The Voltage Effect: How to Make Good Ideas Great and Great Ideas Scale

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 416 ratings

Price: 15.75

Last update: 07-29-2024


Top reviews from the United States

Matthew T. Holt
5.0 out of 5 stars Amp your voltage
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2022
I finally finished #thevoltageeffect by John List. This is an excellent book, and a great companion piece to ”Influence is Your Super Power” by Zoe Chance. John is a world-class behavioral economist with broad experience in higher education, government, and industry. In this book, John draws on his research to tell us why some ideas scale and why some fail.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part examines five fundamental reasons why an idea/product/project will fail to scale. And part two examines four secrets to scaling. Both parts are equally important. And both underscore the power of economics and behavioral approach to contemplating scale. But of the two, I like part two the most. A behavioral focus on culture, why it’s important, and how to build a good one, is unique and eyeopening. You will also learn why EOE state,ents may discourage diverse candidates from applying. Why quitting early and often may be the smartest move of all. And why any business, government agency, and nonprofit should allocate resources by carefully examining marginal costs and benefits. Throughout, John argues for constant experimentation.

This is not a typical book by a typical economist. It is immediately readable and broadly applicable. I highly recommend “The Voltage Effect.” And when you finish that, pick up “Influence is Your Superpower.”
David Hume Lindsay
4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Business/Public Management Ready
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2022
Good quick read that gets to the point quickly (a positive trait for these type of reads). Explains, encourages, and educates on the how's and why's of where and when best laid plans and ideas fall short of expectation on the operations side of things. One of the better business books I read this year.
Raechelle T. Sherman
5.0 out of 5 stars An Insightful, Actionable, Important Read
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2022
I found John List's new book, The Voltage Effect an insightful and thoroughly enjoyable read for three reasons:

1. John is a refreshingly rare and different breed of academic economist, far more dedicated to applying economic theory to solve complex, real business and societal problems, than to devising mathematically and theoretically elegant but impractical solutions, decoupled from real-world application

2. His numerous examples help make the key concepts literally jump off the page. Case in point, the saga of KMart's Blue Light Special program delivered a bitingly funny indictment of corporate HQ overreach everywhere.

3. Bottom line, List's advice on the do’s and don’ts of scaling businesses and government policy initiatives provides valuable and eminently actionable guidelines for corporate execs and government policymakers.

And the icing on the cake is John's breezy and unpretentious writing style, which turns a book grounded in economic theory into a page-turner for general audiences.
James E. Schrager
5.0 out of 5 stars A unique look inside how top executives make crucial decisions
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2022
A Must Read!
How many times do you get to accompany a top-of-the world expert as they work with the CEOs of companies such as Uber and Lyft? In most cases, these economists and consultants are bound by non-disclosure agreements preventing them from revealing what goes on behind closed doors.

But in this book, economist John List takes you inside the real world of figuring out which ideas will scale and become the next big thing--and which won’t. This isn’t another book by an academic theoretician or consultant showing us how the world of business should be, based on hazy generalizations, or by a CEO who regales us with stories of what they did when they were up at bat.

In this book you ride side-saddle with an expert as he investigates ideas to see which will work, and which will fail—but more importantly, why each idea sounded good and how the decisions were made of which ideas could scale. And this isn’t just which ideas made the sales line grow, but instead, Prof List uses his deep knowledge of the financial statements to dig into the true cost of each idea and whether it will add to the bottom line. Too many entrepreneurs—and authors-- are focused only on top line growth.

From this book you will walk away with ideas about how ideas are tested in the most rigorous fashion. At center point are a set of ways you can deceive yourself when looking at and interpreting data. As an added bonus, he includes examples from his work in schools and for the federal government as he develops simple, usable tests of how to judge your ideas.

The book is a unique combination of Prof List’s wide experience and laser focus on predicting what will fly and what won't. The take-aways make for enjoyable reading and a roadmap to some of the most important decisions all of us make about which ideas to push forward.
Richard Startz
5.0 out of 5 stars Very fun read...and incredibly informative.
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2022
First off, the is just a fun read. It's so well-written and makes its points by telling stories. And while you can pick up some economics here, that's just a side effect. There ain't no "widgets," everything is illustrated with real-world experiences (and then sometimes List tells us that there happens to be an economics term for what we've just learned.)

Useful for anyone who wants to run a business or make policy or raise money for the local neighborhood kids baseball team!!!

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