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Tracy Maylett and Matthew Wride – The Employee Experience

Title: The Employee Experience

Author: Tracy Maylett and Matthew Wride

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 222

Rating: 3/5

This is another of the non-fiction books that I’ve been reading so that I can write a spark notes style summary for one of my clients. The issue here is that this is the first one that I’ve actually struggled to stretch out to fill the word count.

The reason for that is that a lot of the information here is repetitive, and I feel like there was only enough material to fill half the book. That material itself was pretty good though, even if at times it does seem a little basic. The central tenet is that if you want to thrill your customers, you must first concentrate on the employee experience and making sure that the people who work for you are happy in the jobs that they’re doing.

The main highlights for me were the idea of employee contracts, which don’t always have to be written out and signed. Verbal contracts count, and we also often arrive at assumptions that we then judge the company on. If you want to retain staff for as long as possible and to promote from within, you need to provide an employee experience to be proud of.

Click here to buy The Employee Experience.

Gary Vaynerchuk – The Thank You Economy | Review

Title: The Thank You Economy

Author: Gary Vaynerchuk

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 258

Rating: 3*/5

Gary Vaynerchuk – The Thank You Economy

This is another example of something that’s happened a lot of late. I was looking forward to reading it but once I actually got round to it, I was left unimpressed. The problem is that while Vaynerchuk was clearly right in what he was saying, it’s a lot less revolutionary now than it was back then.

That doesn’t mean that I’m not a fan of his, though. It just means that I think it’s one of his weaker books, and it’s also the one that hasn’t aged well. Don’t get me wrong, the basic principles of the book – which largely focuses on going out of your way to help your customers as much as possible – are still relevant, and they’ll still be relevant in the years to come. But the truth is just that many of the examples are now outdated and it just has nothing on some of Vaynerchuk’s more recent books.

That’s why I’d recommend getting started with something like Jab Jab Jab Right Hook or #AskGaryVee if you can – or better still, skip the books altogether and just watch Vaynerchuk on YouTube instead. His energy comes across more in videos than in the written word, and ultimately you’ll feel more inspired if you catch some footage than you will if you read the book. I was hoping to get some more out of it, but no worries – I can inspire myself enough.