|summary=Sometimes the shortest route to a destination isn't the quickest way to get there. Take crossing central America for example. Instinctively, you think that the best way to navigate your way from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific is to travel directly from east to west. It may seem counter intuitive but the designers of the Panama Canal realised that the easiest way to make the journey was in fact to use a thin strip of land and then go in seemingly the wrong direction from west to east. Architects and cartographers found that the obvious route wasn't the best way to solve the problem put in front of them. An indirect or oblique approach would prove to be far more successful. That in a nutshell is noted economist John Kay's concept of obliquity.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846682894</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Michael Lewis
|title=The Big Short
|rating=4
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=So. The subprime mortgage crisis, the worldwide financial crisis, people losing their jobs, their money, their houses, their security. Unregulated greed, that went on and on and on. And the people who caused it all got rich during and after, very few felt any sort of consequences, and millions of other people worldwide suffered greatly. Strip away all the intentionally confusing terminology and it all amounts to bets with unbelievable amounts of money. How did it all come about and how did it play out? Michael Lewis explains the mess as only he can. Just as his earlier excellent work {{amazonurl|title=Liar's Poker|isbn=0340839961}} encapsulated the excesses of Wall Street in the 1980s, so does ''The Big Short'' perfectly tell the tale of Wall Street in the 2000s. In fact, given the extent of the current global clusterfuck, it makes the shocking ''Liar's Poker'' look positively mild by comparison.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0141043539</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Mikael Krogerus and Roman Tschappeler
|title=The Decision Book: Fifty Models for Strategic Thinking
|rating=4.5
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=This little, black book with its gold lettering on the front cover is beautifully presented. Truly pocket-sized to make it easy to refer to at any time, any place. Divided into four neat sections dealing with ''the self'' and ''others'' (others in the main being say business partners, colleagues or like-minded people) these fifty working models are designed to give the individual both self-awareness and ammunition, if you like, in order to cope with various business/political and even social scenarios, for example.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1846683955</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Stanley Gibbons
|title=Stamps of the World 2011
|rating=5
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=In describing reference books the word ''bible'' has been used too frequently of late. Slim booklets on a particular subject have the word emblazoned on their cover, which makes it rather difficult when you encounter a book – or in this case a set of six books – which merits the word. Stanley Gibbons 'Stamps of the World 2011' is genuinely a bible – an essential tool for a dealer and the serious collector. It's now available in six soft-bound volumes and is rightfully the company's flagship publication.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0852597894</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Stephen Lambert and Eli Holzman
|title=Undercover Boss: Inside the TV Phenomenon That is Changing Bosses and Employees Everywhere
|rating=3.5
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=I guess I have to admit to a certain weakness for a certain type of reality TV – it's a long time since I watched Big Brother and I've not been sucked into watching talent contests – but I do quite like programmes in which the participants swap places and/or step out of their normal lives to, allegedly, see how someone else lives.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0470916001</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=The Prince's Trust
|title=Make it Happen: The Prince's Trust Guide to Starting Your Own Business
|rating=5
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=Who hasn't dreamed of being able to work for themselves, be their own boss, and not have to worry about the drag of a 9 to 5 job? Of course, the reality of starting your own business is that there are rather a lot of things you need to consider before getting started, as my sister found out when she started selling her own handmade greetings cards. Thankfully, this book was on hand to help her get things going and she's found it a really invaluable tool.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857080458</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Robert Ashton
|title=How to be a Social Entrepreneur: Make Money and Change the World
|rating=4
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=This book is aimed at those individuals amongst us who want to make a difference. They may have an idea of what they want to achieve but not sure of how to take that vital first step. This is where this book comes in, says Ashton in his conversational style. He takes the reader by the hand and guides him/her through the business maze. And before we go any further, what, exactly do we mean by the perhaps woolly phrase of 'Social Entrepreneur'? Many think it means doling out charity of some description to vulnerable individuals. Not quite. It's all about helping people to help themselves - and in doing so, they in turn are helping their families by lifting them out of poverty, joblessness or even hopelessness. And I found that the inspirational elements of this book were uplifting.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857080601</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Matthew Stewart
|title=The Management Myth: Debunking Modern Business Philosophy
|rating=4
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=Stewart's book is subtitled "Debunking Modern Business Philosophy". It is a criticism (and I mean criticism not critique) of the management consultancy business since its inception to the close of the first decade of the 21st century.
Matthew Stewart is a former management consultant, so he should know what he's talking about.
On the other hand, by his own admission he made a more than reasonable profit out of management consulting, and he is now doing likewise out of showing what a sham it all is. Make of that what you will.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0393338525</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Hugh Jefferies
|title=Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue Commonwealth & Empire Stamps 1840-1970 2011
|rating=5
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=Over the years the 'Gibbons Commonwealth' catalogue has seen many changes. This is the second edition since Gibbons compacted its listings to cover the era of pounds, shillings and pence up to the end of 1970. (This is fair as the currency in Britain and various other territories goes, though Canada and her territories went decimal in the mid-nineteenth century). This boundary is extended in a few instances, such as the Barbuda British monarchs series, issued at regular intervals over an eighteen-month period spanning 1970-1, but by and large this is what we might call the sterling era catalogue.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0852597975</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Sally Bibb
|title=The Right Thing: An Everyday Guide to Ethics in Business
|rating=4
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=Bibb wastes no time in highlighting key areas of the whole ethics debate. What, exactly, does the word mean ... and why should it matter to us anyway? She starts by informing the reader that ethics (which is a branch of philosophy) is usually the poor Cinderella. Overlooked in favour of the more glamorous areas ie: big, fat, profits for the business or businesses concerned. Bibb wants us to think more about the ethical side of things and perhaps less about the balance sheet. She gives an example most of us will be aware of. Two words. Fred Goodwin. Bibb comments that had he applied his moral compass in his leadership role, perhaps, just perhaps, the Royal Bank of Scotland may not have fallen so far from grace. I'm aware that many will now be foaming at the mouth at the mention of FG (myself included).
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>047068853X</amazonuk>
}}
{{newreview
|author=Graham Davies
|title=The Presentation Coach: Bare Knuckle Brilliance For Every Presenter
|rating=4.5
|genre=Business and Finance
|summary=With plaudits all over the covers like a rash; plaudits from well-known people such as Nick Robinson, Political Editor of the BBC, Daniel Finkelstein of the Times and Boris Johnston, current Mayor of London, this book's bar is set pretty high. Straight away and yes, I was asking the usual question - why another one of these seemingly endless 'how-to' manuals? My first impression is of no-nonsense, time is precious but also a little in-your-face, American style er, presentation of the book. But that's good. I like that. It's all the wishy-washy books in this genre and similar that I don't like.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>085708044X</amazonuk>
}}