 | "Smart Growth" ♦ by Edward D. Hess Wall Street believes that all public companies should grow smoothly and continuously, as evidenced by ever-increasing quarterly earnings, and that all companies either "grow or die." Introducing a research-based growth model called "Smart Growth," Edward D. Hess challenges this ethos and its dangerous mentality, which often deters real growth and pressures businesses to create, manufacture, and purchase noncore earnings just to appease Wall Street. Smart Growth accounts for the complexity of growth from the perspective of organization, process, change, leadership, cognition, risk management, employee engagement, and human dynamics. Authentic growth is much more than a strategy or a desired result. It is a process characterized by complex change, entrepreneurial action, experimental learning, and the management of risk |
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"Tribes" ♦ by Seth Godin A Tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to become a tribe: a shared interest, and a way to communicate. When I bought this book I was reminded the Saatchi & Saatchi tribes created to tackle global new business and pitch proposals, bringing together creative and strategic talent from all over the world to share, develop ideas and campaign platforms. It was a unique cultural experience, bridging different views into one global idea. This is a stimulus of how the business world should start working, out of the silos that keep Ideas out! Fantastically written book, one more time by the master Seth Godin! |
 | "Just Ask Leadership" ♦ by Garry B. Cohen Anyone with direct reports faces a perennial problem: how can your subordinates learn to see things the way you do, and to be accountable the way you need them to be? And, at the same time, how can you learn to appreciate the way they see things, and the possibilities that they can bring to fruition that you might never otherwise imagine? The book proposes replacing annual performance reviews with monthly ones! The heart stops at the thought. And yet...take a look at the process the author describes. The reviews are conversations about the best way forward, not critiques of the past. Look in particular at the issue of timing. If practiced regularly, the approach can lead to a whole different way - a much more mutually appreciative way of looking forward. |
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"Concepting" ♦ by Jan Rijkenberg Concepting is one of the most important new theories in branding and
communications of recent times, a must for those involved in brand
research and innovation, brand and product development, and marketing communications. Concepting offers a totally new
approach to brands, their development and communication. This
practical, helpful book, written by Jan Rijkenberg
one of the world's leading
proponents and innovator of concepting, takes you on a journey. The
theory is based on the conviction that companies in many sectors are
reaping
the last benefits of traditional branding and marketing communications.
Concept
brands such as Nike, Ikea, Bennetton, Caterpillar, Ben & Jerry's
and Virgin have paved the way for a new approach. They are based on strong consumer
insights and imagination. They are about attracting consumers with a
story, a philosophy, an attitude.
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 | "Long walk to Freedom" ♦ by Nelson Mandela What led me to the book was a TV film long ago, and my tourist visit to the jail island he was imprisoned, outside Cape Town. Now I have inside of me a story to tell and pass on to my children about a 27-years ...patient man! In South Africa they often refer to him as Madiba, a honorary title adopted by elders of his clan. Nelson Mandela has received more than 250 awards over four decades, most notably the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize sharing it with his ...enemy (what a did)! |
 | "Set-up to fail syndrome: : How Good Managers Cause Great People to Fail" ♦ by Jean-Francois Manzoni, Jean-Louis Barsoux Many managers do not get the best performance out of their team members and when they try to help that performance, it gets worse. What these managers don't realize is that they themselves are inadvertently undermining their employee and causing their performance to degrade even further. This book identifies the elements of the set-up-to-fail syndrome and offers a prescription which can and will turn a dysfunctional situation all around. This book should be a required reading for ALL active managers. |
 | "Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy" ♦ by Martin Lindstrom Recently I read Buyology Martin Lindstrom's colorful book about neuromarketing, for that people tend to remember products when they are woven into the narrative -the story- of media content, and that they tend not to remember brands that don't play an integral role in the story because people can see them as being ‘just ads.' Well, this contention certainly makes sense to me: the idea is that because people can readily identify ads when they see them (and we tend to think that ads are supposed to be obviously present during times and places we expect them to be), they attach less credibility to their claims. But if they see a product featured in a news narrative (that might result from a PR person's pitching of a story to a journalist), they will probably assume that a company did not ‘pay for the play,' and so are less likely to be suspicious and more likely to trust brand messaging that isn't apparently manufactured artifice. |
 | "The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business" ♦ by Clayton M. Christensen (Collin Business) I can only quote from the book: "Outstanding companies can do everything right and still loose market leadership... Being a learner you can only get out of this book the management and marketing mistakes your company neglects to see." I found this book stimulating for me and my Clients/partners. The most close example I had in mind -when reading the book- was about W.L.Gore & associates, (the Gortex brand company) named as "the most innovative company in America " by Fast Company magazine, among the top-50 and for 11 times listed as one of the best places to work for. See for yourself the outstanding companies' video link with Terri Kelly, the company's famous CEO. |
| (See below video) | "Why Large companies should Out-Innovate small ones" ♦ Speech by Dan Hesse at MITSloan's event |
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