Live Rich

November 2, 1998
With the same format and approach as the bestselling Die Broke, financial adviser Pollan here focuses on earning money rather than spending it. "To live rich" (which, he assumes, is "what we all want"), "you need to abandon the pursuit of meaningful work." That's a grim but perhaps rational way to approach our Brave New Employment World, and the rules are simple: make money (don't worry about emotional gratification at work); don't grow, change (avoid putting down roots at work); and take charge. Entrepreneurs must ensure that their businesses serve them, and employees must be mercenaries. The bulk of the book, as in Die Broke (also a collaboration with Levine), consists of short takes on relevant topics, some limited to entrepreneurs. Those topics include advertising (too broad to be efficient, he says), call waiting (it inevitably insults someone), equipment (lease rather than buy) and time management (offer estimates rather than deadlines). Cutting out social and personal elements makes work more efficient, Pollan declares. Readers happily heading out to lunch with co-workers might disagree.