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Alchemy

The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense

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Alchemy

By: Rory Sutherland
Narrated by: Rory Sutherland
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About this listen

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense, written by Rory Sutherland.

To be brilliant, you have to be irrational.

Why is Red Bull so popular - even though everyone hates the taste? Why do countdown boards on platforms take away the pain of train delays? And why do we prefer stripy toothpaste?

We think we are rational creatures. Economics and business rely on the assumption that we make logical decisions based on evidence.

But we aren’t, and we don’t.

In many crucial areas of our lives, reason plays a vanishingly small part. Instead we are driven by unconscious desires, which is why placebos are so powerful. We are drawn to the beautiful, the extravagant and the absurd - from lavish wedding invitations to tiny bottles of the latest fragrance. So if you want to influence people’s choices you have to bypass reason. The best ideas don’t make rational sense: they make you feel more than they make you think.

Rory Sutherland is the Ogilvy advertising legend whose TED Talks have been viewed nearly seven million times. In his first book he blends cutting-edge behavioural science, jaw-dropping stories and a touch of branding magic on his mission to turn us all into idea alchemists.

©2019 Rory Sutherland (P)2019 Random House Audiobooks Marketing Marketing & Sales Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Thought-Provoking Business
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Absolutely loved it; an excellent book on behavioural psycho-logic-ology. If you want to get closer to understanding how customers choose what they choose, it's a must read.

A must read for very marketer

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If you are in business or have a product or service you want to market for success this is a must read. A somewhat 'crusty' former advertising guru genius with a great sense of humor leads you through the realities and BS of modern marketing techniques and instead introduces the sensible quirk reality of the way people think when they are buying.

loved this book.

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This book contains uniquely great observations of human perception, and how it affects ours reality.

Fantastic insights through fabulous expression

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Absolutely fascinating look into marketing and psychology. Some really interesting case studies. Narrated by the author

Insightful

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Rory's dulcet tones introduces the reader to the concept that we live in a world endentured to the philosophy of logical explanations. This world view limits our ability to see the power of illogical thinking.
The book was recommended as an intelligent discussion on modern marketing and it ticks all the boxes.
It is not an academic presentation, rather it's more a relaxed chat around theme of marketing solutions that fly in the face of economic logic.
Of course, the intial part covers information that is fairly common knowledge on marketing, however the progression moves into personal motivation and behavioural psychology with plenty of case studies.
He finishes, as he began, with a plea for a wider perspective in our thinking.

Alchemy, slow start then grabs your interest

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Lots of real world experience, it was real revelation and one I could relate to

Great insights

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Love the way Rory thinks, and he has done a brilliant job of conveying why we all need that little bit of counter-intuitive and disordered thinking (alchemy). Many great examples given throughout the book as to how, by thinking using "non" sense (as opposed to logic), we can achieve surprising and sometimes better results. Highly recommended to anyone interested in behavioural psychology in real-world settings, through the eyes of an enigmatic advertising exec.

Rory at his inimitable best

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amazing narrator. can't stop listening, this is an excellent book. I'm listening to it a second time now. I agree that there's too much emphasis on logic now and we need to appreciate the arts further

marketing 101

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I'm very close to being a homo economicus, and I found this book to be enormously enlightening, which ought to mean that the rest of you will like it even more than I did.

Recommended by this cold-hearted logician!

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Absolutely fantastic, recommended to all and especially readers who are fans of Nassim Taleb's Incerto series and general works. Enlightening and humourous, I only got half way through this before I went on a Rory Sutherland binge on YouTube.

Phenomenal!

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