Teimlo

Book Review #19 What Matters Now

Book reviews from Teimlo is our blog series devised to recommend marketing and networking books that could help with your business.

What Matters Now

Seth Godin

ISBN 978-0-557-25576-4

The strapline is 'things to do and think about this year'. Conceived by Seth Godin the blogger, this book is a pull-together of the individual ideas of 70 'big thinkers' - each gets a page and a single word title - excellence, harmony and so on. The proceeds from the book go to a good cause Room to Read.

So what to say? Self-styled gurus generally don't do it for us, and certainly we could (but won't) pick on some of the fabulous 70 who have bought their own publicity and think that a small diagram or a few words equals inspiration. But let's be positive - this book is a great idea and is, those few excepted, an inspirational work to the extent that we now follow quite a few of the contributors on Twitter.

We found Elizabeth Gilbert on Ease, Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell on 1%, Chris Anderson on Atoms, Mitch Joel on Compassion, Joi Ito on Neoteny, Tim Sanders on Confidence, Martha Beck on World-Healers, and JC Hutchins on Gumption really interesting. So the book makes you think, gives some inspiration and is good to read. You can also download the legit pdf copy from the Seth Godin site, or buy it here.

We like, please give it a read!

If you have read What Matters Now and would like to leave comment please feel free to do so. If you would like to contribute a book review please contact us.

Book Review #18 Outrageous Advertising

Book reviews from Teimlo is our blog series devised to recommend marketing and networking books that could help with your business.

Outrageous Advertising

Bill Glazer

ISBN 978-0-98237-930-1

Outrageous Advertising is, well, outrageous. In so many ways the book is an example of what it sets out to promote, and what it promotes is Bill Glazer.

The book is published by Glazer Kennedy Publishing, with a Forward by Dan Kennedy and the book by Bill Glazer. It sets out numerous ways to self-publicise and to publicise your own business. The examples are many, many examples of what Bill Glazer has done over the years and of businesses he has helped. You just have to admire the non-stop self-promotion and how the book promotes itself and the follow-on CD and G-K membership. Chapter 4 asks you to turn to page 312 to order up the CD nine times. To test out if the selling process works we went to page 312, ordered the CD & signed up for the two month free membership & haven't had an email back from them in 4 days! The magic, however is that the book self-demonstrates, i.e. by reviewing its most outrageous ploy to get people to sign up, we have a) signed up and b) reinforced the message by mentioning it here.

In practical terms the book demonstrates numerous ways that a business can step outside its normal practices and achieve extraordinary results. The techniques are sophisticated on the inside (split test, plan campaigns, remind sequentially) and brash and blatantly corny on the outside (send a coconut through the mail, write a letter like a 7 year old in crayon). You may think that some of the techniques are too American for a European audience - yes Bill I could resist opening a popcorn bag that comes through my letterbox. We think that many of the techniques will apply anywhere (using copydoodles, tear strip mock newspaper ads, using the whitespace on the back of envelopes) and will try some of them.

Despite a natural cynicism about books with men in straightjackets screaming on the front cover, this is a fabulous read and gets our award for the most use of a single word in a book for many years, that word is "outrageous".

If you have read Outrageous Advertising and would like to leave comment please feel free to do so. If you would like to contribute a book review please contact us.

Book Reviews #17 Conscious Business

Book reviews from Teimlo is our blog series devised to recommend marketing and networking books that could help with your business.

Conscious Business – How to build value through values

Fred Kofman

ISBN 1-59179-517-6

Conscious Business is a book that attempts to apply business psychological theory to practical situations. It combines personal experiences with practical examples in an attempt to give the reader a more informed description of both the problem and the solution.

It is quite clear from the start that Kofman would like to beyond the usual realm of superficial and self evident truths frequently found in business literature. Kofman injects a philosophical element into his solutions which draws heavily on his interest in spiritual beliefs. The examples also show that Kofman, as an experienced consultant, is able to provide clear procedures on how people can take a look at their behaviours and make a conscious effort to change them.

Starting on page 17, Kofman draws a contrast between unconscious and conscious behaviours, breaking them down into subheadings and then explaining them in a business sense. He then uses this framework to provide the chapters for the rest of the book, including practical examples of each behaviour and procedures that can be taken to change them.

This book may begin in the way a journal article or academic paper would, but as you get into the book it is clear that Kofman has attempted to make academia practical and in a sense combining many psychological concepts with his real life experience as a consultant. Therefore patience is needed with this book as the abstract nature of the first few pages may daunt readers looking for realistic advice, but at around page 42 the book becomes far more focussed on the real changes that can be made in business.

If you are looking for a book that makes you think twice about how you interact with people day-to-day, more specifically your employees, employers, colleagues and clients, then this book is a must read. Also if you’re a business student struggling to find the link between academic business psychology terms and what it will mean in real life, then this book can provide a useful alternative viewpoint.

If you have read Conscious Business and would like to leave comment please feel free to do so. If you would like to contribute a book review please contact us.

Book Reviews #16 The Path of Least Resistance

Book reviews from Teimlo is our blog series devised to recommend marketing and networking books that could help with your business.

The Path of Least Resistance

Robert Fritz

ISBN 0930641000

It may be 25 years old next Year but The Path of Least Resistance is a masterpiece. A mixture of logic (common sense) and creative inspiration, the book invites you to reconnect with your natural power to create.

It deals with making Fundamental and Primary choices in your life which then underlay and drive your sub-conscious actions. Unlike many so-called self help gurus, Fritz tackles the fundamentals rather than the dressing. How you get to where you want to get is not dealt with – that will work itself out if your core self and primary choices are aligned – i.e. if you are working for yourself rather than against yourself. None of this is to say that anything will be easy, as this requires self-analysis and assessment of your current reality, not simply changing process.

Fritz says: “When you shift to the orientation of the creative, you firmly place the authority for the quality and direction of your life where it belongs: in your own hands. You establish a new bond between you as a creator and reality as your field of creation. The result is a reuniting with the power of the individual and a renewal of the human spirit”

We say: “Get it, read it, love it”

If you have read The Path of Least Resistance and would like to leave comment please feel free to do so. If you would like to contribute a book review please contact us.

Book Reviews #15 365 Ways To Change The World

Book reviews from Teimlo is our blog series devised to recommend marketing and networking books that could help with your business.

365 Ways To Change The World

Michael Norton

ISBN 0954930967

So you want to change the world but don't quite know where to start? Michael Norton's book gives an idea a day, for a year. Each idea comes with an explanation of what it is and why it is relevant, together with links to supporting organisations and examples.

Some of the ideas are really really big - Boycott the USA - and slightly impractical. Some of the ideas are common sense for families at home - Stick 'Em Up (use less water and power). Some of them are astonishingly simple but grab your imagination - Guerilla Gardening - Bicycle Recycling - Anonymous Generosity.

We can't recommend this book highly enough. There is something for every family and every business that will let you make some changes in your lives that make a small difference. This can be done without mega sacrifice, to help make the world better. It put a smile on the reviewer's face and look out for page 195!

If you have read 365 Ways To Change The World and would like to leave comment please feel free to do so. If you would like to contribute a book review please contact us.

Book Reviews # 14 Today Matters

Book reviews from Teimlo is our blog series devised to recommend marketing and networking books that could help with your business.

TODAY MATTERS

By John C. Maxwell
ISBN: 0446529583 

This book is an inspirational read as it provides a guide in to taking small steps that can help you make a change in life leading to success.

The author offers twelve daily practices to help you control your daily agenda, make time for people and find success in your career. Listed below are a few of the proposed steps to take.

• Stretch your creativity and thinking-generate new ideas every day to become a more valuable employee or boss

• Improve and build relationships-connect with others every day with Maxwell's easy how-to's

• Nurture your personal growth-find out how to make yourself more valuable every day, and enjoy the payoff tomorrow.

If you have read Today Matters and would like to leave comment please feel free to do so. If you would like to contribute a book review please contact Marie.

Book Review # 13 The Social Network Business Plan: 18 Strategies That Will Create Great Wealth.

Book reviews from Teimlo is our blog series devised to recommend marketing and networking books that could help with your business.

The Social Network Business Plan: 18 Strategies That Will Create Great Wealth.

David Silver

ISBN: 978-0-470-41983-0

For those who are looking at improving their social network or to start a new online community will benefit from David Silver’s book The Social Network Business Plan: 18 Strategies That Will Create Great Wealth.

David Silver is the Pied Piper of social networks, having funded more than a dozen of them, including onesite.com, iboats.com, and collarfree.com, and has consulted for pensiongovernance.com and many others. Before the social networks wave crashed onto his shore, David provided the early stage capital for ActMedia, Cognition Technologies, Frontier Telecommunications, Intelepeer, TIE/communications, and Victor Kiam's LBO of Remington Brands, among more than 600 other entrepreneurial companies.

His book is not a book about social or online technology. Instead it deals with the issues and challenges that need to be addressed to build and maintain successful online social networks from the perspective of an investor.

Throughout this book Silver defines wealth in two ways, first from the perspective of an investor and secondly that wealth is the benefit members receive from achieving the fundamental goals of the network, besides fellowship and social interaction. 

Silver explains the 18 methods to create revenue for social networking sites none of which are advertising whilst also predicting the demise of successful online social sites that rely on advertising as non-sustainable modalities.This is explained within different sections throughout the book discussing how to create fees and direct revenue , marketing revenue, to indirect revenue.

Our View:This book is a very interesting read if you are building something that people want or need online. The book gives you plenty of ideas, some simpler than others that you can try for your community. Obviously, some of the advice may not work for your community, but if you know what your community wants you should be able to figure out which ones will work.

If you have read The Social Network Business Plan: 18 Strategies That Will Create Great Wealth and would like to leave comment please feel free to do so. If you would like to contribute a book review please contact Marie.

Book Review # 12 The Little Black Book of Online Business

Book reviews from Teimlo is our blog series devised to recommend marketing and networking books that could help with your business.

The Little Black Book of Online Business is a good resource for those wanting to read a book to understand how to grow a business online. The book covers everything from blogs and emails to helping you to understand keyword search tools. It is not a book about how to make money online but a book that you can refer to when implementing online marketing programmes.

Our view: We recommend this book as Author Paul Galloway provides simple and effective advice and some very useful tools that can help you to grow your business online and maximize your online exposure driving business growth.

If you have read The Little Black Book of Online Business and would like to leave comment please feel free to do so. If you would like to contribute a book review please contact Marie

Book Review # 11 Social Media Marketing:An Hour a Day

Book reviews from Teimlo is our blog series devised to recommend marketing and networking books that could help with your business.

Social Media Marketing:An Hour a Day

By Dave Evans (Author), Susan Bratton (Author)

Whilst we try and understand social media marketing and how to measure the results I came across a book written by Dave Evans. The book is a good read as it provides an understanding in how to use social media marketing to put the buzz of your business online.

The book has been carefully written designed for social media practitioners to traditional marketers written in a clear manner. Evans provides some great tips and practises that can be effectively measured when applied to a social media marketing program on a daily basis.

Our view: The book is very interesting and answers many questions that we ask about social media marketing. It helps you to understand what strategies to apply to measure the effectiveness of your own social media campaign and how to identify ROI. The notion of taking an hour to conduct social media marketing on a daily basis is such good advice and definitely a book to read and put into practice.

If you have read Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day and would like to leave comment please feel free to do so. If you would like to contribute a book review please contact Marie

Book Review # 10 In Praise of Slow (How a Worldwide movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed

Book reviews from Teimlo is our blog series devised to recommend marketing and networking books that could help with your business.

In Praise of Slow How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed.

Carl Honore

ISBN: 978-0-7528-6414-3

Reviewed by Phil Terrett.

Ok so I get it - the clock that ticks once a year, Tempo Giusto, slow food. The book boils down to a few simple concepts that most people will readily grasp and largely agree with. My problem with this is only that the book sets out to encourage a movement towards 'slow' without trashing 'fast', but does trash 'fast' - it's a bit like saying 'I don't want to be rude, but....". I can't help feeling that as a book, In Praise of Slow would have made a great Sunday supplement lead article...to be read at leisure of course.

Do read this book, absorb, enjoy and use the better thoughts within but be prepared to discount sections as intellectual exercises that are not real world ready.

If you have read In Praise of Slow and would like to leave comment please feel free to do so. If you would like to contribute a book review please contact Marie.