BizBook Nuggets

Real Leadership: Are You Part of the Middle Ages?

This post isn't about a book but about a new thought from Steve Rubel: if you want to find really great leadership, look at the mid-level executives. Steve writes a blog about PR and using the web for creating buzz, and to me has established himself as a thought leader for all things web.

But this transcends the web context. It's worth reading his entire post. Then, cogitate on this thought, and let me know if it resonates with you. Maybe truely great leadership is flourishing at the mid-levels, and we aren't even looking there to find it? Your thoughts, please.

Here's an excerpt:

The Middle Ages

What if leadership didn't originate from the top of an organization, society or ecosystem, but from its middle? Thanks to a flattening Earth, a declining trust in hierarchy, plus the rising prominence of mid-level stars, we're entering such an era. I call it “The Middle Ages.” Business and society will never be the same. (It's nothing like the last Middle Ages either.)

The Internet, in particular consumer generated media and search, is at the heart of this societal change. Consider The Long Tail. It is actually a byproduct of the Middle Ages. The concept here is that there's a glut of goods in the middle that are not hits, nor flops. They might be books on Amazon.com or bloggers and podcasters. What's important is that they are now thriving because they are easier to find thanks to Internet search and recommendation engines - be they human or computer-powered.

Darwin and Business: Taming Your Inner Ape

We've seen the teachings of Jesus, Elizabeth I, and Sun Tzu applied to businesses, now look at these biz books based on the concepts of Charles Darwin, survival of the fittest and natural selection.

I love this idea, because my earlier education was in Biology. I love to see great ideas applied to other disciplines. Can hardly wait to read these. This heads up was spotted in the March 06 issue of Inc. magazine

The Ape in the Corner Office: Understanding the Workplace Beast in All of Us, by Richard Conniff (Crown, 2005).

Our Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are, by Frans De Waal (Riverhead, 2005). This book assess the natrual history origins of laissez faire capitalism, decision-making through the building of coalitions, and the corporate pecking order.

Dealing with Darwin: How Great Compainies Innovate at Every Phase of Their Evolution, by Geoffrey Moore (Portfolio, 2005).

Extreme Web Makeover Guy Rick Raddatz

We're having a veteran Microsoft expert on our Wednesday evening Conversation with Experts call  Feb. 22, 8:30 p.m. Rick Raddatz speaks some important truths about poor performing web sites.

Hate to admit it, but most consultants have a website that does a poor job of collecting email addresses of potential clients - a first step in leveraging the Internet to build your biz.

Rick Raddatz, Marketing Makeover Generator

An End to Embarrassing, Underperforming Websites: Let's face it: The vast majority of websites out there an embarrassment to their owners -- and I'm not talking about how the website looks. I'm talking about how much (or little) your website contributes to your bottom line.

It's time to give your website an "Extreme Marketing Makeover". Join us as we interview Marketing Consultant Rick Raddatz, a 12-year veteran of Microsoft, to discover his secrets to high performing websites, and to learn how Rick used the internet leads he collected to sell over $200,000 worth of services in a single hour -- twice.

To register, go here: www.conversationswithexperts.com. Costs you not a penny, it's priceless.

Conversations with Experts is brought to you by The Blog Squad, Patsi and Denise, and features weekly experts who will help you build your biz both off and online. Sponsored by www.buildabetterblog.com.

Emails that Really Sizzle

Next Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 8:30 p.m. ET, our guest expert on Conversations with Experts teleseminar is Mari Smith, Email Th@t Sizzles!

Make Your Emails Sizzle! How to Write Professional Emails that Get Opened, Get Read and Make People Take ACTION!

With the overwhelming amount of email landing in our Inboxes daily, how do you make your message stand out? Even with loyal opted-in subscribers, are your emails getting the results you want?

Mari Smith, author of “Email Th@t Sizzles,” will show you how to create attention-grabbing copy with the right layout and formatting that ensure your emails get opened, get read and make people take action

On this dynamic call, you’ll learn:

• The best subject lines to get your emails opened
• Power words to include and spam-trigger words to avoid
• The do's & don’ts of writing more effective sales copy
• Quick formatting tricks that make your emails stand out
• HTML vs. plain text – which is best?
• A simple template to create sizzling signature files
• How to choose the best automated email program for you

Register: www.ConversationsWithExperts.com

If you cannot attend the Conversation, you can pre-order the audio program for $4.95.  After the Conversation the price will be $9.95.  Save 50% and use this link to order now:

http://snipurl.com/Dunn_Preorder

Conversations with Experts: How to Build Your Business On and Off-line Hosted by The Blog Squad, Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff.

Conversations with Experts is sponsored by Build a Better Blog System.

Fixing Performance Problems: A Leader's Guide by Bud Bilanich

Anyone who's been around me, reading my blogs and newsletters, knows that I am on a double blog crusade that goes like this:

1. Start blogging for your biz, if you're a smart professional who wants to create expertise and get found easily on the Web
2. Use your blog to write a book or info product

Every once in a while one of my dear clients and colleagues actually does what I suggest. And sometimes a client will exceed my suggestions and expectations and produce a brilliant little book.

That client is Bud Bilanich. Not only has he shown brilliance in his daily blog posts on using common sense solutions for tough business problems, but he used his blog to gather enough material to form a great little biz book, Fixing Performance Problems, Common Sense Ideas that Work (Front Row Press/BookSurge, 2006).

According to Bud, virtually all performance problems fall into one of 11 categories. The text provides real-life examples of each type of problem, and common sense, easy to apply advice on how to fix it.

My suggestion? Pick up a copy of this small book for only $14.95, and then go to www.commonsenseguy.com, and see how these ideas evolved over on his blog posts.

eBay Marketing: What You Need to Know

Phil Dunn, 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing

Conversations with Experts
Wednesday, February 8, 2006, 8:30 p.m. ET

How to Build an eBay Business that Generates Repeat Sales and Loyal Customers

In recent years, eBay competition has become fierce. Tens of thousands of new sellers have entered the eBay marketplace, including large-scale retailers with the edge of professional marketing expertise and power-house corporate experience. 

The eBay market has also been flooded with small-time sellers, who sell at low margins for little profit and make it difficult for other sellers to compete with their prices. To succeed, you need to pay attention to how you "market" your products.

In this discussion you'll learn how to:

1. Understand buyers and position your products for faster, higher margin sales
2. Present products more persuasively (in visual and in written form)
3. Create urgency and sweeten the deal
4. Differentiate your business from competitors
5. Cultivate loyal customers and build positive feedback
6. Discover what makes buyers choose one item over an identical one
7. Learn why customers come back to trusted sellers time and again

Register: www.ConversationsWithExperts.com

If you cannot attend the Conversation, you can pre-order the audio program for $4.95. After the Conversation the price will be $9.95. Save 50% and use this link to order now.

Conversations with Experts: How to Build Your Business On and Off-line Hosted by Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff.

Conversations with Experts is sponsored by Build a Better Blog System: www.BuildaBetterBlogSystem.com

Creativity and the Grey Flannel Suit

Twyla Tharp is right. Creativity isn't just for artists. She believes that, "It's for businesspeople looking for a new way to close a sale; it's for engineers trying to solve a problem; it's for parents who want their children to see the world in more than one way."

Twyla Tharp is best known as the choreographer for the stage productions of "Movin' Out" and "Singin' in the Rain". What Tharp shares in her book is universal to businesspeople, artists and everyone in between; she explains how to make creativity a habit.

The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life
By Twyla Tharp with Mark Reiter, Simon & Schuster, $15.00 paperback, 256 pages, January 2006, ISBN 0743235274

Here's what Jack Covert of 800-CEO-read blog says about this fascinating book and Twyla Tharp:

She's right. Creativity is at the core of every business. While it's used at every step of the way, when faced with a new "blank page", project or whatever you dub a new venture, it can still be intimidating. Here's where the habit part comes into play. By making creativity a habit, you have something to turn to whenever you start something new.

She continues on entrepreneurs, "A successful entrepreneur can do everything and anything--stock the warehouse, negotiate with vendors, develop a product, design an ad campaign, close a deal, placate an unhappy customer--as well as, if not better than anyone working for him."

Whether you're an entrepreneur or an aspiring da Vinci, I highly suggest you check out this book. Use it to help you find your creative habit. Use it to make that "blank page" a little less intimidating.