Alchemy

The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life

De: Rory Sutherland

Narrado por: Rory Sutherland

HOW DOES MAGIC HAPPEN?The Ogilvy advertising legend—“one of the leading minds in the world of branding” (NPR)—explores the art and science of conjuring irresistible products and ideas.

""A breakthrough book. Wonderfully applicable to about everything in life."" —Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan

“Veins of wisdom emerge regularly and brilliantly from these pages. Don't miss this book.” —Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence

Why is Red Bull so popular, though everyone—everyone!—hates the taste? Humans are, in a word, irrational, basing decisions as much on subtle external signals (that little blue can) as on objective qualities (flavor, price, quality). The surrounding world, meanwhile, is irreducibly complex and random. This means future success can’t be projected on any accounting spreadsheet. To strike gold, you must master the dark art and curious science of conjuring irresistible ideas: alchemy.

Based on thirty years of field work inside the largest experiment in human behavior ever conceived—the forever-unfolding pageant of consumer capitalism—Alchemy, the revolutionary book byOgilvy advertising legend Rory Sutherland, whose TED talks have been viewed nearly seven million times, decodes human behavior, blending leading-edge scientific research, absurdly entertaining storytelling, deep psychological insight, and practical case studies from his storied career working on campaigns for AmEx, Microsoft, and others.

Heralded as “one of the leading minds in the world of branding” by NPR, Sutherland is a unique thought leader, as comfortable exchanging ideas with Nobel Prize winners Daniel Kahneman and Richard Thaler (both interviewed in these pages) as he is crafting the next product launch. His unconventional and relentlessly curious approach has led him to discover that the most compelling secrets to human decision-making can be found in surprising places:

What can honey bees teach us about creating a sustainable business?

How could budget airlines show us how to market a healthcare system?

Why is it better to be vaguely right than precisely wrong?

What might soccer penalty kicks teach us about the dangers of risk-aversion?

Better “branding,” Sutherland reveals, can also be employed not just to sell products, but to promote a variety of social aims, like getting people to pay taxes, improving public health outcomes, or encouraging more women to pursue careers in tech.

Equally startling and profound, Sutherland’s journey through the strange world of decision making is filled with astonishing lessons for all aspects of life and business.

Something to think about

This book really gives you a lot to think about. It's not the conventional marketing book. If you march to the beat of your own drum this book will explain why that's not a bad idea, although not necessarily good.

Brilliant

Such an inspiring and beautiful exploration of capitalism/the human mind. So much wisdom. Starting my second listen right now.

Wow awesome book!

This was one of those rare books I didn’t want to end. So much great information and so well presented.

I will buy every book by this author from now on

I bought this book for $5 during a Halloween sale. I generally hope to get 2-3 quotes or useful data points out of a book of this kind. However, I found 2-3 in every chapter and found this book to emensly valuable.
I don't agree with Mr. Sutherland on all of his points, but I enjoy his willingness to stake out points of view that are practically useful even when undeniably irrational. As an extremely logical person, I found his rebuke of dependency upon logical reasoning to be convincing and wise.
I feel like I understand the world I live in much better after having listened to this book. so thank you for that Mr. Sutherland.
If I can ever interview Mr. Sutherland, I would love to do so.

Excellent reading and writing

Rory is a delight to listen to. I'm thinking of becoming a BESL (British english as a second lang) student now. It is quite good and I mean that like in American English.