Duct Tape Marketing - Latest Comments in Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

ben — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 08:44:06 -0000

Atlas Shrugged
House of Leaves
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Mark — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 23:24:25 -0000

There's a few I considered in the previous comments and many I've added to my reading list (thanks for the ideas!) Here's my top 3:

1. The Answer to How is Yes, by Peter Block. It's helped me both in business and in my volunteer work.

2. The Happiness Hypothesis, by Jonathon Haidt. Just read it and am already looking forward to re-reading it.

3. Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robins. It keeps me grounded and is a book I seem to pack on every trip I take to get re-grounded.

1. Hardcover 2. Library 3. very well worn paperback.

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Zane — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:27:15 -0000

3 books. Whew. Tough.

* All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy

* 100 Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

* Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Hard copies of all. Portions of each book still take my breath away.

More later.

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

ducttape — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 14:53:36 -0000

Michael and all,

This has been a great thread - way beyond my expectations, the funny thing is how few books get repeated and how few of these books I've read! (except of course the Bible, but I'm Catholic so I had that read at me, does that count?) I do plan to check out some new ones.

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Michael Rubin, Zocalo Group — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 14:42:29 -0000

John,

This is a terrific post and comment thread. It's always fascinating to me to see what books have provided inspiration to others.

Here are my top 3:

1> "Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking" by Andy Sernovitz.
The advertising and marketing worlds are going through fundamental change, and this book is the how-to manual to survive (and thrive). I heartily recommend this book for anyone who wants to not only understand influencers, blogs, and viral marketing, but also come away with enough ideas and case studies to actually get started right away after reading the book.

Disclaimer: I used to work for Andy at the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. But I'm still a huge fan, and have alrady bought copies to give to friends.

2> "Selling the Dream" by Guy Kawasaki. This is the first book I ever read that talked about corporate evangelism. It inspired me for years, and still continues to do so to this day.

3> "The Monk and the Riddle: The Education of a Silicon Valley Entrepreneur" by Randy Komisar.
A truly wonderful gift of a book about dot.coms, VC's, and the soul. It was initially recommended by the soulful Evelyn Rodriguez. I only wish I had this book when I covered the dot.com boom-bust cycle in Chicago in the late 90's/early 2000's and met entirely way too many "Lennys".

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

mudds — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 11:16:26 -0000

Interesting reads...

Baudolino - Umberto Eco
In Praise of Slowness - Carl Honore
Voltaire's Bastards - John Ralston Saul

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Anne — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 00:10:35 -0000

When you say favorite book...do you think people would actually read some of their choices when they are - vacationing on a beach - after a long day at work - or on a lazy Sunday?? Those are places I would want to read my favorite books instead of common sense marketing books.

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Phil Gerbyshak — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 22:50:47 -0000

3 books, and only 3 books, John? Tough stuff!

OK, here are my top 3 of recent memory:

1) Made to Stick - Dan and Chip Heath
If you're a storyteller, this is a great book to help you tell better stories.

2) How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
A classic book with a classic message. Be interested in people, and they will find you interesting. Simple stuff really.

3) Now Discover Your Strengths - Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton
This is the best book on management I've ever read, and a great one for all of us to remember to focus on what makes us all great...our strengths, NOT our weaknesses!

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Jay Werth — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 09:34:51 -0000

It looks like most of the "posters" are preternatural readers, and asking for a top three, regardless of category, is unusually limiting. Noted that most responses are related to marketing, which begs your question.

1. The Bible - Ok, 66 books in one volume.
2. The Effective Executive - Peter Drucker
3. Grapes of Wrath- John Steinbeck

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Tibor — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 07:05:43 -0000

there are many as all of u have
but at the first sight:

Alexandre Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo
Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose
Sun Tzu - The Art of War

Greetings from Hungary!

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Anwer K. Qureishi — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 00:27:54 -0000

Hug Your Customers - Jack Mitchell
One - Richard Bach
One Man's Wilderrness - Keith/Proenneke

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Bonnie — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 21:03:18 -0000

Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy
Sophie's Choice- William Styron

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Jeff Chasin — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 12:18:33 -0000

Getting Things Done, The Art of Stress Free Productivity - by David Allen

Finding Flow, The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life - by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Mastery, The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment

GREAT post!

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Jay Ferrari — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 15:00:52 -0000

Never Come Morning - Nelson Algren

Blood Meridian - Cormac McCarthy

EndZone - Don DeLillo

(All work and no play etc.)

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Sherry Heyl — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 11:56:23 -0000

Have you read Deepak Chopra's Book of Secrets - much more detailed regarding the concepts in 7 Spiritual Laws.

My other two,

Jack Canfield The Success Principles
Boethius - Consolation of Philosophy

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Eric Kintz — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 11:24:22 -0000

The Tipping Point - Malcom Gladwell
The World is Flat - THomas Friedman
The Operator - Tom King

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Georgia Patrick — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 10:58:08 -0000

What a challenge. It sent me to my bookcase to see if I could finger only 3. That ended up in 3 hours of cleaning out my book case of those books that might make the least useful 3. Yes, you will get your Top Three from me and a thankyou gift for showing me how to clear out more than 100 business books that were done before the Internet and I haven't referenced.

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Jim Cota — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 09:16:48 -0000

A Prayer For Owen Meany - John Irving
Still, years later, the best book I've ever read.

Mavericks at Work - LaBarre and Williams
More current and pretty breakthrough in it's thinking/presentation. I loved this book.

Olgivy on Advertising - David Olgivy
Twenty-five years later and he's still right.

It's interesting how fast number one came to me and how much of a struggle it was to get to two and three... It's also been a little revealing to see how many of the books listed above we've all read. Will definitely pick up Bird by Bird; thanks for the recommendation!

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Joe — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:56:41 -0000

Good to Great by Jim Collins

Death By Meeting by Patrick M. Lencioni

One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey by Ken Blanchard

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

College Marketing 4.0 — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:40:02 -0000

<trackback>3 Books Everyone Should Read...By Category
Over at Duct Tape, John challenged his readers to list their 3 favorite books...which is remarkably hard (mine ended up being Lamb, Lance's book, and, since it's a business blog, Small is the New Big.). HOWEVER, since this is my</trackback>

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

ducttape — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:35:47 -0000

You know I didn't think of this at the time but I've just destroyed my list of books I want to read - so many great recommendations - now what!!!!

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Russell Rockefeller — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 22:32:47 -0000

These are somewhat awkward and obscure but I enjoyed them. They also happen to be the most recent three books I've read.

1) Mergers & Acquisitions from A to Z Andrew Sherman and Milledge A Hart.

2) NLP Carol Harris

3) The Psychology of Selling Brian Tracey

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Kevin Bondelli — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 22:25:41 -0000

Great idea for a post.

1) The Farther Reaches of Human Nature - A.H. Maslow

2) Thinking Strategically: The Competitive Edge in Business, Politics, and Everyday Life by Avinash K. Dixit and Barry J. Nalebuff

3) Co-Opetition : A Revolution Mindset That Combines Competition and Cooperation : The Game Theory Strategy That's Changing the Game of Business by Adam M. Brandenburger and Barry J. Nalebuff

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

Alan Saltz — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 21:02:18 -0000

Tough question, but here goes:

The Ultimate Success Secret - Dan Kennedy
(such a simple concept, that's so far reaching)

Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
(prose at it's best. compelling novel, that made me hang on every word)

The Book Theif - Marcus Zusak
(historical fiction, narrated by death...)

Re: Pick Three – and I don't mean the lottery

John Strosnider — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 19:06:19 -0000

Here are my three:

The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach