BOOK REVIEW

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

– Al Ries and Jack Trout are perhaps the most successful and the best-known personalities in the marketing world- with due regards to Phillip Kohtler.

– Al Ries is chairman of Ries & Ries, an Atlanta based marketing firm that has done strategic work for many major corporations

– Jack Trout is recognized as the world's foremost marketing strategist and is responsible for the freshest ideas in marketing in the last 20 years.

–

Contd….

– Al and Jack Trout are the co-authors of the industry classic, Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, published in 1980 by McGraw-Hill. The principle of positioning itself has been the subject of articles in The Wall Street Journal,

– In 1985 Al Ries and Jack Trout wrote a second best-selling book entitled Marketing Warfare. Crossing marketing thinking with some principles of the famous Prussian military strategist, Carl Von Clausewitz, this book also received wide acclaim.

Contd,,,– The two books are available in a total of 17

different languages. • In 1988, they wrote Bottom-Up Marketing a book

that attacks some of management's most cherished concepts, including goals, mission statements and strategic planning. Their revolutionary concept: Strategy should be developed from the bottom up, not the top down.

• In 1993, they wrote The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, a book that outlines the basic reasons why marketing programs succeed or fail in the competitive nineties.

Contd...

• In 1994, Al Ries opened Ries & Ries with his daughter Laura in Great Neck, New York. In April 1996 Al's book, Focus: The Future of Your Company Depends on It-was published by HarperCollins.

• Al and Laura have written their first book together entitled The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, published by HarperCollins in September 1998..

ABOUT THE BOOKMcGraw Hill and company first published it in 1991. According to me the book is essentially an application of

marketing principles to marketing ONESELF.The book boldly makes a mockery of the conventional ideologies

of ‘ working harder’, ‘thinking positive’, and having patience, loyalty and self- confidence.

• It talks about recognizing people and ideas, looking out for success, opportunities and encashing them at the right time.

• The purpose of this book is to shake one out of one’s concentration on oneself and make one realize the opportunities lying outside.

•  It gives the reader a clear-cut strategy for promoting oneself and more importantly- advocates,  

•Finding a Horse to ride!

CONCEPT OF HORSE

WHAT IS A HORSE ?

• Life is a horse race.• Individual strive for success.

Look for others!

• The result?• They rarely succeed !

CONCEPT OF HORSE

WHAT CAN BE A HORSE?

Anybody or anything !

Company

Product

Ideas

Family

Partner

Spouse

HOW DOES IT HELP ?

• You cannot be successful all by yourself !

• Success is something given to you by the others.

• We suffer less from the insecurities of chasing success.

WHY CANNOT THE CONVENTIONAL THEORIES

WORK?• BELIEVE- IN- YOURSELF THEORY.

Does self-confidence make you successful ?

or,

Does success make you self-confident?

Two yeses?

Intelligence Quotient IQ

Confidence Quotient CQ

Let your success feed your confidence !

• SETTING A GOAL THEORY

The Reality?

Apple chairman John Scully

American Vice president Dan Quale

Dairy Industry Vargese Kurien

Setting a goal means

Putting blindersTunnel vision

We need to open up and look for:

Opportunities Side Roads

Unexpected Situations

The Classification of Horses

Criteria: Odds against success

1. The long shots.

2. The medium shots.

3. The short shots.

THE LONG SHOTSFeatures:

Found within oneself.Difficult to ride.Unpredictable

These include:The Hard work horseThe IQ horseThe education horseThe company horse

THE HARD WORK HORSE( 100 TO 1 )

Successful people do work hard.

but can hard work make successful ?

NO !Can it give you a promotion?

How less can mean more?

Hard work is optional!

THE IQ HORSE( 75 TO 1 )

• Top Executives come from the middle of the IQ curve.

• Success in the classroom vs. success in the boardroom.

• Smarter people depend more on themselves.

• Less intelligent people look for others.

• Gives a good launch

• A degree by itself is unlikely to make you progress

You are born with a common sense and then you go to school and lose it.

THE EDUCATION HORSE( 60 TO 1 )

THE COMPANY HORSE( 50 TO 1 )

• Future in a big company.

• Future in a small company.

• Big brother no longer cares

MY ANALYSIS

• Changed scenario- knowledge economy.

• Benefit in the long run.

• Exceptions.

THE MEDIUM SHOTS

These are based on finding something inside but with a difference !

These include :

1. The creativity horse

2. The hobby horse

3. The geography horse

4. The publicity horse

THE CREATIVITY HORSE

• Born with a talent ? Not enough !

• Need to get someone else to recognize it.

• Need to learn to listen to their audiences.

• The case of Bob Hope.

• Get branded- get type cast, a trademark.

• Packaging is important.

HOBBY HORSE

• Tim Zagat The Zagat Guide

• Mike Sinyard Specialized Bicycle Components

• Toni Silver Silverwear

• Pearl S Back The Good Earth

Pulitzer Prize

Noble Prize!

THE GEOGRAPHY HORSE( 15 TO 1 )

THE PUBLICITY HORSE( 10 TO 1)

• The visibility counts more than ability.

• 90% people do not think but act on their instincts.

• Get yourself known to everyone.

• Film stars, beauty queens, sportspersons all

encash on their popularity all throughout their lives.

MY ANALYSIS

• Truly Relevant – will always be so.

• Publicity has been given due importance.

• Innovative ideas.

BUT

• These horses require a lot of introspection

and circumspection.

THE SHORT SHOTS

• You look totally outside yourself for success.These include

1 The Product horse.1. The Idea horse.2. The Other Person horse.3. The Partner horse.4. The Family horse.5. The Spouse horse.

THE PRODUCT HORSE

There is a difference between the inventor and the recognizer

• Lee Iacocca Mustang

• Ray Kroc McDonalds

• Asa Candler Coca-Cola

• Levi Strauss Levi Jeans

THE IDEA HORSE

• One should go against the tide

• The case of Beatles.

• The case of ‘Pictionary’

• The case of ‘Antyakshari’

THE OTHER PERSON HORSE( 3 TO 1 )

• The key to success is always somebody else.

• Robert Swanson Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen

• Susan Rose Joanna Ferrone

• M F Hussain Madhuri Dixit

THE PARTNER HORSE( 5 TO 2 )

• 1 + 1 = 3.

• Two people usually do better than either one can do.

• Bill Gates and Allen.

THE SPOUSE HORSE( 2 TO 1 )

• A horse in barn is better than a horse in bush.

• Gilvert Grosvener & Elsie May.

• Chandrabaubu Naidu and Parvati.

• Who knew Dr. Sriram Nene by the way?

• What’s true in business is true in politics.

• The case of the Ford Motor Co.

• Also true in movies.

THE FAMILY HORSE( 3 TO 2)

MY ANALYSIS

• Example of Walchand Hirachand.

• The case of TATAs and BIRLAS.

• Factor of risk involved.

• Present Indian scenario.

• A word on ethics : Ethics do matter !

HOWs, DOs AND DON’Ts!

• Being an early bird Fred Turner

• Being a politician Ambanis

• Make it fast Bill Gates

• Becoming a hero LeFauve

• Being a rescuer Lee Iacocca

TO RIDE COMPANY HORSE

TO RIDE PRODUCT HORSE

• Welcome criticism

• Recognise a good idea

• Sell your idea

• Protect your idea

TO RIDE OTHER PERSON HORSE

• Find the right boss

• Develop relationship

• Ride an asociate

• Ride a friend

• Ride a celebrity

• Find a partner with right attitude

• Trust your partner

• Respect ideas

TO RIDE PARTNER HORSE

• Marry money but then ready to build your own

• Marry connections

• Utilize the encouragement

• Utilize the family inheritance

TO RIDE SPOUSE HORSE

CHANGING HORSE

• Why should one change?

If you always do what you’ve always done ,you will only get what you’ve always got !

• Change careers

• Change companies

• Change while you are happy

NO SECOND CHANCES!• Herrell’s Ice Cream

• NeXT Company

• The bursting of IT bubble

• Can anyone Emulate Bill Gates ?

REFRAIN FROM MAKING EXCUSES

• I am too young!

• I am too old!

• I am not smart enough!

• Equal opportunity will never be there!

• There is nothing like career planning!

OVERALL ANALYSIS

• Effective

• Full of examples

• Bold

I suggest that two separate chapters could have been included

1. How to recognize the most beneficial horse

2. How not to become a horse yourself

POSITIVE SIDE

• Pragmatic approach

• Fresh and innovative concepts

• Associate the reader

• Language is lucid

FLIP SIDE

• Examples cannot be generalized

• Success is subjective

• Focus is always needed

• The importance of hard work and patience cannot be challenged.

• Changing time - knowledge economy

CONCLUSION

• The importance lies in finding one

• How to make it effective

• Difference between dream and ambition

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Horse sense,by Al Ries & Jack Trout,McGraw Hill,1991.

• Business Legends,by Gita Piramal,Penguin Books, 1998.

• www.google.com

• www.ries.com

• www.economictimes.com

THANK YOU!ANY QUESTIONS?