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Tuesday, 14 January 2014

Book Review: The Thirteen Great Economic/Business Myths That Dominate Our Lives by Sanford W. Kahn


About the book:

Myths--these unconscious or semi-conscious beliefs have a strong influence on how we orient our behaviour and actions. The ones that seem to influence us the most are directed towards our personal lives. But, there are business and economic myths as well that have a profound impact on our decisions both personally and professionally.
The problem arises when some of these myths are believed to be true when in actuality they maybe false or only partly true. For example, a popular myth explored by the book, is that we live in a world that is changing quickly. This myth is widely believe to be true, but in reality is only partially true. The goal of the book is to explore some of these business and economic myths and their accuracy. It is to give you a different point of view that is somewhat out of the mainstream of popular belief.

About the author:
Sanford Kahn has been speaking professionally for over 30 years giving individuals an understanding of the future business challenges they will be facing and how they must orient their strategies to capitalize on the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls. He produced and hosted the cablevision series Ask the Economist. Please see www.businessspeaker.biz
 My Review:

We probably have myriads of books and other literature which talks about the myths that people have about how an economy functions, how different variables react in an economy/business set-up. This isn't just another addition to the pile. What sets this book apart is that it takes into account a very important, yet utterly underestimated variable: the behaviour of people. And even after introducing such an intricate and complex variable into the equation, it manages to keep the facts and statements simple enough to be comprehended. No doubt, it has a technical aspect to it, which no one can deny has jargon understood by few casual readers, but if you belong to that chunk of readers who

A knowledge-imparting study totally worth your time. Much effort has gone in writing it as an intelligible and coherent cohesion of 13 myths that appear infallible. But the arguments put forward by the expert author are certainly incontrovertible.
How certain established beliefs are only partially true, or not true at all, is interesting to note.
Reading this book is like a journey of exploring the myths in multifarious dimensions, then dissecting them under expert glare and bringing them to the scaffold. And it is such a satisfying experience, like the one you have when you watch a documentary and go convinced of the factual accuracy.
The best part has to be the explanation as to how such gobbledygook-ridden theories also affect us at personal/individual level. There is perhaps no flaw, expect maybe, that this book is for a niche readers, who are really into stuff of economics, business, investment!

The author certainly has a radical approach, as mentioned before, in that he begins the book by dismissing the myth of Economics being a science as “pure nonsense”.

Also, his serious knowledge is punctuated by bouts of humor, puns and sarcasm (and believe me, you are going to love them).
He goes on to give practical tips about how to tackle the busted myth of the paramount importance of attitude in life. Well, that is actually a revelation.

 Judgement:
If you think that the purpose of any investment is to make money, think again. Or even better, grab your copy.

Best lines:
“This myth is true- if you could remove humans from the face of the planet. Outside of this, the business cycle will always be here. It is part of the human psyche and behaviour.”

I thank the author for providing me with a review copy.


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