Business Book Summaries

Many of the widely accepted strategy tools taught in business schools do not apply in the real world. In What I Didn’t Learn in Business School, Jay B. Barney and Trish Gorman Clifford relate the fictional story of Justin Campbell, a recent MBA graduate. Through the story, the authors show that traditional strategy tools do not work because they do not take into account the ways that human interactions and individual goals interfere in the workplace.

According to the authors:

• Many strategy tools taught in business school do not take into account how human interactions and office politics interfere with decision-making processes.
• Assumptions may work in the classroom for demonstration purposes, but they will not be adequate in the real world. Different assumptions lead to vastly different outcomes in real-world scenarios.
• One of the hardest skills to learn is how to remain objective and base decisions on facts and research. Sometimes it is easy to take what others say at face value, but all information should be verified and questioned.
• When attempting to get buy-in from leadership, it is important to identify those on the executive team who oppose the idea. Most effort should be spent convincing these individuals.

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