BOOKWORM.PH

Over the years, A WHACK ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD has been praised by business people, educators, scientists, homemakers, artists, youth leaders, and many more. The book has been stimulating creativity in millions of readers, translated into eleven languages, and used in seminars around the world.

About the Author
Roger von Oech is the president of Creative Think, a California-based consulting firm that has conducted creativity seminars with such companies as American Express, Apple Computer, AT&T, CBS, IBM, NBC, and NASA. He earned his doctorate from Stanford University in a self-conceived program in the history of ideas.

From Publishers Weekly
With visionary flare, Pink argues that business and everyday life will soon be dominated by right-brain thinkers. He identifies the roots and implications of transitioning from a society dominated by left-brain thinkers into something entirely different—although at times, he seems to be exhorting rather than observing the trend. As a narrator, Pink delivers in a well executed manner, with occasional hints of enthusiasm. He maintains a steady voice that is well suited for a business-oriented text, and his crisp pronunciation and consistent pace keeps listeners engaged and at ease. Updated with new material. A Riverhead paperback (reviewed online). (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From Booklist
"Abundance, Asia, and automation." Try saying that phrase five times quickly, because if you don't take these words into serious consideration, there is a good chance that sooner or later your career will suffer because of one of those forces. Pink, best-selling author of Free Agent Nation (2001) and also former chief speechwriter for former vice-president Al Gore, has crafted a profound read packed with an abundance of references to books, seminars, Web sites, and such to guide your adjustment to expanding your right brain if you plan to survive and prosper in the Western world. According to Pink, the keys to success are in developing and cultivating six senses: design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning. Pink compares this upcoming "Conceptual Age" to past periods of intense change, such as the Industrial Revolution and the Renaissance, as a way of emphasizing its importance. Ed Dwyer

From Publishers Weekly
Advertising's fundamental theorem-that perception trumps reality-informs this dubious marketing primer. Journalist and marketing guru Godin, author of Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, contends that, in an age when consumers are motivated by irrational wants instead of objective needs and "there is almost no connection between what is actually there and what we believe," presenting stolid factual information about a product is a losing strategy. Instead, marketers should tell "great stories" about their products that pander to consumers' self-regard and worldview. Examples include expensive wine glasses that purport to improve the taste of wine, despite scientific proof to the contrary; Baby Einstein videotapes that are "useless for babies but...satisfy a real desire for their parents"; and organic marketing schemes, which amount to "telling ourselves a complex lie about food, the environment and the safety of our families." Because consumers prefer fantasy to the truth, the marketer's duty is to be "authentic" rather than honest, to "live the lie, fully and completely" so that "all the details line up"-that is, to make their falsehoods convincing rather than transparent. Troubled by the cynicism of his own argument, Godin draws a line at deceptions that actually kill people, like marketing infant formula in the Third World, and elaborates a murky distinction between "fibs" that "make the thing itself more effective or enjoyable" and "frauds" that are "solely for the selfish benefit of the marketer." To illustrate his preferred approach to marketing, the author relates a grab bag of case studies, heavy on emotionally compelling pitches and seamless subliminal impressions. Readers will likely find the book's practical advice as rudderless as its ethical principles.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description
Every marketer tells a story. And if they do it right, we believe them. We believe that wine tastes better in a $20 glass than a $1 glass. We believe that an $80,000 Porsche Cayenne is vastly superior to a $36,000 VW Touareg, which is virtually the same car. We believe that $225 Pumas will make our feet feel better-and look cooler-than $20 no-names . . . and believing it makes it true.

Successful marketers don't talk about features or even benefits. Instead, they tell a story. A story we want to believe.

This is a book about doing what consumers demand-painting vivid pictures that they choose to believe. Every organization-from nonprofits to car companies, from political campaigns to wineglass blowers-must understand that the rules have changed (again). In an economy where the richest have an infinite number of choices (and no time to make them), every organization is a marketer and all marketing is about telling stories.

Marketers succeed when they tell us a story that fits our worldview, a story that we intuitively embrace and then share with our friends. Think of the Dyson vacuum cleaner or the iPod.

But beware: If your stories are inauthentic, you cross the line from fib to fraud. Marketers fail when they are selfish and scurrilous, when they abuse the tools of their trade and make the world worse. That's a lesson learned the hard way by telemarketers and Marlboro.

This is a powerful book for anyone who wants to create things people truly want as opposed to commodities that people merely need.

Product Description

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when large companies and powerful governments reigned supreme over the little guy. But new technologies are empowering individuals like never before, and the Davids of the world-the amateur journalists, musicians, and small businessmen and women-are suddenly making a huge economic and social impact.

In Army of Davids, author Glenn Reynolds, the man behind the immensely popular Instapundit.com, provides an in-depth, big-picture point-of-view for a world where the small guys matter more and more. Reynolds explores the birth and growth of the individual's surprisingly strong influence in: arts and entertainment, anti-terrorism, nanotech and space research, and much more.

The balance of power between the individual and the organization is finally evening out. And it's high time the Goliaths of the world pay attention, because, as this book proves, an army of Davids is on the rise.

"George Orwell feared that technology would enable dictators to enslave the masses. Glenn Reynolds shows that technology can empower individuals to determine their own futures and to defeat those who would enslave us. This is a book of profound importance-and also a darn good read."
-MICHAEL BARONE, senior writer at U.S. News & World Report and author of Hard America, Soft America

"Blogger extraordinaire Glenn Reynolds shows how average Americans can use new technologies to overcome the twin demons of corporate greed and incompetent government. Reynolds is a compelling evangelist for the power of the individual to change our world."
-ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, author of Pigs at the Trough and Fanatics and Fools

"A smart, fun tour of a major social and economic trend. From home-brewed beer to blogging, Glenn Reynolds is an engaging, uniquely qualified guide to the do-it-yourself movements transforming business, politics, and media."
-VIRGINIA POSTREL, Forbes columnist and author of The Future and its Enemies and The Substance of Style

"A student in her dorm room now commands the resources of a multi-million dollar music recording or movie editing studio of not so many years ago. The tools of creativity have been democratized and the tools of production are not far behind (Karl Marx take note). Glenn Reynolds's beguiling new book tells the insightful story of how an 'army of Davids' is inheriting the Earth, leaving a trail of obsolete business models not to mention cultural, economic, and political institutions in its wake."
-RAY KURZWEIL, scientist, inventor, and author of several books including The Singularity is Near

'Must-read,' 'gotta have,' 'culture-changing' . . . I am suspicious of blurbs with such overused plugs. But Glenn Reynolds's An Army of Davids is in fact a must-read new book that you gotta have if you are going to understand the culture-changing forces that are unleashed and at work across the globe.
-HUGH HEWITT, syndicated talk radio host and author of Blog and Painting the Map Red

"Glenn Reynolds has written an essential book for understanding how technology and markets are creating a bottom-up shift in power to ordinary people that is changing business, government, and our world. Packed with fresh ideas and adorned with graceful prose, An Army of Davids is a masterpiece."
-JOE TRIPPI, author of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

"I cannot think of a better book for the average reader to understand just how the Web and other digital technologies are reversing the polarities of modern society-restoring many features of daily life lost with the Industrial Revolution, while at the same time inventing powerful new cultural institutions. And for those of us who make careers out of watching this transformation, no book to date so well summarizes all of the diverse trends in a single narrative."
-MICHAEL MALONE, "Silicon Insider," ABC News

"Reynolds' highly informative book-a must-read if you want to have some idea of the direction things are taking-is about a lot more than the effect of blogging on Big Media. Its theme is 'the triumph of personal technology over mass technology,' which is a trend Reynolds believes is only 'going to strengthen over the coming decades.'"
- FRANK WILSON, Philadelphia Inquirer

"Instapundit's book reads fast. . . It's just one big idea after another, like a Hollywood thriller that piles on the plot rather than stopping to tie up the loose ends. . . He's fearless. . ."
-MICKEY KAUS, Kausfiles

"The book covers everything from home-brewing beer to space travel, but all the themes are connected by Glenn's faith in human imagination and creativity. It's a must-read for anyone interested in where technology is taking us."
-JIM MEIGS, Popular Mechanics

"Reynolds comes across as a good-humored, reasonable and even modest fellow, so it is astonishing to realize just how ambitious An Army of Davids really is. A hundred years ago, nobody could accurately explain or predict just where the Industrial Revolution would take us. Now, Reynolds attempts nothing short of explaining and predicting where the Information Revolution will take us. . . I will make a prediction-in December, when lists of the most important books of the year are drawn up, this one will be near the top."
- JAMES L. MERRINER, Chicago Sun-Times

"Reynolds argues that we are undergoing a sea change. The balance of advantage-in every aspect of society-is shifting from big organizations to small ones. . . Reynolds presents his case with verve and wit."
-ADRIAN WOOLDRIDGE, Wall Street Journal

". . . crisp and readable. . . "
-The Economist

"Glenn Reynolds isn't just the author of An Army of Davids. He's a living, breathing embodiment of the book's attractive and persuasive thesis. . ."
-NICK GILLESPIE, New York Post

n this sequel ot Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive , Mackay, a Minneapolis envelope-maker, issues a flood of no-nonsense business advice in the form of original aphorisms and short, germane examples, all delivered with high spirits and ever-bubbling humor. "The sale begins when the customer says yes," he declares. "ASTONISH them . . . get it there before you said you would . . . " Mackay offers detailed programs to motivate customers and employees, and tells success stories of consumer needs perceived and fulfilled--pantyhose shops, walk-in medical clinics. He also stresses the importance of entrepreneurial courage, such as his own insistence on lengthy titles for his books. First serial to Success magazine; BOMC and Fortune Book Club alternates.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Like Mackay's previous best seller, How To Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive ( LJ 4/15/88), this work is filled with anecdotes and typical Mackay tips. Beginning with how to get a job, he uses hints and stories to show how to get ahead in the business world. The work is composed of 85 lessons broken into seven groupings, with each lesson usually only a couple of pages in length. Each grouping relates to specific aspects of a business career, e.g. "Harvey Mackay's Short Course on Getting Started" or "Working Your Way Up" or "Running the Show." In addition there are 35 "Quickies," usually a page or less in length, that explicate a point, e.g. "Find One Good Idea, and You Can Use It Forever." Sure to be a best seller. Recommended for all business collections that include popular works. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/89.
- -- Michael D. Kathman, St. John's Univ., Collegeville, Minn.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc

Despite impressive triumphs over the years, leading companies like General Motors, Xerox, and Levi Strauss have also stumbled badly at times. In Big Brands, Big Trouble, Jack Trout points out their biggest missteps as well as the critical lessons that can be learned from them. In his typically no-nonsense manner, Trout--a "positioning" expert who has written numerous bestselling books on the topic and served as a consultant to several of these firms--lays out the myriad errors that caused them and other giants to lose ground in the fight for success. Helpful specifics abound, such as in the chapter on Crest, in which Trout notes how the toothpaste's one-time dominance slipped away when consumer concern over cavities gave way to worries about discoloration, bad breath, and gum disease (which other brands more effectively set themselves up to attack). The lessons Trout takes from this are threefold: even winning positions must occasionally evolve; knowledge of how leadership was initially attained must always be maintained; and competitors must never be given an angle to exploit. Likewise, the section on Burger King discusses how turnover at the top, inconsistent advertising messages, and a loss of focus on how to assault the industry leader resulted in a stagnation that has perpetually mired the chain as a fast-food also-ran. "It's a fact of life that the easiest idea to overlook is the obvious one," Trout notes in this chapter. Since most ideas are apparent only in retrospect, however, his insights should prove invaluable to readers who might easily make similar mistakes. --Howard Rothman --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Trout (Differentiate or Die) does the obvious in his latest book, rehashing the demise of well-known failures such as Xerox and Miller Brewing, and his redundant preaching of unoriginal strategies may irritate. But readers will find salvation in his straightforward, engaging prose and the constant hammering home of lessons (GM failed because it lost touch with the market, and AT&T tanked when it lost its focus). The book's first part is an excellent reminder of what managers should and should not do with a brand, making this a primer for the uninitiated.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
Effective branding depends on the ability to leave a lasting (and positive) impression in the mind of the target audience. Brain Tattoos offers a practical approach -- no complicated theories, marketing jargon, or unnecessary babble -- that lets any business take its brand to the next level. Packed with tools that help readers identify their brand's purpose, personality, promise, and point of difference, Brain Tattoos will help readers:* Develop the courage to break the mold and become truly distinct* Discover ways to enlist customers and others as "brand ambassadors"* Grasp their brand's essence* Master brand building on any scale in any industry* Learn how to identify and use the most effective methods of brand communication* Learn how to leverage limited resources creativelyFilled with creative ways to maximize market impact, Brain Tattoos is a true "how-to" book written with in-the-trenches business and marketing people in mind.

From the Inside Flap
Your brand will be so strong, customers won’t be able to get it out of their heads!

A solid brand leaves a positive impression in the customer’s mind, but the impression made by an exceptional brand is virtually indelible. With Brain Tattoos, you will learn exactly how to make your brand truly distinct—and unforgettable. Karen Post isn’t going to waste your time with complicated theories or unnecessary marketing jargon. She is going to show you how to maximize your brand’s impact, with proven ideas and the practical tools she has used to help her best clients dominate their markets!

"Hands-on marketing help from a guru who lives what she preaches!" —Seth Godin, author, Free Prize Inside

"This book is brands-on action. Karen Post will show you a new way…to make your phone ring with qualified prospects, convert them to sales, and add value to your operation." —Jeffrey Gitomer, author, The Sales Bible

"Karen Post knows branding. From her own business identity -- the Branding Diva -- to her work with companies such as American Express, Bank of America, and Pepsi, Post's insights and experiences are fun and productive, and eminently applicable. The book's questionnaires, tattoo tests, and tool kits are useful tools to help business leaders and innovators rethink their personal and organizational brands and practices. Whether you're an internal Brand Ambassador or an external Brand Warrior, Brain Tattoos will help you improve and increase the impact of the mental imprints made by your business and your work." —Heath Row, Editorial and Community Director, FastCompany.com

Karen Post, The Branding Diva™, is a consultant on branding issues. For more than 20 years, she has provided strategic branding counsel and programs for organizations, associations, and individuals. Monthly, she writes a monthly column for Fastcompany.com, and produces BrandBites, a monthly fast brain-food fix on branding matters. She lives in Tampa, Florida.

Review
"..interactive marketing experiences that you get the feeling that the opportunities are limitless." -- PCB007 (Printed Circuit Board's e-newsletter)

"Branding Unbound offers a stimulating read into what can be achieved through mobile or wireless marketing." -- Poolonline.com

"Mathieson has done an excellent job of explaining the broad wireless arena that impacts every segment of business and industry. -- Public Relations Quarterly

"This fascinating book is a rollercoaster ride into the powerful imaginations of wireless marketers." -- Associations Now

Branding Unbound offers a stimulating read into what can be achieved through mobile or wireless marketing. -- Poolonline.com

If you get some or none of the wireless revolution,you should probably come out of the cave&read this book. -- BrandChannel.com

It makes for a handy guide that lets marketers know where they stand in the ever shifting media landscape." -- HBS Working Knowledge

Mathieson tackles the dilemma of presenting wireless marketing strategy to a general corporate audience&does an admirable job…With patience and clarity. -- GenerationTarget.com

Read this book [...] visualize how your information strategies may need to change in the future -- ONLINE

From Publishers Weekly
According to marketing consultant Graham, the most successful individuals are those who understand how to muster their character, personal beliefs and unique abilities to add value to their jobs, their relationships and their communities. By doing so, they create and build upon a distinct and recognizable "Life Brand," similar to the way Coca-Cola, Oprah Winfrey, Microsoft and Martha Stewart evoke clear, consistent images that underscore the value they add to their target audience's lives. Graham acknowledges that brand success is not necessarily measured in dollars, citing Nelson Mandela, for example, as a man whose name holds universal meaning for people worldwide. Like other motivators, he prizes the power of having goals, focus and passion, but his reasoning is tepid in this book that mostly rehashes his popular You Can Make It Happen. With advice limited to determining one's skills, talents and knowledge; bland reminders to follow through on promises and project a positive attitude; and suggestions for increasing one's visibility (e.g., start a nonprofit organization, create a Web site), Graham fails to provide detailed practical instruction to a readership looking for direction. All in all, this work is hollow and appears hastily put together. (May)Forecast: In contrast to Robin Fisher Roffer's Make a Name for Yourself (Forecasts, Nov. 20, 2000), which provides motivation and concrete instruction for a slightly more sophisticated audience, this book's strongest asset is Graham's well-known association with Oprah Winfrey, who is mentioned repeatedly in the book.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Even though Graham runs his own management and marketing consulting firm and founded Athletes Against Drugs, he is best known--rightly or wrongly--as Oprah Winfrey's boyfriend. Furthermore, Graham is a coauthor of The Ultimate Guide to Sport Event Management and Marketing (1995) and has taught sports marketing at Northwestern University's business school. He also co-taught "Dynamics in Leadership" there with Oprah during her much publicized foray into academia. Other books by Graham are the motivational You Can Make It Happen: A Nine-Step Plan for Success (1997) and a heartfelt spin-off called Teens Can Make It Happen: Nine Steps to Success (2000). Graham suggests that this new book complements and expands the ideas he presented in those two earlier titles. He acknowledges that personal branding is no longer a novel tactic, but he applies his own unique perspective. He discusses the concept of branding, explains how it can be applied to one's life, and offers up plenty of examples. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
Cool isn't just a state of mind, a celebrity fad, or an American obsession -- it's a business. In boardrooms across America, product managers are examining vodka bottles and candy bars, tissue boxes and hamburgers, wondering how do we make this thing cool? How do we make this gadget into the iPod of our industry? How do we do what Nike did? How do we get what Target got? How do we infuse this product with that very desirable, nearly unattainable it factor?

In this wide-ranging exploration the authors Noah Kerner, a celebrated marketing maverick, and Gene Pressman, legendary creative visionary and former co-CEO of Barneys New York, have uncovered surprising and universal patterns and trends. They systematically parse the successes and failures of the last few decades -- in music and fashion, magazines and food, spirits and hip-hop culture. Their discoveries are pulled together in this definitive book on the commerce of cool.

Nike and Target endure as relevant brands not because of a shortsighted and gimmicky campaign. A dash of bling and a viral website don't amass long-term value. Brands are effectively developed when companies take substantial risk -- and face the possibility of real failure -- in order to open up the opportunity for real success.

Chasing Cool includes interviews with more than seventy of today's most respected innovators from Tom Ford and Russell Simmons to Ian Schrager and Christina Aguilera. And through this accomplished assemblage, Pressman and Kerner dig beneath the surface and reveal how emphasizing long-lasting relevance trumps a fleeting preoccupation with what's hot and what's not. In a multidimensional, entertaining, and eminently readable book that redefines how to appeal to today's savvy consumer, Kerner and Pressman explore the lessons to be learned by America's ongoing search for the ever-changing concept of cool. Readers will learn how to apply these lessons to their own businesses and creative projects in order to stand out in today's cluttered marketplace.

"Simply chasing cool is really a bad idea; inspired by cool is a great idea. Walk the street, see what's going on, and spit it out in your own way. Don't do it because you research it, do it because you breathe it."

-- Russell Simmons, chairman and CEO of Rush Communications

"I can't imagine having to hire a so-called Cool Hunter. If I had to go to someone else to be cool, I'd just pack up my bags and find a new profession."

-- Tony Hawk, professional skateboarder

"It's possible to be both mainstream and edgy. You can be the Goliath but you always have to think and behave like the David."

-- Scott Bedbury, former Nike and Starbucks marketing executive

"I love looking at trend reports because then I know exactly what I shouldn't be doing."

-- John Demsey, group president, Estée Lauder, MAC Cosmetics, Prescriptives, Sean John, and Tom Ford Beauty

"I don't believe in creation by committee. I think it's impossible."

-- Bonnie Fuller, chief editorial director and executive vice president of American Media Inc.

"We had to make a big decision at MTV when I was there. Do we grow old with our audience or are we going to be the voice of young America? We made the decision to be the voice of young America, which meant we had to let people grow out of MTV."

-- Bob Pittman, cofounder of MTV, former president of AOL --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Story Behind Crush it!

Everything has changed. The social media revolution has irreversibly changed the way we live our lives and conduct our business. There are billions of dollars in advertising moving online, waiting to be claimed by whoever can build the best content and communities. Despite this change, most people keep working at jobs that don’t make them happy and businesses continue to ignore the major marketing and public relations benefits that can be found online.

Myth #1: I’m not passionate about something sexy or popular like wine so these lessons don’t apply to me.

The internet has drastically decreased the costs of building communities around niche subjects, allowing for even the most obscure subjects to draw enough eyeballs to command advertising attention. Starting a video blog about tortilla chips may seem farfetched until Doritos gives you a call and offers 40,000 a year to sponsor and advertise on your blog.

Myth #2: My business already has a Twitter account and a Facebook page, we’re set in the social media department.

This is the equivalent of claiming twenty years ago that just because your business bought a TV spot and a few ads in the newspaper, you didn’t need to pay attention to your advertising department. Social media isn’t about joining in, it’s about being involved.

Myth #3: I’m happy at my job so this book is irrelevant to me.

First of all, congratulations on finding work that makes you happy! However, the lessons in this book are valuable to anyone, regardless of their employment status. Crush It will show you how to utilize high level and platform specific social media and marketing strategies that will improve your work. It will also show you how to build a personal brand so that even if you’re forced to leave your job, a situation that’s especially relevant today, you’ll be able to easily find employment elsewhere in a field you’re passionate about.

Myth #4: I need to quit my job to take advantage of this book’s entrepreneurial lessons.

While the entrepreneurial strategies in this book do take time, it’s completely reasonable to start the effort as an after-work project to build up until you’re able to replace your current income with the income from your online presence. While you may have to fall behind on the current season of Lost or let your Madden 2010 game suffer, because you’ll be doing something you love you won’t mind putting in the extra effort.

In Crush It, Gary Vaynerchuk shows how anyone can build a career around what they’re passionate about. He also delivers both high-level and platform specific strategy and analysis, allowing you to take advantage of the current business environment while preparing you to succeed as it changes and evolves.

This book isn’t interested in making unrealistic promises while glossing over the work involved. Making a living by building content around your passion isn’t simple and it doesn’t happen overnight. What it is, however, is fulfilling and in most cases just as profitable, if not more so, than your previous job.

Furthermore, a business can’t just pay lip service to social media and expect it to return results. The transparency and accountability inherent in its structure necessitates a comprehensive and dedicated strategy in order to reap its tremendous benefits.

By combining practical analysis and strategy with the same passion and humor that’s made Gary one of the most in demand keynote speakers in the U.S. as well as network television’s go to wine expert, Crush It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand and harness the future of business and work.

Learn: Why social media has evened the playing field, destroying the “gate-keepers” who had previously dictated the distribution of content.

Learn: How to beat unemployment and create wealth-building opportunities by building and maintaining a personal brand.

Learn: Why storytelling is the most important business concept in the current marketplace.

Learn: How you can build an online business around your passion without quitting your day job.

Learn: Why Twitter and Facebook are just tools and not a social media strategy.

Learn: How to take advantage of the half-billion dollars in advertising that are moving to the internet.

Learn: Why transparency and being true to yourself are now winning marketing formulas.

Learn: How to build and maintain an online community around your passion and brand.

Learn: Strategies for turning attention into money.

Learn: Why the legacy element of the internet era is so underrated.

From Publishers Weekly
Yet another rallying cry to the banner of turning your passion into a career, from braggadocio-ridden entrepreneur Vaynerchuk. After taking over his father's local liquor store, Shopper's Discount Liquors, and building it from a $4 million business to a $50 million one, he created the wine-tasting blog Wine Library TV and discovered the power of the Internet for driving sales. This book shares his experience and step-by-step advice for using Twitter, Facebook, etc., and suggestions for monetizing an online persona, reiterating that the Internet makes it possible for anyone to make serious cash by turning what they love most into their personal brand. His enthusiasm is admirable and his advice solid, but there's nothing new here, and his unappealing swagger—repeated stories of how he crushed it and dominated grate particularly—gives his story more the tone of adolescent peacocking than of worthwhile and sober business advice. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Amazon.com Review
Customers Rule!, by Roger Blackwell and Kristina Stephan, is a back-to-earth management guide for the 21st century that emphasizes traditional business strategies incorporated with--but never overshadowed by--the Internet. Blackwell, an Ohio State University marketing professor, and Stephan, vice president of a consulting firm that bears her coauthor's name, note that even after the dot-com shakeout, many firms still place too much emphasis on the "e" side of e-commerce, giving short shrift to basics that connect them with consumers and suppliers. Dissecting companies that failed because of this (like Boo.com, the erstwhile sportswear e-tailer), along with those appearing to prosper by recognizing it (including Victoria's Secret and L.L. Bean, which both learned the ropes through conventional catalog operations), the authors emphasize that business fundamentals remain the key to success. Adding value for customers, establishing vendor relationships, controlling costs, and conserving cash are all important elements. They discuss specifics that combine traditional and New Economy ideas in original ways, like using omnipresent bricks-and-mortar establishments such as Kinko's for third-party distribution of online orders. No matter the business, the authors contend, the optimal result is a "blended strategy" that enhances customer and supply-chain relationships, decreases inventory and expenses, increases efficiencies, and reaches new customers.--Howard Rothman

From Publishers Weekly
Despite some outdated conclusions, Ohio State University marketing professor Blackwell and Stephan, a vice-president of Blackwell's consulting firm, convincingly assert that e-commerce represents an evolutionary step, not the death of traditional retail. Retailers must incorporate the Web's best with other good business practices. The last chapter outlines strategies to make one's company appear everywhere that consumers seek retail products--the secret, they argue, to future retailing success.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
A new book for women who won't settle for less.

Nicole Williams, the author of Wildly Sophisticated, knows that the real key to success isn't saving more money... it's making more money. Earn What You're Worth shows working women how to up their earning power--by using their unique skills and abilities to build a rewarding, lucrative career....

About the Author
Nicole Williams is the author of Wildly Sophisticated and the founder of Wildly Sophisticated Media Inc., designed to empower, support, and motivate young women. Her Drinks After Work lecture tour reaches thousands of young women each year, and her career advice has appeared in Cosmopolitan, Financial Times, Washington Post, New York Post, and Chicago Tribune.

Amazon.com Review
According to marketing maven and Purple Cow author Seth Godin, the "Television Industrial Complex"--and its nasty habit of interrupting people with advertisements for things they don't want--is dead. Innovation is cheaper than advertising, advises Godin who defines the "free prize" with diverse examples including swatch watches, frequent flyer miles, dog bakeries, Tupperware parties and portable shredding trucks. He explains "Design matters, style matters, extras matter."
The largest portion of the book is devoted to how to sell an idea to your organization. His specific tactics range from irreverent, (let them pee on your ideas) to practical (how to build a prototype). One standout chapter explains how brainstorming can become boring. His alternative, "edgecraft," involves divergent thinking to add something remarkable to your product. His long grocery list of edges (safety, equality, invisibility, and hours of operation) suggest a genuine marketing manifesto. The ideas are bold and insightful, but can suffer from being presented in less than logical order. The book is also diminished by Godin's self-marketing, from using terminology in his previous books to naming key ideas after himself. These advertisements are unnecessary. This nervy little volume is bound to mother many inventions. --Barbara Mackoff --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
A slapdash mix of insight, jargon, common sense, inspiration and hooey, Godin’s follow up to last year’s Purple Cow argues that the way to make any product a bestseller is to couple it with "a feature that the consumer might be attracted to" whether or not she really needs it or wants it. "If it satisfies consumers and gets them to tell other people what you want them to tell other people, it’s not a gimmick," he argues. "It’s a soft innovation." An entrepreneur, lecturer and monthly columnist for Fast Company, Godin knows his business history, and his book bursts with interesting case studies that define "free prize" thinking: e.g. Apple’s iPod, Chef Boyardee’s prehistoric pasta, AOL’s free installation CDs. One of the problems with the book, however, is that its insistent use of needless jargon ("free prize," "purple cow," "edgecraft") clouds complicated issues and lumps dissimilar processes together. "Fix what’s broken," Godin advocates on one page. "Inflame the passionate," he declares on another. Both of these ideas could certainly lead to business improvements, but they hardly use the same methods. Like Godin’s last book, this volume reads like a sugar rush—fast and sweet—and this may propel the author back onto the bestseller lists. To help jumpstart his sales, Portfolio will be packaging the first few thousand copies of the book inside cereal boxes. Now that’s quite a gimmick—er, soft innovation.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Amazon.com Review
Roger D. Blackwell, an Ohio State University marketing professor and Fortune 500 consultant, believes that nothing short of a "radical reinvention of retail" will suffice in the hypercompetitive marketplace expected in the future. From Mind to Market: Reinventing the Retail Supply Chain is his prescription for 21st-century success. His strategy involves getting into the heads of consumers, accurately anticipating their needs, and then quickly meeting them with effectively developed products and services. Blackwell illustrates his points with examples from companies that already employ such practices, including Kinko's, The Limited, and Banc One Corporation.

From Library Journal
Blackwell (marketing, Ohio State Univ.) explains how the old linear supply chain (manufacturer to distributor to retailer to consumer) has been supplanted by a consumer-driven demand chain. Up and down the line the question becomes, "What does the consumer want?" Blackwell illustrates this point with examples from a variety of successful but diverse businesses, from Ford with its Taurus to F. Rees, a clothing store in Mount Airy, North Carolina, which attracts customers from all over the world. From large businesses to small, the lessons of quality and service are repeated. This quite readable book has something to teach not only those engaged in business but anyone whose work involves serving the public and meeting its needs. Recommended for public and academic business collections.?Joseph C. Toschik, Half Moon Bay Lib., El Granada, Cal.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

For a public relations professional, Laermer might have succeeded too well with this book: it could threaten to put firms like his own, RLM PR, out of business. After all, write Laermer and co-author Prichinello in this do-it-yourself guide for snaring publicity, the PR industry's dirty little secret is that "you can create the buzz factor yourself." Among the tips: adopt a media-friendly approach that cultivates friends rather than making enemies; use a host of tactics like embargoes, leaks, source filings and exclusives to your best advantage; and give yourself a leg up by knowing what time-pressed journalists are looking for and handing it to them on a platter. The authors bolster their case with examples of good and bad PR: e.g., how BigStar, an online movie retailer, spun its competition with Blockbuster into a David and Goliath tale, or how Kozmo.com's reliance on the media's love affair with its CEO compromised its ability to deliver on its promises. Some troubling references slip in (Laermer's own staffers watch the movies Wall Street and Boiler Room to get revved up for pitching journalists, and the authors admit "someone once told us that media people often dislike PR practitioners a lot"), but, that aside, this is a valuable road map to the land of buzz.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"If Laermer isn't the best PR professional in the business, he's awfully close."

An essential read for anyone seeking buzz. -- David Neeleman, CEO of JetBlue Airways

If Laermer isn't the best PR professional in the business, he's awfully close. -- Bacon's PR Media News

The best-written, most interesting, most up-to-date manual on the PR field. -- Al Ries, co-author of The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR

From Publishers Weekly
By touting the value of thinking "outside the box," business experts have inspired an obsession with growth, competition and offbeat concepts, says Rushkoff (Cyberia; Coercion; etc.). In fact, he insists, the secret of success lies inside the box; businesses that focus on their core competencies, their customers' needs and their work environment come up with better innovations in the long run than those that rely on flashy ad campaigns, focus groups or off-site consultants. Smart businesses, he argues, hire employees who are deeply familiar with the company's core products and encourage innovation by cultivating a fun, collaborative work environment. Rushkoff's premise is solid, and he supports it with several convincing examples (Craig's List, XM radio and Saturn among them). In his effort to shuck the traditional case study model of business writing, however, Rushkoff often digresses into long passages of glib historical analogy. He's more entertaining, and more convincing, in the sections where he focuses on particular businesses and business people. Fortunately, there are enough of those sections to please Rushkoff's many fans. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Get your highlighters out! There’s a worldchanging idea on each and every page." -- Seth Godin, author of All Marketers are Liars

Laced with anecdotes based on the experiences of the author and the many others he has known, loved, mentored, coached, and partnered with, GOD IS A SALESMAN shows us how to translate powerful lessons from God into tools to help us achieve extraordinary success through better relationships, and new dimensions in life.
About the Author
Mark Stevens is a bestselling author, prominent CEO, one of the most famous marketers in the world, and a popular philosopher on the intersection of business and private life. His company's Web site is www.msco.com.

From Publishers Weekly
Like most other marketing books, this intriguing but unconvincing volume dwells on botched ad campaigns, implying that those campaigns would have triumphed if only the advertiser had sought the authors' advice. In this case, all the reviled efforts overlooked "the most powerful marketing force in the world": word-of-mouth. "Everybody talks to everybody else about products every day," writes Balter, founder of three-year-old BzzAgent Inc., which enlists earnest volunteers to spread the gospel about products that the firm is hired to promote. Balter argues that the fact that BzzAgents actually tell people, "I'm a BzzAgent, and I'm pushing this product" aids the credibility of both the products and their advocates, with the result that Bzz campaigns succeed where shill campaigns (which employ paid actors) backfire. That may be true, but this volume doesn't adequately make the case that sincerity and product samples constitute a marketing revolution: the book's slapdash, "admittedly nonscientific" analysis is backed by little more than enthusiasm, quotes from The Tipping Point and three years of BzzAgent anecdotes. Balter's gee-whiz, narcissistic writing voice won't help win converts, either. (Though Butman is a coauthor, Balter narrates the book in the first person.) While it aspires to reorient current thinking on consumerism and social interaction, it's clear that this book's true purpose is to serve as a 210-page BzzAgent ad. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Why is it that normally talented, even cutting--edge innovators feel compelled to exhibit logorrhea when pen is poised over paper? Such is the case with Balter, who, with the aid of writer Butman, crystallizes his practice of word-of-mouth marketing. The concept is unique and differentiated from buzz by its credibility, its emphasis on genuine storytelling, and its theme: "not 100% goodness 100% of the time." There's research (and bottom-line sales results) that proves his points about the benefits of "one big cocktail party." But he spoils the effect by, in Seth Godin-esque fashion, choosing to insert a fictional account of Bardo, the perfect target customer; SparklyPerfect, a new product; and Annie, the designated marketer. First, a straight-out-of-fantasyland narrative goes against the honesty-is-our-policy foundation of word-of-mouth marketing. Second, real-life case histories--as with Apple iPod and its battery and the Coke C2 debacle--drive home the premise far better than any novel; real experiences and real perceptions make the product sing. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.