Marketing Books

A smart, fast read, but also practical and frank. Usable advice on query letters, proposals, networking, when to self-publlish and how to negotiate.

This is a nice place for prospective non-fiction writers to start investigating the process of what it takes to get published. A quick and easy read, the book's main benefit is as a reality check to knock the naiveté out of prospective authors. To be sure, pretty much everything Brown discusses is covered by other books on the topic, however, these often spend far too much time getting to the point and/or offering various bits of writing advice that aren't really germane to the nuts and bolts of getting a book deal. Quite properly Brown assumes you can write; and while his brevity is often a good thing, sometimes the rapid pace and flip tone leads to broad generalizations that can be slightly misleading.

He comes at the topic with a wealth of personal experience, having published some twenty or so books with a variety of major publishing houses. Despite this, his perspective is rather limited -- as a former financial writer (for Inc. and Forbes), all but one of his books are business titles. And the reality is that business non-fiction is a slightly different beast, and the lessons learned there can't necessarily be extrapolated to other nonfiction genres. Business books tend to be what Hollywood calls "high concept", that is, all about a central, easily grasped premise, and generally not particularly nuanced. So while much of this "insider's guide" is certainly useful for all prospective writers, some of the advice is very hard to apply to other nonfiction genres.

Similarly, Brown downplays the extent to which his existing position as a journalist smoothed the path to the book world. He advocates a stepped process to approaching editors with one's pitch: start small with a query letter, then if you get a nibble, send a brief (around 3 page) mini-proposal, and then, only as a last resort, put together a proper full-scale proposal. While there's certainly logic to avoiding the substantial work of putting together a full proposal, a writer with his background (especially when working with a "name" co-author) can get away with the approach. whereas 99% of the readership for this book cannot. Probably the worst advice in the book is on page 52, where he argues against sending a full proposal even when an editor has responded "tell me more in writing." If an editor tells you this, you'd better come back with as complete and polished a pitch as possible, because if they're not impressed, they may not give you another chance.

The other aspect of full-blown proposals Brown doesn't acknowledge is that the process of creating the proposal will help you immeasurably in honing your idea and pitch -- and may well lead you to realize you can't write the book. Which is not to suggest that Brown doesn't like proposals -- he includes a complete one of his, and has annotated it with copious footnotes pointing out areas for improvement. This "peering under the hood" is a very strong part of the book, and is well worth examining (even though I actually don't like some of the proposal's arrangement).

Generally, whenever I read a book on this topic, I will jot down the few ideas from it that I found particularly unique or compelling. I didn't do that once with this book -- but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I've already read a lot on the topic, and thus have a good store of material. But this would make a great first book to read on the topic, as long as one recognizes its limitations and reads a few others for more perspective and depth.

I bought this book last Friday afternoon, and had read it entirely by the late evening - I could not put it down.

Not only is it filled with information to help get your first non-fiction book published, it is written in a thouroughly approachable and enjoyable style.

That "memo" is mentioned in the appendix about how this particular book came to be, and I thought it was cool to title a review like that.

Not mentioned in the above little summary is the "snide editorial comments by Ellen Kadin" (on the cover) which are dispersed throughout the book. Ellen Kadin is AMACOM's editor, an independent (and funny) voice to let you know how accurate Paul B. Brown really is. Most, but not all of them are affirmations...but they are all funny. If someone (like me) got the book from a library right next to all those traditional Chapter 6-1/2 books, you might want to skip the her annotations if you are actually reading it _in_ the libary, because you are likely to make enough noise (laughing, cussing, or both) to get dragged out by security...fortunately, I am good friends with my library's security.

With insight and irreverence Paul Brown lays it all out for aspiring writers. He takes you from book proposal to agent to publisher to promotion.

That's all that a would-be nonfiction author could want. He'll tell you things you don't want to hear, but must know in order to make your foray into writing a success.

Brown has endured book ideas that were rejected and books that didn't sell, along with a perennial best-seller Customers For Life.

If nothing else Brown knows his trade when it comes to publishing nonfiction books.

I'd like to point out errors in his 'Nontraditional Approaches' but from my observations, Brown is correct more than I'd like to say.

And, when he has a question, he knows where to go to find the answers, which, of course, he shares with readers.

If you don't like the idea of pitching book ideas to publishers, then maybe being an author isn't for you.

If you don't like the idea of a 40 to 50 page book proposal, Brown will explain why it's in your best interest to get through it, or scrap your idea of a nonfiction book deal.

If you want a bigger advance - and why you should try to get the most you can (besides the obvious reason) - are nailed by Brown in Publishing Confidential.

If your idea is to write a nonfiction best seller, then Brown's book will save you a lot of time, and serve as your tour guide.

You may not write the next top selling business book, it's not a guarantee, but Brown's book will help you get through it with his `insider's guide to what it really takes to land a nonfiction book deal.'

Brown delivers.

A lot of it is common sense, but you won't notice it until you read about it.

Very practical, trustworthy, hand on insight. Gives you a lot to think about, and unfortunately also some "deja vu" experiences. Should be mandatory reading for all managers in companies doing well!

My favorite section of this entire book, and that is high praise indeed given my opinion of the rest, starts on page 200. Sheth mentions how academics are often criticized for existing in an ivory tower and how the accusation is false; the real inhabitants of an ivory tower are corporate CEOs and their immediate minions. It is the job of academics to interact with raw beginners and to do the best they can to teach their students the breadth and depth of skills needed to survive in their chosen profession. From the first day they step on a college campus, students are interacting with their professors; there are very few barriers between the student and the head of a department.
However, the executives at the highest levels of a corporation are much more sheltered, which is a significant part of the problem. Many fly on private jets, have their private elevator, washroom and cafeteria. So many of them interact with only a few of their employees and almost never with their customers. The information they receive is carefully filtered and in the most rigid of organizations, it is unthinkable that a line worker would ever exchange meaningful words with an executive.
Sheth also describes many of the other problems that good companies face, although I don't believe he is complete in his analysis of why companies fail. He is quite correct that many of the companies initially succeed largely due to luck and being in the right place at the right time. However, the eventual failure of so many companies is due to the creative destruction that is an inherent feature of capitalism. The advance of technology and social mores cannot be predicted or stopped; so many companies simply outlive their economically effective life. In my opinion, that point is not stressed enough.
Sheth is quite correct in pointing out that the greatest point of failure is when companies become "fat cats", content to bask in their success and believe that the good times will continue indefinitely. Or at least as long as the current executive team remains in their positions. He also commends companies who have the policy of term limits in executive positions. By rotating executives from position to position on a regular basis, no person has an opportunity to build a "protective silo", where it becomes more important to protect their executive turf than it is to advance the company.
Another very amusing point that I agree with; is when he points out that there is less of a cultural divide between Christians and Moslems than there is between engineers and marketing people in the same company. As a former software developer, I remember some of the very hostile barbs that went back and forth between the marketing people and the programmers. We spoke a different language, not only in how the product should be built, but we strongly, vehemently disagreed about what should be said to potential customers.
In conclusion, Sheth does an excellent job in describing the history of some of what used to be the most powerful companies on Earth. Now, many of those companies no longer exist, some are in serious trouble and the successful ones are nothing like they were when they were at the peak of their power. The common theme leading to their downfall was an inability to see or even acknowledge that the world associated with their products was changing. The first step in any attempt to keep your company from being added to the list of failures is to recognize that it is possible for yours to fail. Sheth drives that point home with an effectiveness that may make you wince and take an honest look at the state of the company you work for.

Never too late to learn more, even if you've been in the business for decades. I feel like translating this book into Korean language, provided that the author and publisher would agree.

During the early 1980s, Tom Peters and Robert Waterman penned a business classic named In Search of Excellence. In it, they cited 62 "excellent" companies. Many, including Sears, Xerox, IBM and Eastman Kodiak, have faced serious problems since.

Some recovered; some struggle to recover. Some are dead; others soon will be. Although the word "institution" implies permanence, Jagdish N. Sheth argues the average life span of a corporation is plummeting. The genius of Joseph Schumpeter's "Creative Destruction," is becoming widely understood.

The author, a business professor at Emory University, argues that companies that rise to the level of great often sow the seeds of their own destruction. He argues the following kernels soon blossom sapping the "great one's" potential:

1. Volume Obsession - rising costs and falling margins.
2. Denial - substituting myths, rituals and orthodoxy for vision and insight.
3. Arrogance - Need I say more?
4. Complacency - success breeds failure.
5. Competency Dependence - the curse of incumbency.
6. Competitive Myopia - a nearsighted competitive view.
7. Territorial Impulse - culture conflicts and turf wars.

The careful reader is forced to shine a light into every corner of his or her organization. Using insightful illustrations, Sheth urges business leaders to identify their self-destructive behaviors before they lead are destroyed. I particularly enjoyed the description of a company in his chapter on the Territorial Impulse described as "complex of 50-story office towers, connected only by common areas at the bottom and the top."

This is an entertaining and insightful book. Management and executives will ignore its lessons at their own peril.

Writers are lucky to have this book available - it provides them with much specific & essential guidance on their quest for perfection and success. And it makes things easier for us - film company executives - as well, because dealing with writers who have been enlightened by this book saves us time, compared to dealing with those who choose the shaky road of "trial & error". Thus this book is invaluable to both Writers and Executives. [...]

As an aspiring screenwriter, Mr. Hauge's title offered me a "guaranteed way" to get my screenplay read. Needless to say, this title sold me immediately. I finished reading it in one evening, and highlighter in hand, I went back and reread it again. It now closely resembles one of my college textbooks. I can't wait to implement Mr. Hauge's tips and suggestions as I enter the world of pitch fests, contests, and (hopefully) pitch meetings. When that time comes, I know I'll be well prepared and ready-to-go.

Don't even think about pitching your script without reading this book!

Michael Hauge has been to more pitch fests and conferences than just about any screenwriting teacher/consultant out there -- and he knows exactly what it takes to break through that glazed look in the Producer's eyes and make them take notice of your story.

As a professional screenwriter, I, too, have been to a lot of pitches (And as a professional script consultant, I've heard even more). And I thought I had my formula down. But I found Michael's specific techniques in this book to be really insightful and inspiring -- and I've already changed my approach because of it!

In his honest, witty, and authoritative style, Michael walks you through every step of the process, from clarifying your story's major turning points, knowing what to put in (and more importantly what to leave out) of the pitch, to how to create an instant connection with the one you're pitching to...and leave them wanting more.

Before you pitch your next story, whether over the phone or in person, read this book -- twice -- and let it guide you to creating the pitch-perfect plan for pitching your next script.

In the meantime, Stay Inspired -- and Keep Writing!

Derek Rydall
Founder, [...]

Written by expert screenwriting coach Michael Hauge, who has consulted on projects for Warners, Disney, Columbia, New Line, CBS, and Lifetime among many others, Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way To Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read is a no-nonsense guide for novice to veteran novel writers and screenwriters to get noticed. Written in plain terms, Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds covers the 10 key components of a commercial story, how to design a strong pitch, targeting the right buyer, securing opportunities to pitch, what steps to take next if a potential buyer says yes or no, and much more. A no-nonsense "how-to" guide filled with industry tips, tricks, techniques and etiquette guidelines, and an absolute "must-have" for any writer trying to break into the business.

I attended 2 of Michael's seminars at Screenwriting Expo '06 and this book contains the same "special" quality of Michael's in-person class: He wants you to succeed. The book is an Instruction Manual for understanding, crafting and marketing your story. The material is digestible for beginners, valuable for all levels of writing, simple and thorough. There is a nice balance of "Do" and "Don't" advice. The "Executives on Pitching" Section provides confirmation and flavor to the meaty material that precedes it. This book is not simply a compilation of quotes and buzzwords. Michael has command of his craft and endeavors with the heart of a mentor to infuse it in his readers. 2 thumbs up :)

A very informative book, however it is easy to see that it was written by professors. The book does make basic business subjects more complex than needed.

With its comprehensive content, the book gives a fantastic overview of the important issues in services marketing today. There are many interesting and practical examples demonstrating the learning points. Well-balanced perspective. Besides giving readers the foundations of concepts and tools to use as services marketing managers, it also gives readers interesting tips on how to get around or leverage on current services strategies used by companies as customers.

Its a very useful book covering all aspects of services marketing. Contents are well organised with real world examples, frameworks that you can apply to practical issues etc. I have read through all the chapters in the book and a few headings very interesting
1) Loyalty
2) Managing services people
3) Understanding service quality
4) Power of service guarantee
I strongly recommend anyone interested in services marketing to buy this book.

As Services industries continue to become a larger and larger share of our global economy, the importance of Services Marketing can only grow. Wirtz and Lovelock have written an excellent book for understanding Services Marketing and backing it up with numerous excellent real world case examples. I have been in the Services industry for 21 years, but still learned a tremendous amount from the book and cases. The book makes it easy to grasp the key concepts and has a logical, smooth flow. If after reading this book and exploring the accompanying cases, you still don't have a thorough knowledge of Services Marketing, it is YOUR fault! I highly recommend this book and think it should be part of every MBA program.

This is such a well-written and well-organized book that you can simply read from cover-to-cover or jump into your interested chapters right away.

Not only does the authors present you with their in-depth coverage of the various services related topics, supplementary materials (papers, cases) from other excellent sources/authors make this an absolute encyclopedia of services marketing and a coherent contemporary literature for both novices and seasoned practitioners.

This is THE book for this very under-written and immensely critical topic of services marketing and an essential reading for the 60-80% of the workforce who are involved in the ever growing services sector.

So maybe you've been thrust into the new E-whatever position in your company. You feel like a deer in the headlights when the E-consultants and E-agencies come in, start foaming at the mouth and spewing E-jargon. You wonder, what the heck are they talking about and what should I do? Get an agency that speaks English and read this book during the transition!

Laurie and Ken have compiled an impressive amount of quantitative and qualitative research on which to base "The Soul of The New Consumer". Far and away the most important statement to remember in this book is:

"In effect, the Web site experience becomes the primary vehicle for building and reinforcing brand identity and preferences."

Information architecture (the structure of a web site), Internet marketing and Internet branding converge in the mind of the consumer. They should be developed in tandem. The web site experience IS the brand experience; think about it, think about your own web usage experiences.

"The Soul Of The New Consumer" goes on to discuss issues of great concern to many web users. These include privacy, the (non?) existence of customer loyalty, traffic generation, conversion strategies, and perspectives of E-customers. The quantitative research in the book can be found anywhere, the analysis makes the book valuable and the moderated discussions with consumers add a touch of real world insight that is missing from many books.

Now that you've read this book, and have a new agency that speaks English, you'll have a better idea of how to communicate with them. You'll know more of the right questions to ask; the answers to look for and maybe even understand a little of the E-jargon should the conversation digress to that level. You might even feel comfortable enough to make up some of your own!

A must read for any business that wants to keep existing customers and attract new ones to their web sites. Their research on how people are using the internet and how they plan on using it in the future is very timely and a necessary concept to get to be successful in the dot com arena.

Great book and insight. Shows how to get into the consumers mind and what's there to use. A book that takes what is in this book and enables you to put it in a solid plan is Make Your Website Work For You, but that's another dollar.

This book gave me invaluable insight into the thoughts of today's Internet consumer. The information is timely and well explained so even those of us new to the Internet Economy can not just understand but apply this information. Worth taking what little time you have to read this book cover to cover. Laurie Windham really knows what she is talking about!

A must read book for all people in business. The Soul of the New Consumer gives valuable insight into today's consumers and how to capture new opportunities in the e-commerce business. I highly recommend this to all forward thinking companies and individuals.

I "met" the author, Denise Michaels online just about two years ago. In that time, she has helped me grow from starving artist to successful artist, as well as develop a new career in information marketing. Her book, "Testosterone-Free Marketing" reveals the ingrained cultural blocks and obstacles that women have been taught from infancy and teaches how to get past them in order to take your business to the next level. Humourous and easy to follow, "TFM" is a brilliant self-help book for women entrepreneurs.
Bev Hanna, S.C.A.
(...)

I thought I was the only woman out there who felt confident about everything else EXCEPT my ability to market my own business. Denise's groundbreaking "Testosterone-Free Marketing" helped me understand why I had difficulties with marketing and gave me concrete tools to make lasting changes. This awesome new book should be recommended reading for every woman who owns her own business.

Denise Michaels has got some great ideas and approaches in this book that really do bring a fresh new perspective to marketing. Sometimes she's just changing a word or two in order to create a less aggressive marketing mindset; sometimes she is bringing in new and untraditional approaches.

Don't expect a list of steps or marketing action items; she does have exercises to complete and approach-changing action items, but not marketing actions. This is intentional, since you're expected to take her concepts and apply them to your own marketing program and your specific business goals.

The only reason I give this a 4-star rating instead of 5-star is because I found some of her woman-oriented language a little annoying (frequent references to shopping and clothes, for instance, don't appeal to me since I hate shopping and usually wear jeans!), but that is an extremely minor quibble about a very useful book. If you're a woman trying to succeed in marketing, whether for your own business or as a profession, I highly recommend it; likewise, if you're a man seeking a new approach, or a man trying to market to women, I also highly recommend it!

What a relief to discover just how painless marketing can be! Not only can I market without all the hoopla -- but I can market with integrity -- in ways that suit me personally. Denise has a wonderful gift for breaking things down into fun and do-able bites. Her book, Testosterone-Free Marketing has given me back my excitement about marketing. Thanks, Denise -
no more fear of the unknown!

At age 61, I started a new business. Yet, I reached a point where I was so
frustrated with marketing I was unsure if I wanted to continue. I was
searching for answers, then I read Denise Michael's amazing book,
"Testosterone-Free Marketing - The Yin and Yang of Marketing for Women."
What an education in marketing and in why I kept holding myself back! One of
the many things I discovered was, I can be me - a woman - and market my way!
From here I'm finally ready to really move mountains! Get the book and
you'll get where you want to be with your business!

I read this book as a teenager many years ago and assume it's been out of print for many years. Don't know how historically accurate it is, but as a story, it totally rocks! The author brings the days of the Caesars to life with poignancy and humor. A must-read!

Mannix' "Those About to Die" combines a historical and sociological view of the Games of the Roman Republic and Empire. With the title taken from the traditional gladiators' greeting, "Hail Caesar! We who are about to die salute you!", this book traces the history of the Roman games from Anchises' funerary games in Vergil's Aeneid to the inevitable coarsening and excess of Imperial Rome. Along the way, we learn about the engineering of the Circus Maximus, the training of the gladiators, the orgiastic response of both plebs and patricians in the audience, and even the horrific cruelty inherent in such a scene. Mannix' "Those About to Die" provides tremendous insights into a cultural and sociological ritual the likes of which have never been seen before -- and, hopefully, will never be seen again.

This is an update after actually receiving the book. Read first, then go to the end for the update.

Almost 50 years have passed since I first read this shocker and I've found it again. Before pushing "go to checkout" this is my memory:
Absolutely incredible book on Roman life. By "incredible," I really do mean "unbelievable" details of Roman excesses, not just in the killing arena, but in raising and eating rare foods: hummingbird tongues, fish that changed colors as they were boiled alive, unborn calves and other animals cooked inside their mothers, and on and on.
In the arena, there were specialists in animal as well as human destruction called "bestiarii" who could kill a lion with their bare hands. The author said the bestiarii hated and feared only leopards because of the animals' blinding speed.

The Roman Colosseum arena could be flooded in minutes, not only for mock sea battles, but for imaginary paradise islands populated by luscious women and handsome men singers and musicians--who were fed to crocodiles to the delight of the crowd.

So out of hand did the "Bread and Circuses" of Rome become that shipments of sand for the Colosseum floor were given priority over shipments of food, according to that author.

I read this shocking book as a very young teenager--it was a paperback book belonging to an uncle. If I can remember this much after nearly 50 years, this is a book that stays with you--whether totally true or not.

UPDATE---Well, I was half right, because this is about half the book it was. Not Amazon's fault. The book arrived in less than a week in surprisingly good condition for a paperback.
No, the 1960 publisher "reverse Bowdlerized" the original I read. Thomas Bowdler gave his name to heavy editing by taking out "indelicate" parts of Shakespeare for a family edition.
This publisher left all the indelicate parts in, resulting in 153 pages of blood, guts and sex.

My guess is that 100 pages of the original are missing. Nothing on the raising and eating of rare foods except a brief mention of thrushes' tongues (not hummingbirds)and baby mice. Very little on the daily lives of Romans and the rich. Probably considered too boring.
Still a helluva read by Daniel Mannix. He put together an exciting and only partly imaginary account of the horror and spirit of the "games" of ancient Rome. Today's "Mortal Kombat" types of computer games and popularity of "reality" TV shows are a perfect reflection of old bloodlust, proving Mannix right in saying in 1958 that America would revel in actual fights to the death today.
But I wanted more than blood and guts, and miss the "boring" parts. Instead of Bowdlerized, the original was disemboweled--with glee.

I read this book over a decade ago and even today, now that I do not have the copy anymore, I still remember the title and the impact it had on me then. It has been on my wish-list for years and plan to order it again soon. I have had many occasions to refer to it in conversations with friends and aquaintances, be it toward politic themes, animal training, or in college. This book gives a fascinating insight into mankind, the beast.

when I was given this book, I thought it would be a laborious read; I was wrong! Daniel Mannix has done an excellent job of bringing dimension & depth to a subject that few of us really understand. It's a real pity that this piece of literature is now out of print because every student of history should have this narrative in their personal library. I now watch 'SPARTACUS' from a totally different perspective!

The Wal-Mart behemoth-beast's unchecked onslaught on our landscapes and local economies continues, but now there is more help to at least momentarily stymie the beast. With small victories here and there (the meatcutters' union win, for one, and that decision rendered right there in ARKANSAS, no less), this is one of the books that shows how we can be as good a friend to Wal-Mart as that it is to us, and we can learn from that very intelligent, mutating virus. This book helps a person think about retailing in the shadow of Wal-Mart the way an FBI profiler thinks about a criminal. It's not fighting fire with fire, but learning the weapons of the opponent and then thinking beyond them, to a more advanced level. It's an escalating fight. But it's a fight the little guy will win because Wal-Mart is now TOO big. The little guy is far more agile.
Learned about this book at sprawl-busters.com, a very helpful site (Al Norman's book is great as well!).

Don Taylor and Jeanne Smalling Archer explain how to prosper "in the shadow of the retail giants." This is quite literally a "how to" manual, filled with hundreds of specific examples, suggestions, strategies, and cautions which can be of substantial benefit to literally any small-to-midsize retail operation which is currently struggling to survive and then succeed. Of course, the David and Goliath metaphor is invoked. The co-authors stress the importance of courage, ten survival strategies, and "about 500 stones." (David needed only one well-placed stone. Today, he would need more "ammunition" because there are so many different "giants" to conquer. It is worth noting that David did not wrestle Goliath.) Interestingly, the "Big Three" (Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target) all opened their first stores in 1962. They were not the first discounters but they had learned a great deal from pioneers such as Ann and Hope, Korvettes, Zayres, Arlands, and Gibson's. Once "Davids" themselves, they eventually became "Goliaths", demonstrating (in process) the importance of the ten strategies which are examined in Up Against the Wal-Marts.

The authors organize the material according to three overriding themes: change, improve, and succeed. In the 1990s, change has been the only constant. Improvement is not an option; it is an imperative. With regard to success, the co-authors leave their reader with this final statement: "Many small businesses are going to be successful competing with the giants, and we can't think of any reason why yours shouldn't be one of them."

I can see that this book may have added value in 1994, but it is entirely out-dated at this point. The copywrite itself is from 1994, and the examples are dated back to that point. I am interested in seeing if the customer examples they list are actually still in business. Although I am sure they are, the techniques recommended in this book are only 1/2 the story for a modern day business. Perhaps the authors could update the book, with new statistics for the Wal-Mart's of the world, along with strategies to succeed on the Internet. It is a little strange to read a book that talks about how important it is to fax, and to trim phone bills by dialing after 11pm... as I said, this book is for the dinosaurs.

The Wal-Mart behemoth-beast's unchecked onslaught on our landscapes and local economies continues, but now there is more help to at least momentarily stymie the beast. With small victories here and there (the meatcutters' union win, for one, and that decision rendered right there in ARKANSAS, no less), this is one of the books that shows how we can be as good a friend to Wal-Mart as that it is to us, and we can learn from that very intelligent, mutating virus. This book helps a person think about retailing in the shadow of Wal-Mart the way an FBI profiler thinks about a criminal. It's not fighting fire with fire, but learning the weapons of the opponent and then thinking beyond them, to a more advanced level. It's an escalating fight. But it's a fight the little guy will win because Wal-Mart is now TOO big. The little guy is far more agile.
Learned about this book at sprawl-busters.com, a very helpful site (Al Norman's book is great as well!).

I have no relationship with anyone connected with this book - it just sounds like I do. We stumbled across this book- and have now bought more than 12 copies for our key staff over three years. IT IS the BEST TRAINING BOOK for RETAIL MANAGERS I HAVE EVER SEEN. Whoops - sorry I get excited - but you get my point.

It is NOT about Wal-Mart - it is about being smart in operating your own business - and when you are smart - you have a much better chance of success.

Every chapter is solid with good info -- no fluff.

Try it

Sellani has chosen some very interesting organizations with which to illustrate the points she makes in her excellent book about building a strong and lasting brand. This should be on the shelf of anyone involved in marketing, sales, public relations and advertising.

As a small business owner and operator, I am often too busy working to think about branding my company, and hiring a branding agency can have a huge price tag associated with it. By reading What's Your BQ, I'm able to make smart decisions about branding my company. Also, the questions that are posed at the end of each of the 35 stories helps me to not only see what other companies are doing successfully, but helps me apply branding strategies to my own company. If you want a simple process to build a better brand, this book is it.

I love marketing books and at the same find many of them rather thin on ideas. That's not the case in this book. Sellani give you the tools to create or fix your brand and then takes you deep into the brand strategies of 35 winners. The stories are enlightening and fun and the brandstorming questions themselves are worth the price of admission.

Many business books are good at giving us endless strategies. Ms. Sellani distinguishes herself by transcending strategy and drilling into tactics. Her 35 case studies make it possible to quickly see how to apply the principles she espouses. Buy this book if you want to start working smarter instead of just harder.

FINALLY, a book that doesn't spend 100 pages expounding on theories! Sellani sifts through the hype that surrounds branding and gives the reader the necessary tools to build a brand's long-term success. This is the book I was always waiting for that delivers a fundamentally solid nuts-and-bolts approach to branding. Although the book can also apply to large corporations, it is filled with thought-provoking case studies from small-to-medium-size companies that I can relate to. If you've got branding on your brain, this is a MUST-READ!

Of all the business books I've read, and I have read a great deal more than most for my job, this is simply one of the best. It is well researched, yet also well written. Its lively, yet detailed, historical analysis brings out the lessons of business that are usually lost to time. This book has more intelligent things to say about the true sources of business success than ten of the best sellers combined, and is just as fun to read as any of them.

Gerard J. Tellis and Peter N. Golder methodically and empirically demonstrate that pioneers are rarely rewarded for their efforts at the end of the day. The confusion between pioneers and current market leaders lies in the exclusion of failures (survival bias), tendency for managers to refer to their own firm as the pioneer (social desirability or self-reports bias), and self-serving market definitions (self-serving bias). For example, the Gillette Company is the oldest surviving firm in the disposable razor market. However, the Gillette Company was not the firm that first commercialized the razor. Similarly, Intel was not the firm that first brought the microprocessor or CPU to the market, even it has been perceived as the pioneer in that industry.

Tellis and Golder brilliantly build on over a decade of in-depth research to show that vision, persistence, relentless innovation, financial commitment, and asset leverage are the real factors that drive the superior performance of enduring leaders like the Gillette Company and Intel.

1. In their examination of "Vision", Tellis and Golder take their distance from the traditional definition of that much abused business term. Often, vision is indeed synonymous with broad mission statements used to excite and inspire stakeholders of an organization. In Counter-intuitive Marketing, Kevin J. Clancy and Peter C. Krieg concurred that most companies do not have much of a vision (See especially pg. 74 - 86). Vision has two key components according to Tellis and Golder: 1. A focus on the often-decried mass market with its dynamic and evolving needs and 2. A unique perspective of serving that mass market. For example, in contrast to its top competitors, AOL has stressed from the beginning convenience, ease to use, community, and ubiquity. Similarly, McDonald's has stressed from the onset quality, service, cleanliness, and value to build a worldwide network of mainly franchisees for bringing fast food to the masses. In Product Strategy for High Technology Companies, Michael E. McGrath gives a good complement to Tellis and Golder's definition of vision by explaining it as an answer to three key questions: 1.Where does a firm want to go? 2. How will the firm get there? And most critical 3. Why will the firm be successful? (See especially pg. 12, 306, and 317).

2. In their analysis of "Persistence", Tellis and Golder debunk the myth that enduring market leaders usually achieve their success through luck or sudden breakthroughs. In fact, visionaries have the will to persist in their efforts through seemingly insurmountable obstacles, slow progress, and long time efforts. The origin, early struggles, and ultimate success of Federal Express showed how important the vision and persistence of Fred Smith, its founder, made the difference at the end of the day. Similarly, the ultimate success of xerography after 13 years of research was due to the unwavering faith of former Xerox (Haloid)'s CEO, Joseph Watson in the underlying technology.

3. In their approach to "Relentless Innovation", Tellis and Golder remind their audience about the importance of firms not resting on their laurels. Technology and consumer tastes constantly change. Tellis and Golder rightly identify complacency with past successes, bureaucracy, managerial occupation with current customers and competitors, and fear of cannibalizing existing products as the four enemies of the relentless pursuit of innovation. For example, the earlier history of the Gillette Company clearly indicated that its success led to complacency and arrogance detrimental to its market leadership several times. Quoting Andy Grove, one of the founders of Intel, "Only the paranoid survives." In Product Strategy for High Technology Companies, Michael E. McGrath gives a good complement to Tellis and Golder's examination of both time-based and cannibalization strategies (See especially pg. 219 - 234 and 257 - 271).

4. In their study of "Financial Commitment", Tellis and Golder demonstrate that visionaries show persistence in their ability and willingness to raise and commit financial resources whatever the obstacles in their way. For example, Federal Express was on the brink of bankruptcy for years before it finally took off. Similarly, King C. Gillette, one of the co-founders of the Gillette Company, struggled not only to launch the eponymous company but also to raise the capital necessary to commercialize his disposable razor for years.

5. In their dissection of "Asset Leverage", Tellis and Golder look at how generalized and specialized assets can be mobilized for dominating a product category. Tellis and Golder rightly identify the extent to which the new product category does or appears to threaten the old product category, a strict focus on costs, myopic view of markets, and bureaucracy as the four major hindrances to leveraging assets. Xerox squandered more than one opportunity to leverage its assets to adopt and commercialize the revolutionary discoveries of its Palo Alto Research Center for years. In contrast, Microsoft showed sacrificing several products in development as the way to catch up with the competition after it had initially misjudged the potential of the Internet revolution.

Tellis and Golder also remind their audience that the relative importance of the five factors mentioned above varies by firm and market characteristics: new firms, established firms competing in established markets, and established firms entering new, yet unrelated markets (See pg. 265 and 266).

To summarize, Will and Vision by Gerard J. Tellis and Peter N. Golder is like The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen a major contribution to a better understanding of how markets really work.

In Will and Vision, the authors refute the theory that first-movers have an overwhelming advantage, and replace it with the idea that seven factors, that can be summarized as will and vision (hence the title of the book) are instead the factors that permit companies to dominate markets.

First, the author performed an in depth empirical study that included 43 different industries at different times in order to show that the original entrants in many markets were not in fact the current leaders. Instead, the authors offer the following seven factors as the main ones in determining whether firms became leaders in their markets:

* Envisioning the Mass Market - Examples include P&G with Pampers disposable diapers for everyone instead of for travelers only and Kodak with photographs for the non-professional.
* Uniqueness of Vision - Examples include Tim Berners-Lee and the development of the WorldWideWeb and King Gillette's view of the razor market.
* Persisting Against All Odds - Examples include Bill Gates' persistence that landed him the operating system contract with IBM and Haloid's persistence over a decade that created Xerox.
* The Need for Relentless Innovation - Examples include Moore and Noyce leaving Fairchild Semiconductor to found Intel and the relentless pace of innovation there, and Gillette's close brush for lack of innovation in the 1960s and its ensuing fast pace since.
* Organizing for Innovation - Examples include HP's organization beating Xerox and IBM at the laser printer market, and Netscape beating Mosaic by taking talent and rewarding it.
* Raising and Committing Financial Resources - Examples include Fred Smith's almost bankruptcy to keep FedEx alive and Amazon sacrificing profits for a long period in order to achieve its envisioned mass market level of service.
* Leveraging Assets Despite Uncertainty - Examples include IBM losing the PC battle because it did not want to hurt its mainframe sales, and Charles Schwab's leadership in web trading after it chose to focus on it and sacrifice off line higher margins.

Overall, I found it a very good entertaining book, with anecdotes that help support the ideas the authors suggest. I strongly recommend it.

This book comes out with a hypothesis challenging conventional thinking which assumes that pioneers dominate markets. Collecting and analyzing historical data from over 66 industry segments the conclusions by the authors is baffling. This is not a case where statistics is used conveniently to support untested theories using available tools to prove a point. The approach to understanding market dominance and the role of pioneers and followers is path breaking. Contrary to common belief, data shows that in many cases the pioneers have as little as 9 % market share. The ingredients for success are therefore not being there first, but doing the right things.

Five factors that emerge as key to ensuring long term success and market dominance are Vision, Persistence, Financial Commitment, Innovation and Asset leverage- factors that are structurally related in a causal chain starting with a clear vision for a mass market. There are innumerable examples and detailed cases where the inability to see a mass market for innovative products has resulted in late comers grabbing the market from incumbents. Fear of cannibalization of existing products, bureaucracy, complacency, are some other causes that stifle growth.

After explaining the hypothesis, a good and crisp summary of the conclusions from the historical data, every chapter proceeds sequentially to substantiate the findings. This is a rare combination of business history, statistical analysis and strategy. It is this unique combination and the unconventional wisdom that is bound to make this book a classic in its own right. The range of products covered varies from diapers to couriers and computers. IBM, Microsoft, Fed Ex, Xerox, Gillette are some companies that are discussed in detail.

Comparing it with other books on similar research, my prescription for business would be:

Innovators Dilemma + Will and Vision + Built to Last + Good to Great = Road to Market dominance.

Highly recommended.

Few business principles engender as much faith among people as the principle of the pioneer's advantage. For example, Ries and Trout, in their book on the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, boldly state the "first immutable law of marketing" to be "It's better to be first, than it is to be better." Brand recognition, brand loyalty, consumer inertia, network effects, experience effects, access to distribution channels - these are all reasons for why the first movers in a market could have an advantage over others in the quest for market domination. Consultants, academics, and managers note the many examples of pioneers who appear to have done very well in their markets. Look, they say, at Gillette (in safety razors), Hewlett-Packard (laser printers), Microsoft (PC operating systems), and Amazon.com (online bookselling). All of these cases appear to prove the pioneer's advantage.

Tellis and Golder argue quite convincingly that these examples prove exactly the opposite: pioneers are much more likely to be cursed to failure than blessed with long term success! The authors show that the real pioneers in the markets listed above are not the current market leaders. Gillette entered the safety razor market in 1903, but a company called Star, they find, had already introduced a safety razor in 1876. H-P entered the laser printer market in 1984, but IBM had one on the market in 1975. Microsoft introduced MS-DOS in 1981, but Digital Research had introduced its CP/M operating system back in 1975. Amazon.com entered the online bookselling business in 1995, but Clbooks.com/books.com was selling books online in 1993. Most of these pioneers are forgotten now - many are long dead. Yet the myth of the pioneer's advantage lives on.

Using new and detailed historical research, Tellis and Golder systematically debunk the myth of the pioneer's advantage. The book refutes much conventional wisdom, and wonderfully weaves together hard data and vivid business stories to argue its thesis. Tellis and Golder are two of the world's leading experts on market entry and long term success. Their prior research has had a major impact on the academic business community. Yet if current and recent business practice is any indicator, few managers seem to be aware of the lessons that emerge from this remarkable stream of research. One only needs to think back at the Internet gold-rush to see this point.

The bulk of the book is on the question: If pioneering does not explain market dominance, then what does? Again, Tellis and Golder bring fresh, unorthodox insights to this question. They organize the answer to this question along two dimensions: Vision and Will. Their arguments force one to rethink several common precepts. For example, they challenge the very notion "vision" as it's currently understood. Similarly, they point out that dominance is often seen as a function of luck, or being at the right place at the right time. In fact dominance is more a function of small, incremental innovations in design, manufacturing, and marketing over many years. Indeed, it took Procter and Gamble (a latecomer) 10 years of persistent planning and research to find success in the lowly disposable diaper market.

Overall, the book is provocative and compelling, meticulously researched and highly practical. The case studies alone are worth the price of the book. But the novelty and persuasiveness of the insights make it one of the finest works on business strategy.