Booked

Business thinking between the covers

Simply Brilliant – The common-sense guide to success at work

by Fergus O’Connell

Pearson €15.95

O’CONNELL HAS a track record in producing practical self-help books with an emphasis on project management skills. His 10-step approach to project management was used to plan and execute the Special Olympics in 2003. His motivation for writing this newly updated book is the belief that common sense is not all that common in the business world. As he puts it: “Despite all the smarts that are floating round the place, a lot of dumb things get done.” In the tendency to over complicate things, people tend to devise solutions that are expensive to implement or maintain, or that don’t take into account human nature. The book counters this with seven common sense rules to enable executives to stop over

complicating work issues. Writing a good plan, sticking to it and delivering on reasonable expectations rather than promising miracles are key ideas. Written in a breezy style, the book includes questions, examples and applications in each chapter and should prove useful to executives.

The IKEA Edge – Building Global Growth and Social Good at the world’s Most Iconic Home Store.

by Anders Dahlvig

McGrawHill 19.99

THE SERENDIPITY between social responsibility and a strong bottom line is the theme of this account of how IKEA does business. Dahlvig rose through IKEA’s ranks to become chief executive in 1999. In his decade in charge the company tripled sales as it went on a major international expansion path. He shares the socially inclusive vision of IKEA founder

Ingvar Kamprad who believes that those with limited means should have access to furniture with high design values. An example of this is IKEA’s drive to lower prices while increasing sales volumes. Other aspects of the vision are the primacy of function over aesthetic and customer involvement to lower price (self-assembly and customer collection). In IKEA’s vision companies that practice social responsibility gain the respect of society, which helps their profits while firms that try to do good are more competitive in the marketplace which helps them recruit, motivate and retain staff. Dahlvig does question IKEA’s “overly smart and tax aggressive” franchise model and the founder’s continuing active role in the company which may hinder a smooth transition to the next generation.

Brandwashed – Tricks companies use to manipulate our minds and persuade us to buy

by Martin Lindstrom

Kogan Page €18.90

MARKETEER LINDSTROM turns from poacher to gatekeeper in this account of the methods companies use to persuade us to buy. Babies are able to request brands almost from when they can speak – by the age of three months, 40 per cent of infants are exposed to screen media. The first word recognised by many kids now is McDonald’s, according to the chief executive of the Consumer Knowledge Centre in the UK, who is quoted in the book. However, this has since been disputed. Food marketeers are using multimedia games, online quizzes and mobile phone apps to build ties with young consumers, through ads disguised as entertainment. Lindstrom has plenty of other insights into the tricks used in high growth industries, such as male grooming. The role of technology is explored with the revelation that data mining industries are growing by 10 per cent per annum. Online coupons, Lindstrom notes, are encoded with information including your IP address and your Facebook profile and posts. Retailing is cross pollinating this with with other information known about you.