RIFKIN, Glenn H(oward) 1953-

PERSONAL:

Born February 14, 1953, in New York, NY; son of Harry and Lillian Rifkin; married Deborah Falck, October 9, 1977; children: Benjamin. Education: Boston University, B.S., 1975.

ADDRESSES:

Home—5 Windingwood Ln., Acton, MA 01720-4775.

CAREER:

Freelance writer in Boston, MA, 1975-76; WGBH-TV, Boston, news assistant in the design department, 1976-77; Polaroid Corp., Cambridge, MA, in marketing publicity, 1977-80; Boston University, Boston, public relations writer, 1980-83; Computer-world, Framingham, MA, staff writer, 1983-85, senior editor, 1985-89, features editor, 1989-90; freelance writer, 1990—.

MEMBER:

Authors Guild.

WRITINGS:

(With George Harrar) The Ultimate Entrepreneur: The Story of Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corporation, Contemporary Books (Chicago, IL), 1988, revised edition, Prima Publishing (Rocklin, CA), 1990.

(With Sam Hill) Radical Marketing: From Harvard to Harley, Lessons from Ten That Broke the Rules and Made It Big, HarperBusiness (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Douglas Matthews) The CEO Chronicles: Lessons from the Top about Inspiration and Leadership, Knowledge Exchange, (Los Angeles, CA), 1999.

(With Joel Kurtzman) Radical E: From GE to Enron—Lessons on How to Rule the Web, Wiley (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Joel Kurtzman and Victoria Griffith) MBA in a Box: The Practical Guide to the Big Ideas of Business, Crown (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Robert B. Catell and Kenny Moore) The CEO and the Monk: One Company's Journey to Profit and Purpose, Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2004.

Contributor to periodicals, including the New York Times.

SIDELIGHTS:

Glenn H. Rifkin has coauthored many books on business topics, such as building up a brand and conducting commerce online. In Radical Marketing: From Harvard to Harley, Lessons from Ten That Broke the Rules and Made It Big, for example, he and Sam Hill discuss entities that have used nontraditional techniques to become successful, widely recognized brand names. Their examples are not limited to corporations; they include the Grateful Dead rock band and Harvard Business School, in addition to such companies as Harley-Davidson, Iams, and Virgin Atlantic Airways. The authors make the case that chief executive officers should be intimately involved in marketing, have direct contact with customers, and hire people who are passionate about their product, and find ways to turn disadvantages into assets. They provide "solid case studies full of useful stories of smart marketers," related a reviewer for Inc. magazine. Steven J. Mayover, writing in Library Journal, found the book offered "many timely and thought-provoking ideas," while Fortune contributor Anne Fisher observed that it features many a "well-told tale" on "how to create a great brand." A contributor to Sales and Marketing Management summed it up as "a must-read" with "energetic writing and keen insight."

MBA in a Box: The Practical Guide to the Big Ideas of Business deals with marketing, as well as other corporate concerns, such as finance, personnel, innovations, and learning from mistakes. With contributions from business leaders such as Bob Metcalfe of 3Com and Dean Kamen of Segway, Rifkin and collaborators Joel Kurtzman and Victoria Griffith have produced "a lively, attractive book of essays" that make business seem "simple and manageable," reported Stacey Marien in Library Journal. A Publishers Weekly critic added that MBA in a Box is "practical" and "appropriately straightforward," plus "a refreshing and often humorous read."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

B to B, June 25, 2001, Matthew Schwartz, "Finding a 'Radical' Theme in Web Success Stories: Author Glenn Rifkin Tells Why Shortsighted Companies Need to Get Online with Innovative E-Strategies," p. 3.

Corporate Meetings and Incentives, February, 2000, review of The CEO Chronicles: Lessons from the Top about Inspiration and Leadership, p. 90.

Fortune, April 26, 1999, Anne Fisher, "How Harvard Built Its Brand: It's Radical," p. 422.

Inc., March, 1999, "Book Value," p. 951.

Library Journal, February 1, 1999, Steven J. Mayover, review of Radical Marketing: From Harvard to Harley, Lessons from Ten That Broke the Rules and Made It Big, p. 104; March 15, 2004, Stacey Marien, review of MBA in a Box: The Practical Guide to the Big Ideas of Business, p. 86.

Publishers Weekly, April 5, 2004, review of MBA in a Box, p. 52.

Sales and Marketing Management, April, 1999, review of Radical Marketing, p. 101.*