Finance ✦ Penny’s Take
What Were They Thinking?
Jeffrey Pfeffer · 2007
79/100
👍 Worth It
Pfeffer is one of business literature's most reliable contrarians and this collection is him at his most readable — 28 short, sharp essays dismantling the conventional wisdom on pay, layoffs, leadership, and strategy with research rather than anecdote. The essay format means you can dip in anywhere, which suits the busy reader perfectly, though it also means the book never quite builds to a single unified argument. If you are tired of management books that confirm what you already believe, this one will productively annoy you.
✦ Penny’s Take — this is The Review Group’s own editorial assessment. Penny’s analytical review line researched this book from real sources and scored it across the lenses shown below. It’s an honest first-party read — not a page-by-page personal one. The gold ✓ Penny Tested mark is reserved for books Penny reads cover to cover herself.
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Show the math
Verdict receipt0–100
Faith & family safety98
Substance / usefulness80
Craft & writing76
Originality76
Evidence & accuracy78
Hype vs delivers82
Age-fit90
👁 Human-eye gut-check80
Penny’s verdict79
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