We get 10 to 15 books every week. The majority of the time it is just a book with a letter telling me why I should like the book. Every once in a while, we get something more. I highly recommend to authors taking the extra time. It is not difficult to make your book standout in the pile.
There are two pictures below showing what authors did to go above and beyond. Both of the examples below were remarkable, but only one of them got me to read the book. I will let you guess which.
 |
 |
Seeing as we at 8cr are in list frenzy mode, here is another Best of 2006. As Stephen King states in his column
Here are the best ones I read in 2006and as always, please keep in mind that doesnt mean they were published in 2006. This is just my list of the ones that best furnished my interior room this past year.
1> The Road by Cormac McCarthy
2> American Pastoral by Philip Roth
3> One Mississippi by Mark Childress
4> The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos
5> The Ruins by Scott Smith
6> Crooked River Burning by Mark Winegaardner
7> The Peoples Act of Love by James Meek
8> Night Mowing by Chard deNiord
9> The Egyptologist by Arthur Philips
10>Dispatch by Bentley Little
This list is courtesy of December 15, 2006 Entertainment Weekly.
I accept the fact that these arent business books but “a person cant live on bread alone.”
BTW, two of the ten made my list.
2006 was, appropriately, a year of change here at ChangeThis. I became Managing Editor (otherwise known as Editor on the Loose around here) in February after 8 years of working almost every position at 800-CEO-READ. My background made this a natural transition for me. Prior to joining 800-CEO-READ, I had earned a Masters degree in creative writing and worked as an adjunct instructor teaching writing. Then, at 800-CEO-READ, I spent time selling some of the best business books on the market and interacting with some of the top business thinkers (which, in addition to our authors, include our very own braintrust of Jack and Todd). Needless to say, I was excited to have this chance to meld these two professional experiences into this new adventure as editor of ChangeThis. In addition, my new role as editor allowed me the flexibility I needed to adapt to my challenging new role as a parent. For me, this year has been life-changing.
And really, that is what ChangeThis is all about. We are committed to providing you with the tools to change your life. Whether you yearn to tap into your creativity, be motivated to start your own company, make more of your work day or more from your money, or even just be able to write a more concise emailvisit ChangeThis to get excited again, excited enough to do something different, make a small change that could just change your life.
Id like to raise my glass to each author who submitted a manifesto, each person who voted on our manifesto proposals, and especially to every reader who downloaded a manifesto to dig in to. My goal for the coming year is to get to know you all better and help facilitate the spreading of great ideas in the form of quality manifestos. We have plans in the works to make ChangeThis even more accessible to all of you, including a new content management system and even a compilation of our best manifestos.
But no end of year is complete without a Best of review. You can certainly visit the ChangeThis site and discover for yourselves which manifestos are most popular, so this is my chance to emphasize some of the manifestos that I feel were exceptional. Plus, Im a sucker for awards shows, so here are my winners, in no particular order, from 2006.
Most fun: Beyond Snobbery: Grammar Need Not Be Cruel to Be Cool by June Casagrande (Clever, well-written, with a great voice, there is more here than just a lesson on grammar.)
Most well-written: The Power of the Marginal by Paul Graham (If youre reading ChangeThis, youve probably spent some time in the margin, taking a risk, looking at life differently than your officemates. This manifesto includes diverse cultural references and spot-on insights sure to keep you off the beaten path.).
Most useful: Management Advice: Which 90% Is Crap? by Bob Sutton (What we love about Bob Sutton is that he tells it like it is. This manifesto offers a common sense lesson on how to filter anything we hear with a knowledgeable (cynical?) ear.)
Most life-changing: Working Mothers Manifesto by Carol Evans (One of the toughest challenges we faceman or womanis how to make money while raising our children. Carol Evans presents practical advice on how to do both by asking for a little compromise from both sides. Really, this is a Working Persons Manifesto).
Most intriguing: Know the Codes by Clotaire Rapaille and Getting Out of Embed by Michael Mauboussin (Both authors use psychology to illuminate how we make every day decisions. Youll never look at yourself the same way again.)
Most overlooked: Non-Geeks are Not Morons by Pip Coburn (If you didnt read this one, I take full responsibility for a limiting title. Pips theory on change isnt reserved for technology, but can and should be applied across the board. Once you read about it, youll use it to better understand just how and when to make change.)
Most socially responsible: Beyond Sustainability by John Ehrenfeld and The Declaration of Independents by Stacey Mitchell (Both authors present arguments on how we need to change the way we behave in the world in order to change the world.)
And just because I think they are worth your time because they are so good: The Rewritten Rules of Management by Tom Ehrenfeld, Never the Same by Charles Halton and Strategy and the Fat Smoker by David Maister
Cheers!
Sally
Strategy+Business has published their Best Business Books: 2006. This list is one I look forward to each year (they are on their sixth). The books they choose require a deeper mediation on the study of management and the issues that face business. The feature is divided into 11 topics and each topic is accompanied by an essay.
I encourage you to read the essays. The magazine has recruited a great set of writers which include Howard Rheingold, Nikos Mourkogiannis, and James O’Toole. Each essay provides context for the book selections within the area of study. This year’s list also includes a couple of special topics including The Business of Defense and Fiction (as inspired by business). The topic headings will take you to the essays and a starred (*) book means it was chosen as the best book in the category.
The Future by Howard Rheingold
Economics by Michael Schrage
Marketing by Nick Wreden
Media by Neil Minow
Negotiation by Nikos Mourkogiannis
Strategy by Chuck Lucier and Jan Dyer
Governance by Michelle Leder
Management by David Hurst
The Business of Defense by Dov S. Zakheim
Fiction by Jonathan Weber
Leadership by James O’Toole
John Moore announced his 2006 Brand Autopsy Marketing Book Awards today. Treasure Hunt won for Best Marketing Strategy Book, ZAG won for Best Marketing Book of the Year, and Adrian Zackheim of Portfolio (Penguin) was awarded The Phillip Kolter Vanguard Lifetime Achievement Award.
I went back through 593 blogs posts, 34 books excerpts, and 28 author interviews. You know what? We published some really great stuff. Here are the ideas that caught my attention from 2006:
In this interview, I talk with Nikos Mourkogiannis, author of Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies.
Purpose is my Must-Read book for Fall 2006. I think what this interview shows how thoughtful Nikos has been in the development of his thesis. I am just going you let you listen to it.
mp3, 38:05, 26.2 MB
More Reading:
A few weeks back we hosted an author pow-wow (pictures here). [I can't tell even begin to tell you how much is gained by personally knowing the people behind emails and phone calls.]
One of our pow-wow-ees was John Moore. A takeaway from him is what he dubs “The Ehrenfeld Principle.” [You may recognize the name from one of our regular contributors.] What’s this principle?
Thats my name for something I learned from business writer Tom Ehrenfeld at the recent 800 CEO READ Author Pow-Wow. During one of the sessions, Tom outlined his “WHAT? | SO WHAT? | PROVE IT!” system to identify effective business writing.
The WHAT? is the content. The SO WHAT? is why the content matters. And the PROVE IT! provides the credibility.
It’s a great way to simplify the selling of anything — for authors, marketers, entrepreneurs, etc., etc. John used the principle to explain the new book The 12 Elements from Gallup Press.
At the end of Purpose by Nikos Mourkogiannis, there is a critical biography of the works that informed and inspired the book. The bibliography is written in a essay format with commentary and context that shows Nikos’ thought process in the development of the book.
You can download it here in a pdf format or you can click through to read the bibliography in html.
I want to thank Palgrave MacMillan for giving us permission to run this portion of the book.
Guy Kawasaki is seeking help with a title for his next book. As he says:
Its been two years since The Art of the Start hit the streets, and Im ready to write another book. I have some ideas, but I’d like to tap the wisdom of the crowd in order to ensure that it appeals to the long tail in this Web 2.0 world.
Have ideas? Go help him out here.
