As a busy marketer, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest information, trends and technologies. But a true professional embraces lifelong learning. Reading for professionals means more than picking up a newspaper or subscribing to a blog. It is an essential business habit that helps shape our views, inspire innovation and provide us with new ways of thinking. If these benefits weren’t enough, researchers have found that people who read just 30 minutes a day live an average of two years longer than their non-reading counterparts. With that in mind, here are five books that can be a great addition to your business library.
The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader
The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader, by former McKinsey partner Thomas Barta and senior London Business School professor Patrick Barwise, is based on the industry’s most comprehensive global research study, involving more than 8,600 leaders in more than 170 countries. The authors identify 12 specific behaviors, or powers, that drive marketing impact and career success. Learn how to mobilize your boss, colleagues, your team and yourself. Marketing expert Seth Godin calls the book “A must-read for every present and future CMO who cares about making difference.”
Killing Marketing
Content marketing experts Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose, explore how marketing can go from a perceived cost center to a stand-alone profit center. Killing Marketing is a follow-up to the duo’s 2011 modern classic, Managing Content Marketing. By changing their fundamental approach to marketing, companies can create customer value, increase loyalty and drive revenue. The book delivers insights into how innovative organizations have rewritten the rules of marketing and succeeded in the process.
Consumer Behavior
Written by marketing professors Del I. Hawkins and David Mothersbaugh, Consumer Behavior provides a comprehensive overview of the place where marketing and human behavior intersect: consumer behavior. When marketers understand the psychology that drives the purchasing decision, they can better develop strategies and identify tactics that drive long-term success. Real-world examples and visuals help bring theories to life.
Blue Ocean Strategy
With more than 3.6 million copies sold, Blue Ocean Strategy, by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, shows marketers how to identify and leverage untapped new market spaces ripe for growth. It combines principles of human psychology with practical tools that can shift organizations to new levels of confidence, thinking and success, rendering the competition irrelevant. Leaders and innovators such as Daymond John (entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor), Kevin Plank (UnderArmour CEO) and Brian Halligan (Hubspot CEO) cite the book as an essential component to their success.
The Alchemist
A simple fable about pursuing one’s dreams, The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, can inspire, motivate and push you to take charge of your career (and personal) aspirations. The story reminds us that as we pursue compelling visions and aspirations, it is important to be aware of our dynamic surroundings. Only with flexibility comes success at alchemy, or the process of transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Just 15 minutes a day
Successful people read, and they read a lot. In fact, business pioneers like Warren Buffet, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are all voracious readers. With just 15 minutes of dedicated reading a day, you can consume 450 pages a month, or one large or two smaller books. That’s as many as 24 books a year. Instead of putting reading on your to-do list, schedule a dedicated time each day to read. To digest what you read, break the really “meaty” books into manageable chunks. As you develop the habit of regular reading, you will gain valuable insights that will benefit you, your organization and your customers. And when you find a book that really resonates, don’t hesitate to send a copy to valued associates, customers and prospects.
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