Interesting take on the 3 types of business books. But how do you distinguish a 🌴tree book from a 🌿branch book upfront? Any tips Cedric? commoncog.com/blog/the-3-kin
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Flip through the table of contents, skim the intro and skim the conclusion. =] The two categories do blend a bit for some books, but usually there's a clear delineation.
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👍 thats about the methodology / the how. But what do you look at in the table of content / intro? E.g. 'Thinking Fast and Slow' might also seem as a single idea of Daniel Kahneman (🌿). What indicates in the outline/intro that it is a totally new framework of ideas? (🌴)
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Right! Well, usually the author lays out his thesis in the introduction and summarises the thrust in the conclusion. Helps to understand that all writers start with underlying structure/skeleton and then fill it out. Your job is to uncover that underlying skeleton.
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Usually the author will say “I intend to argue …” and this is likely a branch book (because one argument / point). Other times, like Kahneman, “here is an accounting of life’s work …”