A Book Review of "Win Bigly" by Scott Adams (creator of the comic strip "Dilbert").

A friend who is also an avid reader recommended this book saying, “I think you will find it interesting.” But unfortunately, I found it distressing.

The author states: “My main point of this book is that humans do not see reality as it exists.” And to that I say, Adams proves his humanity with this hypothetical book. Thankfully, he says many times that this book is more entertainment than science, and he shows it by quoting one source (a friend) twenty-four times and few if any others.

The only logical explanation is an affiliate deal. It’s hard to miss the irony of his repeated claims to be a great persuader (he repeatedly boasts he is one of the main reasons Trump was elected) since neither his book nor his only source are even close to the top 10,000 in Amazon sales.

This book felt like one big multi-level marketing presentation for the persuasion skills of the author. It soon became evident why he loves and supported Trump most of the campaign—because they are much alike.

I am hard-pressed to determine an audience for this book other than the Trump base. And I suppose they would benefit from the rare joy of finding Adam’s opinions agree with their worldview. He states, “My audience on Periscope unanimously agreed that they heard it (that facts don’t matter when picking a President) from me first.”

The writing style of the author came across as disingenuous and laced with false humility, albeit engaging. Again, he writes almost exclusively in personal opinions.

This book seems to elevate the art of persuasion above all else, including facts and justifying narcissism. He states that sometimes “art needs an enemy” and if this book could be called art, then yes, I am now an enemy.

One of my “persuasion” heroes is Michel Montaigne and the contrast this book draws to his classic essays are stark indeed.

A couple of sentences contextually sum it up for me. He calls Trump’s reason for pulling out of the Paris Climate accord “one of the greatest High-Ground Maneuvers in modern history,” and then goes on to posit that “he caused it.”

He also opines the “Scott-caused-it” persuasion filter where he considers whether he simply predicted or actually caused Trump’s “unexpected” election victory (in some small way) with his own persuasion. This sentence seems the height of arrogance unless you read the book and then it is par for the course.

This book is indeed a proof text “that humans do not see reality as it exists.”

This is a book on marketing, as applied to winning a presidential campaign. Adams really knows his stuff, and it shows in his writing. One of the best features of the book is that Adams gives you little marketing lessons in side notes that apply to the chapter they are in. Adams is a trained hypnotist, and gives us convincing arguments as to how that allows him insights into human nature that most don't see. One of the most interesting parts of the book.
Did you know that in the Dilbert cartoon strip, Dilbert has no last name? The city is never given. dilbert's boss has no name. Adams explains why in the book. And it's fascinating.

Whatever you think of Donald Trump, this is a convincing (and entertaining) book about the marketing principles and strategies Trump used to gather a growing loyal base, and eliminate the competition.

These were not political strategies. These are marketing strategies. Trump may not know much about politics, but he sure knew a lot about marketing. And he was going up against several contender that were far more qualified, far better liked, but knew nothing about marketing.

When Trump branded Jeb Bush as "Low energy Jeb"...it branded Mister Bush, and the brand stuck. Trump used a combination of branding of people in his way, short powerful slogans ("Build the wall!"), Promises that hit many voters
where they lived.

And Trump sucked all the attention in the race out of the room. Every news show was talking about Donald Trump, and almost nobody else.

This book outlines how Donald Trump did it, what marketing principles and strategies were used, and the results.

Adams makes it clear that just because he may admire the marketing savvy of Donald Trump, he isn't a huge supporter.
This isn't a book about Trump's policies, his goals, his direction for the country. This is a book that studies how Trump
won the election, and why.

Adams also spends some time explaining why Trump's techniques worked on the public, and why we are susceptible to such manipulation in marketing and advertising..

This is the only book I've seen that covers the marketing methods used to win a political election. The book is unique, as far as I know. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I'm a salesman and marketer myself. My hardback copy is full of notes in
the margins. If you are in politics, this is a book you study.

One point that isn't in the book. Most of the techniques Adams shows in the book are those of a Master Persuader. But you could replace the word "Persuader" with "Con Man" and these techniques would still fit. It's just something I noticed.

I think you will be stunned by how clear Scott Adams thinking is, no matter what your political persuasion.

One slight criticism. Adams gives Trump himself credit for the marketing techniques used in the campaign. But for other Master Persuader candidates (like Bill Clinton, Ron Reagan, Barack Obama) he says the techniques were from the candidate or someone behind the scenes. After reading all Tony Schwartz had to say about Trump (Schwartz actually wrote Art Of The Deal), I suspect that another marketer was behind the scenes with Trump.

I like a book that makes you question how you think, this one has me feeling like I just fell down the rabbit hole. it’s great. It has me questioning everything I feel like I have a solid rational opinion on and is helping me understand why it is that people who I think are reasonable in other instances can believe in things that I think are so obviously wrong. I am not a trump fan but I do find him interesting, who couldn’t? Using Trump as a case study for how persuasion can work is a genius move. I can see how some are put off by the Trump adoration in this book but I think they are missing the point. It’s not about how awesome trump is, (although there is some of that too) it’s about the power of persuasion and it’s about understanding what motivates and effects people. It goes without saying that very few people will agree with everything in this book, but the author is interesting, thoughtful, and he presents techniques that are simple enough you can test out in real life to see if they are effective or not.

I bought the audible version and I love that the author reads it himself. 5 stars not because I agree with everything in this book, but because it has been a mind bending experience.