John Kay is one of Britain’s leading economists. His interests focus on the relationships between economics and business. His career has spanned academic work and think tanks, business schools, company directorships, consultancies and investment companies. For more details of John’s biography, see the About section.
John’s main current interest is in writing and he publishes a weekly column in the Financial Times. His latest book, Obliquity – how our goals are best pursued indirectly – has just been published by Profile at the end of March 2010. The Long and the Short of It – finance and investment for normally intelligent people who are not in the industry was published in January 2009 and his major work on the operation of market economies, The Truth about Markets, appeared in 2003 (a US version, Culture and Prosperity, was published in 2004). Two collections of his FT columns are available – Everlasting Light Bulbs covers economic subjects, while The Hare and the Tortoise has a business focus.
Featured Books
Obliquity – Why our goals are best achieved indirectly
John’s latest book was published in March 2010 by Profile Books.
Order your copy in John’s Bookshop for £10 (incl. p&p to the UK and Europe).
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.
Obliquity is necessary because we live in an world of uncertainty and complexity; the problems we encounter aren’t always clear – and we often can’t pinpoint what our goals are anyway; circumstances change; people change – and are infuriatingly hard to predict; and direct approaches are often arrogant and unimaginative.
For more dates of John’s book signings and talks check the NEWS section.
“John Kay is an admirable debunker of myths and false beliefs –he can see substantial things others don’t. Read this book.”
Nassim N Taleb, Author of The Black Swan
“Read this book for pleasure, and indirectly – obliquely – you will gain invaluable insights into how successful decisions are made.”
Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England
Latest Articles
01 September 2010, Financial Times
Bookreview: Choice, by Renata Salecl
Salecl is interested in the application of the modern Freudian psychoanalysis of the French philosopher Jacques Lacan: Our perception of the available choices and the ways we make them is the product of the social and institutional context.
25 August 2010, Financial Times
Irrationality lies not in failing to conform to some preconceived notion of how we should behave, but in persisting with a course of action that does not work.
20 August 2010, Financial Times
The housing market is like other financial markets: price expectations create momentum that drives prices arising from normal affordability ratios. But they must eventually return to these norms through “mean reversion”, creating the endemic booms and busts of cycles.
18 August 2010, Financial Times
The distinction between the creation and the appropriation of wealth is vital, if not always clear. But our ability to recognise it will determine, not just the fate of individuals, but the future of modern capitalism.
