Steve Farber and the OS!M

Filed Under Inside-Out Thinking, Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog | 4 Comments

Get Extreme

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Making a commitment, taking a stand, being a leader takes a lot. Some days it calls for just that little bit more than we might be able to summon up. We look at our dream and wonder are we up to the challenge.

Steve Farber, SOB, says that’s when we find out whether we’re extreme leaders.

Pursue the OS!M

“There’s no such thing as leadership without that experience of that OS!M,” Steve Farber.

Yeah!

Since I saw that, every time I face that wall, I think “Oh yeah, I feel this way because, I’m an extreme leader.”

Great news! Steve is offering his audio series, Extreme Leadership: In Pursuit of the OS!M. as downloads for free. Can’t beat a price like that. Enjoy!

Steve was with us at SOBCon last year as I finish up the content plans for this year’s program. I’m hoping he’ll be with us again for SOBCon08 in the Spring. News coming soon.

I’m still at BlogWorldExpo.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

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Head and Heart Together: Extreme Leaders Change the World

Filed Under Business Book, Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog, The Big Idea | 13 Comments

Change the World!
I've been thinking . . .

I’ve been thinking about changing the world in 2007 — not that I don’t do that already. Everything we do changes the world in some way. We breathe; we release carbon dioxide for the plants. We smile. We frown. People notice, even if we don’t. We walk the given path or find our own direction. Every step changes what was there before we passed.

But from now on, I want to change the world on purpose, for real, and for the better.

The hard part is making changes for the better. It takes energy to be audacious about pursuing the right goals and values and proving that they make a positive difference. Energy is easy when the world is going smoothly, but not so, when things are extreme and uptight. If I want to always have a positive impact, I need to have energy all times. I need to be an Extreme Leader.

Extreme Leaders know that love generates boundless energy — love of all kinds.

“Love of what future priniciple we’re trying to live out, love of what people I have around me, and love of what they want for their lives. Love of what customers I have, and love of what customers I might have in the future if I am smarter, faster, and more creative in serving their needs. Love of what impact we can have on the lives of our customers and — if we’re audacious enough — on the world as a whole. Love of what our business really is, and love for what — when we cut away the chaff — we really do at work every day. . . .

If I love who we are, and if I love what we can be, then I’ll love the process of how we get there. And in order to make it all happen, I will act boldly and courageously and I will, at times, fail magnificently. But my love demands that I try. Demands it.” — Steve Farber, as Pops in Radical Leap

Extreme Leaders don’t use their heads solely to run their autonomic functions. They don’t use their hearts only to pump blood.

“Now is the time for all of us to take our power back and become, each of us, Extreme Leaders in our own right. We have to set a new example of what’s right in business and everywhere else. We have to be audacious enough to follow the examples we respect and challenge the ones we don’t.” — Steve Farber, as Edj in Radical Leap

Head and heart together, full-out open, audacious and engaged.

It takes that to be fully human. It takes that to be an Extreme Leader.

When head and heart work together, the world responds positively.

Imagine the little and big changes many Extreme Leaders can make.

How will we change the world this year?

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Steve Farber Is an Extreme B.A.D. Blogger!

Filed Under B.A.D. Blogger, Community, SOB Business, Successful Blog | Leave a Comment

Blogger A Day Conversation: Hi, Steve. What’s for Breakfast?

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It stands to reason that a Blogger a Day call with Extreme Leader, Steve Farber, would take an Extreme form. A telephone didn’t enter the picture at all. It was breakfast when Steve was in Chicago!

This was going to be an Extreme B.A.D. Blogger connection. I packed up myself and my stuff into my car. I put my wallet in my back pocket. I put my key in the ignition. I turned the music up loud.

I drove past Wrigley Field and headed where the breakfast was planned. I couldn’t help thinking on the drive out there of the extreme birthday brunch I had celebrated at the same place — all chocolate, champagne, and one piece of bacon. I promised myself less embarrassing choices when I met the guy from California, I had wanted to meet since this summer.

Arriving at the atrium lobby, I aimed for the restaurant. Then a voice behind me said, “Liz,” and there he was. Thoughtful man, my mind said. I also thought, great smile, extreme shoulders, and a person who hugs when he says hello. I already like Mr. Steve Farber.

We found a table and soon the server, a lovely lady, who seemed part of our party, made sure that we had what we wanted. Not for a second did her presence seem an intrusion. Steve has a way of making the world feel welcome. He smiles a lot, and everyone notices that.

The conversation for me had started much earlier — in the car in my head driving there. As the coffee was poured, I had questions to ask Steve about the characters in his books, Radical Leap and Radical Edge. As a writer and as a reader, I was extremely curious about knowing about one in particular.

“Tell me. Is there really an Agnes?”

Steve paused for a thought, then said, “Agnes is not a real person.”

I told him as best I could what testament that was to his skill as a writer. I tried to explain that I found it quite something that anyone could deliver such a consistent message written in such a consistently believable human voice. I wanted Steve to know that I felt that way about all of his characters, but Agnes was more than a personal favorite. I still wish that I could meet her.

That’s when Steve and I talked about how his books relate to his leadership coaching. His speaking engagements draw lessons from the stories and the characters. Steve asked me how I would do a speech from “Agnes’s Book” Radical Edge. Almost immediately, I said I would structure a speech around the idea of finding one’s personal frequency — that note, the value that wraps around all other values the person holds dear.

Steve, being Steve smiled back at me and gently said “Of course, you go there because that’s where you are. Other folks chose another point completely.” He went on to say how some folks want him to talk only about the WUP — that’s the Wake Up Pad, where folks keep track of the ideas and implications of life as it happens. The WUP I thought. Can’t leave out the WUP!

The problem is that his books are so rich.

We wandered through ideas from speeches and books, to how Steve started blogging, and where he’ll be going over the next two years, when his next book is due to come out.

Somehow, being the leader that Steve is, he managed to get as much of my story as I got of his. It was his story, my story, and the stories of people we knew — all intertwined while we talked about the business of books, and speaking, and blogs, and websites, and future projects. I told Steve what I was doing with Phil. He added his publishing advice to the mix. It made a difference to the plans for Phil’s book.

By the end of the conversation I felt the power of extreme leadership, even though the words had never been mentioned.

I smiled the whole drive home. I don’t remember what we ate, but I don’t think I embarrassed myself in the choices I made.

B.A.D. Blogger Quote

The great, compelling writers are the ones whose voices are unique and whose passion is palpable–whatever the subject. Once I figured that out for myself, the process got much easier and . . . more fun. — Steve Farber

Stop by Steve’s Blog, Extreme Leadership, and say hi!

Thanks, Steve, you B.A.D. Blogger!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Want to be a B.A.D. Blogger see the. . . a B.A.D. Blogger? page in the sidebar

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SOB Business Cafe 12-08-06

Filed Under Business Life, Community, Marketing, Successful Blog, Survival Kit, Tools | 6 Comments

SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the title shots to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are



The Publishing Spot offers a way to find balance.

I dont think Id be sane if



Success Begins Today finds a way to include people in optimum performance.

Optitasking at Work



Blogopreneur asks questions worth considering.

Who Do You Define As Authority Today?



CypherHacks explains how to do tricks with Adsense.

Display adsense in certain posts in WordPress



Carpe factum suggests you don’t take the bipolar express.

The Bi-Polar Express



Creative Think offers ideas on how to loosen up.

Loosen Up

Related ala carte selections include



Orbit Now is offering a great service.

Why I want to be your mentor



Converstations asks Steve Farber to explain what OS!M means.

Without OSM You Got Nuthin

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like.
No tips required. Comments appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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Blog Design Types: How Do They Affect Reader Comments?

Filed Under Branding, Comments, Design, Marketing, Successful Blog | 32 Comments

I've been thinking . . .
Yesterday, I had breakfast with Steve Farber. Our discussion included comments and conversation on blogs. I mentioned what I’ve been noticing as I begin working with a designer on a facelift for Successful Blog.

The key point is that the longer I study designs I might like the more I realize that design affects how and whether I comment.

It makes sense really. We recognize a restaurant we want to try by its decor. We decorate our houses to reflect what is important to us. Why wouldn’t blog design reflect the blog owner and the audience? It seems a natural next step to think that blog design affects whether I comment.

Not all readers respond as I do, but decades working with readers online and off has taught me that many do. So, I’ve collected these thoughts:

  1. Some designs are all rules or all whimsy. They might be mature and thoughtful, but they have no emotion. They might be fun and friendly, but they have no sophistication. It’s hard for me to find a fit in either. If I don’t fit, I worry that my comments will be misinterpreted. Designers should know I comment on these blogs despite design not because of it.


  2. Some designs are highly structured — all things are outlined and in boxes. I know from print, that some folks find high-structure a comfort and others find it limiting. High-structure design makes me feel there is only one right answer. I’m careful when I comment on blogs with high-structure designs. I think that information bloggers and corporate blog designers should know this about me.


  3. Some designs are wide open — the extreme example is the white page with no lines or boxes. The overall feeling could translate to standing on an open prairie where horizon is visible in all directions. I so like reading these blogs that I thought this was an option I might try, but when I went to comment on one my comment seemed so public. It didn’t mind sharing my thoughts in this venue, but I knew I’d never get in deep discussion. Someone who wants me to get to the point and keep moving should be aware of this response.


  4. Some designs have a sense of openness and intimacy about them. They offer a defined space with atmosphere that offers room to breathe and think, and a boundary from the rest of the world. These designs feel fresh and familiar at the same time. I seem to know I’ll like people I’ll find there before I start to read. Designers looking to build a community blog should understand the attraction of these intangibles.

We know Successful-Blog is about relationships and conversation. Our kind of dialogue takes place in comfortable spaces, in places intimate and nonjudgmental. High-trust environments don’t happen when there’s only one right answer, when the whole world is watching, or when we have no sense of where we are or who we’re talking to.

Great design weds emotion and structure. Great designers weave and craft the subtle and intangible values of a brand into a design. Great design underpins and underscores who you and your readers are. It is the visual expression of the story your blog is telling in the words.

My comments might begin with a thought, but the execution, the actual writing involves a personal, emotional investment — a putting myself out there. A blog’s design helps me understand whether I’ll be supported in that effort. I guess it tells whether my comment is welcome.

How does the design of your blog reinforce the story of who you are? What else have you noticed about how design makes you feel while you are reading a blog?

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