Watts shows that obvious arguments—for example, “put the right people in the right places”—are not always correct and that “proof by assertion” is no proof at all. While many of the ideas in Economics of Strategy may seem obvious upon reflection, they are supported by more than just the assertions of the authors or a few casual observational studies. Our ideas were developed from fundamental principles of economic theory and debated by the profession, often for decades. This provides the arguments with an “audit trail” through which it is possible to explore the exact set of assumptions that lead to the conclusions. Moreover, most of the ideas in this book have been subject to rigorous empirical testing that has survived peer review. (Most trade books do not undergo such scrutiny.) Most trade strategy books do not pro