Mustard - Iconist: The Art and Science of Standing Out

Table of Contents

PRAISE FOR THE ICONIST

Human attention span is todays and forevers scarcity. Jamie Mustard saw the trend early. He studied and lived it deeply. He cracked the code. The Iconist is a must-read for all entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, CEOs, and shapers of opinion.

Rich Karlgaard, publisher, Forbes

We all have a yearning to matter to the world. Jamie Mustard has provided a road map for each of us to be heard and leave a legacy in the noise of our new digital lives. This sparkling and practical book is alive with fresh ideas.

Daniel Pink, author, When, Drive, and A Whole New Mind

In a marketplace thats more crowded, noisy, and confusing than ever, its harder than ever to stand out and be noticedwhether youre designing a product, selling a service, or marketing yourself. Jamie Mustard offers a remarkable set of provocative ideas and a collection of engaging case studies to meet the defining business challenge of our time. The Iconist is itself a standout, as useful as it is original.

William C. Taylor, cofounder and founding editor, Fast Company and author, Simply Brilliant

The design world has always known the power of icons, but until now had little idea of how to get there. Mustard explains all in his brilliant book.

Clive Wilkinson, workplace design pioneer, Googleplex architect, and listed in Fast Companys 100 Most Creative People and Master of Design

In order to get innovations into the world we first have to figure out how to get them seen and heard. The Iconist has amazingly codified a set of laws that will get anyone to take a close look at any creation.

Carl Arnese, senior design director, FUTURE innovation, Adidas

Jamie Mustards secret to standing out is steeped in creativity and common sense. In The Iconist, he offers his fresh yet timeless perspective on how to break through the clutter and get yourself, your product, and your message noticed. An easy, insightful read.

Joanne Gordon, coauthor, Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul

In my thirty years of representing speakers, leaders, and thinkers including Jimmy Carter, Carl Sagan, Desmond Tutu, Peter Drucker, Jared Diamond, Margaret Atwood, Malcolm Gladwell, and Hunter S Thompson, to name a few, I have seen, studied, and lived with a lot of ideas. I can say from this unique vantage point that The Iconist is special. Imagine that you are driving on a winding mountain road as dusk approaches. As it gets darker you turn on your lights. Fog emerges and becomes thicker as time goes on. The once helpful car lights are now blinding in the fog. You must slow down, and eventually, you decide to pull over when the fog becomes too thick and too hard to get through. Now think of the fog as the information that bombards us every day. The very tools and skills used to navigate the road ahead become a hindrance when the fog grows thick. The Iconist provides you with a new tool kit and expertise to pierce through the fog. In a world where each of us is struggling to matter, Jamie Mustard provides us hope for the future.

Michael Humphrey, CEO, NextUp Speakers

Jamie Mustards gripping insights into the economics of attention offer real solutions for building connection. Amidst a proliferation of choices, Mustard shares foolproof systems for getting seen, heard, and remembered.

Kimberly Barta, former global brand leader, Dr. Martens, Sorel, and CMO, Nike Valiant Labs

Jamie Mustards The Iconist answers a core question on building great customer relationships: How do we capture their attention and make us forever memorable in their life? This is truly an important book.

Jeanne Bliss, former chief customer officer, Microsoft, and author, Chief Customer Officer, Would You Do That to Your Mother, and I Love You More Than My Dog

A great book for people who want to truly know how to be seen.

Don Tuski, president, College for Creative Studies

A powerful book filled with profound and pragmatic insights. Mustard single-handedly shatters the mystique surrounding successful branding and disruption. A must-read for those who aspire to be on the vanguard of change.

Rebecca D. Costa, sociobiologist, futurist, and author, The Watchmans Rattle

If you want to be heard in todays noisy world, shut up and read this book.

Jim Riswold, author, Hitler Saved My Life

As a media professional where getting attention and grabbing eyeballs is everything, I found this book an essential read and a deeply valuable guide for commanding attention in todays high-speed world.

Bobby Souers, media director, Wieden+Kennedy

Jamie has pinpointed what makes one song a hitand another, a dud. And Blocks work beyond song creation, but to how radio programmers should approach building their radio station.

Cort Johnson, program director, 101.9 KINK FM, Alpha Broadcasting

I already feel smarter talking to my colleagues just having read this book. Jamie has tapped into something primal here. The Iconist has literally transformed the way I look at product development. I will never look at a single product or product line the same way again.

Hans Albing, product manager, Under Armour

The tricky thing about simplicity is its hard. Making anything seem easy takes a lot of careful work. Connecting dots across music, cultures, genres, disciplines, decades, and centuries, Jamie Mustard shows us the strength of simplicityhow it inspires, endures, and can be applied every day. He makes it look easy, too.

Ryan White, author, Springsteen: Album by Album and Jimmy Buffett: A Good Life All the Way

The Iconist should be required reading for anyone endeavoring to communicate a message (hell, even just survive) within the maelstrom of todays information overload. Jamies approach will redefine how you think.

Derek Welch, cofounder, Big-Giant, UNKL

The Iconist captures the duality of life in our overloaded technological world... on the one hand we have greater access to more information than ever before, and on the other we experience more anxiety, depression, and hopelessness about how to digest the plethora of data for our own lives. With The Iconist we have a clear road map to find sanity and success in our hyperspeed world. A must-read for anyone puzzled by what lifes going to be like tomorrow. The Iconist is a true original.

Michael Morrow, founder, Nutcase Helmets

The Iconist compels questions of great urgency and relevance to the health of the social matrix that gives our lives meaning and purpose. It is excellent.

Shauna H Springer, PhD, worlds leading authority on PTSD and moral injuries, and senior director, TAPS Red Team

This book has set forth a method to allow any complex science and engineering to be understood and appreciated by all. If you are trying to make a complicated thing simple, understood, and desired, in a world full of noise, The Iconist is the solution.

Tibi Iovu, mission control ace, Cassini Spacecraft, JPL/NASA