To be brilliant in business you have to dare to be different. It means going against the grain, taking risks and never giving up despite the challenges hurled at you. EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT BUSINESS IS WRONG is the bible for the unconventional business brain who won't accept anything but excellence.
Based on the ideas in the author's pithy column 'Don't You Believe It' for Management Today, Alastair Dryburgh takes modern business myths and blows them apart. Did you know that:
Cost cutting is a bad way to boost profits?
That you shouldn't always give 110%?
Incentives don't encourage people to do useful things?
So much of what we learn about business is plain wrong. It's time to challenge your assumptions and learn about the things that will help you be successful.
Everything You Know About Business is Wrong
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Product Description
About the Author
Alastair Dryburgh is CEO of Akenhurst Consultants and a regular contributor to Management Today. After studying maths at Cambridge, he joined Ernst & Young as a trainee accountant and spent two years in Italy before joining Pearson as an internal consultant. He became commercial director of subsidiary Churchill Communications Europe and left after the company was sold to start his own business.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By P. T. Harries
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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Running a business is like building a domino structure, then continuously altering it without knocking down one domino that tumbles the rest. This book gives you hints on how NOT to do it!
Every manager should have one to put alongside 'How to Win Friends & Influence People' and 'The Peter Principle' as the key to not doing it right. It won't guarantee that you will get it right first time, but by following the 'Don'ts' you should know where you went wrong. Excellent present for the manager who thought he had everything!
Every manager should have one to put alongside 'How to Win Friends & Influence People' and 'The Peter Principle' as the key to not doing it right. It won't guarantee that you will get it right first time, but by following the 'Don'ts' you should know where you went wrong. Excellent present for the manager who thought he had everything!
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you are in business, if you are in Sales, Marketing or Finance, or if you think you are an experienced " old hand", then go out and buy this book immediately. Alastair Dryburgh takes an important and fresh look at how we think about business, and what results we get as a result. It made me take a very different perspective on my own sales career, and on that of many colleagues around me. He writes with a delightful style, yes he is even very funny at times, and the author bases his ideas on the best foundation possible, namely his own practical experience of being an FD. I can not recommend it enough, it's just a terrific read! Required reading for all Managers without doubt.
By Z. Shamas
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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What a wonderfully refreshing book, easily one of most useful business books I have read in a long time. Written by a business expert with years of experience in business as well as business practice analysis. The writing partly stems from the authors management today column, where he analyses creation common business practices in an effort to examine what is ultimately wrong with using them. The book i split up into eight shortish chapters, with each chapter clearly written, consisting of bite size analysis of various so you can always quickly pick it up and have a quick read. The book is sprinkled with many stories that the author has personally experienced in a bid to highlight what is wrong with the practice in question.
The book aims to re-write many pre conceived and ill business notions commonly implemented. Thought provoking from the very start, always questioning why things are done in a particular matter and always bristling with ideas and advice how certain practices may benefit from applying new thinking to them. An example of this might be the adage "Well if a product aint broken don't try fix it" his suggestion might be well yes as a rule of thumb that may seem logical, however don't discount the fact that you can bet your bottom dollar that your competitors will certainly be trying to break our product by continually improving theirs.
As someone who has experienced many of the problems he highlights set up and owns a business the clarity and lucidness of the wisdom he tries to impart about why you shouldn't follow creation practices ultimately make huge sense. Organisations big and small can take various elements of his foresight and try to improve their organisations for the better.
Pros: Clear, concise, bitesize reading
Cons: None!
The book aims to re-write many pre conceived and ill business notions commonly implemented. Thought provoking from the very start, always questioning why things are done in a particular matter and always bristling with ideas and advice how certain practices may benefit from applying new thinking to them. An example of this might be the adage "Well if a product aint broken don't try fix it" his suggestion might be well yes as a rule of thumb that may seem logical, however don't discount the fact that you can bet your bottom dollar that your competitors will certainly be trying to break our product by continually improving theirs.
As someone who has experienced many of the problems he highlights set up and owns a business the clarity and lucidness of the wisdom he tries to impart about why you shouldn't follow creation practices ultimately make huge sense. Organisations big and small can take various elements of his foresight and try to improve their organisations for the better.
Pros: Clear, concise, bitesize reading
Cons: None!
By A. K. Sheikh
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I got this book because it had a somewhat quirky title, and the one of these "alt.biz" kind of books ("How to be a Complete and Utter Failure") was brilliant. Whilst "Everything... Wrong" is not in the same league as the other book, it's still makes for a good read. Being packed full of the writer's direct experiences, it anchors his text and ideas with real-world scenarios and this, coupled with the energetic writing, stops the book becoming dry and aloof. On the downside, it makes the content seem a little lightweight. This is in reality a book that asks you to swap one set of accepted practices and processes for another, less accepted set. I'm also sure that anyone analysing business policy and processes with a mandate to increasing effectiveness (productivity, sales, profits, or whatever else their objective is) will come to similar conclusions as those covered in the book and implement similar process changes. I liked it overall, but it isn't essential reading.
By J. Pittam
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
This book is based on Alastair Dryburgh's column in Management Today and covers similar topics - Dryburgh blows away 'common myths' about business practice, and he certainly has the academic and business credentials to do so. I thoroughly enjoyed it; whether or not all of his ideas are right, well, that is rather a matter of opinion. His own opinions are very strong, and the book is a thoroughly good read, in my opinion.
By Paulo MS
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
Full marks to the author for finding a new angle from which to present some 'old' management truths. By setting up a series of 'aunt Sallys' and then knocking them down, he re-engages interest. But actually, there's not much new thinking to be found here. However, it's still quite an entertaining read.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I suppose I was expecting more but this book has proven to be one of the most difficult reads I have ever had.
As usual in this type of book the content in the most part is common sense, something which is lacking a lot of the time at a global corporate governance level, and in the main theer was nothing new in the book for me.
I see from previous reviews that others disagree but hey its only my opion.
As usual in this type of book the content in the most part is common sense, something which is lacking a lot of the time at a global corporate governance level, and in the main theer was nothing new in the book for me.
I see from previous reviews that others disagree but hey its only my opion.
By Steve Taylor
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
What a great book ! There is a lot of truth buried in these salutary tales for all sizes of business, and all types - its easy to think that some of the lessons for one kind of company don't apply to "mine", but they should certainly make you think.
This book goes well with an old book I have "The Genghis Khan guide to management"
Hilarious - yeah, the bits I could see I hadn't ever done made me laugh. Worrying, because some of the things I had ass-u-me'd are wrong.
This book goes well with an old book I have "The Genghis Khan guide to management"
Hilarious - yeah, the bits I could see I hadn't ever done made me laugh. Worrying, because some of the things I had ass-u-me'd are wrong.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
I finally cracked time management thanks to this book
I'd most strongly recommend Alastair's book, Everything You Know About Business is Wrong. After reading the time management section, I have come up with a new system that really... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Sarah Lafferty
5.0 out of 5 stars
The 59 Seconds Of Business
I enjoyed this book a lot, it reminded me of Richard Wiseman's 59 seconds in that it basically explains that a lot of things that you believe are simply not proven and not true. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Michael Scott
4.0 out of 5 stars
This Will make you Think
I opened this book with à degree of scepticism but have to admit that the content soon changed my opinion.
The aim is to make you THINK about your thinking. Read more
The aim is to make you THINK about your thinking. Read more
Published 17 months ago by A. Aldred
3.0 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable read but lacking in punch
Alastair Dryburgh's book is a quick read with a fair smattering of sound advice and perspectives supported by his personal experiences. Read more
Published 18 months ago by bomble
3.0 out of 5 stars
some interesting ideas for those in the bigger corporate environment
With its striking title, this book claims to approach business from a different perspective to that of established thinking. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Helen
4.0 out of 5 stars
I am so giving this one to my boss ...
I tend to approach books like this with a healthy dose of scepticism. After all, if it were so easy to solve the problems of the workplace, then there wouldn't be any... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Joanne K. Pilsworth
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