For thirty years, the centre left of politics has been searching for a narrative that makes sense of the market economy. John kay is a leading economist and visiting professor of economics at the london school of economics, a fellow of st johns college, oxford. He is a fellow of the british academy and of the royal society of edinburgh. He has been a fellow of st johns college, oxford, since 1970.
They also reduce innovation by focusing on tactical actions. The best books on a new capitalism five books expert. Profit seeking paradoxes in an oblique world economics. As john kay pointed out, we can only learn about our objectives and how to achieve them through a gradual process of risk taking and discovery what he calls obliquity. John kay gave a stimulating talk at the london school of economics last week, one of a series of appearances to showcase his longawaited new book obliquity. Wordery is one of the uks largest online independent book shops. Mar 22, 2018 in obliquity, john kay argues against my naive fiveyear plan. May 08, 2020 the economist and financial times columnist john kay tells us the best approach is obliquity. This seemingly counterintuitive idea is the subject of john kay s very interesting book obliquity. Buy books online, over 10 millions books available. The public sector in germany has massively neglected its investments in the past two decades. In obliquity, john kay argues against my naive fiveyear plan. If you want to go in one direction, the best route may involve going in another.
As the economist john kay noted in his wonderful book obliquity, in complex situations even the most powerful men such as lincoln or roosevelt must proceed by choosing opportunistically from a narrow range of options. Apr 23, 2018 in his book obliquity john kay points out that actually objectives are a waste of time, what do i mean. Why obliquity leads to more impactful market research. Jan 01, 2011 this seemingly counterintuitive idea is the subject of john kays very interesting book obliquity.
Profit seeking paradoxes in an oblique world business tutor2u. In general, oblique approaches recognise that complex objectives tend to be imprecisely defined and contain many elements that are not necessarily or obviously compatible with each other, and that we learn about the nature of the objectives and the means of achieving. There is something for every member of the family at obliquity. A summary of obliquity by john kay summarised by paul arnold. Economics with style as well as substance stephen bayley, architecture and design correspondent, observer. In his book obliquity john kay points out that actually objectives are a waste of time, what do i mean. It is a pleasure to read howard davies financial times fascinating richard lambert, directorgeneral of the cbi kay is one of our most dependably perceptive and interesting economic commentators and he wields a deft pen, so the pages of obliquity fly by. This is only one example of it but there are many of them that in a complex and imperfectly understood environment, pursuing a goal directly is not necessarily the most effective means of achieving it.
To see what he is getting at lets take a look at some examples of important goals best achieved indirectly. John kay tells a fastpaced detective story as he searches for the surprising secret to success. We strive to offer the right books at the lowest price with the best service. In this revolutionary book, economist john kay proves a notion that feels at once paradoxical and deeply commonsensical. For welltodo metropolitans, capitalism is the gift that goes on giving. Feb 03, 2011 john kay is an admirable debunker of myths and false beliefs he can see substantial things others dont. Take small steps and iterate, coursecorrecting along the way. Whether overcoming geographical obstacles, winning decisive battles or meeting sales targets, history shows us that oblique approaches are the most successful, especially in. John kay applies his provocative, universal theory to everything from international business to town planning and from football to managing forest fire. A list of all janice kay johnsons series in reading order. The options at my disposal actually become few, not many, and i consider them as constantly changing. Obliquity quotes showing 17 of 7 no one will be buried with the epitaph he maximised shareholder value.
Obliquity describes the process of achieving complex objectives indirectly. This book teaches the it architecture practitioner how to align the different. Profit seeking paradoxes in an oblique world business. Blue moons, frowly cats, first cousins twice removed, exiled americans and much more can be found at obliquity. John kay is an economist whose career has spanned the academic world, business and public affairs. Mar 22, 2012 john kay is a leading economist and visiting professor of economics at the london school of economics, a fellow of st johns college, oxford. This seemingly counterintuitive idea is the subject of john kays very interesting book obliquity. It was inspired by an observation of the successful pharmaceutical researcher, sir james black.
Oblique approaches are most effective in difficult terrain, or where outcomes depend on interactions with other people. Why our goals are best achieved indirectly by john kay. This book by the distinguished economist and writer john kay is an extended essay about an idea which is intuitively true. The result is a public capital stock that does not meet the requirements of a modern economy and is inadequate to meet the challenges posed by the imminent demographic change and the international commitments for decarbonisation. Why obliquity leads to more impactful market research the.
John kay is an admirable debunker of myths and false beliefs he can see substantial things others dont. Mass flourishing contains much history, but it focuses more on what society should do today, and it provides a call to action. John kay, obliquity, profile books, 2011 economist, ft, lse, lbs, said bs the book explains. Interview with tobias mayer about the peoples scrum and. Shiller, author of finance and the good society this book is very good indeed, drawing on a lifetime of thought and experience and a wide knowledge outside economics as well as, of course, in it. From achieving your greatest goals to dealing with failure and everything in between.
Whats important i assume is not to focus on maximising shareholder value since they create a bias towards short term results at the expense of longer term priorities. Apr 21, 2010 the return flight to zurich allowed me to power through john kays excellent book obliquity. Obliquity describes the process of achieving complex objectives indirectly in general, oblique approaches recognise that complex objectives tend to be imprecisely defined and contain many elements that are not necessarily or obviously compatible with each other, and that we learn about the nature of the objectives and the means of achieving them during a process of experiment and discovery. So many fish in the ocean somewhere palladio trusted. Why our goals are best achieved indirectly, is relevant to many facets of our personal and professional lives everything from achieving happiness to running a successful business. Currently, he is a visiting professor of economics at the london school of economics, a fellow of st johns college, oxford. This book provides it john kay, fellow of st johns college, oxford and the author of obliquity and other peoples money. Nevertheless, its an important reminder to linear thinkers that their approach isnt always the best. A summary of obliquity by john kay summarised by paul.
John kays obliquity provides detailed research and analysis on profit seeking paradox. In 2010, john kay published a book called obliquity, which shows how in business, politics and many other areas of life, goals are often better achieved obliquely. In obliquity there are no predictable connections between intentions and outcomes. Which was a goal, but churchill had no idea how he would reach that goal. It packed with many true stories from historical events, politics, businesses and the authors personal experiences. When i stumbled over these two publications, i realised that i was using oblique strategies in my leadership training and coaching. We are not totally rational in our decisionmaking hence rational approaches do not. In both this and his more recent book obliquity, he examines the obsession company executives have with share price and shareholder returns, and argues that in the cases of enron and ici imperial chemical industries this had very negative or catastrophic implications.
Firms which emphasise profits or market share are the most likely to perform poorly and suffer from shortterm thinking, so british economist john kay argues in his book, obliquity. A large audience were treated to a deeply thoughtful and perceptive discussion of the nature of obliquity and how it affects our personal lives and the decisions and strategies taken by. Instead, john kay of the financial times in 2004 made the case for obliquity, which is going after goals indirectly. Towards an oblique strategy for dealing with the complex chapter. And that was behind the paradox which led me to write the book, obliquity. See more ideas about books, books to read and reading. Nassim n taleb the black swan economics with style as well as substance stephen bayley, architecture and design correspondent observer obliquity is a characteristic john kay production. The peoples scrum by tobias mayer is a collection of essays covering topics like selforganizing, team working, craftsmanship, technical debt, estimation, retrospectives, culture and scrum. Obliquity available for download and read online in other formats. Why our goals are best achieved indirectly is a book by economist john kay. The economist and financial times columnist john kay tells us the best approach is obliquity.
All of johns books are available to purchase via this webpage. Decisions that are made iteratively, with trial and error, employing emotion or intuition, or from going for greatness and reaping a side benefit of profits these are all oblique according to kay. Obliquity welcome to the home of obliquity where every page has been designed with accessibility in mind, no matter what your hardware or software. He was the first dean of oxfords said business school and has held chairs at london business school, the university of oxford, and the london school of economics. Trying to approach nebulous targets like profit or happiness directly is a fools path. Strange as it may seem, overcoming geographic obstacles, winning decisive battles or meeting global business targets are the type of goals often best achieved when pursued indirectly. You would be well advised to buy it for your next transcontinental, transatlantic or transpacific flight. John kay has done something similar with obliquity and oblique. Goals are often best achieved without intending them.
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