Profit Without the Chase - How Oblique Thinking Drives Real Business Growth

If you're building a business, chasing success, or striving for personal fulfillment, you're probably looking for the straightest, most direct route. We’re often told that if you want something, you need to go after it headfirst, with unyielding focus. But what if the real secret to success lies in the complete opposite approach—one that takes a roundabout, indirect path rather than a straight line?

John Kay’s business book Obliquity: Why Our Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly makes the case that many of life’s greatest achievements come not from direct pursuit but from the power of indirect approaches. The most profitable companies don’t obsess over profit, the happiest people don’t chase money directly, and the greatest art isn’t always the most accurate. So, how do these complex ideas apply to your business? Let’s dive in.

The Principle of Obliquity – Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly

In Obliquity, Kay introduces the concept of obliquity: goals are often best achieved when you stop obsessing over them and instead approach them from an oblique path. This aligns with Boeing’s story—when focused solely on profit margins, they faltered. But when they returned to their passion for aviation, their success returned.

This British economist suggests that the best leaders avoid rigid adherence to plans. Instead, they adopt an adaptive strategy and explore indirect routes to success—embracing ambiguity and innovation.

Greed Is NOT Good

We've seen how financial crises have unraveled giants like Lehman Brothers, driven by the explicit goal of short-term profit. These examples highlight how a primary goal rooted in greed can destroy even the most powerful brands.

Instead, successful companies foster customer loyalty, focus on their personal goals, and build products with a deeper aspect of life in mind. Their ultimate message isn’t about money—it’s about creating value.

Muddling Through

Kay leans on Charles Lindblom’s idea of “Muddling Through”—making small changes, learning from failure, and trusting the process of experiment. This gradual process reflects how icons like Warren Buffett and Picasso worked: not from a master plan, but from an iterative process of creation and reflection.

Whether you're navigating complex goals or challenging personal lives, remember: clarity often emerges through action—not planning.

Profit is an Oblique Benefit

Profits are not goals—they are valuable messages from your market telling you you’re doing something right. Icons like Walt Disney didn’t set out to be rich. They wanted to enchant. To innovate. And as a result, they created profitable companies.

In today’s climate, this nonfiction book offers an important reminder: indirect approaches often lead to the best outcomes.

Abstraction and Closure

Kay argues that to make progress, we must simplify. In business, this means shedding contradictory ideas, streamlining decisions, and focusing on basic actions that have the highest impact.

Just like Ford’s production model or Disney’s storytelling—success is born from simplicity in a complex world.

The Hedgehog and the Fox

Borrowing from Isaiah Berlin’s metaphor, Kay explains that direct paths may appeal to hedgehogs—but foxes, with their adaptability, are better suited for navigating difficult terrain.

In business and in aspects of life, flexibility often trumps tunnel vision.

Embrace Obliquity for Long-Term Success

If you’re tired of hearing the same economic concepts repeated in every leadership seminar, this book review is your permission slip to do things differently.

Whether in personal growth or building a business, success rarely comes from a straight line. It’s found in the twists and turns, in formative books, in genre of books that challenge our thinking, and in the flavor of obliquity that shapes your journey.

Join the movement! Become part of the Limitless Leaders Club and explore oblique strategies with other visionaries. Or Hire a Marketing Sidekick to help you implement creative, counterintuitive strategies that actually work. Let’s stop chasing—let’s start creating.