What I'm reading (11/01/09)
by Drew McLellan
None the less, here's what I've been reading these past few weeks and my take on each.
Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz (buy it here)
If you think you've already read this book -- you haven't. Andy did a revised version in early 2009 and added lots of new case studies, worksheets and even some new chapters. So don't be fooled.
With all the case studies and worksheets -- if you read this book and don't walk away with a huge list of action items...shame on you. This book is built to be more of a workbook than a text book.
It's light on theory, heavy on real life examples and ideas you can implement quickly.
Bottom line: Very practical examples. Lots of idea generators. It's not rocket science...and yet most people stink at it. Read the book so you don't stink too.
The Three Laws of Performance by Steve Zaffron & Dave Logan (buy it here)
The premise of the book is that there are three laws that will
always affect performance…just like the law of gravity will always have
an effect on if you're heading up or down!
The three laws are:
- How people perform correlates to how situations occur to them
- How a situation occurs arises in languages
- Future based language transforms how situations occur to people
Bottom line: Superb case studies and learning. You can't skim this one...it's a bite and chew thoroughly type read.
War in the Boardroom by Al & Laura Ries (buy it here)
Al & Laura Ries are fixtures in the marketing book genre. Their newest book, War in the Boardroom is going to keep them on top of the heap.
This book looks at why left-brain management and right-brained marketing don't see eye to eye and what to do about it. As the book jacket says...management deals in reality, while marketing deals in perception. And so the battle begins.
Packed with dozens of lively, real-world examples clearly demonstrating the difference between management and marketing -- and where both groups have taken their brands for better or worse. And you'll want to read their predictions about some of today's marquee brands such as Google and Amazon.
Bottom line: You'll love the examples, stories and tone of this book. I have to believe you will see both sides of the argument a little differently after reading the Ries' latest hit.
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Hey Drew,
I ordered my copy of Andy Sernovitz's revised edition last week. It's good to see it has plenty of new content. I'll have to check out your two other recommendations.
Posted by: Donald Cunningham | Nov 1, 2009 11:21:17 AM
Donald,
You'll have to let me know what you think. One of the things I love about Andy's writing is how easily it flows. He's got a very conversational style which makes reading his work very easy.
Not to mention his content, of course. But lots of books have good content but make you work for it!
Drew
Posted by: Drew McLellan | Nov 1, 2009 1:24:30 PM
Just got Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy.. and looking forward to diving into it.. especially the worksheets. Better sharpen my pencil!
Carol Marak
Carebuzz
Posted by: Carol Marak - Carebuzz | Nov 1, 2009 8:51:01 PM
BTW, just finished What would Google Do? Another classic! by Jeff Jarvis.
Carol
Posted by: Carol Marak - Carebuzz | Nov 1, 2009 8:52:24 PM
Carol,
I thought Jeff's book was excellent too. It was fun to get a peek into the amazing company.
Drew
Posted by: Drew McLellan | Nov 1, 2009 10:57:45 PM
Nice article its gonna be difficult to find so much time to read all these books.
Posted by: cat | Nov 4, 2009 7:37:27 AM
Well, the most successful companies are able to strike a workable compromise for both departmnts. That's the way I see it.
Posted by: Bookmakers | Dec 11, 2009 5:14:06 PM