Here is a list of recently recommended books from American Press Institute seminar moderators and speakers to help you start the fall on the right foot.
Recommended by Drew Davis, president and executive director of API
The premise of this book is that successful innovators find untapped markets and make their competition irrelevant. Whereas the market for many products today is awash in a sea of competitive red, Blue Ocean invites you to look for a clear, blue, uncontested market niche to avoid the competition. The authors illustrate their principles with great examples ranging from Cirque du Soleil to Starbucks to Southwest Airlines. This book offers advice on how to find the blue ocean and then how to take the greatest advantage it.
Recommended by Dale Peskin, director of the Media Center.
The days of mass media are over. The new successful retailer must offer a wide range of choices, known as the long tail, for many different customers, each with specific needs. Netflix has a long tail, and so does Amazon.com. Instead of selling many of one item, each sells a few of thousands. Netflix, for example, manages to lend out 99% of its top 10,000 titles in any given month. As a result, consumers now expect companies to undertand and address their specific needs. Leaders of the newspaper industry - an industry that has traditionally created a mass-targeted product - will learn in this book about the power of choice.
Recommended by Bob Morgan, staff development manager at the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk.
Jim Collins identified 11 companies that made the transition from good to great, including Circuit City, Kimberly Clark, and Wells Fargo. No surprise, great companies have great leaders. Collins describes five levels of leadership from the Good to the Great, from the first level leader who is "Highly Capable Individual" to the Level 5 leader who "builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will."
Recommended by Michelle Rea, executive director of the New York Press Association
Brush up on management skills with this compilation of Peter Drucker's timeless advice from the past 60 years, including his five habits of effective executives.
Recommended by Sheryl Oliver, director of national advertising at NAA
Influentials are the one in 10 Americans who influence the other nine. Influentials tend to read newspapers. These are early adopters of cellphones and iPods, and the first to fly after 9/11. They drive trends through the power of word-of-mouth. Who are the Influentials? Berry and Keller say that Influentials are tactical consumers, enjoy online shopping, and value learning. Reach the Influentials, and the rest of your market will follow.
Recommended by Sheryl Oliver, director of national advertising at NAA
This marketing classic not only convinces readers that marketing is a war, but also gives tips on how to fight the war on all fronts. Ward off your enemies while drawing in your customers with the tactics, adopted from Sun-Tzu's The Art of War, described in this book. Ries and Trout walk the reader through four different strategies, depending on a company's needs. The book includes in-depth analyses of some of the biggest marketing successes and blunders of the past two decades--including Coca Cola, Budweiser, IBM, and McDonalds--along with annotated reproductions of winning and losing ads.
Recommended by Steve Buttry, director of tailored programming at API
This humorous guide to grammar is a must for every copy editor. Patricia O'Conner gets the point across with delightful examples such as "I assure you that I ensured that he was insured to the hilt." O'Conner answers common questions like "when is the majority plural?" Her pithy guide contains something for everyone, including a recently added chapter on e-mail etiquette.
Share your recommended business reading with us. Simply post suggestions in the comments box below. We look forward to hearing from you!
