Business adventures

Bill Gates' favorite business book, about big business failures.

In 1991, Bill Gates asked his investor friend Warren Buffett to recommend a good business book. Buffett didn't hesitate: John Brooks's Adventures in Business . It was his favorite. And it soon became the Microsoft founder's favorite as well. In an article for the Wall Street Journal , Bill Gates says that more than two decades after Warren recommended the book to him, it remains the best business book he's ever read. "It's true that many businesses have changed, but the fundamentals haven't."

One of the case studies described in the book, which should be studied by everyone working in the technology industry, is that of Xerox. The company ignored the research area that developed the early Ethernet network and the first graphical user interface—what we now know as Windows or OS X—because it considered these products to be outside the company's core business .

Another remarkable story was the $350 million loss that hit Ford Motor Company when developing the Edsel, a passenger car model that was a monumental failure due to improper evaluation of the name, design, and opinion polls. Business Adventures shows that the power of decision-making can make or break a company.

Brooks is a master storyteller. His precise analyses and corporate anecdotes are interspersed with compelling accounts of the companies' key players. "Business Adventures " is a lesson not only in the strengths and weaknesses of leaders in difficult circumstances, but also in the fundamental details of understanding the business world. (Bill Gates, Wall Street Journal )