Two Marketing Moms distills key insights from business books, podcasts, TED Talks, and MasterClasses to help you grow professionally. Here are our favorite resources on leadership, marketing, creativity, and career growth.
Demonstrates what nonprofit marketers have known all along — how marketing can be a force for change through the use of empathy, connection, and emotional labor.
The bestselling author and member of the Marketing Hall of Fame, Seth Godin recaps many of his original concepts explored in some of his best-loved library of 18 books. He challenges marketers as agents of change to be a driver of the market by identifying their smallest viable audience, those that they can serve best, and solve their problem. It's about meaningfully and personally connecting to the people that want it and bringing positive change into their lives.
"The smallest viable market makes sense because it maximizes your chances of changing a culture. The core of your market, enriched and connected by the change you seek to make, organically shares the word with the next layer of the market. And so on. This is people like us."
Sales and sales-related activities make up about 40% of our jobs, or 24 minutes of every hour, according to Daniel Pink, human behavior expert and author of four NYT bestsellers. In his new MasterClass, Pink teaches science-backed principles for effective sales and persuasion in 16 jam-packed video lessons.
This book provides a quick recap of all the central marketing concepts with a simplified version of the marketing funnel in three phases — before, during and after the customer journey as you move from prospect to lead to customer. For those new to marketing or wanting a quick refresh, the 1-Page Marketing Plan will help you speed up implementation and focus on those activities that deliver the most value.
Download your copy at 1pmp.com.
"Good marketing takes the prospect through a journey that covers the problem, the solution and, finally the proof."
GS&P's founders provide wonderful insights based on their four decades of experience creating some of the most iconic advertising.
Baldwin emphasizes keeping your brand values authentic and articulate for a more intimate way to spread your message and reach new audiences. Next time you find yourself in a sales position remember "near and dear while crystal clear", keeping your message near to your heart and staying clear on those values.
Dan White covers the various aspects of marketing from brand development to measurement with simplified prose and supporting visualizations that help explain some of the more complex marketing concepts. A must-read for newcomers to the industry and a solid reminder for seasoned veterans.
Junior by Thomas Kemeny is a book that celebrates "the years in the trenches" that will have advertising insiders chuckling in recognition as to the daily foibles of their vocation. Kemeny provides helpful writing tips and strategies for beginners and old-timers alike to bring more clarity to their own communications.
Here are a few favorite funny quips from the book:
"Everything sounds better with a British accent."
"LOL is in the Oxford English dictionary. OMG, help us."
On New Business "The best work you'll never make."
"There is nothing in advertising worth fighting for, but that's no reason not to."
Every ad agency has a process and formula for storytelling… Storybrand's SB7 framework is a simple formula that makes the customer the hero with a problem, who meets a guide with a plan to fix it, and calls them to action to avoid failure, ending in success.
It's a neatly tied up package to define a customer journey straight out of a Hollywood plot… I like the simplicity of the framework. The focus is on the customer and how your products and services can solve their problem. In short, storytelling sells. But you knew that and just got lost along the way…
"Rethink the Business of Creativity" is the new official textbook and must-read for all in the ad industry. Creatives will find inspiration in their tools for concepting. Account teams will find inspiration in managing people and profit. The lost art of the traffic department also gets a huge shout-out.
My favorite ideas include the 1-or-100 rule (the best idea could be your 1st or your 100th) which leads to KG = keep going (achieving quality through quantity) and the Ping-Pong Ball Theory (people can only digest one message at a time).
"We believe that if you create a culture that inspires and protects creative thinkers, they'll come up with better ideas."
Brené Brown spent 20 years studying courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy. Her TED Talk is one of the most-watched in the world. In her Netflix special, she discusses what it takes to choose courage over comfort in a culture defined by scarcity, fear and uncertainty.
The 5 Step Process to Get What You Want Out of Life:
Based on a breakthrough study of over 2,600 leaders along with real-life inspiring stories, Botelho and Powell overturn myths about what it takes to get to the top.
Those who reach the top share four key behaviors: They are decisive, adaptable, reliable and engaging (DARE). The book features useful analytics-driven insights to guide your career.
Top research findings:
Using Rumelt's breakthrough concept, leaders become more effective strategists when they focus on challenges rather than goals, pinpointing the crux of their pivotal challenge that will make the biggest impact, and taking decisive, coordinated action to tackle it.
Based on one of the largest surveys ever conducted on high performers, Brendon Burchard reveals the six habits that move the needle the most in helping you succeed. To become a high performer, you must seek clarity, generate energy, raise necessity, increase productivity, develop influence, and demonstrate courage.
This book provides a framework that enables you to practice these proven habits. Take your own high-performance assessment here.
In the Leadership PIN Code: Unlocking the Key to Willing and Winning Relationships, Dr. Nashater Deu Solheim reveals how leaders can develop engaging, high-performing teams. With her background as a forensic clinical psychologist, Solheim shares psychological techniques of how to build trust with your teams using Persuasion, Influence and Negotiation. The key to building trust is to approach team members with humility, curiosity and in a nonjudgmental way. Her book is full of techniques and approaches to help leaders build more influencing relationships.
In this speech, Sinek talks about the top two things great leaders need to have — empathy and perspective.
General Colin Powell defines the key characteristic of effective leadership as simply trust.
Morgan interviewed 140 CEO's and surveyed 14k employees about what it will take to be a successful leader in the next decade.
Based on this input, he created The Notable Nine:
Four mindsets (global citizen, chef, servant, explorer) and five skills (technology teenager, coach, futurist, translator) that leaders will need to master to lead effectively in the future.
It's fascinating to see how individual employees view organizational challenges very differently than managers, senior executives, and CEOs. My favorite concept was Barry-Wehmiller, a manufacturing company who views employees as "heart-count" vs "headcount" to be reminded that...
"Every employee has a heart and a soul instead of just a pair of hands."
A finite game is designed for continuous play. In the infinite game of business, Sinek inspired leaders to see beyond the bottom line – to make tomorrow better than today.
"That means trusting and inspiring employees to be more innovative, to embrace change, to become more resilient, and to be remembered for what we did for others."
This, he says is the key to a meaningful life.
Benjamin Zander's 2008 TED Talk called "The Transformative Power of Classical Music" will convert any listener to follow classical music with his sheer enthusiasm for it.
Favorite Quotes
"The trouble with you is you are a two-buttock player. You should be a one-buttock player. And I moved his body…while he was playing and suddenly the music took off, took flight, there was a gasp from the audience when they heard the difference. And then I got a letter from this gentleman. He said I was so moved I transformed my entire company into a one-buttock company."
"The conductor of an orchestra does not make a sound…he depends for his power on his ability to make other people powerful. And that changed everything for me. It was totally life changing…I realized my job is to awaken possibility in other people…If their eyes are shining, you know you are doing it. If they are not shining…you ask…who I am being that my player's eyes are not shining."
"I have a definition of success. For me, it's not about wealth and power, it's about how many shiny eyes are around me."
James Wallman, the writer of "Stuffocation" and "Time and How to Spend It", draws on social science research from leading scientists to develop his 7-point checklist for spending your time in ways that lead you to be happier and more successful. He also shares his 8 tools to design flow such as deleting distractions, being active, and taking creative and physical risk which he humorously demonstrates during his talk.
Quotes:
"There are ways of spending your time that will increase your odds of being happier, more resilient, more creative, and more successful."
"How you spend your time is vitally important. It's the same as burning money."
"If you want to be happier, spend more on experiences and less on stuff."
The 80/20 principle states that 80% of results come from only 20% of causes or effort. The 80/20 Way revolves around using time more intelligently by focusing on the 20% of important, vital things that lead to most of our success, happiness and fulfillment.
Koch, the best-selling author of The 80/20 Principle, wrote this book for non-business people to help them learn how to apply the laws of focus ("less is more") and development ("create more with less") to work, money, relationships and life. His theory is that by doing less, we can live more.
"Chuck your to do list, make a not to do list."
"Focus is the secret of all personal power, happiness and success."
"Make a great mental leap: dissociate effort from reward. Focus on the outcomes that you want and find the easier way to them with the least effort, least sacrifice and most pleasure. Concentrate on what produce extraordinary results without extraordinary effort."
The 5 Second Rule is the 5,4,3,2,1 countdown method created by Mel Robbins developed to push herself to make 5 second decisions and become the solution to her own problems. By being courageous and decisive, you too can be one step away from a completely different life. This book uses a research-backed metacognition tool that emphasizes a bias towards action that creates immediate and lasting behavior change. Or as Nike says, Just Do It!
The ability to stay focused is a competitive advantage, yet technology makes it easy to be distracted. Nir Eyal provides a framework to explain how distraction works along with tips and tools to reclaim your focus and attention.
The basic value proposition of essentialism is to give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, so you can make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter. If you could be truly excellent at only one thing, what would it be?
At any given point in time, there is only one thing you should focus on doing that will propel you toward the success you want. That one thing is what moves you closest toward your goal. While the concept is simple, the book offers helpful insights around time management and time blocking, connecting purpose, priority and productivity, and how to create a domino effect by sequentially lining up your priorities (not simultaneously).
For more information go to the1thing.com, or check out the video summary of the book.
A good read that can challenge, inspire and motivate you with practical habit-building strategies. This book focuses on small habits you do every day and creating a process to get 1% better everyday.
Young teaches us about ultralearning – a learning strategy that is both self-directed and aggressive.
Methods include:
If your goal is lifelong learning to foster an ultralearning culture at work, this book is full of techniques that will help you make learning a priority.
Challenges readers to live more and work less through personal escape from a workaholic lifestyle. He challenges readers to live more and work less. While the book was published in 2007 and telecommuting is no longer a new concept, his productivity hacks remain timely and insightful.
Favorite Tim Ferris Tips:
Based on 30 years of research, the inventor of the 10,000-hour rule provides his techniques for mastering any skill. Peak shows that there is no magic to those who have exceptional abilities. Intense, extended "deliberate practice" is the key to enhancing learning. Through storytelling from competitive sports to musical performances to business and science, Ericsson & Pool demonstrate how champions put their gifts to work through training and practice inspiring everyone to realize that they too can reach their true potential.
Stanford psychologist Carol S. Dweck demonstrates how success in business, parenting, school, and relationships can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents. Dweck compares characteristics of a fixed mindset that assumes our intelligence and abilities cannot be changed versus a growth mindset that thrives and embraces challenges which aid in further developing our intelligence. It is her view that the growth mindset will increase our capacity for success and happiness.
To learn more, check out her video on Teaching a Growth Mindset.
Jay Shetty, a social media influencer, thought leader, and podcaster, distilled the wisdom he gained while living as a monk for three years into practical advice for the masses. Adapting to the monk mindset is about the elimination of outside influences and internal fear so that you can make decisions with intention, purpose, and confidence. In doing so, Shetty reveals how we will be able to look to the world beyond ourselves, share our gratitude, and deepen our relationships with others.
Happiness is the precursor to success. But first, we need to develop the ability to see that positive change is possible. Only once we learn to see the world through a more positive lens can we summon all our motivation, emotion, and intelligence to achieve our personal and professional goals.
We become more successful when we are happier and more positive — happiness is the precursor to success, not the result. Happiness and optimism can fuel performance and achievement.
The Algebra of Happiness provides a formula for happiness based on Scott Galloway's personal experience as a father and a son combined with his professional experience as a serial entrepreneur, and an academic.
He examines success, love, health, and the definition of a life well-lived in his own unique no mercy/no malice style.
A love letter to stoicism, the ancient greek philosophy of enduring adversity with perseverance and resilience. Holiday gives examples from great people in history and how they applied stoicism to overcome difficult situations.
This book will help you realize that you can turn your obstacles upside down to discover your new path.
Drawing on history's greatest leaders, visionaries and even athletes—and using references to Stoicism—Holiday demonstrates how each used the power of stillness to let go, step back, reflect, and regain balance to let ideas flow.
