Book Review: Strategy That Works, Ian Mann
by Fred Roed on 06/06/12 at 11:02 am
1 comment
I read this book in one sitting. It’s not often that I do that, since I have around 10 books placed on my bedside table and rarely does one get my full attention for a sustained length of time. I swap and change, and generally poke in and out of the books that find themselves in my hands.
Ian Mann has done a smart thing with Strategy That Works, however. Mann has made the book concise. The chapters are short. The paragraphs are punchy. Even the book itself is small and practical.
This may not sound special, but, believe me, when talking about strategy it’s easy to become bloated.
I hang around strategists all the time, and the ability to be succinct is not commonplace.
There is a lot I found valuable in Mann’s book. He is honest, in a straight up kinda way. He doesn’t shy away from controversy (e.g. Mann swiftly debunks the over popular cliché ‘blue ocean strategy’). He uses great examples and references, from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to obscure Prussian generals from three centuries ago.
At 130 odd pages, you can get through the book quickly and extract the value you need. Mann has tackled a tricky topic, strategy, and made it tangible. No small feat in a world of cyber-reality, infinite messages and ever-evolving communication channels.
I recommend this book to managers and entrepreneurs as a quick, easy plane read for your next business trip. Buy Strategy That Works at any Exclusive Books, or online here.
Fred Roed is the marketing guy in the Ideate crew. Fred is the CEO of web marketing company World Wide Creative and the co-founder of online learning portal Heavy Chef. Fred loves writing about people out there doing marketing right. Follow Fred on Twitter here. View more articles by Fred Roed.
Tags: advice, book, Book review, Books, business, business strategy, Entrepeneurship, guidance, ian mann
Competition: Win Essential Business Books On Ideate | Ideate
Jun 8th, 2012
[...] the next 2 weeks, and have a hamper full of fantastic prizes to win. Ideate giving away 4 copies of “Strategy That Works” by acclaimed author Ian Mann, and 2 copies of “The VAT Handbook”, a fun, easy to read manual [...]