Business thinking between the covers

Uprising

by Scott Goodson

McGraw Hill €22.99

Keeping the head down and playing it safe are not good options for companies today – in fact, it’s the quickest way to make a brand invisible and irrelevant. That’s the message here from Goodson, founder of Strawberry Frog, a New York-based agency whose marketing approach blends advertising, entertainment, technology and social and cultural activism. He details how and why companies need to embrace “movement marketing” to connect with the new generation of consumers. A key principle is that movement marketing starts with the notion of sharing rather than selling.

Sharing can lead to selling, of course, but movement marketing opens up more possibilities for sharing, encompassing not just the product but also useful information that relates to the product.

Companies need to be willing to move out of their comfort zone and stop trying to micro-manage their brands. Instead, they should home in on the core objectives of their concept or brand and align these values with what people are for or against.

While this won’t be to everyone’s taste and won’t suit all marketing situations, Goodson has some provocative and stimulating ideas here, especially for start-ups and for those who wish to engage with social media-driven consumers.

On the Floor

by Aifric Campbell

Serpent’s Tail/Profile Books €16.99

This is not a business book as such but rather a fictional work set in the world of high finance. The author’s 13 years on the trading floor of Morgan Stanley have proved useful to her here, however.

Aifric Campbell’s third novel centres on 28-year-old Dubliner Geri Molloy who appears to have it all. A high flyer in a London investment bank, she earns an £850,000 salary doing business with a reclusive hedge fund manager in Hong Kong who likes to ask her about Kant and watch while she eats exotic Asian delicacies.

Set in 1991, in the months leading up to the start of the Gulf War, the novel charts how Geri’s perfect life unravels. Abandoned by her boyfriend, she suffers from insomnia and starts to drink excessively. Then she becomes entangled in a hostile takeover involving her boss, her client and her former boyfriend.

It’s a pacy and well-written novel, with authentic characters and an evocative narrative exploring the themes of avarice, loss and the personal costs associated with material success.

Reverse Innovation

by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble

Harvard Business Review Press €24.99

In this collaboration with consultant Trimble, Dartmouth Prof Vijay Govindarajan examines how multinational companies have changed their thinking about emerging markets in recent years. Innovating in these markets, rather than simply exporting to them from the developed world, can unlock a wealth of opportunities and future growth.

But for this to happen, traditional management structures and approaches need to change. If this happens, companies can earn the same or even better margins and return on investment for a low-cost product designed for China or India as for a higher cost product at home – with a resulting win-win both at home and abroad.

According to the authors, poorer countries are already being tapped for breakthrough innovations that can unlock new markets in the rich world, and can even help solve societal problems such as access to healthcare.

This well-researched and thoughtful book provides nine rules to guide companies’ innovation efforts in the areas of strategy, global organisation and project management, as well as practical diagnostics and templates for those who wish to embark on reverse innovation strategies.