Growth Undergrad
Yesterday was the start of our second graduate year at Ballpoint.
I’ve long been a fan of graduate schemes despite having missed one myself. But for me, managing, mentoring, training, levelling up: these are some of the best parts of my job.
We trialled the scheme last year, unsure of whether such a small agency could support a training scheme like we did. But our year one grad, Nell Johnson, very quickly proved out the idea.
Long term, I can’t wait until we have dozens join the grad scheme each year. Learning the foundations of growth, marketing, and advertising, customer psychology, as well as individual channels.
Here is the reading list for our grad scheme this year, with notes of what has been added in this year over year one.
Hacking Growth – Sean Ellis & Morgan Brown
There’s a reason this is the pre-read to our programme starting. For me, this was the culmination of Sean’s website growthhackers.com, which must have been my most visited website between 2014 and 2017.
Hacking Growth is the perfect primer to how we think about growth.
Ogilvy on Advertising – David Ogilvy
When I started copywriting in 2010, someone told me about this book, which fundamentally changed how I wrote. While some of the work now feels very dated, the principles are timeless.
The Mom Test – Rob Fitzpatrick
This book is on the surface about how to understand customer intent. But for me this is a lesson in psychology: a reminder that people rarely tell you what they want. Or as Ogilvy would say “People don't think what they feel, don't say what they think and don't do what they say.”
How to do better creative work – Steve Harrison
Sadly out of print, this is a belter. If you want to understand how to do problem-solution setups in advertising this is really core to that whole journey. Great examples throughout too.
Facebook : The Inside Story – Steven Levy
We only choose one chapter from this book, but it’s the history of ‘Growth’ as a profession. Call me old fashioned but I think it’s important to properly understand the history of your field to excel in it.
Lean Customer Development – Cindy Alvarez
If Mom Test is the accessible primer on talking to customers, this is the one that goes a bit more in depth. Essential reading for thinking about the beginnings of 0 to 1 days in a company.
The Lean Startup – Eric Ries (NEW)
If Hacking Growth is the primer on what growth is, and Lean Customer Development is the primer on how to talk to customers, then Lean Startup is the primer to best practice company building today.
In the UK, I’m still surprised how niche this text is for many business people, but it’s an ethos we embed as an agency and therefore becomes essential reading.
Alchemy – Rory Sutherland (NEW)
A lot of our reading list is based on stuff that leans into the logic side of company building and growth. Alchemy is the perfect counterpart to that: a lesson in being counterintuitive. The ever great Rory Sutherland creates a highly accessible text that steps you outside of the box.
This set of books consists the early foundations, but we’re currently developing our year two reading list.
What makes up your essential early stage reading? And simultaneously what about the later days?