Whether you’re new to marketing or a seasoned professional, you might find these non-fiction books an interesting read.
If you enjoy data-driven marketing…
Source: Goodreads
What sets geniuses apart from the ordinary? I’ve always subscribed to the belief that success = 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration, but this book made me (slightly) rethink the ingredients of success.
According to Malcolm Gladwell, success = innate talent + luck + cultural legacy + hard work + support network.
You can’t change how you’re born or control luck, but if you have some talent in an area, it’s possible to become excellent with repeated exposure and practice. In the book Gladwell talks about the “10,000 hour rule” — the number of hours to attain true expertise whether you’re a figure skater, musician, writer or master criminal, but it can’t be done without a good support network around you.
If you like rags-to-riches biographies…
Source: Goodreads
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is not exactly from humble beginnings, but his story is otherwise a classic chasing-the-American-dream journey. He admits that his story is “a little programmatic — the story of an Indian civil servant studies hard, gets an engineering degree, immigrates to the US and makes it in tech”.
What I took from this book is the importance of empathy, whether it’s designing software products, working in teams or speaking at media conferences.
“If you could understand impermanence deeply, you would develop more equanimity. You would not get too excited about either the ups or downs of life. And only then would you be ready to develop that deeper sense of empathy and compassion for everything around you.”
The chapter “Friends or Frenemies” is also great because he talks about working with the competition (Apple, Google, Amazon) to achieve the best outcome for the customer. The result? Office integration for Apple and Google products, for example. Marketers should build bridges, not walls!
Source: Goodreads
Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, is famously known for being rejected from 30 jobs he applied to including KFC, and for being rejected from Harvard Business School 10 times. He’s a classic example of overcoming failure and pursuing his vision, in the context of China’s economic development.
“Today is brutal, tomorrow is more brutal, but the day after tomorrow is beautiful. However, the majority of people will die tomorrow night. They won’t be able to see the sunshine the day after tomorrow. [Successful businesses] must see the sunshine the day after tomorrow.”
If you need some girl power…
Source: Goodreads
If you’re a female who is generally reticent about putting herself forward – whether it’s for a promotion, speaking opportunity and so on – this book provides some much needed encouragement and optimism.
Sandberg doesn’t talk about anything women don’t already know, but it’s an interesting glimpse into her personal life (and Facebook!)
If you like an oldie but a goodie…
And how can I not mention Positioning, the classic marketing guidebook that came out in 1980, whose premise rests on positioning your product in your prospect’s mind (their perception of you) rather than inside your product.
The first 16 chapters are a little repetitive and too focused on TV, radio and print advertising, which obviously worked well in the 80s but is losing its grip today. Though the book was updated in 2001, some of the ad copy presented as stellar examples are still old fashioned.
“For the millions who should not take aspirin. If your stomach is easily upset or if you have an ulcer, it would make good sense to check with your doctor before you take aspirin.” — Tylenol ad
Ries & Trout talk about finding a hole in the market and then filling it, which is common knowledge amongst marketers today, but then again perhaps that is because this book introduced that very idea all those years ago. If you want to cut to the chase, I recommend Chapters 19, 20, 22, 24 and 25.
If you like frameworks and tips you can follow…
Collaboration is written by a former management consultant and current b-school professor, so you can expect structured frameworks and ways of thinking with plenty of case examples, self-evaluation tools and problem solving — no fluffy motivational quotes here.
Note that this Hansen only addresses collaboration within an organisation (any type will do, but mainly large, sprawling companies with complex organisational structure that work across countries and divisions) and not collaboration externally. If you’re struggling to see results from collaboration, don’t know when to collaborate or unsure if your leadership style is collaborative, this book is for you.
“Collaboration is about inclusiveness, but one risk of an inclusive approach to decision-making is that leaders debate endlessly without forging decisions. To combat this risk, collaborative leaders also need to be decisive. They make the final decision. Inclusiveness means that people take part in coming up with alternatives, supplying information and debating, but it stops there.”
Alissa is a B2B content creator and digital marketer with experience in financial services, telco and software. B&T 30 under 30 Marketing Finalist in Australia. My style of marketing is empathy-first, customer-centric and creative - after all, people buy from people.
You can connect with Alissa on LinkedIn.