I’ve been doing a lot of travel lately. The nice thing about airplane travel is it offers up ample opportunity to get caught up on reading. A lot of what I’ve been reading lately has been hit or miss. Kinda makes me wish I had borrowed the book from somebody instead of purchasing. But, such is life. I thought it might be helpful to give you all a rundown of the books I’ve read that have made an impact on me.
Where the Suckers Moon: The Life and Death of an Advertising Campaign – This is one of the best books on advertising and a must read for anyone in the business or interested in the business.
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking – Better than Tipping Point and Outliers. This is the book will reinforce your belief in gut instincts.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable - I love the full set of these books from Patrick Lencioni, including Death By Meeting. However, as I’ve moved into more and more leadership roles The 5 Dysfunctions Of a Team really sticks out as a great piece of inspiration.
Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us – I love Seth. I gave this book a full review here. It really left a mark on me. You’ll find yourself questioning if it’s really worth it to work at a place that tries to stifle your leadership.
The Back of the Napkin: Solving Problems and Selling Ideas with Pictures – I believe in the concept of thinking visually. Often we get caught up in too many words. This book, if you can call it that, does a wonderful job of helping you evolve to visual expression of ideas.
The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich – In all honesty, it was this book that made it clear for me that it was time to move on from my previous employer. If you’re going to be working, you should be happy doing what you’re doing. Life is too short for it not to be.
What Sticks: Why Most Advertising Fails and How to Guarantee Yours Succeeds – If you’re in the business you might now find anything new, but at a point in time this was the book du jour for marketers. Sr. marketers still reference it often. For that reason alone you should invest the time to read it.
Juicing the Orange: How to Turn Creativity into a Powerful Business Advantage – This one is near and dear to my heart as someone who grew up in the industry working at Fallon this concept was engrained into me at an early age.
The GE Work-Out : How to Implement GE’s Revolutionary Method for Busting Bureaucracy & Attacking Organizational Problems – I first learned about the book while working at ConAgra Foods. It was part of Gary Rodkin’s plan to propel the company forward. After reading it, you’ll be amazed at how much nonsense gets in the way of getting the work done. You’ll also realize that the people closest to the work should be empowered to fix the problems.
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful – Well the title says it all huh? You have to keep wanting to be better and you’re going to need new skills to do it. The book is a nice slap in the face and wake up call that reminds you not to rest on your laurels.
The Paradox of Excellence: How Great Performance Can Kill Your Business – Sounds crazy, but it’s true. If you’re always rocking perfection, people become accustomed to that type of performance. The minute you deliver something less than perfect you’ve failed in some people’s eyes.
Have any that you think I should read? Let me know.
Head of Social Media at Walgreens. Interactive marketer, innovator, boat rocker, continuous learner, movie lover, risk taker, dad and all around good guy. I'm always up for a spirited conversation. These are my thoughts and ramblings, not those of my employer.
