Obliquity by John Kay Profile Books HK$135
Le Corbusier produced concrete hives according to his belief that 'a house is a machine for living in'. But, as is now obvious by the public's rejection of his grand schemes, home design cannot rely solely on practicality and must take into account its inhabitants' reactions. 'The interaction between a home and its occupants,' writes economist John Kay, 'are complex and uncertain.' Goals, he points out, are often achieved when approached indirectly. Hence Obliquity, his fascinating book-length essay on the subject that shows, for example, why companies tend to be more successful when profit isn't their prime motivation, how seeing things in different ways can lead to breakthroughs and how it is that 'happiness is where you find it, not where you go in search of it'. The teleological fallacy, Kay emphasises, which infers causes from outcomes, is a mistake. He also quotes Nassim Nicholas Taleb (of Black Swan fame), who says people in business and finance are often 'fooled by randomness' in seeing skill in repeated success. Obliquity will stop you from trying to plan everything, and help you go with the flow.