Picking up a business book this January is a great way to learn something new or enhance your skill set. We asked a range of industry professionals to review some of the top business books to ensure you make the right choice. Here’s what they said:
Employer Brand Management: Practical Lessons From the World’s Leading Employers
Author: Richard Mosley
Publisher: Wiley
Reviewer: Paula Matthews, marketing executive, Claromentis
Employer branding seems to have developed from an ambiguous corporate term to an essential component of business strategy. These days, you don’t have to search far to read the latest case study, opinion piece or survey on the benefits of building a distinctive employer brand.
However, today’s marketers seem to be juggling increasingly complex job roles with dwindling budgets, which often results in employer brand management being pushed to the background.
This book makes a strong case for employer brand management by matching benefits to detailed studies and research. From the outset, we’re told to apply the same discipline and rigour of customer and consumer brand management to that of the employer brand. What makes this book an insightful read is the fact that it continuously draws on examples from some of the world’s leading employers – without painting over their challenges.
If, like me, you’re exploring the subject of brand management with an element of scepticism, you’ll finish the book with a greater sense of respect and seriousness for the subject. The overarching theme is that an organisation with a positive employer brand can be more successful than its competitors for many reasons. To achieve this competitive advantage, you will find a step-by-step guide outlined.
This book does lean towards individuals perhaps situated in HR, internal communications, employee engagement and brand management as it details talent management strategies, on-boarding, recruitment and retention. Nonetheless, for marketers looking to broaden their knowledge in the area of employer brand management, this book will equip you with all of the necessary information.
Star rating:
Winner Takes All
Author: Scott Keyser
Publisher: LID Publishing
Reviewer: Anna Lawlor, co-director, Social i Media
As the marketing mix has become increasingly complex, so brands are increasingly relying on multiple, specialist agencies to meet their needs. In blunt terms: getting the gig today is all about delivering truly bespoke kick-ass proposals and pitches, then delivering on that ‘brand promise’.
This requires more than simply being able to ‘do the job’ as and when you win new business; it is in demystifying what your clients are looking for at various stages of the tendering process that this book really shines. While some of the exercises may be too detailed than smaller marketing agencies require, the ‘seven and a half principles’ at its foundation are sound and provide a solid, mental framework for marketers to apply to future business bids and pitches.
If (as the quote goes) marketing is like sex because everyone thinks they’re good at it, there’s a double jeopardy in marketers assuming they have business pitches covered. There’s always room for improvement and Winner Takes All successfully marries the theoretical with the practical that ensures you make the most of your team’s resources to win not just more business, but more of the types of business you actually want.
While I found the content itself well-constructed, well laid out, approachable in tone and informative, I truly hated a design style that is meant to highlight key ‘takeaways’ for the reader; asterisks supposedly pencilled in the margins, pencil-drawn circling of text and faux highlighted sections gives the impression of a cheap, second-hand tome. Also, they key takeaways of this book may be different from reader to reader, depending on their experience.
That said, I would heartily recommend Winner Takes All for everyone from agency owners to anyone involved in writing proposals through to pitching for new business, and from those who will read it cover-to-cover to those who will dip into sections relevant to them.
Star rating:
Innovation Governance
Authors: Jean-Philippe Deschamps and Beebe Nelson
Publisher: Wiley
Reviewer: Travis Wentworth, marketing manager, The Storytellers
The term “innovation governance” sounds a bit like a contradiction in terms: isn’t innovation all about what happens despite the strictures of governance? And isn’t governance all about preserving the status quo? Not anymore. Where once we were obsessed with innovations, we now treat innovation as a process. Rumour has it that Steve Jobs designed the Apple HQ with all the toilets in one central location; the further people had to walk, the more creativity-inducing chance encounters they’d have (though I doubt anyone on a hike to the loo would be in much mood to stop and chat).
We know that single, transformational products can revolutionise industries – ‘disruptive’ is the complementary term of art – yet we don’t know much about how innovation is cultivated. With this book, Jean-Philippe Deschamps and BeebeNelson help fill that gap. At the core of their approach are nine models of innovation governance based on who, from the executive team to a single individual, is most responsible for catalysing innovation. Some solutions are more effective than others; companies whose innovation efforts are driven by a chief technology officer are seen as more effective, but naturally it depends on how the model is deployed, the kind of innovation the company is trying to achieve, and the quality of the leadership.
Innovation Governance isn’t exactly a scintillating read for those with only a casual interest in innovation and management. Its primary beneficiaries may be students of management or those in executive leadership positions. But if the theoretical first half feels like a slog, the second will be more rewarding – a series of deep dives into the innovation efforts of Tetra Pak, Nestlé, IBM, Michelin and others. The ultimate takeaway is both unsettling and exciting: innovation is tough, but even the slowest and most conservative companies can (and indeed must) embrace it.
Star rating:
The Reputation Playbook
Author: Jennifer Janson
Publisher: Harriman House
Reviewer: Rosie Park, account director, Bray Leino
Jennifer Janson drafted The Reputation Playbook after meeting several in-house communications experts at traditional B2B organisations who understood the value of social media and its role in managing corporate reputation, but who were struggling to secure buy in or interest from their executive team on the matter.
Conversely, she also met with a number of exuberant CEOs who were keen to extol the virtues of social media, only to find they had devolved responsibility for tweeting to an intern. Her concern is certainly well founded with many boards still unaware of the power of social media and the transparency it brings to customers – something with which we can all identify, particularly when it comes to B2B brands.
Janson argues convincingly for the need to set a reputation strategy – although there aren’t many communications professionals who need to be persuaded of its importanc – and provides a number of practical techniques and tips throughout the book to help achieve this.
Real life illustrations and case studies always provide added interest and Janson has peppered the book with plenty of good examples, such as how Barclays approached improving its reputation after the resignation of its CEO and hefty fines on both sides of the Atlantic, and how NatWest and O2 managed crises that were amplified through social. It’s only a shame there isn’t more detail or interviews with key players to provide more insight.
Many of the chapters cover well-trodden ground when it comes to the importance of reputation, but as Janson says herself ‘the fundamental principles of reputation-building haven’t changed for decades’. And while there are plenty of things you will already know when you read this book and only a few things you should know, it is a useful refresher and helps to refocus the mind.
Star rating:
The Small Big
Authors: Steve J. Martin, Noah Goldstein and Robert Cialdini
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Reviewer: Sam Williams-Thomas, CEO, OgilvyOne
The Small Big is the sequel to 2007 bestseller Yes! and like its predecessor, it condenses scores of studies from behaviour change science into a readable short book. This time the authors have focused on areas where a small change in what you do can have a big impact. As the authors discussed at a recent OgilvyOne event, while this idea can be counter-intuitive for many organisations, these small changes have the obvious attraction of not just being cheap to implement, but also easier to drive through organisational inertia.
‘The Problem Freed’ effect addresses the reality that every organisation makes mistakes sometimes. They quote the COO of a global hotel chain, among others, who found that the single biggest driver of loyalty and customer satisfaction was any service problem that was immediately put right. As the authors point out it will often be unrealistic in the complex modern business world to achieve perfection. Yet, how many B2B companies are measuring and managing problem resolution as a key metric?
Also relevant to B2B marketers are the many examples of how social cues, both face-to-face and through Social media, are crucial to business relationships. HMRC recently used this insight to encourage people to pay their taxes on time, increasing collection rates from 59 per cent to 86 per cent in a pilot. Equally, while many consumer focused businesses now take reviews extremely seriously, B2B marketers sometimes relegate these reviews to a rather dry testimonials section of their website, rather than having them centre stage. The Small Big doesn’t just remind us that reviews matter, but also gives valuable clues on what sorts of reviews matter.
And one last example for anyone who presents their expertise to customers regularly; The Small Big reports that people are more trusting of experts if they signal their uncertainty in situations where no clear answer exists. So while confidences, and credentials, are crucial to closing a sale, admitting what you don’t know can also be valuable.
While I may not eat and drink behaviour change science like my colleagues at OgilvyChange, I do know that The Small Big is a great way to find new ways to improve your business.
Star rating:
*Declaration of interest: The OgilvyOne director of social is acknowledged in the Small Big.
The Ultimate Guide to Writing and Marketing
Author: Dee Blick
Publisher: Filament Publishing
Reviewer: Kimberley Brind, global social marketing leader, Oracle
How many of us dream of writing a book one day? I know I do.Yet, for me, the challenge of actually doing it has felt such a colossal undertaking that a dream is all it has ever been until serendipity struck in the form of Dee Blick and her latest book The Ultimate Guide to Writing and Marketing.
As a lifelong B2B marketer I guess it is only natural to have developed what I like to consider a healthy measure of cynicism. I see the word ‘ultimate’ in a headline and immediate think ‘yeah we’ll see’. So, it was with great admiration I discovered the claim in this title to be entirely bona fide.
From start to end, Blick gently guides you through the journey of becoming an author. With step-by-step practical advice and a plethora of real-world examples, her book demonstrates how to approach the crucial content gathering process, how to best consider your readers and their needs, how to commit your story to words, how to self motivate when life distracts, how to avoid the most common pitfalls, how to position the value of your book to publishers, how to market your book through advocacy and literally everything else in between.
Not only have I learned from Dee how to write a bestselling book, I also have a ton of new ideas as to how to apply her book marketing techniques to my B2B social campaigns. For example, why not encourage reader reviews for the vast amount of whitepapers we publish.
Thanks to Blick I will now write that book of my dreams and her book will be by my side throughout.
Star rating:
The Curve
Author: Nicholas Lovell
Publisher: Penguin
Reviewer: Graham Parker, creative director, Parker PR
If your business has not woken up to the opportunities the digital age offers, then you may be missing the boat; that’s the message from Nicholas Lovell in The Curve.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a business book as well crafted, illustrated, informative and easy to read as The Tipping Point, but this one certainly ranks alongside Malcolm Gladwell’s best seller in my opinion.
Lovell, a man who knows a thing or two about being successful in the digital business world, espouses his well backed up theory of ‘The Curve’ – the concept that in order to win and keep customers in the economy of shrinking costs, rising value expectations and fluid customer bases, business owners need to focus on high value customers and not high volumes. He also wants to free you from the tyranny of the physical to embrace all that the digital world of the web and social media can offer you.
For years businesses have tried giving things away as loss leaders, but Lovell argues the case for giving more away, in order to engage with customers, get them to like your products and ultimately buy. He dares you to ask your customers what they like best and then let them pay what they want for it – you will be surprised at the results.
To some this may seem anathema to all they have done before, to those that see it as a radical opportunity to be grasped I suspect Lovell will tip his hat in admiration.
The book is illustrated with examples of how ‘The Curve’ has worked in the music, gaming and leisure industries but to Lovell’s credit he extends the strategy to a host of others; and even provides template examples for everything from Premiership football to accountancy.
Star rating:
