Last month we brought you part one of our two-part “What We’re Reading” series. This month comes round two of the books that we read to stay sharp and engaged in the world at large.
So without further ado…
Darcy Swon
Groundswell - Winning In A World Transformed By Social Technologies
by Charlene Li and Josh BernoffAmazon.com says: Corporate executives are struggling with a new trend: people using online social technologies (blogs, social networking sites, YouTube, podcasts) to discuss products and companies, write their own news, and find their own deals. This groundswell is global, it’s unstoppable, it affects every industry and it’s utterly foreign to the powerful companies running things now.
When consumers you’ve never met are rating your company’s products in public forums with which you have no experience or influence, your company is vulnerable. In Groundswell, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff of Forrester, Inc. explain how to turn this threat into an opportunity.
Darcy says: It used to be that the goal of the Internet was to drive traffic to one's site. It is now focused on driving your site to the traffic. The Internet has clearly re-defined how we work, live and play with the rise of social networking. This book is full of great case studies on companies such as Proctor and Gamble, Best Buy and Dell, to name a few, that have embraced this change and have gained insight into their customers, generated more revenue, energized and created stronger relationships with their own customers and saved money.
Drew Jones
The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives
by Leonard MlodinowAmazon.com says: A drunkard's walk is a type of random statistical distribution with important applications in scientific studies ranging from biology to astronomy. Mlodinow, a visiting lecturer at Caltech and co-author with Stephen Hawking of A Briefer History of Time, leads readers on a walk through the hills and valleys of randomness and how it directs our lives more than we realize. Mlodinow defines such tricky concepts as regression to the mean and the law of large numbers, which should help readers as they navigate the daily deluge of election polls and new studies on how to live to 100. Books on randomness and statistics line library shelves, but Mlodinow will help readers sort out Mark Twain's damn lies from meaningful statistics and the choices we face every day.
Drew Says: I’ll be honest, I picked this book up because of the title. But what I got when I began reading was a crash course in statistics and number theory — a thoroughly interesting and engaging subject that is usually presented in a thoroughly uninteresting manner. Well, not in this case. In the spirit of A Brief History of Time and A Short History of Nearly Everything, The Drunkard’s Walk presents scientific subject matter in a way that makes it engaging, interesting and understandable for the layperson.
Brett Adams
Often Wrong, Never in Doubt: Unleash the Business Rebel Within
by Donny DeutschAmazon.com says: Though his celebrity may sell it, it's Donny Deutsch's street smarts and humanity that make this one of the most enduring lessons on running a small business, in this case advertising. Part memoir, part primer on managing clients in a creative business, the material also discusses managing oneself with integrity, a healthy respect for other people, and an honest perspective on one's individual talents and contributions.
Brett says: I read this book because the Deutsch Agency and particularly Donny Deutsch are fascinating case studies in how you can go from a small startup to a multi-media giant with the right attitude and foresight. This book provides some great insights into how advertising has changed over the years and how some of the best are always one step head.
Yancy de Lathouder
Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant
by Daniel TammetAmazon.com says: This unique first-person account offers a window into the mind of a high-functioning, 27-year-old British autistic savant with Asperger's syndrome. Tammet's ability to think abstractly, deviate from routine, and empathize, interact and communicate with others is impaired, yet he's capable of incredible feats of memorization and mental calculation. Besides being able to effortlessly multiply and divide huge sums in his head with the speed and accuracy of a computer, Tammet learned Icelandic in a single week and recited the number pi up to the 22,514th digit, breaking the European record. He also experiences synesthesia, an unusual neurological syndrome that enables him to experience numbers and words as "shapes, colors, textures and motions."
Yancy says:
The book does cover Daniel’s amazing accomplishments, but focuses more on Daniel's life and recounts the difficulties of growing up with Asperger's Syndrome during a time when Asperger's was rarely diagnosed. In particular, Daniel gives a window into the world of autism, explaining the attraction to seemingly nonsensical habits, such as repetition, spinning, cover the ears, etc., in addition to the fears surrounding the most simple human interactions. If you've known someone with autism, or if you simply want a better understanding of the syndrome, this book will certainly help.Ron Maahs
New Ideas from Dead CEO's: Lasting Lessons from the Corner Office
by Todd G. BuchholzAmazon.com says: In selecting great ideas from dozens of entrepreneurial CEOs, Buchholz insisted that these business pioneers had to be innovators, teachers of lessons, and interesting—and gone from this earth. All nine CEOs represent household names and, some may argue, overexposed brands. Yet Buchholz, with compelling and fast-reading narratives, drills to the core of each personality and his or her business.
Ron says: It's a great mix of history, biography and insight into the success of some of the 20th Century's greatest business leaders. The lessons and ideas of innovation, hard work, grabbing opportunity, and making your own way in the world may not be new, but they are still true today.