Speak Human : The Playboy of Business Books

Despite my cat's determined attempts to destroy my Speak Human book (& this blog post) I managed to make it to the end so naturally I like to celebrate that with a review.

With most books of this nature, I tend to expect "this is how you run a business, this is how you sell your product"...bla bla bla. You can imagine my surprise when I found out it wasn't one of those books. It's as if I picked up a magazine thinking it was all about fashion and turned out to be a Playboy; Sure it puts it all out there but it's got some great articles!

What came across as blatant, raw, or bordered on the lines of TMI (too much information), was truthful, real, relatable...even personal. It wasn't just written to stroke the authors own ego, to fill space, or to try to be something it wasn't. It got me to sit up a little straighter and get interested in what I was reading, as if I was being told to smarten up and look at the big picture. It's the direction and honesty I was looking for in a book and it was one that I truly connected with. Maybe that's because of it's honesty and personal insight. If it hadn't been for the shock-value every once and awhile, I would have glossed over some fabulous business insights, which the book is full of, and it would have ended up being just like every other "marketing book".

Taking this outside of the book - so to speak, I occasionally interact with @SpeakHuman and the author @karj on Twitter and typically, I wouldn't expect a response from a well-to-do graphic designer or firm. Especially one, that's published! Not sure what the whole mind-set is on that one but, regardless of the reason, some people who have gained such elite success tend not to interact outside of their bubble. However, these guys (& gals) don't know me from a hole in the wall but still take the time to respond to my comments or tweets. What a concept! And is exactly what the book is based on. If they can make me feel like their friend, just for a few seconds, I can only imagine how their clients feel. Now that's good business.

So for those of you who think you know everything about good business and great marketing, this book will prove that you know nothing. It is a 'no bullshit' business book that is consistent in it's message; Speak Human. And @karj definitely does just that.