Your assignment, should you choose to accept it:
1) Please read this book.
There will be more from me, once I’ve had the chance to read it myself, but in the meantime (and if you are game), I strongly suggest you take … Read on >
We live in a time of commoditization, where logic/linear thinking doesn’t necessarily help us differentiate or guide our decisions like it used to. This is no surprise.
In his already-classic book, A Whole New Mind (Riverhead Books, 2005), Daniel Pink addresses this as he writes of a new conceptual age. … Read on >
Leadership and the Sexes: Using Gender Science to Create Success in Business
by Barbara Annis
"The future of corporate success (especially with women occupying 50 percent of the workplace) lies in women and men both becoming gender intelligent in negotiations." This book is HR/leadership-focused, but there are significant implications for marketing team effectiveness and the understanding of today's consumers.
Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men
by Michael Kimmel
Kimmel offers incredible insights on how young men view their own masculinity (and why). The way men think, in general, will be key to the broader gender trend conversation of the 21st century - with some major marketing implications (if you ask me).
The She Spot: Why Women Are the Market for Changing the World -- And How to Reach Them (BK Business)
by Lisa Witter and Lisa Chen
Social change driven by women - how much more hopeful about our world could you get? This book is well-written, and its nonprofit advice also applies, for the most part, to corporate marketing.
Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow
by Chip Conley
I'm a big psychology buff, so this application of Maslow's hierarchy of needs to the business realm fascinated (and resonated) with me. As Conley mentions, psychology in business has long been about "fixing it," but that won't necessarily "offer the opportunity for transformation to a more optimal state of being or productivity." Everyone can learn from this discussion.
The Sexual Paradox: Men, Women and the Real Gender Gap
by Susan Pinker
A fascinating examination of how sex differences play out over the life span. One interesting quote: "For most women it's less a question of who's able to win. It's whether competing feels good and is worth the cost."
