My favorite books with dynamic personal and business tips to build long-term successful brands

I discovered marketing and was motivated by an amazing man called Theodore Levitt. I actually visited him at Harvard when he helped me with the Malibu launch in 1979. Levitt was an inspirational marketer, well ahead of his time.

This, his first book, was published in 1962. He rightly said in the book, “Every major industry was once a growth industry,” but as we know (and Levitt said it), there are some that are now riding a wave of growth enthusiasm very much in the shadow of decline.

You have to understand why things develop. The failure is usually at the top because the executives responsible for the company do not understand the changing environment or respond positively to it. For example, Hollywood barely escaped being totally ravished by television before the film companies went through drastic reorganisation but initially, they did not see television as a competitor. They did not appreciate that they were not in the movie business but rather in the entertainment business.  

 The same applied to people who inherited shares in the 19th Century American railroad industry. They were not in the railroad business but were actually in the transport business. It is essential to understand the business one is actually in and how we adjust to the ever-changing environment. Levitt’s approach has inspired me throughout my 55 years in the liquor industry. As an aside, think about the impact of technology on every business and everyone’s life today.

This book was published in 2002 by Seth Godin, who has a very positive attitude. I agree when he says, “Marketing is too important to be left to the Marketing Department.” It has to be the total focus of the entire company, and he implied there are not enough p’s. For years, marketing has talked about the 5 p’s of marketing, and everyone has their favourite 5, but there are many more.

Ultimately it is the people throughout the entire company, and everyone has to realise that there is only one boss in business–the customer who votes with his or her feet (I quote this in my book).

Why is it called “Purple Cow”? All cows look the same, but the essence of a purple cow is that it must be remarkable. His book is about the how and why of remarkable. Coupled with remarkable is, of course, tenacity and staying the course because most businesses fail because they don’t have the time and commitment and run out of money.

As I say in my own book, whenever you launch a new brand, it usually takes twice as long and twice as much money as you ever thought to break even. “Purple Cow–transforms your business by being remarkable.”

I am a firm believer that you never stop learning, and you learn from everybody.

I was very impressed by Nike. As a young athlete in the 60s, I sometimes had to run barefoot because I could not afford shoes, and I was a keen athlete. Phil Knight’s remarkable book was first published in 2016. I thought it was fascinating because he talked all about the tenacity, determination and commitment and the fact that you have to stand up to people because 99% of people will tell you you will never get there. He got there brilliantly, and, of course, Nike is a phenomenal success.

I was inspired by Phil Knight’s vision, courage, tenacity, and determination to overcome many enormous obstacles to build a great global brand. I sincerely believe this book will be very helpful to any entrepreneur.

Neville Isdell, who retired as Chairman of Coca-Cola in 2009, whilst born in Ireland, grew up in Zambia, as I did, and by coincidence, we were both at Cape Town University, and we worked together at Coca-Cola in Johannesburg for a year in 1969.

Neville is very direct and cannot stand sycophantic behaviour, which I respect. He lived and worked in 11 countries on 5 continents in his 43 years at Coca-Cola, and he placed a great deal of importance on understanding and respecting local culture. He believed much of his success came from selecting strong people who focused on the importance of positive action over words. He also states that the majority of views often mean that something has happened, but more importantly, it is the minority view and ideas where breakthrough growth and success lie.

Between 2004 and 2009, when he took over as the CEO of Coca-Cola worldwide, the company was in disarray: its business was declining, its stock was down, and its brand was tarnished by a series of controversial incidents. Neville retired in 2009 with Coca-Cola’s fortunes dramatically improved, knowing that he had helped to focus and re-energise the company he loved.

My last recommendation is one I read recently, published by Chris Woolston. I worked with Chris Woolston for many years in two different companies, and he did a great job; then he formed his own company called “Forward Thinking.”

He is a great strategist. His book encapsulates the essence of his approach to strategy in life and at work. The Bible, says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish,” but I personally add that you need a good strategic plan to achieve your vision.

People often struggle with the concept of strategy–it can sound worthy and intellectual–but in essence, it is a simple concept.  You need to be clear about what you want to achieve and have a clear plan to achieve it, a plan that draws on your unique strengths to achieve what is important to you and your company, often in a testing environment with all sorts of curved balls coming at you.