Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

Ron Rubin’s Gold in Your Backyard presents fifty lessons that he says were formed through business experience shaped by long professional relationships. Rubin explains that his approach began with his father, whose Depression-era conduct led him to reject debt and to judge decisions by their effect on stability and independence. As Rubin moved from a family distributorship into larger ventures, he describes how his judgment developed through repeated exposure to unfamiliar decisions and guidance from advisers when prior experience did not apply. He explains that sustained reading replaced formal graduate education and supported leadership as his responsibilities expanded. The book describes how advisers provided structure during acquisitions and periods of transition. A serious cardiac emergency later redirected his priorities toward winery ownership and emergency readiness. Rubin frames preparation, institutional systems, and stewardship as operating foundations intended to sustain organizations over time.

Gold in Your Backyard: Lessons in Life, Leadership and the Power of a Dream by Ron Rubin is part memoir and primarily a breakdown of lessons learned. Rubin's work is wonderfully practical. His intelligence is solidified by the lesson that stood out to me the most, which is “Women Rule!” This is the sure sign of a man who knows what he's talking about. The conversational writing style makes every lesson relatable and very much like a friend who is sharing his insight. This carries through even with more serious experiences, one of the most heartening being a lesson on preparation for a crisis that was born of a fatal workplace accident. It's interesting to learn more about Rubin's success with Republic of Tea, and as the granddaughter of winemakers in Sebastopol, California, Rubin's immersion in the wine industry was fascinating to me. Overall, this is an excellent book for both business and life in general. Recommended.