The MMR Team is Continuously Scanning the Marketplace of Ideas to Create Research Context

No list of reading materials can ever be complete, but here are some picks from our staff for worthwhile reading.
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  • What the Dog Saw -- Malcolm Gladwell

    Gladwell is back to review and comment on social trends of interest. In a series of previously published articles (as old as 1996 and as recent as 2008), Gladwell attempts to provide a unique window to the human psyche mostly in terms of its creativity, inventiveness, decision making and biases. "What the Dog Saw" has some intriguing passages that will impel readers to say, "I never thought of this subject in quite that way before." The provocative Gladwell enjoys toying with conventional wisdom and challenging our preconceived notions.

  • The Wisdom of Crowds -- James Surowieki

    In our collective opinion, this is a modern classic that warrants a re-thumb through every now and again. Sometimes when a book becomes highly popular, it becomes a natural target of criticism as others seek to cash in on the phenomenon. Surowieki's underlying theme remains transcendent amidst the barbs and arrows--effectively aggregated diverse opinions create greater intelligence than can be delivered by the smartest person in the room.

  • Made to Stick (Why Some Ideas Survive While Others Die) -- Chip Heath & Dan Heath

    A challenge in marketing research is to write reports that are memorable. Made to Stick is not merely entertaining (though it is), it also provides practical, tangible strategies for creating sticky ideas. Once you understand these recommendations, you can boil them down to a set of touchstone points to evaluate your own work. "Made to Stick" challenges you to distill the essence of your message, to get back to core principles and to communicate them in a memorable way.

  • How We Decide -- Jonah Lehrer

    An impressive follow up to Mr. Lehrer’s wonderfully titled Proust was a Neuroscientist, Lehrer covers territory similar to Ariely’s Predictably Irrational but adds to the body of understanding with terrific examples (Tom Brady deciding where to throw a pass, decision whether to launch a missile attack, Texas Hold 'Em success.) An excellent companion piece to Ariely’s book that explores the role what we typically call "emotions" play in our not-so-rational decision making.