This is the first book that states the obvious: Marketing is a mess. Marketing guru Jack Trout intends to make a lot of people, who made the mess, very uncomfortable: Advertisers are criticized as people who look for the creative and edgy, not the obvious. They will not be happy. Marketing people are criticized for getting hopelessly entangled in corporate egos and complicated projects. They will not be happy. Research people are criticized for generating more confusion than clarity. They will not be happy. Some big companies are criticized for their ill-fated marketing programs or lack of proper strategy. They will not be happy. Wall Street is criticized for putting too much emphasis on growth that is unnecessary and can be destructive to a brand. They will just ignore this criticism and continue trying to make as much money as they can. But this is a book not written to make people happy but to explain to marketers what their real problem is. Only then will they begin to look for the obvious solutions that will separate their products from their competitors -- in a way that is equally obvious to customers. All this comes with no jargon, no numbers, no complexity, and a great deal of common sense.

The Killer Questions Your Company Should Be Asking Generating and executing great ideas is the key to staying ahead in a rapidly changing world. It seems so basic. Why is it so hard to actually get right? According to innovation expert Phil McKinney, the real problem is that we're teaching people to ask the wrong questions about their businesses--or none at all. There has to be a better way. In Beyond the Obvious, McKinney will help you use his proven FIRE (Focus, Ideation, Rank, Execution) Method to dig deeper and get back to asking the right questions--the ones all companies must ask to survive. Full of real-world examples, this book will change the way you operate, innovate, and create, and it all begins with battle-tested questions Phil has gathered on note cards throughout his career. Shared for the first time here, these "Killer Questions" include: What are the rules and assumptions my industry operates under? What if the opposite were true? What will be the buying criteria used by my customer in 5 years? What are my unshakable beliefs about what my customers want? Who uses my product in ways I never anticipated? These questions will reframe the way you see your products, your customers, and the way the two interact. Whether you're a company of thousands or a lean startup, Beyond the Obvious will give you the skills and easy-to-follow plan you need to make both the revolutionary changes and nuanced tweaks required for success. Praise for Beyond the Obvious "Human beings are creatures of habit, so getting ourselves and our teams to think beyond the obvious is a challenge we face all the time. Phil McKinney is an innovation expert, and his killer questions and hit-the-spot anecdotes provide a great way to get out in front of opportunities we otherwise won't see." -- Geoffrey Moore, author of Crossing the Chasm and Escape Velocity "I've always believed that asking the right questions is the essence of design. Phil McKinney proves that point with this wonderful set of killer questions that will jumpstart-or greatly enhance- your innovation efforts." -- B. Joseph Pine II, co-author, The Experience Economy & Infinite Possibility. "Product Innovation is a prerequisite to building great brands. Phil's questions are a prerequisite to building innovative products." -- Satjiv S. Chahil, former global marketing chief, Apple"

This book provides a comprehensive look at specifically what it takes to breakthrough your biggest challenges and live your biggest dreams! It gives you the keys for you to make it happen by identifying "The Universal Laws for Business Success." Once you know what they are, you can put them into action to get the results you want. Bill Walsh and Power Team International are dedicated to giving you the obvious tools (and even the not-so-obvious ones) to expedite your success. He knows firsthand what it takes to overcome challenges and make your business and lifestyle dreams happen. Bill's vision is to provide mentoring opportunities for people like you who are ready for massive success!

The Latest Edition Of The #1 Bestselling Trend Series Shared Online More Than 1 Million Times! The Non-Obvious series of books is an annual trend report on the top 15 trends likely to affect business and consumer behaviour in the upcoming year. The book has been a Wall Street Journal bestseller, the research has been viewed and shared online more by more than a million readers and the report has been a multi-year #1 best seller online.

Why is the Mona Lisa the most famous painting in the world? Why did Facebook succeed when other social networking sites failed? Did the surge in Iraq really lead to less violence? And does higher pay incentivize people to work harder? If you think the answers to these questions are a matter of common sense, think again. As sociologist and network science pioneer Duncan Watts explains in this provocative book, the explanations that we give for the outcomes that we observe in life-explanations that seem obvious once we know the answer-are less useful than they seem. Watts shows how commonsense reasoning and history conspire to mislead us into thinking that we understand more about the world of human behavior than we do; and in turn, why attempts to predict, manage, or manipulate social and economic systems so often go awry. Only by understanding how and when common sense fails can we improve how we plan for the future, as well as understand the present-an argument that has important implications in politics, business, marketing, and even everyday life.

Beth Reese has no idea what she'll do with the lazy black Labrador retriever and the drafty old farmhouse she inherited from her grandmother, to say nothing of the unplanned baby she's carrying. She travels to the Pacific Northwest, fully intending to get an abortion and sell her grandmother's house as quickly as possible. Instead, Beth falls in love with her unborn baby and the land that surrounds her grandmother's house. When a little neighborhood girl goes missing while waiting for the school bus, Beth joins in the search. As the mystery of the little girl's disappearance unfolds, Beth discovers that she can see the world in ways she never suspected. She also learns more about the strange secrets of the two women who have befriended her, and are helping look for the lost child. Some Things Are Obvious is a story about insight and awareness, and of family and friendship. It is also a reminder that in nature, things are not always as they seem, and that our belief in what is normal can and should be challenged on a regular basis. About the Author: Glory Ralston lives with her husband in the middle of the redwood forest in Northern California. The extraordinary beauty and challenging environmental issues of this area form the backdrop for her stories. Other Works by This Author: While the Music Played, a novel Found in the Woods, a novel