The Hummer And The Mini

The author of The Trendmaster's Guide reveals how "contradictory trends" can help business leaders to plan and execute a successful professional strategy, in a resource that explores unlikely lucrative concepts in the realms of luxury commodities, mass customization, and social capitalism.

"[This book] is a study of America's most controversial personal automobile. Featuring more than fifteen essays, this collection analyzes the Hummer through a wide array of disciplines. The editors, Elaine Cardenas and Ellen Gorman, have divided the essays into four groups: myth and space, myth and body, myth and discourse, and myth as vehicle. An introduction by the editors places the study of the Hummer in a cultural context." -- from cover, page 4.

According to Robyn Waters, it’s a myth that trends can only be spotted early by überhip Bohemian types who are ever so much cooler than everyone else. She ought to know. As Target’s former VP of Trend, Design, and Product Development, Waters helped a dowdy regional discount chain become a national fashion destination. Today she consults for many different companies to help them stay ahead of the curve. The Trendmaster’s Guide features her favorite tips and examples for understanding and anticipating trends. Every letter from A to Z offers an insight to help readers navigate the unknown and prepare for whatever their costomers want next. It’s a quick read that packs a lot of insight between "A is for antennae" and "Z is for Zen." Anyone can use the tools in The Trendmaster’s Guide to become more aware of the world around them. Even if you weren’t born with a trendspotting bone in your body, you don’t have to be a follower forever. No one these days can afford to just be catching on when others are already moving on. Waters stresses that recognizing and reacting to trends is a learned skill, and it can be acquired without spending time in the streets of Milan or the high schools of Orange County. If you’ve ever witnessed a trend unfolding and said to yourself, "I should have seen this coming," there’s hope. You too can become a trendmaster.

Tom Tresh is a small-time Los Angeles attorney always looking for a big score. Divorced and broke, with an ex-wife and a seven year old son to support, Tom has spent his career trying to walk the line between defending his criminal clients and becoming involved in their crimes. So when his old friend Charlie asks him to help broker a deal for a mysterious new computer program and promises him a huge payday for his services, Tom is willing to turn a blind eye to the details. Big mistake. Two of the people involved in the theft are found gruesomely slaughtered in a vacant lot. It’s a warning. If Tom doesn’t return the program, a “Logic Bomb” capable of destroying the world’s vital computer systems, then all Tom has -- his family, his friends, his life -- will be brutally exterminated. Tom’s frantic fight to unravel the conspiracy erupts into an all-out war waged in court and in the street against a cartel of corporate thugs, Chinese spies, domestic terrorists, and the U.S. government. Tom recruits an army of his own, led by the head of a murderous LA gang, a beautiful and deadly former cop, and a mysterious genius hacker. As Tom’s team races towards a fierce and violent showdown, no one can be trusted and everything is at stake. In The Logic Bomb, veteran Los Angeles attorney Scott Richard Lord has crafted a riveting novel as fresh as tomorrow’s Internet headlines. Populated with vividly compelling and original characters, sprawling across indelible Left Coast landmarks, the story is filled with the incredible but true details of the secret machinery behind the cyber war being fought everywhere today.

From the former trendmaster of Target—how the power of contradictory trends can help reframe your business strategy Contradictions are everywhere! These days we wear Old Navy with new Gucci, Hanes T-shirts with Armani suits, couture Chanel with vintage denim. Suburban mansions are filled with flea market finds, and we show off our Michael Graves teakettle from Target on Viking stoves in our gourmet kitchens that might even include cabinets purchased from IKEA. When Robyn Waters began her career in the late 1970s, a trend was defined as something that everyone wanted at the same time. Fashion and business magazines proclaimed what was "in" and what was "out." Back then, it was fairly easy for companies to determine the next big trend, and ride it all the way to the bank. In today’s marketplace the "next big thing" has been replaced by a thousand next big things. And in order to discover what consumers are hungry for companies need to discover what’s important…to them. Today a cookie cutter approach no longer works. Waters explains that for every trend there’s an equally valid countertrend. In The Hummer and the Mini, Waters explores the new trend landscape and urges companies to stop looking for the one right answer in their industry. There are many good ways to design products, develop a line of goods, merchandise a store, or craft a marketing message. You can thrive by selling huge cars (the Hummer) or tiny ones (the Mini). You can turn something old into something new and desirable (the Vespa) or turn a commodity into a luxury (In-and-Out Burgers at the Oscars). You can even customize a product designed for the masses (personalized postage stamps) or sell less as more (Minute Clinics). Through lively tales of influential trends and countertrends, The Hummer and the Mini will show you how to live with the contradictions, make the most of the inconsistencies, and embrace the paradoxes of business as a source of fresh ideas.

As one of today’s most influential business thinkers, Seth Godin helps his army of fans stay focused, stay connected, and stay dissatisfied with the status quo, the ordinary, the boring. His books, blog posts, magazine articles, and speeches have inspired countless entrepreneurs, marketing people, innovators, and managers around the world. Now, for the first time, Godin has collected the most provocative short pieces from his pioneering blog—ranked #70 by Feedster (out of millions published) in worldwide readership. This book also includes his most popular columns from Fast Company magazine, and several of the short e-books he has written in the last few years. A sample: • Bon Jovi And The Pirates • Christmas Card Spam • Clinging To Your Job Title? • How Much Would You Pay to Be on Oprah’s Show? • The Persistence of Really Bad Ideas • The Seduction of “Good Enough” • What Happens When It's All on Tape? • Would You Buy Life Insurance at a Rock Concert? Small is the New Big is a huge bowl of inspiration that you can gobble in one sitting or dip into at any time. As Godin writes in his introduction: “I guarantee that you'll find some ideas that don’t work for you. But I’m certain that you're smart enough to see the stuff you’ve always wanted to do, buried deep inside one of these riffs. And I’m betting that once inspired, you’ll actually make something happen.”