Business School Lessons Result in Humorous Book about Dating

By Deanna Yick

Sunset author A.K. Crump definitely has a knack for taking original, seemingly random, ideas and turning them into full-length books. Some of his previous efforts include a memoir of some time spent in France and a humorous record of life's lessons learned on the roads of New Jersey.

His first widely publicized book, "The Green Eye Project," was a collection of photographs of green-eyed individuals from around the world, and his latest book, titled "Everything I Know About Dating I Learned in Business School," draws humorous parallels between basic business and dating principles.

The range of topics Crump has written about seem to be a reflection of his own eclectic interests. He speaks with fondness of animals and the environment and enjoys the work he does with both the San Francisco Zoo and Friends of the Urban Forest. He has also been involved in human rights activities, fighting South African apartheid. As a businessman, he helped develop a marketing strategy for a company that serves as a liaison between the U.S. and China.

"My interest in writing goes back to my high school days," he said. "The school was very writing-oriented and I did well in my English and writing classes."

Over the course of his 30-odd years, he has written articles for various magazines and journals, and has gradually moved up to writing books. Some of the unique story ideas came to him while traveling, another one of his loves. Fortunately, Crump is not only fluent and articulate in English, but also speaks fluent French, conversational Spanish and is knowledgeable in Brazilian, Portuguese and Italian. His dignified manner of speech makes him seem quite confident and worldly.

In fact, it was during his trips around the United States, Brazil and France that Crump got the idea to create a photo-essay featuring green-eyed individuals from across the globe.

"I kept meeting people with remarkable green eyes that made them really stand out as the center of attention," he said. "It was even more striking that these green-eyed beauties were of various ethnicities."

In 1995 he began "The Green Eye Project" by placing an advertisement in a local San Francisco newspaper. In the following year, people called him volunteering their green eyes, or those of someone they knew, to contribute to the project. Crump expressed his appreciation for the diversity of the City by noting that "it gave him a broader base to work with." If he had taken out an ad in another city, he would not have been able to include the large number of ethnicities that share the trait of exotic green eyes.

Crump, the former president of his high school photography club, began taking pictures. His goal was to capture the striking ability of a person's eyes to catch you a little off guard. The spirit of the piece was to highlight green eyes as the defining feature of a variety of individuals in a society in which no particular part of one's physicality usually stands out.

As the project progressed and he took more and more pictures, Crump became increasingly intrigued by not only his subjects' eyes, but their lives as well.

"I found that people with green eyes also had interesting lives because their physical attribute caused them to be treated differently," he said. "These people seemed to be doing a lot of soul searching, as in thinking 'Am I a freak or am I unique?'"

By 1999, Crump still could not find a publisher, so he decided to self-publish the book through his own means.

"I owed it to the people who participated in the project to see it through all the way," he said. Yet Crump not only saw it through; he was also met with much success. The book became widely popular and the cover shot won several local photography contests and made the cover of "American PHOTO" magazine. Crump also won a certificate of merit from "Writer's Digest," which is awarded to one self-publisher per year.

With that success under his belt, Crump began his next project, which he calls a "guide to dating in a modern society." The latest book is a humorous look at the similarities between business principles and dating, and it suggests using the strategies of business to succeed in relationships.

"I wanted to address the dating, romance, relationship need, especially here in San Francisco, since there are so many single people," Crump said. "It's a new way to approach things, giving people good advice and making them laugh at the same time."

The self-help book alludes to the lessons Crump learned at Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management. The concept came up at a bar as Crump and some friends began discussing dating in terms of business and then realized that, surprisingly, they operate on the same basic principles.

Some of the business techniques Crump suggests people can use in their dating lives include proper product packaging, positioning, advertising, market research, competitive advantages, financing, negotiations, consulting and mergers and acquisitions.

Although he may not be green-eyed like those he featured in his previous book, he may very well be an excellent source for dating advice, having dated more than 100 people. Useful, humorous anecdotes referencing the experiences of eligible singles around the world are also included in the guide.

"I wanted to have regular people's stories in there so people who read it know that they don't have to be Brad Pitt or the hottest actress to be successful in dating," Crump said.

"It's all about thinking, 'What is the market?' and what you can do with yourself to do better according to those market standards."

Crump considers the book a lighthearted way of looking at dating that provides a business-type strategy, rather than a strict set of rules.

"It's an option to try for people who are interested in having a better romantic life in a city where that true love connection is difficult, if not impossible, to find," he said.

Crump attributes his literary success to the diversity, as well as the warm attitudes, of the people in San Francisco. He resides in the Inner Sunset District.

"The diversity of the City has contributed greatly to both books, as well as my being able to write them in general," he said. "You don't need to be a professional writer or a scholar. People here give you the benefit and the credibility just for having the desire to do something. In San Francisco, people actually support other people's efforts."

Perhaps it is this San Franciscan openness to others and their ideas that encourages Crump to continue writing. He is toying with the idea of making a sequel to his latest book. After that, he plans to write a book about the environment and rare animals, issues close to his heart, that he hopes can be used as information or fundraising material by environmental and wildlife organizations.

For more information about Crump's books or where to buy them, visit the website at www.cafeandre.com. The books are available at a number of Bay Area bookstores and online at www.Amazon.com.