Media » Books http://insidenorthpoint.org/media leaving a lasting impression Thu, 17 May 2012 12:34:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en hourly 1 Zag! http://insidenorthpoint.org/media/2009/05/15/zag/ http://insidenorthpoint.org/media/2009/05/15/zag/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 11:00:57 +0000 Mike http://insidenorthpoint.org/media/?p=1380 zagLast weekend I read “Zag!” by Marty Neumeier. Neumeier runs a consulting firm that helps companies create strong brands (http://www.neutronllc.com) The book was great and a very quick read. Neumeier admits that it was intended to be a quick read. He knows you’re busy and doesn’t want to bore you with a litany of examples about each point he wishes to make. He just makes his point and moves on. Sometimes you need a book like that. “Zag” focuses on business, but there are some great takeaways for anyone. He makes a ton of great points in the book. I’ll just list a few.

· Brand is not a design and it is not how you want the customers to feel about you. It is how they actually feel about you.

· “Hit it where they ain’t.” – Meaning, find what no one is doing and go do that. And do it well. He expounds on this point a good bit. It’s the thrust of most of the book. Finding your “Zag” is finding the thing that makes you different. This reminds me of a Craig Groshel quote “To reach people no one else is reaching you must do things no one else is doing.”

· “Find a parade and go stand in front of it.” – This the other main point he focuses on. It reminds me of the book “Tribes” by Seth Godin. In its most basic form the point is that with all the new forms of community, there are lots of “tribes” and lots of movements. They are looking for a leader. To lead a brand, you must find where things are going and stand in front. Again, there is a much larger point here, but this is a basic overview.

· “Innovation requires an influx of the naïve.” – This one really stood out to me. Still processing it.

]]> zagLast weekend I read “Zag!” by Marty Neumeier. Neumeier runs a consulting firm that helps companies create strong brands (http://www.neutronllc.com) The book was great and a very quick read. Neumeier admits that it was intended to be a quick read. He knows you’re busy and doesn’t want to bore you with a litany of examples about each point he wishes to make. He just makes his point and moves on. Sometimes you need a book like that. “Zag” focuses on business, but there are some great takeaways for anyone. He makes a ton of great points in the book. I’ll just list a few.

· Brand is not a design and it is not how you want the customers to feel about you. It is how they actually feel about you.

· “Hit it where they ain’t.” – Meaning, find what no one is doing and go do that. And do it well. He expounds on this point a good bit. It’s the thrust of most of the book. Finding your “Zag” is finding the thing that makes you different. This reminds me of a Craig Groshel quote “To reach people no one else is reaching you must do things no one else is doing.”

· “Find a parade and go stand in front of it.” – This the other main point he focuses on. It reminds me of the book “Tribes” by Seth Godin. In its most basic form the point is that with all the new forms of community, there are lots of “tribes” and lots of movements. They are looking for a leader. To lead a brand, you must find where things are going and stand in front. Again, there is a much larger point here, but this is a basic overview.

· “Innovation requires an influx of the naïve.” – This one really stood out to me. Still processing it.

]]> http://insidenorthpoint.org/media/2009/05/15/zag/feed/ “Orbiting the Giant Hairball” http://insidenorthpoint.org/media/2009/04/16/orbiting-the-giant-hairball/ http://insidenorthpoint.org/media/2009/04/16/orbiting-the-giant-hairball/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:40:11 +0000 Brad http://insidenorthpoint.org/media/?p=1159 About a month ago I read this book under the impression it was about something completely different then what it actually was.images “Orbiting the Giant Hairball” is an entertaining look at Gordon MacKenzie’s career at Hallmark over thirty years. It is one of the most original, funny, out of the box books I have read. He biggest pursuit is how to get away from the “Giant Hairball” (the tangled, impenatrable, mass of rules, and systems that has worked in the past, that can lead to just ok results in the present. Easy, fun, and insightful read for all creatives. His title for himself - “Creative Paradox”.
Here’s a couple of his thoughts…
• Orbiting is responsible creativity: vigorously exploring and operating beyond the hairball of the corporate mindset, beyond accepted models, patterns, or standards - all the while remaining connected to the spirit of the corporate mission.
• Hairball is policy, procedure, compliance, conformity, rigidity, and submission to status quo, while orbiting is originality, rules-breaking, non-conformity, experimentation and innovation.
• If you want creativity to return, you must quit trying to focus on it.

]]> About a month ago I read this book under the impression it was about something completely different then what it actually was.images “Orbiting the Giant Hairball” is an entertaining look at Gordon MacKenzie’s career at Hallmark over thirty years. It is one of the most original, funny, out of the box books I have read. He biggest pursuit is how to get away from the “Giant Hairball” (the tangled, impenatrable, mass of rules, and systems that has worked in the past, that can lead to just ok results in the present. Easy, fun, and insightful read for all creatives. His title for himself - “Creative Paradox”.
Here’s a couple of his thoughts…
• Orbiting is responsible creativity: vigorously exploring and operating beyond the hairball of the corporate mindset, beyond accepted models, patterns, or standards - all the while remaining connected to the spirit of the corporate mission.
• Hairball is policy, procedure, compliance, conformity, rigidity, and submission to status quo, while orbiting is originality, rules-breaking, non-conformity, experimentation and innovation.
• If you want creativity to return, you must quit trying to focus on it.

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