Contagious: Why Things Catch On


Jonah Berger - 2013
    People don't listen to advertisements, they listen to their peers. But why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what makes online content go viral? Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger has spent the last decade answering these questions. He's studied why New York Times articles make the paper's own Most E-mailed List, why products get word of mouth, and how social influence shapes everything from the cars we buy to the clothes we wear to the names we give our children. In this book, Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. Discover how six basic principles drive all sorts of things to become contagious, from consumer products and policy initiatives to workplace rumors and YouTube videos.Contagious combines groundbreaking research with powerful stories. Learn how a luxury steakhouse found popularity through the lowly cheese-steak, why anti-drug commercials might have actually increased drug use, and why more than 200 million consumers shared a video about one of the seemingly most boring products there is: a blender. If you've wondered why certain stories get shared, e-mails get forwarded, or videos go viral, Contagious explains why, and shows how to leverage these concepts to craft contagious content. This book provides a set of specific, actionable techniques for helping information spread - for designing messages, advertisements, and information that people will share. Whether you're a manager at a big company, a small business owner trying to boost awareness, a politician running for office, or a health official trying to get the word out, Contagious will show you how to make your product or idea catch on.

How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery


Kevin Ashton - 2014
    Now, in a tour-de-force narrative twenty years in the making, Ashton leads us on a journey through humanity’s greatest creations to uncover the surprising truth behind who creates and how they do it. From the crystallographer’s laboratory where the secrets of DNA were first revealed by a long forgotten woman, to the electromagnetic chamber where the stealth bomber was born on a twenty-five-cent bet, to the Ohio bicycle shop where the Wright brothers set out to “fly a horse,” Ashton showcases the seemingly unremarkable individuals, gradual steps, multiple failures, and countless ordinary and usually uncredited acts that lead to our most astounding breakthroughs.Creators, he shows, apply in particular ways the everyday, ordinary thinking of which we are all capable, taking thousands of small steps and working in an endless loop of problem and solution. He examines why innovators meet resistance and how they overcome it, why most organizations stifle creative people, and how the most creative organizations work. Drawing on examples from art, science, business, and invention, from Mozart to the Muppets, Archimedes to Apple, Kandinsky to a can of Coke, How to Fly a Horse is a passionate and immensely rewarding exploration of how “new” comes to be.

Seeing What Others Don't: The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights


Gary Klein - 2013
    We also need insights into the everyday things that frustrate and confuse us so that we can more effectively solve problems and get things done. Yet we know very little about when, why, or how insights are formed—or what blocks them. In Seeing What Others Don't, renowned cognitive psychologist Gary Klein unravels the mystery.Klein is a keen observer of people in their natural settings—scientists, businesspeople, firefighters, police officers, soldiers, family members, friends, himself—and uses a marvelous variety of stories to illuminate his research into what insights are and how they happen. What, for example, enabled Harry Markopolos to put the finger on Bernie Madoff? How did Dr. Michael Gottlieb make the connections between different patients that allowed him to publish the first announcement of the AIDS epidemic? What did Admiral Yamamoto see (and what did the Americans miss) in a 1940 British attack on the Italian fleet that enabled him to develop the strategy of attack at Pearl Harbor? How did a “smokejumper” see that setting another fire would save his life, while those who ignored his insight perished? How did Martin Chalfie come up with a million-dollar idea (and a Nobel Prize) for a natural flashlight that enabled researchers to look inside living organisms to watch biological processes in action?Klein also dissects impediments to insight, such as when organizations claim to value employee creativity and to encourage breakthroughs but in reality block disruptive ideas and prioritize avoidance of mistakes. Or when information technology systems are “dumb by design” and block potential discoveries. Both scientifically sophisticated and fun to read, Seeing What Others Don't shows that insight is not just a “eureka!” moment but a whole new way of understanding.

The Designer's Guide To Marketing And Pricing: How To Win Clients And What To Charge Them


Ilise Benun - 2008
    Whether you're a freelancer, an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned small-business owner, you'll learn everything you need to know about how to market and price your services.This book shows you how to:learn which marketing tools are most effective and how to use themcreate a smart marketing plan that reflects your financial goalsplan small actionable steps to take in reaching those financial goalsdetermine who your ideal clients are and establish contact with themturn that initial contact into a profitable relationship for both of youtalk to clients about money and the design process - without fearfigure out a fair hourly rate and give an accurate estimate for a projectYou'll learn the ins and outs of creating and running a creative services business - the things they never taught you in school. Plus, there are useful worksheets throughout the book, so you can apply the principles and formulas to your own circumstances and create a workable business plan right away.

42 Rules of Product Management: Learn the Rules of Product Management from Leading Experts "From" Around the World


Brian Lawley - 2010
    The goal of this book is to expose you to the wisdom and knowledge from a group of the world's leading product management experts. Among the contributors, there are leading authors, professors, CEOs and vice presidents, bloggers, consultants, trainers, and even a few salespeople and engineers. In total, there are over five centuries of collected wisdom represented here.The contributors each share one rule they think is critical to succeed in product management based on their hands-on product management and product marketing experience with companies such as Apple, eBay, Intuit, SAP, and Yahoo!.Packed with pearls of product management wisdom, this book has something for everyone. You will learn: How to focus on market needs, not just individual requests How to clarify your product positioning before your next big decision How to align your product strategy with company strategy and then sell it Why agility is the key to product management success Why great execution trumps a great product ideaBest of all, it was written with the busy product manager in mind. Each rule is kept to two pages and designed to stand-on its own. The rules can be read in any order. In less than five minutes a day, you can learn from forty of the best product managers in the world. Whether you are a seasoned and experienced product manager or are just starting out, the "42 Rules of Product Management" will help you lead with greater effectiveness and influence.

Caught Between the Dog and the Fireplug, or How to Survive Public Service


Kenneth H. Ashworth - 2001
    The book is written as a series of lively, entertaining letters of advice from a sympathetic uncle to a niece or nephew embarking on a government career. The book will interest students and teachers of public administration, public affairs, policy development, leadership, or higher education administration. Ashworth's advice will also appeal to anyone who has ever been caught in a tight spot will working in government service.

Advertising for People Who Don't Like Advertising


KesselsKramer - 2012
    Yet, it makes adverts. It has worked with global brands to produce fashion collections and promoted a town with a mass wedding. It creates advertising with more human, truthful communications. The company's name is KesselsKramer. Advertising for People Who Don't Like Advertising is partly a creative handbook and partly an attempt to make the world a very slightly better place. It is intended for anyone who has ever hated a web banner or zapped an ad break.

Google AdWords for Beginners: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to PPC Advertising


Corey Rabazinski - 2015
    Google's AdWords platform enables you to create pay-per-click advertisements that appear as 'sponsored links' when someone searches for content related to your product or service. You bid for the position to place your ad, and you only pay when someone clicks. It's that simple. If used correctly, AdWords can garner higher targeted traffic, which in turn will increase your conversion rates and profits. So, AdWords will definitely help your business, but you have no idea how to utilize them. What should you do? Take a couple of hours to read this book. Google AdWords for Beginners is designed to teach you the fundamentals of AdWords, how it works, why it works, and the proven techniques that you can use to make it work for you and your business. Additionally, this book details an eight-step blueprint that has consistently delivered positive results for companies. Upon completion, you'll be armed with the knowledge to launch profitable campaigns or drastically improve an existing one.

Free: The Future of a Radical Price


Chris Anderson - 2009
    Reveals how to run an online business profitably in spite of the Internet's inherently free culture, disseminating the principles of a ''priceless economy'' in six categories that pertain to advertising, labor exchange, and advanced-version fees.

Build a Brand in 30 Days: With Simon Middleton, the Brand Strategy Guru


Simon Middleton - 2010
    Simon Middleton shows you how to create, manage and communicate your brand profoundly and effectively, in just 30 days, by following 30 clear exercises. How you work through the book is up to you, the result will be the same: an authentic, compelling, and highly distinctive brand that will attract and engage customers and fans. You will learn how to:Establish your brand values and positioning Get the all-important name right Bring your brand to life Turn your customers into your advocates Manage your PR and use your marketing budget wisely Inspire your staff to live the brand too Deal with problems when something goes wrong Branding isn't about funky logos and expensive advertising. Your brand is what your company means to the world. Getting that meaning right is the most important thing you can do in business.'Passionate and persuasive, Simon Middleton has a natural instinct for uncovering the Wow! factor in every brand.' Dawn Gibbins MBE, Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year and Star of Channel 4's The Secret Millionaire

A Framework for Human Resource Management


Gary Dessler - 2001
    It offers Web exercises for every chapter, password protected instructor support material and syllabus manager.

The Renaissance Soul: Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One


Margaret Lobenstine - 2006
    But what about those with a wide array of interests, a dynamic curiosity about the world, and an ever-renewing wellspring of passions? Margaret Lobenstine calls these people “Renaissance Souls,” and in this groundbreaking book, she offers a life-planning strategy in tune with their dynamic, change-loving personalities. Renaissance Souls often get stuck, moving from entry-level job to entry-level job, degree to degree, or hobby to hobby, unwilling to settle on just one thing to do “for the rest of my life.” Or, after achieving success in one field, they yearn for new challenges and begin looking around for something different. Yet they are also afraid that if they pursue their changing interests, they will have to give up on financial security, becoming “a jack of all trades and master of none.”The Renaissance Soul, the first book devoted to this personality type, not only shows that it’s possible to design a successful, vibrant life built on multiple passions, but also gives readers the practical advice to do so. Lobenstine arms the reader with powerful life-design strategies, including how to:*Understand the exciting and powerful difference between choice and focus *Transform your day job so that it carries your dreams forward*Manage your time the Renaissance Soul way*Thrive on many interests without feeling scattered *Get paid for your passions*Learn a new field without going back to school*Get inspired by Renaissance Souls from ancient times to the present, from Leonardo da Vinci to Ben Franklin to Oprah WinfreyStocked with creative exercises, relevant resources, and interviews with successful Renaissance Souls, this profoundly inspiring guide will show readers the way to a richer, more fulfilling life—big enough to embrace all their dreams.

The New Influencers: A Marketer's Guide to the New Social Media


Paul Gillin - 2007
    Paul Gillin’s The New Influencers explores these forces at work, identifying the new influencers, their goals and motivations, and offers strategies for both large and small organizations on how to influence the influencers.

Damn Good Advice (For People with Talent!): How To Unleash Your Creative Potential by America's Master Communicator, George Lois


George Lois - 2012
    Offering indispensle lessons, practical advice, facts, anecdotes and inspiration, this book is a timeless creative bible for all those looking to succeed in life, business and creativity. These are key lessons derived from the incomparle life of 'Master Communicator' George Lois, the original Mad Man of Madison Avenue. Written and compiled by the man The Wall Street Journal called "prodigy, enfant terrible, founder of agencies, creator of legends," each step is borne from a passion to succeed and a disdain for the status quo.Organised into inspirational, bite-sized pointers, each page offers fresh insight into the sources of success, from identifying your heroes to identifying yourself. The ideas, images and illustrations presented in this book are fresh, witty and in-your-face. Whether it's communicating your point in nanosecond, creating an explosive portfolio or making your presence felt, no one is better placed than George Lois to teach you the process of creativity.Poignant, punchy and to-the-point, Damn Good Advice (For People With Talent!) is a must have for anyone on a quest for success.

Negotiation


Roy J. Lewicki - 1985
    A third revised edition of this study of the art and theories behind negotiation, which explores the psychology of bargaining, and the interpersonal conflicts and resolutions which occur during the process.