Let’s talk about books.
When we realize that we don’t know what we don’t know, we open ourselves to curiosity. That’s why I love books so much. They help me grow. Each one adds just a bit more to what I do know.
Books get me to think in new ways. They change my mind. And they make me better at my job as a marketer.
Some of my favorite people are friends who give me book recommendations. It’s great fun comparing notes and talking about what we’ve read. And how our learnings might shape our work or our everyday lives.
So, this blog is about sharing a few books that I love. A lot of great ones didn’t make the cut. But I forced myself to keep it to a list of a baker’s dozen.
These are books on strategy, marketing and culture. Each one will make you think and help you grow as a health care marketer. A few could cause you to see marketing in a whole new way. Or even make a difference in something you’re working on at the moment.
Take a look.
How Brands Grow by Dr. Byron Sharp – Some call this book the most important marketing work in decades. Based on the world’s largest set of empirical marketing data, it will cause you to question things we’ve all at one time believed to be so.
The Long and the Short of It by Les Binet and Peter Field – Now a decade old, their econometric modeling identified a decline in advertising effectiveness and shared new insights into what is actually driving growth. It has caused many of the world’s leading brands to rethink their approach. You might also want to read their subsequent works, “Effectiveness in Context” and “Media in Focus.”
Think Again by Adam Grant – This book celebrates the wisdom of realizing we don’t know what we don’t know – the value of rethinking and unlearning. It celebrates the skeptic and offers practical approaches for helping ourselves and others embrace intellectual humility and be more open to new ideas and others.
Strategy Is Your Words by Mark Pollard – Mark is a remarkable creative strategist. His book is a handbook showing strategists how to work through the fog to emerge with fresh and effective strategy choices. His four-point framework is one of my go-to thinking tools.
Humble Leadership by Edgar Schein and Peter Schein – The Scheins’ “Organizational Culture and Leadership” is considered the foundational text in the field of organizational development. For me, “Humble Leadership” is my favorite. They flip the hierarchical, transactional leadership model on its head and advocate an approach that is rooted in trust, collaboration and building relationships.
Playing to Win by A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin – This is a must-read for anyone involved in defining strategy. The longtime P&G CEO and his strategic right hand contend strategy is about two key choices: “where to play” and “how to win.” Their Strategy Choice Cascade is a classic tool used successfully by many.
A New Way to Think by Roger Martin – Martin’s latest book is challenging traditional thinking by advocating for a more dynamic approach to problem-solving. He tackles a range of topics, from strategy, execution and data to culture, talent and competition. The story of the bank teller is so good.
Competing Against Luck by Clayton Christensen – I first learned about Christensen’s “job to be done” approach in one of my MBA classes and it has shaped my thinking ever since. The milkshake story is a classic. And his audience-oriented method is the path to better messaging, products and innovations.
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman – This book explores two systems of thinking: System 1 (fast) and System 2 (slow). It’s really a manual for how consumers make decisions. You’ll see his thinking about memory peek through in “How Brands Grow” – the importance of maintaining mental availability, as well as distinction and salience.
Truth, Lies & Advertising by Jon Steel – This is a book about account planning by one of the original advertising strategists. Steel was a believer in market orientation and the pursuit of consumer truth. Here he shares his approach to research, the creative brief and collaborating with creatives to ensure their work is a true expression of the strategy. You’ll also enjoy the stories, especially the ones about “Got Milk?” and the Porsche research.
Both/And Thinking by Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis – This book explores the beauty of paradoxes – situations where two seemingly contradictory ideas or outcomes exist. Smith and Lewis make the case that many situations require a balance of paradoxes, not a rigid either/or decision. They share examples of how a shift to a more fluid both/and approach to creatively leverage paradoxes often leads to more wholistic and innovative solutions.
Alchemy by Rory Sutherland – Head of Ogilvy UK, Sutherland blends behavioral economics, psychology and real-world stories to show how small, seemingly illogical changes can result in big value. It’s an exploration of irrational and creative forces that drive human behavior in the marketing world.
Eat Your Greens by Wiemer Snijders – This is a collection of 42 short essays by some of today’s brightest marketing minds, from Mark Ritson and Peter Field to Bob Hoffman and Richard Shotton.
So, enjoy. Please share your thoughts on any of the books you choose to tackle. And I hope you’ll add your recommendations to the list, too.
At the moment I’m reading Seth Godin’s “This Is Strategy.” My good friend Bryan Cush, co-founder of Tidal Health Group, recommended it. I see elements from many of the authors above in the book, but with a twist on time and systems that has already enhanced my current work.
As Stephen King said, “You have to read widely, constantly refining and redefining your own work as you do so.”
Jerry Hobbs is a marketing strategist and the president of Prairie Dog, a health care marketing group headquartered in Kansas City.