tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-709106806146552376.post5740196694450817553..comments2019-12-26T07:40:56.071+00:00Comments on A Few Kind Words: Reading for survivalJamie Jaunceyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10487256106040012552noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-709106806146552376.post-29866923779047309872010-01-25T00:25:37.181+00:002010-01-25T00:25:37.181+00:00Names for Business Books - funny how, as soon as y...Names for Business Books - funny how, as soon as you put the word "Business" in there, there seems to be an automatic default to the left brain.<br />"How to... " "Three steps to ..." "The IdeaVirus" and "Building Stronger Brands."<br />But, if Story Theory (note the capitals - trying to make it sound like an established understanding) is correct - more emotional titles would be more likely to be read.<br />And the content more likely to have a more lasting effect.<br />Yes?<br />OK - making titles up off the top of my head.<br />What about "Brand Murder"?<br />Or "Winter Blood"? (A tale of one man's obsession with increasing store traffic between Autumn and Spring.)<br />Or "Blue Dawn" (The Second Rise of IBM.)<br />Or "FrankenBrand." ("Kill the Monster," screamed the villagers.)<br />And for ones I'd recommend - real titles.<br />Three business specific ones - from the recently read pile.<br />Outliers. Malcolm Gladwell's latest - but the title talks to "things beyond our understanding."<br />Herd. Mark Earls doing what he does best. But the title gets me in - sounds like an adventure right off the bat.<br />"Negotiating With The Dead" by Margaret Atwood is also a good read for aspiring writers - a collection of 6 lectures plus comments from the author.<br />And some great books business people should read - because anyone who needs to connect with customers should read books that help them understand why people do supposedly irrational things. (A personal belief.)<br />The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon - on the importance of stories.<br />The Old Man and the Sea - Hemmingway. Tight. Well constructed. Purposeful.<br />One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - a must read, I think, for all brand managers. The dangers of too much introspection.<br />There are others - so many others.<br />The common thread - in the last six mentioned - is they all use the language to make the points required. They don't have the same "stick to the left brain" structure so many business books do.<br />There's almost a story on every page - stories within stories within stories. Yes. Sometimes layered and confusing. But that's humans for you.John Douglashttp://www.brandclarity.com.aunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-709106806146552376.post-39415776805154953862010-01-22T13:19:50.565+00:002010-01-22T13:19:50.565+00:00John Christopher's long forgotten novel The De...John Christopher's long forgotten novel The Death of Grass has it all - ecological disaster, the failure of the economy, fall of government, power devolved to local people, and how, even at this catastrophic level of the need to survive, power corrupts. I read it in the late 60s (it was written in 1956) so my memory may not serve fully, but in my mind it serves as a perfect parable for 2010. Unlike global warming (bad science, don't get me started) Christopher comes up with a perfectly feasible catalyst for the ecological meltdown.Paul Phillipsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-709106806146552376.post-37946676293050605612010-01-22T09:21:45.487+00:002010-01-22T09:21:45.487+00:00Am just reading (many years too late) John le Carr...Am just reading (many years too late) John le Carre's "Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy". I'm sure this would appeal to Lord Mandelson too. (Is it just the Lord bit that reminds me of Lord Asriel in "Dark materials"?) As a reader you sit there, as if in cabinet, not knowing what the hell is going on but knowing that there are all sorts of secrets you're not going to understand anyway. But it's still intriguing.john simmonshttp://www.26fruits.co.uknoreply@blogger.com