My Thanksgiving Special: I'm Grateful to These Authors - Uwe Hook - MediaBizBloggers

These writers put their heart and soul into their book. And changed the way I look at the world, how I see myself and transformed the way I work. As a thank you, please see my recommendations below.

The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity

Richard Florida reminds us to consider the current recession as a moment of transformative upheaval (like the Great Depression) "when new technologies and technological systems arise, when the economy is recast and society remade, and when the places where we live and work change to suit new needs" While I find, Richard Florida often doesn't go deep enough in his analysis (based also on the fact we're in the middle of another Great Reset), it's a great reminder that this current crisis is not just another recession. It's a paradigm shift of global proportions.

Empowered: Unleash Your Employee, Energize Your Customer, and Transform Your Business

As a follow-up to the Social Media bible Groundswell, Empowered discusses how employees with great ideas should be encouraged to innovate and transform your business to better serve customers. Josh Bernoff bases his book on the idea that service is the new marketing and asks managers to work with employee innovators (called HEROs by the author) to spread the positive word about your business through their own channels. A great introduction for people to move their organization from using Social Media as a media channel to transforming your enterprise to a Social business.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

Did you know you're an artist? You better believe it, work like an artist and stop being a cog in an organization or you will become obsolete. Linchpin is by far Seth Godin's most passionate and mature book, encouraging people to become emotional workers. This book will make you look at yourself and the work you are doing. And it will challenge you to finally make the leap to become a linchpin yourself. Come on, take the leap. Buy the book. Become an artist. Do the sacrifice and create emotional work. It's your choice. It's hard work. It can be a burden. And it will be the most rewarding thing you've ever done.

Uwe Hook is the CEO and Co-Founder of BatesHook, Inc. (www.bateshook.com) and a veteran of the advertising and marketing industry with the goal of building connections between people and brands. Uwe can be reached at uwe@bateshook.com.

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