In “Reading List,” we ask ecommerce professionals to name some of their favorite recent books and blogs and tell us why they read them. For this installment, we corresponded with Stefan Schmidt, vice president of product strategy at hybris, a multichannel ecommerce software company.
Schmidt has spent more than a decade in ecommerce and multichannel retailing. He has designed and developed a number of products at hybris, including order management, mobile and customer service offerings. He has also been involved in global ecommerce projects for brands such as H&M, Grainger, ToysRUs, Reebok, Virgin Megastores and Waterstones. Schmidt is a graduate of Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Furtwangen — University of Applied Sciences — in Germany.
Stefan Schmidt’s Recent Books
Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
“I had the pleasure of watching Chris speaking at an event in Berlin. I’d liked his fresh approach to marketing and his view on how the web is changing communication between enterprise and customers.”
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Crossing the Chasm and Escape Velocity by Geoffrey A. Moore
“Two must-read books when working in a technology company.”
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The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
“While Geoffrey Moore has made me understand how products are being introduced into a market, Christensen has helped me to understand the forces that shape a technology company and the products it develops. It made me understand what innovation does to almost every industry out there and given me great ideas on how to deal with it.”
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Submarine by Joe Dunthorne
“A very funny book and one of the greatest novels about what it means to be young.”
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Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
“I bought it on my iPad while waiting for a plane because I was sitting in front of the movie advertisement. I didn’t really know what to expect and I must say it had a really unsettling, unnerving effect on me when I had finished it. Great book though.”
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Stefan Schmidt’s Top Blogs
“It’s my link back to Germany. I’ve lived in the U.K. for over five years now.”
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“My source for all the newest and shiniest gadgets.”
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“My source about entertainment.”
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“Great stories about great companies and fascinating ideas.”
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Various Analyst Blogs from Gartner and Forrester
“I follow in particular Brian Walker of Forrester and Gene Alvarez of Gartner. Both provide great content and insight into the commerce market I’m working in.”
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