Obliquity

Why our goals are best achieved indirectly

John Kay

ISBN 1846682886

ISBN 13 9781846682889

March 2010

Price £10.99

Hardback, 224 pp.

Buy this book at amazon.co.uk

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Subject: Business

An original, widely-applicable concept from one of the world's foremost economists. Obliquity will be The Tipping Point for the new decade.

If you want to go in one direction, the best route may involve going in another. This is the concept of ‘obliquity’: paradoxical as it sounds, many goals are more likely to be achieved when pursued indirectly. Whether overcoming geographical obstacles, winning decisive battles or meeting sales targets, history shows that oblique approaches are the most successful, especially in difficult terrain.

Pre-eminent economist John Kay applies his provocative, universal theory to everything from international business to town planning and from football to managing forest fires. He shows why the most profitable companies are not always the most profit-oriented; why the richest men and women are not the most materialistic; and why the happiest people are not necessarily those who focus on happiness.

Listen to the author's talk at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA)

John Kay will also be talking at the Topping and Company bookshop on May 11th 2010.

‘John Kay builds on a great philosophical tradition – stretching back through Charles Darwin and Adam Smith – that understands how remarkable things can be achieved without anybody understanding how or even intending them. He has taken this idea and applied it with style to modern conundrums from the physics behind Beckham’s goals to the mathematics behind Buffett’s riches. A great book.’
— Matt Ridley, author Genome and Nature Via Nurture