Books on Hold is a blog series dedicated to books I have seen in passing and requested from my local library. See more in the series at the end of this blog post. — Douglas
Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
From Amazon.com…
“If you said advertising, think again. People don’t listen to advertisements, they listen to their peers. But why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what makes online content go viral?
Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger has spent the last decade answering these questions. He’s studied why New York Times articles make the paper’s own Most E-mailed List, why products get word of mouth, and how social influence shapes everything from the cars we buy to the clothes we wear to the names we give our children. In this book, Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. Discover how six basic principles drive all sorts of things to become contagious, from consumer products and policy initiatives to workplace rumors and YouTube videos.
Contagious combines groundbreaking research with powerful stories. Learn how a luxury steakhouse found popularity through the lowly cheese-steak, why anti-drug commercials might have actually increased drug use, and why more than 200 million consumers shared a video about one of the seemingly most boring products there is: a blender. If you’ve wondered why certain stories get shared, e-mails get forwarded, or videos go viral, Contagious explains why, and shows how to leverage these concepts to craft contagious content. This book provides a set of specific, actionable techniques for helping information spread—for designing messages, advertisements, and information that people will share. Whether you’re a manager at a big company, a small business owner trying to boost awareness, a politician running for office, or a health official trying to get the word out, Contagious will show you how to make your product or idea catch on.”
* Discovered via KnowledgeBlocks
Previously in Books on Hold:
- Salty Snacks: Make Your Own Chips, Crisps, Crackers, Pretzels, Dips, and Other Savory Bites
- Pancake: A Global History
- Breakfast for Dinner: Recipes for Frittata Florentine, Huevos Rancheros, Sunny-Side-Up Burgers, and More!
- Blog, Inc.: Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community by Joy Deangdeelert Cho
- Nigellissima: Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes by Nigella Lawson
- Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty, Create the Future
- Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes (Martha Stewart Living)
- How to Boil An Egg by Rose Carrarini
- Dirt Candy: A Cookbook: Flavor-Forward Food from the Upstart New York City Vegetarian Restaurant by Amanda Cohen
- See more Books on Hold here!
Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age by Clay Shirkey
I am in the midst of reading this book and enjoying it a lot Shirley seeks to provide some background as to why people volunteer their time and energy on various Internet-conncected pursuits as varied as online communities, sharing Instagram photos and raising money for charities online. I am finding that I am highlighting quite a few sections to consider later, as I read.
It is important for every careerist to understand how this new hyper-connected world effects not only what we do, but who we are. Understanding the tools and the motivations that drive their use is a great career advantage that should not be ignored.
From Amazon.com…
“The author of the breakout hit Here Comes Everybody reveals how new technology is changing us for the better.
In his bestselling Here Comes Everybody, Internet guru Clay Shirky provided readers with a much-needed primer for the digital age. Now, with Cognitive Surplus, he reveals how new digital technology is unleashing a torrent of creative production that will transform our world. For the first time, people are embracing new media that allow them to pool their efforts at vanishingly low cost. The results of this aggregated effort range from mind-expanding reference tools like Wikipedia, which allows Kenyans to report acts of violence in real time. Cognitive Surplus explores what’s possible when people unite to use their intellect, energy, and time for the greater good.”
More 2012 Gift Guide Items:
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The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni
Dysfunctions is structured more like a short story or novelette than a traditional business book. This allowed me to get very involved in the story. Indeed, I believe a good story is always the best way to approach life and business. Whether you are writing a resume or trying to solve difficult business problems, a good story can illuminate the issue better than any combination of charts and reports.
The end of the book contains a more “business-like” restatement of the lessons, for those who want a more traditional review.
More importantly, I saw many aspects of my past business dealings echoed in the book. I think that anyone who is involved in business, in any form, has faced many of these same problems and issues. I requested this book from the library after seeing a short mention, possibly just the title in some magazine I was reading. I had no preconceptions about what I might find within, and I have been pleasantly surprised with the quality and importance of Dysfunctions.
While telling a good story helped to clearly explain the concepts, there were a few times when the characters came around too quickly to the lesson.The main character, a newly minuted CEO brought in to build a better executive team, seems a bit too assured with her process, but yet exhibits some moments of fear and regret.
Overall, this is a great book and I would highly suggest that it be recommended to your employees and your peers as a way of explaining how teamwork can and will develop if everyone is committed to making it happen.
More 2012 Gift Guide Items:
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The Pursuit of Wow! by Tom Peters
While I don’t think I would ever pay the expensive fees required to attend a Tom Peters seminar in person, I am more than happy to read what he has to say. The constant instigator, Peters may say things you don’t agree with, but he will also make you think. My favorite parts of the book are the examples, using companies both large and small, that demonstrate how even the small things can have big effects. Peter’s bias towards front-line personnel is also heartening. I too believe that a company’s fortunes are made just as much at the front counter as they are in the company headquarters. Often, front-line personnel have access to important information that could help executives build their company, or in some cases, save it from destruction.
More 2012 Gift Guide Items:
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Don’t Send a Resume: And Other Contrarian Rules to Help Land a Great Job
This is the book about job hunting that I would have written myself, had not Fox beaten me to it. I highly recommend this book and have written about similar tactics in my Career Opportunities columns over the years.
The world of work has changed drastically over the last decade and this calls for new tactics in getting your first job or your next job.
According to Fox, it all comes down to selling yourself to your future employer. It matters little what you want out of job or a career. What matters most is how you fulfill the needs of the hiring company. Of course, you should be trying to fulfill your work need, but the person interviewing cares little or nothing about your needs and only about their own. A hard fact to face, perhaps, but an extremely important one.
Fox goes on to give hard examples of how to use letters, not a resume to gain an interview, how to prepare for that interview and how to do everything possible to get the job you want.
While I am sure that some human resource people and corporate management will take issue with some of Fox’s advice, as they have with my columns about resumes. This is because Fox’s tactics seem to make their job more difficult. HR staff can no longer winnow large amounts of resumes down to a select few quickly and easily. What they don’t realize is that if all candidates used these tactics, hiring would be easier and the company would be hiring better people.
Highly Recommended
More 2012 Gift Guide Items:
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Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace
Not just an enlightening book, but also beautifully designed, too. I read this when I was immersed in the corporate world and it helped greatly in weathering my days there.
From Amazon.com…
“Creativity is crucial to business success. But too often, even the most innovative organization quickly becomes a “giant hairball”–a tangled, impenetrable mass of rules, traditions, and systems, all based on what worked in the past–that exercises an inexorable pull into mediocrity. Gordon McKenzie worked at Hallmark Cards for thirty years, many of which he spent inspiring his colleagues to slip the bonds of Corporate Normalcy and rise to orbit–to a mode of dreaming, daring and doing above and beyond the rubber-stamp confines of the administrative mind-set. In his deeply funny book, exuberantly illustrated in full color, he shares the story of his own professional evolution, together with lessons on awakening and fostering creative genius.
Originally self-published and already a business “cult classic”, this personally empowering and entertaining look at the intersection between human creativity and the bottom line is now widely available to bookstores. It will be a must-read for any manager looking for new ways to invigorate employees, and any professional who wants to achieve his or her best, most self-expressive, most creative and fulfilling work.”
More 2012 Gift Guide Items:
- Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
- Bulb Planting Tools
- Blue Snowball Microphone
- Seagate Backup Plus 500 GB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive
- Logitech C920 HD Web Cam
- We Are All Weird by Seth Godin
- Sunset Western Garden Book – New Edition for 2012
- The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings
- Garden Mysteries by Anthony Eglin
- The Creative Habit/The Collaborative Habit by Twyla Tharp
- Moleskeine Journals
- Pat Welsh’s Southern California Organic Gardening (3rd Edition): Month by Month
- Podcasting for Dummies/Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies
- Wacom Bamboo Splash Pen Tablet
- Radical Careering by Sally Hogshead
- The $64 Tomato
- Blue Yeti Microphone
- BioLite CampStove/HomeStove
- Getting Things Done by David Allen
- The Curious Gardener
- Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
- GoPro HD HERO 3
- Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart
- The Starfish and the Spider by Orj Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom
- Microphone Boom Arms
- The Information by James Gleick
- Handy Farm Devices And How To Make Them (1909)
- Zarrella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness: The Science, Design, and Engineering of Contagious Ideas
- Apple iPhone 5
- Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod
- Killer Ratings by Lisa Seidman
- Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It by Karen Solomon
- Zoom Portable Recorders (H1, H2, H2n, H4n)
- Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds
- My Teenager’s Favorite Games
- The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness
- In a Mexican Garden: courtyards, pools and open-air living rooms
- Fields of Plenty: A farmer’s journey in search of real food and the people who grow it
- Apple iPad/iPad Mini
- The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam
- Cucina Rustica
- The Great Potato Book
- Rode Podcaster Microphone
- High-Tech Fitness Monitors
- Books by Douglas E. Welch
- Tribes by Seth Godin
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- The Italian Slow Cooker cookbook
- The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need
- Classes from The Institute of Domestic Technology
- Olympus PEN E-P1 12 MP Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera
- Backyard Giants: The Passionate, Heartbreaking and Glorious Quest to Grow the Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Susan Warren
- Cocoon GRID-IT Organizer Packs
- Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
- Podcast Solutions by Dan Klass and Michael Geoghegan
- The Craft and Business of Songwriting by John Braheny
- Dexim Visible Green Smart Charge & Sync Cable
- Wells Lamont Wet and Muddy Latex Coated Gardening Glove
- Rosanne’s Top 5 Books for Film Buffs
- Bon-Aire HN-10C Original Ultimate Hose Nozzle
- Microphones from Giant Squid Audio Labs
- Re-Imagine by Tom Peters
- Razer Gaming Mice
- Garden Hod harvest carrier
- Nest Learning Thermostat
- Aha! 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas
- Yes, You Can! And Freeze and Dry It, Too: The Modern Step-By-Step Guide to Preserving Food
- A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative
- Fiskars 7936 PowerGear Pruner
- Chi-qoo Solar Power Pack Kit from Bootstrap Solar
- Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli
- Sterling Audio ST51 Large Diaphragm FET Condenser Microphone
- DollarSeed.com – One Stop Seed Shop
- 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive
- Desktop Microphone Stands
- Logitech Harmony 650 Remote Control
- Maple Sugaring Startup Kit from Tap My Trees
- Sennheiser HD-280 PRO Headphones
Yes!: 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive
While some might read a book like this for tips on manipulating others to do what they want, I found some great insight into what drives people to make the choices they do. As an organizer of events like CareerCampLA and others, finding ways to persuade people to sponsor and attend these events is critical. Yes! has many great ideas on how to use people’s own desire to be persuaded to work in your favor, and hopefully their favor as well.
More 2012 Gift Guide Items:
Read more…
Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli
We all face deadly meetings all the time, but still we do little about it. Like most, we suffer in silence, waiting for the meeting to be over so we can get on with our “real work.” Instead of wasting all this time and energy, why not take control and make your meetings infrequent, short and useful.
From Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli
One mediocre meeting after another quietly corrodes our organization, and every day we allow it to happen. Culture change occurs when a transformational idea spreads to enough people. Like a virus that makes its way from person to person, spreading exponentially faster, so can the Modern Meeting. The status quo must go. Now. Before it’s too late.
1. Meet only to support a decision that has already been made.
2. Move fast. End on schedule.
3. Limit the number of attendees.
4. Reject the unprepared.
5. Produce committed action plans.
6. Refuse to be informational. Read the memo, it’s mandatory.
7. Work with brainstorms, not against them.
CUT THIS OUT AND BRING IT TO OUR NEXT MEETING.
More 2012 Gift Guide Items:
Read more…
Tribes by Seth Godin
Seth Godin’s newest book, Tribes, touches a concept near and dear to me…organizing groups, or Tribes, and helping them get things done. This is not to say I have been terribly successful at this activity, but I love helping people achieve things and doing it any way I can.
I was interested in Tribes for exactly this reason. I wanted to see what Godin had to say about organizing people and creating “movement” to see if there was anything I could be doing better. Of course, there is always something more you can be doing, so I took away a few good ideas from the book. He does admit, though, that there aren’t any hard and fast rubrics for he can give you for working with Tribes. You need passion and a vision and an ability to understand and care about people, but you can’t break it down into 5 easy steps that anyone can do.
More 2012 Gift Guide Items:
- Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
- Bulb Planting Tools
- Blue Snowball Microphone
- Seagate Backup Plus 500 GB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive
- Logitech C920 HD Web Cam
- We Are All Weird by Seth Godin
- Sunset Western Garden Book – New Edition for 2012
- The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings
- Garden Mysteries by Anthony Eglin
- The Creative Habit/The Collaborative Habit by Twyla Tharp
- Moleskeine Journals
- Pat Welsh’s Southern California Organic Gardening (3rd Edition): Month by Month
- Podcasting for Dummies/Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies
- Wacom Bamboo Splash Pen Tablet
- Radical Careering by Sally Hogshead
- The $64 Tomato
- Blue Yeti Microphone
- BioLite CampStove/HomeStove
- Getting Things Done by David Allen
- The Curious Gardener
- Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
- GoPro HD HERO 3
- Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart
- The Starfish and the Spider by Orj Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom
- Microphone Boom Arms
- The Information by James Gleick
- Handy Farm Devices And How To Make Them (1909)
- Zarrella’s Hierarchy of Contagiousness: The Science, Design, and Engineering of Contagious Ideas
- Apple iPhone 5
- Ignore Everybody and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod
- Killer Ratings by Lisa Seidman
- Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It by Karen Solomon
- Zoom Portable Recorders (H1, H2, H2n, H4n)
- Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds
- My Teenager’s Favorite Games
- The Compassionate Instinct: The Science of Human Goodness
- In a Mexican Garden: courtyards, pools and open-air living rooms
- Fields of Plenty: A farmer’s journey in search of real food and the people who grow it
- Apple iPad/iPad Mini
- The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam
- Cucina Rustica
- The Great Potato Book
- Rode Podcaster Microphone
- High-Tech Fitness Monitors
- Books by Douglas E. Welch
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