Obliquity
by John Kay · first published 2011
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2013–2026first – last mentioned
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…complexity, uncertainty, and indirection. But ultimately it produces better outcomes, and I'll take a manager who thinks like that over one that doesn't every time. P.S. Recommended reading on this topic, "Obliquity" by John Kay is excellent.
on “Company, Team, Self” ↗Theory of Obliquity by Prof John Kay at Oxford is really interesting. In lay terms it suggests that if you choose to lose weight for example (the direct route), you are unlikely to succeed. Alternatively, if you choose to…
on “We Let Our Employee Set Their Own Salaries” ↗…good way to sell products, and equally I don't believe that making general issues a women's issue is an effective way to create change. EDIT: If you find the above approach interesting, consider reading Obliquity by John Kay. Here's an essay that sums up the book (the book is still worth reading): http://www.johnkay.com/2004/01/17/obliquity
on “How to Break Out of the 'Female Entrepreneur' Trap” ↗I had the privilege last night of attending a lecture given by Prof Sir John Kay (Obliquity, Radical Uncertainty, etc). He was scathing on two points: 1) the way the world changed in the 1970s from management as responsibility to leadership as prize, and 2) the abject failure of business schools…
on “False claims in a widely-cited paper. No corrections. No consequences” ↗Another interesting manifestation of the same idea is expounded by John Kay, under the title 'Obliquity'. He has a book on that topic, and also several hour-long YouTube talks. The central theme is regarding how it is better to chase goals obliquely rather then head on, especially when goals correspond…
on “The Myth of the Objective” ↗John Kay talks about Boeing in his book Obliquity (and before in this essay) [0] > ICI is not the only company for whom greater emphasis on corporate financial goals led to less success in achieving them. I once said that Boeing’s grip on the world…
on “How the wrong side won at Boeing” ↗