3 books that improve your thinking

With the world slightly upside down for a while, I’ve got a bit more time on my hands. I’m using some of it read more books to take my mind off things and broaden my knowledge. I wanted to share three I feel are intrinsic to being a successful marketer and improving your thinking. Even if you aren’t in marketing, the principles and content are still incredibly useful for wider business.

Do you think the mind is an untapped tool? Want to know the science behind why we do things? Need to get beyond bullshit marketing-speak? If you answered no you’ve drawn a blank here. My recommended books discuss the human mind, behavioural science and evidence based marketing approaches. If this sounds good, then crack on.

For me making reading a priority is the biggest barrier. So with many of you working from home, try and pick up a book during your previous commuting time, at lunch, or when just taking a 20 minute break during the day (on the presumption you don’t have a 15 month year old daughter who wants to watch Mr Tumble with you on loop). 

I build my reading list from a lot of recommendations, so please leave yours in the comments. ??

Invisible Power; Insight Principles at Work

About the human mind and how it works. It shows you how your thinking is influenced by external factors, and how thoughts shape our experience. There is a brilliant section on perceptions, communication and influencing without authority which is so important, not only for marketing but everything else. It’s useful as a leader, colleague, parent, partner or human being. Backed up with loads of relatable stories in there.

Marketing takeaway: People often have a completely different expertise and experience of what marketing is. Put bluntly they think differently and experience their own reality. It’s so important to understand the pressures of your boss, and also the leadership team who run the business. Often marketing wants to report and talk about one thing, while the top dogs want to see something else. See it from their perspective, challenge your own vision of success with ‘so what?’

The greatest inefficiency in business is the ineffectiveness of communication. 

The Choice Factory; Richard Shotton

Similar theme to my first book in that this dissects behavioural science. This looks at behavioural science and how it can be applied to advertising, marketing, and general running of business. It’s split into 25 chapters which each cover a specific bias. You can read it all, or you can jump into the ones that interest you most to start. Why should you care? Beautifully summarised by Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather “This subject provides a robust, intellectual link between understanding human nature and knowing how to make money.” A compelling reason.

Marketing takeaway: Marketers can tend to back away from academia. This book shows you in practical terms an evidence based foundation which can contrast with marketing theories which are based on anecdote or tradition. Marketers can be guilty of thinking channel first and become obsessed with tactics. This takes you back a step, encourages you to think of the bigger picture, and make you better at your job.

Eat your greens; Wiemer Snijders 

Simply a brilliant book for marketers. It challenges us to change the way we think, by taking the huge body of knowledge gained from data and technology and applying the best evidence based thinking to the practice of marketing and communications. Do you feel marketing can be too full of metrics and tactics that have little relation to whether people actually buy? This cuts through a lot of crap, and helps with clarity of thinking. 

Marketing takeaway: Too many to list. The contributors are some of the sharpest minds in the industry. Whatever level you are, there are lessons and thinking to challenge you. Some of my favourite chapters are ‘Mark Ritson, What ails marketing?’ and Peter Field, Short-Termism is killing effectiveness.’ Also in a nod to more effective communication as mentioned before, Ryan Wallman’s chapter calls out marketing-speak, or plain bullshit. He rightly points out how jargon corrupts communication and inhibits clear thinking. In terms of doing your job properly, and having a proper discussion with the leadership team about marketing it really makes a difference - jargon screws it. 

Take care everyone and stay safe. ??