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"Blue Ocean Strategy"Blue oceans. Red oceans. But where’s the water? Blue Ocean Strategy examines companies at opposite extremes. Success = blue. Failure = red. To gain (or maintain) category leadership in your industry you must find your blue ocean. Yes, the message is that simple. It’s written solely to make you think; to make sure you haven’t succumbed to the “business as usual” routine we all fall into at some point. So if you find yourself in this rut, Blue Ocean Strategy is a great read to get you out of it. As public relations professionals and marketers, finding companies’ and organizations’ blue oceans is our everyday job -- and every chapter of this book makes me agree, examine and/or rethink the branding and messaging strategies we put forward for our clients. So just as Blue Ocean Strategy cites Cirque de Soleil as a prime example of an organization finding a blue ocean in the circus world (a circus centered around --people?), we need to ask ourselves if we’re applying the same out-of-the box thinking to our clients. Just think...If we take the risk to find a blue ocean, like Cirque de Soleil did, it can become a worldwide phenomena. |
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"Built to Last"Built to Last helped explain some of the essential elements that long standing, successful businesses have in common. Jim Collins analyzed companies that have withstood the test of time and discovered that their success was not driven by powerful CEOs or even by specific product lines but, rather, their success boiled down to solid values that were fundamental across all areas of the company. Everything these companies did was based on the company’s core values. For example, Sony started with the idea of making consumers’ lives easier through consumer products. However, Sony’s first product was a toaster that failed. The key with Sony is that it didn’t quit after its first product failed, instead the company held true to a belief and its mission and look where Sony is today. This is a key example of success and a great lesson for all businesses. |
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"Emotional Intelligence"This book was one of the few college textbooks that I was actually excited to read for class each week. Through fascinating theories, research and case studies, it explains why your emotional intelligence quotient or “EQ” has a higher impact on your success in life than your “IQ.” Goleman discusses what it really means to be in tune with your emotions and the emotions of others, something fundamental to PR because our profession is built upon meaningful relationships, and emotions are at the core of every relationship. If you work hard to build and understand strong relationships, you will have a stronger career in public relations than the person who neglects to do the same. As public relations practitioners, it’s vital that we remain students of the human condition – the good, the bad and ugly. Emotional Intelligence really taps into the human condition. |
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"Good to Great"Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't: This book is a public relations practitioner’s must-read. Author Jim Collins has done an excellent job streamlining years of research so that people in the industry can understand the various management strategies and practices that take companies from good to great. |
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"Influence: Science and Practice"I love this book because it uses a great deal of research and case studies to analyze what makes one thing more influential than another. When you’re working in the realm of persuasion, it is fascinating to realize all of the different methods you can employ to make something a notch more influential that it was before. The book does a great job delving into the human psychology of influence, applying a lot of the theories that we learn when we study communication at an academic level. It reminds us that while awareness is key, campaigns are most successful when they change behavior. And we can hone these persuasion methods every day, from planning a fundraising campaign to determining the subject line for an email. We are all communicators, in work and in life, and this book is a must read for all! |
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"The Inner Game of Tennis"As both a tennis player and marketing executive, there were some great lessons to draw from in this book. It is an instructional book on the mental game of tennis – where the lessons that apply to tennis can easily transcend into business. The key message in this book is that to function optimally, you have to let your mind reach its natural state and be unaffected by “over-thinking.” The idea is to let your natural self come through and trust your abilities while in this natural state. In tennis, it’s about avoiding the over analysis of every technical detail and letting your natural skills come through. This is a crucial component of success in competitive situations. The same can be said in business where over-thinking can get in the way of creativity and strategic vision. If we can train our minds to eliminate self-doubt and let our natural self lead, we will be more successful. Clearly, the lessons here apply to almost every situation where skills are involved. It is an excellent read and has helped my tennis game and business ventures. |
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"Let My People Go Surfing"Patagonia: a multi-million dollar company built on one man’s passion and thirst for the outdoors. Rock climbing, canoeing, skiing, surfing -- Patagonia makes clothes for every rugged outdoor activity. But transfer that addiction to the outdoors to an indoor business savvy? Yvon Chouinard does. Chouinard starts with a bold (and blunt!) statement: "The Lee Iacoccas, Donald Trumps, and Jack Welches of the business world are heroes to no one except other businessmen with similar values. I wanted to be a fur trapper when I grew up." Really? This is why I simply love Let My People Go Surfing. It goes beyond the proverbial CEO and leadership books that list anecdote after anecdote of companies that did (or didn’t) get it right -- and the CEOs (not founders) that made or broke a company. Not only did Chouinard have a personal investment in the company, he had a true love for what Patagonia produced. Most important: he stuck with the company through good times and bad. He learned from his mistakes and he made the company better -- and most important, he saw his role as an opportunity to change the world. Chouinard serves as a personal inspiration. He’s loyal to his passions, good to his people and works to make the world a better place. He is -- by all means -- a maverick in today’s business world. Brilliant. |
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"The Lolita Effect"In grad school my final project focused on media influence and the importance of harnessing self-esteem in young girls. The Lolita Effect discusses how media representations and imagery have forced little girls to grow up faster than they should – often times negatively impacting self-esteem. For me, this was such an important book because it illustrates how influential media is and how important it is to teach media literacy and encourage young people to become media savvy. |
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"The Long Tail"The Long Tail uncovers the economic phenomenon brought about by the Internet that is redefining the nature of popular products (the hits) and less popular products (the tail). Thanks to web-driven models such as Amazon, eBay, iTunes and more, products – predominantly media such as music, books, films, etc. – are no longer limited by market constraints such as geography or shelf space. To me, the book is a fascinating look at how markets are being significantly extended by selling less of more. Best of all, the author provides us with interesting perspectives about what it all may mean. For example, he explains not only how and why the Long Tail appeared, but the implications for marketers as the trend continues in the future. |
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"Made to Stick"Successful public relations practitioners make their stories memorable and find new ways to make their clients’ ideas resonate or “stick,” despite increasing noise in the marketplace. However, in this digital age, we find ourselves inundated with mountains of information and worthy messages often get lost, though the vapid ones still seem to get through (see O for Octomom). In Made to Stick, the brilliant Heath brothers explain how to make your messages stick with six smart principles; ideas must be Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional and tell a Story (which spells SUCCESs). During team brainstorms, we often revisit these principles to test the stickiness of our ideas and think about how to refine our messages to achieve desired behavior change among target audiences. Even good ideas will die without adhesive, as the faux duct tape on the book’s electric orange cover seems to remind readers, and we must work harder to make those messages worth hearing stand out from the rest. Made to Stick helps you keep those good ideas top of mind among those who need to hear them most. This book should be on the reference shelf of every professional communicator. |
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"Pigeonholed in the Land of Penguins"A Tale of Seeing Beyond Stereotypes--Lessons for Our Lives and Organizations: If you’re ever looking for an easy-read on the intricacies of standing out, Pigeonholed in the Land of Penguins: A Tale of Seeing Beyond Stereotypes--Lessons for Our Lives and Organizations is the book for you. The authors do an exceptional job of advising people on how to stand out in a crowded market so that your peers and management will notice. |
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"The Power of Nice"Linda Kaplan Thaler could have been a ruthless advertising executive. After all, she was the genius who dreamed up the Kodak moment, composed the Toys "R" Us jingle and made the Aflac duck quack. Instead she chose the path of civility and made kindness and respect for others the mandate in her firm. In her bestselling book The Power of Nice, Linda explains how you can experience business success by simply conquering with kindness. From gig referrals to sharing favorite vendors, she shows how we all win when we work together and play nice. Easily read on an single flight, this tiny yellow book shares case studies of how Linda secured major clients during her successful quest. Specific exercises provide a strategy for you to work kindness in your everyday business practices and restore civility in a competitive marketplace. Building relationships with stakeholders is critical to public relations success, and common courtesy makes everything easier. Nice people don’t always finish last. |
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"Real Leaders Don’t Do PowerPoint"How to Sell Yourself and Your Ideas: I originally saw this book at a PRSA International Conference and it was the title that caught my eye. What the book tries to relay is that people often (and erroneously) use PowerPoint as a crutch and it sometimes makes their communication ineffective. The bottom line is that what is most important when delivering any sort of presentation is what you say, not what’s on your PowerPoint. These ideas are what make this book a great guide for communicators. It is important for us to understand that what we say needs to be relevant and substantial, with or without a PowerPoint. It’s up to you to decide whether or not a PowerPoint presentation helps you deliver. Above everything else, you need to communicate. |
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"StrengthsFinder"This book focuses on a personality test that gives you your top four to five personality traits. Each trait has a corresponding chapter that describes you (how you work, how you communicate, how you contribute to a group, etc.). The book serves as a really nice team building exercise and even though I didn’t learn too much about myself, I did learn a great deal about how to work more effectively with other people. The book did an excellent job identifying who I was based on a simple questionnaire - I’m a 1) learner, 2) achiever, 3) input, 4) intellection, 5) responsibility. After I identified my traits, the book provided insight into how I could better work with my company, my clients and any other media relationships that I have. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who is part of a team and wants to better understand how to make their team function harmoniously. |
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"The Tipping Point"The Tipping Point is one of my favorite books because of author Malcolm Gladwell’s out-of-the-box thinking and perspectives that are as stratospheric for their insights as they are profound for their implications. For me, Gladwell has a way with words and ideas that are in one sense startlingly complex, yet in another so simply presented. He applies a scientific notion of a “tipping point”, or moment of critical mass, to demonstrate how things like the sale of products, the spread of epidemics or the reduction in a city’s crime rate occur. It is a fascinating read that every communications professional should enjoy. |
