The Real Life MBA. The no-nonsense guide to winning the game, building a team and growing your career.

Jack Welch & Suzy Welch

Thorsons. London 2015

A book review by David Torija