Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Book Review - Often Wrong, Never In Doubt

I just finished reading a great book. And I am surprised. Pleasantly surprised.

The book is "Often Wrong, Never In Doubt: Unleash the Business Rebel Within" by Donny Deutsch.

I must admit, I was not familiar with Donny Deutsch....host of the CNBC talk show "The Big Idea With Donny Deutsch" and advertising industry legend. I had seen the book in the book store a few times while browsing, and just kept passing. I had read the book jacket, and looked at Deutsch's photo on the cover and jumped to the conclusion that I would not like what this guy had to say. I though he would be cocky and arrogant. I did not expect such a wonderful book.

His book is a fantastic read for anyone who has an entrepreneurial interest and likes to read about the mantras and world views of successful people (and this guy is successful by any measure).

No matter what you think of Deutsch (apparently lots of people have strong opinions about him), what he has to say is educational and inspiring.

His philosophical answer to any obsticle in his business or personal life is "Why Not Me?"

He claims to have learned this answer early in his career, and ever since that time has inserted that into his success strategies. If he is going for something BIG....he figures "someone has to win this...WHY NOT ME?"

While the book is full of useful nuggets and ideas....my favorite is what he calls the Wayne Newton School of Product Polarization:

"It is better to have thirty-five percent of the people really charged up about you and the rest hate you than to have one
hundred percent not care."
This is very true. Too often people and companies spend tons of time trying to make sure that nobody hates them....which leads to nobody really liking them enough to make them successful. Look at Wayne Newton. Hundreds of millions of people would not be caught dead at his Las Vegas show.....but so many flock to see him on a regular basis that he is a multi-millionaire.

I highly reccommend this book. It is easy to read, thoughtful, and he will make you laugh. Deutsch strikes me as a very cool guy....the kind of guy you would want to go have a few drinks with and talk about all subjects under the sun.

Have A Great Day.

Thom Singer
www.thomsinger.com
thom@thomsinger.com

1 comment:

Carlon Haas said...

Amen to this Thom. Too many times I see companies trying so hard not to offend people that their advertising ends up alientating their core buyers. I will check out this book.