Change: what a radical concept

REVIEWS BY STEPHANIE SWILLEY

If you're not ready to make dramatic changes, don't bother reading these new business books. The advice is bold and bodacious and so are the authors. Before the last chapter, they'll turn you into believers and have you back at work preaching the message.

Mouthing off on marketing

If everyone in your marketing department quit today, would sales drop? Probably not, says author Mark Stevens in Your Marketing Sucks, because most companies are just throwing money out the window with splashy ad campaigns.

Stevens, a 20-year marketing veteran for companies like IBM and American Express, lets loose his scorn for high profile, million-dollar ads that may be creative but conveniently forget about making sales. Stevens' rule of thumb is simple: either marketing efforts generate a measurable return on investment or "they suck." Stevens is confrontational and opinionated, and he gives plain-spoken commentary on the world's biggest companies like Ford Motors and Neiman Marcus. Most of the "good" marketing examples come from Stevens' own practice, making the advice a little one-sided. On the flip side, he reveals plenty of pearls and detailed action plans that could only come from real-world experience.

Stevens' energy and passion make his relatively common sense ideas seem revolutionary. Test, execute and monitor your marketing efforts every time. Seems like a no-brainer. Start being original rather than copying the competition. Duh! Stevens urges managers to stop all marketing efforts to see what's working and what isn't. It's radical, but Stevens' conclusions are contagious enough to convert even the most skeptical.


Take some action

If you aren't sure about Stevens' far-out scheme, maybe you'd like some more traditional advice. Brian Tracy has years of experience as a strategist with over 500 companies worldwide. The short, intense chapters of his new book, Turbostrategy, quickly get to the point: Figure out what's working and do more of it. Find out what's not working and stop doing it.

It's tough to put the brakes on a product or person that you love, but for the sake of profits, Tracy says, you gotta do what you gotta do. That's the basis of "zero-based thinking"—instead of struggling to fix, change or improve, you throw in the towel. The elegant simplicity of this strategy is what makes it so appealing. Why shouldn't work be less work? Companies that have the guts to take an honest look at their products, customers and vendors—and fire some of them—will reap the rewards.

Tracy's advice is geared to senior managers and CEOs, the folks with the decision power to make big changes (and the people most likely to attend his seminars), but anyone striving for a fast, flexible organization or career will appreciate this book.


Leaders who don't suck

The call to action from Bill George, the former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, seems easy, but it may turn out to be harder than fixing "sucky" marketing or fine-tuning corporate strategy. In Authentic Leadership, George says that being a successful leader isn't about adopting the latest style or persona, but about "being yourself, being the person you were created to be."

Part biography, part Medtronic history, George's story is a return to the heart and values that today's CEOs desperately need. No one can dispute the leadership of the man who turned Medtronic into the world's leading medical technology company, but George is the first to admit his faults. The competitive Harvard MBA grad who struggled to overcome his arrogance identifies and explains the five components of an authentic leader: purpose, values, heart, relationships and self-discipline. Plenty of personal stories describe how these qualities are represented by winning CEOs and companies.

It's easy to see why George made such an inspiring leader. Not only are his timeless lessons compelling, but he also leaves the reader wanting to know more about the personal challenges and background that formed such important values.


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