Obliquity

Why our goals are best acheived indirectly

In the context of John Kay’s book, the most accurate and sophisticated term for is:

Obliquity

Derived from geometry (meaning an angle that is not a right angle), Kay uses it to describe the phenomenon where complex goals are best achieved indirectly.

Key Vocabulary & Phrasings

• Indirect Pursuit: The core concept that goals like happiness or profit are results of other activities, not targets to be aimed at directly.

• Flow

The psychologist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi uses the term flow to describe the sensation people experience while engaged in demanding activities. It is “the sense of effortless action they feel [that] tends to occur when a person’s skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about manageable.”

• The Oblique Approach: The strategic method of focusing on the process or values rather than the specific outcome.

• By-product: A secondary result. In the book, profit is described as a by-product of excellence.

• Circuitous [sər-ˈkyü-ə-təs]: A more descriptive word for a route that is “longer than the direct way” but often more effective in complex systems.

Practical Examples (English)

• Business Context: > “By focusing on customer satisfaction rather than quarterly earnings, the company achieved success through obliquity.”

• Personal Context: > “Happiness is a by-product of a life well-lived; it cannot be found through direct pursuit.”

• Investment Context (James Anderson style): > “He rejects linear valuation models in favor of a more oblique understanding of radical innovation.”

Nuance Note Avoid using the word “Detour.” A detour implies a temporary or forced deviation from a “proper” straight path. Obliquity suggests that in a complex world, the straight path does not exist.