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Coloring Outside the Line(TM) : Business Thoughts on Creativity, Sales, and Marketing
This book from the crayon of Creativity Guru Jeff Tobe is an unusually charming collection of warm, funny and instructive business tales. It provides numerous examples of street-smart sales tactics, exemplary customer service and outside-the-lines marketing. The book encourages anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit by providing story after story of creative ideas and inspiration.
- GenresBusiness
134 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 24, 2021
In full disclosure, I received this book at no cost several years ago at a conference leadership session. While Tobe was engaging in many ways as a speaker, he was also maddening. (He reminded me of the old-timey boss who was friendly to everyone but also mind-bogglingly sexist, of which, more later.) Some of my colleagues left in disgust or frustration; others of us stayed to see how much more "charmingly" offensive he could be. After returning from the conference, I stuck the book on a shelf and ignored it until downsizing my business book collection recently. I try to never get rid of a book (or pass judgment on one) without reading it, and so I've done so.
The book is designed to give us "Business Thoughts on Creativity, Marketing and Sales." And yes, this feels more like thoughts, quote-filled but off-the-cuff, than deeply researched and well-edited considerations. As blog posts, these amiable chapters, which included only anecdotal experiences and no academic or statistical research to back up the claims, might have been fine. But one expects a little more depth in a book.
To be sure, the advice in the book isn't bad; it's just lacking insight. The version I own is the second edition, published a decade ago. The first was, apparently, published in 2001. And yet the advice within was outdated and moldy when I was in college and grad school decades earlier. It's like he's giving guidance to the middle-aged, middle-management/sales white guys of 1987 (the last possible people to whom any of this might have been surprising), because I'm not sure to whom else this advice would be novel. And indeed, many of his references are just plain old. I started to keep count of how many epiphanies he shared date from 50, 60, and 70 years ago!
On creativity: don't do things just because it's the way you've always done it; get feedback; see things through other people's eyes; don't be afraid to be creative. (He has a strong aversion to the use of the word "brainstorming" and prefers the use of the coined "brainsparking," apparently because of his misperception that "brainstorming" implies violence, rather than the showering of ideas.)
On marketing: again, consider other people's perspectives; focus on benefits rather than features (weren't we taught this in the 80s?); appeal to all of your customers' senses; know your market; give great, experiential customer service.
On sales: know your customer's buying styles (wherein he focuses on DiSC, which like Myers-Brigg and most personality types has been found to be at least somewhat questionable); understand to what and whom your customers are already loyal; appreciate what the costs as well of the benefits of loyalty to you might be; ask questions; and once again, consider that others have different perspectives; understand what motivates people; be enigmatic and show you love what you do; and the grand, "be a good listener."
None of this advice is bad. But none of it is remotely new. And, again, to be fair, the first edition was written two decades ago (when the advice was old, but admittedly less old). However, it's all presented as "these are a handful of the personal experiences I've claimed to have had with random people and so it must be true, accurate, and valid." Often, the stories put him in the charming position of "Oh, gee, I never realized this but my wife made me realize the truth" when anyone who didn't realize such things in the first place probably shouldn't be advising anyone on anything. Not everyone has the same perspective. Not everyone is motivated by the same things. Water is wet.
So, my first frustration is merely that this is C+, perhaps B-, work, and had I not remembered all these years later how annoying it was to be at his presentation, I might not have felt the need to explain why I'm giving him a rare (for me) mediocre score.
My second frustration is the lack of professionalism in the presentation of the book. No, I'm not talking about the quaint, hand-drawn cartoons. The book needed an editor, and the fact that so many spelling and grammatical errors exist in the second edition tells me that people bought the first edition but didn't actually read it and give any feedback. Subjects and predicates don't agree. The indefinite article "an" precedes words starting with consonants. Punctuation is wrong.
A third annoyance, but one for which one cannot be surprised, is that the assumptions and tone are decidedly generic. While an occasional "character" in his narratives is a woman, there's no seeming realization anywhere that some of the guidance he should be giving must take into account differences in sex/gender, ethnicity, cultural background. Given that only someone whose experience would echo the Mad Men era wouldn't already know these things, I guess it's not surprising that the author approaches everyone as though he's just been let in on the secret that we're not all alike and business isn't like it was in 1950. He's psyched to share that secret with the reader, fairly unaware of all of the material he's leaving out.
But the final frustration is the one that got me angry all over again. The thing that most offended many of us in the presentation is repeated in the book, a "fable" for which the purpose is to teach the lesson that opinions about behavior vary based on one's perception. A valid lesson, but the fable can be (and has been) interpreted as sexist, centers around outdated opinions on women's chastity, and hinges on a woman being coerced into a sexual assault. No, Mr. Tobe, it is not possible to respect a man who threatens a woman into a sexual assault not to compare it to sticking to one's price and not wavering.
Granted, Tobe wrote/included this prior to "Me, Too" but this would easily have offended an undergraduate class decades earlier. How he could think it was acceptable content for teaching a business lesson (at least one unrelated to avoiding content in presentations) is flummoxing.
So, the book (the previous paragraph notwithstanding) is cheerily written but not professionally edited, anecdotally "researched" but lacking in rigorous citations, and blithely out of touch with how anyone except the stereotype of old, white, middle-management dudes might be thinking, coming into the book.
The horrible "modern fairy tale" at the start of the marketing section notwithstanding, this isn't an awful book. But almost any other book of business advice would provide more nuanced, actionable advice.
The book is designed to give us "Business Thoughts on Creativity, Marketing and Sales." And yes, this feels more like thoughts, quote-filled but off-the-cuff, than deeply researched and well-edited considerations. As blog posts, these amiable chapters, which included only anecdotal experiences and no academic or statistical research to back up the claims, might have been fine. But one expects a little more depth in a book.
To be sure, the advice in the book isn't bad; it's just lacking insight. The version I own is the second edition, published a decade ago. The first was, apparently, published in 2001. And yet the advice within was outdated and moldy when I was in college and grad school decades earlier. It's like he's giving guidance to the middle-aged, middle-management/sales white guys of 1987 (the last possible people to whom any of this might have been surprising), because I'm not sure to whom else this advice would be novel. And indeed, many of his references are just plain old. I started to keep count of how many epiphanies he shared date from 50, 60, and 70 years ago!
On creativity: don't do things just because it's the way you've always done it; get feedback; see things through other people's eyes; don't be afraid to be creative. (He has a strong aversion to the use of the word "brainstorming" and prefers the use of the coined "brainsparking," apparently because of his misperception that "brainstorming" implies violence, rather than the showering of ideas.)
On marketing: again, consider other people's perspectives; focus on benefits rather than features (weren't we taught this in the 80s?); appeal to all of your customers' senses; know your market; give great, experiential customer service.
On sales: know your customer's buying styles (wherein he focuses on DiSC, which like Myers-Brigg and most personality types has been found to be at least somewhat questionable); understand to what and whom your customers are already loyal; appreciate what the costs as well of the benefits of loyalty to you might be; ask questions; and once again, consider that others have different perspectives; understand what motivates people; be enigmatic and show you love what you do; and the grand, "be a good listener."
None of this advice is bad. But none of it is remotely new. And, again, to be fair, the first edition was written two decades ago (when the advice was old, but admittedly less old). However, it's all presented as "these are a handful of the personal experiences I've claimed to have had with random people and so it must be true, accurate, and valid." Often, the stories put him in the charming position of "Oh, gee, I never realized this but my wife made me realize the truth" when anyone who didn't realize such things in the first place probably shouldn't be advising anyone on anything. Not everyone has the same perspective. Not everyone is motivated by the same things. Water is wet.
So, my first frustration is merely that this is C+, perhaps B-, work, and had I not remembered all these years later how annoying it was to be at his presentation, I might not have felt the need to explain why I'm giving him a rare (for me) mediocre score.
My second frustration is the lack of professionalism in the presentation of the book. No, I'm not talking about the quaint, hand-drawn cartoons. The book needed an editor, and the fact that so many spelling and grammatical errors exist in the second edition tells me that people bought the first edition but didn't actually read it and give any feedback. Subjects and predicates don't agree. The indefinite article "an" precedes words starting with consonants. Punctuation is wrong.
A third annoyance, but one for which one cannot be surprised, is that the assumptions and tone are decidedly generic. While an occasional "character" in his narratives is a woman, there's no seeming realization anywhere that some of the guidance he should be giving must take into account differences in sex/gender, ethnicity, cultural background. Given that only someone whose experience would echo the Mad Men era wouldn't already know these things, I guess it's not surprising that the author approaches everyone as though he's just been let in on the secret that we're not all alike and business isn't like it was in 1950. He's psyched to share that secret with the reader, fairly unaware of all of the material he's leaving out.
But the final frustration is the one that got me angry all over again. The thing that most offended many of us in the presentation is repeated in the book, a "fable" for which the purpose is to teach the lesson that opinions about behavior vary based on one's perception. A valid lesson, but the fable can be (and has been) interpreted as sexist, centers around outdated opinions on women's chastity, and hinges on a woman being coerced into a sexual assault. No, Mr. Tobe, it is not possible to respect a man who threatens a woman into a sexual assault not to compare it to sticking to one's price and not wavering.
Granted, Tobe wrote/included this prior to "Me, Too" but this would easily have offended an undergraduate class decades earlier. How he could think it was acceptable content for teaching a business lesson (at least one unrelated to avoiding content in presentations) is flummoxing.
So, the book (the previous paragraph notwithstanding) is cheerily written but not professionally edited, anecdotally "researched" but lacking in rigorous citations, and blithely out of touch with how anyone except the stereotype of old, white, middle-management dudes might be thinking, coming into the book.
The horrible "modern fairy tale" at the start of the marketing section notwithstanding, this isn't an awful book. But almost any other book of business advice would provide more nuanced, actionable advice.
March 10, 2022
The audio quality was subpar when compared to the many other books I've listened to. That did affect my rating of this book. The start of the book, first quarter of it, really got me energized but after that it was a regurgitation of what many books offer.
August 24, 2017
I listened to the audio form of this book and I enjoyed it. I like that as the author is reading he almost laughs or does laugh at what he's reading, not in monotonous tone.
June 25, 2020
I listened to the audio book and did not find it insightful or helpful.
I cannot recommend this book.
I cannot recommend this book.
April 4, 2022
The audio version of this book isn't the best quality, but the message of this book is excellent. It inspired me to do things differently in my personal and professional life.
July 14, 2013
i'd give it a B ... not much new, but refreshingly presented
September 1, 2016
Reinforced much of what I've learned over the years. Worth reading once a year, just as a reminder.
March 14, 2014
Kinda re-caped everything I already know. But then again, I know a lot about business.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews