andreweverett360 Book Review, Marketing

Fans Not Customers

fans-not-customers

Fans Not Customers: How to Create Growth Companies in a No Growth World

by Vernon W. Hill II with Bob Andelman

Vernon W. Hill II founded Commerce Bank in 1973. In 2007, the bank “was sold to Toronto-based TD Bank for $8.5 billion, producing a 30-year, 23 percent annual shareholder return. Everyone profited, including shareholders and team members.” In 2010, he co-founded Metro Bank, bringing the same service culture to British banking. In Fans Not Customers he reveals the secret sauce of his business model. This book is about branding, differentiation, corporate culture, and organic growth, but the dominant theme is providing exceptional customer service. Continue reading “Fans Not Customers” →

andreweverett360 Book Review, Management

Good to Great

good-to-great

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t

by Jim Collins

Jim Collins previously co-authored Built to Last, which studied common attributes of enduringly great companies. Good to Great studies companies which made a transition to greatness: 15 years of lagging stock performance followed by 15 years of cumulative stock returns 3 times the overall market. Continue reading “Good to Great” →

andreweverett360 Book Review, Marketing

Break From the Pack: How to Compete in a Copycat Economy

break-from-the-pack

Break From the Pack: How to Compete in a Copycat Economy

by Oren Harari

Break-from-the-pack companies are analogous to the small cluster of runners at the front of a marathon. The Copycat Economy is analogous to the majority of runners who lag behind. In the words of former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano, “Either you innovate or you’re in commodity hell. If you do what everybody else does, you have a low-margin business.” Continue reading “Break From the Pack: How to Compete in a Copycat Economy” →