Seth Godin is giving away an E-book

Seth Godin, author of multiple best-sellers is giving away a free e-book. This is good news, but what makes it even better is that the e-book is stuffed with ideas from people like: Dave Ramsey, William C. Taylor, Tony Hsieh, Guy Kawasaki, Gary Vaynerchuk and MANY OTHERS. It’s an incredible group of thought leaders from all over the spectrum…and it’s FREE.

I am so excited about this that I wanted to share it with all of you. The format of the book is similar to Godin’s “Small is the New Big” in that each page is a separate idea/topic. I really enjoy this type of format because it allows for easy, controlled consumption of a single idea leaving you with plenty of time to consider what is being presented and how it will apply to you.

Check out Godin’s blog post about the book—he provides a link to download the book, or you can directly download it here. And feel free to share it.

Best of 2009: Books for Business Owners

Inc.com has released their list of “The Best Books for Business Owners of 2009.” Here is the list; you can also see it on Inc.com along with a brief blurb about each book.

• “Getting to Plan B” by John Mullins and Randy Komisar
• “Trust Agents” by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith
• “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell
• “Early Exits” by Basil Peters
• “Poorly Made in China” by Paul Midler
• “Exploiting Chaos” by Jeremy Gutsche
• “How the Mighty Fall” by Jim Collins.
• “Shop Class” as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford
• “Clever” by Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones
• “Crush It!” by Gary Vaynerchuk
• “Change by Design” by Tim Brown
• “Borrowing Brilliance” by David Kord Murray
• “The Match King” by Frank Partnoy
• “I Love You More Than My Dog” by Jeanne Bliss

I haven’t read any of them yet, but after reading the blurbs my interest was piqued by several.

Whuffie Bank

Last week, as part of the Tech Crunch 50, a new company called Whuffie Bank was launched. When I first read the name of the company, I thought it said Whiffle and that got me really excited—if it has to do with Whiffle, it's all right by me.

Its not Whiffle, though, its Whuffie, check our the article from Tech Crunch here

Essentially, the Whuffie bank is a sort of social media currency that people can earn by doing great things online. It's a pretty unique idea, but it will have to become widely accepted in order to have the impact the foudners are hoping for. I would also be interested to see what they will do to prevent fraud (setting up dummy accounts and giving yourself Whuffies). Here is what the Whuffie Bank founders have to say:

It’s a sad fact of life that many of the most insightful and helpful people on the web (and in real life, for that matter) aren’t financially rewarded for their efforts...The Whuffie Bank...wants to fix this by launching a new currency that rewards people for their positive contributions on the web.

I like where they are coming from, and I agree with the first line especially, but I am uncertain on how an intangible karma currency will reward people financially.

What do you think? Good idea? Will it work?

Being Googled

The internet is becoming more transparent. This I know. And there are books being written and seminars being taught on how to build your personal brand online. It's no secret that your name will be searched by potential employers, vendors, sales people or even dates. I search my own name on a regular basis to make sure I know exactly what others will find when they do the same. This makes sense to me, I search other's names before and after interacting with them. Its not stalking, its getting to know someone better in a social media, internets kind of world. So why did it feel so strange to SEE my name being searched by a complete stranger?

Let me explain. Today I spent a few minutes on the phone with a potential vendor. As part of our conversation, he offered to show me their product via the GoToMeeting software--For those of you unfamiliar with GoToMeeting, the software essentially allows the user to “show” their desktop to whomever they want through the gotomeeting website--. About 5 minutes into the presentation, I noticed something interesting in the search box of his google toolbar...my name. Although I should expect that he might have searched my name, it took me off guard to actually see it on the screen. This really drove the point home —ANYTHING YOU PUT ON THE WEB CAN AND WILL BE SEEN BY COMPLETE STRANGERS. I've got nothing to hide, but there is a certain sense of vurnerability that comes from actually seeing someone search your name.

The Relationship Between Brands and Consumers

Today I had the opportunity to attend a short seminar put on by M2 Results. The topic was branding, and I had several great epiphanies. PLUS I won an Ipod. Thanks M2!

During the presentation/conversation, I had the following thought:

Friends are our friends because we are emotionally attached to them. Because they provide a benefit in our lives, and we can trust them. The same is true with the emotional aspects of a brand. Why are Mac-aniacs so forgiving when the new Mac Book Air has poor battery life or when their iphone breaks? Because Apple is their “friend”. Sure, sometimes friends make a mistake, sometimes they let you down, BUT they are your friend. You forgive them. They have invested in you, and you in them.

Customer loyalty is one result of a well built brand. Like a group of close nit friends, Apple customers feel connected to the brand, and they almost immediately accept anything Apple puts out because Apple has demonstrated that their consumers can trust them. On the flipside, however, if you let your friends consumers down too often, they may start to reevaluate your friendship and look for the kid with a bigger trampoline or a boat.

The Five Minute Rule

Sometimes, despite our best efforts to remain positive and solutions oriented, our anger, frustration or apathy get the best of us. Often it is a perfect storm of all three. In times like this, it is hard not to be negative or complain. Sometimes, some people just need to vent. This reality does not refute the idea of remaining positive in the face of adversity. In fact, ignoring the “bad stuff” that happens to us is not a good idea. Plus, it’s probably not healthy. A far better way is to recognize events for what they are, and then actively choose what type of effect we will ALLOW it to have on our life. By doing this rather than ignoring realities, we actually increase our capacity for actively choosing the meaning we place on events in our life. Like just about everything else in our lives, we get better with practice.

The Five Minute Rule is a simple tool for practicing the art of focusing on the good rather than the bad. It’s easy to complain, and if we are searching for them, there are plenty of things to think and feel negatively about. For example: how often is our first morning conversation in the office about “how terrible traffic was on the way in?” It may seem little, but we are constantly training our minds how to think and act. Starting your day(s) with a bad attitude sets a dangerous precedence, and can make it increasingly difficult to change your attitude later.

The Five Minute Rule helps to greatly reduce negative thinking. It works like this: if you are going to be negative; if you are JUST TOO MAD to be positive; if you’ve had enough, and you NEED to vent; that’s fine. You now have five minutes to get over it. You might need less, you can’t have more. It is important that you stick to five minutes. If necessary, find a clock or a watch with an alarm and set it. Seriously. Mentally and/or vocally announce when your five minutes start and stop. When your five minutes are up, you are not allowed to think, act, or talk negatively. That’s not to say you can’t talk about the event(s) that set you off in the first place, but after five minutes, its time to start changing the way you think about the events and the amount of focus you give them.

The Five Minute Rule can be difficult at first. Especially if you have built your reality around attaching negative thoughts and emotions to a majority of the events that take place in your life. When used correctly, however, the Five Minute Rule can have a significant impact on your life, your family, or your office/team. Imagine working on a team without negativity—how much more could you accomplish?

Try the Five Minute rule, and please feel free to share any thoughts, feelings, or experiences you have as a result.

Linkedin Question: Sales Strategies

Question from Linkedin:

How to make that sale....I'm in search for great tips on sales
strategies.

My Answer:

This is a broad question. Here are a couple of thoughts.

1) Believe (not pretened to believe--there is a difference) that your
prospect will really benefit from what you are selling and then paint a picture
for them of what their life will be like with your product.

2) Be confident in your ability to sell the product and your prospect's
ability to buy.

Confidence and product conviction are absolutely essential.

What do you think?

A thought on Confidence and Control

How often during the course of a day do we give others control of our lives? The key word in the previous sentence is GIVE. Our lives are literally made of millions of decisions and we are making them constantly. The decisions we make will ultimately affect our perception of things and in turn that perception will become our reality.

For example, imagine you go to a party with a camera. As you walk in, you look to your left and see a room full of people dancing, drinking, and breaking a lamp or two. You take a picture of the party-animals and show it to a friend later. What will be their perception of the party? The answer is obvious. That party was crazy! Now go back to the same party. In another room you see a couple making out in the corner. You take a picture, and now your friend thinks the party was steamy. One more picture, this time of the room where you see a couple of guys just lounging around listening to some Pink Floyd. Now your friend is thinking that party was pretty laid back or even boring (maybe your friend isn’t a Floyd fan, but then you gotta ask yourself why he is your friend--another topic for another time)

The point? We choose what we focus on. And in turn, we are personally responsible for shaping our reality.

Now a more practical application: You go out to present to a potential client and walk away empty handed. Before you move on to your next presentation you have a choice to make. What kind of effect will I allow this experience to have on me? When I go to my next appointment will I GIVE the last client control over how I feel? How I act? How I present? How I close? If you do, you might as well not even go to the next appointment because you are wasting the client’s time, and yours.