Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation

Book Description

If you're like most people, you bet your career and company on innovation--because you must. Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation offers you a new way to think about and manage innovation that will dramatically improve the odds of success.

Authors James Andrew and Harold Sirkin, senior partners in The Boston Consulting Group, describe an approach to managing innovation based on the concept of a cash curve--which tracks investment against time. They ask the questions you need to ask: How much should you invest in a new product or service? How fast should you push it to market? How quickly can you get to optimal value? How much additional investment should you pour into sustaining and building the product or service?

Payback offers you practical and economically sound advice on when to pursue cash flow indirectly by first pursuing other benefits, such as brand and knowledge. It also shows you how to reshape the cash curve by using different business models--integrator, orchestrator, and licenser--each of which balances risk and reward differently.

The authors then present a short list of decisions and activities that you must make--not delegate--to achieve a high return on innovation. You won't find facile answers in Payback--but you will find valuable insights and practical guidance for mastering one of the most challenging and critical business activities: innovation.

Customer Reviews:

Solid idea; very weak exposition.......2007-05-24

This book bears all the weaknesses one expects from management consultants. It has a solid core concept, the cash curve, and a very simple graph to go with it. Virtually everything worth knowing gets said in the first 50 pages of the book.

What follows is a logical, step by step exposition of each point in more detail using selected examples from the authors' consulting experience. Sadly, no single customer example is longer than four pages, and details are sparsely strewn. It is especially noteworthy that they graphic of the key concept, the cash curve, is wholly absent from the second (much longer) half of the book.

One also gets the feeling that if the authors had had different customer engagements, they would have come to different conclusions. For instance, they discuss how Intel practices the integration business model in their chip business. However, virtually every other semiconductor company of any note on the planet is using outside factories (fabs in semiconductor parlance). Many, such as Qualcomm and Broadcom just to pick two examples have built market capitalizations in the tens of billions of dollars practicing the orchestration business model. It would have been very instructive to compare and contrast how two different models in essentially the same business can both lead to outstanding results for investors. Sadly, that discussion is wholly absent.

In summary, the core principal of the book is a very important one. I cannot think of a single business that could become a big success not understanding it. However, the lack of details in the customer examples keeps this book from realizing anywhere close to its real potential.

Freshman overview.......2007-05-14

Don't expect any insight into the process of innovation. Payback provides a freshman-level overview of innovation taking place in various companies, but is not a source of insight into the process. Years after the results of internal policies of many companies have become apparent to the business World, the author merely points to seeming successes and says "Do That", and to the failures "Don't Do That".
There is a decent comparison of the Integrator, Orchestrator, and Licensor models and some of the issues facing decision makers. Look for this around the middle of the book.
For a far more profound study that is immediately useful there is probably nothing better than Christensen's Innovator's Solution - cover-to-cover. Payback lacks any reference at all to many of the biggest challenges to implementing policies and deriving return in the market place, from innovation. Beginning with Christensen's Innovator's Dilemma, learn first of all why established companies get stuck in a rut of satisfying the demands of existing customers and simply cannot produce new products and services that really will produce big paybacks. Learn also the big difference between sustaining innovations and disruptive innovations. Discussing payback without this understanding is like studying Rocks without studying Geology.

I must have read a different book.......2007-04-09

Based on the other reviews I must have read a different book. But seriously Payback bills itself on the ideas behind creating practical and actionable innovation, how else could you meet the promise of 'reaping the rewards of innovation.'

Unfortunately the rewards they are talking about are all in terms of cash and profits making this book a 101 finance book built around the authors notion of the Cash Curve with the following basic tenants:

- don't spend to much to create an idea because that consumes upfront cash
- don't take too long to commercialize and bring the idea to market
- get your idea into volume production as soon as possible
- support the idea with a measured post launch investment.

Sorry but that's it. The book is heavy on the finance 101 side and extremely light on the idea of practices and ideas. Sure they say that you can play different role: innovation integrator, orchestrator, or liscensor but you pretty much know what the authors are going to say just by the role names.

The book does have an number of case studies, many that are available in the public domain, however these cases are more narrative telling you what happened without being analytical and telling you why the did this or that and the result it took.

Overall this book is very light on the ideas and actions required to deliver the rewards of innovation because it treats innovation as a financing event that is intended to generate cash. While that view is true, there is allot of insight, actions and practices that must happen before we can start thinking about how to get cash out of an innovation. I only hoped that the authors had taken the time to tell us that.

Business libraries and business managers will find it inspirational........2007-03-12

Written by professional consultants James P. Andrew and Harold L. Sirkin, Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation is a solid guide to the difference between having a good idea and turning that idea into financial reward. Payback puts forth the argument that the biggest challenge facing most companies today is their need to increase returns from their innovation spending. Introducing a concept called the "cash curve", Payback explores the fundamental factors that affect how much financial return will be netted. From how and when it can be profitable to apply innovation to noncash goals (such as the acquisition of new knowledge or enhancement of the company's brand), to models that accurately assess financial, technical and market risks to the relative advantages and disadvantages of the integration, orchestration, and licensing models and when to employ each, Payback is a reservoir of solid, high-stakes insight into skilled decision making. As valuable for innovative small business owners as for managers of grand enterprises.

Leading Beyone Where The Numbers Can Tell You.......2007-02-18

Innovation is one of the biggest problems facing companies today. This book does an excellent job of analyzing innovation into various types of companies and showing several examples of successful and unsuccessful companies.

The authors break innovation approaches within companies into three broad categories:

1. The Integrator - Here is where a company has a core competence and they hold the developement very close to their chest. The example they use is BMW who has a core technology in engines that they protect as much as they possibly can. Afer discussing a couple of other successes they then discuss Polaroid who attempted to move from film to digital cameras but failed.

2. The Orchestrator - where a company has the broad general idea and the ability to take a product to market but doesn't have the time, expertise, or desire to do this particular design/manufacturing job.

3. The Licensor - Some companies develop technologies that they are not going to take to market themselves. Dolby is the example they use, with technology licensed to various manufacturers. They have become the standard for audio professionals.

These decisions cannot be made by accountants, they take a leader. Someone has to see the potential beyone what the sheer numbers are showing.

Foreign Investment Disputes: Cases, Materials And Commentary

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Foreign Investment Disputes: Cases, Materials And Commentary
R. Doak Bishop , James Crawford , and W. Michael Reisman
Manufacturer: Kluwer Law International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The ICSID Convention: A Commentary

ASIN: 9041123113

Product Description

This indispensable handbook is the first legal resource to gather together the most important cases and commentary no the increasingly significant subject of foreign investment disputes. It fills the need for a compilation of the basis source material into a well-organised and up-to-date volume covering the full scope of the subject. The work provides broad coverage of all aspects of foreign investment disputes: the treaty system protecting investments, investment contracts and key clauses, forums for resolving investment disputes, political risk insurance, applicable law, principles of state responsibility, investor rights under investment treaties and customary international law, defenses to investor claims, reparations, procedure and proof, and enforcement of arbitral awards. Of particular value to practitioners are such features as the following: the most relevant excerpts from the most important cases dealing with foreign investment disputes; questions and comments prepared by the authors, who are senior lawyers and professors with vast experience and expertise in the subject matter; excerpts from decisions of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation interpreting the key terms of political risk insurance policies, and, key clauses in investment contracts. Foreign Investment Dispute: Cases, Materials and Commentary will be of inestimable value to practitioners in the field, both experienced and novice, as well as to academics. As a well-organised and easy-to-use compilation of the key materials from both case law and secondary sources, it has no peers.

Creating Value in Financial Services: Strategies, Operations and Technologies

Average customer rating:

Your value creating partner in financial services
A perfect guide for business strategy in financial services
Very useful analysis of approaches to creating value.

Creating Value in Financial Services: Strategies, Operations and Technologies

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0792385721

Book Description

Creating Value in Financial Services is a compilation of state-of-the-art views of leading academics and practitioners on how financial service firms can succeed in today's competitive environment. The book is based on two conferences held at New York University: the first, `Creating Value in Financial Services', held in March 1997, and the second, `Operations and Productivity in Financial Services', in April 1998. The book is essentially designed to be a compendium of leading edge thinking and practice in the management of financial services firms. There is no book today that has this focus. It contains ideas that can apply to other service industries. Topics addressed are increasingly important worldwide as the financial services industries consolidate and search for innovative new directions and ways to create value in a fiercely competitive environment.

Customer Reviews:

Your value creating partner in financial services.......2001-06-07

I feel that this book has been the most outstanding work ever done in the financial services sector. I recommend this highly especially for people involved in the financial services business. I have used this book immensely in my business too. My heartiest congratulations to all the four authors of this book. I look forward to another book from them in the future.

A perfect guide for business strategy in financial services.......2000-11-29

It is a superb book which has a total grip of the latest in the financial services sector globally.

A "MUST READ" for all financial services participants and strategists. I have read the book three times over and everytime I read this book I find a new angle which I could apply to my business.

Very useful analysis of approaches to creating value........2000-07-05

A very useful book describing a variety of approaches to creating value, such as strategy, products, technology, logical and mathematical modeling frameworks for analyzing a firm's strategy, technology, and process choices.

Book Description

For the geek who's an investor, and the investor who's a geek, we present Online Investing Hacks, 100 industrial-strength, bleeding edge tips, tools and techniques for analyzing and managing online portfolios. Individual investors have become more computer-literate and technology-dependent than ever before. Whether you're looking for suitable investments, studying alternatives, or managing your portfolios, you need data. The Internet can be a goldmine of financial data and research, but today's online investors also use spreadsheets, databases, and financial applications to select, study and manage investments. If your proficiency has grown to the point where you crave industrial-strength tips and tools to turbo-charge your efforts, this is the book for you. Online Investing Hacks covers:

Screening Investments
Collecting Data
Fundamental Analysis
Technical Analysis
Executing Trades
Investing in Mutual Funds
Portfolio Management
Updating Stock Data
Financial Planning

Other books for managing online investing are either out of date, are for beginners and don't go beyond the most basic advice, or are so dull and boring they squeeze that last bit of fun out of the topic. Online Investing Hacks is for the customer who wants to know the latest techniques, to go beyond the basics, who gets jazzed by cool online tools and services, and who actually wants to have a bit of fun while trying to strike it rich (or at least not lose their shirt).

Customer Reviews:

Good book, useful tools, beginner thru expert.......2007-07-26

I've been trading for over twenty years, including a period as a floor trader on the Chicago Board of Trade. Even with that experience there are tips and tricks in this book I found useful to the point where I employ them daily. To be complete as a reviewer I will say there is a lot of pretty basic stuff from my point of view, but still well worth reviewing since some of it I had forgotten.

Well written, easy reading, well organized

This book can pay for itself very quickly..........2004-11-21

Online Investing Hacks by Bonnie Biafore (O'Reilly) is one of those books that can pay for itself in short order, as well as over and over.

Chapter list: Screening Investments; Hacking Excel for Financial Analysis; Collecting Financial Data; Analyzing Company Fundamentals; Technical Analysis; Executing Trades; Investing in Mutual Funds; Managing Your Portfolio; Financial Planning; Index

I worked at Enron from 1998 through 2001, and spent plenty of time during that dot.com era following my stock portfolio. I watched my Enron stock value go from incredible value to a point where it cost more to sell the stock than it was worth. I won a few bets (face it, that's what they were) on a few dot.coms and lost many more. What could have been an incredible nest egg, isn't. This book would have been a lifesaver if I had read and paid attention to it a few years ago. Biafore shows you how you can analyze and invest wisely using a variety of tools available to everyone.

If you're an Excel user, you'll find it an invaluable tool for analysis. She'll show you how you can use it to create financial charts (#13), calculate compound annual rates of growth (#26), and use rational values to buy and sell wisely (#36). #39 - Spot Hanky Panky with Cash Flow Analysis (using Enron as an example) would have literally saved me hundreds of thousands of dollars had I known about it. Even if you don't care about the investing tips, the hack on downloading data via Excel web queries (#7) was something I didn't know how to do (or that you could even do it!). The book has a little something for everyone.

As with all Hacks titles, you probably won't be interested in every single item. Some may not be applicable to your situation or may be too complex for what you care to handle. But all it would take is one hack to work out and change your investing for this book to pay huge dividends. If you do your own investing, you owe it to yourself to get this book.

Excellent Reference/Resource.......2004-11-07

Online Investing Hacks is an excellent introduction to the world of investment. Though the title does contain the word 'Online', I would say that the general information the book provides on investing is not limited to the online realm.

Overall, I was very happy with the book, and found it incredibly useful. Though I do have several investments (401K, some stock, mutual funds etc) I would hardly consider myself an authority on the subject. This book provided very detailed explanations and tips on various forms of investment, from CD's to Index funds, and everything in between. While the experienced investor might not glean much from reading this book, anyone just getting started will find it an excellent reference, and resource.

The format of the book is similar to the other books in the 100 * Hacks series published by O'Reilly. There are exactly 100 hacks, or topics, which are spread across 9 chapters. Each one is an individual entity and can be read and understood without reliance on any of the other hacks.

One minor annoyance I had with the book is that it is geared toward those of you who, for some reason or another, run Microsoft's Windows OS, or have access to Microsoft Excel. Luckily, of the Excel examples that I played with, Open Office's Calc program handled them with minimal tweaking.

I can easily recommend this book to anyone who wants to invest, but is unsure of what to invest in, or needs some tips on making the most of preexisting investments. Those of you who enjoy research and building your own stats and graphs will also find parts of this book rather intriguing, as it covers data acquisition and manipulation with Excel in great detail. It will make an excellent addition to my reference shelf, and I have a feeling it will be well thumbed through in a very short time.

Excellent resource for all investors.......2004-10-04

It seems like everyone is involved in investing in some form or another. While I always felt like I should be investing too, it was never clear to me how to begin this process. After all, it's my money. How can I be sure I'm investing in something that will provide some sort of reasonable return? This book is an excellent resource in answering some of those questions and putting the new investor on the right track.

This book is written in the same format as the other "hacks" series by O'Reilly. This format is very easy to read, and the format makes it very easy to find answers. Rather then having to read the book from cover to cover, the reader can pick out topics they are dealing with, read the answer, and move on. Since many of the people interesting in a book of this nature will likely have little time, the book's format works to its advantage.

The book begins with some basic introduction to the stock market and tips for selecting appropriate stocks or mutual funds. The whole middle section of the book deals with data analysis. The author discusses how to understand a company's balance sheet (e.g. what that P/E ratio means), how to spot companies in financial trouble, how to pick a good stock, and even how to trade. There is also a good discussion on minimizing the effect of taxes on your little return on investment.

The author even goes further and gets into a discussion on financial planning. In addition to discussing debt reduction, the author also talks about IRA plans and different strategies for saving for your child's education expenses. I think my favorite part of this book was the discussion on different education savings plans. The author discusses the ins and outs (as well as tax consequences) of each of the plans, and provides some examples illustrating the fact that it's better to start saving earlier than later.

This is an excellent book, not just for its investing advice, but also for its sound financial planning. This is a great book for anyone who is interested in increasing their wealth, saving for a rainy day, or simply saving for future financial goals.

Among the most useful books on investing I've seen..........2004-09-19

This is one of the most useful books on investing that I've seen.

The excellent chapter on fundamental analysis alone is worth the price of admission. Plus there are chapters on technical analysis, mutual funds, asset allocation, financial planning, investing in bonds etc, all equally well written.

Hope the author writes a sequel to this book covering topics not covered here (eg. topics related to options trading).

A required title in any serious investor's bookshelf.

Beyond Greed and Fear: Understanding Behavioral Finance and the Psychology of Investing (Financial Management Association Survey and Synthesis Series)

Average customer rating:

Look to market experts for success
Selective Presentation of the Evidence
Packed with Knowledge !
Comprehensive, Entertaining Overview of Fascinating Field
A very good book, but quite academic

Beyond Greed and Fear: Understanding Behavioral Finance and the Psychology of Investing (Financial Management Association Survey and Synthesis Series)
Hersh Shefrin
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195304217

Amazon.com

Psychology rules the stock market, according to Hersh Shefrin. In Beyond Greed and Fear, Shefrin shows how bias, perception, and other aspects of psychology often rattle investors and move stocks. From the individual who keeps losers too long to overconfident money managers who mistakenly think they can predict financial trends, human nature foils investment returns. "Behavioral finance is everywhere that people make financial decisions. Psychology is hard to escape; it touches every corner of the financial landscape, and it's important. Financial practitioners need to understand the impact that psychology has on them and those around them. Practitioners ignore psychology at their peril," writes Shefrin, a finance professor at Santa Clara University. An academic volume geared toward financial professionals, the book details an emerging field known as behavioral finance, in which psychology is believed to be at least as important as market fundamentals, such as earnings and balance sheets. Shefrin describes how investors are motivated by fear, hope, overconfidence, and the need for short-term gratification. The book gives plenty of examples of investment mistakes, and analyzes them from a behavioral-finance perspective. While Beyond Greed and Fear targets professionals, individual investors will benefit from this look at an important mover of markets. --Dan Ring

Book Description

Even the best Wall Street investors make mistakes. No matter how savvy or experienced, all financial practitioners eventually let bias, overconfidence, and emotion cloud their judgement and misguide their actions. Yet most financial decision-making models fail to factor in these fundamentals of human nature. In Beyond Greed and Fear, the most authoritative guide to what really influences the decision-making process, Hersh Shefrin uses the latest psychological research to help us understand the human behavior that guides stock selection, financial services, and corporate financial strategy. Shefrin argues that financial practitioners must acknowledge and understand behavioral finance--the application of psychology to financial behavior--in order to avoid many of the investment pitfalls caused by human error. Through colorful, often humorous real-world examples, Shefrin points out the common but costly mistakes that money managers, security analysts, financial planners, investment bankers, and corporate leaders make, so that readers gain valuable insights into their own financial decisions and those of their employees, asset managers, and advisors. According to Shefrin, the financial community ignores the psychology of investing at its own peril. Beyond Greed and Fear illuminates behavioral finance for today's investor. It will help practitioners to recognize--and avoid--bias and errors in their decisions, and to modify and improve their overall investment strategies.

Customer Reviews:

Look to market experts for success.......2005-12-21

So long as market investors are human beings rather than machines, market participants will be governed by emotion. The efficient market theory, as Warren Buffett states, works most of the time. But when unusual or exceptional news comes into play, a stock (and/or markets) nearly always overreacts.
The best book I have found on investing is "The Intelligent Investor". There is a clear picture of what works and does not work in investing, and why. There is a fair amount of analysis of the behavior of market participants.
Warren Buffett asserts that he doesn't have much use for what is taught in a typical college business class. As he points out, if professors understand stocks and markets so well, why are so few of them wealthy? People like Ben Graham, Buffett and Peter Lynch are not 'lucky'. They read a great deal, they have keen insight into what makes a stock go up and they are unafraid to buy when prices are low if prospects look good. I would prefer to emulate those who are truly successful rather than those who postulate about what may work.

Selective Presentation of the Evidence.......2005-06-26

I am a behavioral economist with a deep belief in the notion that human decision-makers deviate in important ways from the scientific principles laid down in modern rational choice theory. There is no doubt but that very many investors hold erroneous notions of the dynamics of price movements, and having a correct understanding will, on average lead to better returns on one's portfolio. Sheffrin presents the evidence for this position in an interesting and accessible manner.

Shefrin's main advice for investors is absolutely correct, and would improve the asset positions of many poor souls with idiotic notions of stock dynamics. His advice is that if you are not a gifted and dedicated stock expert, you should invest in a low-maintenance cost array of mutual funds, and above all, do not churn your stocks. It doesn't help to be smart, lucky, a stud with the girls, or blessed by God. Moreover, if you think you have one of the "gifted analysts" for a broker, you are to be counted as among the suckers who are never given an even break.

Shefrin has another thesis which he presents with great verve, but which is on very shakey grounds. This is that "gifted stock analysts" can on average, significantly out-perform the market. He believes this MUST be the case if a significant fraction of investors are behaving irrationality. However, there is another possibility, which is that stock brokers as a group gain from the excessive churning that irrational investors permit or ask them to do, but that it is impossible to "beat the market" except by pure luck or by personally studying firm fundamentals and future prospects.

Shefrin's data in favor of the "gifted analyst" is episodic and anecdotal, and there is plenty of data on the other side. For instance, in Malkiel's classic "Random Walk Down Wall Street", he relates the evidence that chimps throwing darts do as well as major brokerage houses. Sheffrin presents contrary evidence for a more recent period in which "gifted experts" outperform the random darts. New evidence, collected by Money magazine, shows that a group of experts did far worse than the darts in 2003. All of this evidence is spotty and anecdotal. The plural of anecdote is not data.

I am not convinced by this book that the efficient markets hypothesis, applied to final returns to investors (after payments to stock brokers and other transactions costs), is not correct. I think the author makes a mistake taking so strong a position when the evidence is so weak on this account. I am certainly not convinced that Malkiel's analysis is in any way overturned by new evidence.

However, if Shefrin convinces a few investors to act more sanely, he will have fulfilled an important social function.

Packed with Knowledge ! .......2005-02-23

If only you could bring yourself to ditch those losers from your portfolio, and hang onto your winners. If you can, you are unusual. Unprofitable habits afflict nearly all investors, beginners and pros alike, writes Hersh Shefrin in this intriguing study of the role of emotions in investing. Shefrin balances the jargon with plenty of real-world examples and wisely cautions you not to delude yourself into thinking that his tips will make you rich. Viewing investing through the prism of behavior finance, he analyzes emotionally-laden decisions made by private investors, money managers, bankers and other professionals handling stocks and various other forms of investments including options, foreign currency and futures. Shefrin offers juicy case histories, so his tour of behavioral finance is mostly enjoyable and useful. At times, though, the book bogs down in the author's attempts to legitimize behavior finance, a relatively new school of thought. For instance, he charges failed investors with committing "heuristic bias" or falling prey to "representativeness." That quibble aside, we recommend this intriguing tome to investment decision makers on any level. Whether you are running billions or managing a retirement account (which, as Shefrin notes, most people do badly), maybe this book will buffer you against emotional investing and pocketbook pain.

Comprehensive, Entertaining Overview of Fascinating Field .......2004-12-25

Wondering what Brealy & Myers or Sharpe left out? Don't expect your broker (or fund manager, excepting Richard Thaler) to fill you in. This book is a must read for any active (or passive) participant in the markets, or any other citizen who is affected by said markets. Meaning all of us.

Shefrin provides a masterful exposition of the application of cutting-edge cognitive psychology to the behavior of retail and institutional investors, analysts, mutual fund managers, CEO's and even heavily-advised university investment committees. The result is the theoretical demolition of the efficient markets hypothesis in even its weakest form, and the related CAPM(s), catching up to their long-noted empirical failings. As it turns out the market does have a memory, and that's not just an anomaly any more. Not every trade is zero-NPV: trust the market price at your own peril. Think dividends are irrelevant? Think again.

What we're left with is a fascinating account of how market participants actually behave: holding on to losers too long, trading too much and trading on "noise," and most alarmingly, undersaving for retirement. What is significant is that these phenomena are so prevalent that they can no longer be dismissed as irrational with the hope that "more sophisticated" money will magically correct the market. To the contrary, what Shefrin describes is proved to be the psychological norm; if you believe you're different, you're either very lucky or overconfident about your lack of overconfidence.

One quibble, in an area that I have looked at before, is in Shefrin's discussion of takeovers. First, I found a bit of confusion between the question of whether the takeover premium should be tested by reference to the post-announcement combined value of both firms, or just the buyer. Since the buyer's CEO is initially fiduciary for just his shareholders, I see only the latter as relevant.

More significantly, Shefrin does not provide any means to rigorously discriminate among his hubris hypothesis and other, more rationalistic theories, such as agency costs and private benefits. And his brief treatment omits many puzzling follow-up questions: if CEO psychology has the potential to systematically destroy shareholder wealth, what should we then conclude about the investors and analysts who allow them to get away with it? Just a governance problem, or is there yet another psychological story to be told?

But the desire to delve further into the subject is just indicative of Shefrin's compelling and readable narrative. For bottom line types, I'm afraid the answer to your question is no, he doesn't explain how to get rich. But you'll surely do alot better with a single yellowing copy of Graham & Dodd than all the reams of abstruse, dogmatic journal articles ever spewed by the Chicago School.

A very good book, but quite academic.......2003-04-29

I had mixed feeling about this book. Content wise, it's incredible. It's full of real life stories, data, analyses, propositions of many so called market anomalies. However, I really find some of the chapters too long, especially those after chapter 5. The author had copied his style of thesis writing and actually many of his own theses (he's a renowed professor after all) into a book which has a big audience group of investors or traders who want quick fix or certain level of entertainment and personal improvement. In these respects, the "Psychology of Finance by Lars Tvede" and the "Devil take the hindmost by Edward Chancellor" are "easier" but not definitely better alternatives.

Anway, this is one of the very few "serious" books about behavioural finance that is relatively practical. If you are abound of time, go for it. Otherwise, you may try the two books I mentioned above.

p.s. I like the following the most: In April 1997 Financial Times ran a contest suggested by economist Richard Thaler. Readers were told to choose a whole number between 0 and 100. The winning entry would be the one closest to two thirds of the average entry. The winning choice is 13. The real point of this game is that playing sensibly requires you to have a sense of the magnitude of the other players' errors. Hope you got it right.

The Psychology of Finance, Revised Edition

Average customer rating:

Make sure you get the first edition!
Psychology textbook
Excellent! Can be a classic
Get to understand charts!
Interesting book

The Psychology of Finance, Revised Edition
Lars Tvede
Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets
Way of the Turtle: The Secret Methods that Turned Ordinary People into Legendary Traders
Behavioural Finance: A User's Guide

ASIN: 047084342X

Book Description

There is one constant factor in the chaos of the markets and that constant is human psychology. In the Psychology of Finance readers are shown how the market's characteristics that arise can be interpreted and learnt from. This revised edition contains new examples and updates to charts. There is also a summary of the characteristics of each phase of the equity market, bear bottom, rise, bull peak, and decline. It includes an appendix covering the history of economic psychology
Written in an extremely readable and enjoyable style it shows how psychology can drive movements in the prices of financial assets, breakdown key market phenomena, eg, irrational attitude changes in the individual, and their indicators.

Customer Reviews:

Make sure you get the first edition!.......2004-06-15

Tvede presents a good, intermediate-level overview of market trading from a trend-following perspective. He also describes several indicators which are useful in assessing the "temperature" of the trading environment. However, aside from the clarity of his writing and the logical development of his argument, he offers little which is new to the experienced market practitioner.

Also, please note that this book was published in two editions. The first edition successfully views the mechanics of trading through the emotional filters which affect our buy-sell decisions. The second edition is a complete rewrite which morphs the book into a nebulous psychology text that is only occasionally related to the trading process. You would be well-served to avoid this second edition! First edition - 4 stars; second edition - 1 star.

Psychology textbook.......2003-01-06

The first part of this is an explaination of the various schools of psycology. Then he explains what ideas he draws from them. Though very interesting, you're shown possible explainations of market action, but not really shown how to understand which of those is working in the market at the moment. After all, isn't the study of psycology of trading supposed to give you an edge and help you figure out what people are doing or what they are "probably" about to do?

Later he goes into chart patterns and relates the material to chart formations. But nothing that is an improvement on similar discussions of the psycology of chart patterns we've all heard and read before.

As for one reviewer mentioning what is important in the markets, no where is M2 mentioned in the book.

Excellent! Can be a classic.......2002-09-15

If somebody reads one book, makes minor revision and prints it, that's plagiarism. If he/she reads ten, that's a scholarship. If the number goes to a hundred, it can be a classic, my appreciation of this book.

In the bookshelf there are numerous books telling either history of the investment market, or trading psychology, or technical analysis. This book is a rare breed that incorporates several dimensions into one. Chart reading, with elaboration of four basic market rules (1. market is ahead 2. market is irrational 3. environment is chaotic 4. charts are self fulfilling) interrelated with different schools of psychologyical theories (behaviourist, Gestalt, Cognitive, Psychoanalysis), forms the stem of this beautiful book with vivid "green leaves" of writings on momentum, sizing, turning points.....

One great thing of the book is that one does not need to know much about psychology to understand what the author tries to tell, because tables of examples are abundant to let you know when you had made specific mistakes. He does not teach you how to correct them, but it does lead the way of self improvement and really help to enlighten your trading style.

This book should be in any serious trader's bookshelf for fast recollection of some important trading principles, a regular dosage for cleansing mental dirt accumulated after his/her harsh trading life.

Get to understand charts!.......2001-05-31

This book simply tells you why technical analysis is very much useful and accurate despite the efficient market hypothesis. Financial market afterall is a human-driven market and Lars Tvede has demonstrated concisely how charts reflect human behavior. A must-read for one who is interested in charts and investing long-term.

Interesting book.......2001-02-15

The added value of this book is not trading psychology, but liquidity analysis, breath market analysis, sectorial rotation.

EVA and Value-Based Management: A Practical Guide to Implementation

Average customer rating:

Highly Recommended!
Excellent book
Fails to keep its promise: Metric War + Compensation
The EVA Guide which holds nothing back!
is that right, EVA?

EVA and Value-Based Management: A Practical Guide to Implementation
S. David Young , and Stephen F. O'Byrne
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The EVA Challenge: Implementing Value Added Change in an Organization
Foundations of Economic Value Added, 2nd Edition
The Quest for Value
Value Based Management: The Corporate Response to the Shareholder Revolution
Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies, Fourth Edition

ASIN: 0071364390

Book Description

Economic Value Added (EVA) and Value Based Management (VBM) are today’s hottest management buzzwords. But written information has often been biased and clouded by the authors’ hidden agendas. EVA and Value-Based Management is the first book to unflinchingly discuss the pros and cons of EVA and VBM. Covering both implementation and conceptual issues, with a strong emphasis on performance measurement, value drivers, and management compensation, it allows readers to come to their own informed conclusions.

Customer Reviews:

Highly Recommended!.......2003-02-26

Kudos to S. David Young and Stephen F. O'Byrne, management consultants who largely steer clear of their industry's usual empty catchphrases and superficial hype. Instead, their lucid explanation of the importance of shareholder value takes center stage. The heftiness of EVA and Value-Based Management may be daunting, but most readers will be satisfied with Part I's strategic overview. The concepts reappear in Part II accompanied by a wealth of technical details, calculations and case studies to help finance professionals with nitty-gritty implementation of EVA (Economic Value Added) programs. The book honestly assesses EVA's power to motivate managers, noting that some companies just are not well-suited for this performance metric. We from getAbstract prescribe this book to corporate executives who have overdosed on consultant jargon but still want to drive value growth in their companies, and to finance specialists who seek a comprehensive roadmap to EVA implementation.

Excellent book.......2002-08-13

As an author, speaker and consultant on these topics, I highly recommend this book. Not only have the authors discussed the pros and cons of a number of approaches thoughfully and concisely, they also expand the level of understanding related to the calculations in an accessible way. Their book discusses both implementation issues and the nitty gritty of the mechanics. In sum, the book takes the reader to the next level of understanding. I highly recommend this book.

Fails to keep its promise: Metric War + Compensation.......2001-07-02

This book does NOT offer 'A practical guide to valuation' but a theoretical,oldfashioned discussion of the 'Metrics War'and some empirical research on EVA, Compensation and CFROI-Fade.

My rating has got these origins: Empirical research on Compensation,EVA and CFROI-Fade: A+. Discussion of EVA/CFROI: D-. Terminology: D value for 'Hands-on-valuation': F- Structure: F- Style: F-.

This book does contain interesting empirical research on EVA etc, but it does not offer 'A practical Guide to Implementation' because it does not contain a STAGE-Approach. Its terminology differs from any other book I've read, you must often guess, which formulas the authors used, because they did not have the courtesy to express their formulas. Some formulas are wrong nad their discussion of the 'metrics war' betweenn EVA and CFROI lags 5 years behind reality. They attack old methods of CFROI,which Boston Consulting and Holt Value published 5 (!) years ago. They fail to know, that BCG have refined CVA/CFROI and that BAYER. Lufthansa,and VEBA have implemented these refined CFROI-techniques,which are way better, than the old methods, which the book attacks.

Moreover, this book is terrible to read due to a lack of structure, the absence of clear definitions, the lack of formulas, a wordy style,which exhausts your nerves, and many value judgements....

The EVA Guide which holds nothing back!.......2001-02-07

This book, together with 'The Quest for Value'by G. Bennett Stewart, III and 'Valuation' by the Tom Copeland, provide a solid backgound on value-based management. S. David Young and Stephen F. O'Byrne give a fair description of their book: 'This book is not a intended to be a "teaser," which tries to tell you enough to whet your appetite so if you want to know more you will have to hire us as your consultants. We aim to be as comprehensive in our treatment of the subject as possible...We try to hold nothing back.' Thank you very much indeed.

is that right, EVA?.......2001-02-03

I had a great approach to EVA concept but it too much simple in finances. Any way it is a good point to start the trip through the EVA world. The principle of EVA appears sound, but this book is good at attempting to illustrate how to practically use it.

Resisting Hostile Takeovers: The Case of Gillette

Average customer rating:

worth reading
an excellent , detailed account
Taking the outsider in

Resisting Hostile Takeovers: The Case of Gillette
Rita Ricardo-Campbell
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
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ASIN: 0275958302

Book Description

Written by the first woman director of the Gillette Company, this is an exciting first-hand account of Gillette's successful fight against four hostile takeover efforts during the late 1980s. After a brief, insightful history of the company and the growth of its world-famous products--Gillette razors and blades; Braun coffee machines and electric razors; Oral-B toothbrushes; Paper Mate, Waterman, and Parker pens; and cosmetics--the author tells the inside story of Ronald Perelman's three attempts and the Coniston Partners' one attempt to take over Gillette. Ricardo-Campbell, who chaired Gillette's Finance Committee during this period, provides a fascinating look at the ensuing proxy battles and other intricate financial maneuvers. Combining academic theory and first-hand experience in its discussion of topics such as greenmail and poison pills, this work also features such world-renowned corporate figures as Warren Buffett, Joe Flom, and Eric Gleacher.

Customer Reviews:

worth reading.......2003-12-26

I believe Resisting Hostile Takeovers is worth reading though I don't completely agree with Ms.Ricardo-Campbell's writing style. This book discusses two events Gillette had experiened through 1986 and 1988: hostile hakeover attempt and proxy battle. The author, as economist, very concisely details the major issues arising in the takeover battle such as business decision rule, antigreenmail, proxy battle, anti-takeover legislation etc. Caution is required, however, since this book is written from a board member's viewpoint and there are relatively not much about how managements and other legal and financial advisors reacted to the threats.

an excellent , detailed account.......1999-09-25

This excellent thesis has great credibility because it was written by someone who was actually in the game and not on the sidelines looking in. The detail is such that it could also serve as a text on the subject of takeovers. This book serves as a testament that even the some of the best managers(Gillette) should and will be constantly challenged ( if need be by outsiders like Perelman, etc) to increase shareholder value.

Taking the outsider in.......1997-12-12

Well, perhaps not many students find takeover sories interesting. Perhaps,... But for an insight into real business problems, the Gillettte story is one of the very best. It shows that women may be better managers (even in a razor company), provides a fresh written perspective, and should be considered as a wounderful learing example for further geneations.

Average customer rating:

The Science of Financial Market Trading
Don K. Mak
Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Mathematical Techniques in Financial Market Trading
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ASIN: 9812382526

Book Description

In this book, Dr Mak views the financial market from a scientific perspective. The book attempts to provide a realistic description of what the market is, and how future research should be developed. The market is a complex phenomenon, and can be forecasted only with errors — if that particular market can be forecasted at all.

The book reviews the scientific literatures on the financial market and describes mathematical procedures which demonstrate that some markets are non-random. How the markets are modeled — phenomenologically and from first principle — is explained.

It discusses indicators, which are quite objective, rather than price patterns, which are rather subjective. Similarities between indicators in market trading and operators in mathematics are noted, and particularly, between oscillator indicators and derivatives in Calculus. It illustrates why some indicators, e.g., Stochastics, have limited usage. Several new indicators are designed and tested on theoretical waveforms to check their validity and applicability. The indicators have a minimal time lag, which is significant for trading purposes. Common market behaviors like divergences between price and momentum are explained. A skipped convolution technique is introduced to allow traders to pick up market movements at an earlier time. The market is treated as a nonlinear phenomenon. Forecasting of when the market is going to turn is emphasized.

Value Based Management: The Corporate Response to the Shareholder Revolution
Average customer rating:

VBM for Starters

Value Based Management: The Corporate Response to the Shareholder Revolution
John D. Martin , J. Williams Petty , and William J. Petty
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Creating Shareholder Value: A Guide for Managers and Investors

ASIN: 0875848001

Book Description

Why do some firms create extraordinary value for shareholders, while others destroy it? A powerful suite of value based management tools can make the difference. Value based management (VBM) refers to tools that financial managers can use to plan, monitor, and control a firm's operations in ways that enhance shareholder value. This timely book--based on the authors' research and on an extensive study of firms that have successfully implemented VBM systems--provides the first objective, field-tested synthesis of the most popular models in use today: the free cash flow method, the economic value added/market value added (EVA/MVA) method, and the cash flow return on investment approach (CFROI). Pointing to lessons learned by VBM adopters in a wide variety of industries, the authors outline the advantages and disadvantages of each model, and guide managers in electing, implementing, and operating one that best fits their organization. At its essence, value based management involves transforming behavior in a way that encourages employees to think and act like owners. Laying the foundation for building a capital market-focused measurement and reward system that ties employee-level performance to owner-level rewards, this book will help today's leaders establish a continuous cycle of value creation that benefits all stakeholders of a company.

Customer Reviews:

VBM for Starters.......2001-03-24

Martin's book is an excellent introduction to the practice of Value Based Management. Although it is far from being an MBA type book, it explains the basics and shows some good examples. Maybe the strongest point of the book is the comparison of several approaches used by the biggest consulting companies sponsoring VBM: Stern Stewart's EVA versus BCG's and McKinsey's measures. When you're ready to climb another step, the best choice is Young and O'Byrne's "EVA and Value Based Management". It goes deep in details of implementation of EVA based systems, is comprehensive and technically advanced and also give pros and cons of the measure.

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