Book Description
A compelling vision. Bold leadership. Decisive action. Unfortunately, these prerequisites of success are almost always the ingredients of failure, too. In fact, most managers seeking to maximize their chances for glory are often unwittingly setting themselves up for ruin. The sad truth is that most companies have left their futures almost entirely to chance, and don’t even realize it. The reason? Managers feel they must make choices with far-reaching consequences today, but must base those choices on assumptions about a future they cannot predict. It is this collision between commitment and uncertainty that creates THE STRATEGY PARADOX.
This paradox sets up a ubiquitous but little-understood tradeoff. Because managers feel they must base their strategies on assumptions about an unknown future, the more ambitious of them hope their guesses will be right – or that they can somehow adapt to the turbulence that will arise. In fact, only a small number of lucky daredevils prosper, while many more unfortunate, but no less capable managers find themselves at the helms of sinking ships. Realizing this, even if only intuitively, most managers shy away from the bold commitments that success seems to demand, choosing instead timid, unremarkable strategies, sacrificing any chance at greatness for a better chance at mere survival.
Michael E. Raynor, coauthor of the bestselling The Innovator's Solution, explains how leaders can break this tradeoff and achieve results historically reserved for the fortunate few even as they reduce the risks they must accept in the pursuit of success. In the cutthroat world of competitive strategy, this is as close as you can come to getting something for nothing.
Drawing on leading-edge scholarship and extensive original research, Raynor’s revolutionary principle of Requisite Uncertainty yields a clutch of critical, counter-intuitive findings. Among them:
-- The Board should not evaluate the CEO based on the company’s performance, but instead on the firm’s strategic risk profile
-- The CEO should not drive results, but manage uncertainty
-- Business unit leaders should not focus on execution, but on making strategic choices
-- Line managers should not worry about strategic risk, but devote themselves to delivering on commitments
With detailed case studies of success and failure at Sony, Microsoft, Vivendi Universal, Johnson & Johnson, AT&T and other major companies in industries from financial services to energy, Raynor presents a concrete framework for strategic action that allows companies to seize today’s opportunities while simultaneously preparing for tomorrow’s promise.
Customer Reviews:
Requisite uncertainty and human capabilities.......2007-08-22
Zachary Stein ((Harvard Graduate School of Education) & Theo L. Dawson (Developmental Testing Service)
We agree with many of the other reviewers of this book. It combines high quality scholarship and accessibility, making it stand out from most of the popular leadership literature. But we think most of the other reviews have missed a key dimension of Raynor's model, a facet of his vision that sets it apart from the more traditional literature on strategies and organizations. With a nod to the research of Elliot Jaques, Raynor makes it clear that the proposed model of "requisite uncertainty" would have us build organizations that are sensitive both to the demands of the marketplace and the realities of human capabilities. We all know that organizations need to be responsive to socio-economic trends and uncertainties, but only a select few are privy to the notion that organizational hierarchies need to be designed in light of facts about human cognition and cognitive development. In our minds, this latter point is what sets the "Strategy Paradox" apart.
Individuals occupying different roles are faced with different demands. This we all know. But Raynor helps to clarify just who should be doing what, and moreover, what those at the top need to do to handle the unprecedented uncertainties of post-modern socio-economic conditions. As Raynor explains, these high-level demands cash out in terms of dialogically rich inquiry-based procedures for "crystallizing and preserving a diversity of opinions" regarding strategic options. Needless to say, that's a tall order that not just anybody can fill. What's preferable is not always possible. Our only criticism is that Raynor has too little to say about the cognitive capabilities that would make his vision possible. There is a rich literature about adult cognitive development and its measurement that Raynor does an inadequate job of referencing. Jaques and Kegan are the tip of a very complex iceberg. And frankly it's an iceberg that might sink this ship.
From where we sit, the model is incomplete without further consideration of the cognitive demands of "Strategic Flexibility." Any life-span cognitive developmental psychologist will tell you that less than 3% of the adult population in the developed world has the cognitive skills to meet these demands. We don't mean to rain on the parade, but for this model to work we need to ensure that those who engage in the highest levels of strategic planning are equipped with the requisite cognitive and discourse skills. Without them, real-world implementations will be less than stellar.
To sum up, our reading of the "Strategy Paradox" reveals a devil in the details. We think that Raynor's radical suggestions regarding human capabilities and organizational strata are the trend-setting elements of his model. Zeroing in on these suggestions exposes a formidable challenge.
Raynor has put time back into strategy.......2007-08-14
I won't repeat the powerful insights stated by many of the other positive reviewers. Read them yourself. They are special in their own right!
Raynor's latest book is beautifully written. It should all be savoured (slowly if necessary)...
The chapters which I believe Raynor will be truly remembered for are nestled in the middle (chapters 6-8). In these wonderful pages he rightfully restores "time" into strategy-making ("who stole time?", should indeed give rise to several more business books).
Leveraging Elliott Jaques' seminal work on time-spans of discretion, Raynor introduces "strategic flexibility" with compelling clarity and irrefutable logic. As an added bonus, he also illuminates the real role of corporate boards with such lucidity, that reading SOX prescriptions in future will seem sadly impoverished.
I have seen and heard Raynor speak in public. He is a virtuosic whirlwind on stage. Read this book. It is even better than the live performance.
Key Concepts Make it Worth Buying.......2007-08-08
I enjoyed The Strategy Paradox, and have added it to the Pearls of Wisdom page on my site. Powerful concepts in the hands of enlightened leaders, particularly those leading large organizations:
1. Extreme strategies do not come without risk
2. You don't have to predict the future to be successful
3. Divide responsibility for strategy formulation by time horizons
4. Give your organization a chance to adapt and succeed in the most likely future scenarios through options not commitment
In my mind if you get come away from a business book with one or more useful insights, then it was more than worth the time invested. This book is definitely worth the time if you are already (or aspire to be) a corporate leader or strategist.
Five star content!
Read this book before your competitors do.......2007-07-31
I have very high hopes for Raynor's book - it might force business practitioners to think more deeply about formulating real strategy and structuring the organization for competitive advantage. Most treatments of strategy address competitive dynamics (in the line of Porter), likewise positioning, or competency leverage (Collins). Raynor brings forward insights from his research and publishing in innovation (The Innovator's Solution), Harvard doctoral research, and the practical understanding that comes from actually consulting. While his book could anchor a top-notch MBA course, it might lead a good company's board to make much better strategic decisions.
I would not compare The Strategy Paradox with popular business books, such as The Long Tail or even Good to Great, but instead deeply-researched work like Alfred Chandler's. Raynor reveals the perils and promises of strategy formulation, the management of strategy and commitment, and the design and execution of strategic options. Keep in mind that most of what's published in journals and books is very loose, or even just junk research. Strategic management remains largely influenced, in the actual practice of corporate decision making, by Porter's 1980's work, resource allocation, and what I call Powerpoint SWOT. So who should care? Just about every executive and business unit-level manager. And, of course, educators and consultants focusing on business strategy and organizational dynamics.
It is one of the few works on competitive strategy that guides organizational structure as well as business positioning - not directly through guidance on design, but in terms of organizational function necessitated by requisite uncertainty. Raynor never mentions "strategic alignment," a troublesome notion from consulting with no good research support. Rather, he demonstrates how organizational focus on strategic action (as implied by "alignment") results from appropriate structural management, where uncertainty and commitment are appropriately weighted in the hierarchy. In time for Alfred Chandler's handoff to history with his passing in May, Raynor retrieves the original effectiveness of hierarchical management, and maps it functionally to uncertainty. This cleanly obviates the necessity for fuzzy nostrums such as "strategic alignment." (Or perhaps it saves it, for fans of alignment approaches).
Raynor explains complex business scenarios with a brisk storyline. The footnotes are a fascinating secondary read - the points are backed up by his research, Harvard studies, and dozens of well-cited papers. While optional to the main points, the research is actually useful and interesting. Some key concepts are novel in strategy research, such as the application of Elliott Jacques' work on requisite organization to support the principle of Requisite Uncertainty.
I highly recommend this book, and if you are an executive or board advisor, I urge you to read it before your competitors do.
The system encourages mediocrity........2007-07-23
Raynor's book is not the easiest read, but then again, that says more about the reader than it does about the book. The concept is rather revolutionary--and thus, difficult to digest immediately--in that it suggests almost everything we know about strategy and success is wrong. All the books, studies and anecdotes are comparing successful companies and mediocre companies instead of what they claim to do: compare success and failure. If they actually did compare the two, Raynor claims, you'd find a lot of similarities. That all too often, the keys to success are the recipes for failure. And that the people who we hold up as fearless leaders are really just one change in fate away from being the people we mock as losers. He's saying that this is inevitable, after all, how can a study include the business that started and failed and no one ever heard of? Thus, we only see wild success or middle of the road, bet hedgers.
Von Clauswitz talked of this too, saying that as we examine history, before we judge military defeats we must consider what our opinion would be had they succeeded. In other words, if the insurgent resistance in Iraq hadn't been so strong or if the WMD had materialized, would Bush's unilateral, undertrooped strategy be as derided as it is right now? Or if weather hadn't beaten back the Persians at Thermopylae, would we still think them arrogant and brash?
Accordingly, Rayor's book is a very unique look at some of the most illustrious examples of business failure. We see that some of Sony's biggest gaffs, had the market gone the way they'd hoped, would have been their biggest successes. This is true because of the theories two assumptions:
1) A successful strategy requires full commitment
2) Full commitment, in light of unpredictable futures, can mean catastrophic failure
And thus, the more you strategize, the more likely you are to be both massively successful and massively unsuccessful. The only middle ground--and often the most commonly taken--is mediocrity, where the company is neither successful or driven out of business.
Raynor poses a conclusion we often find ourselves also coming to:
"The only way [Company X] could have managed the situation any better is to have predicted the future...and that of course, is impossible. The future never gets here."
He sees strategies as equity or stock. You're purchasing the stock, and if you guessed right, you make money and if you guess wrong, you lose. The real way to succeed then, is to buy options on stocks. Essentially, to set up multiple, concurrent strategy options, from which you can then "agree to buy" the winners. These options then make your chosen strategy mobile in the face on an unpredictable future. This gives you strategic flexibility.
Overall, this was a very interesting book. The review deriding it above are to be expected--if we could all understand this, it wouldn't exactly be a paradox or problem would it? Pick it up and even if you don't understand every word, merely being cognizant of the dilemma would help you.
Book Description
Spend like a miser, profit like a mogul
Who says you have to spend money to make money?Savvy real estate investors follow the examples of Donald Trump and Walt Disney, turning substantial profits on properties without incurring the debt, risk, and maintenance costs of ownership—and now, so can you!
In How to Make Money with Real Estate Options, real estate expert Thomas Lucier introduces you to the low-risk, high-yield investment vehicle that can earn big bucks even for small investors. Lucier explains what real estate options are, how they work, and why they are the tools of choice for thousands of successful investors. Step by step, he shows you how to:
- Locate potential option properties using the Internet, want ads, and "bird-dogs"
- Contact and negotiate with property owners
- Perform due diligence and avoid options pitfalls
- Prepare an option agreement that protects you
- Insure real estate options with title insurance
- Package and sell optioned properties for optimum profits
Packed with no-nonsense advice on how to identify the most profitable properties and manage every step of the option process, How to Make Money with Real Estate Options is a practical guide to one of the secret weapons of savvy investors.
Customer Reviews:
Great instructive book.......2007-07-30
This book is exactly what I was looking for. I was interested in getting started in buying and selling real estate options and this book gets to the heart of it. There are a multitude of great suggestions, tips, and instruction. I would be lost without it. There are even sample forms. Worth twice the price!!
Unique but Highly Profitable Real Estate Investment Strategy.......2007-07-26
Real estate options are a very little used tool in the business, possibly because many people confuse them with land contracts. RE Options are nothing like land contracts, in a land contract you are obligated to buy. In an option you have the option of purchasing at a preset price. A number of examples are given and this is a well written book for people who have never attempted this. I recommend this book to all RE investors and Realtors.
Bad writing style.......2007-05-13
Like Lucier's other book on finding preforeclosure properties, this book on real estate options, while full of useful information, is so hard to read because of the terrible writing style that it is hard to recommend very strongly. His uneducated writing style causes me to wonder if he really knows what he is talking about. Prepare to be educated by torture if you choose to read this book.
Another real estate tool for the box.......2007-03-26
Great for a rookie to get lot of updated real estate information, but this book is probably geared toward an investor with a little more experience or a rookie investor that is well schooled. What was the best information in this book? - How to structure and execute real estate options. Also good a strategy, which involves locating distressed property, controlling that property with an option, and then finding a buyer who would probably not have considered that property until you were able to show him the potential in that property. Another real estate tool for the box.
The ideas sound great, but lack online support.......2007-01-23
I read most of this book and the ideas sound great, but after checking the author's web site I found the support limited. He offers his own personal support for a fee, but there is no way to contact anyone other than himself. Like every other how-to book on real estate you have to ask a question. Does anyone besides the author use this method? If so, how do I contact these individuals?
Until I come across a book like this, I find it hard to believe the author's information.
Customer Reviews:
Overvalued AND Average.......2007-08-15
When I first heard about this book, being a novice yet avid investor, I was very enthusiastic to get my hands on it. My friends and I went on a scavenger hunt to every public and university library that might have had it. When we finally found it, we were definitely excited because we thought, "Why would this book be valued so highly, if it didn't have very good insights on how to beat the market and gain above average returns?"
Needless to say it was an average book on value investing. And I stress average. If you're going to spend anything over $100 for this book, don't. If you still need to read it, get it from a library, but you'll still see that it probably wasn't worth it. All the clout that this book gets from being so pricey doesn't merit either trying to find it, or paying the price.
That being said, the author didn't have enough real life examples. He talked about a few companies that he realized significant gains on, but the intricacy of how he did it is not really discussed at length like Peter Lynch does in his books.
All in all, don't waste your money, and read one of the more popular Lynch or Graham books on value investing which are better written and more detailed.
An excellent overview of a risk-averse approach to value investing.......2007-07-26
This book is one of the hardest finance books to track down today. Published in 1991, it is now out of print, and sells on Amazon and Ebay for over $1000. It is even one of the most-stolen library books, making it very difficult to find a copy to read.
Seth Klarman, the portfolio manager of The Baupost Group, is a very successful practitioner of the value investing strategy. In this book, he sets out to educate the reader on this concept, stressing the advantages of a risk-averse approach. In his introduction, Klarman states that even if this book, as a side effect of educating more people to invest in a more sophisticated manner, causes diminished returns to himself - he considers it well worth it for the public good. While I highly applaud this mentality, it begs the question: why was the book not published again? Considering what I mentioned in the first paragraph, clearly there is significant demand to read it. Anyway, on to the book itself...
"Margin of Safety" is divided into three portions. The first part discusses where most investors make mistakes and stumble - it covers investing vs. speculation, the nature of Wall Street, and how institutional investing results in a short-term performance derby (of which the client is ultimately the loser). It also encapsulates the presented information in a thoughful case study of junk bonds in the 1980s. The second portion of the book introduces the details of the value-investment philosophy, primarily focusing on risk and how it is crucial to invest with a margin of safety. The last part provides useful applicable advice on actually following the value-investment process: where to find investment opportunities, how to invest in these opportunities, and various aspects of overall portfolio management.
Simply put, the book is fantastic. Klarman writes in an amazingly clear manner. His language is neither too simplistic nor overly difficult - just right. I definitely experienced a "wow" feeling when I began reading, after the finance books I have read recently. In addition, Klarman provides a myriad of examples to illustrate the points he brings up, which is very helpful, because it puts a reality spin on his writings.
Don't, however, mistake "clear writing" for "easy content." While the book is clear, precise, and very straight-to-the-point (i.e. there is no useless fluff frequently found in books advocating certain investment approaches), Klarman's content is not trivial. The first and even the second portions of the book are relatively quick and simple - after all, the material presented (a discussion of various common investor mistakes, followed by the basic explanation of value investing) is not overly difficult. The third and last portion of the book, however, is very dense: a lot of information is presented quickly. I actually found myself having to re-read a few of the later chapters multiple times, making sure I understand what Klarman was trying to illustrate. I took notes while reading, so that helped absorb the material - but it still wasn't easy.
This brings me to the only personal gripe I had with the book. There were multiple instances in the later chapters where I wished that Klarman would elaborate more on some of his statements and examples (for instance, calculating NPV for certain businesses, more discussion on thrift institutions, etc.). The author certainly assumes some previous experience, as some of his non-basic explanations are clearly not geared for outright beginners. There was never a point, however, where I felt completely out of the loop. I had to read some portions over again and even look up additional information on the web, but in the end Klarman's words always made sense.
This book is absolutely the best overview of value investing I have ever read or heard. Klarman stresses the importance of carefully evaluating risk (as we often only focus on return) and investing with a margin of safety. He repeats this main point over and over again throughout the entire book. Amazingly, it doesn't feel overly repetitive - but instead, a constant timely reminder of the ideas behind the value investing process. A major theme in the book is that we can't predict the future, and hence we must always be ready for anything - and the only way to do this is to protect our investments with a sufficient margin of safety (essentially investing in a security at a significant discount to underlying value).
Aside from a clear explanation of his investing philosophy, Klarman provides tons and tons of useful practical advice, from how to valuate businesses (he makes sure to distinguish his preferred methods from other widespread strategies) to where to find excellent investment opportunities for value investors. He devotes multiple chapters to discussing the frequently neglected portions of the market where low-risk and potentially high-return investments can be made. In the last two chapters, Klarman takes a step back from discussing individual investments and focuses on overall portfolio management and various alternatives for the individual investor.
One may wonder how applicable some of the specific advice is today. Are thrift conversions really still good places to find hidden value? Maybe not. Is manually calculating the cash flow of a business through the faulty measure of EBITDA still a problem today? Not really, since cash flow statements are now part of the required financial statements for public companies. But a lot of Klarman's essential advice (do your analysis carefully - look behind the numbers) and much of his presented "fertile ground for opportunities" still applies and exists today. Furthermore, the wonderful thing about value investing is that it is contrarian in its nature - which essentially implies that, as investments in various portions of the market come in cycles, a value investor can patiently wait for a popular area to "overflow", collapse, and offer excellent opportunities to invest while the herds of investors shy away and sell out. So even if some of Klarman's hunting grounds may seem outdated right now, they will again be attractive in the future.
One thing to note is that each chapter contains a set of footnotes. I advise the reader not to ignore these - they sometimes contain interesting examples and valuable advice. Unfortunately, they are easy to skip, as they're not printed at the bottom of the page which references the footnote, but rather at the back of each chapter.
In conclusion, I highly recommend Klarman's book to... anyone, really! Seasoned veterans will undoubtedly find excellent insight into things that may have before seemed ordinary and trivial. Beginners will learn fantastic advice that may help steer them away from poor decisions made by many inexperienced investors today. I personally don't think it is worth paying the market price for the book today just to read it (although many may argue that even the going price is at a huge discount from the underlying value) - but I suggest trying to obtain the book through an Inter-Library Loan. It may take some time and effort to find a copy, but it's well worth it.
Pros:
+ clear and concise writing, no fluff
+ lots and lots of illustrative examples
+ very clear explanation of the basic concept of value investing and a margin of safety
+ useful methods for researching and valuating a business
+ tremendous amount of applicable advice on finding and analyzing investment opportunities
+ lots of other real-world advice on various topics from portfolio management to money manager selection
Cons:
- last portion of the book is dense, may require careful reading and re-reading
- a small portion of the material may be slightly out of date (don't let this deter you)
Excellent One on Value Investing.......2007-04-27
I come to know about this book from the recommended booklist of Greenblatt's "You Can Be a Stock Market Genius". Indeed, I found that most of Greenblatt's ideas may actually originate from this book.
The author gave a strong case for value investing. And, I think if one really follows Seth's way of value investing, investment success is close to a sure thing. By reading the investment examples in the book, I understand how strict requirements Seth has for an investment to be considered worth investing.
I think the idea is that
1. If you dont understand it, pass it;
2. If you do understand it but the price is too high, pass it;
3. If you do understand it and the price is really low, take it.
All in all, I would agree with another reviewer that this book is worth its weight in gold.
P.S. The other two investment books I'd recommend are:
1. The Aggressive Conservative Investor by Martin Whitman
2. You Can Be a Stock Market Genius by Greenblatt
Overvalued.......2007-02-26
This is a nice book about value investing but hardly worth its current price. There any number of options that can deliver roughly the same amount of knowledge.
Holy Grail of Investing.......2007-01-07
I am an alumni of the Value Investing program at Columbia Business School and I heard Seth Klarman speak at one of our lectures, so I decided to get my hands on this book. After months of waiting I finally managed to read this book in my local library in a special locked room, since this book is #1 on the theft list. All I can say it is nearest to the Holy Grail of Investing as you can get. I have applied most of his principles to my own investments and the results have been nothing short of spectacular (albeit a short time frame). No wonder the author (who owns the rights) doesn't want to publish the book again. He wants to keep his methods a secret. Just look at Klarman's track record at Baupost!!
It is rumored that ex-CBS Value Investing alums such as Louis Bacon, Leon Cooperman, William Von Mueffling and even Warren Buffett has a copy. This book is worth its weight in gold.
Book Description
Guide to Disaster Recovery presents methods to identify vulnerabilities and take appropriate countermeasures to prevent and mitigate failure risks for an organization. This book provides the networking professional with a foundation in disaster recovery principles, including preparation of a disaster recovery plan, assessment of risks in the enterprise, development of policies and procedures, an understanding of the roles and relationships of various members of an organization, implementation of the plan, testing and rehearsal of the plan, and actually recovering from a disaster. The book takes an enterprise-wide approach to developing a disaster recovery plan. Students will learn how to create a secure network by putting policies and procedures in place, and how to restore a network in the event of a disaster.
Book Description
Financial experts agree: Asset allocation is the key strategies for maintaining a consistent yet superior rate of investment return. Now, Roger Gibson's Asset Allocation - the bestselling reference book on this popular subject for a decade has been updated to keep pace with the latest developments and findings. This Third Edition provides step-by-step strategies for implementing asset allocation in a high return/low risk portfolio, educating financial planning clients on the solid logic behind asset allocation, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Asset Allocation: Balancing Financial Risk.......2007-07-11
Good overview. Perhaps a little technical. Graph oriented. Author does a good job of explaining his view point and backing it up with historical data.
asset allocation by gibson.......2007-05-24
The book was in excellent condition and was received in about five days.
Most solid advice on asset allocation ever.......2007-01-28
I had to read this book when I was taking a course to get a CIMA designation. I thought the book would be dullsville. But to the contrary, his strategies when tested are nothing short of amazing. To move away from the simple stock bond mix that every other book pimps out, is brave, but more importantly, he is right. Since reading the book I have obtained as many of his writings as possible. If you take the advice in this book and implement it, it will create a low stress, high return strategy. Good near term and long term advice. I will look to by more of this book to give to others. BEST BOOK ON ASSET ALLOCATION I HAVE EVER READ.
Gibson's Asset Allocation.......2006-08-23
Among the many books on this subject, this is one of the best. Unlike most of the other authors, Gibson does not limit himself to list the different asset classes and then provide recommended allocations. He goes one step further and describes in very practical terms the different issues that one faces when developing a portfolio and how to resolve them. In my view, Gibson ranks next to Bernstein and Malkiel. A good buy!
Asset allocation practically eliminates all risk while increasing returns........2005-07-01
This book informs the current political struggle to reform the Social Security program. In the case of a foreign invasion or some other calamity, it's true that one's private investments would be insecure, but so would one's "investments" in government bonds, so such cases are irrelevant.
In all relevant circumstances, private investments, if one adheres to even a primitive asset allocation strategy, are 100-percent safe. Mr. Gibson explains why.
He also cites studies concluding that the most significant variable in differences among institutional investor performance is emphasis on stock-picking and market-timing versus asset allocation. Those who emphasize asset allocation perform better than those who emphasize stock-picking and market-timing. A good companion to this book is "A Random Walk Down Wall Street", by Burton G. Malkiel.
Of course, Mr. Gibson introduces the reader to the theory and methods of asset allocation.
Average customer rating:
- Unnecessarily Complex
- A finance textbook full of errors and holes
- A Wonderful Approach to Corporate Finance
- Good basic overview of finance intersecting corp strategy
- Missed the mark! Poor coverage of contemporary issues...
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Financial Markets & Corporate Strategy
Mark Grinblatt , and
Sheridan Titman
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
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Book Description
The authors began writing the First Edition of this textbook in early 1988. It took almost 10 years to complete this effort, because they did not want to write an ordinary textbook. Their goal was to write a book that would break new ground in both the understanding and explanation of finance and its practice. They wanted to write a book that would influence the way people think about, teach, and practice finance. A book that would elevate the level of discussion and analysis in the classroom, in the corporate boardroom, and in the conference rooms of Wall Street firms. They wanted a book that would sit on the shelves of financial executives as a useful reference manual, long after the executives had studied and received a degree. They were successful in their endeavor. The success of the first edition of Financial Markets and Corporate Strategy was very heartening. The market for this text has expanded every year, and it is well-known as the cutting edge textbook in corporate finance around the world. The book is used in a variety of courses, both for introductory courses and advanced electives. Some schools have even changed their curriculum to design it around this text. The authors have developed this Second Edition based on the comments of many reviewers and colleagues; producing what is a more reader-friendly book. The most consistent comment from users of the first edition was a request for a chapter on the key ingredients of valuation: accounting, cash flows, and basic discounting. This ultimately led to a new chapter in the text, Chapter 9, which is currently available in the "Sample Chapter" section of the book's website. In almost every chapter, examples are updated, vignettes changed, numbers modified, statements checked for currency and historical accuracy, and exercises and examples are either modified or added to. The goal of the Second Edition is to make the book ever more practical, pedagogically effective, and current.
Customer Reviews:
Unnecessarily Complex.......2006-08-28
Author devotes 2 pages to mathematically prove & philosophically justify that a manager should chose the highest NPV project before chosing the next highest NPV project. Such logic continues ad infinitum throughout the 800+ page text. Time for 3rd Ed.
A finance textbook full of errors and holes.......2005-05-07
I am a postgraduate student in finance and this book is on my reading list for corporate finance. I must say that I am not very pleased with this book. First, it seems to skip around from chapter to chapter with no real logical organizational structure. Second, it is full of typos and mistakes -- some that are quite dangerous for a proper understanding of the material. Third, it does not develop fully the statistically techniques in Chapter 4 that it builds on in later chapters. This is a major problem in my opinion. What saves this book from the lowest rating is that it does discuss empirical studies and journal articles, and it does not do an entirely awful job about the more qualitative subjects like adverse selection and capitalization policy.
For what it's worth, I received my undergraduate degree at Wharton and am now at the London School of Economics. Instead of this book, I recommend Brealey and Myer's Principles of Corporate Finance. This is what I used as an undergraduate and is what seems to be the de facto textbook in the top undergraduate and MBA programs.
N.
A Wonderful Approach to Corporate Finance.......2005-04-12
I will admit this book does not take the standard approach to learning corporate finance. The authors discuss a wide variety of common topics, ranging from market models, option valuation, capital structure concepts and decisions, to more specialized topics such as corporate governance and financial risk management.
What is unique about this book, though, is that the authors encourage students to think about problems more broadly than one often sees in introductory texts and courses. For example, the authors encourage the use of decision trees (i.e. binomial models) to value a wide range of assets, not just stocks. If one can value a stock option using a binomial tree, why not use the same framework to value a plot of undeveloped real estate, an untapped mine, or any other "real option" owned by a company?
Another reason this text is excellent is because the authors include a vast survey of recent financial and economic literature relevant for the financial decision-maker. Highly developed markets depend on the signaling of information between investors and management, creditors and debtors, customers and suppliers, and so forth; understanding the implications of these interactions and their subsequent effects is of primary importance to decision-makers.
For example, the "pecking order" theory of capital structure is one of the most well-known concepts in finance, but nonetheless often misunderstood (if you want proof of this, why did investors respond so enthusiastically to every IPO in the late 1990's?). Instead of glossing over an explanation of the theory, the book thorougly explains it and provides problems where the reader can actually work through a simplified model that really reinforces the concept.
While this book served as a good introduction to a wide scope of problems in finance, it was most useful because it helped me to apply economic tools not just to solve but to understand financial problems. The use of decision trees in the simplified, binomial model setting helped me to understand option/project valuation and risk-netural valuation, the linchpin of no-arbitrage pricing. It also has perhaps the most thorough, lucid explanation of Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT) I've seen anywhere- for a practitioner trying to understand factor models, this chapter alone makes the book worth it.
I understand that this is a very difficult book and that the problems are beyond what one may expect in a MBA-level course. Nonetheless, finance is an increasingly competitive field whose employers are starting to demand more analytical skills and intiution from recent graduates. In response to the reviewer who said this text is not suitable for CFA preparation, I do agree with that sentiment. First, the CFA program is designed for self-study that any motivated and capable professional can handle, while Grinblatt/Titman is clearly appropriate for a rigorous MBA-level sequence in corporate finance. Second, the CFA exam emphasizes asset valuation and portfolio management, while this book stresses financial decision-making from a manager's standpoint.
While I normally don't like reviews that justify their opinions by offering credentials, I also work on Wall Street and I find the concepts taught in this book to be quite relevant in handling real-world problems.
Good basic overview of finance intersecting corp strategy.......2005-02-25
I bought this book as a recommended supplemental text for a course in Corporate Finance in the MBA program at the U of Michigan Business School. I am very glad to have this book on my shelf of financial books and have benefited from it more than once.
I can recommend it to you strongly by praising it for these reasons:
1) It puts practical flesh on the financial model bones you learned in your first course on finance. There are very good discussions of the basic and well-known fundamental theories and models, but the authors also share with us what tends to happen in the real world. And isn't that what each of us need to add to our theoretical thinking?
2) Each chapter has effective summarizing Key Concepts and Key Terms with plenty of problems to work through and a list of References and Additional Readings that enable the reader to dive deeper into the topic of the chapter just read.
3) The book is helpfully organized into six Parts that provide the framework for the discussion. Parts 1-3 are a review of "Financial Markets and Instruments", "Valuing Financial Assets", and "Valuing Real Assets". This foundation gives the student a good grounding in order to see how these principles are used in the work of managing the capital structure of a corporation. Parts 4-6 discuss the "Corporate Financial Structure", "Incentives, Information and Corporate Control", and "Risk Management". These last three sections are the real meat of the book and where a great deal of its value to the business student lies.
4) Each of the Parts has an effective and brief introduction that sets the tone for what is to be studied. Even better, at the end of each the six Parts there are two very helpful summary sections: "Practical Insights" and "Executive Perspective".
This is a specialized topic. But it is an important topic. This is a very good book that can help a serious student get grounded in some very important principals necessary to managing the financial issues facing every corporation. I recommend it.
Missed the mark! Poor coverage of contemporary issues..........2004-12-22
This text is just below par for MBA / CFA or professional use. The quality of research is very poor. I almost bought this book recently but changed my mind instead for Brigham's "Intermediate Financial Management".
Compared to other finance texts I've used before such Reilly's "Investment Analysis & Portfolio Mgt." or Chew's "New Corporate Finance", Grinblatt's text is way way behind and offers nothing new and of value to my research & professional everyday use....
DON'T BUY this lousy book!
Average customer rating:
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Geological Risk and Uncertainty in Oil Exploration: Uncertainty, Risk and Strategy
Ian Lerche
Manufacturer: Academic Press
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Nontechnical Guide to Petroleum Geology, Exploration, Drilling and Production (2nd Edition)
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Fundamentals of Oil and Gas Accounting (4th Edition)
ASIN: 0124441742 |
Book Description
Oil exploration is a high-risk game. With worldwide drilling success of only 10% and a typical price tag of $15 million per well, it is no surprise the oil industry seeks better methods of managing financial risk.
Geological Risk and Uncertainty in Oil Exploration answers this need by identifying the various uncertainties associated with basin analysis and incorporating this information into probabilistic models of basin evolution in relation to oil accumulation.
Oil and gas explorationists, strategic resource economists, and petroleum professionals who deal with scientific uncertainty and risk issues will benefit from the books systematic treatment of how to quantify the uncertainty associated with a variety ofgeological, geophysical, and geochemical problems. The origin of uncertainties associated with flexural plate motion models, dynamical models of sediment evolution, thermal models of sediment maturation, hydrocarbon kinetic models, fault models, and models of basinal sediment fill and turbidite flows are detailed in the first section. The subsequent incorporation of model uncertainties into probabilistic models of basin evolution and behavior constitutes the second half of the book. Throughout, the author interweaves a discussion of scientific probability, risk, and strategy within the context of improving our ability to assess strategic hydrocarbon resources.
Key Features
* Integrates quantitative knowledge of basin analysis with scientific uncertainty and economic risk to create an informed, integrated hydrocarbon exploration strategy
* Instructs the reader in handling a variety of geological, geophysical, and geochemical problems by applying quantitative methods to determine uncertainty
* Is student-friendly--each chapter opens with a general introduction to the subject and concludes with a review and discussion of the major concepts
* Includes numerous appendices containing ancillary data, equations, and examples
Book Description
Provides all the vital quantitative tools for foreign exchange options in a clear and logical manner.
Covers the financial management of foreign exchange risk together with analysis of different methods for mitigating and controlling cross currency price differentials. Shows how both market risk and model risk can be managed by choosing a suitable pricing model. Presents products, pricing models, tools and strategies as well as numerical techniques for practical implementation
Contains leading research, published for the first time, concerned primarily with FX derivatives.
Book Description
Convertible securities, combining aspects of both stocks and bonds, truly create a "best of both worlds" investment. This instructive book uses everyday terms and illustrations to explain types of convertibles, reveal high-return investment strategies, and decode pricing, hedging, and risk/return considerations.
Customer Reviews:
Content free.......2003-11-10
To even to most junior quant, this book would be content free. What's more, he promises the revolutionary new Calamos valuation method (now, not even Nobel prize winners name their theories after themselves, they let other people do it for them, so already, suspicion) but again, nothing, just some snapshots from the screen of his software. The book blurb is misleading, it actually promises the method, not just an advert for it. Do not buy this book, you will learn nothing.
Converted to Convertibles.......2003-03-01
Upon reading this book I realized what I was missing from my portfolio. Investing in convertible over the past 3 years has enabled me to keep my head above water since the market peaked back in 2000. My portfolio was only down 4% in 2001 and 5% in 2002 because of the addition of converts.
Author's Conflicted Intentions Evident.......2000-09-09
The table of contents and size of this book suggests a real winner, perhaps even a Graham & Dodd treatment of the convertibles arena. The wonder is how such a long-winded tome can leave the convertibles student so wanting. The book's problem is probably the author's conflicted intentions: "Do I want my readers to go out and find some nice convertible bonds, or do I want them to pay me to go find them some nice convertible bonds?" Guess who gets short shrift?
The introduction to convertibles section is reasonably well written. But the analysis and strategy sections of the book are suspiciously hazy. I say " suspiciously " because the book's author delivers just enough information so one might be comfortable handing over portfolio management to the author's investment management firm, but not nearly enough to implement a portfolio for oneself. Even Calamos' simple price model is insufficiently described.
Thus, after a windy, winding road of nearly 400 pages, CONVERTIBLE SECURITIES reads as a mediocre introduction to convertibles imbedded within an advertisement for the Calamos firm (for which I had to pay $65!).
A Pedestrian Discourse on an Interesting Topic.......1999-06-03
This book's jacket promises "The Latest Instruments, Portfolio Strategies, and Valuation Analysis." A pretty tall order which, not surprisingly, this book does not deliver, in my humble opinion.
I found the analytical sections particularly incomplete and essentially unusable.
Convertible securities combine the appeal of simplicity with the opportunity for serious quantitative analysis. When this book deals with the simple ideas, it does ok. When it ventures into quant-land, I found the short-comings unbearable.
I am sorry to have such a negative opinion. Perhaps other, more enlightened, readers will find redeeming attributes in this book that excaped me.
Basics, History, Develops Strategies, Pricing models.......1999-01-25
Calamos begins by describing the convertible securities markets underpinnings, both historically and fundamentally. Then, the reader's understanding is developed through dissecting many common convertible securities' structures, when and why they came to market, and their benefits to investors, their issuers, and the investment bankers that brought them to market.
To close, Calamos identifies the issues with investing in convertibles including those concerning: pricing, liquidity (retail vs. institutional), hedging strategies (when so desired by the investor), some discussion of portfolio mixes, and comparisons to major market and custom indices to demonstrate convertible security market performance.
This book was a tremendous help as fundamental underpinning for my own education into convertible securities. The pricing models for the components of convertible securities were alone worth the purchase of the book. Comparing and contrasting the several convertible securities discussed also went a long way to understanding their drawbacks and strengths.
Personally, I felt that the opportunity to expand the book further exists in a couple of areas. First, the convertible hedging strategies were my highest interest in obtaining the book, but I felt that they were left with a shorter than necessary analysis. Only one or two real-life examples were given, and the decision-making criteria of a hedging strategy vs. bond's (relative) price seemed to need more expanded discussion.
Second, the descriptions of the marketplace for these securities was left only at a high-level. In defense of the marketplace description, it's clearly an institutional, dealer-driven market that would probably require another edition to describe that market's inner workings. Perhaps that's a worthy follow-up, Mr. Calamos. "The Mechanics of the Institutional Convertible Securities Markets"??
BUY this book. Calamos' years of experience are clearly demonstrated within the chapters. This is not one of those meritless, sham investment books so often written solely to benefit the author. This is a quality educational tool and long-term reference.
Book Description
For over three decades, indexing has become increasingly accepted by both institutional and individual investors. Index benchmarks and investment products that track them have been a driving force in the transformation of investment strategy from art to science. Yet investors’ understanding of the sophistication of this burgeoning field has lagged the growing use of index products.
Active Index Investing is the definitive guide to how indexes are constructed, how index-based portfolios are managed, and how the world’s most sophisticated investors use index-based strategies to enhance performance, reduce costs and minimize the risks of investing.
Active Index Investing provides a comprehensive overview of (1) the investment theories that are the foundation of index based investing, (2) best practices in benchmark construction, (3) the growing world of index-based investment vehicles, (4) cutting-edge index portfolio management techniq ues and (5) the myriad ways investors can and do capture the benefits of indexing.
Active Index Investing has a unique format that captures the views and perspectives of over 40 of the investment industry’s leading experts and practitioners, while maintaining a holistic view of this complex subject matter. In addition to the Appendix and Glossary within the book, it features an
E-ppendix, available at www.IndexUniverse.com
Download Description
For over three decades, indexing has become increasingly accepted by both institutional and individual investors. Index benchmarks and investment products that track them have been a driving force in the transformation of investment strategy from art to science. Yet investors’ understanding of the sophistication of this burgeoning field has lagged the growing use of index products.
Active Index Investing is the definitive guide to how indexes are constructed, how index-based portfolios are managed, and how the world’s most sophisticated investors use index-based strategies to enhance performance, reduce costs and minimize the risks of investing.
Active Index Investing provides a comprehensive overview of (1) the investment theories that are the foundation of index based investing, (2) best practices in benchmark construction, (3) the growing world of index-based investment vehicles, (4) cutting-edge index portfolio management techniq ues and (5) the myriad ways investors can and do capture the benefits of indexing.
Active Index Investing has a unique format that captures the views and perspectives of over 40 of the investment industry’s leading experts and practitioners, while maintaining a holistic view of this complex subject matter. In addition to the Appendix and Glossary within the book, it features an
E-ppendix, available at www.IndexUniverse.com
Steven A. Schoenfeld is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of IndexUniverse.com, the definitive online resource on index investing. He is also a Senior Research Fellow with Duke University’s Global Capital Markets Center, and Managing Partner of Global Index Strategies LLC, which provides consulting services to the financial industry. Steven was Chief Investment Officer of Active Index Advisors, focusing on enhanced index portfolios and was a Managing Director of Barclays Global Investors (BGI), where he served in a variety of portfolio management and investment strategy roles. Before joining BGI, he was an Investment Officer at the International Finance Corporation/World Bank, and a stock index futures trader in Singapore. Steven was a Fulbright Scholar in Economics, and co-authored The Pacific Rim Futures and Options Markets.
Customer Reviews:
Good basic concepts, but do not try this at home.......2006-10-15
Indexing is definitely the most cost effective way to invest and to control how your assets are allocated. At the end of the day, what ultimately drives return, is an intelligent asset allocation strategy and minimizing costs. A good financial planner who believes in this strategy should help you implement the asset allocation and monitoring processes. If the proper investment tools are used you can have the investments and the investment advice for less than the cost of the average mutual fund.
Why indexing is the starting point for your asset allocation.......2004-10-11
An important disclaimer: I am a specialist index portfolio manager a major index fund manager
This is an excellent book that contains all the important reasons why your asset allocation should start with indexing and then think about active managers (not the other way around - pick the market haystack, not the active manager needle). The important points have not changed over the years, including during the bear market of 2000-2001. The bottom line is that costs matter.
I was most impressed with chapter 19, which well describes the index portfolio management process and demonstrates how much more difficult it is to deliver benchmark returns than what people think. Every person who glibly retorts 'a trained monkey could manage an index fund' and 'what do you guys do all day anyway?' should read this. Index portfolio management is a unique challenge and we're always on a hiding to nothing to achieve this outcome.
The chapters are well researched and there are plenty of references for the interested reader.
It is a large book, but all the chapters are self contained and there is no loss of continuity by reading chapters individually.
I ended up giving it four stars however as the low quality paper on which it was printed makes the book feel a little cheap. For a $90 book the publishers could do better.
A must-read for those interested in index funds/ETFs.......2004-09-28
This book is quite simply contains the best information on the subject of indexing.
It tracks the beginnings of index products and pays respects to the pioneers that developed this type of investing. Mr. Shoenfeld thoroughly decribes the myriad of vehicles that are available for investors today (this list grows every day it seems).
But what really makes this book shine is the real-life examples and guest writers. Books about investment theory often lack concrete illustrations of the theories they espouse. Mr. Shoenfeld descibes in detail how and why individual investors, pension plans, and hedge funds use index products. In many cases, fund managers write the chapters. Getting this information "from the horse's mouth" allows insight into thought processes of those responsible for investing millions of dollars.
The scope of the book is amazing, and even more is available on the e-ppendix on the Web. Congratulations to the author on putting together a massive reference book on the subject of indexing.
Outstanding textbook.......2004-09-09
Steve Schoenfeld's edited volume, "Active Index Investing," is a welcome addition to the literature on financial management. Although rigorous in content, its clear-to-follow chapters and illustrative sidebars combine to make this book extraordinarily useful as a primary textbook on MBA or executive education courses on financial analysis, financial instruments, fixed income asset pricing, and portfolio management. In addition, several chapters, including those dealing with enhanced indexing and benchmarks, will be of particular interest to scholars who are interested in the theoretical literature on portfolio management. Overall, "Active Index Investing" is a winner and gets my highest recommendation due to its clarity and breadth.
Virtuoso Performance!.......2004-08-19
This is an extremely well written and thoroughly informative guide to the important new world index investing. It's not a short book -- but it's perfectly organized into easily manageable chapters... and more of a page-turner than you'd expect.
The book works on multiple levels. Whatever your degree of investing sophistication, you'll find incredibly useful information. It's probably the only thing you need to read on index investing -- covering mutual funds, ETFs, and making sense of the now-huge variety of index-based investment options. And it's linked to a web site that will keep the book effectively current.
Buying the book was a modest investment that I'm sure will pay off nicely...
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