Successful Blog

Social Media Book List: The NOW Revolution and Smarter, Faster, Cheaper

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners, LLC

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

This week I will be highlighting two books; both are on the Amazon business marketing list and ones on my “reading list”.

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

‘The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social’

by Jay Baer and Amber Naslund

“Action. I no longer read a business book like this seeking thoughts and ideas. I read them to get actionable bits I can employ immediately. ‘Now’ is staring all businesses in the face. It doesn’t matter whether you want to join the conversation. They’re already shouting for you (or AT you). Get this book and heed Baer and Naslund’s advice. Now.”
~ Chris Brogan, President Human Business Works

“Social media has caused a paradigm shift in how we function and do business on the planet, yet so many companies are still stuck in the old media world and are getting left behind. The Now Revolution is the missing handbook for exactly how to successfully navigate and integrate the new media paradigm. Packed with examples, tools, checklists, case studies and best practices, this book absolutely must be on the desk of every executive serious about thriving in the new social economy.”
~ Mari Smith, Facebook Business Coach

About the Book*:

The social web has changed the way we do business forever

The future of your company is not in measured, considered responses and carefully planned initiatives. Business today is about near-instantaneous response. About doing the best you can with extremely limited information. About every customer being a reporter, and every reporter being a customer. About winning and losing customers in real-time, every second of every day. About a monumental increase in the findable commentary about our companies.

Having the time and information required to make a considered business decision is a luxury – a luxury that’s quickly facing extinction. Yet business hasn’t adapted to this evolution. And adapt you must.

This book isn’t about how to “do” social media. Instead, The Now Revolution outlines how you must retool your organization to make real-time business work for you rather than against you.
Read about seven shifts that will help you make your company faster, smarter, and more social:

* Engineer a New Bedrock
* Find Talent You Can Trust
* Organize your Armies
* Answer the New Telephone
* Emphasize Response-Ability
* Build a Fire Extinguisher
* Make a Calculator

The Now Revolution is pushing you to adapt the way you do business, from the inside out. It impacts your organization culturally, operationally, and functionally. This book is your guide to making the changes you need, and to harnessing the potential of this new communication era.

Customers aren’t going to wait for your next polished press release to decide if they like you and your products or services. Instead, they’re choosing between you and your competition every second of every day—and talking about it online. Keeping up with them requires seven shifts that will make your business faster, smarter, and more social:

* Strip away silos and overgrown business processes
* Hire and empower a new type of employee
* Organize internal teams for maximum external impact
* Listen at the point of need
* Travel the Humanization Highway and respond effectively to customer inquiries
* Plan for, find, and manage real-time crises
* Redesign success metrics in a business world that’s increasingly instantaneous

Real-time communication and social media have changed the way we do business—forever. The Now Revolution shows you how to adapt your organization to meet the expectations of today’s always-on customer and harness the power of now.

About Jay*:
Jay Baer is a tequila-loving social media strategist and speaker, and President of social consultancy Convince & Convert.

Founder of five companies, he’s worked with over 700 brands since 1994, including 25 of the Fortune 1000.

His Convince & Convert blog is ranked among the world’s top marketing resources, and he’s the co-author of the much ballyhooed, forthcoming book The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social.

Before becoming involved with digital marketing, he was a political consultant; a marketing director for an environmental services company (he knows more about landfills than you); and a spokesman for a state government agency (he knows more about juvenile prisons than you)!

He’s on Twitter as @jaybaer and for the record his favorite tequilas are: Tres Amigos Blanco, Corzo Reposado, Milagro Single Barrel Anejo, and Del Maguey Chicicapa Mezcal.

He lives in beautiful Bloomington, Indiana with his wife, two children, and assorted mammals and reptiles.

About Amber*

Amber Naslund is a communications and business strategist, and the VP of Social Strategy for Radian6, a social media listening and insights platform. In her professional role, she cultivates the Radian6 brand through speaking, content creation, and client strategy and support.

For the past 15 years, Amber has worked with businesses of all sizes, from the Fortune 50 to startups and local nonprofits, to lead branding, communications, and client experience initiatives. She’s enjoyed a diverse career as a fundraiser, client services professional, marketing and communications executive, and entrepreneur. Today, she focuses her work and writing on creating effective change, and solving business problems through better communication, online and off.

Amber is also a frequent speaker at conferences and private events, talking about the intersection of the web, communication, and business culture. Amber is an avid writer and passionate content creator, and her blog has been been recognized among Forbes’ 20 Best Social Media and Marketing Blogs By Women, as PostRank’s top community management blog of 2009, as one of the Top 10 Social Media Blogs of 2010, and among the AdAge Power 150. Amber lives in Chicago with her daughter and a four-footed menagerie of cats and dogs.

You can purchase a copy of ‘The NOW Revolution’ online from the author site or on Amazon. *this information came from the author’s website or Amazon.

Next, I would like to introduce you to another book on the business book list on Amazon and on my reading list: ‘Smarter, Faster, Cheaper’ by David Siteman Garland.

Smarter, Faster, Cheaper:Non-Boring, Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business

by David Siteman Garland.

“David brings to business marketing something that is essential to your success, motivation and passion. The stories and lessons shared here are rich with real advice wrapped in vitality and proven through experience. Take this book and go earn your success!”
—Brian Solis, author of Engage, the complete guide for businesses to build, cultivate, and measure success in the social Web

“In his smart and practical book, David Siteman Garland shows how to deploy your personality, passion, and knowledge to turbocharge your marketing. This no-nonsense guide will help entrepreneurs large and small spread their message and build their business.”
—Daniel H. Pink, author of DRIVE and A WHOLE NEW MIND

About the Book*
Save time and money in building, marketing and promoting your business

With huge recent shifts in the way enterprises are built, marketed, and monetized, these are “wild west” times for business. In this new landscape, entrepreneurs and small business owners actually have an edge in marketing without spinning their wheels or going broke.

Smarter, Faster, Cheaper gives you an innovative, approachable new guide on how to market, promote and improve your business drawing on real world examples and offering practical advice as opposed to fluffy theory. It presents a complete roadmap for marketing and promoting your business with the latest techniques.

* Draws from author David Siteman Garland’s extensive experiences as a successful entrepreneur
* Based on countless interviews with successful leaders, including conversations with entrepreneurs and owners of businesses large and small
* Strategies and ideas are easy to understand, digest, and immediately put to use

From learning when to skimp and when to splurge to mastering the art of online schmoozing, Smarter, Faster, Cheaper will save you time, money, and aggravation whether you’re building your tenth business or your first.

About David*:
Entrepreneur, mediapreneur, speaker and author David Siteman Garland is the Founder of The Rise To The Top, The #1 Non-Boring Resource For Building Your Business Smarter, Faster, Cheaper and upcoming author of Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business (Wiley Publishing). He writes/hosts RISE, a a web show for entrepreneurs, forward-thinkers, business owners and marketers, as well as The Rise To The Top TV show on ABC.

His philosophy is simple: Money follows passion and not the other way around.

After starting and stopping several unique entrepreneurial adventures and dabbling in everything from radio to hockey, David became frustrated that he could not find a great resource (that wasn’t a snoozefest) where forward-thinkers could learn more about building, marketing and promoting their own businesses by being smarter, faster, cheaper as opposed to dumber, slower and expensive. What was missing was a new kind of TV and web show, one that was entertaining and educational, and that was part of an online hub that resonated with forward-thinking entrepreneurs and others that struck out on their own without multi-million dollar budgets.

Since such a show and website didn’t exist, David decided to build it himself by investing all of his savings, time and energy to create from scratch a TV show, online resource and community of entrepreneurs and marketers.

Like many ventures, The Rise To The Top was born through brainstorming in a coffee shop. David shared his idea for the show with friends, successful business owners and creative types, all of whom thought it was a great concept. The Rise To The Top quickly attracted a wide and varied fan base, including not only the targeted demographic of those in their 20’s, 30’s and early 40’s, but also more “mature” viewers.

The show and web resource now has over 100,000 monthly viewers with a big focus on interviews and picking the brain of top entrepreneurs, forward-thinkers and authors including Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library), Chris Brogan (ChrisBrogan.com), Tony Hsieh (Zappos), The Millionaire Matchmaker Patti Stanger, Seth Godin and many others.

He has been featured on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, City TV, My Network Television, as well as on KMOX and in Alive Magazine, The Riverfront Times, Ladue News, and St. Louis Magazine. He has no idea why he has become a media magnet so early in his career, but he’s certainly not turning down interviews and requests for videos.

David contributes as a writer and business/entrepreneurial commentator to CNN, CBS Bnet, Small Biz Trends, The St. Louis Business Journal, Personal Branding Blog, Speaker Magazine, Small Business Monthly and Great Day St. Louis. He was recently selected by Speaker Magazine as one of the Hot Speakers Of The Year.

He also has guest lectured at Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis University and Fontbonne University.

*courtesy of book website and Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘Smarter, Faster, Cheaper’ at Amazon.

I truly hope you will check out these books and please comment and let me know your thoughts on them.

Social Media Book List: Real-Time Marketing & PR and UnMarketing

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners, LLC

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

This week I will be highlighting two books; both are on the Amazon business marketing list and ones I my “reading list”.

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

‘Real-Time Marketing and PR: How to Instantly Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now’

by David Meerman Scott

rtm-pr-book-b

“We all know that opportunities and threats from the digital world often arrive without warning. They can’t wait for discussion at monthly planning meetings. Hell, most times they can’t wait for you to finish lunch!… Scott’s book provides a rationale to help you create real-time mindset in your own organization.”
– Bill Sledzik, Associate Professor, School of Journalism & Mass Communication, Kent State University

“The world has changed dramatically, and we have now entered a new, real-time era. Dusty business plans are now being crushed by right-now strategy and adaptation. David’s book offers the new road map to entrepreneurs, business leaders, and individuals. It’s made a big impact on the way I approach our business and our customers; the insight I’ve gained by reading it is priceless. This important and thoughtful book is a must-read to compete in the next era of business, and life.”
– Josh Linkner Chairman / Founder, ePrize and author, Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Unleash Business Creativity

About the Book*:

Real-Time Marketing means…

Real-time means news breaks over minutes, not days. It means ideas percolate, then suddenly and unpredictably go viral to a global audience. It’s when companies develop (or refine) products or services instantly, based on feedback from customers or events in the marketplace. And it’s when businesses see an opportunity and are the first to act on it.

Caught up in old, time-consuming processes, too many companies leave themselves fatally exposed by flying blind through this new media environment. You don’t have to be among them. Discover Real-Time Marketing & PR and get a clear path to navigate and succeed in the changed business landscape.

In this eye-opening follow-up to the bestselling The New Rules of Marketing & PR, David Meerman Scott reveals the proven, practical steps to take your business into the real-time era.

About David*:
David Meerman Scott’s book The New Rules of Marketing & PR opened people’s eyes to the new realities of marketing and public relations on the Web. Six months on the BusinessWeek bestseller list and published in 26 languages from Bulgarian to Vietnamese, New Rules, now in its second edition, is a modern business classic. Scott’s popular blog and hundreds of speaking engagements around the world give him a singular perspective on how businesses are implementing new strategies to reach buyers.

His newest book Real-Time Marketing & PR: How to Instantly Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now was released in November 2010. It achieved #2 on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list and #3 on the USA Today bestseller list.

He is also the co-author (with Brian Halligan) of the hit book Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History and wrote three other books including World Wide Rave.

His blog – Web Ink Now – is ranked by AdAge Power 150 as a top worldwide marketing blog.

He is a recovering VP of marketing for two publicly traded technology companies and was also Asia marketing director for Knight-Ridder, at the time one of the world’s largest newspaper and electronic information companies.

David has lived and worked in New York, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. He currently lives in the Boston area.

You can purchase a copy of ‘Real-Time Marketing’ online from the author site or on Amazon. *this information came from the author’s website.

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

UnMarketing

by Scott Stratten

“One of the most powerful, entertaining and knowledgeable speakers that I’ve ever had the opportunity to hear speak” – Justin Levy, Director of Marketing, Business Development & Corporate Strategy, New Marketing Labs

About the Book*
From one of the leading experts in viral and social marketing-market your business effectively to today’s customers

For generations, marketing has been hypocritical. We’ve been taught to market to others in ways we hate being marketed to (cold-calling, flyers, ads, etc.). So why do we still keep trying the same stale marketing moves?

UnMarketing shows you how to unlearn the old ways and consistently attract and engage the right customers. You’ll stop just pushing out your message and praying that it sticks somewhere. Potential and current customers want to be listened to, validated, and have a platform to be heard-especially online. With UnMarketing, you’ll create such a relationship with your customers, and make yourself the logical choice for their needs.

* Shows how to create a mindset and systems to roll out a new, 21st century marketing approach
* Marketing expert Scott Stratten focuses on a Pull & Stay method (pulling your market towards you and staying/engaging with them, leading them to naturally choose you for their needs) rather than Push & Pray
* Redefines marketing as all points of engagement between a company and its customers, not just a single boxed-in activity

Traditional marketing methods are leading to diminishing returns and disaffected customers. The answer? Stop marketing, start UnMarketing!

About Scott*:

Scott Stratten is the President of Un-Marketing. He is an expert in Viral, Social, and Authentic Marketing which he calls Un-Marketing. It’s all about positioning yourself as a trusted expert in front of your target market, so when they have the need, they choose you.

Formerly a music industry marketer, national sales training manager and a Professor at the Sheridan College School of Business, he has been running his “UnAgency” for 8 years which has become the place companies like PepsiCo, Red Cross and Fidelity Investments come to when they need help guiding their way through the viral/social media and relationship marketing landscape. He now has over 76,000 people follow his daily rantings on Twitter and was voted one of the top influencers on the site with over 200 million users. It’s the only time he’s felt comfortable being compared to Ashton Kutcher, P Diddy and Justin Bieber.

His book “UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging” became a national best-seller before it was released, and recently a Globe and Mail #1 Business best-seller, National Post, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon UK best-seller. It was also just named one of the top business books of the year by 1-800-CEO READ begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1-800-CEO READ      end_of_the_skype_highlighting and one of the top 10 books of 2010 by Under30CEO.com
His passion comes out most when speaking on stage, preaching engagement and becoming one of the most sought-out speakers on the subject.

*courtesy of book website and Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘UnMarketing’ at Amazon.

I truly hope you will check out these books and please comment and let me know your thoughts on them.

Social Media Book List: Pink & Grow Rich and Putting the Public Back in Public Relations

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners, LLC

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

This week I will be highlighting two business books; ‘Pink and Grow Rich’ by Deepika Bajaj and ‘Putting the Public back in Public Relations’ by by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge.

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

‘Pink and Grow Rich’

by Deepika Bajaj

Here is Deepika’s promise:

Deepika, with this e-book can make one promise that if you had one reason for NOT living your DREAM – you will find that with the UNREASONABLE Rule Book – 11 UNREASONABLE RULES of success that will help you OWN your dreams. You will know how to live your life, use your own mind, go toward your dreams that you want to make REAL and SOLID.

Wonder if this ebook is for you?
* Are you looking to unleash your leadership potential?
* Have you been giving yourself perfectly valid reasons for why you cannot be the person you always wanted to be?
* Are you wondering what does it take to grow as a leader?

If your answer to ANY of the questions above is “Yes“, then Then this book is for you.

Think about it, for all the possibilities that exist in the world, if you give yourself one reason for why you cannot take responsibility to be that person – it makes you REASONABLE.

About Deepika*:

Deepika Bajaj is an entrepreneur, author and speaker based in Silicon Valley.  

Deepika Bajaj is the founder and president of Invincibelle, a company empowering diverse, multi generational workforce and women to thrive in a multicultural world. Prior to starting her company, Deepika has more than eight years of experience in telecommunications consulting nand corporate marketing.
Bajaj is also co-founder of ActiveGarage, a company that is recently launched 99tribes.com which is a premier site to increase your Twitter tribe and discover people who share similar concerns.

She has served on the board of various professional organizations including the National Society of Hispanic MBAs and Women in Intel.

Deepika is working on her second book which (yet to be named) speaks to her experiences of being a global citizen and what is shaping the new voice of diversity. She is the author of the book “DiversityTweet: Embracing Diversity in the world.” This new ebook “PINK and Grow RICH” speaks of 11 UNREASONABLE RULES for success for women leaders who live and work in a multicultural world.  She speaks and consults on diversity, blogs at www.deepikabajaj.com and writes a column on social media for ActiveGarage. She is the winner of 2010 IWE Entrepreneurship Achievement Award. You can follow her on http://twitter.com/invincibelle.

You can purchase a copy of ‘Pink and Grow Rich’ online from the author site, Active Garage. *I did receive a digital copy of this book from the author to help in the promotion of the book.

Next, I would like to introduce you to a book on my reading list – ‘Putting the Public Back in Public Relations’.

‘Putting the Public Back in Public Relations’

by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge

“Putting the Public Back in Public Relations is a passionate and persuasive case for rewriting the rules of public relations. Authors Solis and Breakenridge expertly combine third-party perspective with case studies and examples to paint a picture of a profession on the brink of reinvention.”
Paul Gillin, Author, The New Influencers and Secrets of Social Media Marketing

“I am thrilled that there is finally a book about the right way to approach PR in today’s world, where hyper-connected conversations trump the old school broadcast mentality. Everyone who wants to build a career in PR or marketing should read this book.”
Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com

About the Book*

Breakthrough Web PR 2.0 Strategies and Tactics That Work
Forget the pitch: Yesterday’s PR techniques just don’t work anymore. That’s the bad news. Here’s the great news: Social Media and Web 2.0 offer you an unprecedented opportunity to make PR succeed more powerfully than ever before. This book shows how to reinvent PR around two-way conversations with traditional and new influencers, bring the “public” back into public relations—and earn a new level of results that just wasn’t possible before now.

Drawing on their unparalleled experience making Social Media work for business, PR 2.0 blogger Brian Solis and industry leader Deirdre Breakenridge show how to transform the way you think, plan, prioritize, and deliver PR services. You’ll learn new ways to build the relationships that matter, and reach a new generation of influencers…leverage platforms ranging from Twitter to Facebook…truly embed yourself in the communities that are shaping the future.

Along the way, you’ll learn how to stop being a “publicist” or mere “communicator” and become what your clients or company really need: a genuine enthusiast for whom and what you represent.

What’s wrong with PR—and how to fix it
Leverage Social Media and Web 2.0 to reinvent PR, build meaningful and valuable relationships, and supercharge its effectiveness

Social Media PR—a complete primer
Build blogger relationships, reinvent the press release, and make social networks the hub of your online brands

Why it’s about sociology and anthropology—not technology
Master the art of listening and leverage today’s powerful, emerging micromedia

Real PR metrics for the Web 2.0 world
Measure the results that really matter–and demonstrate your value as never before

About Brian*:
Brian Solis is globally recognized as one of most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media. A digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, Solis has influenced the effects of emerging media on the convergence of marketing, communications, and publishing. He is principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning New Media agency in Silicon Valley, and has led interactive and social programs for Fortune 500 companies, notable celebrities, and Web 2.0 startups. BrianSolis.com is ranked among the top of world’s leading business and marketing online resources.

Books:

Brian Solis along with co-author Deirdre Breakenridge released “Putting the Public back in Public Relations” in 2009. Published by Financial Times Press, the book has become a best seller and is highly regarded a must read by anyone in marketing, communications, and also journalism.

In concert with Geoff Livingston, Solis released “Now is Gone” in 2007, an early, award-winning book that helps businesses learn how to engage in Social Media. He has also written several ebooks on the subjects of Social Media, New Business, Customer Service, and Influencer Engagement.

His forewords are also featured in PR 2.0 by Deirdre Breakenridge, published by FT Press and MySpace Marketing by Sean Percival, published by Que, and Twittfaced: Your Tookit for Understanding and Maximizing Social Media by Jacob Morgan.

About Deirdre*:
Deirdre Breakenridge is President and Executive Director of Communications at PFS Marketwyse, a marketing ommunications agency in New Jersey. A veteran in the PR industry, Deirdre leads a creative team of PR and marketing executives strategizing to gain brand awareness for their clients through creative and strategic PR campaigns. She counsels senior level executives at companies including ASCO, Hersheys, JVC, KRAFT, and Michael C. Fina.

Deirdre is an adjunct professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University in
Madison, New Jersey, where she teaches courses on Public Relations and Interactive Marketing for the Global Business Management program. She is the author of four Financial Times/Prentice Hall business books: Putting the Public Back in Public Relations, PR 2.0 New Media, New Tools, New Audiences, The New PR Toolkit and Cyberbranding: Brand Building in the Digital Economy.

Deirdre has spoken publicly on the topics of PR, social media communications, digital marketing, and brand building for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA), The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Strategic ResearchInstitute (SRI), Women’s Presidents Organization (WPO), Tier1Research, and at a number of colleges and universities. Deirdre is a member of the PRSA and has served on the Board of NJ/PRSA and the New Jersey Advertising Club.

Deirdre’s blog is PR 2.0 Strategies at www.deirdrebreakenridge.com.

You can purchase a copy of ‘Putting the Public Back in Public Relations’ on Amazon.

I truly hope you will check out these books and please comment and let me know your thoughts on them.

Social Media Book List: How Reliable is your Product? and Stop Workplace Drama

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners, LLC

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

This week I will be highlighting two business books; ‘How Reliable is your Product’ by Mike Silverman and ‘Stop Workplace Drama’ by Marlene Chism.

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

‘How Reliable is your Product: 50 Ways to Improve Produce Reliability’

by Mike Silverman
How Reliable is your Product book

Product developers now have many tools–software and hardware–at their disposal for building reliability in from the get go. From the organizational point of view, what better way to design in reliability than to make designers themselves responsible for the reliability of their designs? As Mike Silverman explains in How Reliable is Your Product?, this is why the role of the reliability engineer is changing to one of mentor. He or she is now responsible for going out and finding the best testing tools and then training the designers on their use, so that designers factor and build in reliability at every stage of product design.

Mike has focused on reliability throughout his 25-year career, and has observed the position of reliability in the organization evolve. In this book, he condenses his expertise and experience into a volume of immense practical worth to the engineering and engineering management communities including designers, manufacturing engineers and reliability/quality engineers.

Among other things, Mike discusses how reliability fits, or should fit, within the product design cycle. He provides a high-level overview of reliability techniques available to engineers today. He lucidly discusses the design of experiments and the role of failure management. With case studies and narratives from personal experience, Mike discusses optimal ways to utilize different reliability techniques. He highlights common errors of judgment, missteps and sub-optimal decisions that are often made within organizations on the path to total reliability.

“’50 Ways to Improve Product Reliability’ is a great collection of ground-rules that are based upon experience. It describes a number of situations and presents practical examples of what engineers should do to be successful in the area of reliability. In a few examples it also indicates what should not be
done in order to avoid problems. The book is organized according to the phases of a project and a maturity matrix is presented as a means to measure progress. Many examples show proactive use of reliability tools for hardware and software. All are accompanied by concise case studies showing how to
apply tools and handle common situations. It is a must read for all engineers and managers who are involved with corporate-wide reliability improvement efforts.”
James McLinn, CRE, Fellow, ASQ

About Mike*:

Throughout his 25-year career, Mike Silverman has maintained a singular focus on reliability. He is Founder of and Managing Partner at Ops A La Carte, a reliability engineering consultancy that helps customers build end-to-end reliability into their products.

He owns and operates HALT and HASS Labs, a reliability laboratory in Northern California that has now tested over 500 products. A Certified Reliability Engineer with over a dozen technical papers under his belt, Mike is currently President of the Silicon Valley IEEE Reliability Society.

You can purchase a copy of ‘How Reliable is your Product’ online from the publisher site, Superstar Press. . *I did receive a digital copy of this book from the publisher to help in the promotion of the book.

Next, I would like to introduce you to a book coming out in February 2011 – ‘Stop the Workplace Drama’.

‘Stop Workplace Drama’

by Marlene Chism

“Stop Workplace Drama offers practical ideas to improve communication in the workplace to eliminate power struggles, backstabbing and office drama.”
-Michael Linenberger, author of Master your Workday Now!

“Stop Workplace Drama is filled with fresh strategies to help leader navigate change, reach their objectives and create a positive work climate-all at the same time!
-Jill Konrath, authof o SNAP Selling and Selling to Big Companies

A few words I have to say about this book:

Right off the bat in the introduction, Marlene is great about engaging the reader to explain about what drama is and how most of us (even if we deny it) have drama in our lives. And even if it is personal, it does tend to creep into the workplace.

As Marlene states, “Drama is any obstacle to your peace and prosperity.” I say, you can get any more real and to the point than that, right?

She goes onto explain, the drama is the situation, your drama is how you react to it. Again, great precise explanations.

And throughout the book, she put the “mirror” up to the reader and allows each of us to see where we can shed the drama and bring ourselves to a more balanced and peaceful living through, telling yourself the truth, mastering your energy and release resistance.

About the Book*

Is your workplace riddled with gossip, power struggles, and confusion? Do you seek clarity in your management and cohesiveness in your team? Do you have a personal obstacle affecting your professional success?

If so, there is good news-help is on the way. Stop Workplace Drama offers down-to-earth, practical methods to help business owners, entrepreneurs, and private practice professionals maximize success, increase productivity, and improve teamwork and personal performance.

* Identify “drama” barriers and help your employees break free to experience higher personal effectiveness and increased productivity
* Each of the eight points is full of universal and practical principles any business leader, sales director or entrepreneur can put to use immediately
* Author Marlene Chism has shared her signature process with organizations such as McDonalds and NASA

When you’re in the thick of business competition, you and your team need to function freely without internal conflicts, confusions, or rivalries. Stop Workplace Drama ensures that your employees will be able to give their best to create a healthy, profitable workplace.

About Marlene*:

Marlene is a speaker, author and communication consultant who works with high level professionals who want to increase personal performance and break through the obstacles keeping them from living a life of passion and purpose. Marlene says, “Everyone has drama and drama manifests in various ways. Marlene’s signature process is known as “The Stop Your Drama” Methodology, a system to help companies and individuals align with purpose to achieve higher levels of success both personally and professionally.

You can purchase a copy of ‘Stop Workplace Drama’ on her website, Stop Workplace Drama or on Amazon.

I truly hope you will check out these books and please comment and let me know your thoughts on them.

Social Media Book List: iPad Means Business and Content Rules

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners, LLC

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

This week I will be highlighting two books; one author I am currently working with ‘iPad Means Business’ by Julio Ojeda-Zapata and one book on the business Amazon list ‘Content Rules’ by Ann Hadley and C.C. Chapman.

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

‘iPad Means Business: How Apple’s Tablet Computer is Changing the Work World’

by
Julio Ojeda-Zapata

ipad-businessmid

“The most common question asked by potential iPad buyers: ‘Other than playing Angry Birds, what the hell can I do with this thing?’ Citing example after productive example, Julio Ojeda-Zapata capably
makes the case for the iPad as business tool.”
Christopher Breen, Macworld Columnist and Podcast Host

“If you think the iPad exists just to make its owners look cool, read this book. You’ll see the iPad in action within businesses of all kinds, and get ideas of how to use it in your business.”
Natali Morris, CNET TV Tech-news Anchor and CBS News Tech Contributor

iPad Means Business tells the stories of tablet-wielding workers, companies, students and teachers around the world. As a business book, it offers inspiration for anyone, at any level in business or education, who wants to become truly productive on the iPad.

As a how-to guide, “iPad Means Business” provides concrete advice on the best work-related apps, accessories and procedures, along with a road map to the best iPad resources. This is an essential starting point for workers wanting to get the most out of their iPads.

As a bonus, “iPad Means Business” offers the thoughts of several iPad experts. Readers will get glean wisdom from blogger and productivity advisor Patrick Rhone; technology and new-media consultant Scott Bourne; and technology marketer and former Apple executive Mike Evangelist.

This book is an essential read for anyone wanting to learn why the iPad Means Business.

Here is the table of contents to give you a glimpse of the helpful information about iPad:

Introduction: So You Want to Use an iPad for Work

Chapter 1: Apple’s tablet arrives and gets to work

Chapter 2: Individual Workers Embrace the Tablet

Chapter 3: Companies of All Sizes Deploy the iPad

Chapter 4: The iPad Finds a Place in the Classroom

Chapter 5: App Developers Exploit That Big Screen

Chapter 6: I Go on a Work Trip Taking Only the iPad

Epilogue: Apple Faces Rising Tablet Competition

Afterword: ‘An Embryonic Journey’ by Mike Evangelist

Appendix: Recommended Resources

About Julio*:

Julio Ojeda-Zapata covers consumer technology for the St. Paul, Minn.-based Pioneer Press newspaper, where he writes a weekly Tech Test Drive column and blogs about the latest tech trends. During a lifelong career in journalism, he has worked as an editor and earned many awards for his writing. He is the author of another Happy About book, Twitter Means Business, which documents how Twitter became a crucial business tool. He is a gadget junkie, an Apple addict, a social-media maven and total nerd.

A native of Quito, Ecuador, he spent the bulk of his childhood in San Juan, Puerto Rico and considers himself a “boricua.” He lives in St. Paul with his wife, son and Pepita, the world’s most-spoiled guinea pig. Learn more about Julio at ojezap.com.

You can purchase a copy of ‘iPad Means Business’ online from the publisher site, Happy About or on Amazon. *I did receive a digital copy of this book from the publisher to help in the promotion of the book.

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

‘Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business (New Rules Social Media Series)’

by Ann Hadley and C.C. Chapman

“I should preface this review by saying I have been podcasting and creating content for the web for over five years now, and that I regularly help clients do the same. This said, I was expecting Content Rules to be a good book on the subject, but perhaps one of those that did not speak to me, because of my experience. I was wrong- Content Rules speaks to everyone- even seasoned content creators, by providing the metrics we may know around content creation, but haven’t yet articulated, and helps make the case for content for everyone from people getting their feet wet on the Web for the first time, to those who are looking to raise their game and up their level of engagement with others online.

Content Rules is compelling and honest from the introduction on. It is a book I can hand my clients, friends, teachers- almost anyone who wonders why people need to or bother creating content for the web- to help not only explain why compelling content is important, but how to create it. It helps people break down the barriers that often get in the way of creating compelling content, and instead gives them some parameters on how to make sure your authentic and compelling voice shine through. In addition, the examples and case studies in the book bring the rules to life, in a way that will help folks understand how to find their human voice, and why that is so important to success in contrast to another paragraph of over-polished, sanitized, personality-free “safe” messaging.

I’m really excited by Content Rules as a book I can enthusiastically pass on to friends, colleagues, clients and more. If it’s between a more generic book on social media or online marketing and this one, you need Content Rules because it will help you understand the fundamental approach you need to take regardless of the tool, platform, network or marketing plan- you need to concentrate on your Content first.”
Whitney Hoffman Amazon review 5 stars

About the Book*

Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman, business writers, speakers, and marketing thought leaders for clients such as The Coca-Cola Company, HBO, and Verizon Fios, show you how to leverage all of today’s tools to create content that truly speaks to your audience. They’ll show you how to:

* Understand why you are generating content—getting to the meat of your message in practical, commonsense language, and defining the goals of your content strategy

* Explore ways to integrate searchable words into your content without sounding forced (or sounding like “Frankenspeak”)

* Write in a way that powerfully communicates your service, product, or message across various Web mediums

* Create a publishing schedule that allows you to create different kinds and types of content at once

Offering examples of businesses using content effectively across a wide range of industries and fascinating explanations of how you might approach your own content strategy, Content Rules is the essential field guide to creating your story, finding the right balance of humor and humanity in your content, and building a portfolio of value that will keep delivering for the long haul.

About Ann*:

Ann Handley is the Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, a rich and trusted resource that helps businesses market their products and services smarter and better. Entrepreneurs, small-business owners and marketers in the world’s largest corporations make up its 361,000 subscribers, making it the largest in its category. (Does that sound like marketing-speak? It’s not; it’s just true.)

She is a 12-year veteran of creating and managing digital content to build relationships for organizations and individuals. Also, she’s a writer who blogs at her personal blog, A n n a r c h y, as well as American Express OPEN Forum, Mashable, and The Huffington Post.

Previously, Ann was the co-founder of ClickZ, one of the first sources of interactive marketing news and commentary.

She lives near Boston in a slightly creaky, comfortable house with 2 kids, 4 dogs, good coffee in the kitchen, decent wine in the cellar, a stack of New Yorkers by the bed, and an occasional field mouse in the laundry room.

About C.C.*:
C.C. Chapman was born in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and is a modern day renaissance man. He is a passionate content creator, photographer, father and entrepreneur. His business experience has won awards and he has worked with a variety of clients including American Eagle Outfitters, HBO and The Coca-Cola Company.

C.C. is the Founder of Digital Dads, a site where a dad can be a guy and is the host of the popular Managing the Gray podcast. He lives outside of Boston with his wife, two awesome children and dog Roxie.
*courtesy of book website and Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘Content Rules’ on Amazon.

I truly hope you will check out these books and please comment and let me know your thoughts on them.

Social Media Book List: The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards and 30 Days to Social Media Success

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners, LLC

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

This week I will be highlighting two books; one author I am currently working with ‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards’ by Karen Bartleson and one book on the business Amazon list ’30 Days to Social Media Success’ by Gail Martin.

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

‘Ten Commandments for Effective Standards: Practical Insights for creating Technical Standards’

by Karen Bartleson

Ten Commandments for Effective Standards book by Karen Bartleson

“Karen does an excellent job in illuminating the sometimes murky workings of standards groups. In espousing her ‘commandments,’ she identifies the often innocuous situations that have caused major
issues in the standards world and how to avoid those types of issues in the first place. This book should be required reading for anyone who will be participating in a standards organization, both inside and
outside the EDA world.”
Stan Krolikoski, Group Director, Cadence Design Systems; and Chair, IEEE Design Automation Standards Committee

“‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards’ is a great companion to the standards developer and for standards committee leadership. It is an even better companion to those who wait for and use standards, as it serves to remind adopters that there are many facets to standards development that need to be addressed to get to a completed standard. This helps explain why it often takes so much
time for some standards and why it is fast for others. If you follow the commandments you may have a smoother and quicker path to standards success. I expect standards developer conversations to begin to use more of the terms ‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards’ defines to usher further rapid development of business-relevant standards. As all good standards evolve, I look to Karen to be on the lookout for additional commandments that might be worthy to join the ten she has detailed here.”
Dennis B. Brophy, Director of Strategic Business Development, Mentor Graphics Corporation

A few points about technical standards Karen discusses in the book:

Standards can make markets grow. When a common interface is made available for use, competitors can develop new products around it. A standard can prevent a monopoly by giving more than one company the opportunity to create compatible products.

Tasks are simpler and less error prone when standards are used. Designing a computer chip is an enormous undertaking. Writing the description of the design in standard formats instead of rewriting it in a variety of them not only saves time but also prevents errors from being introduced during rewrites.

Standards can fuel innovation by providing a common starting point. Shared protocols for communicating data make the Internet phenomenal. Universal audio and video formats give rise to a myriad of music, games, and movies—and products that play them.

About the Book*:

Technical standards play an important role in business as well as everyday life. They provide opportunities for market growth and competition. They enable interoperability. They make customers happier. They bring order out of chaos. Existing technical standards are being updated constantly, and new ones are being produced in increasingly greater numbers.

But do you know what it takes to create an “effective” standard?

‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards,’ written by computer chip industry veteran Karen Bartleson and illustrated by corporate cartoonist Rick Jamison, will not only provide you with ideas for creating better standards, it will also provide you with a newfound understanding of standards and their importance, respect for the standardization process, and ways you can leverage others’ industry expertise to help you succeed in creating more effective technical standards.

Based upon twenty years of experience in the area of standards for electronic design automation and ideas drawn from other industry experts, ‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards’ provides you with a list of procedural imperatives about what works and what doesn’t work when developing effective technical standards.

This book will teach you how applying Bartleson’s commandments to day-to-day standards activities can help make your resulting standards more effective and easier to adopt. From the Golden Rule of effective standards — “cooperate on standards, compete on products” — which points to the essence of standardization, to the tenth commandment — “know that standards have technical and business aspects” — which declares the importance of a standard’s commercial implications, this book will provide you with a foundation for preparing for and performing in the technical standards arena.

Whether you are already involved in the process of creating technical standards or are interested in learning more about it, Bartleson’s ‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards’ is standard reading for anyone pursuing knowledge, excellence, and success in the field of technical standards.

About Karen*:
Karen Bartleson has three decades’ experience in the computer chip industry. She is known for her work in the area of standards for electronic design automation. Bartleson is also one the pioneers into social media in her industry, including Twitter. She is the author of The Standards Game, a blog focused on the standards arena.

Karen holds a BSEE from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, CA, and was the recipient of the Marie R. Pistilli Women in Design Automation Achievement Award in 2002. Her Twitter handle is @karenbartleson.

You can purchase a copy of ‘The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards’ online from the publisher site, Synopsis Press or on Amazon. *I did receive a digital copy of this book from the publisher to help in the promotion of the book.

Next, I would like to introduce you to a book on the business book list on Amazon and on my reading list: ’30 Days to Social Media Success’.

30 Days to Social Media Success

by Gail Martin

“Just about everywhere you turn these days, someone has a Facebook page, Twitter account, or LinkedIn profile – and they’re dying to use them to promote something to you; however, no matter how hard they try, not everyone is a skilled student of these invaluable tools of social media, and their lack of applied insight could actually end up working against them…

Throughout the pages of 30 Days To Social Media Success, bestselling author and marketing expert Gail Martin outlines a comprehensive strategy for the optimal use of social media. Highlighting the various similarities and differences between the online communities, Martin does a standout job of apprising the reader of the most effective ways to make social media work for their purposes. Chief among them: identifying from the outset precisely what your goals are for using the applications. By doing so, you provide yourself with the added advantage of knowing exactly how to use the tools to get just what you need out of them.

For the savvy business professional seeking to get a leg up in the increasingly competitive global marketplace, 30 Days To Social Media Success is an essential guide to considerably boosting your ongoing sales & marketing efforts. A must read.”
Dawn Jefferson
Apex Reviews

About the Book*
Small business owners and solo professionals know they’re supposed to use social media to increase sales, but how should they start?

Using a unique Rule of 30 approach, 30 Days to Social Media Success is the perfect resource for busy people who want quick results. Thirty short chapters (one for each day of the month) are packed with real-world tips and proven techniques you can use right away.

This book makes it easy to tap into the power of today’s hottest social media sites to:

# Get global impact out of press releases, articles, blog posts, and book reviews.

# Increase your personal and corporate visibility as the go-to expert in your industry.

# Build relationships with clients and connect with ideal prospects.

# Network around the world and around the clock with people who need what you have to offer.

Wondering how to use social media? Looking for a way to attract new clients without spending a fortune? 30 Days to Social Media Success is for you.

About Gail*:

Best-selling author Gail Martin is a marketing expert and international speaker, and the owner of DreamSpinner Communications. She’s the “Get Results Resource” for marketing that works, helping small and start-up businesses, consultants, coaches, authors, and solo professionals succeed through affordable publicity. Martin is also the author of The Thrifty Author’s Guide to Launching Your Book. Gail lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and can be visited online at www.GailMartinMarketing.com.

*courtesy of book website and Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ’30 Days to Social Media Success’ on Amazon.

I truly hope you will check out these books and please comment and let me know your thoughts on them.