Written for students enrolled in landscape contracting programs and for entry-level professional managers in the field; this text applies practical business principles to the landscape industry and provides comprehensive coverage of the following topics: financial accountability and management; budget development; profitable pricing and estimating; project management; personnel management and employee productivity; economic sustainability; creating a lean culture; and professional development. Examples are taken directly from actual design/build and landscape maintenance companies. Case studies and chapter questions reinforce green industry applications of the concepts.
#1440484 in eBooks 2013-11-25 2013-11-25File Name: B00GWIOR58
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great tool for marketers to learn how to better know their consumers; but needs editing.By Hall WaysThe emotional drives that are fueled by how people want to think and feel about themselves are at the very heart of the forces we must persuade and sell to. -- David ForbesIn The Science of Why: Decoding Human Motivation Transforming Marketing Strategy; author David Forbes tells readers to think of the book ldquo;as a map to guide us as we set out on the journey to discover who our consumers are and to learn why they do what they do.rdquo; Dr. Forbes believes that emotions are at the root of consumersrsquo; nine core motivations; which drive all consumer behavior. Further; Forbes believes if businesses can view the world from the perspective of consumersrsquo; emotional motivations; then marketers will be able to successfully promote their products. The Science of Why is divided into chapters which explore each of the nine motivations Dr. Forbes presents in the MindSight Motivational Matrix; and chapters include plenty of sidebars; plus sections titled ldquo;Consumer Portraitsrdquo; and ldquo;Case Studiesrdquo; that apply real world examples to the concepts. Each of those chapters concludes with a ldquo;Takeawaysrdquo; section that summarizes the main points of the chapter and what the marketer needs to remember about the consumer motivation explored within the chapter.The strength of The Science of Why is in Dr. Forbesrsquo;s extensive knowledge of the psychology of consumer motivational behaviors and Forbesrsquo;s own vast experience in the industry. Forbes covers everything from the great scholars of motivation studies to the research methodologies used over the ages to extract what drives consumers to make their purchases. The writing is straightforward and informal; which makes the book easy to follow and understand (while making grammar traditionalists a little crazy). The message is clear that in order to successfully market their products and stay alive in an ever-changing marketplace; businesses must take the time to know their consumers. Fortunately; Forbes provides direction and numerous specific tips and strategies for market research.Where the book needs work is in editing. (This is why I really rate the book 3.5 stars.) Sadly; there are numerous errors in punctuation and capitalization; along with dropped words; added words; and typos; even the jacket blurb had errors. There were formatting inconsistencies and some illustrations that included information in a font so small it was difficult to read. Additionally; the author has a habit of using quotation marks for emphasis ndash; the equivalent of using air quotes in speech -- which detracts from the professionalism. These issues could easily be corrected with a thorough editing; which one would expect with the publication coming from a major publishing house. Dr. Forbes clearly knows his material and is a highly educated person; but the errors chip away at the otherwise outstanding and informative presentation of the material.The book is fascinating and spends more time on detailing the history and psychology of human motivation than it does on addressing practical applications for the marketer. Awareness and knowledge of what drives consumers is essential for the marketer; and readers looking for those aspects will not be disappointed; however; readers looking primarily for marketing strategies may be frustrated and find the level of background explanation unnecessary. I recommend this book for marketing students and business world marketers who are interested in learning how to better know consumers and changing the way products are promoted to meet consumer needs.If you like this review; read it and many more on my blog http://kristinehallways.blogspot.com .1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Interesting very informative readBy CustomerWhen I picked "The Science of Why" book; on the cover it read "Decoding Human Motivation and Transforming Marketing Strategy" and I thought wow; a BOLD statement. As I flipped through the book statements grew even bolder.Why do consumers do what they do?Whats really behind the choices they make?What moves them; what delights them; what truly fulfils them?And I was like; really? If only it was as simple as reading book... then; I read more about author of the book "Dr. David Forbes" and I understood that this will be a priceless read. In the book "The Science of Why"; you get to have exclusive look into the minds of Consumers and the desires that moves them; motivate them to do what they do.Dr. Forbes has shared his 3 decades of experience so that readers can have insights and gain marketing edge which directly affects ones bottom line. The book is much focused and with the help of real life examples illustrates the point author is making. How a person liked to be seen by others and many such emotional needs direct our daily decisions.By being aware of such motives we as a buyer can make much more informed decisions; a sales rep can do much better in his job; a marketing company can create much more appealing adverts whereas a business can create loyal customers. Now who doesnrsquo;t want loyal customers? And if that doesnt interests you then get to know why America is anxious nation..."The Science of Why" is a very interesting read; every theory is backed with examples and illustrations to get more insightful experience. I totally loved this book and for sure it deserves 4 out of 5.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Why do I like the Budweiser commercial so much?By FrancineThe Science of Why delves into the psychological reasons behind why different people are attracted to different advertisements and how advertisers design the ads towards these personality types. Mr. Forbes is very knowledgeable about this subject as he owns his own consulting firm that deals with helping advertisers understand and market their products to consumers. His high level of intelligence is evident throughout the book as he writes in depth about different personality types and what these types would look for; consciously and unconsciously; in advertisements before buying the product. It often reads like a text book and Irsquo;m sure it must be a part of the recommended reading of a marketing course somewhere. I admit there were times my mind wandered a bit but Mr. Forbes does a good job of pulling the reader back in with interesting side notes and; my favorite; real life examples of how certain products and companies have used little tricks to entice different personality types to buy the product. Most of the time he doesnrsquo;t name the company or product but itrsquo;s fun to speculate which company or product he is referencing. Before reading this book I always thought myself to be fairly savvy at not falling for advertising ldquo;candyrdquo; but now I realize Irsquo;ve fallen for almost all of the tricks of the trade. The Budweiser commercial gets me every single time and I donrsquo;t even like beer! David Forbes and this book reminds me of radio personality Terry Orsquo;Reilly who discusses the same issues with advertising and Irsquo;m a huge fan of his so overall I found this book to be really fascinating. I read the digital version of this book which worked well on my ereader and the cover; although fairly plain; uses the question that plagues most of us; Why; and so caught my eye. This was an interesting and informing read.
