Thirteen years ago he penned a book, still in print, called Value-Focused Thinking: A Path to Creative Decision-Making, which says that most corporate executives put the cart before the horse.

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The much-heralded project called Google Print would provide free online copies of out-of-copyright books and newer books still protected by copyrights, making them searchable with snippets of text available online.

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When Rupert Murdoch dished the grasping print unions in the same year, Lord Black was able to follow in his slipstream, turning the loss-making Telegraph into a piggy bank both for his other businesses and for himself.

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