50% Seth Godin - Books That Provoke Action

Seth Godin's writing provokes me into action each and every time, hence no surprise that 3 of the 6 books I'm recommending are by him, so check them out. Catch the remaining 3 books in my next post.

Purple Cow, New Edition: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable

The test of a good business book are if the core principles stand the test of time. In this case, c.9 years after publication the edict to be 'remarkable' holds truer than ever, (although innevitably) some of the brand examples are beginning to date a little.  Godin comprehensively undermines the traditional mass tv driven advertising business model, and as the sage he is - the social media phenomena has proven his core arguments to be fundemantally true.

 

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us

Tribes doesn't stray too far from the 2 topics of leadership and avoiding mediocrity. Seth Godin hammers home the vital importance of being remarkable and NOT wasting your resources on simply maintaining the status quo. He makes it plain that mediocrity is equivalent to invisibility and you cant help but love him for pointing that out.

 

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)

This book helps educate when you should quit and move on or to stick and push through. Seth keeps it short and focussed so you only need 2 hours or so to absorb the key learnings. Perfect! 

Help nourish your brain

It dawned on me that its amazing what a claim can do in the home, and in this case - in my fridge.

The best claims are:

1.simple

2.have stopping power

3.believable, (or at least make you feel that its believable)

4.make you buy

5.make you come back and buy again

" Help nourish your brain" from the Minute Maid brand is a remarkable claim. It wins my attention, makes me use and buy, and beats "Natural spring water" each and every time....

Throwback is back

I got really excited  in my post about the Pepsi Throwback campaign earlier this year, and now the cereal brands have caught my eye.

The packaging artwork with old skool cartoons are so much more captivating simply because they look hand drawn and lovingly cultivated - although to what extent they represent todays 'family' highlights how the perspective of that era has evolved so dramatically.

Disrupting Relationships

Disrupting Relationships
I'm an ardent Man Utd Fan and was content to scour 3 channels via my provider Comcast(ESPN, Fox Soccer Channel and formerly Setanta USA) to catch their games (of football ...soccer). I have been forced out of my comfort zone this month with the demise of Setanta USA, leading to the creation of Fox Soccer Channel Plus. The downside has been that Comcast have not signed up the channel.

Building Relationships
The good news is that Foxsoccer.tv has an online service that is showing games and at $4.95 for 24 hours access is reasonably priced, and I was able to tolerate (just !) a few of the glitches during transmission of today's Man Utd vs Liverpool game.

The Dilemma
Today was the first time that I contributed to the decline of 'tv' as a broadcast medium. Comcast now have a dilemma, as a disruption to the status quo has led their consumer (me !) elsewhere and I don't see a reason to return them. The savvy content providers will serve their audience, and build relationships with them directly........Now Comcast have to make an effort to win my custom back .. eg make it easy for me to have online access to my sports channels as part of my package and perhaps I will return...

Dont forget... to do something different

Last week I posted on the 3six5 project about a day of attempting to do things differently. It was a truly liberating experience that is still lingering in my mind, and  you can read the full post here .