The Business Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

Big Ideas Simply Explained

by Sam Atkinson

The Business Book clearly and simply explains all of the key theories that have shaped the world of business, management, and commerce.

Using easy-to-follow graphics and artworks, succinct quotations, and thoroughly accessible text, The Business Book introduces the would-be entrepreneur and general reader alike to the work of great commercial thinkers, leaders, and gurus.

The Business Book includes:
- Almost 100 quotations from the great business thinkers and gurus
- Information on every facet of business management, including alternative business models, with real life examples from the marketplace
- A structure that takes the reader through every stage of business strategy, from start-up to delivering the goods

The clear and concise summaries, graphics, and quotations in The Business Book will help even the complete novice understand the key ideas behind business success.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Reference, Economics, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Management

718 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[MD · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a masterpiece of layout. Seriously. An entire book Tetrised out of info graphics and sidebars. When I first opened the book to a couple of random pages I wasn't sure I would even know how to read it. But when I started at the beginning I found I had no trouble following it at all. In fact, this approach worked really well for me. The book is much more information-dense than I expected from looking at it. The "chunking" of the content encouraged me to stop and think about each section after reading it.

The book is especially applicable for people who want to start and/or grow a business. It is like a mini-MBA, with all the basics. It covers everything from why some business ideas work and others don't to business financing, to leadership, to marketing & selling, to producing. A perfect graduation gift for a high school or college student who dreams of starting his or her own business.

[Raafat · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب يعادل دراسة ٤ سنين بزنس ببعض الجامعات, الغزارة المعرفية والجمال باستعراض الافكار بيجعل هالكتاب مرجع يكون على مكتب أي حدا مهتم بالبزنس ليقدر يرجع لبعض الأفكار بالمستقبل, الكتاب يصلح للمتخصصين وللأشخاص يلي ثقافتون بالبزنس صفر. من أهم ما قرأت وبيستاهل كل سينت من سعره

[Audrius Slanina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Persitvarkant knygų lentyną pastebėjau, kad turiu daug pilnai neįveiktų (kai dar studijavau mėgdavau pirkti akademinę literatūrą ir ją naudoti rašto darbams rengti) arba kažkada planuoti skaityti, bet numestų negrožinės literatūros knygų. Tad šiais metais nusprendžiau daugiau dėmesio skirti negrožinei literatūrai (grožinės literatūros su mylima fantastika irgi neapleisiu). Tad, prieš kimbant į ją pradėjau skaityti knygas iš serijos "Big Ideas Simply explained" (lietuviškai serijai leidžiama "Trumpai ir aiškiai" pavadinimu), kad trumpai atgaminti tam tikras žinias ar sužinoti kažką naujo ir plačiau pasidomėti ta sritim. Pati knyga pasirodė visai idomi ir parodė ne vien "efektyvumo grafikais" paremtą verslo ir rinkodaros pasaulį. Tai, gal ir nevisai pelnytai, skiriu 4* už idomių idėjų trumpą ir paprastą paaiškinimą.

[Yogi Saputro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buku ini adalah jack of all trades tentang bisnis. Semua isu dibahas supaya pembaca mengerti seluk beluk bisnis. Penggagas startup, akuntan, analis bisnis, investor, manajer produksi, R&D, sampai ahli IT semuanya berada dalam lingkup buku ini.

Buku ini membantu saya dalam membayangkan bisnis yang berjalan di abad ini. Tentunya dengan berkiblat pada ekonomi kapitalis ala Barat. Buku ini tidak menginspirasi supaya seseorang bisa jadi pebisnis yang hebat. Buku ini menyajikan fakta dan analisis tentang bagaimana koporasi menjalankan bisnis unggul. Output setelah membaca buku ini adalah konsep besar bisnis, sekaligus menunjukkan "kejahatan bisnis kapitalis" yang merugikan orang banyak.

Kejahatan bisnis kapitalis inilah yang membuat cukup shock, karena praktik yang jelas merugikan orang banyak. Beberapa di antaranya adalah:
1. Perusahaan dengan arus kas besar akan berusaha meningkatkan keuntungan dengan menjual uang. Konsep yang menyakiti ekonomi.
2. Perusahaan dapat mengakuisisi perusahaan lain X dengan sumber dana yang menjaminkan X itu sendiri. Artinya kalau X tidak memberi keuntungan, X akan kolaps sementara pengakuisisi tidak terkena risiko.
3. Dasar valuasi suatu perusahaan tidak pernah jelas. Akuntan dapat memakai metode macam-macam untuk membuat perusahaan bernilai tinggi seolah-olah berkembang.
4. Tidak ada perusahaan yang beroperasi demi kebaikan semua pihak. Seluruh keputusan perusahaan adalah demi shareholder.
5. Perusahaan menginginkan konsumen selalu menggunakan barangnya. Untuk itu banyak perusahaan memproduksi barang yang disengaja untuk segera usang. Ini disebut planned obsolescence.

[Jeffrey Sylvester · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Business Book" by DK Publishing is likely the worst of the series but the structure of it allows for some decent passive reading. Some finance is covered but most of the book is organizational theory (management) lessons told through the experiences of famous business people or corporations. For the most part, management theory is common sense dressed up as insight through anecdote and stories, and that is much of what this is.

Having said that, the reminder is good. Obviously to many, this stuff isn't common sense or they wouldn't fall into these typical management traps.

3 stars out of 5 for DK Publishing!

[ragheb aljaoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

هذا الكتاب أقل ما يقال عنه أنه تحفة فنية في مجال تبسيط أفكار الأعمال التجارية... وعرضها بطريقة مبتكرة... بعيدا عن أي تعقيد..

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing! Covers everything broadly and in depth. Must read for any student studying business or working in business.

[Zein Saeed · Rating 5 out of 5]

With entrepreneurship, startup culture and converting ideas into a profitable reality in full swing, The Business Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained is a must read for those who have never stepped into business.

The many principles that hold true when doing business are concisely explained. From old fashioned ways of doing business, to how business was done back in the past, as well as recent developments and ways people do business around the world. This book serves as a departure station of ideas. Choose ideas of your interest and grab a ticket with the next book to embark on a comprehensive journey towards a guided understanding of doing business.

[Bandar Al-Dossari · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب جميل وكمرجع ‏للمبتدئين في مجال إدارة الاعمال، باستخدام اُسلوب بسيط في طرح الأساسيات مع الأدلة او الامثله على مختلف اهم المواضيع للإداريين والمهتمين في مجال إدارة الاعمال، ولمن يرغب في البدأ في مشروعة التجاري حيث يجمع له الأساسيات لإدارة الاعمال وأساليبها.

واعتقد انه قد يستخدم بشكل متكرر للإداريين من ورواد الاعمال، لما يسهل في شرح اهم المواضيع الإدارية وتعريفاتها الأساسية بلغه سهله توفر على القاري الابحار في المستطلعات التي بعضعها قد لا تكون مفهومه او معرفة للكثير وخاصة لمن ليس لديهم خبره او معرفة بالعلوم الإدارية وإدارة الاعمال.

[Autumn Kearney · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Business book, which is published by DK books is well researched, well written, and well illustrated. It resembles a volume of a set of encyclopedias. It works for research or cover to cover reading.

[JAIME · Rating 4 out of 5]

No es un libro para leerlo en poco tiempo. Hay que masticarlo, reflexionar cada página e ir haciendo anotaciones para volver en otro momento. Libro perfecto para resumir todo. No es un libro para entrar en detalle sino para tener los conceptos, libros y autores claves para profundizar después.

[Charmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do what I say

[The Time Traveler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explains The Workhorse Preceding Economics

Business drives the economy. It employs a working force which are the everyday working men and women who rely on providential corporations to maintain operations by using the up to date techniques to run a company ethically and effectively.
This book is the timeline of how businesses have evolved over the millennium and mostly in the last 100-200 years. Technology is constantly changing the geography and methodology employed.
Would not be surprised if the staples of the economy are replaced by an autonomous workforce by 2050 and that the majority of human workforce is employed in nonessential roles. (Similar to assigning baseless titles for psychological status then actual impact). This will be done to protect the World Economies. Also, the future will become more autocratic. Advanced AI will be capable of predicting the probable future and life will become a scripted role like in a mmorpg. Designed personal/professional paths will be the social safety net and creativity will be protected with rationality.

[Charles Qi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book for anyone who wants to learn how business works. It covers the full range of topics in business activities: company start up and growth, leadership and management, finance, marketing and product delivery. What makes this book an interesting read is that the information is organized in such a nice way that it never feels boring when you read these topics as separate articles. The beautiful charts, sidebars and various insightful quotations interspersed in the text only make the reading of this book a more pleasant experience. After closing this book, I feel like going back again to review some parts that have intensely drawn my interest and will definitely drill them down by reading a few other books specialized in these areas.

[Alvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice illustration and graphics. The content is well-written and accessible for business noobs.

[Jorge Bojorges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta e sla biblia obligatoria para toda persona que quiere emprender, son conceptos básicos pero que de verdad te dejan buenas bases

[ata · Rating 1 out of 5]

trivial and superficial

[Oday Zaher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Book to explain the whole Business World and elements.

[Mihai Rosca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book of this series I have read. I have long had my eyes on Big Ideas simply Explained and thought I'd try my hand with a topic that's hot right now: business.

It took me some time to finish it and rightly so. It's a dense piece of writing.

Before reading, I would suggest taking some aspects into account, like the fact that the business topic is vast, the management theories are diverse and how such a book is meant to give you an ample landscape of what business is. By any and all means, do not look for an in depth "How To" approach inside.

Probably the most practical way to approach this book would be to skim through the content and summary, then go through the chapters one by one, taking in the titles and graphics first and after that diving into the explanations.

As stated above, the book is not a manual, but rather exposes the history and theory of the ideas presented. I'd say it's ok to jump through some chapters if they don't pose any interest to you, as long as you make sure you got the main idea from them. The big font used for these together with the simplified graphics makes it a child's play to understand the core of what's being said.

Overall I found it very useful. If you have any business knowledge so far and what to take a step back to understand the big picture, this is your book. Aspects such as leveraging and growth, mergers and marketing strategies will become a lot clearer afterwards.

If you are looking for info from a startup perspective, probably chapters 20-43, 62, 172, as well as Marketing and Finance Management

I don't agree completely with the format but that may just be my perspective, coupled with the reader I use.

[coolest kid · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a pretty good book! this grad student that I'm doing an internship with recommended me, so I just read it because yk she seems pretty wise and seems like she knows her stuff. and yeah it did introduce me to a lot of business topics and ideas.

a lot of it was either common sense and after I got through like 50% of the book a lot of it was just repeats. like all the stuff on efficiency and customer service and ethics were pretty much the same. aka be as efficient as possible, provide the best customer service possible, and don't do illegal/bad shit. which makes sense but I already knew that.

but this was a good book. i liked how many examples they included. I mean I'd say 80% of the book was just examples of businesses that apply the concepts they were talking about. and then there'd be extra blurbs to highlight businesses, professors, leaders, etc. so I learned a lot about how the big businesses actually functioned.

like how google gives employees 20% time to work on personal projects, and that has given birth to some of googles other stuff that they offer. like thats pretty cool.

but yeah overall good book! now i think imma stop reading introductory business books because I've already heard most of this stuff already. ONTO THE NEXT!!!!

[Fahasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an innovative and accessible guide to business, management and commerce. Learning about business can be daunting, but The Business Book makes it easier than ever by giving you all the big ideas simply explained. Simple explanations and stylish infographics open up the business world to even the complete novice. The Business Book is the perfect primer to key theories of business and management, covering inspirational business ideas, business strategy and alternative business models. 100 key quotations introduce you to the work of great commercial thinkers, leaders and gurus from Henry Ford to Steve Jobs and to topics spanning from start-ups to ethics. Whether you are a would-be entrepreneur or just have an interest in business, The Business Book is an all-in-one guide to business management, theory and strategy.

https://www.fahasa.com/

[Mischke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was informative and interesting. It very effectively breaks down large concepts. It will begin by introducing the topic by its name, then explaining aspects of it, then the reasoning behind it, and finally it will leave you with an example of either wise or poor real-life application of it. Through this, I was able to understand concepts that seemed abstract at first. For example, "working with a vision" is an abstract concept, but through the sub-categories of learning from failures, leading the market, protecting the core business, dealing with crisis, and more, I was able to grasp the idea. Although I am not 100% certain that I will pursue a career in business, I had enough interest in the topic to read this book and have been able to foster my curiosity in this field.

[William Yip · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was very repetitive especially the first couple of chapters; at least one quote was reused. There were multiple typos with one sentence almost unintelligible. There was outdated information as Carlos Ghosn fell from grace and Volkswagen had an emissions scandal and wrong information as the book stated Sheryl Sandberg was the CEO of Facebook when she was actually the COO. Some chapters contradicted other chapters but, of course, what should be done depends on the product, competition, and customers. That said, the book is a good reference for business topics, covering a wide range including ethics, lean manufacturing, operating costs, investments and investors, competitive advantage, strategic roadmapping, R&D, advertising, crisis management, customer service and satisfaction.

[Scout Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it took me almost 2 months to get through, this was an informative and interesting book and introduction to business. I'll forget most of it but I learned a lot. Particularly I liked the "kaizen" system (Japan has a lot of good ideas)!

I usually comment on how I don't like the format (since I'm reading many books from this series) but in this book it actually worked quite well. The glossary and directory at the back were also good additions; the glossary was especially handy (if you were taking a class).

Would recommend to anyone interested in business.

[Ercavallero · Rating 5 out of 5]

El libro de los negocios presenta de forma simple y amena una serie de temas relacionados con el mundo de los negocios: creación de una empresa, liderazgo, recursos humanos, gestión, marketing, calidad…

Me ha parecido muy interesante el hecho de presentar, para cada tema tratado, varios casos reales de empresas conocidas, así como breves biografías de los líderes que han influenciado el mundo de los negocios.

Un muy buen libro para acercarse al mundo empresarial.

[Nazah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has compiled all my business basic into one book. It has most of the important bits of knowledge I studied in my undergraduate and post graduate business major. The graphs and infographics were especially helpful for visual learners. The book is organized spectacularly and I enjoyed reading it and brush up my basics. I recommend this to anyone who wants to learn about business and the models used for business activities.

[Mohamed Tash · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the marvelous books I have ever read. This book simplifies the complex concepts and perspectives of business into simple words and paragraphs with a simple structure accompanied with success stories and quotes for the business leaders allover the world. I recommend it to everyone interested in understanding business and has an intention to deepen his knowledge in business and leadership.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave it a try, but reading about business is not my thing.

That said, I feel like I did learn something. That was the goal. I think if anyone wants an overview of business concepts while getting examples of these things put into practice, this is a good book.

I would say 4.5 stars for execution of the point, 3 for my interest level.

[Daeus · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, this is a textbook, so it was pretty densely packed with information. That being said, I found it really enjoyable to read (in short bursts) and a solid overview of how businesses work with anecdotes and historical examples. I was looking for a book to read to fill in some gaps of the basics and I believe this did the job quite well.

[Mohamed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of best business books that you can read. It encapsulates a lot of business, management and leadership concepts in a concise dosage. You do not want to read tons of books in order to grab essence of management.

The flow of the book is nice and I would recommend it for readers interested in management.