Most business books use a similar pattern:
- The author starts with a preconceived view they believe (this is not necessarily presented to the reader).
- They then research this theory and present facts to support it.
- This research often gains more buy-in from the readers if it is told like a story rather than the presentation of mere data.
- Occasionally, they will use counter research to contradict this theory.
- Then they do, this counter research is refuted by additional research information in favor of the preconceived view. Note: this is done intentionally to make an argument appear more plausible.
- The preconceived view is presented as the conclusion.
- A list of supporting books, resources, tools, or information is provided for people to take next steps on the conclusion reached.
This method can make a lot of books sell. Many authors have done it. But it’s a scam. It has two major problems:
- The evidence is assessed in a biased manner, because a conclusion is predetermined before looking at any data. This causes the data to be read in such a way that it supports the predetermined conclusion.
- They often don’t assess all of the evidence against their opinion. An argument that has been presented may be plausible, but it could fall to a more-plausible counter-argument. But this is impossible to know when only one side of the argument is presented.
Since learning this I have almost entirely given up reading business books.
Have you ever noticed fictional elements within a non-fiction book?
