Thing Which Has No Name

The author Rory Sutherland has a long experience in marketing, so according to common stereotypes of the relationship between engineering and marketing I, a software engineer, shouldn't like this book. Well, I have to say that this book is really extraordinary insightful.

The basic claim of this book is that there is not only a "logical" solution to problems, but also a "psychological" solution. And somtimes behavious is completely irrational which is not bad, as Sutherland explains on the example of a gazelle that flees from a predator and running zig-zag patterns that are completely random and unpredictable. Because if they would be predictable the predator could learn and have an advantage.

Sutherland is also citing great authors like Dan Ariely ("Predictably irrational") or Daniel Kahneman ("Thinking, fast and slow") when it comes to behavioural psychology. One interesting conclusion is the fact that we often value only things that can be measuered with a metric but we don't value things like "architecture".

Sutherland got my sympathy when he condemned the cost saving in economics as bullshit because all those decision makers usually do not consider what damage they do with their "downsize this" mentality. An example is that we invest in high speed trains to save time on travel, but sometimes it would be much easier and cheaper to save the same amount of time when switching trains in stations.

The author also tells you that the alchemists did great work, but since they were so obsessed to turn lead into gold they didn't notice the good things they created.

You get some insightful anectodes from marketing about rebranding stuff which makes things that nobody wanted to buy before suddenly skyrocket. You learn why doorhandles are a better design than door knobs (because you can use it even with your elbow) and that "less is more" on the example of the Sony Walkman that got the recording function removed in the beginning.

Sutherland also explains very well, why brands are important and that this signals to the customer, that you can trust the firm, because a brand has much more reputation to lose than a "no brand" company. I also learned that you have to get a 4 year training before you can become a taxi driver in London, this is why he trusts the London taxi drivers.

You learn about the signals that are there, but not obvious, but still give you messages. An example is a street cafe that puts out valueable seats and tables every day. This signals not only that they are open, but that they care.

One great quote is "a flower is just a weed with a marekting budget". What works with flowers also works with other lifeforms, even humans invest in "marketing" to attract potential sexual partners.

Sutherland also has some parts on Placebos and why they seem to work. An example is Red Bull which people think tastes bad, but besides that sells very good.

Theres a part about how we make decisions and how we build trust. Lessons I take away from that is that its better to be mostly right than perfectly wrong and that when you make decisions you should always think on about the worst case scenario. A impressive example is the flight that ended in the Hudson river after a bird strike that killed both engines. There was a slight chance to save the plane from getting wet and trying a landing at Teteboro airport, but if things would go wrong and the plane crashes people would die. So the better decision was landing in the river, even it this means losing the plane.

You learn a lot about decision making processes and also about perception, sometimes with some funny examples. You learn how you can influence people or deliver "bad news" in a way that they seem to be "good news". Sutherland is quoting Shakespeare here: "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

At the end, this book is telling you to act a little bit less logical and be eager to try out even "crazy ideas". The reward could be a wonderland of miracles that you wouldn't have discovered by just acting "logical".

A really great and insightful book, highly recommended to read, even for engineers. ;-)

The only part I disagree with Sutherland is about the idea that you can postpone buying a new car for a while when you get your old car professinally cleaned because then the old car looks like a new car for a little price. Wouldn't have worked for me when I bought my last car, because the previous car had engine problems beyond repair.