Likeonomics: The Unexpected Truth Behind Earning Trust, Influencing Behavior, and Inspiring Action

How to become a trusted resource for consumers in a society of constant manipulation People decide who to trust, what advice to heed, and which individuals to forge personal or transactional relationships with based on a simple metric of believability. Success, in turn, comes from understanding one basic principle: how to be more trusted. Likeonomics offers a new vision of a world beyond Facebook where personal relationships, likeability, brutal honesty, extreme simplicity, and basic humanity are behind everything from multi-million dollar mergers to record-breaking product sales. There is a real ROI to likeability, and exactly how big it is will amaze you. Likeonomics provides real-world case studies of brands and individuals that have used these principles to become wildly successful, including:* An iconic technology brand that awakened a revolution among their employees by standing for something bigger than their products* A Portuguese singer who used YouTube to rack up more than 30 million views and launch her professional career. A regional team of financial advisors that went from being last in the nation among 176 branches to first, and stayed there for 13 of the next 15 years* A tiny professional sports talent agent who achieved the impossible by landing the #1 drafted player in the NFL draft as a client through the power of relationships* Author Rohit Bhargava is a founding member of the world's largest group of social media strategists at Ogilvy, where he has led marketing strategy for clients including Intel, Pepsi, Lenovo, Seiko, Unilever, and dozens of other large companies With Likeonomics as a guide, readers will get unconventional advice on how to stand out in a good way, avoid the hype and strategic traps of social media, and appeal to customers in a way that secures your company as a trusted and believable resource.

Table of Contents:
Warning: Unexpected Honesty... xiii Prologue: How a Lard Salesman, an NFL Agent, and a YouTube Star Explain Likeonomics xv Introduction: Likeability, Rogue Economists, and the Lovable Fool xxv Author's Note: Why I Don't Write about Synergy and Paradigm Shifts xxxix PART I The Crisis and the Solution 1 Chapter 1 Inside the Modern Believability Crisis: How Rockefeller's Dimes, War Propaganda, and the Marlboro Man Ruined the World 3 The Birth of Modern PR 5 #occupywallstreet 6 The Propaganda of Revolutions 7 When Advertising Ruled the World 9 The Mass Perception Principle 10 Marketing as the Bad Guy 12 Living in the Society of Distrust 14 What Is the Believability Crisis? 15 Solving the Believability Crisis 16 Chapter 2 Navigating the Likeability Gap: What Rwanda, Golf Courses, and Ocean's Eleven Can Teach Us about the Decisions We Make 19 The Movie Man 21 What Business Are You In? 23 The Engagement Problem 24 The Reinvention of Rwanda 26 Humility Wanted 27 The Likeability Gap 29 The Toilet Business 31 Understanding Weak Ties 32 Golf and the Likeability Gap 33 Why Relationships Are Not about Networking 34 Getting Julia Roberts 36 The Age of Equivalence 37 How Originality Died-and How We Can Get It Back 39 The Differentiation Ideal 40 The Likeability Gap and the World 42 Chapter 3 The ROI of Likeability: Why Spreadsheets Need to Die, Websites Stink, and Likeable Politicians Always Win 45 The New Stupid 46 The Sexiness of Analytics 47 Data Overload, Insight Underload 48 Four Ways Data Becomes Meaningless 49 Rethinking ROI 50 The Flip Side of Data 51 Why Context Matters (and Your "Sticky" Website Actually Stinks) 52 The Real Reason Likeable Politicians Always Win 53 Why Results Matter More than Data 54 The Five Principles of Likeonomics 55 PART II The Five Principles of Likeonomics 57 Chapter 4 Truth 59 Oprah's Secret 60 Are You Building on a Sinkhole? 61 The Lie Doctor and the Dalai Lama 61 Empowerment versus the Anti-Truth Policy 63 Embracing Your Inconvenient Truth 64 Selling Cardboard 66 Why Being Truthful Is So Hard 67 The Three Elements of Truth 68 Chapter 5 Relevance 73 The Relevance Challenge 75 Canada's Favorite Storyteller 76 Handshakes in Kazakhstan 78 The Renaissance Banker 80 Making the Bank Relevant Again 81 Everyone Who Matters Knows You 81 Why Is Relevance So Hard? 83 The Three Elements of Relevance 84 Chapter 6 Unselfishness 89 Creating an Ideal World 90 The Ethical Warehouse 93 What about the Selfish Gene? 94 Wikinomics and the Rise of Collaboration 95 Finding the Altruism Gene 96 Do Doctors Need to Be Competent and Kind? 97 Why People Don't Sue Likeable Doctors 99 How the Unselfish and Compassionate Will Rule the World 101 How Japanese Citizens Responded to Disaster with Unselfishness 102 The Customer Service Revolution Will Be Twitterized 105 Why We Are Selfish 106 The Three Elements of Unselfishness 108 Chapter 7 Simplicity 111 Desperately Seeking Simplicity 113 The Plain Language Movement 114 The Myth of Good Complexity 115 Gadget Confusion 116 Flipping the Video Camera Market 118 Winning on Simplicity 119 How Simplicity Inspires Trust 121 How Orange Got People Saving Again 122 Hypnotizing Chickens 123 How Napkins Can Explain Health Care 124 Why Simplicity Gets So Complicated 126 The Three Elements of Simplicity 127 Chapter 8 Timing 131 The Most Creative Lunch in History 133 Timing Is Everything 135 How Sweetening Changed Television History 136 Our Time-Shifted Culture 137 Gilt and Luxury with an Expiration 137 The Rise of Shopper Marketing 138 Google ZMOT 139 Why Timing Is So Tough 141 The Three Elements of Timing 142 Conclusion 145 Living in the Era of Likeonomics 146 Likeonomics on Mulberry Street 147 PART III The StoryBook 149 Introduction: How the StoryBook Works 151 Bhutan: The Real Happiest Place on Earth 153 Green Bay Packers: Why Cheeseheads Rule the NFL 155 Khan Academy: Flipping the Rules of Education 157 Maverick Adventures: Kitesurfing with Richard Branson 159 Anupy Singla: The Fast Rise of Slow Cooking 161 The Backstory: The Making of Likeonomics 165 Special Thanks 167 Notes: Further Reading and Research 169 About the Author 173 Index 175

About the Author :
ROHIT BHARGAVA is a marketing expert focused on helping to bring more humanity back to business. He advises some of the world's largest global brands on communications strategy through his role as a member of the Strategy & Planning group at Ogilvy. His thinking has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, Fast Company, NPR, and MarketingChina, and his first book, Personality Not Included, was translated into nine languages. Outside of his writing and consulting, Rohit is Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he lives with his wife and two sons. Rohit is a popular "non-boring" keynote speaker who has spoken at TEDx, in Davos, and at hundreds of other events around the world. To inquire about booking Rohit to speak, contact likeonomics@gmail.com For free online resources, visual chapters,and exclusive content, visit www.likeonomics.com