Along with our office technology business, we’re also involved with an electric vehicle charge point installation business, so you’d expect I’d be mad into cars, wouldn’t you?

To be honest cars are not the main interest, its business, and if cars form part of the business interest it’s a win win for me.

Which is what happened when I picked up a copy of FINS, written by New York Times best-selling author, William Knoedelseder.

It’s the amazing story of Harley Earl whose family started life as horse carriage builders, settling in a dirt street village called Hollywood in 1900.

Harley watched the first car manufacturers appear, and eventually spotted a niche in the market, as the carriage bodies used by the car manufacturers were boxy and unattractive.

Together with his eye for design and experience gained building horse carriages, Hurley started a business designing bespoke car carriages for Hollywood’s rich and famous.

His skills eventually came to the notice of General Motors (GM) who employed Harley as their chief designer, and together they created the most successful company on the planet.

Over a 30-year period Harley was the king of car design, and as well as bringing art and colour, Harley is credited with inventing fins, which in the 40’s and 50’s was huge.

Harley was the top product designer of the times, comparable to likes of Steve Jobs in technology or Donatella Versace in fashion.

It would be amazing to see how Harley would design GM’s electric vehicles today, and whether he’d stick massive fins on them, as he did with Cadillac in the fifties

You don’t need to like cars to enjoy this book. Yes, it’s a story about business, but its also a true story how a car designer was that good, he became a GM Vice President.

‘FINS’ gets a thumbs up and five stars.

Any questions please connect and message me

Remember, you can watch all our business book reviews at https://mytotalofficesolutions.co.uk/business-book-reviews/

…thank you & see you next week.