Book Review: The Now Revolution (get yours free!)

That is, unless you win a free book (and I have one to offer some lucky duck). But you’ll probably want multiple copies, so you still need that shiny green card. Share the knowledge wealth.

Once you dive into Jay and Amber’s book, you’ll be flooded with warmth.  The clouds will part, and someone, somewhere will sing.  You may even be bathed in golden light if you’re sitting near a south-facing window.

Euphoria will bloom because you will have found the social business book you’ve been waiting for. The one you hope your boss reads. And takes to heart.

The authors deliver an incredibly readable discussion (we expected no less) about the state of business today and the radical changes – mindsets, tools, policies, channels, expectations, and procedures – ahead, the likes of which we’ve only glimpsed the past 3ish years (is that all its been?).

This isn’t a book about how to get more followers or friends, or design the snazziest background or custom tab.  It’s a holistic look at the reorganization of business operations, the restructuring of process, and the re-engineering of attitudes, assets, and strategies.  It’s a frank acknowledgement that the world we operate in, the place where we manage people and their activities, is evolving in response to and along side of a rush of enabling technology and shifting consumer expectations.  We can’t mistake what’s happening as a passing fad or fancy, or chalk it up to something our 16 year-old niece does when forced to attend family functions.  This isn’t about Facebook, people. You’ll miss the point and be left holding steadfast to a rapidly shrinking market.  Perhaps still surviving, but certainly not thriving.

The duo’s book, titled The Now Revolution: 7 Shifts to make your business faster, smarter, and more social is one every executive,manager, and rank-and-file should read.  If you’ve spent much time in the workforce, then you’ve likely seen the changes technology has brought about in the way people communicate, collaborate, solve problems and nurture new ideas.  Beneath a tweet or a status update, check in or sticker, a fabric of information, accessibility, and reach is being woven.  This new connectedness unites peers and friends; it also influences service delivery, marketing dynamics, internal culture (which translates out to brand identity and position, and shapes offerings) accepted doctrine and so much more.  Toss out the old business plan template, there’s a new game in town.

The arrival of personal computers, email, fax machines, web sites and PDF files was straight out of Wyle E. Coyote; the boulder tipped over the edge and began to gather steam downhill before anyone  computed its path, distance, force or trajectory. In the 90’s, we thought we gained a few fancy machines and a new kind of Rolodex, but it was really so much more.

Businesses gradually purchased or instituted those newfangled means, but it took longer before their widespread use and implications fully filtered through all the layers of people and remixed indoctrinated processes.

Social business is kind of like the same story all over again, but with new twists and flavors. And you eat it family-style, along with everyone else.

Consumers will change how you operate your business

The book covers the implications consumer adoption of the tools – where lines run deep behind forerunners Facebook and Twitter – will have on how business enterprise is organized, roles and responsibilities are defined and dispersed, and the manner and speed in which digital communication enables and empowers. Are these internal shifts in response to external drivers?  Or is the changing business environment fueling further market innovation as well as consumer expectations? Both, I think.  The marketplace isn’t a vacuum, although enterprise may resist the cries for change based on fear, lack of understanding or appreciation for the opportunity brought by their publics.  Resistance or rejection is futile, a path that only leads to obsolescence.

But I’m out of control here.  You should read the book and think about how you’re going to help reshape the company you own or the place you work.

How to win a free copy of The Now Revolution

If the book is so good, you might ask, why am I giving it away?  Because I snagged a spot on the book review team.  Nanner, nanner.  Don’t fret, though. You could share in the goodness, too.  I have a copy to give away! Many thanks to Jay and Amber for sharing with me.

Head on over to the Insights & Ingenuity Facebook page and click ye ole LIKE button.  I promise we share good content links. While  you’re there, post a message on the wall covering these two things:

• Describe the biggest business challenge you face today.
• Tell us what you’re doing to change it.

Zuckerberg doesn’t give you a lot of room to post on the wall before the message gets truncated, so parse it carefully.  Bonus points to anyone who can cover both items in 140 characters or less.

You have through end of day Friday, February 25 to “like” the page and post your message.  I’ll choose the best answer and make the announcement, then get that book over to the winner pronto.

Good luck!  My next book review will be Enchantment by Guy Kawasaki.  Keep an eye out on your RSS feed so you do’t miss out! What? Not yet an RSS subscriber yet?  Better get on that!