The Art of Profitability

By: Adrian Slywotzky

Narrated by: Scott Mosenson, Jack Ong, Adrian Slywotzky - introduction

What do Barbie dolls, Nokia phones, and American Express credit cards have in common? They all represent a powerful business model called pyramid profit. How about Intel, Microsoft, and Stephen King? They all exploit another model called value chain position profit.

The Art of Profitability reveals the invisible but important governing principles that can mean the difference between business failure and success. Writing with wit and provocative insight, best selling author Adrian Slywotzy tells the story of eccentric strategy teacher David Zhao and his young student. Each of the book's chapters presents a lesson from the exuberant and always challenging master - and a profit paradigm that will open your mind to the many ways to make profit happen.

You'll understand - from a different perspective - how your company and your competitors generate profit, which business models can be best applied to your profit-making strategy, what specific actions your organization can take in the next ninety days to improve its bottom line, and more.

With scores of examples from today's global marketplace, a weekly assignment, and an eclectic business reading list ranging from Obvious Adams to Einstein's Dreams, The Art of Profitability invites anyone in business to engage in the lively exchange between mentor and protégé.

Enter the classroom. Discover the art. And learn which form of profitability will help your company succeed today and grow tomorrow.

©2002 Mercer Management Consulting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (P)2003 Time Warner AudioBooks. A division of the AOL Time Warner Book Group.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Business Information/Educational, 2003

"It's an attractive and refreshing concept that taps into the Zen of business." (Publishers Weekly)
"Harvard professor Adrian Slywotzky...brings a holistic approach to the making of money." (AudioFile)

Thinking of Starting a Business?

This was a really easy book to listen to. I'm just trying to get my busniss of the ground, and this book really gave me some great ideas for new market strategy to put into my business plan. I highly recomend it for anyone in this situation, or for anyone looking for new ways to make a profit in their existing business.

Very entertaining story with a blend of business

I really enjoyed this book. The readers are top notch and do a fantastic job of building and portraying these characters. I really liked both of these characters and thought how nice it would be to work or learn in a similar setting as in this book.

I loved the way that questions were asked. It made me think how I could take learning to a whole new level by not always accepting information for its face value. Sometimes the real understanding comes from asking why or how two or three times. This book does this. I also loved the realism and practical advice given. Many of the results in this book portray real life especially how upper management would react to a young eager professional trying to push new ideas in a corporate world.

Read his other books

The Good -
The main concepts of the book are sound and time proven, and it has some interesting and novel ideas. Moreover, the book has good recommendations of must read works.

The Bad -
What was meant to be an entertaining fictional side plot, in the fashion of The Goal or The Max Strategy, doesn't work. It ends up being both corny and archaic. Basically, the main character of the book is a 20 something trying to save the large conglomerate which employs him. Give me a break. The vast majority of my peers including myself (in that age group) could care less about the slow and large, uncaring bureaucracies we work for. If anything we're dreaming up of escape plans to start our own businesses. Throughout the book I just kept wondering whether Steve was a complete moron or whether the story took place in my parents' time.

A related flaw is how the book's concepts are delivered. Hearing the mentor character, Zhiao, ?give lessons? is akin to listening to Bill Cosby's or Grandpa Simpson's random rambling for hours. It's very difficult to differentiate the useless/nonsensical crap from the great/important pieces of data, Zhiao keeps jumping from here and there. Sadly I could go on and on about how horrible the plot and side dialogue are... ex "What kind of fish do you think you are? I am a light fish." - enough said.

Conclusion
Unless you have spare money or time ? read Slywotsky's other books to get to the meat of his ideas. This is largely a waste of time.

Interesting ideas, 10 times longer than needed

Author tried to make this a colorful dialog, but I found myself rolling my eyes and wishing they'd get to the point even at 1.25x speed.

Packed with profit models

Quite a dense book, wrapped in a dialogue between coach and student. Works well, but they discuss diagrams a fair bit, and is tough to follow when only listening. Overall a very useful piece of work.

The Art Of Profitability

Great Book. I am already putting some ideas from the book to work in my business. Very entertaining as well as informative. A rare combination.

Best Concept I've heard to tell a story

If you could sum up The Art of Profitability in three words, what would they be?

Clever Story Teaching

What other book might you compare The Art of Profitability to and why?

Just a great extension to listening to Jim Rohn tapes.

Which scene was your favorite?

When they talk about the Coca Cola business model - Light bulb moment

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I do the the imagery when they describe the sunlight as the stand at the window in the skyscraper office window. I could really see it

Any additional comments?

Helped me run my business better and understand how my clients run there's, or run it better.

Interesting and Thought provoking.

What did you love best about The Art of Profitability?

I had no idea how many different possible ways there were to make a profit. It was really eye opening and made me think.

What other book might you compare The Art of Profitability to and why?

This book has a similar feel to books like 'Who Moved My Cheese' or books by the author Jon Gordon. It tells a story intertwined with applicable ideas.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is a first for this narrator I think.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I think the whole book was interesting to listen to and challenged me to think of different ways of making profits.

Any additional comments?

The one thing that was a little frustrating was all the additional sources which were named in the book. It would take someone a year to actually follow the book as if they were the character in it.

engaging

Engaging and accessible. All MBAs should read.

Excellent Listen - MBA on Wheels

This is a permenant part of my MBA on wheels (I listen to business books in my car). Excellent and entertaining listen, with each section making you think of how my business is running, and how you can run other businesses successfully. Highly recommended.