Personality Not Included by Rohit Bhargava has a bit of a misleading title. This is because if there is one thing that this book is filled with, it is personality. A critical analysis of marketing "do's" and "don'ts" in the modern era could have easily been a very dry read, but Bhargava manages to maneuver the classic pitfalls that most books in this genre fall into to create a surprisingly engaging book. Once I began reading, I could not bring myself to stop until I reached the end. Or should I say the middle? I will explain how that could be a little later. I am giving Personality Not Included five out of five stars, and would recommend this book to anyone interested in the field of marketing or who is interested in starting a small business or just about everyone else that I have ever met. This book has me so inspired that I have not been able to stop telling anyone and everyone about it.
Personality Not Included has a very clear message that it immediately identifies at the beginning of the book aimed at anyone interested in marketing, whether it be as part of a large corporation or as the sole owner of a small business. The message is that "In short, personality matters." (Bhargava 3) Bhargava has found that personality is vital to the success of brands in today's modern marketing environment, and the days in which consumers buy into large, faceless corporations are over. He claims that "Uniqueness plus authenticity plus talkability equal personality" (Bargava 186) and that brands that follow this model (known as the UAT filter) will be more effective in reaching consumers. Bhargava theorizes that once a brand has developed a personality, it can effective utilize some of the latest marketing strategies such as embracing "accidental spokespeople", generating word of mouth, and capitalizing on "personality moments".
The chapters of Personality Not Included focus on each of these points individually, providing insight into how each is important to developing a brand's personality. For example, Chapter 2 is all about the rise of the "Accidental Spokesperson" and how they are a crucial factor in how consumers perceive your brand. This format where Bhargava separates each topic into an individual chapter allows for him to examine each topic extensively. You will not only find out what an "accidental spokesperson" is in chapter two, but you will also learn where they come from, what they mean to your business, and how they can be used to your advantage.
Bhargava also uses many relevant examples of companies who have found success in the topics covered in the book. The key word here is relevant; all of the examples that Bhargava uses in Personality Not Included are of companies that many readers have probably heard of and feature events usually from the early 2000s. This makes for a much better reading experience because the reader can relate the story to a company that they most likely have had an interaction with. In Chapter One, Bhargava takes a look at "The Plight of Starbucks" (Bhargava 31) and how it is working to maintain its identity as the company continues to grow. Using a company like Starbucks lends an additional credibility to his claims because the reader is able to apply a face to the corporation.
The most noticeable element of this book that sets it apart from all the rest of the books in this genre is the writing style Bhargava chooses to use. In fact, Personality Not Included is written unlike any other book that I have ever read. Bhargava has written Personality Not Included as if he were having a conversation with the reader, which is equally as captivating as it is refreshing. By providing a human voice to the content, Bhargava is able to pique the reader's interest. For example, a footnote on page 44 reads "From a "Tweet" in Hugh's Twitter microblogging stream on 11/18/07 (Should this be called a "twuote?")." This type of injection of personality into the even the smallest aspects of the book can be found throughout the entirety of Personality Not Included. When a book reads like a conversation, it is easy to give it your undivided attention. Furthermore, the fact that it is written in this way actually lends additional credibility to Bhargava's message of the importance of personality. Whether you notice it or not, Bhargava is using his own personality to market his new ideas to you, the reader.
Although the book is filled with great new ideas on how to build your brand and Bhargava uses his own voice to explain to you why these ideas are so great, the most impressive aspect of Personality Not Included is simply in the organization of the book itself. I said before that the end of the book is technically the middle. That is because Personality Not Included is split into two parts, the first focusing on the theory Bhargava has developed and the second providing guides and tools on how to implement his theory and create a personality for your brand. This is ingenious because it makes Personality Not Included something that no other book in the genre is; it is useful. Most other books develop a theory and then spend far too much time telling you over and over again in many different ways how it is that the theory is correct. This tends to drag on, which turns many people who are normally interested in the topic off to that particular book. With Personality Not Included Bhargava decided not to harp on why he was right, but rather how these ideas could help the reader to succeed. Bhargava states, "The ultimate goal of this book is to be useful... Part Two is meant to off you everything you will need to apply the ideas presented earlier to your business." (Bhargava 185) Numerous step-by-step guides on how to bring each aspect of his theory to life can be found in Part Two of the book. Part Two also features bulleted charts explaining the types of various back-stories, breakdowns of the elements of personality, as well as explainations on how and why these things are important. There is even a link to a downloadable version of the elements of personality available on that same page! Bhargava takes great care to ensure that Personality Not Included is not only well thought out, but also that it could be applied to the reader's real life, accomplishing his ultimate goal of this book being useful.
Personality Not Included should be the new standard for examining marketing in the modern era. Thought provoking, engaging, and useful, this book is a far cry from the typical book establishing a marketing theory. Bhargava's observations are astute, and he provides relevant examples to bolster all of his claims. His voice throughout Personality Not Included is conversational and captures the reader's attention before the reader even knows what hit him. And Bhargava's breakdown of each aspect of his theory into simple, intuitive steps makes it more useful than any other book of its type. The assistance with application that these steps provide will have me referencing Personality Not Included for years to come.
So if you have even the slightest interest in marketing or if you want to learn how to grow a small business, I highly recommend Personality Not Included. It is as entertaining as it is educational, and implementation of its ideas can begin immediately with the guides provided in the book itself. While personality may not be included in business, Bhargava provides you with the vision and the tools to build a personality for your business yourself.
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