Obliquity
Why our goals are best achieved indirectly
Will be published approx. on 19. November 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
224 pages
978-1-80522-987-2 (ISBN)
Description
'Persuasive, rigorous, creative and wise. Brilliant' TIM HARFORD
'Kay is both a first-class economist and an excellent writer' FINANCIAL TIMES
It may feel paradoxical, but in business and in life, our goals are often best achieved when approaching them indirectly. In a traffic jam, the quickest route home might involve going the long way round. Those who deliberately seek love rarely find it and the endless pursuit of happiness often leads to misery. For a corporation, focus on cutting-edge engineering, new technology or a unique product is what generates profit; making profit the sole purpose of a business usually leads to its collapse.
From the celebrated economist John Kay, Obliquity is a manifesto for aiming slightly off-target. In this provocative thesis, Kay deals with everything from football to forest fires to show how problems are best solved when thought of obliquely, and shows us how to achieve our objectives through a gradual process of risk-taking and discovery.
'Kay is both a first-class economist and an excellent writer' FINANCIAL TIMES
It may feel paradoxical, but in business and in life, our goals are often best achieved when approaching them indirectly. In a traffic jam, the quickest route home might involve going the long way round. Those who deliberately seek love rarely find it and the endless pursuit of happiness often leads to misery. For a corporation, focus on cutting-edge engineering, new technology or a unique product is what generates profit; making profit the sole purpose of a business usually leads to its collapse.
From the celebrated economist John Kay, Obliquity is a manifesto for aiming slightly off-target. In this provocative thesis, Kay deals with everything from football to forest fires to show how problems are best solved when thought of obliquely, and shows us how to achieve our objectives through a gradual process of risk-taking and discovery.
Reviews / Votes
Economics with style as well as substance * Observer * John Kay is an admirable debunker of myths and false beliefs - he can see substantial things others don't. Read this book -- Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of THE BLACK SWAN How rare is it for an academic economist to write with such clarity, intelligence and courage. And, in these troubled, confusing times, how desperately we need other dismal scientists to follow John Kay's shining example * Spectator * Obliquity is a characteristic John Kay production. It is a pleasure to read * Financial Times *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-80522-987-2 (9781805229872)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Sir John Kay is one of Britain's leading economists. Previous titles include the Saltire Prize-winning and Orwell Prize-shortlisted Other People's Money, The Long and Short of It, Greed is Dead, Radical Uncertainty and the FT Business Book Award-shortlisted The Corporation in the Twenty-First Century. He lives in Oxford.