andreweverett360 Book Review, Marketing

Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value

priceless-poundstone


Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It)
by William Poundstone

Traditional economics assumes people engage in rational transactions. Not surprisingly, people make irrational decisions all the time.  In Priceless, William Poundstone draws from research in psychophysics (the study of sensory perceptions) and behavioral economics to explore the subject of pricing. Concepts such as anchoring, priming, and prospect theory (adaptation, loss aversion, certainty effect) are explained.

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andreweverett360 Book Review, Psychology & Neuroscience

Quiet Influence: The Introvert’s Guide to Making a Difference

quiet-influence


Quiet Influence: The Introvert’s Guide to Making a Difference
by Jennifer B. Kahnweiler

Jennifer Kahnweiler observes “that introverts can be highly effective influencers when they stop trying to act like extroverts and instead make the most of their natural, quiet strengths.” She points out some noteworthy introverted influencers, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Charles Darwin, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Warren Buffet, Condoleezza Rice, Steven Spielberg, and J.K. Rowling. “Quiet influence is not about talking a great game to win the deal. It is a less understood approach to influence and differs from more ‘out there’ talkative methods.”

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andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

The Balance Myth

the-balance-myth


The Balance Myth: Rethinking Work-Life Success
by Teresa A. Taylor

Teresa Taylor is a former COO of a Qwest Communications. She writes about how she navigated her career while also juggling the demands of her personal life as a wife and mother of two boys.  As the title implies, she found that “trying to achieve this mythical ‘balance’ simply causes us endless frustration.” She uses layers of clothing as an analogy. You can add or remove layers to adapt to changing circumstances. “Thinking in layers allows you to integrate your work and your personal time to create one life and one family.”

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andreweverett360 Book Review, Career

Success Built to Last: Creating a Life That Matters

success-built-to-last


Success Built to Last: Creating a Life That Matters
by Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery, Mark Thompson

This book is about common traits of what the authors call “enduringly successful people” or “builders.”  The findings are the result of original research.

“The traditional definition of success was resoundingly trounced in this survey, as well as our personal interviews… Nowhere in the dictionary definition do you find any reference to finding meaning, fulfillment, happiness, and lasting relationships. No mention of feeling fully alive while engaged and connected with a calling that matters to you.”

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andreweverett360 Book Review, Marketing

The Dollarization Discipline

the-dollarization-discipline


The Dollarization Discipline: How Smart Companies Create Customer Value… and Profit from It
by Jeffrey J. Fox and Richard C. Gregory

Dollarization “is figuring out what your offering is really worth—in dollars and cents—to your customer.”   The book discusses the role of dollarization in sales, marketing, and product development.

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andreweverett360 Book Review, General

Everything Is Miscellaneous

everything-is-miscellaneous


Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder
by David Weinberger

In the past, physical limitations led to classifications systems in which everything was forced into a single category. A library patron needed to know which shelf contained a particular book, so each book was assigned a category within the Dewey Decimal system. In the digital world, it is more useful for things to have multiple classifications.

“Reality is multifaceted. There are lots of ways to slice it. How we choose to slice it up depends on why we’re slicing it up.”

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andreweverett360 Book Review, Marketing

The Kindness Revolution

the-kindness-revolution


The Kindness Revolution: The Company-Wide Culture Shift that Inspires Phenomenal Customer Service
by Ed Horrell

Ed Horrell writes about poor customer service in American business. “What is really surprising, however, is the number of companies that view service as the item to cut in order to make more money. They decide to focus on getting new customers at the expense of keeping existing customers loyal… They lose sight of the fact that it usually costs around five times as much to acquire a new customer as it does to keep an existing one. ”

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andreweverett360 Book Review, Marketing

The Truth about Search Engine Optimization

the-truth-about-SEO


The Truth about Search Engine Optimization
by Rebecca Lieb

The Truth about Search Engine Optimization explains what will improve your website’s visibility within organic search results. Just as importantly, it explains what can get your site penalized by the search engines. If you are looking for a programming manual with lots of sample code, this is the wrong book for you. Think of it as an overview of SEO for the CEO.

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andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

Confessions of an Accidental Businessman

confessions-of-an-accidental-businessman


Confessions of an Accidental Businessman: It Takes a Lifetime to Find Wisdom
by James A. Autry

James Autry worked his way up from copy editor of Better Homes and Gardens to president of the magazine division. This memoir gets off to a slow start talking about his childhood and military service, but it gets more interesting when he starts to focus on his publishing career.

There are some memorable lines in this book:

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