
Alchemy
The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy Now for $31.46
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Rory Sutherland
-
Written by:
-
Rory Sutherland
About this listen
HOW DOES MAGIC HAPPEN? The Ogilvy advertising legend—“one of the leading minds in the world of branding” (NPR)—explores the art and science of conjuring irresistible products and ideas.
"A breakthrough book. Wonderfully applicable to about everything in life." —Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan
“Veins of wisdom emerge regularly and brilliantly from these pages. Don't miss this book.” —Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence
Why is Red Bull so popular, though everyone—everyone!—hates the taste? Humans are, in a word, irrational, basing decisions as much on subtle external signals (that little blue can) as on objective qualities (flavor, price, quality). The surrounding world, meanwhile, is irreducibly complex and random. This means future success can’t be projected on any accounting spreadsheet. To strike gold, you must master the dark art and curious science of conjuring irresistible ideas: alchemy.
Based on thirty years of field work inside the largest experiment in human behavior ever conceived—the forever-unfolding pageant of consumer capitalism—Alchemy, the revolutionary book by Ogilvy advertising legend Rory Sutherland, whose TED talks have been viewed nearly seven million times, decodes human behavior, blending leading-edge scientific research, absurdly entertaining storytelling, deep psychological insight, and practical case studies from his storied career working on campaigns for AmEx, Microsoft, and others.
Heralded as “one of the leading minds in the world of branding” by NPR, Sutherland is a unique thought leader, as comfortable exchanging ideas with Nobel Prize winners Daniel Kahneman and Richard Thaler (both interviewed in this audio) as he is crafting the next product launch. His unconventional and relentlessly curious approach has led him to discover that the most compelling secrets to human decision-making can be found in surprising places:
What can honey bees teach us about creating a sustainable business?
How could budget airlines show us how to market a healthcare system?
Why is it better to be vaguely right than precisely wrong?
What might soccer penalty kicks teach us about the dangers of risk-aversion?
Better “branding,” Sutherland reveals, can also be employed not just to sell products, but to promote a variety of social aims, like getting people to pay taxes, improving public health outcomes, or encouraging more women to pursue careers in tech.
Equally startling and profound, Sutherland’s journey through the strange world of decision making is filled with astonishing lessons for all aspects of life and business.
©2019 Rory Sutherland (P)2019 HarperCollins PublishersYou may also enjoy...
-
Business Made Simple
- 60 Days to Master Leadership, Sales, Marketing, Execution, Management, Personal Productivity and More
- Written by: Donald Miller
- Narrated by: Donald Miller
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s hard to be successful without a clear understanding of how business works. These 60 daily entries from New York Times best-selling author Donald Miller focus on the tangible skills it takes to offer extreme value to your organization while building your company, your career, and your legacy.
-
-
Failing to get this book will cost you more than you likely already owe
- By Alex Kazam on 2022-04-30
Written by: Donald Miller
-
Genius Foods
- Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life
- Written by: Max Lugavere, Paul Grewal
- Narrated by: Max Lugavere
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Discover the critical link between your brain and the food you eat, change the way you think about how your brain ages, and achieve optimal brain performance with this powerful new guide from media personality and leading voice in health Max Lugavere.
-
-
I learned a lot
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-09-23
Written by: Max Lugavere, and others
-
Stories That Stick
- How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business
- Written by: Kindra Hall
- Narrated by: Kindra Hall
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stories That Stick provides a clear framework of ideals and a concise set of actions for you to take complete control of your own story, utilizing the principles behind the world’s most effective business storytelling strategies. Telling these stories well is a simple, accessible skill anyone can develop. With case studies, company profiles, and anecdotes backed with original research, Hall presents storytelling as the underutilized talent that separates the good from the best in business.
-
-
Diamond in the Rough
- By C. L. Aingworth on 2020-05-12
Written by: Kindra Hall
-
The Social Leap
- The New Evolutionary Science of Who We Are, Where We Come from, and What Makes Us Happy
- Written by: William von Hippel
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Social Leap, William von Hippel lays out a revolutionary hypothesis, tracing human development through three critical evolutionary inflection points to explain how events in our distant past shape our lives today. From the mundane, such as why we exaggerate, to the surprising, such as why we believe our own lies and why fame and fortune are as likely to bring misery as happiness, the implications are far-reaching and extraordinary.
-
-
interesting concepts
- By Lorne Robert Beck on 2020-05-23
Written by: William von Hippel
-
Game Changers
- What Leaders, Innovators, and Mavericks Do to Win at Life
- Written by: Dave Asprey
- Narrated by: Dave Asprey, Rick Adamson
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The best-selling author of Head Strong and The Bulletproof Diet answers the question, “How can I kick more ass at life?” by culling the wisdom of world-class thought leaders, maverick scientists, and disruptive entrepreneurs to provide proven techniques for becoming happier, healthier, and smarter.
-
-
Definitely not game changing.
- By kris on 2018-12-20
Written by: Dave Asprey
-
The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication
- Apply Them and Make the Most of Your Message
- Written by: John Maxwell
- Narrated by: John Maxwell
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John C. Maxwell has been a public speaker and motivational teacher for more than fifty years. He is one of only eight people on the planet who have been awarded Toastmaster’s Golden Gavel and been inducted into the National Speakers' Association Hall of Fame. In The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication: Apply Them and Make the Most of Your Message, he shares everything he’s learned from a lifetime of communication.
-
-
The authors speaking voice
- By Amazon Customer on 2025-02-12
Written by: John Maxwell
-
Business Made Simple
- 60 Days to Master Leadership, Sales, Marketing, Execution, Management, Personal Productivity and More
- Written by: Donald Miller
- Narrated by: Donald Miller
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s hard to be successful without a clear understanding of how business works. These 60 daily entries from New York Times best-selling author Donald Miller focus on the tangible skills it takes to offer extreme value to your organization while building your company, your career, and your legacy.
-
-
Failing to get this book will cost you more than you likely already owe
- By Alex Kazam on 2022-04-30
Written by: Donald Miller
-
Genius Foods
- Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life
- Written by: Max Lugavere, Paul Grewal
- Narrated by: Max Lugavere
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Discover the critical link between your brain and the food you eat, change the way you think about how your brain ages, and achieve optimal brain performance with this powerful new guide from media personality and leading voice in health Max Lugavere.
-
-
I learned a lot
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-09-23
Written by: Max Lugavere, and others
-
Stories That Stick
- How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business
- Written by: Kindra Hall
- Narrated by: Kindra Hall
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stories That Stick provides a clear framework of ideals and a concise set of actions for you to take complete control of your own story, utilizing the principles behind the world’s most effective business storytelling strategies. Telling these stories well is a simple, accessible skill anyone can develop. With case studies, company profiles, and anecdotes backed with original research, Hall presents storytelling as the underutilized talent that separates the good from the best in business.
-
-
Diamond in the Rough
- By C. L. Aingworth on 2020-05-12
Written by: Kindra Hall
-
The Social Leap
- The New Evolutionary Science of Who We Are, Where We Come from, and What Makes Us Happy
- Written by: William von Hippel
- Narrated by: Michael David Axtell
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Social Leap, William von Hippel lays out a revolutionary hypothesis, tracing human development through three critical evolutionary inflection points to explain how events in our distant past shape our lives today. From the mundane, such as why we exaggerate, to the surprising, such as why we believe our own lies and why fame and fortune are as likely to bring misery as happiness, the implications are far-reaching and extraordinary.
-
-
interesting concepts
- By Lorne Robert Beck on 2020-05-23
Written by: William von Hippel
-
Game Changers
- What Leaders, Innovators, and Mavericks Do to Win at Life
- Written by: Dave Asprey
- Narrated by: Dave Asprey, Rick Adamson
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The best-selling author of Head Strong and The Bulletproof Diet answers the question, “How can I kick more ass at life?” by culling the wisdom of world-class thought leaders, maverick scientists, and disruptive entrepreneurs to provide proven techniques for becoming happier, healthier, and smarter.
-
-
Definitely not game changing.
- By kris on 2018-12-20
Written by: Dave Asprey
-
The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication
- Apply Them and Make the Most of Your Message
- Written by: John Maxwell
- Narrated by: John Maxwell
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John C. Maxwell has been a public speaker and motivational teacher for more than fifty years. He is one of only eight people on the planet who have been awarded Toastmaster’s Golden Gavel and been inducted into the National Speakers' Association Hall of Fame. In The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communication: Apply Them and Make the Most of Your Message, he shares everything he’s learned from a lifetime of communication.
-
-
The authors speaking voice
- By Amazon Customer on 2025-02-12
Written by: John Maxwell
-
Thinking in Systems
- A Primer
- Written by: Donella H. Meadows
- Narrated by: Tia Rider Sorensen
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the years following her role as the lead author of the international best seller, Limits to Growth - the first book to show the consequences of unchecked growth on a finite planet - Donella Meadows remained a pioneer of environmental and social analysis until her untimely death in 2001. Thinking in Systems is a concise and crucial book offering insight for problem-solving on scales ranging from the personal to the global. Edited by the Sustainability Institute's Diana Wright, this essential primer brings systems thinking out of the realm of computers and equations and into the tangible world....
-
-
Good book with Deleuzian undertones
- By Zac N on 2020-10-24
Written by: Donella H. Meadows
-
What You Do Is Who You Are
- How to Create Your Business Culture
- Written by: Ben Horowitz
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ben Horowitz, a leading venture capitalist, modern management expert, and New York Times best-selling author, combines lessons both from history and from modern organizational practice with practical and often surprising advice to help executives build cultures that can weather both good and bad times. What You Do Is Who You Are explains how to make your culture purposeful by spotlighting four models of leadership and culture-building.
-
-
Great
- By boyincity on 2020-11-06
Written by: Ben Horowitz
-
How to Grow Your Small Business
- A 6-Step Plan to Help Your Business Take Off
- Written by: Donald Miller
- Narrated by: Donald Miller
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Using the exact steps you’ll learn in this book, Donald Miller grew his small business from four employees working out of a basement to a 15 million dollar operation, increasing revenue sixfold in just six years. As Miller grew his own business from the ground up, he realized nobody had put together a simple, step-by-step playbook for growing a business. That book didn’t exist. Until now. In this book, you’ll learn the 6 steps to grow a successful small business and create a playbook to implement them—your Flight Plan.
-
-
Great listen for baby entrepreneurs
- By Pink Posh Fox on 2023-05-17
Written by: Donald Miller
-
The Almanack of Naval Ravikant
- A Guide to Wealth and Happiness
- Written by: Eric Jorgenson, Tim Ferriss
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Naval Ravikant is an entrepreneur, philosopher, and investor who has captivated the world with his principles for building wealth and creating long-term happiness. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant is a collection of Naval’s wisdom and experience from the last 10 years, shared as a curation of his most insightful interviews and poignant reflections. This isn’t a how-to book, or a step-by-step gimmick. Instead, through Naval’s own words, you will learn how to walk your own unique path toward a happier, wealthier life.
-
-
Released for free
- By Sarah on 2021-07-11
Written by: Eric Jorgenson, and others
-
This Is Marketing
- You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See
- Written by: Seth Godin
- Narrated by: Seth Godin
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Now, for the first time, Seth Godin offers the core of his marketing wisdom in one compact, accessible, and timeless package. This Is Marketing shows you how to do work you're proud of, whether you're a tech start-up founder, a small-business owner, or part of a large corporation. Great marketers don't use consumers to solve their company's problem; they use marketing to solve other people's problems. Their tactics rely on empathy, connection, and emotional labor instead of attention-stealing ads. When done right, marketing seeks to make change in the world.
-
-
Seth puts me to sleep
- By Andrew Cao on 2019-02-13
Written by: Seth Godin
-
The Hypomanic Edge
- The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America
- Written by: John D. Gartner
- Narrated by: Stephen R. Thorne
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bringing his audacious and persuasive thesis to life, Gartner offers case histories of some famous Americans who represent this phenomenon of hypomania. These are the real stories you never learned in school about some of those men who made America: Columbus, who discovered the continent, thought he was the messiah. John Winthrop, who settled and defined it, believed Americans were God's new chosen people. Alexander Hamilton, the indispensable founder who envisioned America's economic future, self-destructed because of pride and impulsive behavior.
-
-
Fascinating Book
- By A on 2024-05-03
Written by: John D. Gartner
-
The Power of One More
- The Ultimate Guide to Happiness and Success
- Written by: Ed Mylett
- Narrated by: Ed Mylett
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Power of One More, renowned keynote speaker and performance expert Ed Mylett draws on thirty years of experience as an entrepreneur and coach to top athletes, entertainers, and business executives to reveal powerful strategies to help you live an extraordinary "one more" life.
-
-
Exhausting Listen - Couldn't Finish
- By Bert on 2023-07-25
Written by: Ed Mylett
-
Build
- An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
- Written by: Tony Fadell
- Narrated by: Tony Fadell, Roger Wayne
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone and Nest Learning Thermostat and learned enough in 30+ years in Silicon Valley about leadership, design, startups, Apple, Google, decision-making, mentorship, devastating failure and unbelievable success to fill an encyclopedia.
-
-
Great Listen
- By Anonymous User on 2024-10-15
Written by: Tony Fadell
-
The 1-Page Marketing Plan
- Get New Customers, Make More Money, And Stand Out From The Crowd
- Written by: Allan Dib
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To build a successful business, you need to stop doing random acts of marketing and start following a reliable plan for rapid business growth. Traditionally, creating a marketing plan has been a difficult and time-consuming process, which is why it often doesn’t get done.
-
-
Simple to understand-Great information
- By Ron on 2018-01-22
Written by: Allan Dib
-
The EOS Life
- Written by: Gino Wickman
- Narrated by: Steve Edwards
- Length: 5 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The EOS Life will help you to discover, clarify, and customize the life you want to live: one where you do what you love every day, with the people you love doing it with — while at the same time making a huge difference and impact, getting compensated very well for doing it, and still having plenty of time to pursue other passions, hobbies, and interests that energize you.
-
-
Thank you
- By Wendy Karas on 2023-09-24
Written by: Gino Wickman
-
Mindfulness
- The Most Effective Techniques: Connect With Your Inner Self To Reach Your Goals Easily and Peacefully
- Written by: Ian Tuhovsky
- Narrated by: Randy Streu
- Length: 1 hr and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mindfulness is not about complicated and otherworldly woo-woo spiritual practices. It doesn't require you to be a part of any religion or a movement. What mindfulness is about is living a good life (that's quite practical, right?), and this book is all about deepening your awareness, getting to know yourself, and developing attitudes and mental habits that will make you not only a successful and effective person in life, but a happy and wise one as well.
-
-
Three Mantras
- By Amazon Customer on 2021-06-14
Written by: Ian Tuhovsky
-
$100M Leads
- How to Get Strangers to Want to Buy Your Stuff
- Written by: Alex Hormozi
- Narrated by: Alex Hormozi
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook contains the playbooks that took me from sleeping on my gym floor to owning a portfolio of companies that generate $200,000,000 per year in under a decade. Wanna know the biggest difference between those two time periods? How many leads I was getting.
-
-
Boring book and horrible Audio
- By ABC on 2023-12-10
Written by: Alex Hormozi
What listeners say about Alchemy
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lenny
- 2019-12-15
Mind-expanding
This book will open up a world of opportunities by changing the way you think. Every chapter was filled with fascinating insights, countless aha moments.
I only have one gripe: What the author frames as “anti-rational thinking” is really *expanded* rationality; a rationality that is broad enough to encompasses the the strange, counter-intuitive quirks of human psychology.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2023-04-12
Excellent
Lots of knowledge and clever insights no one is thinking about or considers, all while narrated in a fun and engaging style.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Yosh Hsuen
- 2023-05-30
brilliant
what a fantastic book! one great insight after another. Rory Sutherland has a brilliant way of looking at things.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- nikko
- 2019-12-06
Exceptional!
So much of what we need to manage in business and life can’t be measured, or falls outside the nice, lean, easy to understand box of logic and data. This book is the answer.
If you work in management or have employees, you need to read this.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- doodlepad
- 2023-05-19
A blind purchase, well worth it
Thoroughly enjoyed this, I couldn’t “put it down!” Clever insights backed by relevant and entertaining anecdotes and superb storytelling. A must listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2019-09-25
A must read for anyone who works with people...
This book is a much needed kick in the ass. I think anyone who works with people (everyone) should read this. If life were black and white we wouldn’t need alchemy, but it’s not, so we do.
Of note, the audiobook is spectacular. Read by Rory himself, it ads a certain character to the narrative that only he could deliver.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Olivier 1622
- 2025-02-02
Alchemy, the magic of Marketing
Really enjoyed this book, Rory Sutherland gives amazing real life experiences on understanding the intersection between the consumer, the sales and Marketing, AKA the "Alchemy" point. Even though you can capture this in snippets from his many talks, this book gives you a deeper insight into his thinking, so if Marketing is your thing this book is well worth the listen (read)
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Paul Dean
- 2020-06-07
Irrational doesn't mean incorrect, and the inverse
Definitely read this book. I'm looking or more now by Rory Sutherland. Enthusiast five stars!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mark
- 2023-06-05
Fascinating and full of examples
Full of dozens of fascinating examples of seemingly irrational consumer behaviors and why they make perfect sense. It’s these examples that are valuable in conversations with stodgy nonbelievers. Big bonus: read by the author in his charming British voice.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joshua Counsil
- 2025-03-14
A rare breed of business book which actually says something interesting
Rory Sutherland makes compelling arguments - thoroughly across many specta and studies - about the need for irrational approaches to perceptively rational problems.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!