Association Marketing Springboard

Personality Not Included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity And How Great Brands Get it Back
by Rohit Bhargava (Hardcover – March 31, 2008)

My rating: 4.0 rubber band balls



Remember when we were all trying to be more “professional” or “corporate.” We were trying to standardize every message and template every communication. If the organization had a face, it was carefully scripted and perfectly coifed.

Well, that doesn’t work anymore. (Or if it still does for you, it won’t for long.)

In six short chapters, Rohit Bhargava shows how organizations with sparkling personalities have a major competitive advantage in today’s attention economy. What does he mean by personality? According to Rohit, personality is “the unique, authentic and talkable soul of your brand that people can get passionate about.”

This is not a book about social media. But it is about marketing in what Rohit calls the “social media era.” Even if a high percentage of your customers have never used the Internet, their marketing preferences are influenced by the ubiquity of information that the Internet has created. People are on to us—they know when they’re being sold—and the only thing to do is to adapt and be up front and transparent about it. Rohit shows examples of companies that adapted too slow and how they made up for it, as well as companies that were built from the ground up in the spirit of the new social media era. He also includes a “part two” with additional techniques, guides and tools you can use to help your company put the concepts into action.

For me, the book’s brightest moment is chapter six. Rohit describes the power of personality moments. He shows us the folly of waging a blitzkrieg for people’s attention when we’re likely not making the most out of those moments when we already have their attention. It made me think of a hundred and one moments when membership organizations could energize their audience and reinforce that sense of belonging that is so critical to our success.

Why only four stars? Two reasons. First, by Rohit’s own admission at a book signing I attended, this book was rapidly conceived, written and published. Speed was necessary in order for the book to be current. Still, I think it could have used a little more editing. Second, www.personalitynotincluded.com is still incomplete—not everything promised in the book is available yet.

That said, I do recommend this book. If your organization needs personality, this book will help you tease it out. If your organization already has personality, this book will help you understand it and use it to your best advantage.

Also, check out the Personality Project where you can hear directly from leaders at the companies featured in the book. Seriously...this site is cool.