Sally Hogshead

Vacillating between two and four stars as I worked through this title, my moment of clarity came with the last fifty pages or so: marketing and self-promotion still (despite reading heaps to the contrary) seems a bit, well, a bit manipulative and self-promoting. But as a recently-minted entrepreneur (not a hobbyist) this is EXACTLY what I need to do. Not the manipulate bit, but the "here's the cool work I do and i know you'll love it" bit.

Hogshead presents her marketing expertise and supporting results of The Kelton Study in an accessible (albeit, not highly fascinating) style. As I continue moving into marketing -- as opposed to dragging my feet and whining that life as a working artist is challenging enough, thank you -- I'll keep the seven fascination triggers in mind. I not about alarm or vice, but based on Hogshead's definitions I do see several potential badges for promoting my art: lust - because i make the ordinary extraordinary (or even emotional) and because my work arouses the senses, especially visual; prestige - because each piece i create is one of a kind with very limited availability; and finally trust because my work is authentic and reflects my own authenticity.… (mais)

Hogshead argues that existing personality tests, such as the Myers-Briggs assessment, explain how you see the world, but don’t explain how the world sees you. She created her own assessment that divides people into 49 different archetypes based on how much they embody each of seven personality advantages (innovation, passion, mystique, alert, trust, power, and prestige). Her grid lists several adjectives that describe each archetype, and she strongly encourages people to use these descriptors to create their own personal anthems or taglines.

I should probably give up on my office’s book club because this is the third book we’ve read and I’ve hated each more than the last. I don’t know how this has ended up on Amazon’s best seller list. Hogshead’s theories are all valid, as far as I can tell, and her tests accurately described my personality. The problem is that the book itself is so frustrating to read that I wanted to throw it across the room before I was 100 pages in. I will admit that I just skimmed the rest of this 450 page book. It could have and should have been cut down to less than half that length because the biggest problem is that it repeats the same things over and over and over. I almost felt like Hogshead had cobbled it together from a bunch of other writings. In addition, she kept bragging about her super successful career as a high-powered advertising executive (which was really obnoxious), she kept trying to make jokes that weren’t funny, and she added footnotes that weren’t actually relevant to anything. Then there were the grammatical and factual errors. When I’m skimming through a book as fast as I can and I’m still catching errors, there’s something seriously wrong with your editing process. Although Hogshead has built a company around teaching people how to communicate in a fascinating way, her writing is anything but fascinating.… (mais)

In this book, Sally Hogshead extends the ideas she introduced in her first book, Fascinate, and applies them not to corporations or products, but to individuals, in order to help them create their "personal brand." If you've ever choked when trying to answer the question "Tell me about yourself," this book is for you. Hogshead's system, which clearly has its roots in MBTI personality typing, hones in on key personality traits that describe your approach to business and personal situations. The theme of the book is that all approaches are valid, and she frames these qualities in positive terms that let you describe yourself with confidence.

In contrast to MBTI she has developed her system with the intention of making money, and while the companion website provides a wealth of free information, there are also ample opportunities to buy even more. Still, her ideas are interesting, and the book is well enough written to stand on its own.… (mais)