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I found Simple Community to be insightful, compelling in its approach and an absolute joy to read. I found myself nodding my head in agreement on many occasions. It outlines a vision for the personal and economic development of our future and points us in a positive direction. If asked what I thought of it I would likely reply - If you are ready for some serious thinking about the future of America, then I suggest you read this book.
Robert Kanaby, Executive Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
Stories are the proof that life has taken place when people gather. That thought alone from Simple Community makes this book worth reading. Most of the books I write are really story books about the best things that happen between people. Rich has taken the importance of stories to another level. After reading Simple Community you will recognize the power of your life stories to encourage those around you and motivate more of the best of simple community.
Ronda Rich, best-selling author of What Southern Women Know About Faith
Simple Community is both easy and challenging to read - easy because so much of it rings true and is written in a personal style; challenging because the insights offered are sobering. Suggestions are practical, realistic and attainable. Rich's book shows that it takes only a little time and effort to benefit by extending community - the payoff quickly outweighs the efforts involved.
Mike Racy, Vice President of Division II, The National Collegiate Athletic Association
If you are in business, Simple Community will be like LASIK surgery enabling you to more clearly see who to reach and what to do once you are there with them. In essence, Simple Community has defined the intersection between life and consumer marketing. For years, brands have tried to find tangible ways to invest in community and build business. Rich has provided the road map to do just that.
Tim Schoen, Vice President, Sports & Entertainment Marketing, Anheuser-Busch/InBev
Minor League Baseball is all about community. Understanding the role that our clubs play within there respective communities is the cornerstone of any successful club. Simple Community provides great insight into why Minor League Baseball has been such an integral part of these locales and goes beyond that to show us how to find the best of community when we are away from the local ball park too.
John Cook, Senior Vice President, Business Operations, Minor League Baseball
Luker makes two seemingly unconnected observations: society is increasingly in need of opportunities for Simple Community. Advertisers are experiencing declining returns from their information campaigns. However Luker makes a strong case that the business sector can help society in its quest for more community and reap the benefits for their product at the same time. Luker's 25 years in research, coupled with a deep sense of the human condition, gives him a vantage point to call for a paradigm shift in advertising. This book is a must read for citizens and advertisers alike.
Jerome Johnston, Ph.D., Research Professor, University of Michigan and author of Positive Images: Breaking Stereotypes with Children's Television
Rich has found a way to enrich the relationship between college and college town at a time when both are finding it harder to make ends meet. His book – and his work – are unusually sensitive to the differing needs of various groups who work and live together in community. Rich's years working with NCAA Division II schools have paid off in Simple Community which is a guide that makes it easier for schools and organizations of all kinds to work together. The approach will lead to more fulfilling community, better education, and more cooperation among us all.
Dr. Charles Ambrose, President, Pfeiffer University and Immediate Past Chair, NCAA Division II Presidents Council
"Simple Community delivers a seriously needed message at just the right time."
Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D., best-selling author of With Purpose: Going from Success to Significance in Work and Life
Simple Community is two short books in one because two kinds of people can REVIVE the concept of community in America: marketing executives and everyone else. Which kind are you?
Living Simple Community – For those who love to bring together family, friends and neighbors
The Living Simple Community side of the book is for busy, everyday Americans who want to spend more time enjoying their family, friends, and neighbors. If you are one of these people, you are not alone. In a recent national study, 1-of-4 American adults - 33 million people - said it was “very important” to them to be more a part of their community – and then backed that up by actually doing something within a week to be more connected to their community.
By reading Living Simple Community you will learn...
- How America lost opportunities to be more engaged in community when our work moved from farms, factories and office buildings.
- To recognize your own unconscious desire to be more personally involved with others.
- Six simple things that make it easy to revive community in your life.
- Why new communication technology and "social networking" – while great communication tools – can never replace the fulfilment that only comes from being in the same place at the same time with those you love.
- That reviving community is essential for American youth who know more than adults about technology, but are losing sight of the need for community.
- A powerful, simple suggestion for how parents can begin to bridge the gap.
- Ways to easily support those who are investing their time and energy in reviving your community.
- Help you understand how major companies can reduce the noise of advertising and support the revival community in ways that will help their businesses.
- How major companies can support the community revival in ways that help their businesses – and how you might unlock those opportunities.
- To do more NOW to make community a higher priority in your life.
Building Simple Community – For marketing executives who want to make their brand part of American life
The Building Simple Community side of the book is for marketing executives who are looking for a way to get personal with their customers again. Many companies go “green” to support the environment. Now it is time to go “home” and revive the personal relationships between American brands and people. The secret is efficient, effective, scalable grassroots marketing programs. The foundation has been laid with colleges (NCAA), high schools (NFHS) and minor league sports (MiLB). Now, it’s time to take advantage of the movement.
By reading Building Simple Community you will learn...
- About the need for a new marketing paradigm in America, moving from:
- Thinking about people as CONSUMERS to getting to know them as PEOPLE who buy your products.
- From overwhelming people with MESSAGES to finding the STORIES of how your brand lives in the lives of Americans.
- From sending YOUR brand messages to embracing THEIR brand stories – how your brand enriched their lives.
- How the rush to new communication technology – digital marketing with social media – may be a near miss when true engagement between your brand, your customers and the community is possible.
- How to match the benefits of your brand with the needs Americans have to revive their communities.
- How your brand can best "star" within natural stories from community life.
- How to raise the banner for promoting "play" by understanding that recreation can re-create and revive us in community, providing the strength, hope, and encouragement to get through a particularly difficult time in America.
- About the work that has been done to prepare colleges, high schools and minor league sports to open the door for seamlessly managing community relationships with your employees, partners and customers.
- That community has your back! Marketers have known for years that there is phenomenial value to grass roots marketing. The "green" explosion of the last few years is proof of the appitite for involvement in community. Building Simple Community will provide the logic, the history, the simplicity, the proof of the need – the critical mass you need to get the conversation started in earnest in your company.
Americans are ready to revive community, it's time for companies to provide the resources. Simple Community will start the discussion.