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The Book List: Relationships Made Easy for the Business Professional and The Corner Office

April 20, 2011 by teresa

The Book List: a weekly series by Teresa Morrow

Iâm Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors & writers to help them with their online book promotion and marketing. As part of my job I read a lot of books (I love to read anyway!).

The books in The Book List series will cover a range of topics such as social media, product development, marketing, blogging, business, organization, career building, finance, networking, writing, self development, and inspiration.

‘Relationships Made Easy for the Business Professional’ by Dr. David Fraser

David Fraser gets it! The struggle out there is the projection of the struggle in here. We canât begin to heal the world until we heal in here.
Stuart Hepburn, NLP Trainer

In addition to being a good âread throughâ this book is great to dip into when searching for some insight into what may be holding you back â there is a wealth of great content to help increase personal effectiveness.
Ian Laird, Managing Director NiTech Solutions Ltd.

About the Book*:
The ability to relate to other people is the most critical skill a person can ever have â at work, at home or anywhere else â and strong people skills simply make everything else easier. With the right approach, developing relationship expertise is an easy route to success and one of the few reliable and enduring ways we can improve our lives. But we need to take the task seriously.

Drawing on practical psychology, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and other wisdom from various philosophies, as well as first-hand experience of organizational life, David Fraser, Ph.D. offers a systematic, practical and intelligent approach to achieving success with other people. Packed with real-life examples and tried-and-tested steps to take, this book is for business professionals who want to develop their interpersonal relationship skills as a key strength.

In his âvery positive, helpful and enlighteningâ and ultimately âupliftingâ book, the author sets out the 12 essential areas of interpersonal insight and growth: (1) Attention to others; (2) Attitude; (3) Self-control; (4) Tuning in to people; (5) Personality; (6) Connection; (7) Values â working with what matters; (8) Language; (9) Self-awareness; (10) Attention to yourself â clarifying what you really want; (11) Balance; and (12) Love â the power of care.

The author includes with honesty a flavor of his own learning journey, and in the words of his readers, the result is âaccessible and relevant,â âsimply fascinating stuff,â and âvery easy and interesting to read.â

Here are a few summary points I would like to share with you from each step in the book:

~ Persuasion, assertiveness, and logic arenât in themselves the answer.
~ We can have a systematic approach to relationship skills using NLP as the basis.
~ The meaning of any communication is indicated by the response it gets.
~ Listen mindfully for maximum attentiveness.
~ Our habitual choice of visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and auditory-digital thinking affects our lives and our relationships much more than we probably realize.
~ We unconsciously filter the information we receive and have different preferences about what we filter for.
~ Remember: about seven percent of the meaning of what we say is conveyed in the words themselves. The rest of the message is in our voice and other non-verbal communication.
~ We delete, distort, and generalize information going from our own internal thoughts to what we actually say.
~ We project onto other people things about ourselves, good and bad, as they do on us

About David*:
Dr David Fraser has a track record of pioneering new approaches to old problems. He has delivered major projects for government and private sector clients in complex and challenging situations and set up a number of entrepreneurial ventures. He is a company director and Chartered Engineer with a First Class Honours degree and a PhD from Glasgow University and an MBA from Strathclyde University.

He is a qualified commercial mediator and a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner and has trained with leading proponents of these disciplines. David has taken a particular interest in the skills we use to relate to other people, continuing this study over a number of years and through the highs and lows of professional and personal life.

David applies his unusual blend of expertise as a project manager and facilitator to support disparate groups working together in complex circumstances, including major collaborative projects and matters of national importance. He has also found the approach set out in Relationships Made Easy for the Business Professional to be extremely helpful in his home and family environment. David runs workshop and coaching programs for both organizations and individuals.

With his breadth of knowledge, an engineerâs talent for organizing systematic and reliable solutions, and an ability to write in an interesting, direct, and readable way, David is well positioned to address the age-old problem of how to build effective relationships with other people.
David lives with his wife and three children in Glasgow, Scotland.

You can order a copy of ‘Relationships Made Easy for the Business Professional’ online at Amazon. *this information came from Amazon.

Next, I would like to introduce you to a book on the business book list on Amazon: ‘The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed’ by Adam Bryant.

‘The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed’ by Adam Bryant

This book came out recently on the new releases (business) list on Amazon.

“The Corner Office is a modern management masterpiece. Adam Bryant distills and weaves together hundreds of gems from some of the most successful and intriguing executives on the planet. The result is one of the most delightful, readable, and useful business books I have read in years.”–Robert Sutton, Professor of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, and bestselling author of Good Boss, Bad Boss

“Compelling advice for the aspiring executive.â¦ The conversational format makes these valuable lessons easy to comprehend and digest, and readers are left with a new understanding of leadership–why it’s important, how these experts have worked to attain it, and how they can do the same.”âPublishers Weekly

About the Book
Bryant, deputy national editor of the New York Times and writer of the “Corner Office” feature in the paper’s Sunday Business section, offers compelling advice for the aspiring executive. With interviews with more than 75 CEOs and other top executives at companies of all sizes, he compiles insights on such questions as what does it take to lead an organization? what are the keys to achieving the highest levels of success? Business luminaries like the CEO of Disney, the COO of Qwest Communications, the CEO of Continental Airlines, a vice chairman at Wal-Mart, and the founder of Zappos speak thoughtfully about team creation, keeping the mission on target, management, employee relationships, the importance of feedback, and the creation of an efficient corporate culture. The conversational format makes these valuable lessons easy to comprehend and digest, and readers are left with a new understanding of leadershipâwhy it’s important, how these experts have worked to attain it, and how they can do the same. (Apr.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

About Adam*:
Adam Bryant, the deputy national editor of The New York Times, has been a journalist for more than two decades. He was a business reporter for The New York Times during the 1990s, covering a variety of industries and topics, including airlines, aviation safety, executive compensation and corporate governance. He joined Newsweek in 1999 as a senior writer, and was promoted to business editor. After six years at Newsweek, he returned to the Times as an editor in the business section, where he oversaw coverage of the collapse of the Detroit auto industry, among other stories.

Adam was the lead editor for two prize-winning series: “Driven to Distraction,” about the dangers of cellphone use behind the wheel, which won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2010, and “Toxic Waters,” about water pollution, which won a number of awards.

In March 2009, Adam started the weekly “Corner Office” feature in the Times’ Sunday Business section, and it quickly attracted a large and loyal audience for its insights about leadership and management from prominent leaders. For his book, The Corner Office, Adam studied the transcripts from more than 70 interviews, and looked for patterns, broader themes and lessons. He wove together their candid and wise insights into a book that offers timeless advice on how to succeed, manage and lead.

Adam lives in Westchester County, New York, with his wife and two daughters.

*courtesy of book website and/or Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘The Corner Office’ at Amazon.

Leadership … It’s All in Your Head!

April 19, 2011 by Liz

The theme of SOBCon this year, The New Leaderrship and Loyalty Businesss, has me thinking, why do we work so hard to do what we do? … and how much of our success and leadership is in how we see ourselves?

It can’t be solely economic. We could find easier ways to put in a good day’s work for a good day’s pay.

It’s not just political. We can raise our station in life and our job roles by trying less visible, more traditional ways.

It’s a reaching out to leadership. Leaders are givers. Leaders give their learning, their loyalty, their love to build something lasting and solid with others that no one person can build alone.

Why do we choose the road less traveled, the rockier road that’s bound to be just that much harder if only because it’s not paved? In the end does that make us leaders or victims of the route we’ve chosen to take? At it’s core, it’s the “what” or even the “how” of what we do that makes a leader, but the “why.”

Leadership … It’s All In Your Head

Still, the calling to build something lasting and solid is simply a calling without the leadership thinking to fuel the “what” and “how” of making that vision a reality. To attract those other someones who help build that solid something a leader has to have the right “why” working. the right “why” is leadership thinking. Leadership is really all in our heads.

Did you ever notice that what people value most is what they give away?

Leaders understand that giving to others won’t get us what we not given to ourselves.

I have a friend who is a promiscuous truster. He extends his trust almost immediately to everyone he meets. He NEEDS to trust other people in order to get their trust back. His need to feel trusted gets filled that way. He’s often the victim of untrustworthy types find him attractive and find it easy to take advantage. He often burned, sometimes badly. My friend’s problem is that he doesn’t trust himself first.

The “why” he’s doing it is because he NEEDS to be trusted that is what undercuts his leadership.

Suppose that he decided (killed off all other options) to find himself trustworthy first?

That would simply be a change in thinking — all in his head.

He would move from possible victim to leadership.

If he found himself trustworthy, he wouldn’t NEED to trust other people almost immediately but he still could.
Now he would be doing it from a position of strength. Now he could trust almost everyone until he got to the untrustworthy takers. Now, because he didn’t NEED their trust (which he wasn’t getting anyway) he could smile and leave them alone.

Leaders own what they give away.

Doing that is all inside our heads. How is the leadership inside your head going?

Be irresistible.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

Tailoring Twitter: Get Busy Folks to “Get” Twitter in 2 Minutes Flat!

April 18, 2011 by Liz

I’m Too Busy for Twitter

Last I worked the social media station for McGraw-Hill Education at the National Conference of Teachers of Mathematics, a gathering of about 9,000 attendees. As it happens this attendee group is math teachers, school superintendents, math tutors, and people who build products for, consult with, and sell products to the education industry. Every administrator, every teacher, every editor, designer, consultant, sales rep, and presenter I spoke with has a huge job — days filled with helping others gain expertise and find knowledge, breaks and evenings filled with planning how to do that more effectively.

Sounds a lot like every client, customer, web publisher, manager, and business person I know.

I bet you know a few people like that too.

And I bet you’ve heard these words more than once, “I’m too busy for another social network.”

Here’s how I was able to change that view for over 90% of the folks with whom I spoke in less than 2 Minutes Flat!

How to Get Busy Folks to “Get” Twitter in 2 Minutes Flat!

My purpose for being at the event was to show every version of busy people how Twitter can make their jobs easier, faster, and more meaningful. Naturally, I’d start by asking questions and listening. The conversation would go something like this.

“Are you on Twitter?”:

“No. I’m too busy. I don’t have a smartphone. I don’t need another social network.”

“Oh, don’t I get that. Time is so important to all of us. By the way, you do this on your computer, whenever you feel like it. There’s no obligation to show up. Will you give me two minutes to show you how I think Twitter will make your job easier?”

“Okay I’ll listen for two minutes.”

“Let’s start with your job. What is your role in the world of mathematics?”

Then I’d point to a Twitter screen loaded to a hashtag … in the is case it was #mathchat And say, “let me show you what’s happening here.”

[click to enlarge image.]

I’d go on …

“All day long people who care about math post resources, questions, answers, ideas, insights, best practices and they tag them with this hashtag #mathchat so that other math folks can see them.”

I’d fire off a few examples and point to some in the stream, such as

The teacher who asked “Is anyone at a school that’s giving students iPads, I’m wondering how that works.”
Here’s two activities for the classroom.
Here’s an article on how a teacher made Calculus the most popular class in the school.
Look at that! There’s an event for middle school teachers in your state next month.
Yesterday I saw a tweet from a teacher who was looking for a video on nanotechnology for his students.
And did you see the Tweet right there, where @mheducation is offering their Math Apps for free during this conference? .

When I asked the question on #mathchat, why might a math person want to use Twitter, they said

So you don’t feel alone.
To get ideas.
To ask questions and get answers.
To get insights and best practices.
To connect with math people all over the world.

“And don’t worry about time. You don’t HAVE TO be there. Twitter is like this conference exhibit, the resources are available when you need them. They don’t come bother you. You go visit them when you can.”

The other things that’s really cool is that every week for one hour math people from all over the world meet at the same time under this #mathchat hashtag to talk math in real time — it’s like a mini math conference every week online — you can just listen in or talk and make friends who do what you do.

That’s when I handed them a sheet with the information from these two blog posts.

Tailoring Twitter: Does Your Twitter Profile Attract the Right People?

and

Tailoring Twitter: Building a Powerful Network that Fits You Perfectly

and some information on how to find a list of the most popular hashtags in their industry.

Now you see how a single hashtag can get right to the deep value of Twitter for almost anyone one.

How can you use this to tailor Twitter — to make it faster, easier and more meaning — for the folks you know?

Be Irresistible!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Cool Tool Review: Proxlet – Your Rescue for Twitterchats

April 8, 2011 by Guest Author

A Guest Post by Leo Widrich

Last Sunday was my first time to participate in #blogchat a weekly held Twitterchat and boy was it an amazing experience conversing with @lizstrauss and @mackcollier. It boasts great personalities each week helping you to answer any Social Media and blogging related questions.

For long I was quite reluctant to join in Twitterchats as I felt I would overwhelm my followers for the time the chat was going on with my tweets.

Fortunately I finally found a solution I can offer, since staying away from this massive amount of great insights at #blogchat is definitely not an option.

It is a nifty Twitter App called Proxlet.

What does Proxlet do?

Facebook has a very useful âHide this postâ option integrated. Proxlet gives you this exact same thing, only for Twitter.

Using proxlet, you can temporarily hide certain things on Twitter which clutter your timeline or arenât currently the core thing of your interest.

How to best use it?

Proxlet fortunately takes the âhide thisâ feature a step further and allows you to explain in a very detailed manner which area of tweets you want to block.

You can block Apps you donât want to show up in your Timeline. For example am using it for both foursquare and paper.li since I feel they donât add enough value.
You can also stop certain individual users temporarily, for example because they are at a conference and you are not really interested in their tweets at that point.
Another way to make use of Proxlet is to block certain hashtags from showing up in your timeline.

What is the best part of Proxlet?

The best part of proxlet is that it works not only at twitter.com, but can also be used for your favourite Twitter clients such as Twitter for Iphone, Tweetdeck and others.

Someone approached me that he couldnât take the load of my #blogchat tweets and Proxlet turned out to be a superb solution for both of us. He could continue following me, yet was freed of those unwanted tweets in a short space of time.

What are your thoughts on Proxlet (http://proxlet.com) ? Have you had a similar problem yourself before too? Please let me know below.

Leo Widrich writes Tips for Twitter on his blog. You can visit his website, Bufferapp, or find him on Twitter as @leowid.

_________

Thanks, Leo, for checking out proxlet for us!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Buy the Insider’s Guide to Online Conversation.

The Book List: Built to Sell and The Millionaire Messenger

April 6, 2011 by teresa

The Book List: a weekly series by Teresa Morrow

‘Built to Sell’ by John Warrillow

âJohn does a masterful job in Built to Sell of illuminating the qualities that business buyers look for in a company, and he does it in a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging manner.â
âBo Burlingham, author of Small Giants from the foreword

Covering every important aspect of the process, from attracting multiple bidders to getting the most for your business, this book easily explains what you must know and do if you want to create a business you can sell. â
âSteve Strauss, USA Today

Here are a few of the tips I enjoyed while reading this book and my take on the tip:

One of my favorite tips in the book is #5 – Avoid the Cash Suck. Once you’ve standardized your service, charge up front or use progress billing to create a positive cash flow cycle.
—>(Teresa’s Take) I think this is really good advice because as Warrillow illustrates in the parable with Alex’s business, many businesses have services offered and then choose to wait 30-60 days to get paid. Smart idea to create a way to build in a up front payable product or at least evaluate the payment options for clients and possible develop a billable option where there is money coming in up front and then billed on a monthly basis to produce the positive cash flow.

#6 also caught my eye- Don’t be afraid to say no to projects. Prove that you’re serious about specialization by turning down work that falls outside your area of expertise.
—>(Teresa’s Take) This reminds me of the message—Turn on your strengths and turn over your weaknesses. It will probably take you twice as long to do a project and the quality of the project may suffer, however, if you choose to focus on projects where you highlight your strengths, you shine and so does the project (and this will most likely lead to more referral business!).

About the Book*:

If youâre like most business owners, you started a company because you thought it would give you freedomâto do what you want, work on your own schedule, make the kind of money you deserve and eventually retire on the fruits of your labor.

Unfortunately, according to John Warrillow, most owners find that stepping out of the picture is extremely difficult because theyâve built a business that relies too heavily on their personal involvement. Without them, their companyâno matter how big or profitableâis essentially worthless.

Luckily, there are steps you can takeâno matter what stage your business is inâto create a valuable, sellable company that can grow and thrive without you.

To illustrate this, Warrillow introduces us to a fictional business owner named Alex, who is struggling to sell his company. No one bites because the business canât run without him. For guidance, Alex turns to Ted, an entrepreneur and old family friend, who lays out an easy-to-follow plan that enables Alex to transform his business. The key is making sure that every product or service meets three criteria:

* Teachable: A built-to-sell business offers products and services that you can teach employees to do, or program technology to deliver, while you sleep
* Valuable: A built-to-sell business avoids price wars by specializing in doing one thing better than anyone else
* Repeatable: A built-to-sell business creates a stream of recurring revenue where customers have to re-purchase often

Like Alex, readers can apply these powerful strategies to realize their entrepreneurial dreams.

About John*:

Professionally, Iâm a writer, speaker, entrepreneur and angel investor.

My goal with my writing is to help business owners build valuableâsellableâcompanies. Part of the reason I write is ego gratificationâI like getting your emails and tweets; the other part is needing to feel that Iâm making a contribution in some small way.

Iâve started four companies, the most recent of which was a research business I tried to sell in 2004 only to be told by an expert that it was too dependent on me personally. Learning that my business was unsellable was frustrating. First I denied it. Then I got angry. Finally, I set about remodeling the business into one that could thrive without me. After lots of trial and error, it started to take off, and we were acquired in 2008 by a publicly traded company. I learned a lot in those four years, and those lessons became the inspiration to start this blog.

I think the world needs more entrepreneurs. If I had to rely on anyone to get me off the side of a mountain, Iâd want a creative, tenacious and tough-minded entrepreneur beside me. When I vote, I prefer candidates who have started a business. I believe entrepreneurs will be the ones to solve our biggest problems and bring the developing world the quality of life that Westerners enjoy, which is why Iâve created a team of Built to Sell readers who lend money to entrepreneurs in the developing world through an organization called Kiva.

Most of the year, I live with my wife and kids in a town called Aix-en-Provence in southern France, where the climate enables year-round cycling and running, which is important to me because one day Iâd like to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Until then, I will have to settle with being a middle-of-the-pack age-grouper in the few races I do each year.

You can pre order a copy of ‘Built to Sell’ online at Built to Sell Website. *this information came from Amazon.

Next, I would like to introduce you to a book on the business book list on Amazon and on my reading list: ‘The Millionaire Messenger’.

‘The Millionaire Messenger by Brendon Burchard

This book came out recently on the new releases (business) list on Amazon.

âThe expert industry has been shrouded in myth and mystery for far too long. Now Brendon Burchard, one of our most innovative and powerful leaders, reveals exactly how weâauthors, speakers, coaches, consultants, seminar leaders and online information marketers–make a difference and earn an income with our advice and expertise. This is an industry defined by how much value we add to othersâ lives, and this book delivers and shows exactly why Brendon is one of the best.â –Jack Canfield, New York Times best-selling author of The Success Principles and originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul(R) series

âIf youâve ever dreamed of building a career and business around your advice, expertise and knowledge, then youâll love this book.â –David Bach, #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Automatic Millionaire

About the Book
In The Millionaire Messenger, Brendon Burchard pulls back the curtains on the once-secretive “expert industry” and shows how to become an influential and highly paid advice expert through websites, books, speeches, seminars, coaching, consulting, and online programs. Blessed to receive lifeâs golden ticket – a second chance – after surviving a dramatic car accident, Burchard has dedicated his life to helping others find their voice, live more fully, and follow their dreams. By following his 10-step program, average, ordinary people can learn to package their struggles, successes, research, or lifeâs story into advice for others and become experts on any given topic. In the industry of people who share their advice and knowledge with the world and get paid for it, Burchard is the âguruâs guru.”
If youâve ever wondered how the gurus spread their message, serve others, and build a real business, then this is a must-read.

About Brendon*:
Brendon Burchard is the founder of Experts Academy and the #1 New York Times and #1 USA Today bestselling author of The Millionaire Messenger. He is also author of Life’s Golden Ticket and one of the top business and motivational trainers in the world. His famous training events and videos, listed at the bottom of this page, inspire millions of people to start anew, find their voice, live more fully, and make a greater difference in the world.

Brendon was blessed to receive life’s golden ticket –a second chance– after surviving a car accident in a developing country. Since then, he has dedicated his life to helping individuals, teams, and organizations create and master change. His clients have included Accenture, Alcoa, JC Penney, eBay, Best Buy, Nordstrom, Levi’s, Gateway, and Walgreens, as well as thousands of executives and entrepreneurs from around the globe who attend his speeches and seminars.

Brendon’s new public television special “Experts Academy with Brendon Burchard” is currently airing and inspiring millions of people to share their voice and wisdom with the world. You’ve also seen Brendon in SUCCESS magazine and via media appearances on ABC World News, NPR stations, Oprah and Friends, and other popular programs.

Brendon’s life-changing speeches and fundraising events have been sponsored or promoted by Wachovia (now Wells Fargo), Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, Toyota, Morgan Stanley, Sony Pictures, Washington Trust Bank and other major companies.

Brendon’s books, newsletters, products, and appearances now inspire nearly 2 million people a month.

Brendon donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of his works to Junior Achievement, Kiwanis International, and other youth and service-based nonprofits. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his incredible wife, Denise.

*courtesy of book website and/or Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘The Millionaire Messenger!’ at Amazon.

The Book List: ‘I’m There for You, Baby’ and ‘Social BOOM!’

March 30, 2011 by teresa

The Book List: a weekly series by Teresa Morrow

‘I’m There for You Baby: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to the Galaxy’ by Neil Senturia

âNeil Senturia is San Diegoâs own âLarry David;â charmingly acerbic, witty and straight to the point! Neil is a high energy guest who makes business concepts entertaining, informative and accessible to our audience. Hope Neil never curbs his enthusiasm or his willingness to share his insight on business!â
–Maureen Barnes, Producer, The Big Biz Show with Sully and Russ T Nailz

When reading this book, you are hit right off the bat with Neil’s humor and wit and love for storytelling. And intertwined in the mix are delicious tidbits of insightful resourcefulness and experience from his been-there, done-that entrepreneurial life.

Here are a few of the “baby rules” I enjoyed while reading this book and my take on the rule:

Rule #220 – Treat your Superstars well, if not, they may leave and take your universe with them.
When I read this rule, it made me think about the 80/20 rule and how entrepreneurs should be mindful to take care of the top 20 percent of their clientele because that is where the loyalty is.

Rule #243 – Do you actually think your customer is stupid or do you just tread him that way?
This rule reminds me of the principle of “being your customer” and remember that you need to KNOW who you customer is in order to be able to be the go-to person for them.

Rule #300 – It never hurts to ask.
This rule speaks directly to me and this is something I share with others all the time. This is what I tell others….if you don’t ask the question, the answer is automatically “no”. You negate the possibility of yes if you don’t ask the question. So if you want to ask someone to talk with you or do a joint venture with you or even connect with you….ask!

About the Book*:
Success, failure, joy, pain, and rejection. Neil Senturia shares the ups and downs of his entrepreneurial life and how the lessons learned along his journey can be applied to all of our lives. The book reads like Neil talks (with the occasional four letter word!) so be prepared for a humorous and insightful read. Two hundred and twenty three of his Baby Rules are included here, and you ll have to wait for Volume 2 for the rest.

About Neil*:
Neil Senturia has re-invented himself several times in his relentless pursuit of entrepreneurial success. Currently he is the CEO of Blackbird Ventures, an investor in high growth potential companies. He also serves as the chairman of the board of directors of Valore, an online marketplace for the sale and rental of used textbooks.
Neilâs diverse endeavors range from writing sitcoms to technology with a stint as a real estate developer in the middle. He has been CEO of six technology companies, three in software, one in material science, one in media and most recently clean tech.
His companies have been sold to Cisco, Kofax and Lockheed Martin. And no bio is complete without noting that one of the six went broke.
Neil has taught new venture creation as an adjunct professor in the MBA program at San Diego State University and has served on the board of directors of SDSUâs Entrepreneurial Management Center. Currently he teaches entrepreneurship at UC San Diegoâs Jacobs School of Engineering von Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement (http://www.vonliebig.ucsd.edu). He is a member of the San Diego Venture Group (http:/www.sdvg.org) and the MIT Enterprise Forum.
His numerous honors include winning the Microsoft Retail Application Developer Award twice, the Arnie Karush award from the San Diego Software Industry Council, CONNECTâs Most Innovative New Product Award in software, and CONNECTâs Lifetime Contribution Award in Technology.
Neil graduated from Tufts University with a B.A. degree in English and received a mastersâ degree in cinema from New York University. He was a Fellow at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles and served in the U.S. Army from which he received an honorable discharge.
He is married to Barbara Bry, and their blended family includes four children between the ages of 25 and 29, and Momo, a Himalayan cat.

You can purchase a copy of ‘I’m There for You, Baby: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to the Galaxy’ online at Amazon. *this information came from Amazon.

Next, I would like to introduce you to another book on the business book list on Amazon and on my reading list: ‘Social BOOM!’.

‘Social BOOM!’ by Jeffrey Gitomer

This book came out recently on the new releases (business) list on Amazon.

I can attest to Gitomer’s wonderful writing style and never ending insights about business sales (I have purchased several of his books) and now he has written about the mix of social media within the business world…all I can say is I am so looking forward to reading this book!

“…He helped clarify the message that every business person needs to incorporate into their philosophy: GIVE VALUE consistently and you have a great chance to succeed in the emerging behemoth of “Business Social Media Marketing.”
Here’s a hint: If you don’t know what Business Social Media Marketing even IS, then you need this book. If you think you Maybe do, then you need this book. If you own any size business, you need this book. If you coach, train, advise or counsel any professional or business person, then you need this book…” *Review on Amazon by Lowell Sheets

About the Book
Social BOOM! contains every aspect of social media, including the business periphery (blog, personal website, e-zine) that you need in order to create the real law of attraction. When you create a connection, itâs an indicator that that prospect, or that customer, or that person wants to continue the online relationship, which may lead to real business. Graduate from social media to business social media by creating value that others will perceive as important to fulfilling their needs.

As you go through each aspect of this foundation-building, platform-building book, you will read the ideas that Gitomer and others are using right now. None of the ideas are random. All of them are fully tested and can be implemented by you, too. None of the ideas contain solicitation (buy my product, make a lot of money). All of them get you and your brand out there in a systematic way that will bring in dollars.

Gitomer has invited a number of social media experts to âguest speakâ in the book, to help you get a wider range of views and options. The best part about this book is that the minute you begin to read it, if your laptop or mobile device is handy, you can begin to implement it in the same minute.

About Jeffrey*:

I remember my mother chasing my car as I backed out of the driveway to register on my first day of college: “Take pre-med!” she screamed, “You can always switch!” But I wanted to be a businessman, like my dad.

He was the consummate entrepreneur. Growing up, I used to sneak downstairs and listen in on his Thursday night pinochle game. Arguments and laughs about business and life. It proved to be my inspiration for my life’s pursuits. My pal, Duke Dalton said, “You know what I hate about your old man? He’s never wrong.” I miss my folks, and I’m grateful to them for their wisdom – the stuff they accused me of never listening to for 30+ years. If your parents are alive, call them right now and tell them you love them.

In college, I played Scrabble every day with my best friend, Michael Toll. He usually won. It taught me about words and how to use them. Michael also provided me with the challenge of winning at games, both sports and intellectual. He’ll tell you he was better than me at everything. I feel the same about him. That was the fun.

I spent a year in Europe and came to the realization that I knew very little compared to what there was to know, which is funny, because I left for Europe knowing everything.

I raised a family. My three beautiful daughters taught me patience. They also gave me the courage and inspiration to achieve in the face of failure. Girls, I love you.

And I became a salesman. My first goal was to be the best salesman in the world. I’m still on that journey, every day. In the pursuit of that goal I surprised myself by becoming a columnist, an author, a speaker, a consultant, and a sales trainer. I used to hate flying. Now I spend about a quarter of my life in an airplane. But I really don’t mind, because it gives me the precious opportunity to share my sales knowledge and my secrets with a worldwide audience. What could be better?

My name is Jeffrey Gitomer. I’m a salesman. I’m a dad. I’m a college dropout.

My objective in life is to help others, establish long-term relationships, and have fun – every day. When you love your work like I do, every day is the same. It’s a holiday.
*courtesy of book website and/or Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘Social BOOM!’ at Amazon.