Photos, factoids, and more . . . from the UK
I’m in London (and Newcastle and Cambridge) this week, promoting the UK edition of Drive, which launched a few days ago. Below are a photo, an idea, a factoid, and a quote from the road.
PHOTO
To my amazement, Drive is #6 on the b.s. list at WH Smith, the giant retailer. Here’s a photo showing the book in that exalted spot, ahead of books about cats and prostitutesĀ and behind one by some bloke named Gladwell.
IDEA
This week, every daily edition of The Guardian comes with a 25-page booklet of poetry. Today, as you see, readers scored a collection of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
It’s a cool idea. C’mon WaPo, give us some Wallace Stevens or Maya Angelou.
FACTOID
According to today’s FT, “Almost half of London entrepreneurs who are trying to develop a small business do not have a website.” Maybe they ought to buy an iPad, which is on the front page of every paper here.
QUOTE
Also in today’s FT, and quite relevant to the link between (massive) executive compensation and (not so massive) executive performance is this quotation from Jeroen van der Veer, former CEO of Shell: “You have to realise: If I had been paid 50 percent more, I would not have done it better. If I had been paid 50 percent less, then I would not have done it worse.”
1 – Cheers on the ranking, Drive is on my must-order-and-read-before-the-summer list!
2 – What a brilliant idea from the Guardian! Too bad we don’t receive it in Montreal, I would buy it just for the poetry.
Bernard
The Jeoen van der Veer quote, while heartening for its source, is only one axiom toward building a theorem to argue against massive executive compensation. The counter-argument that must be defeated is that for 50 percent more van der Veer would have been doing it for another conglomerate (the implication being that Shell would be left with a lesser CEO).
BTW, congrats on Drive on the B.S. list.
I guess we are quite lucky in that sense here in the UK – The Guardian does this all the time, with cracking little snippets books. The one from a few years back, which taught about the weather, remains on my bookshelf. As do the ‘how to write’ booklets. And, and… all for Ā£1! Good on ’em.
Good luck in the UK Dan – hope you’re not getting too soaked with all this rain..!!
Hey, I’m reading ‘Drive’ and really, really love the ideas you present. But why is the UK cover so much cooler, and dare I say, ‘better designed’ than the US version? (Just a minor quip…)
UK newspapers have been quicker to fight back from downturns in publishing and readership. The guardian also has amazing online content for free, podcasting a much more. There are building communities with forums, it leaves the Murdoch papers for dead, I think they will come out the recessionwith many loyal and pying customers. This may not be true of other paid content people. It is all ablout engagement now.
Hope you are enjoying your visit here Dan. I am lookng forward to watching the video from your talk at the RSA.
Argh – I can’t believe I missed you – I’m living in Newcastle, wasn’t aware you were there, I finished your book in 3 days during the commute. Amazing book, will go well with Linchpin.
Thanks