Well, to give credit where it's due, The Personal MBA is not a bad book. It has a slightly misleading title though. It should have been called "extremely short pieces about various aspects of business".
The real value of it, at least for me, is inspiration. I read a small chapter (which is often just a page or half) and think how it relates to my actual situation. This gives me some food for thought, and very often for action, for a couple of days. Then I go back to the book, read the next piece, and so on. I sometimes disagree with the author, but it's a positive experience overall.
God, I hate books like that. In my youth, I got on a freestyle kick (go watch Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme) and bought a book called 'How To Rap' because it was well reviewed. I was hoping for some sort of insight from the greats. It was entirely made of just quotes from different rappers. Barely any structure whatsoever.
I am partway through reading The Personal MBA, and the book of quotes you mentions sound very, very different. Sure, The Personal MBA is not a deep dive into any subject (it's not meant to be) but it's got a lot more meat than just quotes from other textbooks.
The real value of it, at least for me, is inspiration. I read a small chapter (which is often just a page or half) and think how it relates to my actual situation. This gives me some food for thought, and very often for action, for a couple of days. Then I go back to the book, read the next piece, and so on. I sometimes disagree with the author, but it's a positive experience overall.