Book Review - Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt

I'm a big fan of what I call "business books" -- nonfiction books that discuss various topics that can help a business or manager or entrepreneur. After reading a couple dozen so books, they start to repeat themselves and offer very little new. But then I discovered this gem.

Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt is a nonfiction business book on strategy. It is available as en eBook, Audiobook, and those paper things your grandparents used to read.

The Good

Defining Strategy. This book does an excellent job defining what strategy is and isn't, and spends a good deal of time going over several popular corporate "strategies" and government "strategies" that aren't actually strategies and explains why they aren't.

Case Studies. This book offers many great real world case studies of companies with and without strategy as well as good and bad strategies and the results.

Financial Crisis. This book explains why the latest financial crisis happened, why previous financial crisis happened for the same reasons, and why future financial crisis are going to continue to happen.

No Political Agenda. The author kept his politics to himself. I was especially surprised when he offered nuclear power as the only solution to energy independence even though that is very unpopular politically these days.

The Bad

Narration. I listened to this as an audiobook, and the narration was very poor. It wasn't so poor it made the book unlistenable, but it didn't do the text any favors.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I would like to have seen more examples of good strategy.

Overall

Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rumelt is an excellent book that explores what strategy is and isn't, provides numerous real world examples of corporate and government strategies that aren't actually strategies but goals and mission statements, provides many examples of good and bad strategies and explains why they are good or bad, and explains why the latest financial crisis happened, why previous financial crisis happened for the same reasons, and why future financial crisis are going to continue to happen. And the author manages to keep his politics to himself. I give this book 4.5 out of 5 eReaders.