Lynda Resnick

"Take a hike with me. Follow your dreams." (Page XX)

Lynda Resnick's Rubies in the Orchard is one part marketing strategy, one part personal story, and one part how-to formula. Resnick is a woman of direct experience in the rough-and-tumble world of advertising and marketing, and her chops shine through in this nonfiction book. She and her husband have successfully resurrected Fiji Water, Teleflora, and The Franklin Mint, but one of their best successes---POM--blossomed from a group of pomegranate orchards her husband bought years before.

Rubies in the orchard are the intrinsic value of products, and these are the values that must be communicated to customers, says Resnick. Following each marketing anecdote--from her days as a small business owner amidst scandal to her very profitable empire of companies--Resnick offers sage marketing advice that can be used not only in the boardroom and executive offices, but at home too. For example, she says, "You get a lot further in life by showing what you don't know and asking for help than you do pretending you know it all" (Page 24).

Throughout this delightful book, Resnick boxes out the main points she is trying to hit home with readers, and these little reminders keep her examples fresh in mind. Readers will be particularly astonished about how a set of fake pearls worth $34 at the time of purchase ended up being auctioned off for more than $200,000, and how those pearls became integral to Resnick's success at The Franklin Mint.

Marketing and advertising could be viewed as boring by some readers, but Resnick's wit shines through in this success story.

"He had a habit of making the financials look rosier than they actually were. . . . but the poor chap was so accustomed to manufacturing crooked numbers each quarter. . . If he had exhibited a drinking or substance abuse problem, we could have sent him to rehab, but where do you send a recidivist hooked on funny financials?" (Page 76)

While some aspects of Rubies in the Orchard may come off as preachy, particularly for conservatives not sold on the reality of global warming, she does make a viable points about why businesses should go green. Readers who are interested in an autobiography or learning more about the marketing world would be pleased with this fast read.… (mehr)

This book is part marketing manual and part story of a life in the business world. Lynda Resnick tells the stories of the companies she and her husband have helmed and the lessons she's learned from them. There are some very good points in this book, none that resonated more than 'think inside the box.' Your product is inside the box - focus on your product, know every aspect of it, know why people buy it, know all the things they don't know about it. She relates the story of Countrytime Lemonade - they sold their product as 'real, old-fashioned lemonade', complete with Wilford Brimley as the grandfatherly spokesperson, but it all fell apart when it was revealed that Countrytime contained no actual lemons. There's no way to regain that credibility.

It is an excellent example of the ways that knowing your product is more important than having a catchy jingle. It's also an excellent example of the ways that public relations (my college major) are really important to a business. There is a lot that a business does that reflects on their products, whether positively or nagatively, and it's important for companies to know that, especially in the age of the internet.… (mehr)