NEW BOOK
– “Think & Grow Rich: A Latino Choice,” by Lionel Sosa, Ballantine Books, $12.95
Sosa, in cooperation with the Napoleon Hill Foundation, crafted this Latino-choice version of Hill’s “Think & Grow Rich” success formula for two reasons: No group is better prepared to take advantage, with Hispanic income and buying power at all-time highs, and no group is more poorly prepared to take advantage, as Latino high-school- and college-completion rates are the lowest of any ethnic group.
Sosa, named by Time magazine as one of the 25 most influential Hispanics in America, built a bridge between the Latino and American cultures using Hill’s principles.
Sosa devotes a chapter to 17 of Hill’s 33 principles and shows how each principle has been used by a Hispanic to achieve. My favorite is “Creative Thinking.” It features Anna Cabral, treasurer of the United States, who worked in the family’s scrap-metal business before realizing that her dreams were bigger, and that there was a way–education–to make them come true.
–Jim Pawlak, BizBooks
NEW BOOK
– “Underdog Advertising: Proven Principles to Compete and Win Against the Giants in Any Industry,” by Paul Flowers, Brown Books, $24.95
– This is the reference book for the business that can’t afford an ad agency. Flowers’ 10 David-beats-Goliath principles deal with making sure your message reaches customers. Here are three:
– Think outside the box. Compare what the competition says in its ads with your ads. If your message isn’t different, Goliath wins. Watch your choice of media. Talk with your customers to find out what they read, watch and listen to.
– Strategy before execution. Strategy is the who, what, when, where and why. Execution is how the message is communicated. To develop strategy, it’s not enough to know your product. You have to know where it fits in the market. You have to ask why people bought your product. Just as important, you have to find out why people chose not to buy yours. Putting together this information provides focus on the message.
– Have patience. Don’t expect instant results. It takes time to create “buzz.”
–Jim Pawlak, BizBooks
