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Since launching Merge a few months back, I have felt compelled to investigate the business publishing genre, which I had mostly avoided until then except for the occasional Malcolm Gladwell offering. With the rare exception, I find these books to be mind-numbingly boring, often having only a few salient points to make, but dragging the reader through hundreds of pages of redundancy. Can’t they just distribute a one-page summary via PDF and save us all a lot of time?
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Dan Pink’s new book, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, which breaks out of this category with vigor by using the format of a graphic novel to convey the otherwise stale message of how to how to revive your career (I just found the video below for a Hollywood-style “trailer” for the book, kinda cool). By blending the fresh and sassy attitude of the graphic novel with the practical nuts and bolts of the business book, Pink has hit on a winning formula.
Another resource that applies a creative storytelling approach is the website Lateral Action which discusses the creative economy and veers into some interesting entrepreneurial topics geared toward creative professionals. Developed by a collaborative team of Mark McGuinness, Tony Clark, and Brian Clark, three veteran creative pros, they haven’t quite pulled the whole online experience together from the visual perspective, but the site is rich with content and the writing is very engaging, often using fictional characters and narrative storytelling to convey their message. One of my favorite posts, entitled The Kurt Cobain Guide to Startup Success, analyzes the late indie rock icon as an entrepreneurial visionary. An animated video series follows the fictional character of Lou through a career makeover.
Thanks to Dan Wallace of Ideafood for the tip on Lateral Action.
Here are some items that are Merge-worthy but I haven’t had a chance to develop into full posts (and I want to get them out there while they’re still relevant).
But first, a big shout out to the Twin Cities Creatives’ Group for the great lunch session on Thursday to discuss design and entrepreneurship. Thanks for the invitation and the rich discussion!
Alissa Walker speaks with Daniel Pink
A smart, inquisitive journalist with a fresh voice, the ubiquitous Alissa Walker is one of my favorite writers on design. She seems to pop up all over the design landscape: her Designerati blog on FastCompany.com is a reliable source of industry buzz, and her recent interview on Dwell.com with Daniel Pink probes the best-selling author’s breakthrough thinking on creativity in business. Pink, best known for A Whole New Mind, has new book on career management called The Adventures of Johnny Bunko—The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need. Bunko, while a bit thin on content, is an absolute triumph of form, especially in the usually flat business publishing category. He worked with illustrator Rob Ten Pas to create a riveting graphic novel. Very cool!
Chris Anderson on the new economy
I’ve described Wired’s Editor in Chief in a previous post as a consistently clear voice on the new online economy, and I found this recent essay in Wired to be particularly prescient. Anderson joins the growing chorus of those who see our current economic challenges as a time of opportunity for entrepreneurs. “To all the usual reasons why small companies have an advantage,” he writes, “from nimbleness to risk-taking, add these new ones: The rise of cloud computing means that young firms no longer have to buy their own IT equipment, which helps them avoid having to raise money or take on debt.” Anderson goes on to discuss “involuntary entrepreneurship,” or the result of the tens of thousands of laid off workers pouring into the market.
Starbucks campaign taps online media
This NYTimes article analyzes the new Starbucks ad campaign that takes a novel approach to viral marketing. The campaign challenges people to take pictures of the new posters—being launched in six U.S. cities—and be the first to post a photo on Twitter. Frankly this doesn’t seem to me like a breakthrough creative concept, but it is an indication of how major consumer brands are beginning to think about how to utilize social media to enhance their more conventional promotions.
Just an observation…
If you’re writing (or designing) a book in the business publishing category and you want it to stand out on the shelf at Barnes & Noble, choose a color other than orange for the cover.
