You learn something new every day, so goes the saying.
We all have different things that make us "tick". For me, one of the strongest motivators is learning something new, either through experience or through reading.
Here's a little snippet I picked up yesterday. I was reading Peter Hargreave's book "In For A Penny", the story of how he and his business partner built up their business from scratch starting with just a telephone and a desk in a spare bedroom. Now the business (Hargeaves Lansdown) is one of the biggest financial services firms in the UK and is a listed public company.
Aside from picking up on their business principles (best service, best prices, best information), their company culture (put the customer first, the company second, yourself third), and their innovative real time trading platform for private investors, one little snippet of trivia grabbed my attention.
When you come to cash in your pension on retirement, one option is to buy an annuity with your pension fund (I knew that already by the way). This annuity is a fixed regular payment that you receive for the rest of your life. The life companies that sell these policies assess your risk profile. High risk, you can buy less income with your money, low risk, you can buy more.
The interesting thing is that the more money you have in your pension, the more risky you are to a life company. Why? Well it seems statistically that people with more money live longer. Maybe this is because they can afford a better lifestyle and health care, I'm not sure. As they live longer, then the life company has to pay out the fixed sum for longer, so therefore large pension fund owners will find it more difficult to get a better deal.
I thought about this for a moment on the train. First of all, I was disappointed that if I did make the effort to save harder, I would get a worse deal. However the upside is much more interesting; work hard to accumulate a bigger pot and you might live longer. I'd never thought of life expectancy as a reason to work hard, but there it is.
But how to be successful? One of the other books I read recently was Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers". Here he looks at the truly successful people in their fields and looked at what patterns stood out.
It seems that you need "enough" education (not necessarily the best), "enough" talent (pure talent will not cut it on it's own), fortunate circumstances (luck), and the most important two ingredients of all: focus and effort.
This was encouraging. I'm a great believer in making your own luck. Work hard, see obstacles as opportunities and take control of your own destiny. Sure, life throws you a deck of cards, but even with an average hand you can play a good game.
Learning is great, and knowledge is best enjoyed if shared. Therefore at work recently I took the initiative to start a library. The two books I mentioned above plus another twenty or thirty from my personal bookshelves start the library stock. I've asked colleagues to also bring in their books to loan to the collection. I've bought library cards to put in the front of each book and developed a system for withdrawals and returns. I hope it takes off. I'm looking forward to sharing ideas and seeing the team grow through learning.
Learn something new every day. My new mantra.
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Friday, 19 October 2007
Essential Reading for Ecommerce Leaders
I enjoy understanding social influence - the effect we all have on each other.
Online pursuasion. It's the basis of conversion. In fact, you could say it's a way of thinking. Once you start seeing your website as a pursuasion tool and not as a shop window you're getting somewhere.
You see - an ecommerce site is both the shop and the shop assistant. It's also the sign posting to get there (SEO).
To get you in the right frame of mind, here is my recommended reading list for budding internet retailers. Individually they may not all directly seem relevant. Put them all together and you'll get a viewpoint that will help you move forward with conviction.
If you want to get into my head, these are some of my favourite books...
Influence - Robert B. Cialdini
The tricks of the trade. What techniques are used by folks to influence each other, why do they work, and how can you "protect yourself" from these techniques? Equally as useful if you are selling or if you are being sold to. Fascinating.
Why we buy - Paco Underhill
This guy has spent decades observing consumer behaviour in retail outlets. He helps you understand just how smart some shops are, at the same time you start to understand how so many could be so much better. I look at shop space now with a whole different view.
Freakonomics - Steven D Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
Using economic methodology to try and understand social trends, this is a fascinating collection of studies. Two of my favourite were; the trends found in baby-naming, and the reason for the drop in NYC crime: abortion. Read it to find out more.
The Pyramid Principle - Barbara Minto
I read so many poorly written emails, presentations and documentation. This book helps you avoid doing so too by taking a very structured approach to your communications. Written by an ex-McKinsey consultant, the basic message is very simple (of course), but it's quite tricky to get right in the real world. If you've ever used MindManager software to map out your ideas, this book helps you craft communication from your mind-maps.
Now, Discover Your Strengths - Marcus Buckingham
We're all different. We all have different strengths. I guess you know that. Do you know what your strengths are? I thought I did, and then I read this book. With the book comes access to an online questionnaire that you complete to create your profile. The results made a lot of sense. The important message here is that you should focus on what you're good at and excel. Leave what you're not so good at to others, or at least do some training for damage limitation. In the end you are who you are - make sure you spend time on being the best you.
The Paradox of Choice - Barry Schwartz
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Barry gets you thinking about just how you make choices in life. Choosing requires mental energy and can become a burden. The paradox is that we continously hail consumer choice as a good thing when in fact on many occasions, less is often more. A what cost do we pursue perfection?
The Search - John Battelle
The story of Google. More specifically, how a new business model emerged where advertisers only pay for results. You know about Google of course, but what I didn't know before reading this was the human story of how they grew, what deals were made and what the future might hold. Anyone who works in the online industry needs to read it.
Call to Action - Bryan Eisenberg
If Paco Underhill (see above) studies the real world of retailing, Bryan Eisenburg studies how to influence customers online. The book is not particularly well structured, but he presents case studies that make you realise just how tricky it is to get it right online and when you do, just how powerful it can be. At the crux of this book is how you persuade people in an interactive medium where the website is just one part of the experience.
The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
In this book you are treated to real life examples where a "tipping point" was needed in order create an overwhelming self-perpetuating phenomenon. From shoe trends to diseases, what is needed to create the momentum?
Don't Make Me Think! - Steve Krug
If you have any responsibility whatsoever for a website - as a manager, designer, developer - any role in fact - you need to read this book. It's a really simple introduction to the ways in which you can screw up a customer's experience without much effort. What takes effort is to keep it simple. Steve shows you how.
The Concise 48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene
There is a longer version of this book, but this concise version serves the same purpose. This book demonstrates 48 different ways in which powerful people gain and hold on to power. I must admit, much of the methodology goes right against how I prefer to treat people. In any company, society or family, some of the methods described here surface, so if anything, it's useful to be aware of what's going on and what you can do to avoid being screwed over.
Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
Another one from Malcolm Gladwell. This book has a really simple central idea and goes through many chapters to illustrate it over and over again. The simple idea is that your gut reaction (the one that you have before you've got time to think something through) is most likely to be the right reaction - IF you have enough experience in that area to fall back on. Firefighters, pilots, drivers, art experts - they are all highly experienced in their area, and their intuition makes for some pretty good reactive decision making. It made me confident in my own decision making and not needing to analyse every option before comitting to course of action.
Online pursuasion. It's the basis of conversion. In fact, you could say it's a way of thinking. Once you start seeing your website as a pursuasion tool and not as a shop window you're getting somewhere.
You see - an ecommerce site is both the shop and the shop assistant. It's also the sign posting to get there (SEO).
To get you in the right frame of mind, here is my recommended reading list for budding internet retailers. Individually they may not all directly seem relevant. Put them all together and you'll get a viewpoint that will help you move forward with conviction.
If you want to get into my head, these are some of my favourite books...
Influence - Robert B. Cialdini
The tricks of the trade. What techniques are used by folks to influence each other, why do they work, and how can you "protect yourself" from these techniques? Equally as useful if you are selling or if you are being sold to. Fascinating.
Why we buy - Paco Underhill
This guy has spent decades observing consumer behaviour in retail outlets. He helps you understand just how smart some shops are, at the same time you start to understand how so many could be so much better. I look at shop space now with a whole different view.
Freakonomics - Steven D Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
Using economic methodology to try and understand social trends, this is a fascinating collection of studies. Two of my favourite were; the trends found in baby-naming, and the reason for the drop in NYC crime: abortion. Read it to find out more.
The Pyramid Principle - Barbara Minto
I read so many poorly written emails, presentations and documentation. This book helps you avoid doing so too by taking a very structured approach to your communications. Written by an ex-McKinsey consultant, the basic message is very simple (of course), but it's quite tricky to get right in the real world. If you've ever used MindManager software to map out your ideas, this book helps you craft communication from your mind-maps.
Now, Discover Your Strengths - Marcus Buckingham
We're all different. We all have different strengths. I guess you know that. Do you know what your strengths are? I thought I did, and then I read this book. With the book comes access to an online questionnaire that you complete to create your profile. The results made a lot of sense. The important message here is that you should focus on what you're good at and excel. Leave what you're not so good at to others, or at least do some training for damage limitation. In the end you are who you are - make sure you spend time on being the best you.
The Paradox of Choice - Barry Schwartz
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Barry gets you thinking about just how you make choices in life. Choosing requires mental energy and can become a burden. The paradox is that we continously hail consumer choice as a good thing when in fact on many occasions, less is often more. A what cost do we pursue perfection?
The Search - John Battelle
The story of Google. More specifically, how a new business model emerged where advertisers only pay for results. You know about Google of course, but what I didn't know before reading this was the human story of how they grew, what deals were made and what the future might hold. Anyone who works in the online industry needs to read it.
Call to Action - Bryan Eisenberg
If Paco Underhill (see above) studies the real world of retailing, Bryan Eisenburg studies how to influence customers online. The book is not particularly well structured, but he presents case studies that make you realise just how tricky it is to get it right online and when you do, just how powerful it can be. At the crux of this book is how you persuade people in an interactive medium where the website is just one part of the experience.
The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell
In this book you are treated to real life examples where a "tipping point" was needed in order create an overwhelming self-perpetuating phenomenon. From shoe trends to diseases, what is needed to create the momentum?
Don't Make Me Think! - Steve Krug
If you have any responsibility whatsoever for a website - as a manager, designer, developer - any role in fact - you need to read this book. It's a really simple introduction to the ways in which you can screw up a customer's experience without much effort. What takes effort is to keep it simple. Steve shows you how.
The Concise 48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene
There is a longer version of this book, but this concise version serves the same purpose. This book demonstrates 48 different ways in which powerful people gain and hold on to power. I must admit, much of the methodology goes right against how I prefer to treat people. In any company, society or family, some of the methods described here surface, so if anything, it's useful to be aware of what's going on and what you can do to avoid being screwed over.
Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
Another one from Malcolm Gladwell. This book has a really simple central idea and goes through many chapters to illustrate it over and over again. The simple idea is that your gut reaction (the one that you have before you've got time to think something through) is most likely to be the right reaction - IF you have enough experience in that area to fall back on. Firefighters, pilots, drivers, art experts - they are all highly experienced in their area, and their intuition makes for some pretty good reactive decision making. It made me confident in my own decision making and not needing to analyse every option before comitting to course of action.
Tuesday, 9 October 2007
50 Ways to Make Google Love Your Web Site
Steve Johnston has just published an ebook called 50 Ways to Make Google Love Your Web Site. It is a great SEO read for webmasters.
Who is Steve Johnston? He's a Google Consultant, he specialises in getting under the skin of your website and making sure that you know what you need to do to get your site ranked in Google and to do it in a way that it above board with no hidden tricks. I've employed Steve on a project and was pleased with his professionalism, work ethic and advice.
Who is Steve Johnston? He's a Google Consultant, he specialises in getting under the skin of your website and making sure that you know what you need to do to get your site ranked in Google and to do it in a way that it above board with no hidden tricks. I've employed Steve on a project and was pleased with his professionalism, work ethic and advice.
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