This is my list of latest readings. Regard this as recommendations, and of course if you disagree with, let me know.
I finally finished Tribes by Seth Godin. In general I like Godin's stuff, but this one took me some time to finish. Maybe because the way the "chapters" are structured - not too sure. But like in his other books, he really has a point. So what did I learn? If you are going to hold onto the status quo, you are going to lose... Excellent point.
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How do you make your ideas stick? This is the question Chip and Dan Heath tries to answer in "Made to Stick". And the answer is: SUCCESs - Your ideas have to be: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional and told as a Story. There is no doubt that Chip and Dan Heath is very fond of Malcolm Gladwell, and if you are too, then you'll like this book.
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Michael Porter is almost characterized as Mr. Strategy since he defined Porter's five forces. This article about strategy is slightly different and in my opinion a more general approach on how to get the strategy right. Top keywords from the article: different, fit and focused.
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It sure has a lot of common sense in it. You know pretty much all of it already, but maybe it's a good idea to get a reminder sometimes. I wasn't blown away by it, but it's quick'n'dirty reading. Only about 180 pages with big types and illustrations so if you got nothing else to do, then read it to remind yourself of a couple of thinks you actually already know.
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In the article from Harvard Business Review the CEO of IDEO, Tim Brown, explains how you can implement design thinking in your organization. Furthermore he gives an example of how you can design elements that are not normally associated with design. In this example, IDEO used design thinking together with Kaiser Permanente to change the structures around work-routines for nurses with great success.
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Get customers who worship the ground you advertise on. “A customer evangelist not only purchases from you regularly, she feels compelled to tell others.” They demonstrate how to create customer evangelists in today’s market of endless choices. Ben and Jackie use triumphs from the business world to deliver sound advice on how to maximize your marketing output and quality. A must-read for any consumer-heavy business.
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Years ago, when you were about four years old, the system set out to persuade you of something that isn’t true. Not just persuade, but drill, practice, reinforce, and yes, brainwash. The mission: to teach you that you’re average. That compliant work is the best way to a reliable living. That creating average stuff for average people, again and again, is a safe and easy way to get what you want.
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Public, private, and civil leaders should confront together the problems that none can solve. Leaders everywhere no longer express as much confidence about the future as they once did. When they speak candidly, it often sounds as if they feel trapped in quicksand, unable to move forward easily.
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For most companies the process of creating new, innovative products and getting them out the door starts with tapping the most talented members of the R&D team. Once they have arrived at an idea and decided it is feasible, R&D moves to determining the most effective way to develop it and bring it to market. It sounds logical; but what if there was a way to reinvent the process and bring better products to market faster and at a lower cost?
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t’s becoming increasingly difficult to catch the eyes of the consumer. Once you have them you have to keep them. Technology has transformed relationships between businesses and customers. Now, your job isn’t just to transact sales. Your job is to cultivate trust, build community, and interact with your customers on an ongoing basis.
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The ‘Wow Factor’ is you. The knowledge that you’ve done the research, considered the risks, paid attention to every detail. It’s the calm that comes from no-regret living. The confidence that says, ‘I have something to offer.’
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If You Build It, They Won’t Come What happened to the early days? You built a baseball stadium, a store, a web app, and people flocked to it… now what? We are suspicious of marketing. We don’t trust strangers as willingly. Buzz is suspect. It can be bought. Instead, consumers and business people alike are looking towards trust.
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This book is for your emotional self. The book is written by the french Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard in a way that makes it "eat-able" for westerners. It's not a religious book, but more a book of psychology. It gives you a brief guide on how to transform your negative emotions. It might be the book on my shelf that I've read most times.
Adaptive Path gives you an insight to what experience design is good for. It's not only dedicated to designers, but the organization as a whole. I highly recommend this book, as it really gives you a broader perspective on experience design.
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This can't be said too often. Malcolm Gladwell is just an amazing writer.
It is a pleasure to be guided through numerous research findings and stories from around the world while he is getting closer to the essence of the tipping point.
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