Review of Brand Innovation Manifesto: How to Build Brands, Redefine Markets and Defy Conventions (Hardcover)

As John Grant explains in his Introduction, these are the four key ideas he examines in this book:

1. "A brand is nothing abstract, like some mysterious essence - it is simply the sum of ideas associated with it."

2. "Over time, the brand becomes like a molecule. Built up of successive and connected ideas."

3. "The way to manage brands is coherence, not consistency."

4. "Brands, like stories, are supposed to have a point."

Throughout his narrative, Grant examines each of these ideas with exceptional rigor and eloquence. In Section I, he shares his theory of brand innovation and suggests how to develop a "tight" strategy that will make a brand coherent. In Section II, he shifts his attention to 32 main types of cultural ideas (e.g. communities, habits, crazes) that brands can add to their "molecule." Finally, in Section III, Grant explains how to organize projects and develop new brand ideas as well as new ideas for existing brands.

Here is a representative selection of brief quotations from Grant's book that offer, I hope, some indication of the thrust and flavor of his thinking:

(1) "I have a different definition of a brand to offer:

A BRAND IS A (CLUSTER OF) STRATEGIC) CULTURAL IDEAS

I will explore the two (bracketed) other parts of this definition in the following sections. In this section I just want to explore the basis of this definition that:

A BRAND (has something to do with) CULTURAL IDEAS." (Page 27)

(2) "When the brand experience is richly cultural - as with Apple, BBC, Starbucks, Amazon, easyJet - and the means of amplifying that idea and attracting people to it are also cultural, then it is more apparent that brand creation and brand building become very similar, and should be continuous." (Page 53)

(3) "When people have studied viral marketing they have often focused on how an idea crosses over from niche to mainstream. One problem I have with the theory of viral marketing is that it relies too heavily on the classical marketing notion of messaging. My own take on `craze brands' is that, while word of mouth can play a role, two other factors offer a more complete description of the cultural process: imitation [and] reflexivity: the self-fulfilling prophecy effect of reporting by the media." (Page 177)

(4) "Consumerism at its most basic is the idea that ordinary people can live like kings...One catch is that once a generation has had a luxury for any time, it becomes normal. Yesterday's luxuries were car ownership, jet travel, eating in restaurants (these three being the mainstay of James Bond stories, a postwar austerity escapist daydream). Today's luxuries include gourmet food, high fashion, having servants. And there is a constant scramble by affordable `luxury brands' to stay special. Brands like Burberry have shown how fast you can go from `toff' to `chav' (i.e. from upper class to lower class) if you are not careful (and mostly it is out of your hands anyway)." (Page 203)

I specially appreciate Grant's pragmatism. After selecting a given "what," he devotes the bulk of his attention to explaining "how." For example, the suggestions for using the material in his book that are provided on Pages 272-287. First, set a strategic framework.Then analyze your own brand molecule and those of your competitors, "reframe" by trying out cultural ideas used in other markets, and then develop the ideas into detailed options that could deliver the strategy selected. If brands are as Grant asserts "clusters of strategic cultural ideas," and I agree, marketers especially should view themselves a cultural anthropologists whose primary responsibility is to formulate and then implement a brand strategy that is fluid, creative, and entrepreneurial. Extending the molecule metaphor, they must constantly add new ideas to keep the brand current, fresh, and fascinating. "The other vital component is a sense of focus and direction. Brand building is supposed to have a point, and your molecule should be more than just a ragbag of ideas; they should all be in the service of an overriding (and commercial) logic." Quite true.

That said, I presume to include in this review what I have suggested in countless others previously: Those who seek to create or increase demand for what they offer must be prepared to answer three simple questions, with the third being (by far) the most difficult to answer:

Who are you?
What do you do?
Why should I care?

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out Theodore Levitt's The Marketing Imagination, Marty Neumeier The Brand Gap: Expanded Edition andZag: The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands, Seth Godin's Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas as well as The Marketing Gurus: Lessons from the Best Marketing Books of All Timeedited by Chris Murray.



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Review of How the Wise Decide: The Lessons of 21 Extraordinary Leaders [DECKLE EDGE] (Hardcover)

This engaging and extraordinary book is filled with fascinating stories and advice which is extremely valuable, even to those not in the business world. The authors have made a truly significant contribution on many levels - one which will improve lives in business and many arenas. It is also a page-turner. I couldn't put it down!



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Review of Black Wealth/ White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality (Hardcover)

This book is a fascinating study of the differences between the wealth held by Blacks and Whites in the United States.A historical perspective is provided, yet the book makes clear how the momentum of past actions continue though the present.It was this facet of the book that provided the greatest emotional impact.The authors did an excellent job of stressing the differential effects of income and wealth, and how wealth is by far the better measure for examining economic well-being.The data was broken down and explained according to education, income, housing, and many other variables.Case studies helped to put poignant "faces" on the facts to show how Blacks have been impacted by the differing conditions that they experience.

While it is not hard to find examples to the contrary, as I was reading this book, I noticed a growing sense of discomfort with the frequency with which the two races were discussed and compared monolithically.It is not difficult to view one race as victim and the other as oppressor within a historical perspective, but I found myself wanting to believe that it is individuals and groups in the present who decide whether to overcome adversities and utilize opportunities.Unfortunately, this book shows how much further the United States must go to achieve equal opportunities of economic mobility.

Published in 1995, the data within this book is now roughly ten years old.Studies published since then indicate that any changes over the last decade have been subtle at best.This book continues to describe conditions that continue to be both important and relevant.I have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone, regardless of color.



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Review of Gimme Shelter (Hardcover)

Very, very funny. I only wish we had this hilarious handbook during the two miserable years we spent searching for plausible, affordable real estate within commuting distance of Manhattan.



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Review of The Coming Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profit from It: Make a Fortune by Investing in Gold and Other Hard Assets (Hardcover)

I just finished reading The Coming Collapse of the Dollar and How to Profit From It By James Turk & John Rubino published in 2004. James Turk is founder of GoldMoney.com, the leading digital gold currency payment system. John Rubino is the author of How to Profit from the Real Estate Bust.

I've posted a lot about inflation and gold, the Federal Reserve, and the destruction of the US Dollar. I have read about the inflation that Germany experienced after WWII, the devaluation of the Mexican Peso and the Argentine Peso. If that is our future, I wanted to have some idea of what is in store for us and. The book is divided into four parts and is well written and difficult concepts are explained well:

Part One - Why the dollar will collapse
Part Two - Money Then and Now
Part Three - Wht Gold Will Soar
Part Four - Profiting From The Dollar's Collapse

In part one we learn that we have a fiat currency, backed by nothing except a decree that the US Dollar is legal tender. Throughout history, in order for governments to satisfy demands without raising taxes, a government not only begins to debase its money, but inflates as well. Both are happening in the US and no government has been successful. We have a history of that in this country with the Continentals and the Confederate currency, both worthless.

Another fact that dooms our currency is that we have too much debt. Total unfunded liabilities of the US are in excess of $43 Trillion, as a society we owe another $37 Trillion and Derivatives are in excess of $200 Trillion.

Then we have a trade imbalance which just topped $800 Billion for 2005. We have been up in arms lately by the Chinese wanting to buy Unocal, then Dubai wanting to own our eastern port management companies and Dubai wanting to own some of our critical defense industry by trying to buy Doncasters Turk and Rubino point out on p31:

Foreign investors now own about $8 trillion of U.S. financial assets, including 13 percent of all U.S. stocks, 24 percent of corporate bonds, 43 percent of Treasury bonds, and 14 percent of government agency debt. By the end of 2003, about a third of Fannie Mae's mortgage-backed bonds were being sold outside of the U.S.

That was in 2003 and it has gotten considerably worse. What's in store for us:

Over time, the gap between tax revenue and the demands placed on government tends to grow, and spending, borrowing, and currency creation begin to expand at increasing rates. Inflation accelerates, and the populace comes to see the process of "debasement" for what it is: the destruction of their savings. They abandon the currency en masse, spending it or converting it to more stable forms of money as fast as possible. The currency's value plunges (another way of saying prices soar), wiping out the accumulated savings of a whole generation. Such is the fate of every fiat currency.

The government wants to keep this game going as long as possible by issuing phony CPI numbers, then by excluding energy and food, concentrating on a "core" rate. Phoney low inflation numbers keep bond yields down and "COLA" adjustments low. What is the housing bubble, but selling USDs for a tangible asset. Gold is a warning sign and a rising gold exchange rate is fought by capping and leasing gold, until the central banks are short 12,000 to 16,000 tons. And now one of the tools Turk and Rubino use, The Fear Index, to gauge where gold is going in the next few years will be handicapped by the ending of release of M3 data.

Turk and Rubino do an excellent job of instructing you in Part Four. Can you profit from your knowledge of an impending collapse of the dollar? How can you protect yourself? How can you protect your accumulated savings?

I highly recommend this book to professional and novice, alike.



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Review of Start Late, Finish Rich: A No-Fail Plan for Achieving Financial Freedom at Any Age (Hardcover)

I have not read any other books in this series, but the subject matter of this book appealed to me.I often run into people who (for various reasons) don't have much liquid wealth going into their 40s.Yet I haven't seen much written to suggest what these folks should do.I was hoping to get some ideas to share.Unfortunately, I didn't really find any that I didn't know about already.

If you are over 50, this book won't provide you with the advice you need.The intellectual process that Mr. Bach went through was to take the familiar arguments about the power of compound interest and saving with pre-tax dollars . . . and think of a few ways to shorten up the number of years required for compound interest to do its thing on your behalf.His best suggestions outside the standard financial planning advice are to be more valuable at work so you can earn more raises and promotions . . . and paying down your mortgage a little faster than is required.

I applaud his advice that people spend less on things that don't provide much benefit . . . but most people are going to be demoralized if that's the main source of increased liquid wealth.After all, most people want wealth not for retirement . . . but to enjoy life before and after they retire.

I found his arguments about starting your own business to earn more money to be naive at best . . . and overoptimistic at worst.Buying and running . . . or starting and running a business requires a lot of hard work and skill.Most successful entrepreneurs are off doing this by around age 35.Most people at 49 will find it a tough hill to climb.I applaud Mr. Bach's suggestion that people look into buying, operating, expanding and then selling franchised operations that meet his criteria.The other ideas won't work for most people based on historical averages.

I was also puzzled by his emphasis on having one-third of your liquid financial wealth in bonds.That's been one of the lowest returning classes of investment over the last 150, 100, 50, and 25 years.Why deliberately earn less when you have a long time horizon?

Much of the appeal of this book is that Mr. Bach is optimistic by nature, has a kindly interest in people and aspires for people to accomplish more.Bravo for that attitude!

I also found that Mr. Bach uses quantitative examples to explain compound interest and pre-tax versus after-tax investments much better than most financial planners do.

If you are under 45 and have never read a book about financial planning before, you will find this to be a valuable resource.If you are familiar with financial planning, you can skip this book.If you are not inclined to plan, don't know anything about financial planning and find math to be challenging, this book will provide useful new perspectives for you.



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Review of How to Make Money in Commercial Real Estate: For The Small Investor (Hardcover)

While Mr. Masters does make several good points, most of the information in this book could apply to any real estate investment: whether it be residential or commercial even though the title of this book clearly makes it appear that this book will focus on commercial properties, which it does not.

Mr. Masters starts thebook by making a quick comparison between real estate and other investments, such as holding your money in cash, saving accounts, securities, collectibles, and precious metals.He gives the advantages and disadvantages of each: namely, liquidity versus returns.Now, we get into the meat of the subject matter.First, Mr. Masters argues that an investor should own their own primary residence and have 12 months of expenses in the bank before venturing to invest in commercial real estate: conversative, but good enough advice. He gives comparisons between different commercial properties you can invest into, with garden apartment complexes and anchored shopping centers getting his nod as the best investment choices for a real estate novice.He argues that novice investors should form investment clubs to invest in real estate together; however, he gives very little advice as how to hold title and what form of ownership the group should take.I understand that people must consult with tax and legal professionals to see what best matches their situation, but it would have been nice to have Mr. Masters elaborate on this since its a key argument of his book.

To find property, Mr. Masters tells the aspiring investor to work with a knowlegable broker andnot purchase a property with a cash-on-cash return or a cap-rate under 8-10%. While I agree its very important to buy properties with positive cash-flow, this is one of my biggest issues with this book: while in theory it'd be great to skip every property that offers lower returns, in today's market its virtually impossible in most top markets to find properties with those types of returns. If you follow the advice of the author, it will now be impossible to purcahse most investment opportunities as he does not leave room for exceptions in his rule. He also ignores other calculations and never shows how to construct an APOD, which really dates this book.There is no mention of an IRR or projected cash-flows.He also never says to independently confirm the income and expense figures given by the seller even though 9 times out 10 the cap-rate the seller gives on a property is calculated off of proforma numbers that are not aligned with market realities.I can sum up his financing section in a single sentence: find a good mortgage broker to find you a good rate on a fixed, 15-30 year mortgage.And to manage your property? Use a professional management company and watch them for a year to see how they do it, then you can consider doing it on your own.He gives very little helpful advice on what to look for in a management company, mortgage broker, or real estate broker as well.

Tax information is included relegated to an appendix, yet it doesn't even touch on a 1031 tax-deferred exchange and tax implications of real estate investments are hardly touched upon, and when they are, they're no longer applicable as tax laws have changed. I don't remember reading anything about what will effect the basis of your property, how to calculate cash-flow after taxes, or even more than a few quick words about depreciation!

For someone who has purchased their own home or has even a little bit of real estate knowledge, this book has little pratical use -- the only difference between this book and better, cheaper booksthat I've read is the author's limited information on investment clubs. He even gives poor advice on finding information online: he tells the reader to go online and type in a few keywords on a search engine, not realizing that the reader will find plenty of advertisers and unscrupulous companies in the results.

For anyone who's interested in investing in real estate, I recommend the first thing they learn is how to evaluate properties so they know what to look for in an investment opportunity.To that extent, I highly recommend Frank Gallinelli's "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow and 36 Other Key Financial Measures", a far-superior, more-practical, and less expensive book.



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