Published in 2009, Mitch Joel’s book on business strategy in the age of social media titled Six Pixels of Separation is a laudable effort to tie in the disparate threads of the online world for those keen to experiment in this space.
Covering a broad expanse of concepts and ideas – from crowdsourcing, community building, content creation, to platform specific strategies – the book provided a good introduction to the world of social media and digital engagement.
Are you feeling the entrepreneurial (or intrapreneurial) itch lately? If so, Small is the New Big may be the right up your alley.
With 184 “riffs, rants, and remarkable business ideas”, Small is the New Big by uber marketing blogger Seth Godin is a collection of management mantras for entrepreneurs. Written in his usual snappy style, the book isn’t organised into sequential chapters. Instead, entries are written in an alphabetical manner without following any particular logic.
RIP Mr Ingvar Kamprad (courtesy of Ikea website)
{UPDATED 29 JANUARY 2018} The world is moaning the passing of Mr Ingvar Kamprad, founder of Ikea and IKANO. According to the Ikea Group website, he passed away at the ripe old age of 91 years after a short illness.
A pioneer and entrepreneur who could make the traditional and staid world of furniture retailing sexy, Kamprad was one of the world’s best known retailer. His methods in furniture retailing have been emulated by numerous competitors around the world.
How does one leverage on the power of social communities? What does it mean to build a “Social Nation”?
I found out the answers to these and more after reading Barry Libert’s breezy volume Social Nation. The CEO of Mzinga, Libert declares in his book that organisational success lies with tapping on the collective power of employees, stakeholders, partners, and customers – both online and offline. To do so, one needs to develop social skills to complement one’s other strengths (physical, informational, and emotional).
Sometimes, the best folks to market your brand are not advertising agencies, publicists or sales persons.
Just ask Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba, stalwarts of the highly popular Church of the Customer blog and founders of Ant’s Eye View.
Is it true that quitters never win and winners never quit?
Well, the answer is no – at least according to Seth Godin, business blogger extraordinaire and prolific author of small “hit ’em hard” books.
Want to know why drug dealers live with their mothers?
Curious to uncover what dishonest schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?
Give up? The answers, according to uber guru Tom Peters and Martha Barletta in their slim volume Trends are oodles of cash, purchasing power and huge influence.
Written in Peters’ no-holds-barred, rant-heavy and straight talking narrative, Trends provides lots of facts, figures and anecdotes to show that women and Baby Boomers are probably the two largest blindspots in the eyes of marketers everywhere. With a steely-eyed determination to tear down age-old prejudices against the “weaker sex” and “old geezers”, Peters and Barletta described how myopic views of catering largely to “White men in the 18 to 44 age group” have resulted in organisations neglecting huge markets worth “trillions of dollars”.
Written in a style reminiscent of Malcolm Gladwell, “Sway – The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behaviour” by Ori and Rom Brafman explores how seemingly irrelevant psychological influences impact human decisions. Peppered with anecdotes and experiments from social psychology, behavioural economics and organisational behaviour, Sway tells us why much of our decision making is more often subjective than objective.
Citing fascinating examples from the Israeli Army, US’s Supreme Court, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, and the anthropological fraud known as the “Piltdown Man“, the Brafman brothers’ weave a compelling narrative in the slim volume. Backed by scientific research, the case studies help to illustrate various psychological phenomena throughout the book. They include:
Does being beautiful and handsome give you a head start in life?
Well, despite what should have been a fairer and more equal world, the ugly truth is that looks still matter. At least according to Beauty Bias – Discrimination and Social Power authored by sociologist Bonnie Berry.