books

Trust Agents by Chris Brogan And Julien Smith

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:52:52 +0100

Chris Brogan is genuine in his interest in building community and constantly generating trust. He delivers fresh content everyday that is useful to building relationships in the community and in business. This book is no different. Chris is one relentless guy and works on being successful everyday. That success thankfully is about connecting and providing value through his speaking engagements, his business and his blog. Just like his brand - expect value in this book.

What Matters Now By Seth Godin and Others

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:50:36 +0100

Seth Godin’s latest book, which features essays by himself and a host of other brilliant minds is available for free. In What Matters Now Each essayist focuses on something that matters to them. Think of this as your New Year’s Resolution in an eBook. Its very easy to read and you can pick topics or authors that appeal to you. This is yet another way Seth Godin continues to build his reputation.

Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:59:00 +0100

Consumers today have an endless number of choices among products that are virtually identical. Short of slashing your prices and wrecking your margins, differentiating is the only way to gain market share and win.

Since its original publication, Differentiate or Die has become the bible for marketers who must find a way to separate their products and brands from the competition. Meanwhile, competition among similar products and services has only intensified—making differentiation even more important.

In this fully updated edition of Differentiate or Die, Jack Trout and Steve Rivkin bring the book in line with all the newest ideas and recent changes in marketing. Trout doesn't pull any punches, taking marketers to task for going the easy route too often—using high-tech razzle-dazzle or advertising sleight of hand to woo customers. The only way to truly differentiate yourself is by marketing the product's uniquely valuable qualities.

Full of practical case studies that show great differentiation in action, including new case studies from Russia and China, Differentiate or Die, Second Edition, shows you how to tap into core differentiating ideas like heritage, market leadership, and being first to emotionally connect customers to your products. In addition, this revision includes new research on brand commoditization, new insight on using buzz to your advantage, a new chapter on differentiating absolutely anything, and a detailed look at the perils of line extension in today's marketplace. These are only a few of the valuable, proven differentiation strategies included in the book, giving you unparalleled insight into one of marketing's most intractable problems.

From the classic "unique selling proposition" approach to the ins and outs of product positioning, this book contains all the best, most effective strategies for differentiating your product from the competition in tight quarters.

Jack Trout is President of Trout & Partners Ltd. (www.troutandpartners.com), one of the nation's most prestigious marketing firms with offices in twenty-two countries. He is recognized as a top marketing guru and is the creator of the revolutionary concept of positioning. He is also the coauthor of the bestselling classic Positioning, among many other titles.

Steve Rivkin is founder of Rivkin & Associates LLC (www.rivkin.net), a marketing and communication consultancy. He is coauthor of five books on marketing and communication strategy and is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences around the world.

(From the Inside Flap)

Career Distinction By William Arruda

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 01:54:21 +0100

From the Inside Flap

As a professional, your reputation is your most valuable career asset. Whether you're climbing the ladder at your current company or seeking a new job, in today's fast-paced work environment, you must proactively and continuously position yourself for success. Your credibility, visibility, personality, and personal style all make up your brand. Build and nurture your personal brand and you'll make yourself a must-have, can't-fail professional—and you'll do it without having to be someone you're not.

Career Distinction outlines the proven personal branding process and provides case studies of successful professionals that will help you not only survive, but thrive, in today's dynamic and ultracompetitive workplace. You'll learn to manage your brand with innovative tools that enable you to differentiate yourself and stand out from your peers.

In this definitive step-by-step guide, career and personal brand management experts Arruda and Dixson show you how to:

Brand yourself for career success
Determine how others perceive you
Develop your unique value proposition
Define your target audience
Tell your brand story
Express yourself clearly and consistently
Build and manage your online identity
Stay on-message and on-brand every day
Increase your "career karma"

The increasing pace of change in the business world gives you less time than ever to make your professional mark. Career Distinction demonstrates how to express who you are and the value you bring to your organization—branding you as an indispensable, memorable, and unique professional. Success takes more than just hard work; brand yourself and watch your career soar.

William Arruda Page

Ogilvy On Advertising

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:19:34 +0100

Ogilvy on Advertising

Me 2.0 By Dan Schawbel

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:21:07 +0100

(from dans website)

In a world of changing business practices and uncertain futures, Me 2.0 offers practical and proven advice about personal branding from an authority on the matter. In the first book about personal branding written for the millennial generation by a millennial, Dan Schawbel bridges the gap between the current business climate and the progressive best practices of the future. Covering a variety of topics all crafted to improve one’s success in the job market, Schawbel proves that just being in the game is not enough, and that one’s success lies in being ahead of the game.

Some highlights from the book include:

A proven 4-step process for building a powerful brand (discover, create, communicate, maintain).
Tips on using social media tools for personal empowerment, confidence building, and professional networking in order to attract jobs directly to you, without applying!
Tested advice on how to create an online and offline presence for career protection and self-promotion.
Over 40 expert quotes from leaders including Don Tapscott, Guy Kawasaki, Penelope Trunk, and David Kirkpatrick of Fortune Magazine among others.
More than 70 research reports, three personal case studies and examples to give you a broader perspective on the topic.

Bottom line: This is the handbook for surviving and thriving in the digital age

Marketinb Book Review: Me 2.0 with Dan Schawbel

Dan Schawbel Page

Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age By Tom Peters

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:21:54 +0100

After decades with Knopf, influential management guru Peters switches to DK in an effort to "reinvent the business book," and while the results don't quite live up to the hyperbole, the new publisher allows for a looser design strategy that complements the author's increasingly stream-of-consciousness writing. Gray dotted lines lead from the main text to sidebars topped with category-identifying icons, and words' size, color and even typeface refuse to stay stable within a single sentence. (Design is clearly on his mind; one of the book's best passages is a rant against the poor ergonomics of the desk chairs in hotel suites.) The book's themes are mostly the same ones Peters has been developing since 1997's The Circle of Innovation and its follow-ups: small professional service firms are the wave of the future, successful companies sell dreams instead of products, and so on. Some of his ideas, like the unlimited potential of the Internet, have begun to wear a bit thin, while others need overhauling thanks to the recession. There are strong chapters on the spending power of women and the need to restructure the American education system, but not all the new twists are as satisfying. He takes on the 9/11 attacks in two business analogies: while the first interpretation of 9/11-small improvisational teams succeed against bloated infrastructures-rings true, many readers may find the second conclusion ("the Age of Large Numbers of Human Beings Crammed into Tall Towers is over") a bit tactless. But give Peters credit for being willing to stick his neck out, and expect loyal readers to follow him down this path once again.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Brand You 50 by Tom Peters

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:22:59 +0100

Technology is changing almost everything. Management guru Tom Peters argues it's also going to change the entire landscape of work. In his set of self-help books for professionals, the Reinventing Work series, he declares that "90-plus percent of white-collar jobs will disappear." Downsizing ain't over, but Peters claims he can help you through it. The employment landscape is going to be full of "free agents," he says, and if these newly "freed" individuals want to succeed, they'll need a new approach to their jobs. One way is by approaching work as a set of projects. Find out what's most interesting about each project and thrive on that, Peters advises. In his latest publishing project, Peters urges readers to forget about loyalty to a particular company and replace it with a self-motivated dedication to the work at hand. The entire book series has the feel of something transcribed from one of Peters' motivational speeches; his use of bold letters, ellipses, exclamation points and oversize type is perhaps a better fit with the lecture circuit than the publishing world. Knopf plans five books in the Reinventing Work series, but for now, there are three: The Brand You, The Project and The Professional Service Firm. Each of the pocket-size hardbacks starts with a description of an unemployed, Dilbert-ized landscape, followed by 50 ways to sidestep such a fate. In The Brand You, the list of 50 ideas includes a chapter titled "'Inc.' Yourself." After a comment on the concept, Peters launches into The Nub, his plan for making the affirmations take flight. The idea is to visualize yourself as a company - with departments, goals, bottom lines, branding. The chapters close with a Thing to Do section. In this case, it's two things: adding an "Inc." to your name, and treating every to-do list like you're preparing for the next quarterly board meeting. By turning everyday work into interesting and inspiring projects, Peters believes workers will become self-motivated, completed projects will become more innovative and companies will become less stagnant. Peters constantly reassures readers that they are worthy of independence. Anyone can follow the path to success, he encourages, although he tempers his enthusiasm with comments like, "I'm not living in dreamland. I know not everyone can be a superstar." The free-agent concept applies particularly well to the online industry, where companies must grow quickly to have more than a slim chance of succeeding. In a free-agent world, workers aren't disappointed when their company tanks, but instead move on to the next project. In fact, the rampant job-hopping in the Internet Economy has been one of the original drivers of the free-agent workforce. Establishing a reputation, networking and positioning one's easily digestible brand: That's perfect for the Net. If you're looking for rose-colored lenses for your job, Peters has what you need. This self-help series is mostly about making work fun, which isn't a bad idea, after all. - Laura Rich -- From The Industry Standard