Business Confessions

Good Books On Business and Marketing
	Freakonomics. Although controversial, this book takes looking at data to a different level. It gives you insight on what questions can be asked of data.
	Marketing Warfare. This is my marketing bible. Al Ries and Jack Trout provide all the basics you need to understand positioning.
	Japanese Business Etiquette. Although out of print, this book is great if you are going to do business in Japan. It provides the pragmatic details on what you need to know to get started as a B2B marketer in Japan.
	The Wisdom of Crowds. I never finished this book but it is the current buzz and is becoming the basis on Web 2.0. What would happen if people who did not know each other could collaborate to solve the world's problems?
	The Long Tail. Chris Anderson does an excellent job discussing what is happening in the world as everyone gets a voice. This book is the inspiration of this web site.
	There's a Customer Born Every Minute. Provides the essentials on how to create buzz.
	The Warren Buffett Way. Rich guy. Great management practices.
	Inside the Tornado. The bible for B2B marketing. Enjoy the moments you are inside the tornado.
Good Books On Management
	Shadow Divers. This is a true book on courage and research by two driven people. A great read about the human experience.
	Ronald Reagan Diaries. What really happened in the '80's. Get the perspective from the catalyst who turned america around and changed the world. Whether you are Republican, Democrat or Independent you must admit; very few people have impacted the modern world like RR.
	Change happens! This is the manual on how to deal with it. You can hold on to the way things used to be, grumble about the good old days or you can look forward the future. This book discusses in a novel way (excuse the pun) how to deal with that change. Learn More
	Team of Rivals. I learnt a lot from this book about dealing with differing personalities. Beyond learning about the man, it is great to learn how to turn your adversary into your trusted friends. It is a great basis for evaluating your management style.
	Don't eat the fish on Sunday. Marketers eat out often. It comes with the territory. My friend Bill told me to read this book. Well it is making me think twice about what is going on behind the counter. Great read if you are on a diet. But also a great read of how a tough business like restaurants work.
	1776. Yes, history teaches us great lessons on how to lead.
	Team of Rivals. How Abe Lincoln manage our country through it's biggest crisis is fascinating. How he managed his cabinet and political rivals is also fascinating and an excellent training guide on managing people and leading.
	All the Presidents Men. A good book for those of us who work with journalists. Also works well on understanding what not to do in a crisis and what happens if you don't face controversy head on from the start.
	Fish! Wanna turn a "down in the dumps" organization around. Read this book!
	Jack. Great session on his definition of what makes good leaders: those with energy, can energize, are on the edge and can execute.
	MoneyBall. I love baseball. Learning how the numbers can be use to your advantage is very compelling.
	John Adams. A great book on leadership, perseverance and revolution.
Good Books to Escape With
	Diamond Age. If you have a little girl, you will love this story. Gets a bit strange in the end but very inspirational.
		The Bartimaeus Trilogy. This series by Jonhathan Stroud is an excellent fantasy series that takes a different tact to deliver a fantasy novel.
	The Last Apprentice. First book of what I hope is a long series of fantasy novels. Great writing, dark yet entertaining.
	All books by Douglas Adams. He left us way too early. He had much to give us. And much to laugh about.
	Terry Brooks was missing from my list of great books I've read. I just completed the prequel "The First King" which pulled together many of the loose ends to the original trilogy.
		Anything from Bill Bryson is great. His travel novels are fantastic, makes you want to go there. But I think his best work is the Short History of Nearly Everything.
Inspirational Books
	Cinderella Man. Rags to rich's. Teaches the moralities of another generation. One we should not forget.
	The five people you meet in heaven. Learning to look at your life from different eyes. Great to help with dealing with loss and death but also great with dealing with life.
	The Secret. I have to admit, I am not sure what to make of this book. On one side it is a great book on positive thinking. It describes many things I have witnessed when one looks towards the positive conclusion of a project. On the other side, it is about being materialistic to an extreme. There are also so many parallels to religion in this book but written by people who may be atheist, these concepts do not bubble out . My recommendation is to listen / read and make up your own mind.
	Never have your dog stuffed. I just love Alan Alda.

Page design Copyright Robert DeRobertis 2007 template from FrontPage-Templates.org