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A review by awelfle
Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends by Gene Stone, Tim Sanders
3.0
This weekend, I finished "Love is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends" by Tim Sanders. I don’t usually go for motivational, inspirational books, much less books that motivate and inspire my professional life, but I’ve heard several friends and trusted influencers rave about it.
One reason I don’t read those books is in order for the authors to distinguish themselves from others, and because it makes lectures and speaking engagements easier, they speak in buzzwords and simplified “five step” processes, for example.
This book was no different. Sanders threw around words like “bizlove” (referring to gestures of professional affection), “bizmates” (referring to coworkers or colleagues), or dotcommunists (referring to… I don’t even know). He constantly referred to being a “lovecat,” or someone who shared his knowledge, attention, and advocacy for others freely.
But beneath the breezy pacing and the casual buzzwording, there were some good, useful things to glean from this book.
READ BOOKS -- LOTS OF BOOKS
Sanders compared reading books to eating and digesting food. Books are a full meal. Magazine articles are an appetizer, and newspaper articles are a snack.
(Of course, Sanders didn’t even count blogs, because in 2002 when he wrote this book, the blogosphere wasn’t a fraction as information-rich as it is today.)
He suggests reading as many books in your subject of interest as you can, take notes and annotate the heck out of it in order to mentally digest its contents, and lend freely to friends and “bizmates” as the topic comes up. Heck, he says, if the situation calls for it, just gift them a copy.
As an avid reader, there’s nothing I like more than to give away books I love. I’ve gifted two or three people with "The Cluetrain Manifesto", an 11 year-old book with the simple but revolutionary message, “businesses need to speak to humans like they’re people, not markets”. Whether or not they’ve read it, I’m not sure, but Sanders’s book helped me figure out how to tie the book’s thesis into my conversations, and how to better follow up.
BECOME A RESOURCE AND A CONNECTOR
Although a friend and mentor told me this a long time ago, it is worth reinforcing, especially in this book. Give your advice freely and without expectation of compensation. Bone up on whatever subject you want to be a resource for, and stay top-of-mind in your network. Sometimes the rewards aren’t monetary, but sometimes they are (Sanders recounts that one of his friends, the founder of mp3.com, gifted him stock options in the fledgling music format’s IPO, and Sanders made a small fortune when it took off and quadrupled in worth). In any case, you’ll build trust, goodwill and relevance.
While I don’t do these things quite as deliberately as Sanders (he reads books and immediately starts thinking about who he can share it with), I feel like he was helpful in keeping others in mind when reading, learning, and sharing.
And while “lovecat” is a silly word, it has a great meaning: to love and support your colleagues. Express to them your commitment to their growth and success. Bring a nurturing and supportive face into the workplace, where stoicism and an every-man-for-himself attitude usually resides. It’s kind of the professional version of the “love thy neighbor” bit.
Because the book was written in 2002, there wasn’t a lot of talk (or really, any) talk about social media and how it fits into this. Anyone can tell you that social media shouldn’t replace the real-life interactions that likely make one a lovecat, but they sure can supplement it. You can connect your network, share ideas, encourage, inform, and all sorts of things. I’d love to see a follow-up to this book updated to allow for social media interactions.
Sanders has a new book, "Today We Are Rich", which is being marketed as the prequel to Love is the Killer App. I haven’t read it yet, and I’m not sure yet if I’m going to, but I’ll be keeping it on my radar.
Meanwhile, get out there. Be a lovecat. Share some bizlove with your bizmates. But don’t tell anyone, unless you want to get into a 20-minute discussion about what those words mean.
But perhaps you should. After all, isn’t that the point?
One reason I don’t read those books is in order for the authors to distinguish themselves from others, and because it makes lectures and speaking engagements easier, they speak in buzzwords and simplified “five step” processes, for example.
This book was no different. Sanders threw around words like “bizlove” (referring to gestures of professional affection), “bizmates” (referring to coworkers or colleagues), or dotcommunists (referring to… I don’t even know). He constantly referred to being a “lovecat,” or someone who shared his knowledge, attention, and advocacy for others freely.
But beneath the breezy pacing and the casual buzzwording, there were some good, useful things to glean from this book.
READ BOOKS -- LOTS OF BOOKS
Sanders compared reading books to eating and digesting food. Books are a full meal. Magazine articles are an appetizer, and newspaper articles are a snack.
(Of course, Sanders didn’t even count blogs, because in 2002 when he wrote this book, the blogosphere wasn’t a fraction as information-rich as it is today.)
He suggests reading as many books in your subject of interest as you can, take notes and annotate the heck out of it in order to mentally digest its contents, and lend freely to friends and “bizmates” as the topic comes up. Heck, he says, if the situation calls for it, just gift them a copy.
As an avid reader, there’s nothing I like more than to give away books I love. I’ve gifted two or three people with "The Cluetrain Manifesto", an 11 year-old book with the simple but revolutionary message, “businesses need to speak to humans like they’re people, not markets”. Whether or not they’ve read it, I’m not sure, but Sanders’s book helped me figure out how to tie the book’s thesis into my conversations, and how to better follow up.
BECOME A RESOURCE AND A CONNECTOR
Although a friend and mentor told me this a long time ago, it is worth reinforcing, especially in this book. Give your advice freely and without expectation of compensation. Bone up on whatever subject you want to be a resource for, and stay top-of-mind in your network. Sometimes the rewards aren’t monetary, but sometimes they are (Sanders recounts that one of his friends, the founder of mp3.com, gifted him stock options in the fledgling music format’s IPO, and Sanders made a small fortune when it took off and quadrupled in worth). In any case, you’ll build trust, goodwill and relevance.
While I don’t do these things quite as deliberately as Sanders (he reads books and immediately starts thinking about who he can share it with), I feel like he was helpful in keeping others in mind when reading, learning, and sharing.
And while “lovecat” is a silly word, it has a great meaning: to love and support your colleagues. Express to them your commitment to their growth and success. Bring a nurturing and supportive face into the workplace, where stoicism and an every-man-for-himself attitude usually resides. It’s kind of the professional version of the “love thy neighbor” bit.
Because the book was written in 2002, there wasn’t a lot of talk (or really, any) talk about social media and how it fits into this. Anyone can tell you that social media shouldn’t replace the real-life interactions that likely make one a lovecat, but they sure can supplement it. You can connect your network, share ideas, encourage, inform, and all sorts of things. I’d love to see a follow-up to this book updated to allow for social media interactions.
Sanders has a new book, "Today We Are Rich", which is being marketed as the prequel to Love is the Killer App. I haven’t read it yet, and I’m not sure yet if I’m going to, but I’ll be keeping it on my radar.
Meanwhile, get out there. Be a lovecat. Share some bizlove with your bizmates. But don’t tell anyone, unless you want to get into a 20-minute discussion about what those words mean.
But perhaps you should. After all, isn’t that the point?