by Robert Cialdini

A classic in the consumer behavior/ decision-making genre. Time-constraints, implied scarcity, price-quality assumptions, etc. The underlying aspects of human biases and how marketers can use this info effectively are explained with great examples.

by Michael Gerber

I was so lucky (thank you universe!) to pick this book off the shelf when we first started our web development business in 2001. It shaped my understanding of what it takes to run a business and made me jump right in when my husband wanted to start a business.

I was introduced to this book while supporting a Global Consulting Class at Wharton’s San Francisco campus. It’s been great for me and for my clients who are consultants. A key takeaway was the pricing strategy and tactics. Best one, offer a discount for full-prepayment.

Unlike the rest of the selections which all have a clear connection to business or marketing or consumer psychology. The author does a fabulous job of explaining why the process and practice is so important to building skills and ultimate success

Another one on my favorite topic, consumer psychology! More recently written and by an academic with a strong emphasis on experimental studies to test hypotheses. Evidence is always good.

A new classic in the consumer behavior genre. Danny Kahneman partnered with Amos Tversky for ground-breaking work in this area. This book gives an overview of the differences human’s make when they have to make quick decisions versus when they have time to fully process. We often extend those quick decision heuristics to other situations with mixed results.

Another classic (in a revised edition)! Some consumers want to find the very best option. Others are fine with ‘satisficing’. This book details the challenges we have in a world of nearly unlimited choices and how to balance these two options so that you aren’t caught up in analysis paralysis in decision-making. Marketers can use the ideas to update the narrative of their offers.

By the time a consumer is at the store to purchase, they’ve likely made up their mind. What are the levers of influence before that moment? Cialdini (who wrote one of the top Fave Five) is a terrific translator of academic research to useful business application.

This book by Stanford professor, Itamar Simonson, notes the shift in power from sellers to buyers with the advent of online reviews and easy access to product information.

You sat through econ classes and wondered why you didn’t make the perfect economic decisions when you went to the grocery store, right? This book explains it all. Humans have biases, heuristics and other values beyond the best economic value and it can’t all be captured in a utility function. Learn how experiments have led to a deeper understanding of what makes us tick in the context of buying (and other) decisions.

This was the Bizerkeley Book Club’s first pick several years ago! Fun read to remind us of the power of enchanting customers. Written by Guy Kawasaki, Apple’s first evangelist, it reminds us to have fun and delight our customers!

I definitely have a few classics in this list and this book fits that bill. With a focus on leadership styles and corporate culture, this book find the approaches that allow companies to go from good to great!

Like other books in this section, Start With Why, addresses leadership style and knowing your purpose. Although not explicitly calling for a servant-leader approach, several of these books identify the benefits of leaders who inspire without the showmanship we’ve come to expect in American business culture.

I’ve got to admit that I didn’t love the first part of the book that chronicles Tony Hsieh’s life and lifestyle prior to delving into his transformation of Zappos. Once the Zappos story kicked in however, I was hooked! To be fair, other Bizerkely Book Club members love the whole thing (and some loved the first part more than the second!)

Although CD Baby (Sivers’ company) is no longer a household name for those outside the music industry, the lessons of building a a company that are compiled here are still relevant.