There are business books that purport to tell you how to do things. Then there are books that help you think differently.
For me, the former are the bulk of the books out there and also are the least useful. By the time the book is published, some of the “best practices” are outdated and, frankly, if you need them, you may as well just Google them.
On the other hand, books that expand your perspective and then give you a framework for executing (as opposed to a checklist) are in short supply, but high demand.
In to this category comes the latest book from Mitch Joel, Ctrl Alt Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends on It.
Now, while there are fewer and fewer people who understand what Ctrl Alt Delete means any more, the book is really designed for those of us who do.
It’s about how we grew up in one era, but are now living in an entirely different era…and what we all need to do about it so we can thrive.
Joel is a prolific blogger and one of the world’s most respected minds when it comes to the impact of social on marketing. In fact, I subscribe to two podcasts. Harvard Business Review and Mitch’s. Author, speaker, and the head of the Twist Image agency in Montreal. You get the point. He’s got the street cred.
There are a ton of great ideas in this book that will help you think differently, but I will focus on just one, allowing you to savor the others when you read it.
Mitch highlights the arrival of something he calls “Utilitarianism Marketing” which he says will be the next great business disrupter. In his words:
“It’s not about advertising, it’s not about messaging, and it’s not about immediate conversions. It’s about providing a true value and utility: something consumers not only would want to sue-constantly and consistently-but would derive so much value from that it would be given front-and-center attention in their lives.”
Then, he goes further, challenging us:
“Do you think your brand has the ability to create that kind of interest and attention in this media-saturated and ads-everywhere world in which we live?”
Sadly, for some brands, it will not happen. Habits are just too hard to break and their inability to adapt to the new realities will have a Darwinian result of non-survival. It’s just inevitable.
For others, however, the possibility does exist. It will require a leap of faith as we look to measure marketing’s impact in terms of utility delivered to our end customers.
In short, your future (and mine) does depend on making a number of adjustments to how we think, behave, and act if we are really going to prosper in this new world, without being disrupted ourselves. In my mind, Ctrl Alt Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends on Itis a part of that journey and I encourage you to check it out.
I hope it’s of high utility to you ![]()




One of the biggest challenges facing large brands today is something we call the “Dynamic Customer Journey (DCJ).” It represents the multiple touchpoints and actors that affect a prospect or customer’s decision process to more deeply engage (or not) with a given brand or entity.