Didn’t See It Coming

Comments

1. Guest says

   June 22, 2015 at 12:00 am

   Crosses all generations. A must-read for my millennial kids, start-up entrepreneurs, mid-life execs & retirees who still wonder how big fins sold cars. Practical, pragmatic, insightful, inspirational, anecdotal – and fun & funny. Quick read & a lots of novel insights as we navigate the ever-accelerating interplay of technology, growth & sustainability.

2. Guest says

   March 16, 2015 at 12:00 am

   Didn’t See it Coming is written by a former ‘big marketing’ person, the type of person that tried to sell you a different smell of Mr. Clean for each season because who on earth would want a house in the summer with a winter scent? Yup he was a bastion of vapid consumption, but no more.

   In this book Marc Stoiber talks about how he became jaded with what big brands were doing and got out of that marketing game. He shows us some companies that breath sustainability (like Patagonia) and culture which he feels will be the leading things that people look for in brands moving forward.

   Overall, the book was…okay. There are some blatant factual errors like the ‘fact’ that Patagonia doesn’t advertise. All it took was for me to open my copy of Backpacker Magazine and flip a few pages in to find a Patagonia ad. Now I do love Patagonia (had one of their jackets for 15 years) but they do advertise regularly.

   The early part of the book felt like a tirade for the environment and our care of it. Now I don’t disagree with any of the core arguments, it just felt a bit like that crazy uncle making them with hair and spittle flying. That’s the type of person I generally avoid (even as I do lots of work to save our rivers in BC from Micro Hydro).

   So would I recommend the book? Not really. There are some decent sound bites (well quotes it’s a book I read) but you could get them from any number of other sources that probably have a more coherent thread through their material.

3. Guest says

   March 8, 2015 at 12:00 am

   Marc says that because of the fast pace of change and expectations from consumers, "we’re seeing innovation become the new marketing. Great products, not great ideas for selling new products, are winning the day." I couldn’t agree more. This is an important read for those who are still of the belief that brand and marketing = success. Brands are only a good as the offerings underneath them.

4. Guest says

   February 18, 2015 at 12:00 am

   Great and fast read that really hits at industry relevance and what innovation can do to it.

5. Guest says

   February 16, 2015 at 12:00 am

   I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to read this book, let alone enjoy it.

   I can’t bring myself to read about advertising, brands or branding anymore but the cover got me. (If there is a better book cover design anywhere, I’d like to see it.) Then Stoiber’s writing got me and I couldn’t put it down. There are lessons in here that you might find valuable but I was hooked by the author’s story and his deft telling of it. There’s a rare honesty to this work that I can’t articulate but you’ll know what I mean when you read it. Any book written by an adman (recovering or otherwise) is going to get your BS detector up – mine was – but it didn’t last. Well done.

6. Guest says

   February 5, 2015 at 12:00 am

   This may be the great North American hash (in the best possible and breakfast sense) of marketing books — there’s a bit of everything packed into a very easy, accessible and mostly entertaining read.
   It’s part history, part tell-all, part confessional, part how-to-and-not-to and plenty insightful — it may not be “marketing: warts and all” but Stoiber certainly shows you some of the sector’s mild skin rash and its saving graces.
   Stoiber’s style is easy and conversational; it’s the kind of book you might get him to spill out over the course of a few decent cocktails. Still there’s some real insight on topics ranging from climate change and sustainability to brand development and authenticity.
   Stoiber has a talent for self-deprecating promotion, oxymoronic as that may sound, and while he intended just to get people thinking and considering “what’s next” I think readers will get a great deal more, especially those who live to sell their respective brands.

7. Guest says

   January 24, 2015 at 12:00 am

   As business leaders reel under the pressure of incessant change and an increasingly skeptical (and fickle) customer base, the requirement for a new direction and new attitude is paramount. Stoiber does a deft job providing some of the answers. Just as important, Stoiber poses some provocative questions that business leaders need to grapple with. "Didn’t See It Coming" will draw inevitable comparisons with Simon Sinek and George Lois but "Didn’t See It Coming" adds a more personal dimension. Stoiber writes from a very personal POV highlighting his own journey from excitement to increasing disillusionment with how marketing, and business in general, has lost its direction and lost its soul. Ultimately that disillusionment leads to soul-searching and a powerful re-imagining of how to think of business. A way ground in making a positive contribution to the planet. Read this book if you want to laugh at Stoiber’s artful skewering of the marketing industry. Where the book is infinitely better is as a yardstick for how we all need to think differently about business – and what we’re doing to make it better.

8. Guest says

   January 21, 2015 at 12:00 am

   Public relations getting you down? Marketing seem like yesterday’s game? I are you just confused by the contradiction between helping a company to sell more STUFF, when whichever way you look, the signs tell you that there’s a different game in town?

   ‘Didn’t see it coming’ is a valuable tonic for the weary and the wary, for those who have begun to question what they do, why they do it, and for anyone asking "Is that all there is?" Our planet is in the midst of a period of rapid change and transformation, and if you don’t want to be caught with your corporate pants down, or the lady-equivalent, invest the pocket change in Marc’s book, plan a Sunday off with no distractions, and immerse yourself in his life experience.

   He has the experience under his belt; now he wants to link that experience to larger goals about purpose and meaning. Which has got to be good for all of us.

9. Guest says

   January 21, 2015 at 12:00 am

   It’s rare to see a business book that doesn’t overwhelm you with to-do lists, best practices, or discoveries Guaranteed to Make You A Winner. "Didn’t See It Coming" is more of a happy ramble through the monumental disruptions of the last 20 years, as seen through the eyes of someone in the marketing trenches. That is, great stories from a gifted storyteller. As Stoiber writes in his preamble: “This isn’t a book for marketers. It’s a book for smart people who happen to be in marketing, and wondering why.” A bit self-effacing, but a breath of fresh air in a category that desperately needs it. Frankly, I didn’t see that coming.

10. Guest says

    January 19, 2015 at 12:00 am

    A truly stunning and insightful read. If you run a business, are starting a business, or consider yourself amongst the creative class… you must read this. It reads as beautifully as it is designed. This book should be required reading for anyone in the business, marketing, branding, or startup world.