Recommendations: Department of Marketing

Recommended by Dr. Rajesh Srivastava
No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits, regardless of your goals.

Recommended by Dr. Melodie Phillips
Since the dawn of the industrial age, companies have engaged in head-to-head competition in search of sustained, profitable growth. W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne argue that cutthroat competition results in nothing but a bloody red ocean of rivals fighting over a shrinking profit pool. Blue Ocean Strategy presents a systematic approach to making the competition irrelevant and outlines principles and tools any company can use to create and capture their own blue oceans.

Recommended by Dr. Gaia Rancati
Marketing visionary Martin Lindstrom has been on the front lines of the branding wars for over twenty years. In Brandwashed, he turns the spotlight on his own industry, drawing on all he has witnessed behind closed doors, exposing for the first time the full extent of the psychological tricks and traps that companies devise to win our hard-earned dollars. This searing expose introduces a new class of tricks, techniques, and seductions, showing why they are more insidious and pervasive than ever.

Recommended by Dr. Michael Peasley
Radio host and New York Times bestselling author Dave Ramsey provides an informative guide based on how he grew a successful, multimillion dollar company from a card table in his living room. Whether you're sitting at the CEO's desk, the middle manager's cubicle, or a card table in your living-room-based start-up, EntreLeadership provides the practical, step-by-step guidance to grow your business where you want it to go, serving as a one-stop guide filled with accessible advice for businesses and leaders to ensure success even through the toughest of times.

Recommended by Dr. Michael Peasley
Fanatical Prospecting gives salespeople, sales leaders, entrepreneurs, and executives a practical, eye-opening guide that clearly explains the why and how behind the most important activity in sales and business development--prospecting. Learn how to keep the pipeline full of qualified opportunities and avoid debilitating sales slumps by leveraging a balanced prospecting methodology across multiple prospecting channels. Fanatical Prospecting is filled with the high-powered strategies, techniques, and tools you need to fill your pipeline with high quality opportunities.

Recommended by Dr. Michael Peasley
Fascination is the most powerful force of attraction, drawing customers into a state of intense focus. This extensively revised and updated edition of Fascinate includes Sally Hogshead's latest research on the science of fascination. Combining original case studies with award-winning copywriting experience, she gives you the exact words you need to capture the attention of a distracted world. Hundreds of large corporations, small businesses, and universities use the Fascinate system to captivate their customers. Why? The answers are in this book.

Recommended by Dr. Michael Peasley
Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan. Bestselling author Timothy Ferrriss says there's no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, or earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, The 4-Hour Workweek is the blueprint.

Recommended by Dr. Ronda G. Henderson
Most people, especially highly ambitious people, are unhappy because of how they measure their progress. In The Gap and the Gain, you will learn that measuring your current self vs. your former self has enormous psychological benefits. And that's really the key to this deceptively simple yet multi-layered concept that will have you feeling good, feeling grateful, and feeling like you are making progress even when times are tough, which will in turn bolster motivation, confidence, and future success.

Kenneth George says,
"This is an amazing book about time management and personal organization that is helpful to anyone who wants to improve their everyday effectiveness."

Recommended by Thom Coats
"Most people just laugh when they hear that the secret to success is giving....Then again, most people are nowhere near as successful as they wish they were." Imparted with wit and grace, The Go-Giver is a classic bestseller that brings to life the old proverb "Give and you shall receive." Today this timeless story continues to help its readers find fulfillment and greater success in business, in their personal lives and in their communities.

Recommended by Mark E. Roberts
Updated for today's readers, Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People is a classic that has improved and transformed the personal and professional lives of millions. Carnegie’s rock-solid, experience-tested advice has remained relevant for generations because he addresses timeless questions about the art of getting along with people. This historic bestseller conveys crucial life lessons through engaging storytelling, showing readers how to become who they wish to be.

Recommended by Dr. Michael Peasley
Some people just won't take no for an answer. In Influence, Dr. Robert Cialdini explains the six psychological principles that drive our powerful impulse to comply to the pressures of others and shows how we can defend ourselves against manipulation (or put the principles to work in our own interest). Influence guarantees two things: readers will never say yes again when they really mean no, and they'll be more persuasive than ever before.

Recommended by Dr. Don Roy
In this New York Times Bestseller, Chip and Dan Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the human scale principle, using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating curiosity gaps. Provocative, eye-opening, and often surprisingly funny, Made to Stick shows us the vital principles of winning ideas--and tells us how we can apply these rules to making our own messages stick.

Recommended by Dr. Gaia Rancati
Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long explain how the dopamine molecule drives us to pursue pleasure and seek novelty. It offers insights into the human desire for more and how we can manage it to lead a fulfilled life.

Recommended by Dr. Gaia Rancati
What if there was a master switch for human behavior? On, and people are loving and generous. Off, and they revert to violence and greed. By studying thousands of blood samples, Economist Paul J. Zak has pinpointed just such a switch: a brain chemical called oxytocin. Through extraordinary storytelling, Zak outlines his revolutionary theory of moral behavior.

Recommended by Dr. Lucy Matthews
A former international hostage negotiator for the FBI offers a new, field-tested approach to high-stakes negotiations--whether in the boardroom or at home. Voss shares the nine effective principles--counterintuitive tactics and strategies--you too can use to become more persuasive in both your professional and personal life.

Recommended by Mark E. Roberts
Now, more than ever, the absence of personal accountability in our culture is a problem that has led to a proliferation of shunning responsibility, blaming others, and playing the victim. In times of political and social upheaval around the world, it appears that few are immune, as they look to explain--and complain--about the state of our affairs. This remarkable and timeless book gives a practical and inspiring message for putting personal accountability into daily action with astonishing results.

Recommended by Kenneth George
We owe many of the great contributions to society to introverts. In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves.

Recommended by Thom Coats
Written in the parable style of The One Minute Manager, Raving Fans uses a brilliantly simple and charming story to teach how to define a vision, learn what a customer really wants, institute effective systems, and make Raving Fan Service a constant feature--not just another program of the month. Raving Fans includes startling new tips and innovative techniques that can help anyone create a revolution in any workplace--and turn their customers into raving, spending fans.

Recommended by Dr. Michael Peasley
"Results That Last is long overdue and fills a big gap in effective business management. There are legions of books that show us the way to achieve successful results in business, but very few that teach us how to institutionalize success... Quint Studer not only proves it is possible to hardwire a culture for lasting results, but lays out a simple, logical, and effective way to do so. Anyone who wants to make success a habit needs to read this book." --Bob MacDonald, former CEO, Allianz Life of North America.

Recommended by Dr. J. Ricky Fergurson
Today more than ever, the biggest thing that separates you from your competitors is you. According to Thomas A. Freese, YOU are the biggest differentiator between you and your competitors. Given the current business climate, sellers should no longer count on their product or service to sell itself because their toughest competitors are out there with similar products they claim are better. Instead, it's more likely that in closely contested sales, the decision will come down to whichever salesperson offers the best service, is the most responsive, or displays any number of other highly intangible attributes, such as credibility, expertise, helpfulness, and integrity.

Recommended by Dr. Melodie Phillips
In this candid and riveting New York Times Bestseller, for the first time ever, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company's early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world's most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands. A symbol of grace and greatness, it's one of the few icons instantly recognized in every corner of the world. But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always been a mystery. Now, in a memoir that's surprising, humble, unfiltered, funny, and beautifully crafted, he tells his story at last.

Recommended by Dr. J. Ricky Fergurson
Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives? The primary obstacle is a conflict that's built into our brains, say Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the critically acclaimed bestseller Made to Stick. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems - the rational mind and the emotional mind--that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort--but if it is overcome, change can come quickly. In Switch, the Heaths show how everyday people--employees and managers, parents and nurses--have united both minds and, as a result, achieved dramatic results. Switch shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.

Recommended by Dr. Rajesh Srivastava
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant is an expert on opening other people's minds--and our own.He makes it one of his guiding principles to argue like he's right but listen like he's wrong. With bold ideas and rigorous evidence, he investigates how we can embrace the joy of being wrong, bring nuance to charged conversations, and build schools, workplaces, and communities of lifelong learners. Think Again reveals that we don't have to believe everything we think or internalize everything we feel. It's an invitation to let go of views that are no longer serving us well and prize mental flexibility over foolish consistency. If knowledge is power, knowing what we don't know is wisdom.

Recommended by Dr. Don Roy
Seth Godin has taught and inspired millions of entrepreneurs, marketers, leaders, and fans from all walks of life, via his blog, online courses, lectures, and bestselling books. Now, for the first time, Godin offers the core of his marketing wisdom in one compact, accessible, timeless package. This is Marketing shows you how to do work you're proud of, whether you're a tech startup founder, a small business owner, or part of a large corporation. No matter what your product or service, this book will help you reframe how it's presented to the world, in order to meaningfully connect with people who want it.