Successful Blog

The Book List: ‘I’m at a Networking Event, Now What?’ and ‘The Entrepreneur Equation’

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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 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.

‘I’m at a Networking Event, Now What?’ by Sandy Jones-Kaminski

networking_now_whatmid

“Networking should be like the holiday season–more about giving than receiving.”
Women Entrepreneur book review

About the Book*:

Through this book you will learn how to make quality connections, cultivate relationships, expand your circle of influence through networking events, and create good “social capital.” You’ll also find information on networking tools and technology that will promote new contacts and connections.

I’m at a Networking Event—Now What??? illustrates that today’s social networking environments practically demand that you have at least some knowledge of effective networking practices in order to achieve the results most of us are looking for.

About Sandy*:
Sandy Jones-Kaminski is a self-described networking enthusiast and accomplished marketer and business development professional. In 2002, Sandy launched her own online marketing and biz dev strategy consulting practice called Bella Domain, LLC. She is also a former VP of Networking for one of the largest chapters of the American Marketing Association. Sandy knows how to make meaningful connections, cultivate relationships, host some great networking events, and create what she refers to as good “social capital.” You can connect with her at www.belladomain.com.

You can purchase a copy of ‘I’m at a Networking Event, Now What?’ online at Amazon or on the publisher site. *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: ‘The Entrepreneur Equation’.

‘The Entrepreneur Equation: Evaluating the Realities, Risks, and Rewards of Having Your Own Business’ by Carol Roth

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

“Carol delivers the reality check that today’s entrepreneur needs to succeed.”
—JJ Ramberg, Host of MSNBC’s “Your Business” and CEO of Goodsearch.com

“Aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners alike can generate the best return on their success simply by investing their time reading The Entrepreneur Equation. Written in Carol’s frank and fun style, this book gives you the key tools that you need to stack the odds of success in your favor.”
—Loral Langemeier, CEO/Founder of Live Out Loud, international speaker and bestselling author of the Millionaire Maker 3 book series and Put More Cash In Your Pocket

“Finally! Someone asks the million dollar question—and then answers it. It isn’t about CAN you be an entrepreneur? It is really about—SHOULD you be an entrepreneur? You can spend thousands of dollars and years of your valuable life figuring it out. Or, you can read this book.”
—Shama Kabani, Author of The Zen of Social Media Marketing and President of the Marketing Zen Group

About the Book
There’s never been a better time to start a business—or so the conventional wisdom would have you believe. But with up to 90 percent of businesses failing within the first five years, it’s time to take off the rose-colored glasses and think twice before you invest your precious time, money and energy.

The Entrepreneur Equation helps you do the math before you set down the entrepreneurial path so that you can answer more than just “Could I be an entrepreneur?” but rather “Should I be an entrepreneur?” By understanding what it takes to build a valuable business as well as how to assess the risks and rewards of business ownership based on your personal circumstances, you can learn how to stack the odds of success in your favor and ultimately decide if business ownership is the best possible path for you, now or ever.

Through illustrative examples and personalized exercises, tell-it-like-it-is Carol Roth helps you create and evaluate your own personal Entrepreneur Equation as you:

• Learn what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in today’s competitive environment
• Save money, time and effort by avoiding business ownership when the time isn’t right for you
• Identify and evaluate the risks and rewards of a new business based on your goals and circumstances
• Evaluate whether your dreams are best served by a hobby, job or business
• Gain the tools that you need to maximize your business success

About Carol*:

Carol Roth helps businesses grow and make more money. An investment banker, business strategist and deal maker, she has helped her clients, ranging from solopreneurs to multinational corporations, raise more than $1 billion in capital, complete $750+ million in M&A transactions, secure high-profile licensing and partnership deals, create brand loyalty programs and more.

Carol is a frequent radio, television and print media contributor on the topics of business and entrepreneurship, having appeared on Fox News, MSNBC, Fox Business, WGN TV Chicago and more. She is also signed to LA-based t.v. production company Snackaholic who is currently developing a television show around Carol’s life as a business expert and personality.

Carol Unsolicited Business Advice blog at CarolRoth.com was recently named as one of the Top 10 small business blogs online and Carol is a contributor to a number of other business blogs.

Carol graduated Magna Cum Laude from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.

*courtesy of book website and/or Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘The Entrepreneur Equation’ at Amazon.

The Book List: ‘Poke the Box’ and ‘The Thank You Economy’

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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 I found on Amazon and added to my “reading list”.

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.

‘Poke the Box’

by Seth Godin

As you may know, I go on Amazon.com frequently and I did something a bit out of character the last time. As I was on the home page, instead of going to the search box at the top and typing in “business books” or “social media books”, I happen to click on the Kindle books.

And what popped out to me was this book titled, ‘Poke the Box’. Love the title because it definitely got my attention. What was even more surprising was it was by international best selling author, Seth Godin. Then again, Seth is famous for his unexpected titles….remember Meatball Sundae.

Once I found out it was from Seth, I knew I wanted to highlight it here this week.

Mix things up and get your butt moving on your dreams!

This is one book he has created to mix things up and get you moving. If you want to do something….don’t waste time thinking about doing it, do it.

I found the timing of my finding this book on Amazon interesting (you may call it an intervention of sorts) because I did posted a video just yesterday about how writers can “get in your own way” from writing a book. And this seems to go along the same thinking.

And I remember when I used to work in the corporate world, my department would have meetings to start projects but hardly anything ever did get done. I will be getting this book of Seth’s very soon as I believe it will be great reminder to keep moving forward toward the dream. Or as Seth puts it, ‘Poke the Box’.

The Domino Project
This book, Poke the Box, is one of Seth’s latest ventures. The Domino Project is an independent publishing imprint created by Seth and Amazon.
Read more of the interview at Amazon with Seth.

About the Book*:
If you’re stuck at the starting line, you don’t need more time or permission. You don’t need to wait for a boss’s okay or to be told to push the button; you just need to poke.

Poke the Box is a manifesto by bestselling author Seth Godin that just might make you uncomfortable. It’s a call to action about the initiative you’re taking-– in your job or in your life. Godin knows that one of our scarcest resources is the spark of initiative in most organizations (and most careers)-– the person with the guts to say, “I want to start stuff.”

Poke the Box just may be the kick in the pants you need to shake up your life.

About Seth*:

Seth Godin is the author of ten international bestsellers that have been translated into over 30 languages, and have changed the way people think about marketing and work. His Unleashing the Ideavirus is the most popular ebook ever published, and Purple Cow is the bestselling marketing book of the decade.

His penultimate book, Tribes, is a nationwide bestseller, appearing on the Amazon, New York Times, BusinessWeek and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. It’s about the most powerful form of marketing–leadership–and how anyone can now become a leader, creating movements that matter.

His last book is called Linchpin, and it is the fastest selling book of his career. Linchpin challenges you to stand up, do work that matters and race to the top instead of the bottom. More than that, though, the book outlines a massive change in our economy, a fundamental shift in what it means to have a job.

In addition to his writing and speaking, Seth is founder and CEO of Squidoo.com, a fast growing recommendation website. His blog (find it by typing “seth” into Google) is the most popular marketing blog in the world. Before his work as a writer and blogger, Godin was Vice President of Direct Marketing at Yahoo!, a job he got after selling them his pioneering 1990s online startup, Yoyodyne.

You can find every single possible detail that anyone could ever want to know at squidoo.com/seth.

You can purchase a copy of ‘Poke the Box’ 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: ‘Thank you Economy’.

The Thank You Economy

by Gary Vaynerchuk

Amazon.com Review*

The Thank You Economy is much more than saying “thank you.” The Thank You Economy represents a much bigger movement. This book could easily have been called The Humanization of Business or Manners Marketing.

I feel that we’re living through the biggest culture shift of our time. The internet, itself, is 17-years-old. It’s just hitting the social part of its life. It’s just like growing up. As you get to 13, 14 and 15, you want to go out and go to parties. That’s what’s happening right now! The internet is growing up.

What happens when we live in this word of mouth world where we’re tweeting out “I love Company X’s orange juice”? We’re sharing thoughts that we never would have picked up the phone and called somebody about in the past. What happens when brands can be humanized? In The Thank You Economy, I tackle the issue of the ROI of social media and provide case studies. I think we wrote a much, much stronger book than I did with Crush It. When I say we, I mean the people in the social graph–the people that are living it.

There is enormous ROI in social media. It’s like my famous saying though, “What’s the ROI of your mother?” The data isn’t as black and white like it has been in the past. I firmly believe that the brands that have a soul and a heart and understand how to scale this will win.

This is a comprehensive book from a guy that has lived in the social space for the last 6 years like I have. I live and breathe my community and I’ve been able to consult with big brands for the past two years on how to leverage this world of caring. This is the perfect book, not only for entrepreneurs who might have an employee or two, but also for brand managers and CMOs at bigger companies.

Say thank you and know the strength of social media

As I read the following Amazon review and I believe this is a good reminder about the simple things as a society we may have forgotten or just don’t take the time to pay attention to as we should. Just taking the time to say “thank you” and mean it—simple but very poignant. Especially when you are talking about social media. It is important to take the time to say thank you and be present when networking and building your community online.

And I like how he is talking about the internet and it is growing up. It is as if the internet is hitting its stride now and having fun exploring all the possibilities. And we (as business people, whether you are a entrepreneur, manager or employee) are realizing all the things the internet can help us with, we need to remember to say thank you to all those involved in our life.

About Gary*:

Meet Gary Vaynerchuk (VAY*NER*CHUK), a 33-year-old self-trained wine and social media expert who has revolutionized the wine industry. Gary’s cult-like following is the result of his unconventional, often irreverent commentary on wine, combined with his business acumen and foresight to use social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to reach an untapped audience. He hosts a daily webcast called “The Thunder Show”on tv.winelibrary.com that attracts over 90,000 viewers each day. Recently, Gary’s podcast became the most downloaded show on iTunes in the Food category, beating out venerable names in the industry including Martha Stewart and Jamie Oliver.

Known as the “King of Social Media,” Gary is one of the first–and one of a few–Facebook users who has maxed-out his friend limit, with over 17,000 pending friend requests. He is in the top 100 people followed on Twitter and was the keynote speaker at noted events like the 2009 South by Southwest Interactive conference and the New Media and Web 2.0 expos. A weekly contributor to TheStreet.com and Popeater.com, Gary is regularly asked to consult on social media for some of the world’s largest and most recognizable companies like Google, Johnson & Johnson, Disney, Proctor & Gamble, and Pepsi.
*courtesy of book website and Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘The Thank You Economy’ at Amazon.

The Book List: ‘Fast Track Guide to a Professional Job Search’ & ‘Enchantment’

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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 is with an author I am working with and the other is on my “reading list”.

The books in the Social Media 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.

‘Fast Track Guide to a Professional Job Search’

by Joanie Natalizio

Fast Track Guide to a Professional Job Search

“Joanie Natalizio’s Fast Track Guide to a Professional Job Search offers extremely timely and practical advice for all stages of a job search. Her no-nonsense approach will save time, reduce stress and, most important, provide results. The ‘Take Action’ feature of her book will get to the core of what needs to occur while one is in transition. Not only will the executive learn how take charge of his or her job search with this action-centered book, he or she will learn to navigate a myriad of career challenges one faces, especially in a difficult economy.”
Victor C. Massaglia, M.A., Career Counselor, Career Center,
University of Minnesota Law School

“The ultimate guide book on how to conduct a professional job search from beginning to end. Each chapter provides you with ‘take action’ steps and insider ‘hot tips’ so you’ll be sure to get everything you need to know to conduct a successful job search. A book no professional should be without.”
Barbara Rosenzweig, Owner, Dental People, Inc.

About the Book*:
‘The Fast Track Guide to a Professional Job Search’ was written to take the guesswork out of finding the right executive-level position for you. Serving as your handy guide and indispensable companion, it contains everything you need to drive your job search and career forward. It takes you all the way from setting your career path, through the planning and strategizing, the execution, the emotional rollercoaster, and all the way to offer evaluation and acceptance.

Written by Joanie Natalizio, a professional executive coach who steers a successful business coaching practice, ‘The Fast Track Guide to a Professional Job Search’ teaches you to distinguish yourself, present your unique strengths and capabilities, and make sure an offer is a good fit for you before you accept it. All through the book, the easy to use checklists make sure you stay on track. How to create a professional biography and tips on evaluating compensation packages are just a few of the many executive job search topics discussed.

Joanie reveals little known tips traditionally restricted to executive career coaching sessions, so that you have an extra edge in your job search. With ‘The Fast Track Guide to a Professional Job Search’ at hand, you can proceed in your executive job search with clarity, competence and complete confidence.

About Joanie*:

Joanie Natalizio, President of Defero Business Coaching and Seminars, has over 15 years of combined experience in both business and executive coaching, and has worked at some of this country’s top Fortune 500 corporations.

Along with her corporate experience, Ms. Natalizio holds a Master’s degree in Counseling, and is an accredited Job and Career Transition Coach and a Certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Practitioner. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Anoka Ramsey Community College teaching Career Development courses. Her specialty seminars including employee training and development, change management and one-on-one executive coaching make Joanie Natalizio one of the Twin Cities’ most respected business advisors in the areas of professional executive development.

You can purchase a copy of ‘Fast Track Guide to a Professional Job Search’ online from the publisher 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: ‘Enchantment’.

Enchantment

by Guy Kawasaki

enchantment

“Kawasaki provides insights so valuable we all wish we’d had them first.”
-Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence: Science and Practice

“Guy teaches you how to pull gems from people’s hearts and minds and how to become an effective practitioner of life’s crucial domains. Clearly, I taught him well.”
-Dr. Phil Zimbardo, professor emeritus of psychology, Stanford University

About the Book*

Enchantment, as defined by bestselling business guru Guy Kawasaki, is not about manipulating people. It transforms situations and relationships. It converts hostility into civility and civility into affinity. It changes the skeptics and cynics into the believers and the undecided into the loyal. Enchantment can happen during a retail transaction, a high-level corporate negotiation, or a Facebook update. And when done right, it’s more powerful than traditional persuasion, influence, or marketing techniques.

Kawasaki argues that in business and personal interactions, your goal is not merely to get what you want but to bring about a voluntary, enduring, and delightful change in other people. By enlisting their own goals and desires, by being likable and trustworthy, and by framing a cause that others can embrace, you can change hearts, minds, and actions. For instance, enchantment is what enabled . . .

* A Peace Corps volunteer to finesse a potentially violent confrontation with armed guerrillas.
* A small cable channel (E!) to win the TV broadcast rights to radio superstar Howard Stern.??
* A seemingly crazy new running shoe (Vibram Five Fingers) to methodically build a passionate customer base.??
* A Canadian crystal maker (Nova Scotian Crystal) to turn observers into buyers.

This book explains all the tactics you need to prepare and launch an enchantment campaign; to get the most from both push and pull technologies; and to enchant your customers, your employees, and even your boss. It shows how enchantment can turn difficult decisions your way, at times when intangibles mean more than hard facts. It will help you overcome other people’s entrenched habits and defy the not-always-wise “wisdom of the crowd.”

Kawasaki’s lessons are drawn from his tenure at one of the most enchanting organizations of all time, Apple, as well as his decades of experience as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. There are few people in the world more qualified to teach you how to enchant people.

As Kawasaki writes, “Want to change the world? Change caterpillars into butterflies? This takes more than run-of-the-mill relationships. You need to convince people to dream the same dream that you do.” That’s a big goal, but one that’s possible for all of us.

About Guy*:
Guy Kawasaki is the co-founder of Alltop.com, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the web, and a founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures. He is also a columnist for the Open Forum of American Express. Previously, he was the chief evangelist of Apple.

Mr. Kawasaki is the author of nine books including Enchantment, Reality Check, The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way.

Guy Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

*courtesy of book website and Amazon

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

Social Media Book List: How Reliable is your Product & 42 Rules of Product Management

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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 is with an author I am working with and the other is 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, product development, marketing, blogging, business, organization, career building, finance, networking, writing, self development, and inspiration.

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

by Mike Silverman

How Reliable is Your Product

“After reading Mike’s ’50 Ways to Improve Product Reliability,’ I am impressed to state that if most people who want reliable products would execute fifty or sixty percent of what he is espousing, how great it would be for consumers. Instead of going into depth on each topic, Mike stays at a higher level to give a perspective of reliability within the product development lifecycle. If you need more in-depth knowledge on any of the techniques discussed in his book, you can easily contact a consulting firm such as Mike’s company, Ops A La Carte®, and get the educational or consulting expertise you need. I have known Mike
for over 15 years, and he is one of the most honest people I know. Feel free to get to know him and you will see what I am talking about. Enjoy his book!”
Harry McLean
Manager of Reliability, Advanced Energy Inc.
Author of HALT, HASS, and HASA Explained: Accelerated Reliability
Techniques

“’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 the Book*:

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.

With How Reliable is Your Product? Mike Silverman has delivered what few have done before–a comprehensive yet succinct overview of the field of reliability engineering and testing. Engineers and engineering managers will find much in this book of immediate, practical value.

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 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: ”.

42 Rules of Product Management

by Greg Cohen and Brian Lawley

This is very valuable for anyone involved with the process of taking products to market. With their extensive experience and contacts, Greg and Brian have gleaned insightful jewels from thought leaders in the product management field. The format is refreshing because you get a fresh perspective on each page since each author has to get their most important observations into two pages. It makes for great reading and, as with one of the other reviewers, I found myself finishing the whole book in one sitting and really enjoyed it.
Gary Parker – Amazon reviewer

Excellent chance to quickly gain great insights into the fine art of product management. Practical, useful topics. I’m proud to have been asked to contribute a chapter and be a part of this very timely book. This is information you can use today to build better products.
J. Cook – Amazon Reviewer

This is a great book for both experienced and new product managers as well as those in closely related responsibilities such as product marketing.

About the Book*
Packed with pearls of product management wisdom, this book has something for everyone. Best of all, it was written with the busy product manager in mind. Each rule is kept to two pages and designed to stand-on its own. They can be read in any order. In less than five minutes a day, you can learn from forty of the best product managers in the world.

’42 Rules of Product Management’ is a collection of product management wisdom from forty experts from around the world. With over five hundred years of combined hands-on product management and product marketing experience, the authors each shares one rule that they think is critical to know to succeed in product management. Whether you are a seasoned and experienced product manager or are just starting out, ’42 Rules of Product Management’ will help you lead with greater effectiveness and influence.

About Greg and Brian*:

Brian Lawley is the CEO and founder of the 280 Group. During his twenty five year career in Product Management and Product Marketing he has shipped more than fifty successful products. He is the former President of the Silicon Valley Product Management Association, won the 2008 AIPMM award for Excellence in Thought Leadership for Product Management and is the author of the best-selling books ‘Expert Product Management’ and ‘The Phenomenal Product Manager’. He is a Certified Product Manager and Certified Product Marketing Manager and has been featured on CNBC’s World Business Review and the Silicon Valley Business Report and writes articles for a variety of publications including the Product Management 2.0 newsletter and Blog.

Greg Cohen is a Senior Principal Consultant with the 280 Group and a 15 year Product Management veteran with extensive experience and knowledge of Agile development, a Certified Scrum Master, and former President of the Silicon Valley Product Management Association. He has worked and consulted to venture start-ups and large companies alike and has trained product managers throughout the world on Agile development, road mapping, feature prioritization, product lifecycle process, and product management assessment. Greg is the author of the book ‘Agile Excellence for Product Managers’ and a speaker and frequent commentator on product management issues.

*courtesy of book website and Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ’42 Rules of Product Management’ at Amazon.

So how do you check your product reliability in your business?

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.