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| Not surprisingly, Simmons is trying to bring his labels""both, clothing and music""into the mainstream. But he faces an additional challenge""to succeed in the new environment without alienating his existing hip-hop base. His game plan: tie up with big companies that help extend his reach and offer a greater variety of products that will appeal across communities and age groups, even as he stays true to his roots through philanthropic and political initiatives aimed at teenagers and underprivileged children. |
| Simmons and Phat Farm's experience is documented in Marketing Power Plays, part of a three-book series by BusinessWeek magazine. Of course, the original article appeared in the magazine back in 2003, but then all the chapters in the books are drawn from published "case studies". The added frills""sidebars, call outs and synopses neatly termed as "lesson plans", "power moves" and "Monday Morning" strategies""however, elevate these articles from being mere reprints. |
| The three books""on strategy, leadership and marketing""are promoted as "the insider's playbooks", offering invaluable insights into what drives some of the world's most-respected managers and leaders, how some of the biggest brands differentiate themselves from the crowd and why huge corporations pay attention to seemingly unimportant details. They've certainly got all the big names covered. The volume on leadership includes lessons from established players""how Jack Welch ran GE, what Steve Ballmer did differently on taking over Microsoft's leadership from Bill Gates, how Carlos Ghosn raced Nissan to the top of the auto industry pile""as well as new economy leaders, including Terry Semel's turnaround of Yahoo! |
| The lineup is equally impressive in the other two books. Marketing Power Plays covers industries as diverse as infotech, white goods, banking and retail, speaking with Ingvar Kamprad about his quest to make IKEA a global cult brand, Steve Jobs about his days at Apple, Pixar and now as Disney's largest shareholder, and Electrolux's Hans Strasberg on how to make your customers tell you what you should be selling. Strategy Power Plays looks at the gameplans of the who's-who""Amazon, IBM, Samsung, American Express""and some "who?"""the NASCAR stock racing franchise and delivery company UPS, among others. All three books are introduced by Stephen Adler, BusinessWeek's editor-in-chief, and all carry the same caveat: the case studies are "snapshots in time" and much may have altered since then. The lessons to be drawn from them remains unchanged, he hastens to reassure readers. |
| Yes, these are old articles, packaged neatly to make them appear fresh. And yes, they are almost without exception unstintingly positive in their approval of the business leaders they profile. But, surprisingly, the nearly-sycophantic tone doesn't detract from the appeal. The crisp writing style, with its immense attention to detail and atmosphere, more than makes up. The personal touch in some of the case studies is especially fascinating""whether it is Simmons' interest in Eastern philosophy, Jamie Houghton setting aside his personal goals to return from retirement to save family company Corning or how Howard Solomon's dealing with his son Andrew's severe depression transformed not just their relationship but also his pharmaceutical company Forest Laboratories. |
| Apart from the slightly illicit pleasure in getting a peek into someone else's life, the "inside" information is also a subtle reminder that our professional decisions are usually influenced by our personal lives, and vice versa. Unfortunately, business features in India rarely include such colour and in-depth reportage that goes beyond the news. Of course, space constraints in Indian print journalism mean that the "pretty" details are all too often sacrificed to make room for the more necessary facts and figures. Even this little observation""so unnecessary in a serious review"" sneaked its way in only because the books editor was feeling unusually indulgent. |
| POWER PLAYS 1. Leadership Power Plays 2. Strategy Power Plays 3. Marketing Power Plays |
| Series by BusinessWeek Tata McGraw-Hill Rs 299 each |