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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
A review to consider:
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/scott-galloway-the-four-book-review
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/scott-galloway-the-four-book-review
Grabed a copy of this book as I've enjoyed Galloway's discourse on Pivot with Kara Swisher. Much like Scott's picks for the future, this book was relevant when published, but gets stale only a short time after publishing. Some of its reporting was out-of-date on print, but an entertaining read nonetheless.
This book is quite a good read, with enough insight, irreverence, and humor to keep you engaged in the greatest business story of our times. The author is prone to superficial conclusions (e.g., murder related search queries obviously do not have any predictive power), and ranting (e.g., focusing on number of employees and ignoring job creation through enabling vast new markets is silly), but he manages to make you think often enough to be a worthy read. Long sections of the book have little to do with "The Four", like his NYT spell (fascinating) or general life advice (passion is indeed overrated), but they are still good reflections from an intense life as an author and an entrepreneur.
The author's ideas are at times kind of retro, and disproven by modern research. E.g., he asserts that "men are wired to procreate aggressively." He uses the insult of "[soandso] never kissed a girl" as the ultimate insult. Twice, in reference to two separate "nerds." This sort of bro-style bullying feels completely out of date and harmfully hetero-normative. He describes certain tech firms as "the hot girl on campus" and says, "Sorry, Caitlin, you'll always be Bruce Jenner to me."
The above stupidity and backwards thinking notwithstanding, there's some smart stuff in this book about Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon.
The above stupidity and backwards thinking notwithstanding, there's some smart stuff in this book about Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon.
Wednesday, 29 July 2020 The four horse-manuremen of the datapocalypse will testify before Congress about their insane, untrammeled greed and its deleterious effect on Society. (I am presupposing the end result of the hearing here because I am under no obligation to hide my own opinion of these nauseating monopolists.)
Favorite quote from this book:
Mitt Romney was wrong--corporations aren't people. As British Lord Chancellor Edward Thurow observed more than two centuries ago, business enterprises "have neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to be condemned." As such, they do not deserve your affection or your loyalty, nor can they repay it in kind. Churches, countries, and even the occasional private firm have been touting loyalty to abstract organizations for centuries, usually as a ploy to convince young people to do brave and foolish things like go to war so old people can keep their land and treasure. It. Is. Bullshit...We benefit (hugely) from...[the] loyalty [of the young men and women who have served this country]...but I don't think we (the United States) pay them their due. I believe it's a bad trade for them.
~~from The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google by Scott Galloway
Mitt Romney was wrong--corporations aren't people. As British Lord Chancellor Edward Thurow observed more than two centuries ago, business enterprises "have neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to be condemned." As such, they do not deserve your affection or your loyalty, nor can they repay it in kind. Churches, countries, and even the occasional private firm have been touting loyalty to abstract organizations for centuries, usually as a ploy to convince young people to do brave and foolish things like go to war so old people can keep their land and treasure. It. Is. Bullshit...We benefit (hugely) from...[the] loyalty [of the young men and women who have served this country]...but I don't think we (the United States) pay them their due. I believe it's a bad trade for them.
~~from The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google by Scott Galloway
This book could have been so much better but the author’s bitterness against the companies had him off on multiple rants rather than sharing insights. Disappointing because the author clearly knew business and could have had an exceptional book but instead it fell to mediocrity.
Entertainingly/irritatingly/uncomfortably written, depending on how you well you tolerate Galloway’s breezy, profanity-laced, oddly-comparing-everything-to-hot-girls-I-kid-you-not style. Verges on more than a little misogynist at times, though mostly in a sort of awkward attempt at humor that’s somehow creepier. I found it jarring when, early on, he calls Amazon’s Alexa Assistant a bitch(!) for not knowing who he is. Really.
Some insightful analysis here, particularly around Amazon and, to a lesser extent, Apple; his understanding of the shifts in retail and luxury are worth attending to. Facebook and Google he doesn’t seem to get (the Google chapter in particular is a cringe-worthy portrayal of Google as “God”). There’s scant treatment of the acquisitions of YouTube, Instagram, or WhatsApp, for example.
As for his look at who or what might displace the established order of the “four horsemen”... China only gets a fleetingly brief look — only Alibaba gets a mention, with no sign of Tencent (WeChat!), Baidu, Bytedance/Toutiao, Didi Chuxing, or Meituan-Dianping. Nor will you find cryptocurrencies or blockchain even mentioned.
Instead there’s a lot of space given to his (brief, self-admittedly) unsuccessful tenure as a NY Times board member, complete with his humble dreams of saving the Gray Lady. What was his brilliant plan? Apparently an aggressive paywall, perhaps with a dash of anti-fair use copyright litigation.
The book ends with an almost patronizingly conformist chapter about how to succeed in the world of the Four. This would have been solid advice 10 years ago (provided the gentle reader finds themselves graduating from a top school, of course >.>) but at this point is tantamount to telling people to skate to where the puck is, as well as (depressingly) unquestionably conform to (destructive) American norms like working 80+ hour weeks.
Ultimately this book is shallow and breezy with ample helpings of snark and sexism, with a few gems and insights buried in the rough. Realistically your time is better spent and you’ll learn a lot more reading Ben Thompson’s Stratechery archives.
Some insightful analysis here, particularly around Amazon and, to a lesser extent, Apple; his understanding of the shifts in retail and luxury are worth attending to. Facebook and Google he doesn’t seem to get (the Google chapter in particular is a cringe-worthy portrayal of Google as “God”). There’s scant treatment of the acquisitions of YouTube, Instagram, or WhatsApp, for example.
As for his look at who or what might displace the established order of the “four horsemen”... China only gets a fleetingly brief look — only Alibaba gets a mention, with no sign of Tencent (WeChat!), Baidu, Bytedance/Toutiao, Didi Chuxing, or Meituan-Dianping. Nor will you find cryptocurrencies or blockchain even mentioned.
Instead there’s a lot of space given to his (brief, self-admittedly) unsuccessful tenure as a NY Times board member, complete with his humble dreams of saving the Gray Lady. What was his brilliant plan? Apparently an aggressive paywall, perhaps with a dash of anti-fair use copyright litigation.
The book ends with an almost patronizingly conformist chapter about how to succeed in the world of the Four. This would have been solid advice 10 years ago (provided the gentle reader finds themselves graduating from a top school, of course >.>) but at this point is tantamount to telling people to skate to where the puck is, as well as (depressingly) unquestionably conform to (destructive) American norms like working 80+ hour weeks.
Ultimately this book is shallow and breezy with ample helpings of snark and sexism, with a few gems and insights buried in the rough. Realistically your time is better spent and you’ll learn a lot more reading Ben Thompson’s Stratechery archives.
You might think that a book with the words "THE HIDDEN DNA" would involve a deep-dive into the heart and soul of the listed companies, but you'd be wrong; instead, it's a light perusal. There's hidden here if you've been paying at least a little bit of attention to these four companies. Apple is a luxury brand. Facebook is about sharing. Google knows a LOT about you. Amazon sells you stuff.
Really an excellent book that does a nice job of diving into Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google and what makes them successful. Also, does a nice job of explaining what you can learn from them to be successful in your career (especially useful for people in their 20s-early 30s.