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The General Theory of the Translation Company
You are reading this summary of the book, so we’re assuming you’re looking for answers. Too bad. Instead, we want to ask you some
If you answered yes, no, or maybe to zero or more of the above questions, then this, my friend, is the book for you! The General Theory of the Translation Company condenses decades of combined experience in an easily digestible and entertaining format. Just like this back-of-the-book-summary, it does not provide all the answers. It teaches us how to ask better questions and to have more meaningful conversations about language services.
If you answered yes, no, or maybe to zero or more of the above questions, then this, my friend, is the book for you! The General Theory of the Translation Company condenses decades of combined experience in an easily digestible and entertaining format. Just like this back-of-the-book-summary, it does not provide all the answers. It teaches us how to ask better questions and to have more meaningful conversations about language services.
251 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 23, 2017
27 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 25, 2019
Highly educational, while keeping the topic fun. It’s clear the authors are localization geeks (in the best sense of the word).
Having worked in two different companies (from MMLSP to MLSP) as a quality manager over the last year, “quality doesn’t matter” did hurt my ego. But it makes absolute sense within the whole model (I often feel like an actual drawback to margins asking for additional checks).
In principle, I wanted this book to tell me what are the thoughts of my manager. And my managers manager. And it did! Scratching the surface, but explained so well I think even 12 year olds would understand.
There’s a lot more thoughts I have, so I may edit the review later on with the following topics:
Innovation
Cooperation with competition
Finances and growth
Having worked in two different companies (from MMLSP to MLSP) as a quality manager over the last year, “quality doesn’t matter” did hurt my ego. But it makes absolute sense within the whole model (I often feel like an actual drawback to margins asking for additional checks).
In principle, I wanted this book to tell me what are the thoughts of my manager. And my managers manager. And it did! Scratching the surface, but explained so well I think even 12 year olds would understand.
There’s a lot more thoughts I have, so I may edit the review later on with the following topics:
Innovation
Cooperation with competition
Finances and growth
January 3, 2018
Great high level overview of the language services industry; a multifaceted, layered, complex market explained through an onion model: from core services through assisting activities to uncontrollable but worth monitoring external factors.
A good guide to a mature and yet thriving industry, explained in plain English with a focus on simplifying concepts and processes.
A good guide to a mature and yet thriving industry, explained in plain English with a focus on simplifying concepts and processes.
September 5, 2022
If you want to set up a translation agency, this book won't really help you.
Don't get me wrong, it is very interesting and has a lot of background, history and theory. So it's quite informative and interesting.
However, it doesn't really contain any actionable information, like How to set up a company, how to find clients, how to find good translators, dealing with payments, with competitors (although it has quite a bit of background and theory on this), with setting up bank accounts, or with legalities.
Also, it seems to discuss agencies with in-house translators/employees more than anything. No discussion about freelance professionals, even though I think most LSPs use those these days.
And it seems to focus mostly on larger LSPS (separate vendor managers and project managers, sales team, finance, team, supply chain manager, account manager, etc.)
But actually, this was pretty helpful in its own way. For example, by viewing my LSP as a larger one with separate departments, I can envision what I should concentrate on when wearing different hats (marketing, vendor relationships, finance, etc.)
In fact, I found this book pretty helpful in terms of ideas for focusing on my niche, etc., as well as not using the word "Agency".
Anyway, you can find it for free here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWGIS... so feel free to listen to it there, but I'd say it's not actionable enough to make it worth it.
2.5 stars
Don't get me wrong, it is very interesting and has a lot of background, history and theory. So it's quite informative and interesting.
However, it doesn't really contain any actionable information, like How to set up a company, how to find clients, how to find good translators, dealing with payments, with competitors (although it has quite a bit of background and theory on this), with setting up bank accounts, or with legalities.
Also, it seems to discuss agencies with in-house translators/employees more than anything. No discussion about freelance professionals, even though I think most LSPs use those these days.
And it seems to focus mostly on larger LSPS (separate vendor managers and project managers, sales team, finance, team, supply chain manager, account manager, etc.)
But actually, this was pretty helpful in its own way. For example, by viewing my LSP as a larger one with separate departments, I can envision what I should concentrate on when wearing different hats (marketing, vendor relationships, finance, etc.)
In fact, I found this book pretty helpful in terms of ideas for focusing on my niche, etc., as well as not using the word "Agency".
Anyway, you can find it for free here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWGIS... so feel free to listen to it there, but I'd say it's not actionable enough to make it worth it.
2.5 stars
November 30, 2021
Just by having this book on display at our company’s humble office bookshelf, we increased project management productivity by 10%.
Joke aside, but the sexy hard cover and the screaming yellow colour make it stand out among the rest of the books. And it seems so fitting being a localisation company and having this book around. That’s what a real language services provider would do, right?
The General Theory is easy to read and thus very accessible for new entrants into the industry, with some decent humour throughout too – I admit I had a good chuckle once or twice, and on one occasion produced a solid Instagram story that ended up in at least 2 likes. Hehe.
Two likes on Instagram. Boom.
Being easy to read doesn’t mean that the book is void of substance, however. On the contrary, it is packed with useful information for professionals in any capacity in the industry, and the presented general theory itself makes total sense and is very viable. Some aspects of the book – arguably the most important ones – can be hard to swallow, especially for industry veterans who are used to doing things in a certain way (ahem, “Margin is solely the responsibility of the PM.”).
To be frank, I don’t imagine The General Theory being interesting or relevant to anybody who is not related to the language services industry in any shape or form – i.e. working within the industry, buying language services, or being a stakeholder with in-direct visibility to the processes
For all you localisation industry folk out there, however, it’s a must.
Joke aside, but the sexy hard cover and the screaming yellow colour make it stand out among the rest of the books. And it seems so fitting being a localisation company and having this book around. That’s what a real language services provider would do, right?
The General Theory is easy to read and thus very accessible for new entrants into the industry, with some decent humour throughout too – I admit I had a good chuckle once or twice, and on one occasion produced a solid Instagram story that ended up in at least 2 likes. Hehe.
Two likes on Instagram. Boom.
Being easy to read doesn’t mean that the book is void of substance, however. On the contrary, it is packed with useful information for professionals in any capacity in the industry, and the presented general theory itself makes total sense and is very viable. Some aspects of the book – arguably the most important ones – can be hard to swallow, especially for industry veterans who are used to doing things in a certain way (ahem, “Margin is solely the responsibility of the PM.”).
To be frank, I don’t imagine The General Theory being interesting or relevant to anybody who is not related to the language services industry in any shape or form – i.e. working within the industry, buying language services, or being a stakeholder with in-direct visibility to the processes
For all you localisation industry folk out there, however, it’s a must.
January 20, 2021
Good paradigm shifter ! It introduces the reader into the theory (view) of a translation company from outside and inside too. I am not sure if language and translation professionals of Europe subscribe to the same view or model of the business of language translation.
January 6, 2026
Insightful analysis of the components of a translation company at the microeconomic level, the industry influences at work, and interplay between all these factors, how it all comes together.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews