Filed under: Books in General, From the Editor, General Business, Internet, seth godin | Tags: books, Business, business book, business books, Google, Internet, seth godin
From time to time, I like to take a little poll when I write this blog. Here’s today’s poll question: for Americans at home or abroad, raise your hand if you have already (or plan to) use the Internet to search for recipes for your Thanksgiving Day meal? OK, here’s the second question: for those of you who need a search engine, how many will use Google?
My reasons for asking these questions are simple. I read this blog post from ZDNet today and was entertained by the notion that a media titan has hopes of blocking his company’s content from the all-encompassing reach of Google.
The book to which the blogger refers is one that we’ve covered at Soundview. If you’ve never checked it out before, it’s an excellent exploration of the secrets that caused and continue to extend Google’s impact on the globe. Actually, this post drops a few of Soundview’s favorite names, including Seth Godin, who had a particularly nice quote about what happens when you attempt to charge people for their attention.
However, the company that made “search” one of the most important marketing terms of the past decade, continues to innovate beyond its beginnings. Chris Anderson, author of FREE: The Future of a Radical Price, also an upcoming Soundview Summary, discusses in his book the power of Google’s Web based software as one avenue in which the company continues to grow and influence the online world.
Google’s dominance in the Web landscape is enough to easily land it a seat at the head of the Internet’s Thanksgiving table. Although, I’m sure there are some Web-based companies who continue to wish that the company would pass the potatoes (both big and small).
A final, more personal note, as we prepare to celebrate our day of thanks tomorrow, I want to take a moment to thank the men and women of the Armed Forces who will be apart from their loved ones on this holiday. Let’s save our greatest thanks for them.
Filed under: Accountability, Books in General, From the Editor, General Business, Personal Development, career skills | Tags: books, Business, business books, career skills, Leadership, management, Personal Development
There are times when I sit down to write this blog that I feel like I’m repeating myself. We touch on a number of topics in our little thrice-weekly conversation but often we return to the news of the day as it ties together the economy and the world of business books. The news, largely, hasn’t been good, but out of this cloud has been a shower of great reads.
Historically, the most trying times often produce works of brilliance. In other instances, a book that under normal circumstances would be considered a solid read takes on greater importance in a time of crisis. With articles such as this piece in The Wall Street Journal indicating that we’re far from regaining a firm economic foothold, even executives find themselves with the occasional bout of nerves.
This is one of the reasons we opted to include Scott Eblin’s The Next Level as a bonus summary in our December package. Differentiation and the ability to display confidence in a turbulent time will continue to be assets of ever-increasing value. Eblin’s book refers to the concept of having a Life GPS (Goals Planning System). When the road ahead looks uncertain, it can be a big asset to be able to forge your own path. I found Eblin’s advice to be a good fit for our current economic climate. Companies won’t exactly be dealing out promotions to any manager with a few years of experience. The new path up the ladder will require a bit of ingenuity and Eblin delivers the frank advice to keep executives at any level driving toward the top. If you’re in need of a boost, I’d recommend checking out our summary of his book.
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: Brands, General Business, Success | Tags: books, Business, business book, business books, strategies
In some ways, the book publishing business is like any other industry. There are books that occasionally arrive on the market in a serendipitous junction of the state of the economy and shifting tides in management thought. At other times, the market creates a need and publishers respond as quickly as possible to meet customer demands. We saw this occur over the past 12 to 18 months with an increase in titles relating to surviving an economic downturn and crisis management. (For a great example of one of the strongest of these titles, click here).
This same principle applies to every market. I was clicking through the major business headlines today when I came across an interesting note. I certainly hope your company (or for that matter, your home or school) hasn’t been impacted by the H1N1 flu virus. Between the shortage of vaccine deliveries and the increased media coverage of deaths due to the virus, it seems like everyone is a little more sensitive to the presence of microbial invaders on every square inch of our dwellings and places of employment.
For business leaders, a plan for flu prevention makes good sense. Companies continue to push for an increase in health and wellness among their work forces, but they shouldn’t neglect the need to protect against common illnesses that often keep workers bed-bound for days at a time. This could be as simple as a few extra reminders about the importance of frequent hand washing or as full-scale as setting up a station to administer flu shots on a given day.
While it would be reprehensible to suggest that anyone is actually “happy” about this year’s flu epidemic, one company has benefited to an extent. According to this article from Bloomberg, Clorox’s profits rose 23 percent in the past quarter. Sales of the company’s disinfecting wipes have been on the rise as people everywhere attempt to ward off the flu. As I said … timing is everything. Now if you’ll pardon me, my own desk could use a little cleaning. Can never be too careful!
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, Brands, General Business, Marketing | Tags: books, Business, business book, business books, consumer goods, Marketing
If you check in with us from time to time, you’ve probably noticed that I have a bit of a fascination with business titles that deal with consumerism. Part of the interest is rooted in the frequent observation that Americans today have more material wealth and technological convenience than any previous generation, yet they continue to be less and less happy. On another level, I always enjoy the consumer titles because I’m fascinated by branding and the unique combination of factors that can propel one product to the top while a similar one collects dust on store shelves.
In that vein, I was delighted to read this review of a new book by Kevin Maney, a writer for USA Today. Maney’s book Trade-Off examines the gap that exists in the modern world of retail. Customers are drawn more and more to two distinct sets of products. They prefer either inexpensive goods that offer convenience but not quality, or they splash their cash on high-end items that carry a certain clout or trendiness. Products that fall in between these two categories, Maney argues, are likely to be ignored by the majority of the buying public.
Maney is not the first author to tackle the widening gap in consumer goods. Michael Silverstein examined this topic in his book Treasure Hunt, a title we summarized. What’s interesting about both books is the notion that consumers of all income levels cherry-pick from both groups of products. Maney’s book seems to suggest that quality suffers in the pursuit of the lowest price. However, he also remarks that most consumers are comfortable with this idea. I suppose that more and more consumers are willing to live with the adage “You get what you pay for.” Something to think about the next time the person in front of you at Wal-Mart pulls an iPhone out of an expensive handbag before paying for discounted household items.
Filed under: Books in General, From the Editor, General Business, Transparency, ethics | Tags: Business, books, business books, business book, ethics, Jim Champy, Cause Marketing, 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, 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.
