So many books, so little time. To make your life easier (and your marketing more effective), we’ve pulled together a list of essential reads for daily inspiration, stay-in weather, long commutes, the occasional motivational rut or what have you. Got your own healthcare marketer books collection? Share them with us on LinkedIn.
Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence That Caring Makes a Difference
What is it about?
“A 34-year-old man fighting for his life in the Intensive Care Unit is on an artificial respirator for over a month. Could it be that his chance of getting off the respirator is not how much his nurses know, but rather how much they care?”
In the book, physician scientists Stephen Trzeciak and Anthony Mazzarelli take a (very) close look at the healthcare industry’s ongoing compassion crisis and ask an eye-opening question: could compassionate care be the wonder drug for the 21st century?
Why read it?
Easy to read but all the more intense to think about. Trzeciak and Mazzarrelli bring together decades’ worth of scientific research and real-life stories to show why the healthcare sector is ripe for a paradigm change – and how putting the ‘care’ back in healthcare can lead to better patient outcomes, business profitability, staff well-being and more.
The Eighth Day of Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Biology
What is it about?
One of the greatest popular science books ever written, courtesy of late science writer Horace Freeland Judson. Not bad from someone who was neither a scientist nor a historian, but a “journeyman theatre critic and book reviewer” who sometimes “did science reporting”.
What started as a near-chance encounter with protein crystallography founder Max Perutz turned into the definitive history of molecular biology, based on hundreds of hours of interviews with over 134 scientists carried out over a period of seven years.
Why read it?
Not only is it a lively chronicle of the molecular biology revolution, it’s mostly told in the words of the very people who spearheaded it. As physicist Jeremy Bernstein put it in The New York Times: “It is as if one were in a classroom with a dozen or so of the world’s greatest biologists, with Mr. Judson acting as the informed student. We learn as he is learning.”
Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning New Business
What is it about?
“What is the most moving, compelling, and ultimately persuasive argument you ever heard? I’ll bet that very few people think of an argument they heard in a conference room presentation,” reads John Steel’s pitch for his book. Spoiler alert: you’ll be sold.
An advertising veteran with a track record of winning more than 90% of the new business he has pitched, Steel shares his wealth of experience in winning over hearts and minds. Plus, the top reasons why presentations fail and, of course, a Steve Jobs anecdote.
Why read it?
It’s a must-read for everyone who has to pitch ideas on a day-to-day basis. Which, let’s face it, is all of us, whether or not we work in marketing. Bonus content: an inside look at London’s dark horse bid for the 2012 Olympics and Steel’s own marriage proposal to his wife.
Introduction to Digital Marketing in the Pharmaceutical Industry
What is it about?
Gone are the days when digital marketing was something senior marketers assigned to interns because they ‘knew Facebook’. Yet, digital is still too often used as a tool or a channel instead of the very core of health care businesses’ marketing behaviours.
Not if Olivier Gryson, Abbott’s current global head of digital, has a say in it. Drawing on 20 years of digital marketing experience in the industry, he brings you a complete guide to communicating with impact instead of shouting louder in the digital space.
Why read it?
Abbott’s book doesn’t go deep but covers a lot of the surface, including growth funnels, website building, performance metrics, mobile applications and much, much more. You can also finish it in two hours, which you absolutely should do if you’re just getting started with digital marketing.
Brand Therapy: 15 Techniques for Creating Brand Strategy in Pharma and Medtech
What is it about?
If you haven’t been lucky enough to be in any of Professor Brian D. Smith’s classes at either UCL or SDA Bocconi School of Management, then this is the next best thing. His book is brutally practical and gives a lot to ponder. No wonder: it’s written for “markets where marketing can be, quite literally, a matter of life and death”.
Why read it?
It beats any brand management workshop we’ve been to. A go-to for entry- to C-level readers alike, Brand Therapy is a masterclass in all the tools and strategies you can use to build a strong brand for any pharma, medtech or life science business.
Smith’s advice includes, but is not limited to, how not to confuse strategy with tactics, how to strategize for the real world instead of an ideal one and why you can’t win a market without seeing it in the same way customers do.