Knowledge / Information / Data economics Books

Book SynopsisA trio of experts on high-tech business strategy and innovation reveal the principles that have made platform businesses the most valuable firms in the world and the first trillion-dollar companies.Trade Review“The authors authoritatively document the rules and pitfalls of platforms, combining years of research with practical guidelines and real-life examples. A must-read for all operators or participants of existing or future platform businesses.” — Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork “Whether you are a customer wanting to understand the economic logic behind platforms, a business manager wanting to learn platform strategies, or a regulator wanting to become informed about platform governance, this book offers indepth, cogent, and up-to-date answers by three experts who began analyzing platforms when the word wasn’t even known. A true treatise and treasure.” — Bengt Holmstrom, Paul A. Samuelson Professor of Economics and Management at MIT and winner of the 2016 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences “Essential reading for any business trying to compete as a platform or against a platform. Even traditional businesses must understand how to evolve into a platform and partner with other platforms. Sound complicated? This book will help you sort it out.” — Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott International “Should every business jump on, surrender to, or be a platform? Should government condemn, regulate, or imitate platform businesses? This book not only answers these questions; it also provides critical understanding of the underpinning and superstructure of platforms. For every business and social leader, this is the go-to book for learning the essential lessons about the business phenomenon of our times.” — Reed Hundt, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and author of A Crisis Wasted: Barack Obama’s Defining Decisions “The Business of Platforms should be read by all managers, entrepreneurs, investors, and academics interested in platform businesses. It is rigorous and valuable, yet very readable.” — Richard Schmalensee, former dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management and coauthor of Matchmakers: The New Economics of Multisided Platforms

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2022Football has always measured success by what you win, but only in the last twenty years have clubs started to think about how you win. Data has now suffused almost every aspect of how football is played, coached, scouted and consumed. But it's not the algorithms or new metrics that have made this change, it's the people behind them.This is the story of modern football's great data revolution and the group of curious, entrepreneurial personalities who zealously believed in its potential to transform the game. Central to this cast is Chris Anderson, an academic with no experience in football, who saw data as an opportunity to fundamentally change a sport that did not think it could be changed. His aim: to infiltrate the strange, insular world of professional football by establishing a club whose entire DNA could be built around data.Expected Goals charts his remarkable journey into the heart of the modern game and reveals how clubs across the world, from Liverpool to Leipzig and Brentford to Bayern Munich, began to see how data could help them unearth new players, define radical tactics and plot their path to glory.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"An astoundingly thorough deep dive, which the reader is eased into with the help of easily digestible surveys, charts and graphs, interview excerpts and a very comprehensive reference section. . . . An extremely well thought-out, -researched, and -structured look into the lives of people who have had to endure caste-inspired stigma throughout their lives." * Library Journal *"This book has challenged us to take a more nuanced approach to diversity within the Black community and beyond."---Rebecca C. Franklin, Ethnic and Racial Studies

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"An astoundingly thorough deep dive, which the reader is eased into with the help of easily digestible surveys, charts and graphs, interview excerpts and a very comprehensive reference section. . . . An extremely well thought-out, -researched, and -structured look into the lives of people who have had to endure caste-inspired stigma throughout their lives." * Library Journal *"This book has challenged us to take a more nuanced approach to diversity within the Black community and beyond."---Rebecca C. Franklin, Ethnic and Racial Studies

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Book SynopsisNamed one of "10 Must-Read Career and Leadership Books For 2022" by ForbesThe ultimate guide to the essentials of strategy and management, from one of the world's top business thinkers.Over a stellar career, Roger Martin has advised the CEOs of some of the world's most successful companies. From the beginning, he noted that almost every executive he talked to had a "model"—a framework or way of thinking that guided their strategy and activities. But these models tended to become automatic, so much so that when one didn't work, the typical response was just to apply it again—with greater enthusiasm.Martin took a fresh, critical approach to helping. When company leaders came to him with fundamental questions—How do you decide where to play and how to win? What is the key to shaping and changing corporate culture? How can you design a successful, sustainable innovation process?—his first response was to break the spell of the current model with a memo articulating a new way to think about the problem at hand and a more powerful and effective way to successfully overcome it.Over time, these ideas worked their way into Martin's many Harvard Business Review articles. Now, for the first time, they appear together in A New Way to Think. With his trademark incisive intellect and clarity, Martin covers the entire breadth of the management landscape—illuminating the true nature of competition, explaining how company success revolves around customers, revealing how strategy and execution are really the same thing, and much more.Reading like a series of one-on-one sessions with one of the world's leading business thinkers, A New Way to Think is an essential guide for any current or aspiring business leader.Trade ReviewNamed one of The Best Leadership Books of 2022 by LeadershipNow.comNamed one of the Top 20 Leadership Books of 2022 by The Next Big Idea Club"This is a concise management handbook from someone who has spent a career analysing business strategies." — Financial TimesNamed one of the "12 Hot Nonfiction Books to Read This Summer" by Adam Grant, Wharton Professor and bestselling author"Martin offers succinct examples of how challenging the received wisdom and taking a different approach might be worthwhile than continually trying the same thing and failing to see the results they expect." — Forbes"…no matter what kind of business, or what size company, you are in, there will be something of interest and actionable insight here for you." — Porchlight BooksAdvance Praise for A New Way to Think:"Please, please do not 'read' A New Way to Think. Ingest it, immerse yourself in it—head and, especially, heart. It is spot-on and, if applied assiduously, I guarantee it will change your life, the lives of those you work with, and the community in which you work." — Tom Peters, management guru; bestselling author, In Search of Excellence"Roger Martin has an undeniable gift for simplifying the complex and nuanced scenarios of management and strategy down to the main thing. A framework for thinking through the most common problems with a new lens." — Julia Hartz, cofounder and CEO, Eventbrite"Like a day with a great mentor, this book burns through trendy management pablum to give readers the hidden truths and timeless questions their organization really needs to reach its potential. An essential how-to guide." — Zachary First, Executive Director, Drucker Institute"Rather than replacing traditional models with better models, I favor Roger Martin's underlying proposition in this book, which is to replace traditional ways of thinking with new ways of thinking. New ways of thinking must shift from centering around the organization to centering around human value." — Zhang Ruimin, founder and Chairman, Emeritus, Board of Directors, Haier Group"Waze for executive leadership. Through succinct and entertaining vignettes, Roger Martin helps you navigate the terrain, make the right choices, and avoid falling victim to common mistakes. An important read for anyone leading an organization!" — Stephanie Cohen, Global Cohead, Consumer and Wealth Management, Goldman Sachs"In order to stay nimble and competitive, you need to challenge your most basic assumptions on the best way to do business. No one does this more insightfully than Roger Martin. Read A New Way to Think to help you survive and thrive as a leader." — Alex Osterwalder, cofounder, Strategyzer; bestselling coauthor, Business Model Generation"In A New Way to Think, Roger Martin unpacks why so many cherished frameworks in business aren't working and gives us smarter alternatives." — Drew Houston, CEO, Dropbox

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Book SynopsisA brand is more than a snazzy logo – but what else is there to consider when building a brand? Do you really need a brand for business success? And what has intellectual property got to do with anything?A strong, authentic brand is what makes your business stand out from the crowd – and what drives long term success. But the branding industry can be an overwhelming minefield, full of conflicting advice and multiple disciplines – so how do you navigate your way through the process? That’s where Brand Tuned comes in. With the step-by-step TUNED methodology, you will:• define your brand to drive the business forward and help it stand out• know what brand promise will attract your ideal client• pick a name that will put you “front of mind”• ensure that the design elements you choose are distinctive and ‘ownable’• train your team to live the brand.Drawing from evidence-based research, interviews with experts, and years of experience supporting businesses, Brand Tuned is the first branding guide written by an intellectual property lawyer who specialises in trademarks and brands. By incorporating the principles of intellectual property law right from the start of the process, branding expert Shireen Smith will show you how to create and build the brand that is right for you and your business – while avoiding the potential pitfalls.Shireen Smith is an intellectual property lawyer specialising in trademarks and brands, with years of experience in marketing small businesses. Her TUNED framework is designed to guide you to create a brand that attracts sales for the long term.Trade ReviewAs someone dipping my pinkie toe into branding, marketing, and digital art, I found this book incredibly helpful. Her fresh perspective coming from a law background was instrumental in steering me on the right path with my business and I highly recommend anyone considering a path in branding or IP to pick this book up! It's a quick, informative read! * NetGalley *Well organized and perfectly written, Brand Tuned is a bedside book for any entrepreneur who takes their business journey seriously. It approaches branding as a strategy to help you to start your brand journey one step ahead. From its cleverly structured methodology to well-presented research, this book will surely become a guide for businesses of any size. * Amazon *Anyone involved with setting up or growing a business will benefit enormously from the insight provided by this book into the world of branding. All aspects are thoroughly covered in a way which is both enjoyably readable and positively instructive. * Amazon *Table of ContentsPart 1 – What is a brand and why does it matter?IntroductionThe UK TV program Grand Designs shows how a building project is achieved with the involvement of several disciplines. Creating unique Brand Tuned needs to similarly involve various disciplines. Intellectual property, in particular, is not an appropriate subject to leave till after the brand is created. As Steve Jobs highlighted, design means how it works, not just how it looks. The book explains how the Intellectual property dimension of brands impacts branding, and why visual identity needs to be the final step, not the first one. It incorporates interviews with subject experts from the fields of design, marketing, PR, digital marketing, SEO, and intellectual property valuationChapter 1 – What is A Brand? Why Is Branding Important?Understanding what brand and branding mean is fundamental to getting a better outcome from branding. CEOs and other target audiences of the book would benefit from developing their knowledge of branding. There are many myths and misinformation surrounding this subject, particularly the intellectual property dimension of it. I will try to interview a high profile individual for this chapter on the importance of IP, possibly Deborah MeadonChapter 2 – The 3 Fundamental Problems in BrandingThe branding industry includes many new media companies, such as web designers who provide branding services as a secondary activity. Many are unaware of the business purpose of branding, and the role of intellectual property in their work. The industry tends to separate branding from intellectual property, leading to problems. Unlike big business, founders of small businesses do not have a brand manager to take care of their brand needs. Even large companies can lack an understanding of the role of IP in branding. Richard Kirstein and Anne. H. Chasser & Jennifer C. WolfePart 2 – TUNED methodology - Think IP First1st Component of TUNEDChapter 3 – Using an inter-disciplinary approach to brandingThe world has changed, so must branding. It needs to take account of IP so IP and branding are dealt with together. Branding in the 21st century needs to be inter-disciplinary. This partly involves professionals expanding their expertise to include related disciplines, such as for lawyers to include branding as part of their skillset, or designers to also cover strategy, communications, marketing or PR too, A wider range of skills is especially needed when supporting smaller businesses. Focus on the Brand Rewired book, as well as considering Aaker’s book on Spanning Silos Anne. H. Chasser & Jennifer C. Wolfe. Lucy Wern, Seek comments from Aaker,Chapter 4 –Think IP First! Is the first component of TUNEDIP is about erecting barriers to entry, a moat around your business as Warren Buffet calls it. A review of what brand elements are protectable, and how these considerations impact the approach to designing a business and brand. Leaving IP till after Brand Tuned is the wrong way around. Branding needs to start with IP, and deal with designs last. International nature of IP principles will be highlighted. Stephen Robertson. A visual representation of the TUNED model.Part 3 – TUNED methodology - Understand your Market2nd Component of TUNEDChapter 5- Understanding Customers and Competitors Understanding your client and market are the focus of this chapter. Identifying what customers want and need is key to success for any brand. This involves knowing who your competition is, and what market you’re in. Competition is not just direct competitors. It also includes indirect competitors who may have similar offerings or entirely different ones that enable customers to achieve similar outcomes in different ways. This involves finding groups of people based on their psychographics, worldviews, life stage, priorities, attitudes to life, rather than focusing purely on demographics, and creating personas. Byron Sharp research findings. Mark Ritson, JP Hanson, Phil BardonChapter 6 - Key role of positioning.What moves the needle in branding? Here I will also look at the evidence-based research, and how it impacts brand strategy, outlining the Ehrenberg-Bass institute’s evidence-based research from Byron Sharp from his books How Brands Grow, and also from Jenni Romaniuk’s book Distinctive brand assets. They introduce fresh thinking that impact certain areas of branding such as purpose. and differentiation, The chapter considers positioning in more depth, highlighting Seth Godin’s distinction between positioning and differentiation. Byron Sharp, Jenni Romaniuk, Comments from Mark Ritson and Seth Godin will be sought too.Part 4 – TUNED methodology - Name it right!3rd component of TUNED Chapter 7 – Considerations When Choosing the NameDiscuss the different approaches to brand naming – “house of brands” and “house brands” and the hybrid approach to brand hierarchy. Coca Cola, and Proctor & Gamble case studies of brands that changed their approach to use an endorsed approach a few years ago. Jeremy Miller,Chapter 8 – Use own name?When is it appropriate to use the founder’s own name for a business? Pros and cons of using the founders name as the name of the business brand. Explore this topic thoroughly here so chapter 11 just refers back to this chapter when covering proper names as a type of brand name. Dell, Disney, Marks & Spencer, Clarks, and many other examples of brands using founder’s own name. Relevance of such a choice to the chapter on the importance of building own personal brand in business will also be touched on here and expanded upon in chapter 15. Jeremy Miller, Rand FishkinChapter 9 – How SEO, Online Visibility and Marketing impact brandingThe internet impacts every industry. It is constantly evolving and changing. Our approach to branding needs to keep up, and not hold onto outdated notions, such as the continuing emphasis on the need to own the .com domain of a proposed brand name. SEO considerations that impact marketing imperatives should not override branding fundamentals. Choosing generic brand names is misguided because branding involves using a unique and distinctive name. It’s doubly important to use a unique name when going global. There is widespread confusion about which considerations should prevail when it comes to names and keywords. Rand Fishkin Chapter 10 – Choosing the name.The right way to go about naming. 5 types of name: descriptive, suggestive, names that have a dictionary meaning, proper names, made up names. Why descriptive and certain other name choices, such as well-known initials that stand for something like KPI, key performance indicator should be avoided. Will illustrate types of name by using examples drawn from the latest Interbrand list of top 50 brands. Brand value and names. Darlene Hart of US Tax and Financial Planning. Stephen Robertson. Interbrand representative on naming. Part 5 – TUNED methodology- Establish the Brand Strategy!4th component of TUNED Chapter 11 – What is Brand Strategy? How does it impact branding?Setting the brand strategy plays an important part in developing and growing the brand to reflect the promise the business wants to be known for. It’s the pre cursor to naming and visual designs. Drawing from the book Marketing Myopia by Theodore Levitt this chapter covers the importance of thinking about business fundamentals such as ‘What business are you really in?’ Kodak and Blockbuster case studies. Also, 6 Ps are outlined for determining the brand strategy: Purpose, Principles, Positioning, People, Product, Personality. Michael Johnson. JP Hanson (Image of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs)Chapter 12 – How to plan your strategy.The core of your brand strategy is your vision, mission and values. These are the basis on which to build the strategy, and to use to align it to your products and processes. Asking a series of Why, What, Who and How questions to uncover some common areas of thinking needed to set the strategic direction of the brand, The strategy will play a major role in determining the brand story, and messaging, as well as internally to inspire and motivate the team. Consider the brand book and begin thinking about what messages to communicate and how. Part 6 – TUNED methodology - Drive the Brand Strategy!5th component of TUNEDChapter 13 Drive the Brand Strategy! – the fifth component of TUNEDOnce the strategy for the brand has been established involve designers to create a visual identity that can best reflect the brand promise. Marty Neumier’s ideas about importance of enabling the creatives who are designing the brand to revisit the strategy as part of considering the visual approach. Jenni Romaniuk’s book Distinctive Brand Assets impacts branding choices. The design considerations need to bear in mind what is ownable as IP. Jack Wills trade mark dispute case study, and example of Azrights development of Ram icon. Interviews with Marty Neumier, Jenni Romaniuk,, Laura Ries. Images of Azrights Ram icon. Jack Wills icon. Ehrenberg-Bass institute’s Owl icon. Visual icons of some famous businesses that evoke their names, Compare the Market logo. Nike’s swoosh, MacDonald’s M, Coca Cola’s bottle, Apple’s apple, Rolls RoycePart 7 – Brand buildingChapter 14 –Promoting the brand.Driving the brand strategy also impacts how you promote the brand internally and externally, and communicate brand messages. Draw from Byron Sharp’s How Brands Grow to illustrate some ways it impacts marketing and branding. Brand building on social media, being omni-present- being everywhere, visible, and recognizably the brand. Budget constraints for smaller businesses, and how to manage this as they grow. Promoting the brand internally to support the culture and to motivate the team to make on brand decisions. Using the brand to guide recruitment. Tony Hsieh, Katie BurkeRand Fishkin. Will Critchlow. Byron SharpChapter 15 – Personal, Business and Product BrandingDiscusses the importance of having clarity around your personal and business aspirations and aligning the two so you build the right business. Unless the founders own name is being used for the brand, it’s essential to promote a triage of brands, the brand name, as well as the personal brand of the CEO, and also key product brands. Trend towards using personal brands of individual team members to promote the business brand. Stephen Robertson.ConclusionThe environment of the 21st century calls for a rethink of society’s approach to branding. More education is needed for the many businesses that offer branding services to update their thinking, particularly around intellectual property and its role in branding. AppendixesDocument to assist when identifying a new name.Brand strategy document, including checklistsBrand book document and what needs to be included in it

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Book SynopsisOrganizations are increasingly aware of the role that culture plays in implementing strategies. The adage ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast everyday’ shows how important it is to understand, monitor, and calibrate company culture. This means shaping the behaviour of leaders, managers, teams, and individuals. It means integrating assessment and behaviours into performance and communication strategies. Cultures – at all levels – are shifting in today’s society. It is important to understand which factors are having which effects. The Cultures of Knowledge Organizations presents a new perspective that treats organizational culture not as a static conceptual model but as a dynamic, complex and adaptive system. The authors consider how de facto organizational business cultures must function in a hyperdynamic knowledge economy. Today’s managers need real practical guidance on how to see ‘culture’, how to assess it, how to design a culture that supports business goals, and how to help the workforce understand their own role in shaping culture. This research acts as a map for 21st Century.Table of ContentsIntroduction to the Series SECTION 1. THE FUNDAMENTAL OF CULTURE Chapter 1. Culture as a System Chapter 2. Organizational Culture as a Complex System Chapter 3. How Organizational Culture Dominates Strategy Chapter 4. KLC-Approach To Knowledge Organization Culture Building SECTION 2. THE SYNERGISTIC POWER OF KNOWLEDGE, LEARNING, AND COLLABORATION CULTURES Chapter 5. Knowledge Cultures Open Minds Chapter 6. Learning Cultures Grow Minds Chapter 7. Collaborative Culture Enhances the Network of Minds SECTION 3. KLC AND THE COMPLEX CULTURES OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR Chapter 8. Public Sector Cultures Chapter 9. The KLC Approach and Pubic Sector Diplomacy Chapter 10. The KLC Approach and Public Sector Military Chapter 11. The KLC Approach and Public Sector Space Exploration Chapter 12. The KLC Approach and Public Sector Agriculture Appendix A. Pulling It All Together Appendix B. Empirical Evidence of the KLC-Approach Appendix C. Surveying Knowledge, Learning and Collaboration Cultures Appendix D. Agenda of Research Topics for the Future

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Book SynopsisIn order to achieve its full value, knowledge must flow and be continuously used. Knowledge use, reuse, and repurposing has been a challenge discussed in knowledge sciences literature for over three decades. Based on a review of research and conversations with business stakeholders, the authors investigate and offer solutions to two key challenges - preserving and curating knowledge. Knowledge Preservation and Curation focusses on business value and processes rather than traditional legal and financial requirements, and further, explores preservation and curation in known and unknown business futures. Real-world examples from cutting-edge private and public sector organizations are included, and give unique insight into the world of knowledge management.Table of ContentsKNOWLEDGE PRESERVATION – CURRENT AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES Chapter 1. Fundamentals of Preservation Chapter 2. Thinking Strategically about Knowledge Preservation and Curation Chapter 3. Future-Proofing a Preservation and Curation Strategy Chapter 4. The Challenge of Channels to Preserving and Curating Knowledge Assets CURATING KNOWLEDGE FOR USE Chapter 5. Curating Knowledge Chapter 6. Expanding Preservation and Curation to Knowledge Assets Chapter 7. Architectures to Support Knowledge Preservation and Curation KNOWLEDGE PRESERVATION AND CURATION STRATEGIES, CAPABILITIES AND COMPETENCIES Chapter 8. Knowledge Preservation and Curation Strategies Chapter 9. Knowledge Preservation and Curation Capabilities and Methods Chapter 10. Knowledge Preservation and Curation Roles, Responsibilities and Competencies Appendix A. Pulling it All Together Appendix B. Futuring Methods to Support Strategic Thinking

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