9 May, 2009
Say Yes to No by Greg Cootsona
So many things to do and so little time? You are not alone. Everyone is busy. Everyone has an overflowing email inbox and a never-ending list of to-dos. And in Greg’s case, he found he had to make a choice. He couldn’t do it all, and to do the things that really matter to him, he’d have to say “No” to other things. While this applies to business, it will obviously apply to the other parts of life, too.
I talk with Greg about what caused him to change, how to say no and not be negative, and the changes he’s made to be more effective.
22 Feb, 2009
It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For by Roy M. Spence Jr. with Haley Rushing
For some, it seems out of place to think that a company is out to make a difference in the world. Rather it is looked on as a way to make and keep a customer and produce a profit at the end of the day. That perspective, however, looses the power that highly-valued brands have. Done correctly, a purpose rallies the employee, solidifies the brand, and makes customer crazy about you.
I talk with Haley about the fear that what you love to do won’t be sustained by the marketplace, the question of shouldn’t business be concerned first with profit, and some ideas on how to find your purpose. More on the book here.. Buy it at Amazon.com
30 Nov, 2008
Talent is Overrated – What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else by Geoff Colvin.
The good news is, we really do start out on equal footing. While it might seem that some have the knack or raw gift, Geoff has found that the research doesn’t support it. So if you want to be world-class, you’ve got to work and put the time in, but not just any kind of work, a very specific kind called “deliberate practice”. The bad news is that this “deliberate practice” isn’t fun. But more of it equals better performance, and tons of it equals great performance.
I talk Geoff about what really does get us ahead and what we can do to be truly excellent.
More about Geoff at www.TalentIsOverrated.com.
30 Oct, 2008
Relevance by Tim Manners.
Becoming and maintaining a solid brand is no easy feat. Stare at the numbers too long and too much and you lose the connection to your customer, which happen to be human, not a piece of data. Rather than find yourself in the position of having your advertising try to talk someone into something, join Tim to discover how to find innovation that keeps your brand something people want.
I talk with Tim about the overabundance of advertising and its effect, whether its better to be who you are or let the customer decide, and what “Relevance” looks like.
More about Tim at Reveries.com and TimManners.com
23 Oct, 2008
Iconoclast by Gregory Berns.
Being different or thinking different is a common theme in business growth and innovation. The approach in other books is looking at ways to be creative and generate new ideas. Greg’s approach is from science; he’s looking at what’s going on in the brain while all of this is going on. Come to find out, the brain wants to be efficient, so it takes shortcuts all the time. If you want innovation, you’ll have to take a different approach if you want to see things differently.
Greg discusses the characteristics of an iconoclast, what might help in uncovering a new idea, and advice for teams.
