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Steve Lance's Top Book Recommendations

Want to know what books Steve Lance recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Steve Lance's favorite book recommendations of all time.

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - The instant classic about why some ideas thrive, why others die, and how to improve your idea's chances--essential reading in the "fake news" era.

Mark Twain once observed, "A lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can even get its boots on." His observation rings true: Urban legends, conspiracy theories, and bogus news stories circulate effortlessly. Meanwhile, people with important ideas--entrepreneurs, teachers, politicians, and journalists--struggle to make them "stick."

In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan...
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Raluca RaduI work in digital marketing so I would [recommend]: [...] Made to stick by Chip and Dan Heath. (Source)

Ola OlusogaLike Charlie Munger once said: “I’ve long believed that a certain system - which almost any intelligent person can learn - works way better than the systems most people use [to understand the world]. What you need is a latticework of mental models in your head. And, with that system, things gradually fit together in a way that enhances cognition. Just as multiple factors shape every system,... (Source)

Arvind Narayanan@conorgil My all-time favorite example of research communication is The Selfish Gene. Astonishingly effective at explaining deep research ideas/findings to a lay reader. A book with great advice: https://t.co/QD1sM2o0z6 (It isn't specific to research but still super valuable.) (Source)

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Television has conditioned us to tolerate visually entertaining material measured out in spoonfuls of time, to the detriment of rational public discourse and reasoned public affairs. In this eloquent, persuasive book, Neil Postman alerts us to the real and present dangers of this state of affairs, and offers compelling suggestions as to how to withstand the media onslaught. Before we hand over politics, education, religion, and journalism to the show business demands of the television age, we must recognize the ways in which the media shape our lives and the ways we can, in turn, shape them... more

Austin KleonEarlier this year Postman’s son Andrew wrote an op-ed with the title, “My dad predicted Trump in 1985 — it’s not Orwell, he warned, it’s Brave New World.” Postman wrote: “What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.” (Source)

Steve LanceNeil Postman took the work of Marshall McLuhan – who was putting out early theories on media – and built on them. However, Postman was far more observant and empirical about the trends occurring in the media landscape. The trends which he identifies in Amusing Ourselves to Death, written in the 1980s, have since all come true. For example, he predicted that if you make news entertaining, then... (Source)

Kara Nortman@andrewchen Also a great book on the topic - Amusing Ourselves to Death https://t.co/yWLBxKumLQ (Source)

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What Sticks is the one book that explains exactly how marketing and advertising works today!  Based on new insights from analysis of over $1 billion worth of advertising. 

 

Decades ago it was okay to believe, as retail magnate John Wanamaker did, that “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” However, today the stakes are much higher. Marketing thought leaders Rex Briggs and Greg Stuart estimate that $112 billion in advertising spending in the U.S. alone is wasted, cutting deeply into...
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Recommended by Steve Lance,  and 1 others.

Steve LanceWhat Sticks covers some of the same territory as Made to Stick but they have a more interesting point of view. The authors Rex Briggs and Gregg Stuart believe very strongly that, in order to make any advertising campaign sticky and produce any kind of results, everyone involved must agree on the measurement of success. Time and again advertisers start to do ad campaigns without clear agreement on... (Source)

4
Although it was first published more than thirty-five years ago, Up the Organization continues to top the lists of best business books by groups as diverse as the American Management Association, Strategy + Business (Booz Allen Hamilton), and The Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management. 1-800-CEO-READ ranks Townsend's bestseller first among eighty books that "every manager must read." This commemorative edition offers a new generation the benefit of Robert Townsend's timeless wisdom as well as reflections on his work and life by those who knew and worked with him.... more
Recommended by Steve Lance,  and 1 others.

Steve LanceUp the Organization is written by Robert Townsend who was the client at Avis (the car rental company) when Avis came up with the ‘We Try Harder’ campaign. Robert Townsend was always seen as a bit of a maverick both within his company and within the industry. The book has just been reprinted and I find it interesting that, even 40 years later, the book still speaks to a large audience. I will... (Source)

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