Book Review

Fascinating Authors Book Review

Review by John H. Manhold

The author has set forth an overall procedure which he believes the reader can use to establish an aggressive marketing plan that will lead to success such as that enjoyed by Donald Trump, Martha Stewart and other highly successful business persons, as well as himself.

He begins with a comparison of successful marketers going back to Henry David Thoreau, whose teachings probably began the ‘back to the land’ movement, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, whom he believes was the ultimate “thought leader”. He compares Thoreau’s solitariness with Donald Trump’s flamboyance, to demonstrate that many techniques can succeed, but all must result from “thought leadership”.

Every company must consider its return on investment (ROI), but this includes Human, Structural and Relationship Capital, and all depend on the amount of intellectual capital (IC) the company possesses. He states: “But the real value that feeds into all of these (value in development of products, services, etc.) is what leaders bring to the enterprise with their compelling visions, and their ability to integrate disparate ideas/solutions/opportunities into competitive advantages, and their energy in driving cross-functional innovation.”

The author next sites studies on the importance of overall media presence in raising revenue. “Publishing articles, for example, can be incorporated into the marketing and selling pipeline, and sales reps can use published articles as tools for building creditability.” And he admonishes that, when speaking to groups, one always should have your published material with you to distribute. “Bringing out a book or article you wrote presents a ‘perceived brilliance’.”

He further councils the reader to always be passionate about one’s work and to ‘think outside the box’, and “look for the topics or angles no one else has spotted”. In this respect, he includes many quotes from well known members in marketing, as well as persons such as Duke Ellington: “A problem is a chance for you to do your best”; George Bernard Shaw: “You see things and say Why?, but I see things that never were, and say Why not?”

Many do’s and don’ts of successful marketing are offered for “thoughtleading” and arriving at the pinnacle of success. Particularly stressed as a “must,” is a need to publish, and to interject this activity into your lectures, conferences, speaking with customers, other professionals, and any other networking component, to attain this goal.

From a personal standpoint of having been involved in writing and publishing for quite a number of years, I found a paucity of information had been offered to the neophyte as to how to go about embarking on these endeavors, especially after the repeated emphasis on their importance. Aside from this defect, the book presents numerous ideas about other aspects of networking that I am sure will provide enlightenment for many readers in today’s world where marketing seems to have become an essential element for success in almost every undertaking.

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