Skill.md
Business Adventures Analysis
John Brooks' Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street examines 12 real business episodes — the 1962 market crash, the Edsel failure, the GE price-fixing scandal, the Texas Gulf Sulphur insider trading case, the rise of Xerox, and more — to reveal the timeless patterns governing corporate behavior, market psychology, and institutional failure. Warren Buffett called it the best business book he ever read.
This skill distills those 12 cases into 6 analytical dimensions you can apply to any current situation.
Six Analytical Dimensions
| Dimension | Core Question | Key Case |
|---|---|---|
| Market Psychology & Panic Patterns | Which phase of the panic arc is this? | 1962 Crash, Sterling Crisis |
| Product Strategy & Market Timing | Preparation ≠ success — where is the real differentiation? | Edsel |
| Corporate Communication Failure | Three layers: directive ignored, incentives misaligned, plausible deniability | GE Price-Fixing |
| Regulatory & Legal Risk | When does "common practice" suddenly become illegal? | Texas Gulf Sulphur |
| Innovation & Disruption Dynamics | Existing markets can't measure demand that doesn't yet exist | Xerox |
| Corporate Governance & Accountability | Governance theater vs. genuine accountability mechanisms | GE, Stockholder Meetings |
Supported Query Types
- "Why did [company/product] fail?"
- "What historical pattern does this match?"
- "Analyze this business case / corporate crisis"
- "Is this a warning sign?"
- "Does this [practice] carry regulatory risk?"
- "What's the historical parallel for this new technology?"
How to Use
- Describe the business situation you're analyzing — company, market event, or corporate decision
- Ask a specific question: failure diagnosis, risk assessment, or historical comparison
- The skill identifies the relevant dimension(s) and maps to the closest historical case
- Follow up to drill deeper, or push back on the framework to test edge cases
Limitations / Disclaimer
This skill is distilled from 1960s American business cases. Historical patterns are instructive but cannot be directly extrapolated to current markets. All analysis is a framework reference, not investment advice or legal opinion.