Shumsky Idea Box
Books
There are, of course, thousands of books we could include in the Shumsky IdeaBox bookstore. We’re sticking to books we’ve read. We focused on two areas – authors who provide meaningful background or best practices on a topic and authors who are pushing the envelope with new ideas. Sometimes the author covers both of these things – such as just about any book by Peter Drucker. In any case, please feel free to purchase books of interest from here or find them through your other channels.
In the coming months, we intend to introduce a forum for interested marketers and human resources professionals to discuss these books and other topics to help us grow as professionals, address the newest and best ideas, and solve our most pressing issues.
Human Resources
Some of the most interesting books to us focus on the changing workplace – driven by the changing worker. And while they may not be directly related to functional HR work, they do provide plenty of food for thought as you engage in initiatives to improve your workplace.
In the case of Barbara Brannen, we’ve found a true gem in the industry – a long-time HR practitioner who is also a visionary consultant, speaker, and author. For more on our thoughts and solutions, visit the Boost Rewards Web site (www.boostrewards.com)
| Book Name | Author | Purchase |
|---|---|---|
Office Peace
| Barbara Brannen | |
| The Rise of the Creative Class / The Flight of the Creative Class | Richard Florida | |
| The Workplace Revolution | Matthew Gilbert | |
| A Whole New Mind | Daniel Pink | |
| Free Agent Nation | Daniel Pink | Purchase at Amazon |
Marketing
While many consider promotional products companies as “trinkets and giveaways” companies, our role is much more central to our customers’ success. Our ultimate role is to be brand stewards for our customers. Global brands represent billions and billions of dollars in equity for the companies they serve. Ultimately, it’s incumbent upon us to protect and promote that value through our services.
With this in mind, we’ve chosen books that have become the foundation of our understanding of marketing and branding, communications and the nature of meaningful and effective relationships. At the heart of our work is the relationship between two people – from prospect and customer relationships to the often underestimated importance of employer to employee relationship.
| Book Name | Author | Purchase |
|---|---|---|
Marketing as Strategy
| Nirmalya Kumar | Purchase at Amazon |
Blue Ocean Strategy
| W. Chan Kim and Reneé Mauborgne | Purchase at Amazon |
Made to Stick
| Chip and Dan Heath | Purchase at Amazon |
Purple Cow – Permission Marketing – All Marketers are Liars
| Seth Godin | Purchase at Amazon |
Word of Mouth Marketing
| Sernovitz | Purchase at Amazon |
Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000
| Pete Blackshaw | Purchase at Amazon |
The New Rules of Marketing and PR
| David Meerman Scott | Purchase at Amazon |
Business Intelligence & Psychology
Weird topic for a marketing company Web site, you say? Maybe. On the other hand, at the heart of all marketing is understanding the messy world of human interaction. Know what moves and drives people and you’re well on your way to finding the right way to communicate with them.
Know yourself better, and you’ll have access to a whole new world of understanding how to best engage the relationships most important to your success. The books listed below are far from comprehensive but can get you started. In many cases, when you look them up on Amazon.com, for instance, Amazon will suggest additional books related to these.
| Book Name | Author | Purchase |
|---|---|---|
Emotional Intelligence
| Ries | Purchase at Amazon |
Social Intelligence
| Alina Wheeler | Purchase at Amazon |
| Tipping Point | Malcolm Gladwell | Purchase at Amazon |
| Blink | Malcolm Gladwell | Purchase at Amazon |
| Sway | Ori Brafman | Purchase at Amazon |
Branding / brand management
| Book Name | Author | Purchase |
|---|---|---|
22 Immutable Laws of Branding
| Al and Laura Ries | Purchase at Amazon |
Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide…
| Alina Wheeler | Purchase at Amazon |
Management and Leadership
Effective leaders manage systems. Effective employees manage themselves. This is one of the Ten Truths in Pete Luongo’s book, Ten Truths About Leadership, and it speaks directly to the importance of a leader’s responsibility to understand not only the skills that have allowed them to excel, but the industries they serve, the businesses they run, and the people who make everything work.
From a human resources perspective, we focus on leaderships ability to set and expand corporate culture in a purposeful way – not the culture that happens no matter what, based on personalities. We mean the sort of corporate culture that comes from an enlightened leadership team that means to provide the organization a vibrant and visionary culture. In this area, there are literally hundreds of books – some that define the foundations of management thinking to this day and others that stretch our thinking in specific areas. We’ve listed a few books and a few authors to support your journey to better management and leadership understanding and execution.
| Book Name | Author | Purchase |
|---|---|---|
Good to Great
| Jim Collins | Purchase at Amazon |
| Management Challenges for the 21st Century | Peter Drucker | Purchase at Amazon |
| 10 Truths About Leadership | Pete Luongo | Purchase at Amazon |