Jonathan Littman is the author of ten books, including “The Art of Innovation” and “The Ten Faces of Innovation.” His bestselling books have sold 750,000 copies worldwide and have been published in 20 languages. He is an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco where he teaches ‘Innovation, Creativity, and Applied Design.’ Susanna Camp is an editor and journalist specializing in emerging technology and business trends. She is the Editor-in-Chief of SmartUp.life and a consultant for CEOs and others wanting to build their social media footprint. Susanna was an early team leader at Wired magazine, where she led the creation of one of the first online communities. In their new book “The Entrepreneur’s Faces: How Makers, Visionaries and Outsiders Succeed,” the authors take readers through the world of ten authentic entrepreneurs from around the world and show how each gets their edge and how they make their way in the business world in the hopes of inspiring the entrepreneurial spirit in them.

In the Introduction to “The Entrepreneur’s Faces,” Jonathan Littman and Susanna Camp explain their goal in writing this book is to “help you to identify the ten essential entrepreneurial types to propel your professional growth, and better gauge potential partners on the journey.” The ten entrepreneurs showcased throughout this book range from a concert pianist, to a physicist, a Stanford Law student and more. They are divided into ten types of workers: The Maker, The Outsider, The Conductor, The Accidental, The Collaborator, The Guardian, The Leader, The Visionary, The Evangelist, and The Athlete. Even though they all have their own individual journey to travel, they all pass through the same seven essential stages, which the authors call The Arc. These stages include: The Awakening, The Shift, The Place, The Launch, The Money, The Test, and The Scale. Each stage makes up a chapter where they describe how each entrepreneur handles the different stages. In the Epilogue, they stress that getting to identify the different entrepreneurial types is an excellent way to maximize a person’s potential but the types are in no way set in stone. People often exhibit more than one of these characteristics and it is usually necessary to adapt and change to maximize growth.

The world of entrepreneurship, like people, is constantly changing and challenging. Even though Littman and Camp focus on ten types of entrepreneurs, they emphasize that these states of mind are not always static. This book was written during COVID, when the business world is being challenged in ways no one thought possible – “The global pandemic is a huge Test for us all…Taking bold, new steps is never easy.” The stories presented, though inspiring, are merely a guide for entrepreneurs and innovators to help them through the 7 major phases of business growth. One chapter that stands out is ‘3: The Place’ because it brings up how the pandemic has made remote working necessary and “Those who quickly adopted these new skills at creating and collaborating online had an edge.” It brings modern reality into the mix. The chapters are short and the language is not too complicated in terms of business lingo and the authors speak directly to the reader: “At heart, you’ve got to make your own luck.” Business owners can also benefit in the sense that this valuable information can help them better understand themselves and their workers. By focusing on personality traits, this unique approach to business growth and management speaks to the heart of what makes individuals strive to succeed. “The Entrepreneur’s Faces” is an immensely useful business guide for both entrepreneurs and established organizations and is recommended for readers who appreciate business advice focusing on individual personalities and strengths.

“History proves that recessions, downturns, and yes, pandemics, demand that we respond to the threat with tremendous creativity and innovation.”

*The author received a copy of this book for an honest review. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.