While Gary Vaynerchuck would definitely be my pick if Ben Affleck was unavailable to give his famous Boiler Roomspeeches, Vaynerchuck is a zero as author.
Crush It is appalling. Yes, the clichés are overwhelming. Yes, the triteness is underwhelming. Yes, the repetition is mind-numbing. But it’s the lack of substance in Crush It that really turns me off.
This book screams “be passionate” so loudly, so frequently, and so sweetly that it becomes a siren song focused on luring the audience from their jobs into the role of fulltime blogger. Lost in Gary’s shouting is the unquestionable truth that success has as much to do with the strategy, the team, and preparation as it does the desire to “crush it.”
Gary preaches a “shoot first, aim later” strategy (consistent with many of the so-called social media experts in emerging media). This gospel is actually a dangerous blend of motivational speaking and business ignorance based solely upon an extrapolation of Gary’s own personal experience.
Gary is one of the most talented self-promoters in the United States. Unfortunately, he missed a golden opportunity to tell his story and share some broad principles. This is the classic trap of the narcissist. By turning his own experience into a “How To” guide that promises a path to replicating his own success, he grossly disserves the reader.
As a result, instead of learning from a genius marketer’s experience, we listen to an over-the-top tirade against the typical business world (“traditional resumes are… irrelevant”; “Social Media = Business. Period”; “If you want it badly enough, the money is there”). And we hear him tout his own formula for crushing it. It’s something to the effect of: quit your job, blog all day until 3am, start taking steps to get on the lecture circuit, and then P&G will offer you a job as their spokesperson.
I emailed Gary to push him on some elements of his logic:
On Dec 1, 2009, at 9:52 PM, Zach wrote:
Love the book, but surprised at how much you mention your email address. You can’t scale talking to everyone. I mean Oprah cannot physically talk to all her fans. So what’s your plan?
On Dec 1, 2009, at 10:30 PM, Gary wrote:
to TRY!
On Dec 1, 2009, at 8:55 AM, Zach wrote:
I could read 1000 short AP [Associated Press] articles on business every day, but if I never read a book by Peter Drucker, I would lack a certain depth about business. So do you think having so many superficial relationships makes it difficult to be thoughtful about understanding the customers’ needs?
On Dec 1, 2009, at 8:55 AM, Gary wrote:
[Auto response] My book Crush It! just came out and I am getting pounded with email while I’m on tour. To try and help you better I taped this new video:
http://vaynermedia.com/gary-inbox-message/ [Video tells me to “Crush It”]
Gary as a marketer is candid, intense, and funny. I could watch him talk about wine all day long. But Gary as a social media consultant is too raw, too haphazard, and too scattered. The uninitiated should stay away fromCrush It.
