Miles Design book club discussions

Since my last "book club" post I've wrapped up my book for January: The Designful Company: How to build a culture of nonstop innovation by Marty Neumeier. And if you're a brand fanatic like myself, I can't recommend a better use of two hours of your day. Marty has some spot-on insights regarding design thinking, and manages to make it neither over-simplified, nor ridiculously cerebral.

I also recently wrapped up Tribes by Seth Godin in December. Like most of Seth's books you could probably read the first few pages and get the point of the entire book, but there are some great examples, and some interesting Godin wit. There are times when I think even Godin is confused about whether he's speaking of actual faith vs. religion, metaphorical faith vs. religion, or both. Knowing Seth, it's probably both. Either way, it's an interesting perspective. Anyone from a business owner to a volunteer in an organization should find this book both interesting and practical. Seth's Blog is always worth your time as well.

Finally, I wanted to remind all of our new book club comrades that our next book was up for vote. And since I already have Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam in my possession, (and I'm in charge) unless there are any dissenting votes, we'll be moving along with that one. I've got a non-biz book to wrap up before I get started on "Napkin", but I should be hitting it early February. There's no rush, and no time limit, so whenever you've finished with one of our selections, please share your thoughts - happy reading!

Continue reading...

Announcing the Miles Design Book Club

In theory, I'm a part of the Smaller Indiana Business Book Club, which I think is a great concept. In reality, I have my own stack of books that I'm cruising through and haven't actually made it to a Smaller Indiana Book Club meeting, or even picked up all that many books from SI's list.

I may not have had much success reading from the other list, but I am reading, so I thought I'd share what I actually am reading to see who would like to join me in the official Miles Design Book Club.

As you may (or may not) have noticed, I've posted a few of my favorite design, marketing and branding books on the homepage of our blog. I'll post a new book every month (that I actually will read) and hopefully you'll join me in reading a few of these titles.

I'm looking forward to your feedback.

December: Tribes by Seth Godin

January: The Designful Company: How to build a culture of nonstop innovation by Marty Neumeier

And a few others I have in the hopper for February, March and April (any votes?):

Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcom Gladwell

Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Continue reading...