The Four

The Four

The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google

Summary

‘A fantastic, provocative book about where we are now and where we are going’ Phil Simon Huffington Post

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google are the four most influential companies on the planet. Just about everyone thinks they know how they got there. Just about everyone is wrong.

For all that’s been written about the Four over the last two decades, no one has captured their power and staggering success as insightfully as Scott Galloway.

Instead of buying the myths these companies broadcast, Galloway asks fundamental questions:
- How did the Four infiltrate our lives so completely that they’re almost impossible to avoid (or boycott)?
- Why does the stock market forgive them for sins that would destroy other firms?
- And as they race to become the world’s first trillion-dollar company, can anyone challenge them?

In the same irreverent style that has made him one of the world’s most celebrated business professors, Galloway deconstructs the strategies of the Four that lurk beneath their shiny veneers. He shows how they manipulate the fundamental emotional needs that have driven us since our ancestors lived in caves, at a speed and scope others can’t match. And he reveals how you can apply the lessons of their ascent to your own business or career.

Whether you want to compete with them, do business with them, or simply live in the world they dominate, you need to understand the Four.

Reviews

  • Scott Galloway’s The Four is a bareback ride upon the four horses of the economic apocalypse– Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google. It is a timely exposition of the nature and concentration of power in the world today and, as a result, is much more than just a business book…The book contains more insights and provocative ideas than Amazon has Boeing 767s… My recommendation is to walk down to your local book store and buy this– or more likely, buy it on Amazon.
    Tom Upchurch, Wired

About the author

Scott Galloway

Scott Galloway is Professor of Marketing at NYU's Stern School of Business and a serial entrepreneur. He has founded nine companies, including Prophet, Red Envelope and L2. He is the bestselling author of The Four and The Algebra of Happiness and has served on the boards of directors of The New York Times Company, Urban Outfitters and UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. His Prof G and Pivot podcasts, No Mercy/No Malice blog, and Prof G YouTube channel reach millions. In 2020, Adweek named Pivot Business Podcast of the Year. In 2019, Scott founded Section4, an online education platform for working professionals where he teaches business strategy: section4.com.
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