In the “startup” world, there are various schools of thought that try to pin point the keys to success in specific areas. Much of what I have seen is vague when it comes down to the brass tacks of business operations. Most business books, in my opinion, are wasteful of the pages they occupy. One of my professors at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business said it best:
Business books are all the same. The first chapter explains the concept the author is trying to prove. The second chapter expands on it. The third chapter expands on that. The rest of the book are case studies proving the concept. If you want to learn something from a business book, read the first three chapters and skim the rest. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting your time.
As I write the second revision of “Modern Enterprise: Business of Business, Today,” I ask how will it be different. The book started off as a series of articles on this blog. As with an article on “how the world of business is different today,” the challenge is to keep it up to date. To meet that challenge, I’m going back to the roots of Asitchanges.com. The idea for the site came about when I realized that many business books are obsolete and impractical by the time they are published.
