Good Manager, Bad Manager, Good Economist, Bad Economist

Any book that has the following statement is worth reading:

The bad economist sees only what immediately strikes the eye; the good economist also looks beyond. The bad economist sees only the direct consequence of a proposed course; the good economist looks also at the longer and indirect consequences. The bad economist sees only what effect of a given policy has been or will be on one particular group; the good economist inquires also what the effect of the policy will be on all groups.

For a second I thought this was one of the many post-meltdown books that are flooding the markets today. (All those who could not predict it are now explaining it, funny!) But no. Economics In One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics by Henry Hazlitt was first published in 1946 that is not a typo - it is 1946) and then updated in 1962.

Actually, if I were a plagiarist I could replace the word 'economist' by 'manager' and publish a sure shot best seller. This is how ...

The bad manager sees only what immediately strikes the eye; the good manager also looks beyond. The bad manager sees only the direct consequence of a proposed course; the good manager looks also at the longer and indirect consequences. The bad manager sees only what effect of a given decision has been or will be on one particular group; the good manager inquires also what the effect of the decision will be on all groups.

Hmmm.... May be I will learn a lot about management by reading this gem of a book on economics.