Done in the same vein as the bestseller Fish!, Beans is the story of The El Espresso, a legend in its own time in Seattle and coffee company that has prospered by intentionally staying small in the cut throat coffee capital of the country. Told over the span of a day it follows Jack Hartman, founder of The El Espresso, through a business crisis that will challenge him and make him clear on why he does what he does. Like Fish! it employs fictional devices, such as a consultant that comes to “help” Jack but in reality bears witness to the secrets of good business. Though fictionalized this is a true story in the best sense of the word and will hit at a time when people are yearning to return to honest ways of doing business: before corporate dominance, inflated executive salaries, accounting trickery and outright greed became commonplace. It is the story of a pushcart David slaying the corporate Goliaths on a daily basis and it will appeal to all of those in business who are looking for a way forward by reminding us what is core to good business and a good life: honoring customers, trusting employees, passion around a product and turning an honest profit.
Book Details:
- Author: Leslie Yerkes
- ISBN: 9780470366547
- Year Published: 2003
- Pages: 176
- BISAC: BUS000000, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS/General
About the Book and Topic:
Done in the same vein as the bestseller Fish!, Beans is the story of The El Espresso, a legend in its own time in Seattle and coffee company that has prospered by intentionally staying small in the cut throat coffee capital of the country. Told over the span of a day it follows Jack Hartman, founder of The El Espresso, through a business crisis that will challenge him and make him clear on why he does what he does. Like Fish! it employs fictional devices, such as a consultant that comes to “help” Jack but in reality bears witness to the secrets of good business. Though fictionalized this is a true story in the best sense of the word and will hit at a time when people are yearning to return to honest ways of doing business: before corporate dominance, inflated executive salaries, accounting trickery and outright greed became commonplace. It is the story of a pushcart David slaying the corporate Goliaths on a daily basis and it will appeal to all of those in business who are looking for a way forward by reminding us what is core to good business and a good life: honoring customers, trusting employees, passion around a product and turning an honest profit.
The business and business book marketplace was hit hard — distrust and dismay over corporations gone wrong has opened the door for more “back to basics’ inspirational works. The authors have the right message, at the right time, with a powerful platform to get the message out to the widest possible audience. The story of The El Espresso is not over exposed and has all the key elements ripe for telling: the aging founder who must dig deep to keep the business going, the core values that are tested, and the triumph of doing all the hard work to watch it pay off. The authors have unique access to the story and already have lined up an impressive list of endorsers and buyers.
INCREDIBLE AUTHOR PLATFORM. Leslie Yerkes is an active consultant and speaker in this topic area. As a team they are highly motivated to support the title however they can.As a former Amazon insider, and 20 year publishing veteran, Charles Decker has worked behind the scenes at Amazon on several bestsellers (Fish!, Whale Done) most recently on It’s Your Ship, Mike Abrashoof,, Warner book, May 2002, that became an Amazon bestseller out the gate, and hit the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. RIVETING STORY, TOLD AT RIGHT TIME, WITH RIGHT PRICE & PACKAGE. We know now that the business market will eat up a good (short) story, witness Fish!, Gung Ho, and our own Lencioni bestsellers. Beans taps into that same reader preference and it has a story that really delivers the goods: insights, advice and inspiration in a time when workers are disillusioned and disguste. dIts focus on a small company with 22 years of impeccable values taps into the hunger for basic business at its best.The message will appeal to a large audience of business individuals as well as bulk buyers who are looking for inspiration as well as practical guidance. Includes exercises included for readers to examine state of their own business. CONFIRMED FOREWORD FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR, CONFIRMED BESTSELLING ENDORSERS. These authors know what makes a bestseller is not a good book but a network to get that book out and into all of the makers and breakers. Besides industry connections of Decker, Fish! author Harry Paul, and author Ken Blanchard are confirmed endorsers. Bestselling author Bob Nelson (1001 Ways to Reward Employees) has already written the foreword.
About the Author
Leslie A. Yerkes is president and founder of Catalyst Consulting Group in Cleveland, Ohio. She is coauthor of 301 Ways to Have Fun at Work and author of Fun Works: Creating Places Where People Love to Work. Charles Decker is Vice President for Client and Partner Relations for Acumentum, Inc., an electronic publishing company. He was formerly a senior executive at Amazon.com as well as a past director of the Executive Program book club in New York.