Rating: 
Summary: Major Disappointment
Review: The book is fun to read. No question. The stories are great, especially if you like basketball and sports. Jon Spoelstra certainly came up with some outrageous ideas, and my oh my, didn't they all work great! Isn't he a genius? This book certainly made me think that Jon Spoelstra thinks a lot of himself.Unless you're running a sports franchise, I'm not sure there's actually much useful information to glean from the book, and that's the reason you buy business books, isn't it. For all it's quizzes, which are really "precious" (in the worst sense of the word), the only real idea from the book is "go crazy...risk something." That's great if you've got deep pockets. People will do a lot of crazy things to link themselves with major sporting teams (sponsorships, wacky promotions, giveaways, etc.). But what if you own a plumbing supply store? A shoe repair store? A used CD shop? Yes, you too can do crazy, wacky things, but if you do the wrong crazy thing, just because Spoelstra thinks you should, will you have the cash flow left to try another one? Unless you've got a big organization and deep pockets (or access to deep financing) his urging to be outrageous seems a bit pat and obvious. Yes, be outrageous, sure. But how do you temper it? How do you give yourself an "escape route" if things go wrong? How do you pay for it? So, I finished the book very entertained by the anecdotes, and impressed at the contributions the author has made to the ways in which we all enjoy professional sports events and team. But I had not one truly practical, useful, actionable idea to put to work.
Rating: 
Summary: A nice book on how to market successfully
Review: This book has a very nice personal touch, you feel that the author is talking to you the whole time. His enthusiasm is also very contagious and you feel excited to carry out his advice right away. This book focuses on an 'out of the box' approach to marketing. It is filled with a lot of the author's own experiences with the Portland Trail Blazer, New York Nets, the Edmonton Oilers, etc. and how he went about to turn their businesses around. He points out the problem of bland marketing, the power of giving crazy ideas a try, the need to have a revenue-centric mentality, and the desire to produce immediate results. All these points are also reviewed after every chapter and are organized very nicely near the end of the book for a final review. The strength of this book is very enjoyable to read and it really makes you want to achieve the same kind of success the author has. Happy reading!
Rating: 
Summary: Wow, Wow, Wow Where has this book been all of my life.
Review: This book should be read by every single person that has anything to do with business. I have been told by many people that if you want to increase revenue you call Jon Spoelstra, now I know why. Jon's ideas have not only revitalized my attitude towards my company, but his creative thinking has also caused my employees to feel energized to think way outside the box and not be afraid to think OUTRAGEOUSLY. One of our young interns who was sitting in on our idea session threw out an idea that he had been afraid to voice because he thought it was too out there. Well this idea has turned into an actual business plan that my staff is excitedly starting to put into action. Buy this book by the gross and give a copy to everybody in your company and anyone you care for. The excitement in our company has been revitalized after having only a small number of my employees read this book. I can't wait until Wednesday when our new shipment of books arrive.
Rating:
Summary: My heart was kind of sinking at the end...
Review: This is honestly the first ever management book that I have actually felt some personal connection with. I'm in love with Marketing - I dream about it all the time. And I would like to begin by thanking Jon Spoelstra for this wonderful book - I enjoyed it thoroughly. This is the first time I have actually heard about the concept of - Marketing Outrageously. It is an interesting concept, a couple of good ideas I believe everyone can learn something from - no matter what industry you are actually in. The last couple of chapters were the best by far though. I enjoyed reading so much about how to treat your employees. I would like to talk a little about that if possible. The ranking of importance is something that got me thinking in the beginning.
1. Employees
2. Customers
3. Shareholders Unlike the tradtional firm -
1. Employees
2. Customers
3. Shareholders You see, everything comes from your team. If you have a great team - that really love your workplace (their workplace!) - then things will start from then. These six things - ohhh, I loved them so much - I'm really going to try to use the majority of these when I become a manager (and have the financial possibility to do so too!) 1. Employee Comic Handbook
2. Free Education
3. No-Miss policy
4. Forced Vacations
5. Six Week paid Sabbatical
6. Help in negotiating your next job I can't explain them here - cause then you wont read the book! You have to go out - and buy this book. My heart was beating so fast at the end - and not many books can do this to you. It's worth the read - trust me.
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