Lovability: How to Build a Business That People Love and Be Happy Doing It

In this heartfelt debut, de Haaff, cofounder and CEO of software firm Aha!, lays out a consumer-oriented road map to success. He starts with the basics: designing what his industry calls the “complete product experience” (CPE) with the customer in mind. Another tack de Haaff favors is refusing to chase venture capital dollars, thereby retaining maximum flexibility and decision-making power. “Investor money is not free,” he notes, but “often comes with expectations of unnatural growth and a big exit.” Instead, he says, successful companies focus on creating extraordinary products and experiences. Those experiences includes sincere interaction with consumers whom companies actually care about. For instance, MRI creator Doug Dietz, upon learning that 80% of kids undergoing MRIs had to be sedated for the procedure, built fanciful MRI machines decorated like pirate ships and spaceships. The author obviously takes great pride in having a positive work culture at his company, and he points out that a company needs to be lovable internally as well as externally. With sensible advice and a humanistic tone, this offering will encourage companies big and small to value both customers and employees. (Apr.)