According to Peter Semmelhack, by 2020, at least 50 billion products will be sharing information over the Internet. In Social Machines, he argues that the traditional business model of creating a product that does not use digital technology is obsolete, and companies that cling to this business model are doomed to fail. He explains the significance and benefits of designing and building social machines and presents several examples of companies that have already made the leap to integrating technology to improve the social presence of their products. He also provides practical advice for understanding the design requirements for building social machines and implementing digital technology in almost any industry.
Change is something that can always be counted on. This is especially true in the world of marketing and advertising. For decades, marketing campaigns told consumers why they needed a product, and until the invention of the Internet, consumers were okay with this. Today, consumers are looking for relationships more than anything else. They want to feel as though a brand understands them and cares about them. In order for a brand’s marketing campaign to be effective, it must speak to consumers’ core motivations and desires. In Laddering, Eric V. Holtzclaw examines the history of advertising—how it began and what caused it to shift to the new paradigm it is experiencing today.
In The Collaboration Economy, Eric Lowitt puts forth a call to action for the public, private, and social sectors to work together to improve the environment, the economy, and ultimately, the world. Lowitt believes that this improvement can only come through collaboration. Whether it is the economy, water, energy, food, or the use of resources, each system must be healed in order for future success to occur. Through a global, rather than self-centered, perspective, CEOs and companies can create change. The responsibility falls on everyone. The most serious problems in society cannot be solved by turning inward to isolation, but rather through sharing thoughts and expertise from different areas to find a solution. Moreover, the goal should not be short-term profits, but instead, long-term sustainability.
The workplace has become project-driven to the point that project management is not only a business activity but an academic field and profession unto itself. While many resources exist for improving communication among members of project teams, there is a gap in the project management profession for tools that facilitate communication with other stakeholders. In The New One-Page Project Manager, Clark Campbell and Mick Campbell fill that void by augmenting existing tools and methodologies with the One-Page Project Manager (OPPM), a simple graphic interface that communicates plans and tracks performance relative to them. This updated edition will help project managers take advantage of the new AgileOPPM™ and the MyOPPM™ template as they work to improve their up, down, and out communication.
In Baked In, Alex Bogusky and John Winsor apply their expertise as marketing and advertising veterans who are able to feel the pulse of the changing 21st-century business world. They guide the reader in understanding the most intuitive, efficient, and modern methods of marketing, which is to “bake it in,” or to design products and services that market themselves.
A leader’s level of influence is determined by their ability to engage and inspire others into action. Unfortunately, most leaders do not know how to engage others. They do not realize that by purposefully sharing their real life experiences, deep connections can be forged with audiences. In Hooked, communication experts Gabrielle Dolan and Yamini Naidu explore the powerful skill of “business storytelling.” By providing the necessary framework for crafting and delivering effective business stories, the authors demonstrate not only how people can increase their leadership presence, but also how they can get their colleagues and customers to act.
In Generation Me, Jean M. Twenge, PhD, uses vast research and examples to describe Generation Me, or those born in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, in an effort to make it understandable to others. Twenge uses 12 studies and data from 1.3 million Americans to show that Generation Me is a generation that is self-important, values independence, wants to make a difference, and finds fulfillment in helping others. That being said, Generation Me’ers also want to do things on their own terms and in their own way with the ultimate goal of being able to follow their own dreams. While Generation Me has unprecedented freedoms, they also feel increased competition and tend to blame others for their problems. As a result, Generation Me is a generation that is often anxious and depressed.
