Likeonomics: The Unexpected Truth Behind Earning Trust, Influencing Behavior, and Inspiring Action

Author’s Note: Why I Don’t Write about Synergy and Paradigm Shifts

In case you haven’t read Personality Not Included (my first book), you have probably already noticed that I don’t use an “academic” style of writing. Technically, I am a professor, since I teach marketing at Georgetown University, but I also speak around the world on the necessity of being approachable and creating more human businesses, which often starts with language.

In my process of writing Likeonomics, there were a few guiding principles I used to remind me of what kind of book I wanted to write. Here are a few of them:

1. Write like a person, not a professor. As a writer, I have always been heavily influenced by screenwriting, which means I don’t really use too much marketing jargon, opting instead for a more conversational tone. Thanks to a master’s degree in English Literature and a BA in Irish Poetry (yes, seriously) and Marketing, I have written and read plenty of academic prose. Personally, I find those kinds of books too stuffy. I’d rather learn from a book that shares ideas and lessons more conversationally, so that’s the type of book I aim to write.

2. Offer real, practical, and useful ideas. Given that I spend all day as a marketing consultant, leading brand strategy for some of the biggest brands in the world (in my full-time job at Ogilvy communications agency)—as well as write for one of the largest small business–focused blogs in the world (the American Express Open Forum)—I’m very focused on ...