Don’t Turn to Page 14! Andy Nulman Gives Readers a Pow! Right Between the Eyes!

I gotta say, page 14 was my favorite page. OK, 15 wasn’t too shabby either. Just ’cause it was so unexpected. Now I’ve gone and spoiled it, so please, don’t tell Andy, and do act surprised.

Andy knew the bar was high on this book and I gotta say, he, what’s that cliche again?, surpassed it–he done good. Surprise tends to get a bad rap. We think of it in the way we think of pink boas, The Gong Show and Joanne Whorley from Laugh In–don’t know who she is? Think Will Ferrell. And yet, this is a surprisingly (no pun intended) clever book, definitely worth more than one reading.

Making out the initial case for surprise isn’t hard. It makes us look. It creates an impression. But only the first time. Even bug eating contests get old after a while. Nulman Andy acknowledges the “elephant in the room” admitting that surprise is fleeting and that “no matter how loud the Pow!–it’s effect is ephemeral.” And yet, the book, and his campaign to market the book, keep the surprises coming. Like this video and the secret page 219 that gives me instructions I haven’t yet followed.

I could have lived without the textbook-ish (although admittedly amusing) summaries at the end of each chapter (I’m guessing Wiley made him put them in) –come on, Andy, I gotta say something bad so they’ll believe me about the good, don’t you read Harry Beckwith?–’cause this book is so much fresher than the average business book. Kinda like the difference between the poster for a marketing conference on page 50 and the one he compares it to on page 51 (you gotta buy the book to see it!).

Love the Cantorama poster. The Something Store. How Andy hired his assistant when he was top dog at the Just For Laughs Festival.

As you know, I write about how business people should Step Into The Spotlight and get noticed. Rohit Bharvaga’s Personality Not Included is a piece of the puzzle (watch for a review coming soon to a theatre near you…) Pow! Right Between the Eyes! is another (more elusive) piece– Andy’s is the first book I’ve ever read that tackles such a complex and difficult topic head on. Bravo! Applause, Applause, Applause and fade to black…