The ONE Thing by Gary Keller & Jay Papasan - Book review

The ONE Thing

The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results

By: Gary Keller, Jay Papasan

Published: April 1, 2013
Format:Hardcover, 240 pages
ISBN-10: 1885167776
ISBN-13: 978-1885167774
Publisher: Bard Press











"Where I'd had huge success, I had narrowed my concentration to one thing,and where my success varied, my focus has too. And the light came on", write chairman of the board and cofounder of Keller Williams Realty, Inc., Gary Keller; and Vice President of Publishing at Keller Williams Realty, Inc., Jay Papasan, in their inspirational and life transforming book The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results. The authors describe how achieving real success, and reaching your goals, requires focusing on the one thing that matters the most in your career, work, or life.

Gary Keller (photo left) and Jay Papasan recognize that in today's fast paced and hectic business environment, people are stretched to the limit. Overworked and seemingly unable to make any one thing a priority, the end result is that very little gets done, goals are not met, and performance fails to meet expectations. To counter these relentless pressures to do more, and to chase an every expanding number of priorities, the authors present the alternative concept of going small. In that sense, the person focuses on the most critical task and goal, and set aside those other less important demands. The result is that more is accomplished through selective focus than by attempting to reach many goals at once.

Jay Papasan (photo left) and Gary Keller understand that by focusing time and energy on the one critical thing, that time, energy, and resources are used more effectively and efficiently. At the same time, the authors present the domino concept of how a smaller domino can knock down an even larger domino, so too can a person create the potential to utilize this force multiplier analogy in all of their tasks.

he authors guide people through the core principles of the book from the planning, to the time blocking, to the execution of The ONE Thing. The authors divide the book into three overall sections that focus on reclaiming control over a person's time, work, and life. The three parts are as follows:

* The Lies: How they mislead and derail us
* The truth: The simple path to productivity
* Extraordinary results: Unlocking the possibilities within you

For me, the power of the book is how Gary Keller and Jay Papasan combine a strong theoretical and philosophical case for pursuing The ONE Thing, with the practical exercises and techniques to put the theory into practice. Unlike many books on time management and achieving goals, this book offers more than simple suggestions. Instead, the authors present a comprehensive life changing perspective that transforms the way a person looks at their time, their goals, and their real priorities. Saving time means little if nothing is accomplished during that time, and this book returns that time to the person in the form of real achievement.

The authors also acknowledge that for many employees, other priorities may be handed to them, but instead of losing focus, the book teaches how to overcome those temporary time users. The authors are open about the challenges faced by people, both in their work and their personal lives, but the commitments and focus presented in the book transform those challenges into temporary events.

I highly recommend the performance building and real results oriented book The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan, to anyone seeking a refreshing and clear vision for taking back their time, priorities, and lives with a practical set of techniques for personal and professional achievement. This book will make the idea of going small a more viable option than the false belief that person must somehow do it all.

Marketing to Millennials by Jeff Fromm & Christie Garton - Book review

Marketing to Millennials

Reach the Largest and Most Influential Generation of Consumers Ever

By: Jeff Fromm, Christie Garton

Published: July 2, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
ISBN-10: 0814433227
ISBN-13: 978-0814433225
Publisher: AMACOM











"Businesses cannot afford to ignore the Millennials. Their collective buying power alone - an estimated $200 billion annually - is already noteworthy and will only increase as they mature into their peak earning and spending years", write Executive Vice President at Barkley, Jeff Fromm; and founder of U Chic Media, Christie Garton, in their pioneering, Millennial marketing strategy filled book Marketing to Millennials: Reach the Largest and Most Influential Generation of Consumers Ever. The authors describe the power and influence of the enormous Millennial generation, how these young customers differ from previous generations, and offer the strategies and techniques to capture these important and often misunderstood customers.

Jeff Fromm (photo left) and Christie Garton understand that despite their generational name, the Millennials are not a homogeneous group. The authors identified six distinct subgroups. That knowledge is crucial for marketers who believed a single message would resonate with this entire generation. The authors also point out, that despite their groupings, there are common traits shared by Millennials, that are very different from the predecessor Generation X.

The authors examine who the Millennials are, share new rules for marketing that brands will ignore to their peril. The also present some case studies, of companies and brands, who are attuned successfully to the new rules of engagement with the Millennial generation.

Christie Garton (photo left) and Jeff Fromm recognize the the Millennial affinity for and skill with technology is well known. As a result, the authors go far beyond that single concept and embark upon a more comprehensive guide to reaching these ethnically diverse and participation oriented consumers. The Millennials are anything but passive buyers, and instead demand to be considered partners in the products and brands withh which they participate.

The authors present a complete and well documented and researched analysis of the Millennial generation. The book includes a series of fresh marketing principles, that underline both the diversity and the similarities shared, by this fascinating and influential generation. The new marketing concepts are as follows:

* Millennials: Who are they?
* The new rules of marketing to Millennials
* Engage those early adopters of new technology
* Build a listening and participation strategy
* Make them look good among their peers
* Design a sense of fun and adventure
* Don't give them a reason to cheat on you
* Epilogue: Other key marketing ideas to know

Fr me, the power of the book is how Jeff Fromm and Christie Garton combine a comprehensive theoretical framework for marketing to the Millennial generation, with a complete and practical strategy to implement the new marketing rules that are so essential for success. The authors take a big picture perspective of the Millennial generation, and then drill down into the various aspects of how the Millennials behave in the marketplace. The key insight is the author's conclusion that Millennials demand a participative brand with which they can partner and share.

As a parent of Millennial children, Jeff Fromm brings that experience to the book. Christie Garton, as a Millennial herself, brings an internal viewpoint to the table. The authors base the irt premises on on real world research and case studies, completed with companies who have wide ranging experience will Millennials as customers. The various chapters of the book end with the key takeaways from the text and research, that can be applied readily to any marketing campaign geared toward gaining the Millennial market.

I highly recommend the insightful and research based book Marketing to Millennials: Reach the Largest and Most Influential Generation of Consumers Ever by Jeff Fromm and Christie Garton, to any business leaders, product marketers, brand managers, sales managers, entrepreneurs, and anyone else interested in engaging and collaborating with the vast and crucial Millennial market. This book shatters myths about Millennials, sweeps aside the old marketing rules, and replaces them with an engaging and participatory marketing model that will be embraced by Millennials.

Brian Klapper: The Q-Loop: Lasting Corporate Change - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

Internationally recognized expert in operational and cultural transformation, president and founding partner of The Klapper Institute, and author of the collaboration building and positive results oriented book The Q-Loop: The Art & Science of Lasting Corporate Change, Brian Klapper describes the challenges faced by change leaders and offers a practical and proven alternative change management process. Brian Klapper presents the Q-Loop concept of change, as a holistic method that engages and includes ideas from all areas of the organization. While many change leaders approach the concept of change with their own ideas, Brian Klapper turns the process on its head, and draws on the experience, ideas, and wisdom of front line employees. In a time when 70 percent of change initiatives fail to achieve their goals or to last at all, the Q-Loop presents a comprehensive methodology that engages people in a collaborative process. Brian Klapper shares ideas that go beyond the usual strategy and theory, and demonstrates how to put in change into action effectively, and for the long term.

Brian Klapper is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, July 30, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Internationally recognized expert in operational and cultural transformation, president and founding partner of The Klapper Institute, and author of the collaboration building and positive results oriented book The Q-Loop: The Art & Science of Lasting Corporate Change, Brian Klapper describes the challenges faced by change leaders and offers a practical and proven alternative change management process. You will learn:

* Why 70 percent of change management initiatives fail to achieve lasting change

* How the Q-Loop offers an inclusive and engaging alternative

* How to get front line employees to share their ideas and experience

* How to implement change effectively with the Q-Loop process

Brian Klapper (photo left) is the President and Founding Partner of The Klapper Institute. He is an internationally recognized expert in transformational change, working with a variety of global companies in financial services, consumer products, manufacturing, food service, utilities, retail, and healthcare.

His experience spans all elements of the value chain, as well as all customer touchpoints. A recognized thought leader, Brian is currently working on a new book that provides insights on the complex cultural and operational issues that companies must address to achieve and sustain transformational change.

Brian has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Fortune, Business Week, and The New York Times. He is a sought-after speaker for company events and a periodic contributor to business and trade publications. His article "Going from Chief Learning Officer to Chief Destruction Officer" was selected as the cover story for Chief Learning Officer online magazine. Brian also co-authored a chapter in Redesigning Healthcare Delivery, "Applying Performance Engineering to Medical Care," which has become an industry standard.

Before founding The Klapper Institute, Brian was the President of The Tatham Group, a boutique process redesign firm. Previously, he was a Partner at Mercer Management Consulting (formerly Strategic Planning Associates, now Oliver Wyman) focusing on strategy development and operational transformation.

My book review of The Q-Loop: The Art & Science of Lasting Corporate Change by Brian Klapper.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



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Let's talk with internationally recognized expert in operational and cultural transformation, president and founding partner of The Klapper Institute, and author of the collaboration building and positive results oriented book The Q-Loop: The Art & Science of Lasting Corporate Change, Brian Klapper, as he describes the challenges faced by change leaders and offers a practical and proven alternative change management process. Brian Klapper presents the Q-Loop concept of change, as a holistic method that engages and includes ideas from all areas of the organization. While many change leaders approach the concept of change with their own ideas, Brian Klapper turns the process on its head, and draws on the experience, ideas, and wisdom of front line employees. In a time when 70 percent of change initiatives fail to achieve their goals or to last at all, the Q-Loop presents a comprehensive methodology that engages people in a collaborative process. Brian Klapper shares ideas that go beyond the usual strategy and theory, and demonstrates how to put in change into action effectively, and for the long term on Blog Business Success Radio.

The Q-Loop by Brian Klapper - Book review

The Q-Loop

The Art & Science of Lasting Corporate Change

By: Brian Klapper

Published: May 7, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 240 pages
ISBN-10: 1937134520
ISBN-13: 978-1937134525
Publisher: Bibliomotion











"The single biggest challenge that prevents leaders from getting things done is their inability to generate buy-in for the change across the organization", writes internationally recognized expert in business process transformation, and President and Founding Partner of The Klapper Institute, Brian Klapper, in his collaboration building and positive results oriented book The Q-Loop: The Art & Science of Lasting Corporate Change. The author describes how and why so many strategic change plans fail, and offers a holistic approach to change that is both effective and sustainable over the long term.

Brian Klapper understands that simply having a bold and innovative change strategy is insufficient if there is no collaborative engagement and commitment from the employees. The author also knows that any organization that is unable to adapt to change and to implement continual improvement in every aspect of its business will fall into irrelevance.

Organizational change is never easy, however, and with a seventy percent failure rate in change initiatives, that needed change has never been more difficult for leaders to achieve. To overcome the internal and external challenges and barriers to real and lasting change, Brian Klapper proposes the concept of the Q-Loop as an effective, collaborative, and long term strategy.

Brian Klapper (photo left) recognizes that a collaborative process for developing and implementing change, through a process that incorporates ideas at the grassroots employee level, has a greater chance of success. The traditional top down, management idea focused strategies have led to failure, or at best, change that fails to last and become part of a new company culture.

The collaborative approach closes the often very deep chasm between idea generation and change process implementation. The level of buy-in is much higher, the ideas more appropriate and effective, and commitment to the change is greater on the part of employees.

Brian Klapper divides the book into three overall sections. The parts of the book reflect the three basic phases of the Q-Loop process in action. Instead of intuitive or theoretical change ideals, the Q-Loop system presents a practical route to change that is effective, innovative, is built for the long term, and utilizes the ideas and experience of the entire organization. The three overarching principles are as follows:

* Entering the Q-Loop: Maximize the organizations collective IQ
* Going around the Q-Loop: Ignite a grassroots mindset shift
* Exiting the Q-Loop: Embed the Q-Loop in the organization

For me, the power of the book is how Brian Klapper combines a comprehensive change management strategy with the practical techniques to implement the entire process effectively. The author provides a holistic strategy based on collaborative input of ideas and on collaborative implementation across the entire organization. While other change management books offer ideas and stories, Brian Klapper offers a real world tested and proven methodology for making change that stay in place after the change process ends.

The author admits openly that change management is a very difficult process to implement effectively. Not all leaders and initiators of change are aware of that reality. As a result, Brian Klapper advises his change leaders of the challenges that await anyone implementing organizational change. The Q-Loop system presented in the book is one that engages people across the organization, asks for and welcomes the grassroots experience and ideas to the process, and puts the employee created recommendations into place.

I highly recommend the very hands on and insightful book The Q-Loop: The Art & Science of Lasting Corporate Change by Brian Klapper, to any change leaders, facilitators and managers who are seeking a complete process that is collaborative and inclusive, and is tested and proven in real world change situations. This book should be read and read again before, during, and after any change management initiative in your organization.

Real Influence by Mark Goulston & John Ullmen - Book review

Real Influence

Persuade Without Pushing and Gain Without Giving In

By: Mark Goulston, MD, John Ullmen, Ph.D.

Published: January 2, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
ISBN-10: 081442015X
ISBN-13: 978-0814420157
Publisher: AMACOM







"As executive coaches, we know that it's harder than ever to influence people because the old rules of persuasion no longer work", write organizational consultant, relationship counselor, hostage-negotiation trainer, and Chairman and Co-Founder of Heartfelt Leadership, Mark Goulston, MD; and speaker, executive coach, and faculty member at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, John Ullmen, Ph.D., in their engaging and practical technique filled book Real Influence: Persuade Without Pushing and Gain Without Giving In. The authors describe how books and business schools teach outdated manipulative persuasion techniques that create unsustainable disconnected influence, and offer the alternative or deep relationship building connected persuasion.

Mark Goulston (photo left) and John Ullmen recognize that the outmoded concept of disconnected influence did and continues to gain short term persuasion. While that tactic failed to develop or maintain any long term relationships, it did provide short term results, at the cost of a person's reputation. The authors present a complete shift in thinking and approach with the concept of connected influence.

Not only does connected influence create and enrich relationships, it also deepens those connections to form advocates for the persuader's cause. The premise of the book is that anyone can learn the skills and develop the personal mindset to positively influence anyone else.

John Ullmen (photo left) and Mark Goulston understand that persuasion is no longer a case of doing something to someone else to achieve your goals. The authors point out that persuasion in its true form goes far beyond what the persuader actually wants. Instead, the focus for effective persuasion must be on building relationships, giving to others first with no immediate requests for any return, and establishing mutually beneficial outcomes.

The authors share an engagement based concept of persuasion where empathy with others, and real and authentic communication form the basis for deep and lasting relationships. The methods outlined in the book can be utilized effectively by anyone to influence anyone else through a mutually beneficial win-win viewpoint. The authors outline their connective persuasion process in seven overall sections in the book. The sections are as follows:

* The problem: Why you are struggling to influence people
* Step one: Go for the great outcome
* Step two: Listen past your blind spot
* Step three: Engage them in their there
* Step 4: When you've done enough...do more
* Taking real influence to the next level
* Putting it all together

Foe me, the power of the book is how Mark Goulston and John Ullmen provide a comprehensive blueprint for establishing connected influence, and offer the practical skills and exercises to put the process into action. The authors go beyond the standard approach to influence where the purpose of persuasion is to get the other person to do something to advance only the agenda of the influencer. That influence model created what the authors call a disconnect between people, resulting in at best a short term relationship, and more likely long term damage to both parties and their reputations.

The authors turn the process upside down, creating the relationship first, from which the influence naturally follows. People do business with those who they know, like, trust, and have built a deep and lasting connection. The connected influence process takes that reality as its basis, while the disconnected system fails to understand or consider the human element involved in the relationship.

I highly recommend the pioneering and authentic approach based book Real Influence: Persuade Without Pushing and Gain Without Giving In by Mark Goulston and John Ullmen, to any business leaders, sales managers, non-profit organization executives, educators, public policy makers, speakers, and anyone interested in building relationships with others as the foundation for establishing influence and ideas. This book will transform your thinking and overall approach to influence and persuasion from one of manipulation to one of win-win collaboration.

Brand Breakout by Nirmalya Kumar & Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp - Book review

Brand Breakout

How Emerging Market Brands Will Go Global

By: Nirmalya Kumar, Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp

Published: June 18, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
ISBN-10: 1137276614
ISBN-13: 978-1137276612
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan










"Given the size and growth of its economy, China will dominate brand breakout from emerging markets to the West. It is a global game changing country, both economically and politically. Yet most of our arguments are valid for other emerging markets, and our examples serve managers in those countries too", write professor of Marketing and co-director of Aditya Birla India Centre at London Business School, Nirmalya Kumar; and C. Knox Massey Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Marketing Area Chair at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at UNC, Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkmap, in their important and well researched book Brand Breakout: How Emerging Market Brands Will Go Global.

The authors describe how brands from emerging market countries are not well known in the West, but they see that perception to change in the near future, and provide a series of key ways that ensure emerging market brands will become household names for Western consumers.

Nirmalya Kumar (photo left) and Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp recognize that potential customers in the West, are unable to recall or point out any brands originating in China, and from other developing market countries. The authors present a practical strategy for brands from non-Western countries to create a breakthrough in recognition and acceptance in the West.

For emerging market based brands, the global economy offers them a huge and untapped source of new customers. The challenge facing brand managers and marketers in emerging economies is to create brand awareness and acceptance in the West. The authors offer a richly researched knowledge base for taking a developing market brand to the global marketplace.

Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp (photo left) and Nirmalya Kumar understand the importance of brands and brand recognition for product success in the global economy. Despite its enormous success in manufacturing as the global workshop, Chinese brands have not made inroads into the Western marketplace. The same challenges face brands from other emerging market countries. The authors also point out the extreme differences between the various emerging markets, but they are convinced that each country can achieve breakthroughs with exporting their brands globally.

The authors demonstrate that the differences in the emerging markets are also their potential strengths in gaining global markets in general, and Western markets in particular. The authors outline eight different strategies that can be considered and employed by emerging market based brands. The marketing concepts go far beyond the usual default lower price route. The eight strategic routes are as follows:

* The Asian tortoise route: Migrating to higher quality and brand premium
* The business to consumer route: Leveraging B2B strength in B2C markets
* The diaspora route: Following emigrants into the world
* The brand acquisition route: Buying global brands from Western multinationals
* The positive campaign route: Overcoming negative country of origin associations
* The cultural resource route: Positioning on positive cultural myths
* The natural resources route: Branding commodities in four steps
* The national champion route: Leveraging strong support from the state

For me, the power of the book is how Nirmalya Kumar and Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp establish a powerful set of eight strategic routes, to international branding success, and share the practical techniques to put those strategies into action. The authors provide groundbreaking research to enhance their strategies and concepts for increasing global brand awareness. The research data includes case studies of successful brand transitions into Western markets, as well as some useful graphics which show the changes in brand strategies at a glance.

The strategic routes are described in detail for ease and depth of understanding by brand marketers. At the same time, the details of the techniques for implementing the overall strategies are presented in in a readily applicable format, including further examples to illustrate the principles in the real world marketplace. The authors include a very extensive set of end notes for each chapter, documenting their research, and offering the marketers additional sources of information to enrich their understanding of the eight strategic routes.

I highly recommend the very clear and concise book Brand Breakout: How Emerging Market Brands Will Go Global by Nirmalya Kumar and Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp, to any global branders, marketers, CEOs, public policy makers, government officials, trade association members, advertisers seeking a very hands on and proven strategy packed book on winning international market share for their brands. This book will inspire companies to move forward with any plans they may have to capture the global marketplace.

Practical Ethics for Food Professionals edited by J. Peter Clark & Christopher Ritson - Book review

Practical Ethics for Food Professionals

Ethics in Research, Education and the Workplace

Edited by: J. Peter Clark, Ph.D., Christopher Ritson, Ph.D.

Published: July 29, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 298 pages
ISBN-10: 0470673435
ISBN-13: 978-0470673430
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell











"Ethical considerations are involved in every aspect of a food professional's education and career, but the subject is rarely taught explicitly", write Consultant to the Process Industries and Contributing Editor, Food Technology magazine, IFT, J. Peter Clark; and Emeritus Professor of Agricultural Marketing at the Centre for Rural Economy, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, UK, Christopher Ritson, editors of the very comprehensive and food strategy oriented book Practical Ethics for Food Professionals: Ethics in Research, Education and the Workplace. The editors provide a series of contributors by leading global experts on the guiding principles and ethics in the entire food industry, including a series of case studies demonstrating the various concepts in real world settings.

J. Peter Clark (photo left) and Christopher Ritson recognize that business and agricultural colleges have increased their emphasis on teaching ethics and values. These courses are helpful and effective for integrating ethical thinking into student thinking, and actions. In this volume, the editors address the necessity of transferring the food related values and ethics to professionals in all areas of the food industry.

The contributions present principles and components for the inclusion of ethics in all areas of food industry strategic planning and execution. This book bridges that knowledge gap between the classroom and the rest of the food industry by addressing the issues of ethics and values in a practical and systemic based format.

Christopher Ritson (photo left) and J. Peter Clark understand that values and ethics affect every aspect of the food industry, as well as every professional within the food system. As a result, the editors include articles written by authorities on marketing, resource use, the environment and sustainability, and the management and treatment of people working in all areas of the food industry. The editors selected contributions that consider the practical and real world application of the principles and ideas.

The editors developed an anthology with very wide ranging perspectives on ethics and values in the global food industry. The book is divided into four overarching sections to cover the complete gamut of concepts and opinion regarding food industry ethics and values. The four areas are as follows:

* Principles: Ethics from several viewpoints
* Issues in food industry ethics: Issues and practical applications
* Examples and case studies: Ethics and values in the real world
* Conclusion: Summary and synthesis of the various chapters and their concepts

For me, the power of the book is how J. Peter Clark and Christopher Ritson present a complete range of essays that cover the most important points of food industry values and ethics. The editors include contributors from all over the world, who bring varying viewpoints and perspectives to the subject matter. The first section of the book, on ethical principles, establishes the concept of ethics drawn from global, philosophical, and multi-disciplinary perspectives.

With those principles in place, the essays turn to the consideration of ethics and values in areas as diverse as publishing, food production and consumption, and the impact on people through every step of the industry. The next group of essays consists of case studies that illustrate the concepts and impact of ethical values and behavior in the workplace, research, education fair trade, technology, commodity speculation, and disastrous events. Overall, this is an excellent guide and textbook for teaching and incorporating values and ethics into every aspect of the food industry.

I highly recommend the groundbreaking and very approachable book Practical Ethics for Food Professionals: Ethics in Research, Education and the Workplace edited by J. Peter Clark and Christopher Ritson, to any academics, teachers, and students in any food related and agricultural program, business leaders in the food industry, primary agricultural producers, public policy makers, and activists seeking a clear and practical series of essays that offer a complete overview of values and ethics in the food industry. This book should be a must read for anyone making decisions within any part of the food industry.

Propose, Prepare, Present by Alistair Croll - Book review

Propose, Prepare, Present

How to become a successful, effective, and popular speaker at industry conferences

By: Alistair Croll

Published: June 11, 2013
Paperback: 80 pages
ISBN-10: 1449366376
ISBN-13: 978-1449366377
Publisher: O'Reilly Media











"I'm doing this to try and make things better for organizers,vendors,and presenters - and, above all, for audiences", writes analyst and entrepreneur Alistair Croll, in his very hands on and straight talking book Propose, Prepare, Present: How to become a successful, effective, and popular speaker at industry conferences. The author describes how conferences are organized and structured, with a complete analysis of being the type of speaker sought by the conference organizers.

Alistair Croll recognizes the importance of conferences for the organizers, speakers, and audience. All too often, however the event fails to achieve it objectives due to selecting the wrong speakers. The author provides a complete time line structure of conferences, for speakers to better understand what the organizers seek, and what attendees really want to hear. With an understanding of the life cycle of a conference, and key insights into how and why presenters are selected, Alistair Croll offers a critical list of eleven things that potential speakers must include for consideration. He also shares a list of eleven things that speakers looking for a place at the lectern must avoid doing if they wish to be chosen as conference presenters.

Alistair Croll (photo left) understands that the would be speaker's submission for a talk will make or break their chances at inclusion on the conference schedule. Once the speaker is chose, the author presents valuable advice on giving a memorable and important talk to the event attendees. Knowing what the organizers are seeking, and what the audience wants to hear and learn are summarized in a step by step format.

Alistair Croll points out the important points that a potential speaker must include in the application. The author also highlights the most common mistakes that can derail a talk submission from the very start. Alistair Croll organizes the book into a logical and readily understood handbook format. The key overall sections of the book are as follows:

* The conference industy: An overview of what defines a conference and its life cycle
* From idea to stage: A conference timeline
* What organizers are looking for and what to avoid
* Some thoughts on superb performance: Making your presentation stand out
* But how do I make money: Engaging before, during and after the event

For me, the power of the book is how Alistair Croll combines a comprehensive overview of the nature of industry conferences with a complete guide to selection as a speaker at the events. The author offers a very clear and concise outline of the critical elements to having a speaking submission stand out from the crowd. At the same time, that outline is transformed into a very usable checklist for success. The proven advice shared by Alistair Croll will improve a speaker's odds of selection dramatically.

In the vast number of submissions sent to conference organizers, it is easy to get lost in the shuffle. The author demonstrates how to cut through that clutter and noise through tailoring a submission to the organizations goals and mission. Once selected, the next step is making the best and most memorable presentation possible. Alistair Croll again offers his proven strategies and techniques for ensuring a memorable and worthwhile speech that gives real value to both the audience and the conference sponsoring organization.

I highly recommend the indispensable and proven idea packed book Propose, Prepare, Present: How to become a successful, effective, and popular speaker at industry conferences by Alistair Croll, to any current and potential event speakers seeking a fantastic primer for becoming a successful presenter at industry events. The book takes all of the guesswork and mystery out of the submission process and for delivering the most value to the audience as well.

Penny Sansevieri: Red Hot Internet Publicity - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

Book marketing and media relations specialist, founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., and author of the completely updated and revised edition of her very hands on and action oriented book Red Hot Internet Publicity 2013: An Insider's Guide to Marketing Online, Penny C. Sansevieri, describes how to develop an effective online publicity approach that is both successful and sustainable. Penny Sansevieri shares her proven strategies for developing a useful content filled website, an informative blog, and for using social media effectively to develop and enhance relationships. Penny provides tips for using the various social media platforms to not only build deep relationships, but also to send more visitor traffic to your website and blog. Penny offers advice for becoming more visible on search engines, creating content that people want to read, and for adding value through video and audio website components. Penny presents her long time principles for working with bloggers for book and product reviews, guest posts, and building long lasting partnerships. Learn how to combine the power of internet based publicity with your offline promotional campaigns, and achieve red hot publicity that takes your business to the next level.

Penny Sansevieri is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, July 25, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Book marketing and media relations specialist, founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., and author of the completely updated and revised edition of her very hands on and action oriented book Red Hot Internet Publicity 2013: An Insider's Guide to Marketing Online, Penny C. Sansevieri, describes how to develop an effective online publicity approach that is both successful and sustainable. You will learn:

* How to build a content rich website for your visitors

* How to attract visitors to your website and blog

* How to use social media platforms effectively to develop relationships

* How to establish deep and lasting relationships with bloggers

Penny C. Sansevieri (photo left) is a book marketing and media relations specialist. She coaches authors on projects, manuscripts and marketing plans and instructs a variety of courses on publishing and promotion.

Her company, Author Marketing Experts, Inc., specializes in non-traditional promotion for exceptional results. Her own books: were released to rave reviews.

AME was the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through The Virtual Author Tour™, which strategically works with message boards, blogs, ezines, and relevant sites to push an authors message into the virtual community and connect with sites related to the book's topic, positioning the author in his or her market.

My book review of Red Hot Internet Publicity 2013: An Insider's Guide to Marketing Online by Penny C. Sansevieri.

My book review of Red Hot Internet Publicity 2009: An Insider's Guide to Promoting Your Book on the Internet by Penny C. Sansevieri.

My book review of Get Published Today! An Insider's Guide to Publishing Success by Penny C. Sansevieri.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with book marketing and media relations specialist, founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., and author of the completely updated and revised edition of her very hands on and action oriented book Red Hot Internet Publicity 2013: An Insider's Guide to Marketing Online, Penny C. Sansevieri, as she describes how to develop an effective online publicity approach that is both successful and sustainable. Penny Sansevieri shares her proven strategies for developing a useful content filled website, an informative blog, and for using social media effectively to develop and enhance relationships. Penny provides tips for using the various social media platforms to not only build deep relationships, but also to send more visitor traffic to your website and blog. Penny offers advice for becoming more visible on search engines, creating content that people want to read, and for adding value through video and audio website components. Penny presents her long time principles for working with bloggers for book and product reviews, guest posts, and building long lasting partnerships. Learn how to combine the power of internet based publicity with your offline promotional campaigns, and achieve red hot publicity that takes your business to the next level on Blog Business Success Radio.

Red Hot Internet Publicity 2013 by Penny C. Sansevieri - Book review

Red Hot Internet Publicity 2013

An Insider's Guide to Marketing Online

By: Penny C. Sansevieri

Published: February 23, 2013
Format: Paperback, 280 pages
ISBN-10: 1480224952
ISBN-13: 978-1480224957
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform










"That's what Internet publicity is all about: using the available tools and techniques for promoting anything", writes book marketing and media relations specialist and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., Penny C. Sansevieri, in the completely updated and revised edition of her very hands on and action oriented book Red Hot Internet Publicity 2013: An Insider's Guide to Marketing Online. The author describes the importance and benefits of obtaining publicity through a step by step guide to utilizing the various internet based tools, techniques, and social media platforms.

Penny Sansevieri understands that having a highly visible and very active internet website offers the most cost effective and wide reaching publicity available today. While the author also places value on publicity gained through traditional media, she offers evidence that an online presence enhances opportunities for offline promotion as well. Penny Sansevieri shares her proven strategies for building your online relationships with others, through your blog, the various social media sites, and your own website. The author presents the skills, the strategies, and the insider information that will make your online publicity stand out in the cluttered internet landscape.

Penny Sansevieri (photo left) recognizes that simply setting up a website is not sufficient for success, but also points out that the website is a crucial first step. With the site established online, the author demonstrates how to optimize the site to gain visibility on the search engines, create interesting content on the site and the blog to attract inbound links and visitor traffic, and to branch out to the various social media sites to further develop relationships and build more site traffic.

Penny Sansevieri presents a complete overview of online publicity from the very beginning with the initial launching of the website, the writing of the first blog post, and the posting of the first social media content, to the development of the site itself into an important internet content provider. The various topics discussed in the book cover five overall areas:

* Red hot search engine optimization
* Your website
* Red hot social media
* Red hot blogging
* Driving even more traffic

For me, the power of the book is how Penny Sansevieri combines a readily applicable framework for achieving internet publicity success, with the practical and hands on skills necessary to put that framework into practice. The author does a good job of placing the various components of online internet publicity into a holistic format. For internet publicity success, the various pieces of the puzzle fit together seamlessly.Creating a website and a blog, filled with interesting and informative content, lends themselves well to effective search engine optimization. The proper use of the relationship building social media platforms adds more traffic to the blog and website.

The strong content attracts mainstream media and other online attention to further bolster the person's publicity level. As Penny Sansevieri makes clear, anyone seeking an increase in their internet publicity can read this book in any order as the material is all interconnected. In the end, the concepts work together as a whole, and build upon one another. The real key to online publicity success is simply having an internet presence in the first place. For beginners or more experienced internet users, this book offers a tremendous primer containing the most useful information and concepts.

I highly recommend the very practical and online success building book Red Hot Internet Publicity 2013: An Insider's Guide to Marketing Online by Penny C. Sansevieri, to any authors, speakers, professionals, and small business owners seeking a clear and concise guide to achieving internet publicity and visibility the right way. This book is an important fist step, and contains the essential lessons, to create your own red hot website and internet presence.

Craig Weber: Conversational Capacity: Successful Teams - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

International consultant specializing in team and leadership development, founder of Weber Consulting Group, and author of the very hands on and results oriented book Conversational Capacity: The Secret to Building Successful Teams That Perform When the Pressure Is On, Craig Weber describes how the principles of conversational capacity form the foundation to creating effective teams. Craig Weber offers his ideas as to why so many teams fail to reach their full potential, and provides an effective alternative strategy for establishing effective and sustainable teams. Craig shares the strategies and practices of conversational capacity as a readily applicable team creating system that can be employed by any type of team regardless of industry. Craig guides you through the various aspects of conversational capacity and demonstrates why they value human nature, conflict, and a change in the leader as a person. Discover how to make the dramatic change in leadership style that transcends the standard methods recommended for team building, and move to the forefront of yoru organization through the power of conversational capacity based teams.

Craig Weber is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, July 23, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

International consultant specializing in team and leadership development, founder of Weber Consulting Group, and author of the very hands on and results oriented book Conversational Capacity: The Secret to Building Successful Teams That Perform When the Pressure Is On, Craig Weber describes how the principles of conversational capacity form the foundation to creating effective teams. You will learn:

* Why so many seemingly well designed teams fail to reach their full potential

* Why conversational capacity is the foundational building block of teams

* How to utilize conflict and human nature to build better teams

* How to improve as a leader through change within yourself and your behavior

Craig Weber (photo left) is the founder of The Weber Consulting Group, an alliance of experts committed to helping teams and organizations build their capacity for successfully engaging tough challenges and change.

Fusing his formal education in organizational development and psychology with his extensive consulting experience, Craig has consulted to an expansive roster of world-class clients, helping them improve their performance by treating dialogue as a discipline. His distinctive approach is outlined in his groundbreaking book, Conversational Capacity: The Secret to Building Successful Teams That Perform When the Pressure Is On. (McGraw-Hill, 2013)

In addition to his consulting work, Craig has guest-lectured at Santa Clara University, the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, Seattle Pacific University, Webster University School of Business & Technology, the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird), and the Work Place Learning Institute at Columbia University.

My book review of Conversational Capacity: The Secret to Building Successful Teams That Perform When the Pressure Is On by Craig Weber.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with international consultant specializing in team and leadership development, founder of Weber Consulting Group, and author of the very hands on and results oriented book Conversational Capacity: The Secret to Building Successful Teams That Perform When the Pressure Is On, Craig Weber, as he describes how the principles of conversational capacity form the foundation to creating effective teams. Craig Weber offers his ideas as to why so many teams fail to reach their full potential, and provides an effective alternative strategy for establishing effective and sustainable teams. Craig shares the strategies and practices of conversational capacity as a readily applicable team creating system that can be employed by any type of team regardless of industry. Craig guides you through the various aspects of conversational capacity and demonstrates why they value human nature, conflict, and a change in the leader as a person. Discover how to make the dramatic change in leadership style that transcends the standard methods recommended for team building, and move to the forefront of yoru organization through the power of conversational capacity based teams on Blog Business Success Radio.

The Nine Fold Heaven by Yingmei Yip - Fiction book review

The Nine Fold Heaven

By: Mingmei Yip

Published: June 25, 2013
Format: Paperback, 320 pages
ISBN-10: 0758273541
ISBN-13: 978-0758273543
Publisher: Kensington Publishing












In the exotic and dangerous world of 1930s Shanghai, China singer and former spy Camilla unites with an old adversary to rediscover old lovers, find her child who she thought dead, and to solve the mystery of her parents' murder. Camilla finds herself in the darkest and least known areas of Shanghai on her personal quest to find both herself and her family story in the panoramic and spellbinding novel The Nine Fold Heaven by acclaimed writer Mingmei Yip.

Mingmei Yip weaves a tale that is as much about time and place as it is about the people within the story itself. The setting of the novel, in the deadly underside of Shanghai, during the turbulent era of war and revolution, creates an atmosphere as sinister and frightening as the gangs who people the novel. That sense of foreboding penetrates every area of the story, and the sense of place is both sweeping and confining for Camilla as she seeks her destiny.

In the sweeping epic novel genre, of which this is a wonderful example, the role of time and place is as critical to the success of the work as the plot and the characters. In that regard, Mingmei Yip does a superb job of capturing that sense of zeitgeist, in the era and setting of the story. The plot captures the reader at first, but the intense involvement of the characters in their joy and sorrow, carries the reader through to the very end.

Mingmei yip (photo left) propels the plot forward with a breathless pace, causing the reader to become personally involved in the plot. More importantly, the characters are compelling and draw on the emotions of the reader. Camilla is a dynamic and charismatic woman who attracts bot the attention of the other characters in the story.

Camilla also captivates the reader with her classic and timeless heroic quest. She is not only seeking her long lost child and the murderers of her parents, but she is also pursuing her own destiny. As a romantic heroine, she faces the tests that heroes have endured and overcome since time immemorial.

The story is one of faith in the personal journey to self discovery, as well as the more outwardly goals. Camilla brings her own past with her on her quest, and as she seeks the ultimate knowledge of herself and her family, she finds redemption and her personal salvation. The story is a timeless romantic adventure that encapsulates an outward time and place, but aso captures the internal voyage as Camilla finds her true self.

I highly recommend the superb and fast paced adventure novel The Nine Fold Heaven by Mingmei Yip, to anyone seeking a page turning and compelling novel that will grip the reader from the very first page. The novel features memorable and well drawn characters, an exotic setting and time that permeates the entire story, and timeless themes that resonate across time and space.

***************

About Nine Fold Heaven

An ex spy and nightclub singer who undertakes an emotional and dangerous journey to reunite with her lost lover and the baby she was told was stillborn, and to discover the secret of her parents’ murder.

Come along with an ex spy as she returns to Shanghai where she’s a wanted woman – but she has to search for her baby and her lost lover. Is her baby really alive? Will she be able to find her lover? Can she elude the police long enough to find them?

Learn much more about The Nine Fold Heaven and Mingmei Yip. Get your copy of this exciting and exotic novel.
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The Nine Fold Heaven is part of a series about Camilla the songbird and female spy – you can also read Skeleton Women, the first book about Camilla.

Conversational Capacity by Craig Weber - Book review

Conversational Capacity

The Secret to Building Successful Teams That Perform When the Pressure Is On

By: Craig Weber

Published: March 26, 2013
Format: Paperback, 208 pages
ISBN-10: 0071807128
ISBN-13: 978-0071807128
Publisher: McGraw-Hill












"The focus of this book is on improving teams and teamwork, and my definition of team is fairly expansive: A team is any group of people working together in the pursuit of a mutual goal", writes international consultant specializing in team and leadership development, Craig Weber, in his very hands on and results oriented book Conversational Capacity: The Secret to Building Successful Teams That Perform When the Pressure Is On. The author describes the critical importance of effective teams to organizational success, the many challenges that derail teams from achieving their goals, and how to overcome those obstacles though the principle of conversational capacity.

Craig Weber Understands that despite the crucial importance of teams to company success, effective and high achieving teams are very difficult to create. The author presents the principle of conversational capacity, as the fundamental building block for establishing successful teams, who achieve results even in difficult times. The teams built utilizing this technique are healthier, sustainable, and effective.

Craig Weber cautions leaders than creating these conditions requires a transformation in the way leaders and team members think, act, and behave. Paradoxically, writes the author, the traditionally sought after values of liking, trusting and respecting team members decreases conversational capacity, requiring a fresh approach from conventional strategies. Many leaders blame the failure of teams on human nature, but Craig Weber offers the alternative idea that human nature provides the real solution.

Craig Weber (photo left) recognizes that teams face enormous challenges in their quest to achieve their goals. The author points out that teams face both routine problems and active challenges. Foe routine problems affecting teams, there are methods for knowing what do and how to solve these obstacles. Adaptive challenges are more difficult as there are no standard solutions to getting past these barriers.

The author provides the strategy for overcoming even the most difficult adaptive challenge through the application of conversational capacity. The outline and practices for utilizing conversational capacity are as follows:

* Conversational capacity: The missing piece of the puzzle
* Intentional conflict: Why good intentions are never enough
* Beyond fight and flight: A more intentional mindset
* Intentional dialogue: Skills for balancing candor with curiosity
* Cultivating our better angels
* Conversational capacity and the value of conflict
* Conversational capacity and adaptive learning
* The work of building a disciplined team
* Conversational capacity and the challenge of team leadership
* The road less traveled

For me, the power of the book is how Craig Weber combines a comprehensive theoretical framework for creating and maintaining effective teams, with the practical techniques and exercises necessary to build strong teams. The author presents the principles and practices of conversational capacity in an accessible and readily applicable format. The real key to the presentation is the ability to utilize the book for its overall thematic approach to team creation and building. The book can be read and put into practice as a whole; or used later as a resource to overcome specific obstacles that face the team.

Unlike many books on building teams, Craig Weber doesn't emphasize trust, liking one another, and mutual respect as the the most desirable traits of successful teams. In fact, the author takes a realist vision of human nature as having friction, disagreements, and even lack of respect. Instead of these problems being weaknesses that could destroy the team, Craig Weber transforms them into positives that strengthen the overall team through real and open conversation.

I highly recommend the clear and concise book Conversational Capacity: The Secret to Building Successful Teams That Perform When the Pressure Is On by Craig Weber, to any CEOs, HR professionals, entrepreneurs, project managers, and team leaders who are seeking a very straightforward and practical book on creating sustainable and effective teams. This book will change how you build and lead teams , and also how you develop and behave in your own cations as a team leader.

The Three Rules: How Exceptional Companies Think by Michael E. Raynor & Mumtaz Ahmed - Book review

The Three Rules

How Exceptional Companies Think

By: Michael E. Raynor, Mumtax Ahmed

Published: May 30, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
ISBN-10: 1591846145
ISBN-13: 978-1591846147
Publisher: Portfolio/Penguin











"We wanted only those companies that were good enough for long enough that we could be confident something special was going on. We wanted companies that were truly exceptional, write director at Deloitte Services LP, Michael E. Raynor; and Chief Strategy Officer of Deloitte LLP, in their research based and excellence seeking book The Three Rules: How Exceptional Companies Think. The authors describe the fundamental reasons that cause some companies to achieve peak excellence, sustained long term performance, simply continue in mediocrity.

Michael E. Raynor (photo left) and Mumtaz Ahmed understand that the components and principles that drive superior performance over the long term are not obvious at first glance. The authors point out that simply clearing set and arbitrary benchmarks does not provide insights into effective, and top performing firms either. Simple lists that rank businesses also fail to be true indicators of real superiority.

The authors through applying statistical research and analysis, along with detailed case studies, determine which companies are indeed truly exceptional in their overall performance. Since the authors found that company success results from some combination of skill and mere chance, they remove the element of luck from the equation, through the use of statistical data.

Mumtaz Ahmed (photo left) and Michael E. Raynor recognize that companies must make the key decisions to achieve superior performance. The authors propose three simple rules, based on their empirical research, that encompass all decision making for the top performers:

* Better before cheaper
* Revenue before cost
* There are no other rules

With this powerful formula in place, the authors demonstrate how persisting with these rules, transforms a company from one getting mediocre results, to one achieving exceptional performance. Regardless of industry, company size, or length of time in business, the three rules held firm as a measure of success. The authors utilize rigorous and quantifiable analysis, rather than intuition, to determine success.

The removal of the diistracting noise from the real signal resulted in a classification of success as Miracle Workers in the top echelon, Long Runners who were not in the highest levels but had strong performance over a long term, and Average Joes who performed at a mediocre level.

For me, the power of the book is how Michael E. Raynor and Mumatz Ahmed combine their rigorous research based analysis of company performance, with a very clear and concise set of three rules for achieving greatness. The authors present a very strong case for both their classifications of companies on the performance scale, and for their rules as the key to the success of those firms. The use of rigorous statistical methodology goes far beyond the usual intuitive ideas, conventional wisdom, performance benchmark, and company biographical approaches used in other success literature.

In that sense, this book is superior to even the books considered classics and standards on the topic. The liberal usage of charts, graphs and statistical measures could make the book a more challenging read for many readers expecting a traditional treatment of the subject matter. That would be too bad as the hard data approach utilized in this book is the source of its high quality. If this book were considered in the terms used by the authors, it would fall into their highest classification as Miracle Worker.

I highly recommend the important and landmark book The Three Rules: How Exceptional Companies Think by Michael E. Raynor and Mumtaz Ahmed, to any business leaders in any industry who are seeking a valuable and readily applicable book for achieving peak performance for their organization. This no nonsense and challenging book is well worth reading; and then reading again and again, to transform your company into a top performing business.

Change With Confidence by Phil Buckley - Book review

Change with Confidence

Answers to the 50 Biggest Questions that Keep Change Leaders Up at Night

By: Phil Buckley

Published: April 1, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
ISBN-10: 1118556550
ISBN-13: 978-1118556559
Publisher: Jossey-Bass










"For all change leaders, life becomes uncertain, often threatening. When they need the most confidence, many have the least to guide them", writes change management strategist Phil Buckley in his very practical and results oriented book Change with Confidence: Answers to the 50 Biggest Questions that Keep Change Leaders Up at Night. The author describes how critical confidence is as a factor in the success of a change leader, and offers proven advice that focuses on people, to guide the leader through a major change project.

Phil Buckley understands the crucial importance of working with people throughout the entire change management process. The author points out the lasting effectiveness of change that is driven from the people affected by the change itself. The opposite style of change model, based on top down and a more dictatorial approached, is doomed to failure. As a result, Phil Buckley emphasizes how leaders much engage people in all facets of the change management process. The people must be treated with respect, kept up to date on information, given the tools needed to make the change, and be part of creating and implementing their own version of change within the organization.

Phil Buckley (photo left)recognizes the paramount importance of confidence for change leaders to enhance their focus on the project, increases their resolve to complete the project successfully, and to make the best and most appropriate decisions. As the author points out, that confidence is often lacking due to a lack of information, tools, and support from other leaders.

Since change projects require major changes to the previous method for doing things, the author shares fifty answers to making the right decisions and taking the appropriate action at the right time.

Phil Buckley divides the book into four overarching principles to create and implement an effective change management project that has a lasting impact on the organization. The four overall sections include the following:

* Figuring it out
* Planning for change
* Managing change
* Making change stick

For me, the power of the book is how Phil Buckley combines a comprehensive overview of effecive change management with the very hands on skills and techniques necessary to put the concepts into action. The author shares fifty proven techniques, that answer the most challenging questions, that face any leader in a change project. The answers are well organized by topic and sub-heading to facilitate ease of use by leaders. The answers are especially valuable as they place the focus on the people affected by the change.

Each of the sections includes important real world examples of the concepts in action to illustrate the various aspects of the concepts. A leader can learn at a glance which solutions are appropriate, and how effective they have proven themselves to be in similar change scenarios. Overall, this very handy reference book will be returned to over and over again by leaders, as they move through the various phases of the change. The result is an increase in the confidence of the change leaders involved in the process.

I highly recommend the essential and indispensable book Change with Confidence: Answers to the 50 Biggest Questions that Keep Change Leaders Up at Night by Phil Buckley, to any leaders at any level of an organization, who are currently involved in change management or who anticipate a change project in the near future. This book will remove the questions and doubt, for change leaders and managers, and replace them with confidence and resolve.

Viveka Von Rosen: LinkedIn Success For Business - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

Well known LinkedIn expert, speaker, trainer, and author of LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour A Day, Viveka Von Rosen describes how to use the LinkedIn social media platform effectively to grow your business. Viveka Van Rosen takes the mystery out of LinkedIn and demonstrates how this often overlooked social media site can pay real dividends for your and your company. Viveka Von Rosen shares her proven strategies and techniques for developing your LinkedIn profile, for creating discussion groups, and for finding other like minded people on the platform. Viveka offers ideas for avoiding the most common mistakes made with using LinkedIn by guiding business people in how LinkedIn is different from the other popular social media sites. For job seekers and recent college graduates, Viveka offers advice for starting or changing careers. Learn how to get off on the right foot using LinkedIn to develop and expand your professional network the right way.

Viveka Von Rosen is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, July 18, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Well known LinkedIn expert, speaker, trainer, and author of LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour A Day, Viveka Von Rosen describes how to use the LinkedIn social media platform effectively to grow your business. You will learn:

* Why you should be using the LinkedIn social media platform for your business

* How to use LinkedIn effectively from the start

* How to build communities on LinkedIn to deepen online relationships

* How to use LinkedIn for networking, prospecting, or for a new career

Viveka Von Rosen (photo left) started using LinkedIn in 2006 when she saw a presentation on the opportunities of Business Networking with LinkedIn. Having doubled her own business with F2F networking, she saw the immense potential of a business online networking site.

Viveka is known internationally as the "LinkedIn Expert” and speaks to business owners, corporations, Legal Firms and associations on the benefits of marketing with social media, and in particular LinkedIn.

Author of LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour A Day for John Wiley & Sons, she is also a regular source on LinkedIn for prestigious news outlets such as Mashable.com, Ragan.com, SocialMediaExaminer.com, CNN.com and The Miami Herald.

Viveka is the host of the biggest LinkedIn chat on Twitter: #LinkedInChat (Recently quoted by Mashable as one of the top 10 business blogs) and co-moderator of LinkedStrategies, the largest LinkedIn strategy group on LinkedIn. She is constantly learning, sharing and transferring social media skills and strategies to her tribe.

Viveka has 28,000+ first level connections and a network of over 29 million people on LinkedIn, and 48,000+ followers on Twitter. Her seminars, webinars and workshops have taught and trained well over 10,000 people.

She was also recently listed:

Forbes 10 Most Influential Women in Social Media
Forbes 50 Most Influential People in Social Media
TopRank’s 25 Women Who Rock Social Media in 2011
Evan Carmichael’s 2012 Top 100 Leadership Experts to Follow on Twitter
Big Money Web’s 200 Most Fearless Women Online
Listed by Mari Smith as having the niche quality of a social media superstar

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with well known LinkedIn expert, speaker, trainer, and author of LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour A Day, Viveka Von Rosen, as she describes how to use the LinkedIn social media platform effectively to grow your business. Viveka Van Rosen takes the mystery out of LinkedIn and demonstrates how this often overlooked social media site can pay real dividends for your and your company. Viveka Von Rosen shares her proven strategies and techniques for developing your LinkedIn profile, for creating discussion groups, and for finding other like minded people on the platform. Viveka offers ideas for avoiding the most common mistakes made with using LinkedIn by guiding business people in how LinkedIn is different from the other popular social media sites. For job seekers and recent college graduates, Viveka offers advice for starting or changing careers. Learn how to get off on the right foot using LinkedIn to develop and expand your professional network the right way on Blog Business Success Radio.