Category: Books
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Commoditizing Information
The hackers of old have long held that data must be set free. Google is doing just that by aggregating the content of the internet, it no longer mattes where information comes from. When people are questioned afterward regarding the source of the information they are reciting, they respond: Google. The problem, of course, is…
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Immediate Gratification
I have been listening to a very good book (“Rapt”) and she mentioned a study that was done measuring the way we respond to situations where there is an immediate payoff which offsets some longer term goal. Essentially, if you are presented with the choice between taking $100 now, or $200 three years from now,…
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Free Prize Inside
I just finished reading, Free Prize Inside by Seth Godin. Another very worthwhile read by Seth. The primary ideas build on the foundation of creating products that are remarkable and thus able to inspire conversations between the consumers. One idea that he suggests is that of doing “Edgecrafting” instead of brainstorming. The idea is to…
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A Perfect Mess – Part 2
I finished reading A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder by Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman. I was hoping that this book would provide a mechanism for thinking through and assessing the cost of ‘neatness’ vs. the benefits of order. Instead, this turned out to be more of a book discussing mess and…
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Cooked
When I read an excerpt of Cooked on the Freakonomics Blog, I thought, I have to read this book. When I saw it at the library, I decided to check it out. Jeff Henderson writes with a lot of color which made the book really enjoyable to read. Unfortunately, it has not necessarily had a…
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Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
One of my areas of interest lately has been the emotional side of sales. Essentially, how does one evoke an emotional reaction to what is being provided. Clearly, it is necessary that the service/product being sold meets a fundamental need of the person buying, but the way a solution is presented makes a difference on…
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Presenting To Win
Recently, I read “Presenting to Win”. It was excellent. It was so good, that if you ever have to give presentations on a regular basis, you should read this book as soon as possible. This book is particularly targetted toward selling presentations but applies in a much broader way to any presentation. The result of…
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The Culture Code
Last week, I picked up a book called “The Culture Code: An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Live and Buy as They Do” by Clotaire Rapaille. Earlier this year, our investor pointed me to one of the marketing VP’s for one of their companies who had done a workshop on identifying…
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Execution
I started reading Execution a few months ago at a book store, but not buying it. Then I found it at a used book store and started reading it. The book is worth the reviews given to it. It gives a pretty good overview on leadership principals and the importance of keeping people accountable (as…
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The Circle of Innovation
On a whim at the library a few weeks ago, I picked up a book by Tom Peters called “The Circle of Innovation”. If you read many business books and find yourself in a store with this book, it’s really worth flipping through. He set out to write a business book like none other, and…