Thinker in Residence: Jackie Huba on Business & Books
May 03, 2013
In our final Thinker in Residence installment on Jackie Huba, author of Monster Loyalty, we asked Huba to share with us the business question that most inspires her and what books have most influenced her. Read on and enjoy Huba's take on business and books.
In our final Thinker in Residence installment on Jackie Huba, author of Monster Loyalty, we asked Huba to share with us the business question that most inspires her and what books have most influenced her. Read on and enjoy Huba's take on business and books.
What is the one unanswered question about business you are most interested in answering?
How to be fearlessly creative in the business world. I attended a recent business conference and one of the breakout sessions was on the subject of creativity. The facilitator asked attendees to take paper and markers and draw the time in our life when we felt the most creative. To my surprise, most of these marketers from large Fortune 1000 companies drew a time in college. They were free from constraints, having loads of fun and maybe even a little drunk. They all admitted that in their current corporate work environments, they couldn't seem to find the inspiration and the gumption to stand out and produce creative work they were proud of. There is an opportunity to help people be fearless in their creativity.
What business book has influenced your work the most?
Seth Godin's The Purple Cow. It was my very first Seth Godin book and the introduction to his philosophies. I am a Seth Godin One Percenter Seth has inspired me with all of his books to stand out, make a difference and take risks. It's literally been life-changing reading.
What is the business book you wish you had written and why?
My next one. Is it done yet?!?!
What business book are you reading right now? Mack Collier's Think Like a Rock Star. Mack looks at how rock stars like Taylor Swift, Jewel, Amanda Palmer and others grow their fan base and shares how any company can learn from them to create emotional connections with customers.
Jackie Huba is the co-author of two books on customer loyalty. Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message documents the emerging world of social media and how brands should begin to embrace a participatory culture. Jackie's first book, Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force, explains how companies convert customers into evangelists who spread the word about products, benefits or value propositions. Huba's work has frequently been featured in the media, such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Businessweek, and Advertising Age. She was a founding Board Member of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Her new book, Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics, will be released May 2, 2013.
Read our Thinker in Residence introduction to Jackie Huba and her newest book, Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics.
Read Jackie Huba's answers about why she chose to write about marketing like Lady Gaga and what we can learn from the pop superstar in our Q&A on Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics.
