Getting My Attention

I have been on the road non-stop for what seems like a month now.  Wait... it has been a month.  As far as work goes, my professional cup runneth over and the only way I could be happier is if I didn’t have to travel as much.  This past month, it’s been Raleigh (twice), Tampa (twice), Austin (twice), Louisville and... well, you get the picture.  C’est la vie.

Perched precariously atop the mountain of mail awaiting my arrival back home was a box - return address “Opus Communications.”  Ah me, I thought to myself, another book promoter requesting a review of his or her new tome.  It can wait.

After awhile (when I got sick of looking at nothing but bills), I relented and opened the package.

Tucked inside, all snug and comfy, was a flying pig.

Jack Hayhow, whom I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting, sent me a copy of his new book, The Wisdom of the Flying Pig - Guidance and Inspiration for Managers and Leaders.  I receive review copies of business books all the time - but never quite like this.  Rather than inserting a standard (and yes, boring) press release, Jack purchased one of those flying pigs with wings you see in airport gift shops - pop in a battery, hook it to the ceiling and watch it fly!  Clever enough, but here’s where Jack went the extra mile... he wrote a personal note, commenting on my recent post about Opening Gestures, saying he hoped his surprise would qualify as a good example.

To say that I rarely mention business books (let alone review them) is an understatement.  There are great blogs like 1-800-CEO-READ to do that for me.  The Wisdom of the Flying Pig is remarkable (as Seth would say) in that it distills basic philosophy on management and leadership into tasty bacon bits that work for everyone from the small business owner to a corporate officer.  It’s a quick read, nicely illustrated and well constructed.  I can see that Jack isn’t relying on huge sales of the book - I believe his strategy is to spread the word, use the book as his “calling card” (turns out he has quite a name for himself in the management field) and get others to buy mass quantities of the book to share with colleagues and potential customers.  It beats an ink pen or coffee mug any day.

Like I said, I get dozens of business books sent my way each year.  What made Jack’s stand out was not the book but the presentation.  I happen to know that Jack sent flying pigs to several of my colleagues - but his note, connecting the flying pig to my blog, made it relevant to me.

You go, Jack - I look forward to sharing your book with my clients.

As for the rest of the book promotion world - when will you go the extra mile to make your product or service relevant to those who matter?  I know, I know... when pigs fly.

Comments

[Joe]

Well, Michelle, at least you can make lots of contributions to your local library's used book sale...new crisp books on the pile are a help to them!!

[Michael Wagner]

Michelle - great example of what it takes to get past the “sameness filter” that resides in everyone's mind.

I like how Jack balanced being different (the flying pig) with being relevant (a personal note and comment on your blog posting). This is an art and is exactly what we long for as real human beings being addresssed in the marketplace.

Instead we get novel and eccentric messages without relevance. Or customer-centered pitches that are the same vanilla "come on" everyone else is hawking.

I’d say Jack understand brand ownership.

Way to go Jack! And thanks for telling the story Michelle!

[Skirt]

You go, Jack - I look forward to sharing your book with my clients.

As for the rest of the book promotion world - when will you go the extra mile to make your product or service relevant to those who matter? I know, I know... when pigs fly.