G.O.A.T. Wisdom: How to Build a Truly Great Business
Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell
Harvard Business Review Press (July 2025)

Here’s the “secret sauce” for a delicious feast of business success

In the Preface, Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell observe, “We launched Beekman 1802 in one of New York’s poorest states with no funding — during a punishing recession. As our story illustrates, it doesn’t matter where you live, how you identify, or how many resources you have at your disposal. If you dedicate yourself to following but tried-and-true wisdom, you can do it too.”

Later in the Preface: “If you dream of starting, owning, or growing a multimillion-dollar business but feel stuck or believe you don’t have what it takes, G.O.A.T. Wisdom will give you the conceptual foundation you need to tune out the chatter, return to what’s real, and make consistently wise business decisions. This book will also inspire you to take a deeper look at your own heritage and traditions, reconnecting with the kernels of wisdom and the gut feelings you already have but might not be applying in your business practices. And it will provide you with a dose of motivation to get started or redouble your efforts to start your own business or to utilize an entrepreneurial mindset in the company in which you already work (we call this intrapreneurship!).”

Wow! That’s a lot!

More specifically, Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell focus on a dozen business principles and devote a separate chapter to each. Those who follow these principles are more likely to build “a truly great business.” They thoroughly explain HOW TO

o Delegate effectively (input from Martha Stewart, Pages 8-9)
o Budget, allocate, and be scrappy (input from Bettheny Frankel, 32)
o Learn and grow both personally and professionally
o Recognize and then seize opportunities (input from Curtis Stone, 66-67)
o Stay focused (input from David Venable, 82-83)
o Find your purpose…and then be guided by it
o Exert influence that is positive and  constructive
o Obtain/use competitive intelligence
o Mitigate risk (input from the “Sharks,” 148-149)
o Reassure your employees that you care, that you really care (input from Deepak Chopra, 170-175)
o Forge strong partnerships
o Create or increase demand for what you offer and do so with kindness

Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell share with you what they view as the most valuable lessons they have learned from the Greatest of All Time companies but what about the 85 real (and “beautiful”) goats whose milk helped to save their company, Beekman 1802? Here are five:

1. “If everyone is running in the same direction, join them.”
2. “A certain level of bullshit (or goat poop) is helpful.”
3. “Taste everything (you can always spit it out later).”
4. “Hard decisions today make for easier decisions tomorrow.”
5. “Constantly revisit your organization’s organization.”

None is a head-napping revelation — nor do Ridge and Kilmer-Purcell make any such claim — but all are pragmatic, anchored in real-world experience. Warren Buffett and his longtime partner Charlie Munger offer comparable advice. For example, “It’s remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.”

I especially recommend this book to anyone who is now preparing for a career in business or has only recently embarked upon one. It is every bit as entertaining as it is informative. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell provide an abundance of information, insights, and counsel. If you share my high opinion of this material, I highly recommend that you check out Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography. Perhaps you will agree with me that Franklin would chuckle with delight and approval while sharing the thoughts and feelings of two kindred spirits and their furry colleagues in the 21st century.

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Here are two suggestions while you are reading G.O.A.T. Wisdom: First, highlight key passages. Also, perhaps in a notebook kept near-at-hand (e.g. Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5), record your comments, questions, and action steps (preferably with deadlines). Pay special attention to  the insights contributed by G.O.A.T. business leaders (e.g. Martha Stewart, David Venable, and Deepak Chopra) as well as to thought-provoking suggestions that Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell provide in the “Chew on This” and “Become a G.O.A.T.” sections that conclude each of the twelve chapters.

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will expedite frequent reviews of key material later