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Clinton OBrien 21 min read

Good Beach Reads

If you’re lucky, this summer you will escape to a beach somewhere for at least a few hours of downtime and “me time.”

If you’re like me, you’ll take a book with you. No, I’m not talking about “Fifty Shades of Grey” …I’m talking about a work-related book that you’ve been meaning to read to hone your creative thinking or widen your horizons. For example, I am licking my chops at the chance to read the just published book by Jonah Sachs of Free Range Studios. It’s called Winning the Story Wars. I hope to glean from it a better understanding of the role of storytelling in making certain messages, viral campaigns and iconic brands fantastically successful, while others go nowhere. And I hope to learn how I might tell better stories to generate more powerful results.

In my delicious anticipation, I got curious about what other folks in the nonprofit / causes sector might be reading this summer. So last week I reached out to a few dozen luminaries – very smart and successful people in the nonprofit space – and asked them to tell me just one work-related book that they are planning to read during their vacations. A book that, at least metaphorically if not actually, they might tuck into their duffel and pull out after they’ve slathered on a bit of SPF 30 and dug their toes into the sand. And I asked them to tell me what they’re hoping to get out of reading these books, too.

To my surprise, I got many responses, and they are listed below. As you’ll see, quite a few folks share my interest in storytelling as a way to improve their work.

Enjoy!

 

Michael Cervino, Beaconfire

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. "He's a New York Times writer, and the book is about the science of how we form habits. He says positive behaviors are not as hard to adopt as we might think. It's through the power of habit -- from exercise to our 'to-do list' -- that these behaviors can become systematic."


Cheryl Contee, Fission Strategy, and Jack and Jill Politics

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. “This book has a lot of buzz here in Silicon Valley. I think it has some practical implications for nonprofits seeking to propel forward in a 21st century way, and to be both smart and innovative, with limited resources.”

 

Graham Covington, Engaging Networks

How the Mighty Fall by Jim Collins. “This book looks at what happened to major businesses that succeeded and then failed. Hubris, overreaching, not managing risk, and moving away from core values are equally relevant to the success and failure of nonprofits. Do you know anyone that bought a Motorola mobile phone recently?  A great story.”

 

Colin Delany, ePolitics.com and National Women’s Law Center

Taking Our Country Back: The Crafting of Networked Politics from Howard Dean to Barack Obama by Daniel Kreiss. “Do I really have to explain why I’m reading this? It’s right in the title. Everybody should read this!”

 

Bob Fertik, Democrats.com

Hey Clint, sorry but these days the ‘books’ I read are about 140 chars in length ;).” 

 

Apollo Gonzales, Echo Ditto

Diversity and Complexity by Scott E. Page. “I've been thinking about diversity, equity and complexity in the nonprofit tech space for a couple of years now. Why we want it, why it is not there, and how we can improve on where we are. I want a better understanding of why social systems seem to find equilibrium in homogeneous states instead of diverse ones. Maybe there are some clues about how we can fix our space in that science.”

 

Jocelyn Harmon, Network for Good

The Culting of Brands: Turn Your Customers Into True Believers by Douglas Atkin. “In this age in which we are so focused on personalization, segmentation and one-to-one marketing, I'm eager to be reminded about the power of COMMUNITY and how much we need and crave the meaning and belonging that communities provide. Atkins studied cults to understand how they work, and how they apply to brands – and (I would say) to nonprofits and causes.”

 

David Hessekiel, Cause Marketing Forum

Thank You For Arguing: What Artistotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion by Jay Heinrichs. “With thousands of messages bombarding us each day, it's crucial for cause marketers to improve their storytelling skills. Heinrichs got my attention by alluding to Aristotle and Homer Simpson in the subtitle -- hope he delivers on the promise!”

 

Michael Hoffman, See3 Communications

Winning the Story Wars by Jonah Sachs. “Everyone is talking about storytelling and most of it is total bull. Jonah Sachs has been a thinker and producer of important media for social change for a long time. I am excited to read what seems to be a very thoughtful and historical approach to storytelling and to come out with some useful frameworks and ideas that will help us in our work."

 

John Hlinko, LeftAction

Year Zero by Rob Reid. “It’s a brilliantly funny sci-fi novel. I’m reading it because – after reading Paul Krugman’s End This Depression Now and Norman Ornstein’s It’s Worse than It Looks -- I am so depressed about this planet that I’m going to start focusing on other worlds instead.”

 

Brenna Holmes, CCAH

The Filter Bubble by Eli Pariser. “This book pulls back the veil not only on the increasingly ubiquitous Google, but on just how hyper-personalized our entire world and world-views are becoming, and what that means for politics, consumerism, philanthropy and society.”

 

Allyson Kapin, Rad Campaign (and Frogloop Blogger-in-Chief)

Marketing in the Round by Geoff Livingston and Gini Dietrich. “A lot of marketing books are filled with endless jargon and take forever to cut to the chase – the real marketing strategies you need to understand and start implementing today. Geoff and Gini provide a practical, step-by-step guide for marketers to cut through office red tape and integrate marketing and communications strategies focused on the bottom line - impact.”

 

Beth Kanter, Beth’s Blog

Unfolding the Napkin:  The Hands-On Method for Solving Complex Problems with Simple Pictures by Dan Roam. “He’s the author of The Back of the Napkin. I am working on improving my visual thinking skills through drawing, and this is an excellent workbook.  It means carrying a pack of markers and a sketch book to the beach. But there’s nothing more relaxing than working with visuals.”

 

Matt Littlejohn, Oceana
The Atlantic by Simon Winchester. “It’s a history of the Atlantic ocean. He's great – he wrote "The Professor and the Madman" (about the Oxford English Dictionary), Krakatoa and other books.”

 

Steve MacLaughlin, Blackbaud
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. “The agile development process by itself isn't enough. There's another big ingredient and that's being able to build, measure, and learn fast from customers. I'm really interested in sharpening the saw on doing things in a more lean way.”

 

Jason Mogus, Communicopia

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lenioni. “I've been planning to read this one ever since a business coach told me about. Given that so much of the ambitious digital work we aim to do is limited by (or in some rare cases, enabled by) the structures, silos, culture and personalities of teams inside institutions, I’m putting more of my professional focus on catalyzing positive change via the way we’re structured and how we collaborate. I’m interested in creating high impact teams; I think we'll get more impact there than from the latest Pinterest/Facebook/mobile app that the bosses ask us to chase.”

 

Natasha Nummedal, Care2

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. “I’ve read most of it over the past couple years standing in bookstores -- but finally bought it and now I’m reading it cover to cover. Considering all the Care2 campaigns we’ve run recently for food safety groups like Consumers Union and JustLabelIt, as well as education and children's health groups like Prevent Obesity and Feeding America, this book is incredibly inspiring. So many tie ins to all the work that our nonprofit clients do!”

 

Susan Paine, Human Rights Campaign

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. “The author won a Nobel Prize for economics. I was intrigued by the concept that we all essentially have two ways of thinking, both of which play a role in decision making. Part way through this book, I am amazed at just how much his research is relevant to direct response marketing and persuasion communication. It shows that even things like your choice of font, or paper quality, are key to unconsciously convincing the reader that what you are saying is true.”

 

Jeff Regen, Merkle

The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins. “I just made a major job change, so I’m packing in my duffel bag this excellent book to guide leaders who are entering new organizations, or new roles, at all levels -- from team leads to CEO’s.”

 

Alan Rosenblatt, Center for American Progress

The F***ing Epic Twitter Quest of @MayorEmanuel by Dan Sinker. “It will open your mind to a whole range of creative, out-of-the-box ways to use Twitter for advocacy, while making you laugh so hard you'll pee your pants.”

 

Holly Ross, NTEN

Game of Thrones.  “What, it has to be work-related? OK, fine. Even though I have learned a LOT of management lessons from Game of Thrones. Like - you need some amount of intimidation to rule effectively, but killing children is taking it too far… Let's go with You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto by Jaron Lanier. It's about how we are letting software design us -- and ruin creativity -- by blindly accepting that we should reduce our lives to status updates.”

 

Mark Rovner, Sea Change Strategies

Wired for Story by Lisa Cron. “The book goes into the brain science that underlies our primal appetite for narrative, and lays out a roadmap for forging stories your audience will want to read."


Jenna Sauber, Case Foundation

A Life Without Limits by Chrissie Wellington. “This autobiography of a newcomer winning the Ironman World Championships in 2007 fits into a theme that my organization, the Case Foundation, is focusing on this year - Be Fearless. As a runner, and someone looking to be more fearless professionally and personally, I'm looking forward to reading about Chrissie's own fearless journey.”

Nancy Schwartz, GettingAttention.org

Wired for Story by Lisa Cron, a writer and TV producer. “Cron demystifies storytelling magic as she walks the reader through why stories work, how we process them (a.k.a. neuroscience) and how to shape a compelling, transformational story that readers (or listeners, or viewers) don't forget.”

 

Michael Silberman, Greenpeace Mobilisation Lab

The Innovator’s DNA by Jeff Dyer, Hal Gregersen and Clayton Christensen. “I’m reading it to understand the patterns and behaviors that we need to borrow from the world's most innovative companies and business leaders, in order to develop breakthrough, impactful campaigns and organizations.”

 

Jonathan Sills, ASPCA

Go Mobile by Jeanne Hopkins. “It’s on my to-read list this summer, should I actually get anywhere near a beach.”

 

Donna Wilkins, Charity Dynamics

Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. “This is a story about helping one another in challenging times – and how this enriches both the givers and receivers. It’s also a story that gives a face to homelessness. A husband and wife volunteer at a shelter where they meet a homeless person -- Denver Moore. As they get to know him, it changes their lives.”

 

 

 

 

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