andreweverett360 Book Review, Marketing

Treat Your Customers

treat-your-customers-2


Treat Your Customers: Thirty Lessons on Service and Sales That I Learned at my Family’s Dairy Queen Store
by Bob Miglani

Miglani uses situations from his parents’ Dairy Queen store as the basis for customer service lessons applicable to business in general–including Fortune 500 companies like the one where he works as a sales executive. Thirty bite-size chapters in plain English make this a quick read.

The common thread throughout this book is a mindset focused on pleasing customers and earning their repeat business.  Topics include customer service, up-selling, work ethic, leadership, and supplier relationships.

Continue reading “Treat Your Customers” →
andreweverett360 Book Review, history

Farewell to Manzanar

farewell-to-manzanar


Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston

Farewell to Manzanar is the autobiography of Jeanne Wakatsuki, who was seven years old in 1942, when the U.S. government forced Japanese-American families from their homes, and relocated them to internment camps.  She tells the story of life at the Manzanar camp, as well as her family’s difficulty in resuming a normal life after the camp closed, including her personal struggle to fit in with white kids at school.

Continue reading “Farewell to Manzanar” →
andreweverett360 Art, Book Review

Rodin on Art and Artists

rodin-on-art-and-artists


Rodin on Art and Artists
Conversations with Paul Gsell. Translated by Romilly Fedden.

Paul Gsell asked Auguste Rodin questions about his creative process and about art in general.  This book is, for the most part, a transcript of those conversations.

Rodin’s favorite subject was the human figure. “Beauty is character and expression. Well, there is nothing in nature which has more character than the human body… The human body is, above all, the mirror of the soul, and from the soul comes its greatest beauty.”

Continue reading “Rodin on Art and Artists” →
andreweverett360 Book Review, Psychology & Neuroscience

Real Influence

real-influence


Real Influence – Persuade Without Pushing and Gain Without Giving In
by Mark Goulston and John Ullmen

This book is about the “connected influence model.”  Disconnected influence is about “getting what I want.”  It’s adversarial and focused on the short-term.  Connected influence is oriented around understanding the other party’s situation and “viewing your current actions as a springboard for future relationships, reputation, and results… In the real world, interactions are never isolated. Anything you do might affect your relationships, as well as your reputation, for a long time to come.”

Continue reading “Real Influence” →
andreweverett360 Book Review, Crime & Law Enforcement

Policing Needham

policing-needham


Policing Needham: A Story of Suburban Cops
by Lisa Brems

Much has been written about big-city police departments like NYPD and LAPD. Much has also been written about the Marshals and Sheriffs of the wild west. In contrast, Policing Needham takes a look at the history of law enforcement in the suburban town of Needham, Massachusetts. Local history is a microcosm of national history. So while the names and places in this book may be of particular interest to those with ties to the town, the stories are relevant to anyone with an interest in history and law enforcement.

Continue reading “Policing Needham” →
andreweverett360 Book Review, Marketing

Winning the Profit Game – Smarter Pricing, Smarter Branding

winning-the-profit-game


Winning the Profit Game – Smarter Pricing, Smarter Branding
by Robert G. Docters, Michael R. Reopel, Jeanne-Mey Sun and Stephen M. Tanny

Winning the Profit Game reveals the key to success: pricing which is integrated with brand management, cost management, and product development. Whatever the goal, such as market penetration, customer retention, or increasing margins, “the strategy should be reflected in the price.”

Continue reading “Winning the Profit Game – Smarter Pricing, Smarter Branding” →
andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

The Checklist Manifesto

the-checklist-manifesto


The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
by Atul Gawande

Routine errors are frequently caused by little things that slip through the cracks due to poor communication and distractions.  A simple checklist can eliminate these oversights.  This book explores how checklists can improve quality and efficiency—and even save lives—in a wide range of industries. Given the crisis with health care affordability in the United States, I am impressed with the dramatic cost savings in the medical examples.

Continue reading “The Checklist Manifesto” →
andreweverett360 Book Review, Marketing

The Tao of Twitter

the-tao-of-twitter


The Tao of Twitter: Changing Your Life and Business 140 Characters at a Time
by Mark W. Schaefer

Twitter is a “non-intuitive communication platform” but Mark Schaefer has figured it out and experienced tangible results. “My four largest customers, five most important collaborators, and my teaching position at Rutgers University all came to me via Twitter connections.”

Continue reading “The Tao of Twitter” →
andreweverett360 Book Review, General

The Higher Education Bubble

the-higher-education-bubble


The Higher Education Bubble
by Glenn Harlan Reynolds

In the first decade of the new millennium we saw the dot-com bubble and housing bubble end badly. In this concise 48-page booklet, University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds explains why higher education will be the next bubble to burst. “Bubbles burst when there are no longer enough excessively optimistic and ignorant folks to fuel them.”

Continue reading “The Higher Education Bubble” →
andreweverett360 Book Review, Marketing

Pyramids Are Tombs

pyramids-are-tombs


Pyramids Are Tombs
by Joe Phelps

Pyramids Are Tombs covers two major topics: organizational structure and integrated marketing communications.

Many companies claim to be focused on the customer, but Joe Phelps walks the walk. His marketing agency is structured around “self-directed, client-centered teams” which he describes as “the optimum model for today’s knowledge workers.”

Continue reading “Pyramids Are Tombs” →