Business Books: The Solution Gap

I read a lot of books on management. Some are extraordinarily good, most have at least one or two good ideas, and a few are terrible.

There is one complaint that I have about many of the more academic ones. They are very good at describing the problem but become cryptic when describing the solution. That gap is frustrating because, as any management veteran knows, the territory between the plan and the outcome is the most treacherous and complex. For an author to get vague at that point is like a river guide taking you to the edge of the rapids and saying, "Now get to the other side. I'll be on the shore."

I sometimes suspect that although the author was granted access to company information on the specific problem, the interviewees were reluctant to reveal the details of the solution for fear of giving away a competitive advantage. That's understandable, but it's a huge disservice to the reader.