Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
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Forget everything you thought you knew about how to motivate people - at work, at school, at home. It is wrong. As Daniel H. Pink explains in his paradigm-shattering book Drive, the secret to high performance and satisfaction in today's world is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and the world. Along the way, he takes us to companies that are enlisting new approaches to motivation, and introduces us to the scientists and entrepreneurs who are pointing a bold way forward.
Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
If you like Seth Godin's other books, you will like this one. The main riff throughout the book is about the new world of work - one based on intellect and ideas rather than an ability to move stuff from one place to another. While not necessarily a new idea (see Dan Pink's "A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future"), it is well presented and compelling. Seth develops his argument for how to succeed in this new world and how to make yourself indispensible. Actually, I think "indispensible" might be a little overstated, I think it would be more correct to say "achieving your full potential to a point where you if you are dispensed with, then someone else will always want you!". Either way, a great message.
It does read a little like a self help book in places. I am not entirely convinced that this was unintentional or necessarily a bad thing. It depends on what you were looking for.
On the downside, some readers might find his "in your face" style a bit evangelical in places, particularly some of us Brits. Undoubtedly, this style has been developed through his blog writing where space is limited to get the point over. However, when the same style is used throughout a book, it can be a bit over powering at times. That said, I read the book cover to cover. Every 2-3 pages I would find a nugget of an idea that would make me carrying on reading. Before long, the book was finished.
It does read a little like a self help book in places. I am not entirely convinced that this was unintentional or necessarily a bad thing. It depends on what you were looking for.
On the downside, some readers might find his "in your face" style a bit evangelical in places, particularly some of us Brits. Undoubtedly, this style has been developed through his blog writing where space is limited to get the point over. However, when the same style is used throughout a book, it can be a bit over powering at times. That said, I read the book cover to cover. Every 2-3 pages I would find a nugget of an idea that would make me carrying on reading. Before long, the book was finished.
Flip the Funnel: How to Use Existing Customers to Gain New Ones
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Why customer retention is the new acquisition
If there′s anything the recession of 2009 taught us, it was the importance of investing in our customers, but when was this any different? So says Joseph Jaffe, bestselling author of Life After the 30–Second Spot and Join the Conversation, and a leading expert and thought leader on new media and social media. In most businesses, it costs roughly five–to–ten times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one, and yet companies continue to disproportionately spend their budgets into the "wrong" end of the funnel – the mass media or awareness side.
What we haven′t paid enough attention to is the "right" end of the funnel–the word–of–mouth component that essentially acts as a multiplier for future business. The economic impact of an active, engaged and loyal customer is tremendous.
And the same is true of the opposite scenario, namely the impact of angry customers and negative word–of–mouth or referrals. It is this thinking that Jaffe has channeled to challenge marketers to "flip the funnel" once and for all. With a renewed focus and energy on customer experience, it is possible to grow your sales, while decreasing your budget – in other words, getting more from less. Engaging a few customers to spread the word to many.
Using this new "flipped funnel" model, together with a set of new rules of customer service and a revolutionary customer referral and activation process, you′ll learn how to transform your existing customers into your best salespeople. In addition, Jaffe will explain how to best introduce and combine both digital and social media tools to boost your loyalty arsenal, deploy "influencer marketing" and implement word–of–mouth strategies that inspire your loyal, opinionated, and most vocal customers to become credible, persuasive, and influential endorsers of your products and services.
- Explains how to cut your marketing budget AND grow sales!
- Illustrates practical ways to use existing customers to reach out to new prospects
- Outlines the authentic role of social media
- Demonstrates key ideas with rich, real life examples including Comcast, Apple, The Obama Campaign, Dell, Panasonic, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, Coca–Cola and many, many more
The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence at Work
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There is little doubt that no one, with the exception of Peter Drucker, has had more influence in shaping the idea of modern management than Tom Peters. Peters still has the same vigor and enthusiasm he had when the classic "In Search of Excellence" was published in 1982. Unlike so many dry, boring books on business, Tom Peters has a compelling, in-your-face style that makes this book as fun to read as it is insightful. An enemy of conformist 'suits', mindless mega-mergers, and the status quo, Peters urges readers to embrace diversity, cherish weirdness, and manage by turning off the computer and hitting the streets. This is one of those rare business books that is as essential for the small business owner or freelancer as it is for the head of a major corporation. Beginning with a fiery call-to-arms to companies and businesspeople to get 'back to basics', this book is the guidebook on how to excel at the people side of business and a reminder to 'never forget why you're here'. Some examples of Tom's timeless wisdom include: Love Your Competitors; Leave Your Wallet at Home; Appoint an Ombudsman for Common Sense; and, Cut Red Tape. Now more than ever, businesspeople need a voice of experience and wisdom to guide us through this time of financial uncertainty. Tom Peters is - as he always has been - just that voice.
Switch: How to change things when change is hard
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We all know that change is hard. It’s unsettling, it’s time-consuming, and all too often we give up at the first sign of a setback.
But why do we insist on seeing the obstacles rather than the goal? This is the question that bestselling authors Chip and Dan Heath tackle in their compelling and insightful new book. They argue that we need only understand how our minds function in order to unlock shortcuts to switches in behaviour. Illustrating their ideas with scientific studies and remarkable real-life turnarounds – from the secrets of successful marriage counselling to the pile of gloves that transformed one company’s finances – the brothers Heath prove that deceptively simple methods can yield truly extraordinary results.
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