Mark Earls – författare

How we learn from those around us: an essential guide to understanding how people behave.

Humans are, first and foremost, social creatures. And this, according to the authors of I''ll Have What She''s Having, shapes—and explains—most of our choices. We''re not just blindly driven by hard-wired instincts to hunt or gather or reproduce; our decisions are based on more than “nudges” exploiting individual cognitive quirks.

I''ll Have What She''s Having shows us how we use the brains of others to think for us and as storage space for knowledge about the world. The story zooms out from the individual to small groups to the complexities of populations. It describes, among other things, how buzzwords propagate and how ideas spread; how the swine flu scare became an epidemic; and how focused social learning by a few gets amplified as copying by the masses. It describes how ideas, behavior, and culture spread through the simple means of doing what others do.

It is notoriously difficult to change behavior. For every “Yes We Can” political slogan, there are thousands of “Just Say No” buttons. I''ll Have What She''s Having offers a practical map to help us navigate the complex world of social behavior, an essential guide for anyone who wants to understand how people behave and how to begin to change things.

"HERD is a rare thing: a book that transforms the reader''s perception of how the world works".—Matthew D''Ancona, THE SPECTATOR

"This book is a must. Once you have read it you will understand why Mark Earls is regarded as a marketing guru."—Daniel Finkelstein, THE TIMES

This paperback version of Mark Earls'' groundbreaking and award winning book comes updated with new stats and figures and provides two completely revised chapters that deal with the rise of social networking.

Since the Enlightenment there has been a very simple but widely held assumption that we are a species of thinking individuals and human behaviour is best understood by examining the psychology of individuals. It appears, however, that this insight is plain wrong. The evidence from a number of leading behavioural and neuroscientists suggests that our species is designed as a herd or group animal. Mark Earls applies this evidence to the traditional mechanisms of marketing and consumer behaviour, with a result that necessitates a complete rethink about these subjects.

HERD provides a host of unusual examples and anecdotes to open the mind of the business reader, from Peter Kay to Desmond Tutu, Apple to UK Sexual Health programmes, George Bush to Castle Lager, from autism to depression to the real explanation for the placebo effect in pharmaceutical testing.

"HERD is a rare thing: a book that transforms the reader''s perception of how the world works".—Matthew D''Ancona, THE SPECTATOR

"This book is a must. Once you have read it you will understand why Mark Earls is regarded as a marketing guru."—Daniel Finkelstein, THE TIMES

This paperback version of Mark Earls'' groundbreaking and award winning book comes updated with new stats and figures and provides two completely revised chapters that deal with the rise of social networking.

Since the Enlightenment there has been a very simple but widely held assumption that we are a species of thinking individuals and human behaviour is best understood by examining the psychology of individuals. It appears, however, that this insight is plain wrong. The evidence from a number of leading behavioural and neuroscientists suggests that our species is designed as a herd or group animal. Mark Earls applies this evidence to the traditional mechanisms of marketing and consumer behaviour, with a result that necessitates a complete rethink about these subjects.

HERD provides a host of unusual examples and anecdotes to open the mind of the business reader, from Peter Kay to Desmond Tutu, Apple to UK Sexual Health programmes, George Bush to Castle Lager, from autism to depression to the real explanation for the placebo effect in pharmaceutical testing.

‘This delightful book argues convincingly that transferring ideas usually produces greater value than cooking them up from scratch. And then shows you how.’ — Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy London and the Spectator Magazine’s Wikiman

‘Yet another entertaining handbook from the acclaimed Herdmeister for anyone involved in marketing, behavioural change and understanding why we all make the choices we make. Earls convincingly disrupts convention about what is innovation – though "praxis". This is jammed with great case studies and 52 actionable strategies.’ — Stephen Maher, Chairman, The Marketing Society and CEO, MBA

 ‘Yet again this leading British business thinker has got us to see the world we inhabit today in fresh and mind-altering ways. A book which marries theory and practice better than the vast majority out there. Most of all his message of copying one’s way to greatness is entertaining, counter-intuitive and fun.’ — David Abraham, CEO Channel 4 PLC

‘This delightful book argues convincingly that transferring ideas usually produces greater value than cooking them up from scratch. And then shows you how.’ — Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy London and the Spectator Magazine’s Wikiman

‘Yet another entertaining handbook from the acclaimed Herdmeister for anyone involved in marketing, behavioural change and understanding why we all make the choices we make. Earls convincingly disrupts convention about what is innovation – though "praxis". This is jammed with great case studies and 52 actionable strategies.’ — Stephen Maher, Chairman, The Marketing Society and CEO, MBA

 ‘Yet again this leading British business thinker has got us to see the world we inhabit today in fresh and mind-altering ways. A book which marries theory and practice better than the vast majority out there. Most of all his message of copying one’s way to greatness is entertaining, counter-intuitive and fun.’ — David Abraham, CEO Channel 4 PLC