Wikinomics. Don Tapscott & Antony Williams.2006. ISBN 9781591841388.
Well I got through another Tapscott book. Consider this the informed
man’s “The World is Flat.” The lesson learned is read chapter one and
the last chapter. If any of the examples intrigue you, read the other
chapters. Oh and Chapter One is on his website. www.wikinomics.com.
Somehow his books are a slog, even though he has become a better writer.
His co-author is much easier to read. The basic premise is that if you
take lots of the good things about open source (peer networks, open
attitudes, sharing on an uncommon scale and global stretch) it is being
applied to any business – Boeing, P&G, GoldCorp, Chinese motorcycles,
BMW and so on. But this has been said before in several books, so the
ground is not new. You may be surprised at the extent and impact of
this change, which in Canada is a good thing as productivity concerns
have been hijacked by environmental talk. If you can get it from a
library, read it. I wouldn’t spend money on it.

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

Success Built To Last. Porras, Emery & Thompson. 2006. ISBN 01228751X.
Creating a Life That Matters. Using similar research thoroughness to
the Original Built to Last work, this group interviewed 100s of
“Builders” who achieved outstanding lasting impact even though they
started out as ordinary folks. Of course the Dells, Bransons, Mandallas
, Schwabs , Angelous are here, but there are also dozens of folks who
you would not hear about, yet they have followed their passions and made
lasting impact. Good resources on the website.
http://www.successbuilttolast.com/freetools_download.php?s=1
Lesson learned is that it doesn’t matter what you start with, great
things are achievable by anyone. So get on with it!

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

The Likeability Factor. Tim Sanders. 2005. ISBN1400080509. Sanders
proposes that your likability is the major influence in all aspects of
your life. (He wrote Love is the Killer Ap) He was a senior Yahoo
executive who watched and mentored several folks through the organizaion
and others. His site http://www.timsanders.com/.Evidently quite a good speaker he is all over the country now. Hard to argue with his premise,
but the book is a bit of a light weight. Easy read, short, and it will
make you feel better. Some exercises that have utility are included.
Decent holiday book or if you are snowed in.

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

Value Acceleration. Mitch Gooze’ & Ralph Mroz. 2007. ISBN 1599320096.
Value Acceleration is a break through book! It applies the process
improvement tools that great companies like IBM, Toyota, Intuit are
using to overpower their competitors. However the book does not get
bound up in terminology. It is also well researched, written and
attributed. The footnotes are bang on. My lesson learned was the clear
delineation of the importance of Marketing as a strategic interface
between Product Development and Sales. This book is a major step toward
successful implementation of Six Sigma and Lean Thinking to result in an
end-to-end Product Development- Marketing- Sales process. The book makes
it clear that this will be key to good companies being able to continue
to seize market opportunities. The Prologue as a fable is extremely
well done and grips the reader. A must buy for all businesses! Check out his manifesto

Zag. Marty Neumeier. 2007. USBN 0321426770. A refreshing and candid
look at differentiation and branding. This chap has a pedigree that
goes very far back in marketing. Using a clear simple style he makes a
very good case for keeping things simple and clear. Lesson learned , all
companies should be able to complete the sentence. Our brand is the
ONLY _____that _______. His website is cool http://www.zagbook.com/
Really worth the read – perfect for a two hour plane ride. Creative
layout too.

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

Six Sigma for Marketing Processes. Creveling, Hambleton & McCarthy.
2006. ISBN 013199008X. Part of a Prentice Hall series, Although its
labelled an overview, this is not a book for the faint hearted.
Absolutely chock full of how to install a six sigma system inside your
marketing dept. There are a few mentions of companies such as 3M
getting a 300% return from this effort. One could call this a definitive
textbook on what to do. A lesson learned was the degree of detail,
reliability and predictability such work can bring about in your
efforts. I would say read Ch 1 and Ch 8 first before you dive in. Not an
easy read, it leans on the academic side, appealing to a numbers and
acronyms driven individual.

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

The Change Function. Why Some Technologies Take Off and Others Crash and Burn. Pip Coburn.2006. ISBN 1591841321. This is the Innovators Dilemma of 2007. He pokes big sticks through Moore’s and
Grove’s laws, with a shot at Metcalf too. The writer was a UBS technology
analyst for many years and has pretty well decided that technology
fails to really make the world a better place. Lesson learned, only 5%
of new products introduced each year “succeed”. Add to the gulf between
sales and marketing a gulf between research and development and huge
column of empty air between these two large groups. Well written, easy
and quick, it still manages to put out a lot of hard information , which
we can then turn into insight. We all need insight into why folks buy
and use or not buy and not use products. You need this book. Step one,stop saying sales process and call it the buying process.

Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.

Had me worried there for awhile

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Click here to take the “Which Superhero am I?” quiz…

Your results:
You are Lex Luthor

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A brilliant businessman on a quest for world domination and the self-proclaimed greatest criminal mind of our time!

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Book reviews for the business side of the technology industry.