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Summary: Simply the Best.
Review: MBA's should be careful reading this book. Depression may arise. $100,000 education for $20.
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Summary: Excellent chapter on Pricing
Review: Overlook the spelling and gramatical errors, the book has an excellent chapter on Pricing.
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Summary: some new useful material
Review: Several ideas and examples are drawn from the authors' earlier work on positioning, 22 immutable laws of marketing, and bottom-up marketing. There were a few ideas that are worth chewing on. For example, per Trout, success is often riding the right horse. Both hard work and intelligence are long shots, finding fast-growing successful companies is a long-shot; finding a successful product is a medium shot; finding a person with successful career trajectory and hitching your career to theirs is a more reliable way of duplicating success. Others such as avoiding all recent advances in technology may be a little simple-minded and perhaps, unnecessary in the end.
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Summary: ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS, THE REST IS SIMPLE
Review: Simplify what we do and simplify how we say it. I have had two experiences recently that support Jack Trout's ideas. A large and well respected chemical company hired a statistician to follow the executive team around to watch how they spent their time. Then he tracked their activites against decisions and actions taken and the results. He found that 85% of what they did was irrelevant. They were reacting to blips rather than trends. Second, a recent research study showed that almost half of the executives interviewed siad that poor and confusing communications in their companies result in decreased efficiency and higher employee turnover. I applaud Mr. Trout's efforts to bring us back to basics, while realizing that technology is changing what basics mean. Infomation will increasingly be available, which places the burden on asking the right questions to know what information you need. Understanding how to measure, develop and exceed best practices and find ideal but simple new ways to do things creates the best results. You can read more about this new management process for increased progress in THE 2,000 PERCENT SOLUTION by Mitchell, Coles and Metz. If you combine THE POWER OF SIMPLICITY with this management process for rapid progress by asking the right questions, you will find your 2,000 percent solutions.
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Summary: Another in the must-read line of Trout/Rivkin books
Review: Somehow Trout and Rivkin always seem to find whatever the 'next thing' is in business. Then they explore it and present it in their extraordinarily simple, easy-to-digest style. I have never read one of their books without finding several things to apply to my business, and Simplicity is no exception. It's common sense, but it's the kind of information that made me say 'Why didn't I think of that?' It made a plane ride go by very quickly, and I found myself considerably enlightened (in a 'simple' way, of course) upon arrival.
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Summary: Good, but more of the same
Review: The Power of Simplicity offers up the usual Trout-speak. It is easy to read. However, the typos are distracting. Also, Trout's recent comments in the Wall Street Journal regarding the hot dog deaths stemming from the Sara Lee plant contamination don't really endear him to readers.
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Summary: simple but true
Review: This book is definitly a clearing in the endless jungle of complex literature. Let me just say 5 words: simple, interesting, amusing, entertaining and so true. buy it!
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Summary: Outstanding marketing and management tool
Review: This book is yet another in a line of great work by Jack Trout. Time and again, Jack cuts through the nonsense so commonplace in corporate thinking and spells out an approach to marketing and management that is direct and powerful. This book is a great one to challenge the corporate world as we enter a new millenium. Terrific work.
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Summary: Interesting perspective
Review: This book makes us look at how silly and complex the business world has become and what to do about it. Simple to read, funny, full of comments and valuable lessons to take into battle. Excellent despite a few editting oversights.
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Summary: Simplicity is complex
Review: This is a wonderful book to be read with caution. What's more - this is a book for people who are very experienced in marketing and business. When you write your x-th strategic marketing plan trying to do it even better incapsulating all new and modern concepts - this book works. It kicks butts. But... It reminds me my old chess tutor who was definitely a big champ. As a novice I was sitting with all those thick chess books trying to analyze some position on board. Then he says: "C'mon! Keep it simple! Forget about complex theories! What you need to do in this position (a) protect your king, (b) don't give up the centre and (c) make a break through on the queen's flank". Simple? Yes. Correct? Yes. Good strategy? Yes, if you are an international master. For a novice his kind of simplicity is very hazardous. What's the use of protecting the king when you overlook a mate in three moves?
To put is short - very refreshing and interesting ideas for an experienced manager but can be very confusing for a novice in business.
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