Biz Dev 3.0: Changing Business As We Know It [Hardcover]

Brad Keywell (Author), Seth Godin (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2001

Business development is the most effective way for new and old economy companies to grow bigger and stronger very quickly-and this guide explains what it is and how it works. Business development is not just sales, marketing, or mergers and acquisitions. It entails aligning a company with complementary partners to meet or exceed goals with new economy speed. Regardless of a company's size, how long it has been in business, or the product it produces, this guide will help it prosper and grow by providing proven and practical tips, checklists, and toolkits on how to use business development.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Perhaps one of the lasting legacies of Internet companies will be the corporate title chief business development officer. Though the continuing slaughter of the dot-coms proves that many companies did a lot of things wrong, one thing most got right was the concept of partnering with other companies to grow faster and serve more customers a basic business concept that has been spelled out in books like Coopetition and The Trillion Dollar Enterprise. Keywell, president of HALO Branded Solutions, a marketing company, goes further, showing how partnerships that worked on the Internet can work for traditional companies. Though his hyperbolic tone, scored with hundreds of exclamation points, can be grating, he presents sound ideas in an orderly fashion. Following a summary of the advantages of partnering, he explains how to find potential partners and the basics of negotiating deals. The big flaw here is that Keywell doesn't directly address the well-chronicled problems with joint ventures: partners tend not to put their best people on such projects, and unless the project falls into each partner's core competency, it's unlikely to get sufficient funding. Still, with a recession looming, it's possible that marketing executives will be open to nearly any idea that can help them stretch their budgets.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"In simple, clear and focused prose, Keywell tells you exactly what to do." -- Seth Godin, author of Permission Marketing and Unleashing the Ideavirus

...the first definitive attempt to analyze the ways in which Internet companies have approached business development. -- Inc.com

A bold and innovative look at this challening yet vitally important area. A good addition to any business library. -- Marc P. Beige, President, Rubie's Costume Company, Inc., Nominee 1998 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award

A bold and innovative look at this challening yet vitally important area. A good addition to any business library.(Marc P. Beige, President, Rubie's Costume Company, Inc., Nominee 1998 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year [New York City] Award) -- (Marc P. Beige, President, Rubie's Costume

Everyone entering the business world should read Brad Keywell's point of view. It's a must-read. -- Dennis S. Bookshester, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fruit of the Loom, Inc.

Examines the inherent threats and opportunities of business development; gives a roadmap for creating a new breed of competitive advantage. -- Len Middleton, Adjunct Professor

For business leaders who appreciate why we must all expand our companies through partnerships, alliances, and new flavors of teamwork. -- David Ingram, Chairman and President, Ingram Entertainment Inc.

This book's concepts, insights and way-out of box perspectives are revolutionizing business as we know it. -- Gregg M. Steinberg, President, International Profit Associates Inc.

This book's concepts, insights and way-out of box perspectives are revolutionizing business as we know it. -- Gregg M. Steinberg, President, International Profit Associates, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 250 pages
• Publisher: ALM Publishing/ALM Inc.; First Edition edition (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970597010
• ISBN-13: 978-0970597014
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #929,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointed ... but still worth exploring by beginners, October 22, 2001

By 

Lee Say Keng "KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURER/TECHNOLOGY... (Ho Chi Minh City/Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Biz Dev 3.0: Changing Business As We Know It (Hardcover)

I am quite disappointed with this book. First of all, I think the title 'Biz Dev' is a misnomer. I reckon, to the author, Biz Dev is an eye catcher, and his book caught my eye while browsing it in a book store.

The book is more a ragtag collection of the author's generalised statements about building strategic relationships in our networked economy. He has artfully put his generalised statements into a 9-step process, each of which is appropriately packed with bullet points, for easy reading, across the many pages of the book.

Unfortunately, the author did not give specific and detailed information about 'how to go about it' of building the relationships. He talks a lot about 'continual dealing with the future', 'embracing chaos', 'speed and simplicity' and 'pro-active partner - and customer - orientations' but he skips the prescriptive guidelines. If he has put in more personal time and efforts in building his cases and then writing them here, I think the book would be substantially a much better read.

He outlines a lot of business cases to substantiate some of his generalised statements, and at the end each chapter, he also packs with a lot of website resources. In a way, he expects readers to do a lot of home work, in order to read his book.

In fairness to the author, I reckon his book may still be worth exploring by readers who are just beginners. This is because the book can still easily serve as an up-to-date but broad-brushed introduction to building strategic relationships in a knowledge-based economy.

For serious readers into business development, I believe Peter Skat-Rordam's Changing Strategic Direction: Practical Insights into Opportunity Drive Business Development would be an excellent choice.

In my personal view, one of the excellent books to explore about building strategic relationships is Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships - The Future of Professional Services by Ross Dawson.

Both books are my personal favourites.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars All that was wrong with the internet, March 20, 2003

By 

Stantuna (San Francisco, ca USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biz Dev 3.0: Changing Business As We Know It (Hardcover)

can be seen in this book. The over-hype of "just do it". Don't bother over things like is there a viable ROI, just make them happen.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sloppy writing, and out of date material, with a few nuggets, November 29, 2001

By 

"keithelliston" (Gaithersburg, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biz Dev 3.0: Changing Business As We Know It (Hardcover)

I found reading this book to be laborious. I spent about 3 hours on it, and mostly spent my time highlighting the occasional nuggets of gold in the text, and ignoring the prose. It continously restates the same theme with slightly varied words, and the examples of powerhouse companies built on bizdev, are no longer applicable. I didn't find it worth the money, but did find a few items worth keeping. I would place this is the pile of books about the heydey of the internet, that no longer have any real world applicability.