I’m certainly interested in this framework you find so uncommonly wise.

On BOS: it’s much bigger than that. The pen grip example is actually a Red Ocean (by my read of the book); it is competition by differentiation not by market-creation (which is BOS). A BOS for a pen could be “the keyboard”. Why BOS is a great read is that the book goes beyond the definition & presents a framework for creating BO’s – one which I is both practical to implement and long on uncommon wisdom.

The book doesn’t say that strategy is irrelevant, it just makes the case that poor strategy isn’t the reason most companies fail. Some large companies have entire strategic planning departments and spend tons of money trying to predict where they are going. This book would argue that they should focus more on a responsive strategy than a predictive one, and spend more time on execution.

As for B.O.S., my understanding is that the key point is to differentiate yourself. If you competitors are all focusing on three key features of their product, you should ignore those and focus on something different. If pen manufacturers focus on writing quality, ink life, and price, then you focus on visual appeal and grip comfort. You then make money from the “we want comfortable grips” market that no one addressed before.

Your comments about Amazon actually mesh well with the book. The authors argue that people are motivated by more than money, and making history is one such example. They harp against financial incentives, instead prefering things like providing employees with meaningful work.

I would encourage you to read it, as it isn’t really a hedge-your-bets kind of book. I didn’t mean to represent it that way.

For most employees, these are realities that are probably wise to admit to and to learn to make the most of – and as such, this book is probably a good read.

It’s most definitely not for me though.

If these realities were all there were to business, I’d quit now. If I ever worked in a job where these were the primary succesful strategies, I’d go nuts.

You should read Blue Ocean Strategy, Rob – it describes why I get up in the morning – and it shows how disruptive innovation is significantly more profitable the “road less travelled”; I challenge you to find old ideas in that book.

While I worked at Amazon our HR tag-line was “work hard, have fun, make history” – I can’t tell you how important that “make history” piece was to company culture and personal motivation – or how fulfilling it is to apply yourself to a business that brings about historical change.

I’ve realized that this is the (high) bar I need to set for future ventures I get involved in – that they make history.

You write a lot about the emptiness of the purely-for-profit motive behind most businesses. Surely following this book’s “wisdom” will only compound that problem.