The Messy Middle

Finding Your Way Through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture

By: Scott Belsky

Narrated by: Scott Belsky

The Messy Middle is the indispensable guide to navigating the volatility of new ventures and leading bold creative projects by Scott Belsky, best-selling author, entrepreneur, chief product officer at Adobe, and product advisor to many of today's top start-ups.

Creating something from nothing is an unpredictable journey. The first mile births a new idea into existence, and the final mile is all about letting go. We love talking about starts and finishes, even though the middle stretch is the most important and often the most ignored and misunderstood.

Broken into three sections with 100-plus insights, this no-nonsense audiobook will help you:

• Endure the roller coaster of successes and failures by strengthening your resolve, embracing the long game, and short-circuiting your reward system to get to the finish line.
• Optimize what’s working so you can improve the way you hire, better manage your team, and meet your customers’ needs.
• Finish strong and avoid the pitfalls many entrepreneurs make so you can overcome resistance, exit gracefully, and continue onto you next creative endeavor with ease.

With insightful interviews from today’s leading entrepreneurs, artists, writers, and executives, as well as Belsky’s own experience working with companies like Airbnb, Pinterest, Uber, and sweetgreen, The Messy Middle will outfit you to find your way through the hardest parts of any bold project or new venture.

©2018 Scott Belsky (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Really excels after the first 1/3!

I was worried that it was just going to be another simple written and for-everyone -book, when I heard the first few chapters, but then after about 7 chapters It completely changed gear. It's possible that I think that because I'm a product designer, and my boss is not the best at priorities, but damn the last 2/3 was amazing. Definitely going to re listen in the near future.

Every chapter has value

This is basically a collection of wisdom that Scott either learned himself, or often gained by working with or consulting smart people.

Every chapter has good advice, and there is an abundance of real world experience to help you avoid mistakes, get the most from given situations and drive successful outcomes for your business and yourself.

Scott has built a business from small to large revenues (but small staff) and gas worked for a large corporation (Adobe) in a position of influence - and advised many startup and growth companies. So he had advice applicable to almost any business or motivated founder, executive, line manager or product manager.

Great book, from someone who has made it - with hard work and who paid attention along the way.

Great insights

Scott gave some great insights! His concept on Free Radical employees hit home. As I go through the start up process including meeting VCs, bringing on new employees, etc. this book was perfect timing!

SO good

I read/listen to nonfiction business books full time and I can confidently say that this is one of the most valuable books I've listened to. So much counterintuitive but valuable advice on subjects ranging from leadership to product market fit. Highly recommended. I'll be relistening to this for years to come.

What the startup process is ACTUALLY like!!

Every story that Belsky tells brings to life an important aspect of the business creation process. This is a very good book that, it seems to me, is much better “heard” than “read”. This is an audiobook I will listen to again.

A little long but good

Belsky has some incredibly good and worthwhile discernments.. He goes on a little longer than I think is ultimately necessary and this book definitely has slow parts. Of course like every other tech entrepreneur, he trafficked in lexicons of same, i.e. core, mission and paradigm, But hey, his grandfather was Stanley Kaplan who got me into Boston College Law School. Belsky has enough credibility to be as comprehensive and tedious as he wants to be. This book is definitely worth a listen. I listened to all of it and I’m glad I did

A great motivation when you're in the weeds

if you're in the middle of a big project or starting a new venture it's important to keep in mind the big picture and why you're still persisting.

I found this book a great way to remind me why I'm doing what I'm doing and how to stay focused on the big rocks, the activities and have meaning and purpose.

whether you're an entrepreneur we're just dealing with the the mess of life, this is a great book to listen to to help you stay on track or get back on track.

A Top 10% Business Book

In a world full of trite entrepreneurs blabbing on about themselves, this wasn’t that. Scott was genuinely interested in helping entrepreneurs that approach their business in a sober way, do better. Thanks for this, it was badly needed.

Inspiring Illuminating and Wise

Scott takes a 20/20 look back at how he managed to survive for 5yrs bootstrapping a first of its kind SN.
Even though a lot of lessons here are for more mature growth companies, nevertheless these stories are worth hearing and learning from as the seeds are sown at an early stage. And if you are thinking about growth, it's important to learn a few expensive lessons.

Awesome book

Great listen! So many insights on how to survive the lows and the highs of creating a startup.
Actionable advice and not just theory.