Jonfi s Fandy: Between non-fiction and storybooks

PT Honda Prospect Motor (HPM) marketing and after-sales service director Jonfis Fandy believes that the number of good books on the shelves of bookstores continues to increase, so he needs to update himself with new knowledge.

Although his childhood was full of adventurous children’s books, he rarely touched novels later in his life. Among the piles of books that have enriched his life, he picked two books that gave a deep impression.

Steve Jobs: A Biography by Walter Isaacson

I read it long before Steve Jobs died. Steve was a very inspirational figure to me. He was a stubborn person, but he could prove that his ideas worked well to anyone who might doubt him. I had never read the same book twice in my life until I found this one.

The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR by Al Ries and Laura Ries

This book was interesting. I read it sometime in 2003 or 2004. It was the first to put forward marketing expansion from the view of a public relations officer. In early 2000, there was no such thing as public relations. The media for marketing was also conventional as it only centered on advertisements. This book gave insight to the opportunities for marketing to be combined with public relations. Looking at a product is not enough for automotive journalists. They have to test it to be able to write about the positives and negatives of the car. This book is applicable to our company and contributes ideas for our test drive activities and product launching events.

Adventure storybooks by Enid Blyton and Alfred Hitchcock

Lima Sekawan (Famous Five) series by Enid Blyton and Trio Detektif (Three Detectives) by Alfred Hitchcock may have different storylines, but I liked both of them when I was a kid. Trio Detektif emphasized the mystery, kept me guessing things, while Lima Sekawan explored action and fun picnics.

— As told to Indah Setiawati