World Wide Rave (David Meerman Scott, 2009) 7.2/10
The Element (Sir Ken Robinson, 2009) 8.2/10
Jeff Immelt and the New GE Way (David Magee, 2009) 5.0/10
The Talent Code (Daniel Coyle, 2009) 6.5/10
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Robert B. Cialdini, 2007) 7.0/10
The Ten Commandments for Business Failure (Donald R. Keough, 2008) 7.3/10
The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets (Peter D. Schiff, 2008) 5.2/10
The Brand Bubble (John Gerzema and Ed Lebar, 2008) 6.0/10
A Sense Of Urgency (John P. Kotter, 2008) 6.5/10
Who (Geoff Smart and Randy Street, 2008) 6.8/10
Reality Check (Guy Kawasaki, 2008) 7.2/10
Tribes (Seth Godin, 2008) 4.7/10
Talent (Edward E. Lawler III, 2008) 5.8/10
Business Stripped Bare (Richard Branson, 2008) 7.8/10
Call Me Ted (Ted Turner with Bill Burke, 2008)
Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell, 2008) 6.0/10
Winning (Jack Welch with Suzy Welch, 2005) 8.0/10
Inside Steve's Brain (Leander Kahney, 2008) 6.0/10
Yes! (Robert Cialdini, et al, 2008) 6.7/10
The Answer (John Assaraf & Murray Smith, 2008) 7.2/10
Six Disciplines Execution Revolution (Gary Harpst, 2008) 4.0/10
The Future of Management (Gary Hamel and Bill Breen, 2008) 7.3/10
Meatball Sundae (Seth Godin, 2007) 7.0/10
“If it’s so easy to understand and it makes so much sense, why don’t more companies get tuned it?”
“Tuned In” by Craif Stull, Phil Myers & David Meerman Scott is a book on how to create the “resonator”, the product that sells itself. Or (quoted from the book);
“The perfect solution to a specific problem”
“A product or service that people want to buy without being coerced”
“An offering that establishes a real and direct connection to what your market values most”
“An idea that people immediately understand has value to them, even if they have never heard of your company or its products and services”
The book describes the six steps of creating the resonator
Contents
Chapter 1: Why Didn’t We Think of That?
Chapter 2: Tuned Out… and Just Guessing
Chapter 3: Get Tuned In
Chapter 4: Step 1: Find Unresolved Problems
Chapter 5: Step 2: Understand Buyer Personas
Chapter 6: Step 3: Quantify the Impact
Chapter 7: Step 4: Create Breakthrough Experiences
Chapter 8: Step 5: Articulate Powerful Ideas
Chapter 9: Step 6: Establish Authentic Connections
Chapter 10: Cultivate a Tuned In Culture
Chapter 11: Unleash Your Resonator
…
Let’s compare “Tuned In” to the ideal business book that is easy to understand, distinct, practical, credible, insightful, and provides great reading experience.
Ease of Understanding: 9/10: This book is very structured and it’s very hard to NOT understand. The concepts are not complicated. They are straight to the point with great examples all over the book.
Distinction: 5/10: The concept of this book is another “customer-centric innovation”. There are hundreds of this kind of book on the shelf already. However, the way the authors present the concept with clear and concise examples is refreshing. This concept of the book is identical to others: just better.
Practicality: 8/10: The six steps (plus what should be done before and after the steps) are simple enough to follow no matter what industry you are in. The authors showed examples ranging from the ice-cream shop to the comedian to Apple to the presidential election! The various examples with simple yet solid steps will make you think that you can do it.
Credibility: 8/10: The vivid examples, again, “resonate” well with the concepts and steps. You can’t really deny the proven concept, customer-centric innovation. It’s so simple that make you think “There’s no reason I shouldn’t believe this.”
Insight: 6/10: The real substance of the book is how it connects the concepts to examples. You will not find deep analysis or research in a particular subject. Moreover, this book tries hard not to bore you. Once the excitement in the topic fades, the authors move onto another topic.
Reading Experience: 7/10: Reading “Tuned In” is enjoyable. You’ll read the contents of the books about how to create a “resonator” and you’ll think “Now….. How are you trying to convince me?” Craig Stull, Phil Myers, and David Meerman Scott will then give you simple explanations and excellent examples.
Overall: 7.2/10: As I mentioned far too many times already that the examples of this book are excellent. The six steps to create the “resonator” are very easy to apply. If you are swimming in the ocean of books on innovation and could not find a good book that you can get your team or yourself rolling right away. This example-driven practical book on customer-centric innovation is tuned in for you.
November 18th, 2008 at 4:44 am
I like it when books present subject matter in a non complicated way, so that’s a big plus… I haven’t read this one, but I’m a bit intrigued…..!
November 18th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Thank you for your comment, Ross! This is not the best book on innovation ever but the steps are easy to follow.
I tried once in my division and it went well.
Thanks again for the comment!
November 21st, 2008 at 5:51 am
Many thanks for writing about Tuned In. You clearly got what we were trying to accomplish and I’m particularly happy you liked the stories. We worked hard to make sure they were interesting.
By the way, your 10 point rating scale for business books is VERY Tuned In!
David
November 21st, 2008 at 7:35 am
Wow! What can I say? The comment from David Meerman Scott himself! Thank you so much for your comment. You could not imagine how meaningful it is to me.
7.2/10 is purely my judgement and if you disagree with any point I made or if I misunderstood some points, I apologise.
About my review, I just don’t want to be another reviewer on amazon.com that give a 5-star to every book they read or give a 1-star for absurd reasons like “I don’t like the author!”