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What is obliquity? Why does it matter in management theory? In addition, why are goals, as John Kay puts it, ‘best achieved indirectly?’ These then are the main questions that are addressed in this book. However, to begin at the beginning, a note on the origins of the book: this book began as an article that appeared in the Financial Times in January 2007 but was subsequently expanded into a full-length book. Kay’s interest in this topic is related to his work as a business academic, economist, and as a newspaper columnist. He is also a renowned institutional builder who is associated with the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the London Business School, the London School of Economics, St. John’s College and the Said Business School at the University of Oxford. Kay’s variegated career, which has helped him to not only pursue the life of the mind but also continually test the applications of theoretical knowledge in areas like economics, finance, and strategy, is the source of his interest in the notion of obliquity. He has also served as a management consultant for a number of years in addition to the achievements and affiliations listed above. This book begins with the intuition that problem solving is not what we often think it to be – i.e. it is often not susceptible to a simple linear approach. However, at the same time, it is not clear if anybody has actually been able to come to terms with the indirect approach in totality. What appears to work on most occasions are, quite simply, forms of theoretical opportunism (that pragmatists like Stanley Fish and Richard Rorty are obsessed with) rather than a specific set of cognitive protocols that can be formalized to the satisfaction of both theorists and practitioners. This is all the more important to appreciate since Kay understood during his stint as a consultant that clients do not always follow the advice given to them by consultants, or even bother to deploy the decision-making models that are painstakingly developed in the consultancy business. Kay is therefore tempted to ask a simple question: why not?

Obliquity: Why Our Goals are Best Achieved Indirectly