Gavin Baker

A few weeks back my friend John recommended I read the story of karlssonwilker inc., called  tellmewhy: The First 24 Months of a New York Design Company. The book is both absurd and interesting at the same time.  Essentially it is the dueling stream of consciousness from the two founders and only employee’s of the agency as they debate what to do, how to do it and how they felt about it.  This is definetely a good read for anyone who might be jumping into the business of starting their own small design shop or business on their own.  It deals with the simple complexities of paying bills (accounts payable), getting paid for work you’ve completed (accounts receivable)  and pitching new work.

The more I think about it, the more it’s a perfect read for anyone who is walking down this path.  If you’re not, well you’ll probably find it humerous in a Zoolander type of way.

Oh, and they’ve got some SWEET infographics in the back.

One of the things I love to do is read.  I recently finished “Groundswell” by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff which is a great resource.  It’s a very balanced look at social technology and what can happen when companies choose to adopt them.  I’m late to the party on reading this book, but it launched to great acclaim in 2008 – and I now understand why.

They’ve managed to find what I’m considering the perfect blend of background, statistics, how to’s, case studies and sage advice in 286 pages.  This is not a book about marketing, this is a book that shares it’s view on how social technology is changing (and will change) companies big and small as we’ve known them.  Most helpful to me were the case studies, examples are concrete and share the actions and results; additionally they serve as inspiration of how those ideas could be applied at the organizations I’m involved in.

The book isn’t about specific tools, it’s about understanding the relationships, and knowing that social tools enable relationships to form faster and become mighty much quicker then they would have 10 years ago.  Even since the book was written technology has changed and will continue to change – so the key takeaway is focus on the relationships, how people connect with one another and it will impact how you do business.

Oh and it had 32 stickies for me – if you’re looking for a book that is a one stop stop on social technology then this is it.

32 Stickies