The Devil's Advocate

The Devil's Advocate

by Caspian Woods
Released February 2013
Publisher(s): Pearson International
ISBN: 9780273781646

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Book description

Welcome to the future of business thinking. It dares to confront everything you thought was true. It’ll challenge the so-called rules, dispute the perceived wisdom and turn that traditional, tired business advice completely on its head.

 

Meet The Devil’s Advocate.

 

And whether you’re new to business, an experienced senior executive or a budding entrepreneur, this fast and focused, clever little book, packed with empowering business advice and sharp insights, will help you carve a smart-thinking strategy for business success.

 

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title page
  3. Contents
  4. Dedication
  5. Author biography
  6. Acknowledgements
  7. Introduction
  8. Part one Leadership
    1. 1 The only thing you need to be a great leader
      1. Action points
    2. 2 Ask for favours
      1. Action point
    3. 3 Sleep in your car
      1. Action points
    4. 4 Leave stuff half-finished
      1. Action points
    5. 5 This software can kill you
      1. Action points
    6. 6 Forgive (but don’t forget)
      1. Action points
    7. 7 Ignore urgent tasks
      1. Action points
    8. 8 Be ill-informed
      1. Action points
    9. 9 Use guilt to motivate
      1. Action points
    10. 10 Say less
    11. 11 Wait for the tide to go out
      1. Action points
    12. 12 Ask the bride to dance
      1. Action points
    13. 13 Take fewer risks
      1. Action points
  9. Part two Strategy
    1. 14 Don’t diversify
      1. Action points
    2. 15 Stop obsessing about quality
      1. Action point
    3. 16 Embrace awkward suppliers
      1. Action points
    4. 17 Fight like Nelson
      1. Action points
    5. 18 Your next competitor makes toilet paper
      1. Action points
    6. 19 Burn your business plan
      1. Action points
    7. 20 Set unrealistic goals
      1. Action points
    8. 21 Don’t dance where elephants play
      1. Action points
    9. 22 More IT is not the answer
      1. Action points
    10. 23 There’s no prize for predicting the Flood
      1. Action points
    11. 24 Embrace chaos
      1. Action points
    12. 25 Sell invisibles
      1. Action points
    13. 26 Use a lawyer like a condom
      1. Action points
    14. 27 Target the poor
      1. Action points
    15. 28 Don’t make it in China
      1. Action points
  10. Part three Innovation
    1. 29 Reward failure
      1. Action points
    2. 30 Sacrifice the sacred cow
      1. Action points
    3. 31 You are in the wrong business
      1. Action points
    4. 32 Sleep with your customers
      1. Action points
    5. 33 Judge the book by its cover
      1. Action points
    6. 34 Use research like a drunk uses a lamppost*
      1. Action points
    7. 35 Come last
      1. Action points
    8. 36 Creativity needs a sergeant major
      1. Action points
    9. 37 Get lost
      1. Action points
    10. 38 Fire, ready, aim
      1. Action points
    11. 39 Seek out your worst customers
      1. Action points
    12. 40 Don’t start from where you are
      1. Action points
    13. 41 Rip up your confidentiality agreements
      1. Action points
    14. 42 Allow for the law of unintended consequences
      1. Action points
    15. 43 Remember you are French
      1. Action point
    16. 44 Anticipate complaints
      1. Action points
    17. 45 Get stotious
      1. Action points
    18. 46 Ban the brainstorm
      1. Action points
    19. 47 Steal with pride
      1. Action points
  11. Part four Sales and marketing
    1. 48 Stop making sense
      1. Action points
    2. 49 Don’t give your customers choice
      1. Action points
    3. 50 Learn from the Wizard of Oz
      1. Action points
    4. 51 Don’t ‘do’ social media
      1. Action points
    5. 52 Recommend your competitors
      1. Action points
    6. 53 If you’re pitching to win – you’ve already lost
      1. Action points
    7. 54 Be brief, be brilliant, be gone
      1. Action points
    8. 55 Don’t hire a hotshot agency
      1. Action points
    9. 56 Put the small print in BIG LETTERS
      1. Action points
    10. 57 Dull is the new sexy
      1. Action points
    11. 58 Make your literature illegible
      1. Action points
    12. 59 Nurture your nutters
      1. Action points
    13. 60 Create a crisis
      1. Action points
    14. 61 Shut up
      1. Action points
    15. 62 Get your face slapped
      1. Action points
    16. 63 It’s only worth advertising on your forehead
      1. Action points
    17. 64 Fake sincerity
      1. Action points
  12. Part five Staff
    1. 65 Pay your staff to quit
      1. Action points
    2. 66 Money doesn’t motivate
      1. Action points
    3. 67 Hire some baboons
      1. Action points
    4. 68 Don’t recruit by experience
      1. Action points
    5. 69 Forget the big idea
      1. Action points
    6. 70 Drive a clunker
      1. Action points
    7. 71 Take your name off the door
      1. Action points
    8. 72 Be a pacifist in the talent war
      1. Action points
    9. 73 Send your team home
      1. Action points
    10. 74 Don’t delegate – abdicate
      1. Action points
    11. 75 Remove the safety net
      1. Action points
    12. 76 Sack early
      1. Action points
    13. 77 Seek out the disabled
      1. Action points
    14. 78 Encourage trade unions
      1. Action points
    15. 79 Fire the founder
      1. Action points
    16. 80 Cultivate some enemies
      1. Action points
  13. Part six Finance
    1. 81 Pay yourself £1,000 an hour
      1. Action points
    2. 82 Max out your credit cards
      1. Action points
    3. 83 Don’t lend £10,000 to your brother
      1. Action points
    4. 84 Be unaffordable
      1. Action points
    5. 85 Don’t compensate for the size of your manhood
      1. Action points
    6. 86 Say ‘no’ to cheap money
      1. Action points
    7. 87 Double your costs, halve your reward
      1. Action point
    8. 88 Set fire to your price list
      1. Action points
    9. 89 Treat suppliers like fellow combatants
      1. Action points
  14. Part seven Personal
    1. 90 Cry as a negotiating technique
      1. Action points
    2. 91 Pile on the stress
      1. Action point
    3. 92 Avoid the passion trap
      1. Action point
    4. 93 Don’t give money to charity
      1. Action points
    5. 94 Stop thinking positive
      1. Action points
    6. 95 Disinherit your kids
      1. Action points
    7. 96 Nurture self-doubt
      1. Action points
    8. 97 Jump off a chair
      1. Action points
    9. 98 Be a psychopath
      1. Action points
    10. 99 Don’t get harpooned
      1. Action points
    11. 100 Be lazy
      1. Action points
  15. Imprint

Product information

  • Title: The Devil's Advocate
  • Author(s): Caspian Woods
  • Release date: February 2013
  • Publisher(s): Pearson International
  • ISBN: 9780273781646