jonnygoldstein.com

Rohit Bhargava is a very smart guy. I saw him in action at SXSW Interactive a few weeks ago leading a session called 10 Ways to Piss Off a Blogger. He basically got the assembled group to write the kernel of a chapter of what I expect to be his next book for him. Genius!

In the same spirit, now he has persuaded bloggers (like me) to help him launch his current book Personality Not Included: Why Companies Lose Their Authenticity And How Great Brands Get it Back. He invited 50 bloggers to submit five questions each about the book. In return, he would answer the questions and link back to the bloggers.

Here is my mini-interview with Rohit:

Jonny: Let’s say a business is comprised of more than one person, whose personality becomes the basis of the company?

Rohit: I don’t think it has to be one or the other. Would you say the personality of Ben & Jerry’s is Ben or Jerry? How about Penn & Teller? My definition of personality is not as linear as relating it to a single person, but rather talking about it a bit more broadly as a concept that brands need to embrace and have in many situations.

Jonny: Who is this book geared to?

Rohit: Entrepreneurs, Small business owners, Corporate slaves, Execs and anyone who believes that businesses need to treat customers more authentically and with a human voice. And really smart primates who have learned how to read.

Jonny: Say the people who run the business are creeps, a la Enron? Is this book going to help them with their business?

Rohit: I wish I could say yes … but one of the theories I share early in the book is a limitation of personality which I’ll just repeat here: Personality can’t save crap. More specifically, if what you are doing is wrong, using personality as a way of “spinning” it will never work.

Jonny: What are some of the reasons people are afraid to infuse their brand with their personality?

Rohit: Great question, actually Chapter 5 is devoted to this topic and breaks down fear into four key components and then talks about how to overcome them:

Success - what we are doing is already working
Uncertainty - We don’t know what will happen
Tradition - We have always done it this way
Precedent - No one else is doing it that way

Jonny: What inspired you to write this particular book at this particular time?

Rohit: I got an advance. Just kidding. Actually, it was because I saw a need for a book like this and the topic was one that I felt not enough people were talking about. There is plenty of discussion about authenticity, social media (blogging in particular) and word of mouth - but personality is an idea that brings all three together, and that’s why I think its so significant.

you can check out the other mini- interviews that folks did with Rohit here.

Best of luck to Rohit with the book! I look forward to reading it. I’ve got a lot to learn from Rohit.