Linchpin Meetup!

Are you indispensable? If not, do you want to be? (Some people don't.) If the answer to those two questions is yes, then I hope you'll join myself and other like-minded folks at the Dallas-area (or wherever you live!) Linchpin Meetup, inspired by Seth Godin's book Linchpin on June 14, 2010. A linchpin by Godin's definition is a person without whom a company/organization/team/family/situation will eventually fall apart. By maintaining a pithy daily blog that manages to be both uncompromising and inspiring, Godin has created a community of current and future linchpins, and the Linchpin Meetup website describes the event as "a completely non-commercial chance to find and connect with other members of Seth's tribe, an opportunity to talk, challenge, and inspire your fellow travelers". Not sure what that means in particular, but I'm looking forward to it. So...

1. Check out Seth and the Meetup site
2. Get interested
3. Find your local Linchpin Meetup
4. Go
   

Advertising Literature (an oxymoron?)

After seeing a couple of "Great Ad Books" lists on sites around town I decided to make my own, but with a twist. These are not books I have read, but rather recommendations that I have collected which look good enough to crack open this summer when I'll only be working 40 hours/week. The list of anticipated ad/design books as it stands now:

• Where the Suckers Moon by Randall Rothenberg. The excerpt I read on Amazon was biting and informative.

• Underdog Advertising by Paul Flowers because it is written by a Dallas ad-man! It's all in the family.

• Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. A friend of mine and fellow marketing student raved about this)

• All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin because it's about time I gave Godin some money for all the free advice I get from his blog)

• The Happy Soul Industry by Steffan Postaer. The cover is cute as pie. YES, I judge books by their covers. Sometimes.
  

• Good to Great by Jim Collins. A classic on everyone's shelf.

• Blink: the power of thinking without thinking by Malcom Gladwell. I would like to be able to consciously influence people subconsciously. I hope that's what this book is about.

• E by Matt Beaumont because it's a novel! About advertising! What I mean is, if I can be entertained while learning I'll come back every time. Teachers of the world, take note.

What are your favorite ad books? What are the books on any subject that changed you?

To be continued....