The books on markets
From a goodreads review on Blue Ocean Strategy
The signal-to-noise ratio of business books generally tends towards zero. They fall into one of three categories:
- baked-over platitudes designed to reinforce the self-esteem of the reader (see First Break all the Rules),
- laughably faulty reasoning (see Good to Great) , and
- interesting ideas that are overextended and driven into the ground (see The Tipping Point).
There are a few good ideas in the book, but they are shrouded in unnecessary jargon and applied precariously to far too many companies. It uses the holy grail of business books: create a structured, numbered framework for analysis (see The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People or The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader or at least 1000 others) and then cherry-pick examples that can fit into the framework (see Built to Last).
All this aside, the fact that is directionally correct in advice and contains some thought-provoking ideas earns it a couple of stars. Unfortunately, I may never be able to sell my business book idea: It’s All Due to Luck and Nepotism.
