A Summer Reading List . . .

By Ron Rovtar
Stock Asylum Managing Editor
June 20, 2006


Design schools do a good job of teaching design skills and photography schools do a wonderful job of teaching lighting, exposure, composition and other necessary photographic practices.

Unfortunately, such educational institutions are notoriously bad at teaching their students how to run a small business in today's competitive environment.

Even many owners and employees of stock photography companies have little or no quality business training. There are, after all, no stock agency schools whatsoever.

As such, The Stock Asylum decided to put together a summer reading list in business skills for creatives. Summer is the slowest period of the year, so why not make the most of those days at the beach, afternoons waiting for the kids to finish sports practices, and slow days at the office or studio.

The five books we chose are all relatively short volumes with specific messages. None of our book suggestions are aimed exclusively at creative pros. In making these selections, the Stock Asylum decided that creative professionals would do well to look to the larger business world for inspiration and advice.

Upon finishing this list, we realized that four of the five books have been around for a number of years. Wondering if we could find an equally informative collection of more contemporary work, we took a second look at the book shelves.

Apparently saying something new and enduring about business is not easy. We found a lot of contemporary fluff –– books that might have made good short articles or essays –– and a number of popular volumes with advice that seemed over-simplified or poorly thought out.

Only Brian Tracy’s 2004 book on the psychology of selling, which was already on the list, offered truly ground-breaking and informative advice. So we decided to stay with the original list. We think it offers the best possible foundation for improving a business in a meaningful way. The books are, of course, available at most book stores or they can be ordered from Amazon.com by clicking on the cover images reproduced below.

Enjoy!

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind; by Al Ries and Jack Trout; McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.

Back in the early 1970's Ries and Trout figured out that there is a lot more to cracking the market than simply having a better product. In 1980 they published their thoughts in this classic. If you think you are doing everything right, but the customers are staying away in droves; if you cannot figure out how to move your business to the next level; or if your formula for success is not working anymore, you will definitely want to read this book. Stock distributors who are confused by recent developments in the stock photography industry should take special note of Positioning. It is probably the most important book on this list.

The Psychology of Selling: Increase your Sales Faster and Easier than You Ever Thought Possible; by Brian Tracy; Nelson Business.

It usually is a big mistake to think that any product will sell itself. No matter how good the product, buyers will ignore it with a vengeance if you do not make a compelling case for it. Tracy’s book will help you make such a case – by listening rather than talking. The author looks closely at the psychological aspects of making a sale then offers sound advice about the sales process itself.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Small Businesses Don't Work and What to do About It; by Michael E. Gerber; Harper Business.

Gerber contends that the owners of most entrepreneurial companies make a single, “fatal assumption” –– that “if you understand the technical work of the business, you understand the business that does that technical work.” In 268 pages, the author argues that running a business requires a special set of skills. He offers solid advice for improving those skills and encourages entrepreneurs to work on their businesses, not in them.

The Logic of Failure: Recognizing and Avoiding Error in Complex Situations; by Dietrich Dorner; Basic Books, a division of Perseus Publishing.

Strictly speaking, this is not a business book. Nevertheless, it ought to be read by every business person. Based on some relatively small studies, Dorner explains why intelligent people make serious mistakes. He also explains how to avoid the behaviors that lead to those mistakes. The book is a great first step in understanding why people mess up and should be the starting point for a whole new area of study. Unfortunately, 17 years after Dorner's book was first published in German and ten years after the first English translation, we were unable to find any follow-up research.

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In (Second Edition); by Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton; Penguin Books.

This book published by three members of the Harvard Negotiation Project probably has done more to change the way smart business people relate to their peers than any other book published in the last 100 years. With advice about how to "separate people from the problem," how to "focus on interests rather than positions," and how to "work together to create options that will satisfy both parties," Getting to Yes is a powerful tool for improving business and personal relationships in a way that is beneficial to everyone.

 

Amazon.com is at: http://www.amazon.com.