Beyond obliquity
John Kay's new book Obliquity: Why our goals are best achieved indirectly (whose launch at the IPA was hosted last night by Rory Sutherland) follows in the tradition of a number of recent books about decision-making and rationality. Indeed, he mentions Predictably Irrational and Blink in the first ten pages. It goes beyond them in a couple of interesting ways, but leaves some questions - perhaps deliberately - unanswered. One of my favourite books on business is also by John Kay: The Hare and the Tortoise: An Informal Guide to Business Strategy . I'd recommend it to anyone involved in guiding the strategy of their firm. You need only read a few pages to appreciate the wisdom and insight of the author, and so I have been looking forward to reading this new book. Kay's definition of obliquity can be summarised as: Aim for diverse goals other than your direct objective. The companies that make the most money are not those whose primary goal is to make money. Accep...