May 2019 Book List Review

May 2019 in Sydney. Finally the heat is cooling, and the air is fresh and cooling to the skin. Evenings invite nights spent curled up on the lounge with a great book, and a cup of tea..... or a fabulous Barossa Shiraz...... 

I am often asked what books I am reading, so in the spirit of sharing, here is my reading list for 2019 so far. 

This is marketing, Seth Godin

This is an enjoyable book, from start to finish. Whether you are a seasoned marketing professional, or early in your career, this is a well-rounded book on modern marketing approaches. 

My two favourite quotes from the book are

“The relentless pursuit of mass will make you boring, because mass means average, it means the center of the curve, it requires you to offend no one and satisfy everyone.” 

and this:

“The way we make things better is by caring enough about those we serve to imagine the story that they need to hear.”

Beyond the Cloud, Marc Benioff

When I picked up this book, I did not expect that this would be a marketing book for startups. Yet in every chapter, rich advise for prospective pirate marketers oozed off every page. From engaging journalists, to hi-jacking events, this book has ample ideas for marketers and business owners alike.

My CEO Josh, now has a copy which is well read and marked now. It has created some dynamic and inspiring conversations between us as we debate new ways to disrupt and change the status quo. 

For so many reasons, this is the quote I love the most 

 “Seize the opportunity in front of you. Imagine. Invent. Disrupt. Do good. I know that you must be passionate, unreasonable, and a little bit crazy to follow your own ideas and do things differently. But it’s worth it. Life grows relative to one’s investment in it.” 

?Hit Refresh, Satya Nadella

I purchased this book some time ago, and yet it sat in my library of books to read for some time. When I travelled to Microsoft's Redmond Campus, and experienced the new Microsoft team in action, I immediately raced to read Satya's book. It turned out to be an essential read for me, as I lead the marketing for an organisation looking to disrupt the status quo.

“Every person, organization, and even society reaches a point at which they owe it to themselves to hit refresh—to reenergize, renew, reframe, and rethink their purpose.” 

I also found it to be a wonderful book for emotional development, and the amplification of a growth mind-set. 

“I discovered Buddha did not set out to found a world religion. He set out to understand why one suffers. I learned that only through living life’s ups and downs can you develop empathy; that in order not to suffer, or at least not to suffer so much, one must become comfortable with impermanence.” 

Tribes, Seth Godin

This book is not new. I only picked up a copy over Christmas and power read it in a day. All my passion for creating communities leapt out at me from this book. I really only need to share this quote with you. 

“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.” 

Ikigai : The Japanese secret to a long and happy life, Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles

This book was gifted to me by the wonderful Lucio Ribeiro. There is so much about this book of which I love. Ikigai derives from the word iki, meaning life, and kai, meaning the realisation of hopes and expectations. It therefore, generally translates to mean finding a reason for being which encompasses joy, purpose and meaning. 

The quote I love most in the book, which resonated the most with me is: 

“Be led by your curiosity, and keep busy by doing things that fill you with meaning and happiness.” 

Blitzscaling, Reid Hoffman and Chris Yeh

This is my most recent book to read. It is dedicated to the path to create highly valuable companies. Reid Hoffman, Co-founder of Linkedin says very simply 

“What got you here won’t get you there.” 

Really something for us all to think about. And a great reminder to keep on reading and learning. I will share my reading list periodically with you all, however, if you do have a great book suggestion please let me know! 

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Michelle Zamora is a Chief Marketing Officer with a passion for the customer, and for infusing creativity with data and technology. Views expressed are her personal, individual and unique perspectives, and not that of her employer.