10 NOT-MARKETING RELATED BOOKS THAT MIGHT IMPROVE YOUR MARKETING SKILLS
10 Books that apparently nothing have to do with Marketing, but from which I actually brought out some marketing lesson! Either if You agree with me or not, those 10 masterpieces worth a reading anyway tho…
- Waiting for Godot (S. BECKETT): Two people sit on a country road waiting for Mr. Godot, someone who will never show up. Meanwhile the two men have a conversation that goes from the futile to the complete non-sense. And, even if they constantly wonder if They should move, they stay there. The lesson is: the inactivity will eventually bring you nothing. Waiting for a solution to your problems coming by itself it will be like waiting for Godot, the absent protagonist of Beckett’s novel.
- Origin of species (C. DARWIN): It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change. That quote fits perfectly in the marketing world. The market, as well as the environment, changes. And all the players need to change their attitude, standards, procedures and so on in order to adapt. Eventually, the “adaptable” ones are going to survive.
- The Art of War (SUN-TZU) — Know your enemy better than you know yourself. This makes clear how analysing properly the competitive scenario is crucial. Knowing with what and against whom you face on both levels, brand and market, must be a priority as much as knowing your own product!. In fact, this masterpiece has more links to the Marketing world as you can imagine: social reputation, branding, leadership… If you haven’t read “The Art of War” yet, make yourself a huge favour and do it!
- Teeteto (PLATO) — in this famous dialogue, which was one of the latest writings, Plato explains the Maieutics, the method that his mentor Socrates had to “make interlocutor’s idea come to light”: asking questions, even if sometimes aimed to outlight contradictions, in order to stimulate critical thinking and to draw out ideas. This is what a seller must do: getting to know what the buyers’ needs are, and helping the buyer himself in achieving this.
- Discourse on the Method (R. DESCARTES) — In my opinion a great tool for problem-solvers, explaining 4 important steps to overcome problems: 1) Evidence — For a clear vision of the problem, it is a fundamental precondition to ignore any bias or pre-constructed idea which is not supported by empirical evidences. 2) Analyse — dividing the problem according the parts that constitute it: as many parts as possible, as smallest part as possible. Dealing with them singularly will make the problem solver able to conceive and understand more clearly. 3) Synthesis — We can think of this step as an opposite of the previous one: it is actually to go backward from the smallest (or easiest to solve) part of the problem up to the more complicated. A mental process that will re-construct the issue, helping the solver to understand properly what the problem is about. 4) Enumeration — Verify if the actions needed have been taken, and if there might be an action that has (had) any consequence on other ones, or if they do not affect each other once taken: the final solution has to be an outcome of every move taken into place.
- Six Characters in Search of an Author (L. PIRANDELLO) — In this “absurdist” play, 6 Authors invade a stage during a reharsal, complaing how their author abandoned them and asking the director for a chance. It will follow a story in which confusion and a fast alternance of comedy and drama will blur the line between truth and reality. The Marketing lesson we can extrapolate from this play is how difficult the communication can be if not performed properly and by the right speakers, and the communicability: how, and by who, a message can be transmitted
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (M. TWAIN) — Not introduction needed for one of the most famous American classic. And everyone, even maybe Who haven’t read it, remember there’s a scene in which Tom is stuck with painting a fence, but He managed not solely to let other boys doing it for him, but also to get paid, selling it as it was “fun”. Tom had his prospects seeking him out, do the presentation, handle their own objections with zero resistance and close themselves, paying premium price and bringing, eventually, their wealthy friends. A true genius of the Inbound Marketing for sure!
- Don Quixote (M. CERVANTES): Marketing is about conceiving and communicating a message. And nothing of this could be done without Creativity. And this is way I mentioned the hero of La Mancha, who not solely could see giants, Moors, knights and princesses, but he was sincerely committed to his vision, with strong dedication and sense of responsibility. The outcome is what a “creative content maker” shall aim for: instilling emotions in the readers (or viewers).
- The Luck of Barry Lyndon (S.THACKERAY): The importance of Brand reputation on this novel, adapted to a (great) movie by Kubrick in 1975. Under the Kingdom of George III, Redmond Barry of Bally Barry, from Irish “plebian” roots, fancies himself a gentleman, and that ambition has accompanied him his whole life. Through subterfuges, opportunistic alliances and a good dose of nerves, He will become an habitué at the opulent salons of the noble English families, until a sequence of events will make his reputation falls. So, that explains clearly to the reader that the fortune of a brand (not excluding a personal brand) comes from his own reputation.
- The Godfather (M. PUZO): as you probably now, the Godfather’s trilogy was inspired by the novel written by Italian American author Mario Puzo. Whoever has been selling on the road experienced rejection, locked doors, phones hanged up and some other stuff that surely do not boost the mood. So, what the Corleone saga can teach us? It’s strictly business! Do not overthink, nor take a “no” as personal. But truth is that the buyer doesn’t know you, at least not on a personal level. He/She is refusing sale proposal then, not you.