Filed under: Books in General, From the Editor, General Business, Hands-On Management, Leadership, Strategic Management | Tags: books, Business, business books, Hands-On Management, Leadership, management, Strategic Management
Whether your candidate won or lost yesterday, I think there’s one thing on which we can all agree: it’s nice to know that the political attack ads are over for a little while. I was getting a little tired of hearing two people give me reason after reason why their respective opponent is quite possibly the cause of every major disaster, both man-made and natural.
However, there may have been a few of you out there who got a little extra enjoyment yesterday from pulling a lever, checking a check-box or pushing a button (for as many candidates as there are, there’s also as many ways to vote for them). With that in mind, I’d like to run a little poll of my own. Our November summaries have been with our subscribers for a little while now, and I hope that all non-subscribers at least gave them a look and considered joining us. What I’d like to know is which of the three titles we featured is the one you deem most beneficial to you and your business?
Was it How Did That Happen? Roger Connors and Tom Smith’s look at creating a workable accountability system? Was it Emmanuel Gobillot’s Leadershift, a new look at the changing methods of leadership? Or was it Keith Ferrazzi’s Who’s Got Your Back? an in-depth look at building three key lifeline relationships?
Reply to this post and let me know which was your favorite and why. One thing is for certain, this is one race that I’m glad is too close to call.
Filed under: Books in General, From the Editor, General Business | Tags: books, Business, business book, business books
I ran across two separate articles today discussing the “price wars” over best-selling books. Major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Target are in fierce competition to snap up the considerably fewer dollars that shoppers will spend on books in the upcoming holiday season. Here’s one article from The Washington Times discussing the fight by the American Booksellers Association to get the federal government to investigate the deep price cuts that the major retailers are undertaking.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal offers an article that explains the tightly regulated publishing market in Europe. It’s an interesting read when you consider that prices for nearly all new releases are set in advance and discounts are verboten (I couldn’t resist, since Germany is heavily featured in the article).
One point brought up in the Journal article that I wanted to bring to your attention is the lawsuit that occurred in French courts against the French branch of Amazon.com. The suit in question concerned the famous “free shipping” offered by the online retailer on purchases of a certain amount or more. This lawsuit was also referenced in one of the key business books of 2009, FREE: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson. I’ll have a little more to say about Anderson and this book in the coming weeks, but the fact that both he and the Journal discuss the French Amazon case gives indication about the ongoing fight over pricing in today’s economy.
The entire price war debate reminds us once more of the desperation occurring in retail. I suppose if I can take anything positive away from the situation, it’s that there is still a great demand for books of all genre.
Filed under: Books in General, From the Editor, General Business, Transparency, ethics | Tags: books, Business, business book, business books, Cause Marketing, ethics, Jim Champy, Transparency
Let’s make a few things clear before we go any further with today’s post.
According to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, breast cancer accounts for one out of every three cancer diagnoses for women in the United States. This means nearly 200,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. It is the most common type of cancer among women and is a cancer that is second only to lung cancer in the number of women whose lives it claims each year. October, as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, helps to continue to raise awareness of this terrible disease that can strike any woman during the course of her life.
With that in mind, I was somewhat startled when I read this piece from the Boston Globe. If you read this piece, I beg you to please read the entire Boston Globe article, as it is essential that you get the full story before making assessments. The article discusses a very sensitive issue that will hit home with virtually anyone. However, it also brings up a number of interesting points about the link between consumer goods, charitable causes and the buying public. I’m sure I’m not alone in volunteering that I’ve often bought products emblazoned with the pink ribbon under the notion that a portion of my money would help one of any number of breast cancer charities. These are organizations that are desperately in need of financial support and if our purchases further their life-saving efforts, all the better for it. But as you’ll learn when you read the Globe’s story, the route from our pockets to the charity’s coffers has a variety of twists and turns and, in a few unfortunate cases, it terminates before the money arrives where we intend.
I could go on for pages about the difficulties involved in engaging in what the Globe piece refers to as “Cause Marketing.” The Globe article discusses the psychological impact of this marketing practice. It certainly led me to question myself. Are we so inundated with “pink” (particularly during October) that we begin to glaze over, losing sight of the vital importance of the cause? Have I ever offended someone suffering with breast cancer by sporting a pink ribbon? Does buying “pink” branded products make me feel like I’ve “done my part” and does it make me less likely to independently contribute to a breast cancer foundation?
Putting the individual aside for a moment, there is a crucial message here for businesses, as well. Business leaders should understand the overwhelming need for transparency when aligning their organizations with a charitable cause, particularly one like breast cancer that affects millions of people. James Champy, author of Inspire: Why Customers Come Back, has an excellent perspective on the need for openness on the part of the seller. When a colleague of mine interviewed Champy recently on the subject of marketing with a higher purpose, Champy gave a forthright answer about the need for authenticity.
“You have to be so pure that you’ve got to be willing to put everything you do out there so customers and the public can see what you do,” Champy said. He also noted that if a company violates the public trust, it will be forced to deal with the consequences, something that in today’s online world can potentially destroy a company.
If I’ve learned anything from both Champy’s insight and the Globe article, it’s that I absolutely WILL continue to purchase products that contribute to the search for a breast cancer cure. In addition, I may also cut out the middleman and send an additional donation directly to a worthy foundation.
Filed under: Books in General, From the Editor, Marketing, Uncategorized | Tags: books, Business, business book, business books, Marketing, Publishing
The skill and labor involved in creating a business book is something which not everyone is able to comprehend. Maybe it’s just my personal (and professional) pride, but as far back as my college years, I used to bristle at the suggestion that because people are able to type, they are able to write. The process of researching and writing about a particular topic requires dedication and a copious amount of patience to ensure that the message is clear and accurate.
Not taking the proper amount of care can sometimes result in swift and direct criticism. For an example, take a look at this article from Business Week magazine. The writer of this piece makes some strong allegations against Michael J. Silverstein and his co-author Kate Sayre. While Silverstein and Sayre’s book isn’t creating furor on-par with author James Frey and his much disputed memoir A Million Little Pieces, the veracity of Women Want More is being questioned.
In our ever-vigilant need for full disclosure, I can tell you that we previously summarized one of Silverstein’s books. We chose Treasure Hunt as a January 2007 summary because of its strong study of the changing consumer market. While we never found any of his arguments to be lacking in factual accuracy, the issues raised by Business Week are troubling.
I will be interested to see if this current controversy brings any additional attention to Silverstein and Sayre’s book. I will, of course, keep you posted should anything arise. In the meantime, check out Treasure Hunt. It’s a great read for marketers as they deal with the crunch of the fourth quarter.
Filed under: Books in General, From the Editor, General Business | Tags: books, Business, business book, business books, Collection
Say what you’d like about the continuing decline of the printed word, but The New York Times, particularly its Sunday magazine, is still delivering the goods. I have to offer full congratulations to Sara Corbett for writing one of the most captivating articles I’ve read in months. She tells the story of the upcoming publication of a long-hidden manuscript from psychology pioneer Carl Jung. As Corbett notes in her opening paragraphs, the story behind Jung’s long-sought book reads like the script for an adventure film. The fact that Jung’s work is in the process of being published is a delight to the scores of devotees who practice Jungian psychology, or at the very least, are interested in the depths of human consciousness.
This led me to speculate about the possibility of unpublished books in general and business books in particular. Suppose Dale Carnegie (who is profiled in this summary) wrote a sequel to How to Win Friends and Influence People? What if in some crate in a government warehouse, tucked comfortably next to the Ark of the Covenant, there were manuscripts for additional titles by Peter Drucker or Warren Buffett?
It seems odd to consider such a prospect, but there is no limit to what scholars are able to mine from the legacy of the greats in each industry. In many cases, as in the case of Jung, the decision to make available previously unreleased material falls to the estate. Corbett’s story profiles the difficulty researchers have had in attempting to persuade Jung’s descendants to allow his secret “Red Book” to see the light of day. We’re fortunate that in the world of business books, authors generally do everything possible to allow their message to reach eager eyes and ears.
However, I can’t prevent myself from wondering … what if? In the meantime, do yourself a favor a check out Corbett’s piece. It makes for a great read while we’re waiting for the hidden tomes from business greats to be unearthed.
Filed under: Books in General, Collection, Environment, From the Editor, Green, Sustainability, The Business of Green | Tags: Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Alguita, business books, Collection, Environment, Green, Saving the World at Work, Sustainability, The Business of Green, The Necessary Revolution
On Monday (Sept. 7) the oceanographic research vessel Alguita embarked on a 10th anniversary voyage to retrace its first trip to study plastic pollution in the Pacific Ocean. Specifically the course heads for “the great Pacific garbage patch” described in my Ocean Conservancy calendar as “A giant floating ‘continent’ of garbage, twice the size of Texas.”
Apparently it was during Captain Charles Moore’s Pacific Ocean crossing after the Transpacific Yacht Race in 1997 when he was heading back to California from Hawaii that he had the disturbing intersection with what ABC News subsequently described as 3.5 million tons of trash that is 80 percent plastic.
Captain Moore founded the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, which owns the ORV Alguita, and has ever since surrendered his time and resources to examining the impact of this massive floating swill, increasing awareness about it, and figuring out how to get rid of it. A July 2008 Discover magazine article described how in this particular area of the Pacific there is a series of currents several thousand miles wide that swirl together ensnaring trash and debris from North America, Asia and the Hawaiian Islands. The tricky part, as far as funding research and assigning cleanup dollars, is that the open ocean waters of the world are a difficult place to justify government spending.
I confess I had never heard about this huge floating garbage patch before. It makes me realize that we should be continuously promoting and adding to our Soundview Business of Green collection to give people access to information about sustainability and responsible business practices. Two other important books that we have summarized, Saving the World at Work and The Necessary Revolution shout out the importance of being environmentally responsible at work and home.
With fresh summer memories typically embracing a waterview that we choose to savor until next year, this topic captures another picture we shouldn’t quickly forget.
Filed under: Books in General, Conference/Event, From the Editor, Leadership | Tags: Business, business book, business books, Leadership, Soundview Live, Steve Forbes
We at Soundview have covered a lot of business books featuring metaphors about elephants and penguins and zebras – but none about chickens. I suppose the reason there aren’t many leadership books built around a chicken metaphor is because a) chickens don’t exude a lot of brute strength or courage and b) we (many of us) eat them. However, I was thinking about leadership and contemplating “pecking order” and that led me to research the elementary form of top down leadership evident in chicken yards.
Pecking order is, in the poultry world, a well-defined hierarchical pattern of behavior, according to an article about “Dealing With Aggressive Poultry” that I found on the Broad Leys Publishing site.
There’s a “top bird” typically a male, but sometimes an “old hen,” whom the others generally stay clear of especially making way for him or her to get to the feed. None of the other birds like to challenge this top bird. The pecking order continues down to the weakest, which has to dodge the attacks of the more powerful birds. And if a bird is wounded – well, according to the article, this excites the other birds into a pecking frenzy and it can lead to cannibalism.
Environment plays a role in chicken behavior, the article states. Flock density is an issue – you have to have room for the chickens to move around – you have to give them some space to get away from other birds that are bothering them. The more birds there are in a given area, the more likely they are to peck each other.
And when new birds are put into an existing flock, that can create problems because it disrupts the pecking order, so there are ways to get them familiar with each other before dropping a stranger into a herd of wary birds.
We can find leadership templates in the most unusual places if we look hard enough. Fortunately, there are some great business book authors who do the searching for us and bring the lessons and strategies of demonstrated leaders to our attention. We’ve recently completed a featured review of Power, Ambition, Glory by Steve Forbes and John Prevas. They have drawn some unique parallels between Ancient World leaders and some of today’s leaders.
Steve Forbes will discuss this comparison of leaders in the upcoming SOUNDVIEW LIVE 3:00 p.m. EST, September 22nd. The event is a 60-minute interactive conversation during which attendees are encouraged to submit questions. Note: Attendance is limited to the first 1000 registrants.
