Roadtest: Making Ideas Happen

Unlike the not so wonderful No B.S. book, some of my other holiday reading proved really useful. That reading was Scott Belsky’s Making Ideas Happen. It’s about getting things done and self motivation. I also got a strong sense of the difference between what it takes to be creative, as opposed to telling yourself you are and nothing to show for it. The message applies to creative people of the arty kind through to innovators in business and so... Read More

Roadtesting: No B.S Trust Based Marketing

Taking the opportunity to catch up with some reading during my holidays, I tackled No B.S Trust Based Marketing. I was seeking something that could help the countless startups I have worked with, some information and guidance on how to foster trust with consumers quicker. What started out as promising very rapidly deteriorated into a complete an utter waste of my time. Here’s how:   Customers are Irrational “I bought the entire book... Read More

Roadtesting: A Whack on the Side of the Head

It’s super hard to believe ‘A Whack on the Side of the Head’ has been kicking sand into the face of boring approaches for 25 years or more. Why? Because for stuff that makes perfect sense it’s surprising more people and companies haven’t taken it on board yet! This is my little bouillabaisse summary of what the book gave me – I’m pretty sure it will give you something else, so if you can, please get your mitts on a copy. Anyway, let’s... Read More

Roadtesting: Maverick Startup

I picked up the Maverick Startup by Yanik Silver as it seemed to have a bit more substance than the usual “go team go!” style startup book. Startup is a difficult subject because in reality, there isn’t a road to fame and fortune, a bunch of stencils you need to fill in for guaranteed success or even consensus in the approach you can take to be a success. Startup is in essence the ultimate bootstrapping challenge. And as you are bootstrapping... Read More

Roadtesting: Word of Mouth Marketing

You’d have to be living under a rock somewhere not to know the power of word of mouth marketing. Trouble is it’s such a hard thing to cultivate it often ends up in the marketing too hard basket. So in an effort to check out if there is a magic formula, I picked up Andy Sernovitz’s Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking. Here is what I got from it. People trust opinions from people who haven’t let them down previously.... Read More

Roadtesting: Who Killed Creativity?

As someone who carries a title of ‘unashamedly creative’ and talks about being a ‘creative copywriter’ choosing a book called “Who Killed Creativity?” seemed like a logical thing to do. I was super sceptical at first when it talked about paralleling crime scenes and psychological profiling with the creative process but having now finished it, I am really, really pleased with this book. Having read a heap of business, marketing, abnormal... Read More

Roadtesting: The Mesh by Lisa Ganksy

Considering the rise of collaborative consumption in Australia, it was time to take a look at the Mesh by Lisa Gansky. Here is what I gained from reading it. Trust: Anything to do with community, trust is fundamental. Trust is a social currency too and the best way to build it is through hyper-social activity. The more social people feel, the more likely they are to connect and the more connection they make, the more trust will follow. The more trust,... Read More

Roadtesting: The 4 Steps to the Epiphany

Part textbook with worksheets, part case study and all customer development model book, the 4 Steps to the Epiphany does read like homework, but it is the homework that a lot of businesses fail to do that could increase their chances of success. Here is a book trying to educate people away from failure using a very common sense idea- develop for the customer. The 4 Steps to the Epiphany refutes the notion that start-ups should “fail fast” (the... Read More

Woody Allen on Doing it Your Way

The next half of the Woody Allen documentary I saw in a hotel room in Orange. It was just the shot in the arm needed to remind me that doing things the way feel right for you is better than subservience to the ideals of others. Here is what I gained on Woody Allen and doing it the way that feels right for you: First of all, he bypasses the agents and goes straight to the actors. He personalises the reasons he wants to work with particular actors... Read More

Woody Allen on Creativity

Inspiration comes from the craziest of places. Saturday night saw me chilling out with a sick partner on the couch, watching a Woody Allen documentary. I knew the guy was clever, I just didn’t realise how clever. This is what I gleaned from Woody Allen and his approach on effective creativity: • Maintain a rhythm. Rhythm and timing are key to storytelling. Without it, you have nothing. • If the system works, keep doing it. Woody has been using... Read More

Roadtesting: Purple Cow by Seth Godin

There are a lot of books written on marketing and now with blogs, it can be a situation of truly wondering if you are going to get some real advice, or just “marketing wash” to sell the book or blog itself. Some advice is so dated it sounds like a “comes with free steak knives” style ad in your head. Other stuff is just pure SEO work that values ranking over content. Snore! But once in a while there is a marketer who truly knows what they... Read More

How I help me get things done

In response to reading “Getting things Done” I have captured a few of my own personal points and organisational ideas. Hopefully they help you. Feel free to share what you find works too. I’m bang up for anything that improves productivity. Organising stuff: a) Asana is great for managing the workflow of a project piece by piece, but nothing seriously beats moving away from the desk and drawing things out manually on paper. b) To Do Lists are... Read More

Roadtesting: Getting Things Done

Took advantage of the chronically rainy long weekend to get stuck into David Allen’s “Getting things Done.” Firstly, it’s more written for white collar, middle management people who are looking to keep work and life in balance and keep the boss happy. Not that this is a bad thing, but it will take some adapting to try and translate it for a freelance or startup person. Secondly, it is worth the read… but be prepared to skip things a... Read More

Roadtesting: Juicing the Orange

The funniest reaction I have had to reading this book is someone half jokingly asking “Do you really need a book for that?” Not sure if they have a 50% leaning to me being somewhat dim enough not to know how to make orange juice (I can…well, I could if I wanted to, honest!) or commenting on why creativity is needed so desperately in marketing, but here it is, “Juicing the Orange”.   Obviously what attracted me was the idea of creativity... Read More

Crush it- I freakin’ love it!

I did the super uber nerdy reader thing in January and went to one of those “50 Books You Have to Read” for business people. What can I say, I was a little tired of re-reading my current collection and really don’t like snuggling up with a good blog before I go to bed. From that list, beyond the Richard Branson books I already had (being a card carrying Fanson, you know I had to have them!) I chose an unremarkable number of books- 6 to be exact.... Read More

So simple it has to work…

I recently finished reading The Secrets of Word of Mouth Marketing by George Silverman (have put up some pieces from it previously and still have another 5 pages of notes I may share, depending). Each time I pick up a book of this kind, it’s great to find some kernel of wisdom that really rings the bell. Here is that bell ringer for me. I wrote down a heading (like the studious little freak I am) of “Six Steps to Harnessing Word of Mouth” with... Read More

Jaws: Taking a Bite Out of the Competition

Holidays mean sitting back and relaxing, so here I am, late at night watching Jaws. Yes, great viewing for a seaside holiday right? Anyway, that, combined with currently reading 3 books at once, one single message seems to becoming clearer and clearer… people enjoy a slow reveal and anticipation much more than being beaten over the head with a message over and over again. Am I stating the blindingly obvious? You would think so. I know my writing... Read More

More Word of Mouth Goodness

The Secret of Word of Mouth, 2nd edition, by George Silverman More word of mouthly goodness… (if you have missed the first instalment, check here ) Getting the Right Attention… Getting Attention is important for the right reasons and using the right methods. In order to get this right, think about the following: What does your product improve? The faster you deliver a positive experience, the more loyal your consumer will become Focus... Read More

The Secrets of Word of Mouth Marketing Pt1

The Secrets of Word of Mouth Marketing, 2nd edition, by George Silverman Admittedly, I am only half way through this book so I hope it doesn’t end with a big fizz. However, I have already grabbed some great points from it I would like to share. Well, actually I am half way through and made about 10 pages worth of notes, so if I leave it too long it may overwhelm me with the sheer amount to write up, but I digress… Here is what I have found... Read More

Road Testing

If it is at all possible to claim you can “collaboratively consume” an idea, this is what I am kicking off now with my book, DVD and whatever the heck floats past road tests. After being an avid follower of the journey of Lisa from Open Shed and Co-founder Lisa’s blog I realised just how important it is to share the finds you make as you traverse the Internet. Reading Lisa’s overview of books, videos and ideas has helped inspire me basically... Read More