getAbstract Book Rating
Every year, more than 10,000 business books appear on the shelves. How does getAbstract select the best ones? Three criteria come into play: applicability, innovation and style. However, for certain books, such as biographies, getAbstract rates their importance instead of applicability. On top of these three ratings, we provide an overall score for each title.
A. Applicability
Key Question: How easily can you apply the ideas and concepts presented in the book to your daily business operations?
Criteria:
- Specific tools and methods for your daily use.
- The relevance and immediate utility of these tools and methods.
- Real-life case studies, examples and stories, showing the book’s concepts in action.
- Practical tools such as check lists, Web links, further reading, address lists, etc.
- Reader-friendly hands-on content.
Rating:
- Rating 1 - 3
- No or few applicable ideas and concepts, very theoretical with almost no connection to day-to-day business life.
- Rating 4 - 5
- Limited applicability and limited connection between theoretical insights and practical relevance.
- Rating 6 - 7
- Average applicability, some examples and check lists, but dominated by theoretical propositions.
- Rating 8
- Applicable content dominates with many checklists, tools and/or case studies.
- Rating 9
- Highly relevant and applicable. Very hands-on. Theoretical expositions only as necessary. Many practical examples and tools.
- Rating 10
- Excellent applicability, highly relevant examples and case studies. The structure of the text highlights the tools and facilitates quick implementation of the key concepts and ideas.
Note: For certain books, such as economic or conceptual titles, we use importance instead of applicability. In this case, we judge how relevant the book is for business readers: Is it essential reading for professionals or simply a "nice to have"?
B. Degree of Innovation
Key Question: Are these ideas new or does the book offer new perspectives on existing ideas?
Criteria:
- Originality of the ideas, concepts, methods, techniques and recommendations.
- Degree of innovation and development of existing ideas and concepts.
- Freshness of perspective and emphasis.
- Potential for practical utilization or development of the innovative ideas.
Rating:
- Rating 1 - 3
- Presentation of well-known, traditional management and business knowledge.
- Rating 4 - 5
- Few changes in existing business concepts and knowledge.
- Rating 6 - 7
- Some innovative approaches and perspectives. However, prior published knowledge dominates.
- Rating 8
- New methods, strategies, concepts or perspectives dominate.
- Rating 9
- A high degree of innovation and freshness of ideas for the relevant group of readers.
- Rating 10
- Spectacular new insights, perspectives and/or exclusive business innovations. The ideas have a high potential for use and development.
Note: The innovation rating is based on how innovative the book was at the time of its initial publication.
C. Style
Key Question: How readable is the book?
Criteria:
- Clarity of the writing.
- Conciseness, comprehensibility, readability.
- Appropriate use of technical terms.
- Logical composition of the text.
- Presentation of insightful graphical elements.
- Professional standards of grammar, design and form.
- Brevity.
- Glossary, table of contents, index.
Rating:
- Rating 1 - 3
- Very dry and academic style. Long, complex sentences, pervasive use of jargon or empty buzz words. Unfriendly visual presentation. No logical structure.
- Rating 4 - 5
- Predominantly dry style. A lot of jargon. An academic tone dominates. Few graphic elements. The text is not well-structured.
- Rating 6 - 7
- Clear writing, good structure, accessible tone.
- Rating 8
- Transparent and concise presentation. Clear writing. Helpful glossary and/or illustrations.
- Rating 9
- Very clear and knowledgeable writing. Appropriate amount of insider terminology. Well structured and logically consistent.
- Rating 10
- Exceptionally clear writing, rich in imagery. Vivid descriptions. To the point. Logically consistent. Completely avoids jargon and buzz. Exemplary illustrations. Logical composition makes it easy to absorb the content step by step.
D. Overall rating
This rating evaluates the book as a whole. It is based on the applicability, innovation and style scores, however our editors determine the final mark. getAbstract's rigorous selection and evaluation process means that we summarize only the top 5% of business books. So, just being included in the getAbstract library means the book belongs to the cream of the crop.
Rating:
- 1
- Unreadable
- 2
- Very Bad
- 3
- Poor
- 4
- Fair
- 5
- Solid
- 6
- Good
- 7
- Very Good
- 8
- Superior
- 9
- Excellent
- 10
- Exceptional
