Achim Nowak: Infectious: How To Connect Deeply As A Leader - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Performance coach, leadership guide, and author of the insightful and very practical book Infectious: How to Connect Deeply and Unleash the Energetic Leader Within, Achim Nowak describes how despite advances in technology, leaders communicate more but are unable to connect with others. Achim Nowak provides insights into why leaders face a real challenge with building connections, and why this obstacle must be overcome. Achim Nowak shares his Four Levels of Connection as the foundation for establishing deep and lasting relationships. To assist in utilizing these empowering concepts, Achim Nowak offers the skills and tools necessary for engaging others and enriching connections. Learn how to develop and maintain connections with others to achieve your personal success as a leader in any organization.

Achim Nowak is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, March 21, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Performance coach, leadership guide, and author of the insightful and very practical book Infectious: How to Connect Deeply and Unleash the Energetic Leader Within, Achim Nowak describes how despite advances in technology, leaders communicate more but are unable to connect with others. You will learn:

* Why communication is not the same as connection

* Why leaders face real challenges connecting with others

* How the Four Levels of Connection can build deep and lasting relationships

* How to learn and develop the tools to establish meaningful connections



Achim Nowak (photo left) is an internationally recognized authority on executive presence and infectious personal connections. His first book Power Speaking: The Art of the Exceptional Public Speaker has become an essential leadership development tool in Fortune 500 companies around the world. Achim has coached hundreds of executives and entrepreneurs. He integrates an extensive background in personal transformation techniques, conflict resolution, spiritual practice, and actor training to develop truly resonant leaders.

Influens, the international training and coaching firm Achim founded in 2004, is based in South Florida and supports senior business leaders in every part of the globe. Whether he was training performers at New York City’s Actors Institute or directing an Israeli/Palestinian theatre production for the Peres Center for Peace or leading transformational week-ends in AIDS communities throughout North America or windsurfing in Tobago for a year and doing absolutely nothing else - Achim has mastered the art of slipping into any social situation.

Achim holds an M.A. in Organizational Psychology and International Relations from New York University. He served for over a decade on the faculty of New York University and has been a frequent guest speaker at other universities such as The University of Massachusetts, Amherst College, Brandeis University, and Columbia University.

Achim’s essays have appeared in numerous anthologies and received a PEN Syndicated Fiction Award. He and his work have been featured on 60 Minutes, The Today Show, NPR, HLN, and in The Miami Herald and the award-winning documentary The Last Enemy.

My book review of Infectious: How to Connect Deeply and Unleash the Energetic Leader Within by Achim Nowak.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with performance coach, leadership guide, and author of the insightful and very practical book Infectious: How to Connect Deeply and Unleash the Energetic Leader Within, Achim Nowak, as he describes how despite advances in technology, leaders communicate more but are unable to connect with others. Achim Nowak provides insights into why leaders face a real challenge with building connections, and why this obstacle must be overcome. Achim Nowak shares his Four Levels of Connection as the foundation for establishing deep and lasting relationships. To assist in utilizing these empowering concepts, Achim Nowak offers the skills and tools necessary for engaging others and enriching connections. Learn how to develop and maintain connections with others to achieve your personal success as a leader in any organization on Blog Business Success Radio.

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Infectious by Achim Nowak - Book review

Infectious

How to Connect Deeply and Unleash the Energetic Leader Within

By: Achim Nowak

Published: January 2, 2013
Hardcover: 232 pages
ISBN-10: 1581159242
ISBN-13: 978-1581159240
Publisher: Allworth Press











"We communicate at a furious pace - yet we connect less and less", writes performance coach, leadership guide, and author of the insightful and very practical book Infectious: How to Connect Deeply and Unleash the Energetic Leader Within. The author describes how despite the rapid expansion of technology, and increased communication between leaders and followers, they make fewer and much less effective connections.

Achim Nowak recognizes that establishing and developing personal connections are crucial to building successful leadership. The author points out that despite the desire of leaders to communicate more with others, both in person and electronically, they are not nurturing any real deep and personal connections. Achim Nowak offers the many connection inhibiting beliefs and habits that prevent real connections from taking place.

The author makes clear that without deep and meaningful connections, leaders will never achieve the level of success for themselves, for their followers, and for their organizations that the seek. To overcome this challenge, Achim Nowak presents the concept of connectability as an essential leadership tool that can be learned by anyone.



Achim Nowak (photo left) understands that connections are made in stages, and with different levels of intensity and depth. The ability to connect, according to the author, can be learned, and engagement with others improves with practice.

To achieve deeper connections, Achim Nowak shares his Four Levels of Connection. Along with the four levels, the author provide she necessary tool set to achieve better engagement and connections with other people. The Four Levels of Engagement are as follows:

* The Talk Level: Creating meaningful conversations
* The Power Level: Putting your personal power to work
* The Intent Level: Being alert, acting with purpose, and with firm goals to achieve
* The Energy Level: Connection at the heart and soul level for deep relationships

For me, the power of the book is how Achim Nowak combines a deep and rich framework and philosophy for building connections, with the practical tools and practices to make those deep and lasting connections a reality. The author breaks down his Four Levels of Connection into easily understood sections, complete with examples of the principles in action in the real world. Achim Nowak presents ideas that are tested and proven effective over fifteen years of coaching and leadership training.

With the levels of engagement and connection understood in theory, the leader is then able to utilize the tested tools for establishing deeper connections. Each chapter is subdivided into subheadings and subsections to further develop the tools and skills needed to ever deepen the connection with others, Numerous charts and graphics provide additional visual aids to further facilitate the learning and understanding of the tools for connections.

I highly recommend the very hands on and highly effective book Infectious: How to Connect Deeply and Unleash the Energetic Leader Within by Achim Nowak, to any leaders at all levels who are seeking a real world proven, and readily applicable set of tools and skills for enriching interpersonal connections. instead of simply communicating with others, you will instead find yourself connecting with people in new and exciting ways.

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Jewel Fryer & BlogBloke: Facebook Power For Your Business - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio

Social Media Practitioner and Community Manager, at Social Media Farm, Jewel Fryer and long time blogger BlogBloke describe how Facebook can expand and build your business. They add their thoughts on Twitter, and how recent Google feeder changes affect bloggers. The guests share their ideas for utilizing Facebook more effectively, and how Facebook business pages present an opportunity for companies seeking to build new relationships with customers. Jewel Fryer and BlogBloke present their ideas for ensuring that businesses gain maximum exposure and benefit from Facebook and other social media. Learn how to put the relationship building power of Facebook to work for you and your company.

Jewel Fryer and BlogBloke are my internet radio show guests on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, March 19, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Social Media Practitioner and Community Manager, at Social Media Farm, Jewel Fryer and long time blogger BlogBloke describe how Facebook can expand and build your business. You will learn:

* How Facebook can build and enhance your online business relationships

* How to use Facebook effectively and avoid the most common mistakes

* How add and utilize a Facebook business page

* How some recent social media changes affect your business

Jewel Fryer (photo left) is social media practitioner and community manager at Social Media Farm.

Jewel doesn't buy likes. I build loyalty. Her goal is to help Individuals and business's market and communicate online. As a community manager her job is to improve your social media presence.

Jewel is a Wife, mother, organic farmer, community organizer and social media marketer. She is also a blogger and is active on Twitter and Facebook.



BlogBloke (avatar left) has worked in journalism and as a programmer in the computer industry before most had heard of Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. A crusader at heart, he switched to law and soon made a name for himself as a successful litigation expert and mediator, helping folks who under normal circumstances can't afford justice.

A geek in every sense of the term, he carried his passion for helping others and computers into blogging that he helped pioneer. In those days there was no such thing as Wordpress or RSS newsfeeds for blogs. Having created the "Blog Tips" niche, his blog is an outstanding resource for helpful blogging tips and how-to tutorials. He has a reputation for being a straight shooter, his sharp wit and an outspoken champion for online ethics. He is bullishly pro blogging, social media, an outspoken advocate for online rights, security and technology issues.

Tech Editor and Author, BLOGBloke has been quoted in the Washington Post, New York Times and CBS News. Here are just a few of the comments that his readers have made:

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.





To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with Social Media Practitioner and Community Manager, at Social Media Farm, Jewel Fryer, and long time blogger BlogBloke, as they describe how Facebook can expand and build your business. They add their thoughts on Twitter, and how recent Google feeder changes affect bloggers. The guests share their ideas for utilizing Facebook more effectively, and how Facebook business pages present an opportunity for companies seeking to build new relationships with customers. Jewel Fryer and BlogBloke present their ideas for ensuring that businesses gain maximum exposure and benefit from Facebook and other social media. Learn how to put the relationship building power of Facebook to work for you and your company on Blog Business Success Radio.

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A Companion to New Media Dynamics edited by John Hartley, Jean Burgess & Axel Bruns - Book review

A Companion to New Media Dynamics

Edited by: John Hartley, Ph.D., Jean Burgess, Ph.D., Axel Bruns, Ph.D.

Published: February, 28, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 520 pages
ISBN-10: 1444332244
ISBN-13: 978-1444332247
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell















"Capitalism, technology, social networks, and media all evolve and change, sometimes to our delight,sometimes our dismay. This incessant process of disruption, renewal, and eventual (if not partial) replacement is now one of humanity's central experiences", write editors Professor of Cultural Science and Director of the Centre for Culture and Technology at Curtin University, John Hartley; Associate Professor of Digital Media Studies, Creative Industries Faculty, School of Media, Entertainment, Creative Arts, Media and Communication, Queensland University of Technology, Jean Burgess: and Associate Professor in the Creative Industries Faculty,School of Media, Entertainment, Creative Arts,Media and Communication, Queensland University of Technology, Axel Bruns in their comprehensive and multi-disciplinary anthology A Companion to New Media Dynamics. The editors provide a widely based collection of essays, by leading international contributors, on the various approaches to current and future developments of new media practices within contemporary culture.



John Hartley (photo left), Jean Burgess, and Axel Bruns present a series of essays relating to new media from the viewpoint of dynamic change. This change inspired approach includes readings from disciplines ranging from culture and the arts to politics and the social sciences. The contributions also consider media dynamics aspects relating to technology and the sciences.

Discussion of media ownership, regulation, and public policy are examined through their impact on, as well as from dynamic change. Other papers include a consideration of new media dynamics in terms of scale. The three degrees of scale include the macro scale at the overall system level, the meso scale at the level of institutions, and the micro scale in terms of agencies and individual outlets.



Jean Burgess (photo left), Axel Bruns, and John Hartley provide a glimpse into the very powerful forces of innovation and creative destruction that bring about dynamic change in media. While these forces are not new, and economic and political influences are critical in the still strong old media, the papers look at their impact on and from new media.

The book's approach is distilled into three overarching sections. The three major parts of the book include sub-heading as well:

Part 1: Approaches and Antecedents

Part 2: Issues and Identities
* Agency
* Mobility
* Enterprise
* Search
* Network
* Surveillance

Part 3: Forms, Platforms, and Practices
* Culture and identity
* Politics, participation, and citizenship
* Knowledge and new generations



Axel Bruns (photo left), John Hartley, and Jean Burgess combine effectively contributions on the overall theoretical aspects of new media dynamics, with the various aspects of technology and societal considerations in what for me, is the power of the book. The international roster of contributors is not only outstanding for the quality of the papers published in the volume, but for the diversity of their backgrounds as well.

Included are presentations from researchers, academics, and entrepreneurs who share their insights into the ever evolving dynamics of new media in contemporary culture.

To ensure that all aspects of the topics are addressed, the chapters uses an approach to new media that emphasizes their generative potential, market adoption and monetary benefits, and their retention within a corporate setting. This approach also considers the cultural, political, and arts based uses and applications of the dynamics inherent in new media, and also in the legacy old media channels.

I highly recommend the all encompassing and widely landmark book to any new and old media leaders, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, technologists, academics, students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, government officials, public policy makers, nonprofit executives, and anyone interested in the ever changing and dynamic landscape of new media. This book provides insights and ideas that will provide the seed for future change and innovation across the entire new and old media environment.

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The Magic Question by David Cottrell - Book review

The Magic Question

A Simple Question Every Leader Dreams of Answering

By: David Cottrell

Published: December 19, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 112 pages
ISBN-10: 0071806164
ISBN-13: 978-0071806169
Publisher: McGraw-Hill












"'How can I help?' Isn't that the question every leader longs to hear?" writes CEO and President of CornerStone Leadership Institute, David Cottrell, in his timeless leadership wisdom filled and very transformational book The Magic Question: A Simple Question Every Leader Dreams of Answering. The author describes how to connect and engage people to get real and tangible results through establishing The Magic Question as part of the organizational culture.

David Cottrell recognizes that leadership is full of complexities because of the necessity of dealing with teams of very unique people. As a result, the author removes the complexity from the role of leadership and breaks it down into six key components. Fie David Cottrell, the six principles are in the form of answering the six crucial questions that are asked constantly by team members. The questions are deeply rooted in human psychology, and revolve around employees wanting to know what is happening within the organization, their role within it, and how well they are performing their responsibilities. David Cottrell provides evidence that leaders who answer these six questions with clarity, will establish teams that work together better, are more engaged, and achieve superior results.



David Cottrell (photo left) understands that if a team is actively engaged and working with enthusiasm, that employees will have higher levels of morale, greater job satisfaction, and are less likely to leave the organization. The leader who answers the six questions clearly will connect with team members and begin to the hear what the author calls The Magic Question. That question is "How can I help?"

The author presents the following six questions, that team members ask whether the leader is present or not, to which leaders must respond:

* The first question: What is REALLY important?
* The second question: How am I doing?
* The third question: How is our team doing?
* The fourth question: Do you care?
* The fifth question: What difference do we make?
* The sixth question: Are you worth following?

For me, the power of the book is how David Cottrell combines proven leadership ideas and wisdom with the practical and hands on steps to put them into action. The author simplifies the often over analyzed concept of leadership. Instead of making the principles of leadership and engaging team members into an overly complicated exercise, David Cottrell breaks the concepts down into six basic questions asked by employees. Those six basic questions, once answered with clarity and consistency on the part of the leader, lead to the ultimate Magic Question. To his credit, the author warns leaders that getting to that Magic Question will not be easy.

Instead, David Cottrell guides leaders on that journey, that is much about learning about themselves, as it is about learning about the needs, goals, and desires of the team members. The author provides important introspective questions, as well as team based questions, in every chapter to ensure that leaders work toward connecting with their staff members. David Cottrell also shares important insights, action plans, and practices to ensure that the leader maintains the confidence of the team, and builds that all important employee engagement.

I highly recommend the very clear and concise book The Magic Question: A Simple Question Every Leader Dreams of Answering by David Cottrell, to leaders at all levels of their organizations who are seeking a hands on and readily applied guide to achieving effective leadership of teams. This book will give leaders the basic tools they need to establish the trust and connection necessary to start hearing The Magic Question.

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Julie Winkle Giulioni: Help Them Grow Or Watch Them Go - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Consultant, leadership adviser, co-founder and principal of DesignArounds, and co-author, along with Beverly Kaye, of the concise and very hands on book Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want, Julie Winkle Giulioni describes why it's essential for companies to make employee career development a priority in their organizations. Julie provides evidence that employee development is under-utilized in many companies, and that these businesses risk losing their most talented people to their competitors. Julie presents the concept of conversations with employees to determine their past achievements, their current strengths and areas where they seek improved skills, and an examination of their future goals within the organization. Julie points out that career development is even more important in today's changing business landscape than ever before. No longer can managers put career development on the back burner, but instead must place emphasis and allocate time and resources to meet the challenge. Julie shares advice and ideas for building employee engagement, enhancing performance, establishing a development based culture, and boosting the bottom line. Learn how to transform your company into a career development culture that engages employees and maximizes their potential.

Julie Winkle Giulioni is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, March 14, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Consultant, leadership adviser, co-founder and principal of DesignArounds, and co-author, along with Beverly Kaye, of the concise and very hands on book Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want, Julie Winkle Giulioni describes why it's essential for companies to make employee career development a priority in their organizations. You will learn:

* Why employee career development is important to companies

* How to help managers ask the right questions of employees to learn their goals

* How align employee goals with organizational goals

* how to develop a culture of employee career development



Julie Winkle Giulioni (photo left) has spent the past 25 years improving performance through learning. She's partnered with hundreds of organizations to develop and deploy innovative training products that are in use worldwide. Julie is well-known and well-regarded for her creative, one-of-a-kind solutions that consistently deliver bottom-line results.

As co-founder and principal of DesignArounds, Julie leads multi-disciplinary teams that create award-winning electronic and instructor-led training. She is an author and respected speaker on a variety of performance improvement, leadership, sales and customer service topics. Her understanding of an organization's training needs transcends industry and audience.

Previously Julie was the director of product development for AchieveGlobal, one of the world's largest commercial training and development companies. She also held learning leadership positions in financial services and retail organizations, taught marketing at the secondary and post-secondary level, and served as a department chair at Woodbury University.

When Julie is not working with clients, she's an active community member and PTA/soccer mom. A Southern California native, she currently lives with her husband and two children in South Pasadena.

My book review of Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want by Beverly Kaye and Julie Winkle Giulioni.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with consultant, leadership adviser, co-founder and principal of DesignArounds, and co-author, along with Beverly Kaye, of the concise and very hands on book Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want, Julie Winkle Giulioni, as she describes why it's essential for companies to make employee career development a priority in their organizations. Julie provides evidence that employee development is under-utilized in many companies, and that these businesses risk losing their most talented people to their competitors. Julie presents the concept of conversations with employees to determine their past achievements, their current strengths and areas where they seek improved skills, and an examination of their future goals within the organization. Julie points out that career development is even more important in today's changing business landscape than ever before. No longer can managers put career development on the back burner, but instead must place emphasis and allocate time and resources to meet the challenge. Julie shares advice and ideas for building employee engagement, enhancing performance, establishing a development based culture, and boosting the bottom line. Learn how to transform your company into a career development culture that engages employees and maximizes their potential on Blog Business Success Radio.

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Help The Grow or Watch The Go by Beverly Kaye & Julie Winkle Giulioni - Book review

Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go

Career Conversations Employees Want

By: Beverly Kaye, Julie Winkle Giulioni

Published: September 17, 2012
Format: Paperback, 144 pages
ISBN-10: 1609946324
ISBN-13: 978-1609946326
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers







"Developing employees. Helping them grow. It's like eating properly or exercising. You know it's good. You know you should. Yet, if you're like many managers today, you just don't do it as well or as frequently as you would like", write founder and CEO of Career Systems International, Beverly Kaye; and co-founder and principal of DesignArounds, Julie Winkle Giulioni, in their concise and very hands on book Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want. The authors describe how despite the clear evidence for beneficial results for employees, managers and their organizations, clear development is often overlooked as an engagement tool, and they share their proven and practical techniques for establishing a culture of employee career development that really works.



Beverly Kaye (photo left) and Julie Winkle Giulioni recognize that organizations and managers are stretched very thinly in terms of resources, and that very often it is employee career development that becomes a casualty of a belt tightening event. The authors demonstrate that within today's changing business environment, career development is more important to the organization than ever before.

Since the authors point out that for many firms, talent is what separates them from their competition, career development provides a real and tangible bottom line benefit. Unfortunately, many companies make career development a low priority, or so complicated and bureaucratic, that busy managers either ignore the process or are opposed to its implementation.



Julie Winkle Giulioni (photo left) and Beverly Kaye understand that incorporating employee development into the company strategy and culture presents a real challenge for business leaders. It is a challenge, however, that managers at all levels must take seriously or risk losing employee engagement, and even their most talented people to their competitors. The problem for many managers, when they do consider career development, is that they are not given the tools, skills, or resources to properly guide and engage their staff members in the process.

The authors share three important types of conversation that managers can have with their employees to better understand employee career goals. They also provide advice for managers to offer feedback to the staff member about how to strengthen their position and skill level within the company. The three types of conversation are as follows:

* Hindsight conversations to determine where the employee has been and is now
* Foresight conversations to help the employee look forward to recognize change
* Insight conversations to help the employee grow and perform in the future

For me, the power of the book is how Beverly Kaye and Julie Winkle Giulioni combine a powerful overview of the reasons why employee development is so important, with the practical techniques and conversations to make employee career development a reality. The authors develop a strong case for organizational employee development while addressing the most common myths and misconceptions that surround the concept. The book makes very clear that without establishing a clear conversation with employees, and engaging them in a developmental role, the company will very likely lose its most promising and high performing talent to other employers.

The authors recognize the crucial importance of conversations with employees, and really listening to them, to understand their goals and aspirations for their careers. At the same time, valuable advice is offered to managers for offering vital feedback to staff members, and for sharing honest outlooks for those employees, in a time of transformation in the workplace structure. The authors provide the critical questions that managers should ask their employees, and offer the exercises and practices that will build employee engagement and create a culture or employee career development.

I highly recommend the very insightful and comprehensive book Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want by Beverly Kaye and Julie Winkle Giulioni, to any managers and leaders, regardless of their level within an organization, who are serious about developing their valued employees, retaining their services, building engagement, and establishing a learning and people growing culture. This book will transform how you think about employee career development, overcome any obstacles to its successful implementation, and into an avowed advocate of the process throughout the entire company.

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Phil Simon: Too Big To Ignore - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Technology expert, consultant, speaker, and author of Too Big To Ignore: The Business Case for Big Data, Phil Simon describes why Big Data is important for business leaders to understand and to incorporate into their business strategy. Phil Simon provides an overview of what constitutes Big Data, how it is collected, and how the information is used in decision making. Phil Simon shares stories of how organizations have utilized the power of Big Data effectively to improve their efficiency, service and profitability. Phil offers advice for business leaders to ensure they use the volume of data effectively to avoid being lost in a sea of information. Phil Simon presents some of the risks and challenges posed by the collection of Big data and how to avoid these pitfalls. Phil also offers a glimpse into the future of Big Data and its impact on organizations of all types, and for the general public as well. Learn how to harness the tremendous power of Big Data in your company, while avoiding many of its potential problems as well.

Phil Simon is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, March 12, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Technology expert, consultant, speaker, and author of Too Big To Ignore: The Business Case for Big Data, Phil Simon describes why Big Data is important for business leaders to understand and to incorporate into their business strategy. You will learn:

* What is Big Data and why it is important to understand

* How business leaders can utilize Big Data to make better decisions

* How Big data can be part of an improved business strategy

* How to recognize and overcome the challenges presented by Big Data



Phil Simon (photo left) s a sought-after speaker and recognized technology expert. He consults companies on how to optimize their use of technology has written five books:

Too Big to Ignore: The Business Case for Big Data (John Wiley & Sons, 2013)
The Age of the Platform (Motion, 2011)
The New Small (Motion, 2010)
The Next Wave of Technologies (John Wiley & Sons, 2010)
Why New Systems Fail (Cengage, 2010)

His contributions have been featured in and on Inc. Magazine, NBC, CNBC, The Huffington Post, The Globe and Mail, the American Express Open Forum, Fast Company, Technorati, ComputerWorld, ZDNet, abcnews.com, forbes.com, BusinessWeek, The New York Times, ReadWriteWeb, and many other sites. He holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Cornell University.

While not consulting, Phil speaks about emerging trends and technologies. He also writes for a number of technology-oriented media outlets. He holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and Cornell University.

My book review of The Age of the Platform: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Have Redefined Business by Phil Simon.

My book review of The New Small: How a New Breed of Small Businesses Is Harnessing the Power of Emerging Technologies by Phil Simon.

My book review of Why New Systems Fail: An Insider's Guide to Successful IT Projects by Phil Simon.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with technology expert, consultant, speaker, and author of Too Big To Ignore: The Business Case for Big Data, Phil Simon, as he describes why Big Data is important for business leaders to understand and to incorporate into their business strategy. Phil Simon provides an overview of what constitutes Big Data, how it is collected, and how the information is used in decision making. Phil Simon shares stories of how organizations have utilized the power of Big Data effectively to improve their efficiency, service and profitability. Phil offers advice for business leaders to ensure they use the volume of data effectively to avoid being lost in a sea of information. Phil Simon presents some of the risks and challenges posed by the collection of Big data and how to avoid these pitfalls. Phil also offers a glimpse into the future of Big Data and its impact on organizations of all types, and for the general public as well. Learn how to harness the tremendous power of Big Data in your company, while avoiding many of its potential problems as well on Blog Business Success Radio.

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Stephen Epstein, CMO, Avistar Communications: Technology Trends - Interview

Stephen Epstein, Chief Marketing Officer, of unified visual communications industry innovation company Avistar Communications Corporation, was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions about the rapidly growing field of desktop videoconferencing. He describes the reasons for companies using videoconferencing and shared some of the advantages and disadvantages of the system. He also gazed into the crystal ball and shared some of his thoughts on the future of videoconferencing, BYOD, and of communications in general.

Thanks to Stephen Epstein for his informative and comprehensive answers.

Thanks as well to Norman Birnbach of Birbach Communications, Inc. for his assistance in facilitating this interview.

One term we hear a lot about these days is BYOD. What is BYOD?

Stephen Epstein: BYOD is the acronym for Bring Your Own Device. Wikipedia describes it as “the policy of permitting employees to bring personally owned mobile devices (laptops, tablets, and smart phones) to their workplace, and use those devices to access privileged company information and applications.[1] Since the onset of intuitive, consumer personal productivity devices, employees have increasingly wanted to bring their consumer technology to work and apply it to their day-to-day jobs.

This has traditionally run counter to internal IT policies and procedures, which have been set up to ensure business-class security, integration and uniformity across the entire organization. These policies are evolving as these devices have become more prevalent and trends such as mobile workers, working from home, better smartphones and tablets, and “we’ve got an app for that” have emerged.

How is BYOD making its presence known in the work environment?

Stephen Epstein: We think BYOD will become the accepted approach to office technology in 2013. BYOD delivers more flexibility while driving down costs in an organization. Additionally, BYOD has moved from a “nice to do” to a “must do” in organizations, as it is viewed as a way to keep employees happy and more productive. Most employees expect to BYOD and have them sync with their corporate technology. The fact is that consumer technology can be more powerful and easier to use than corporate technology today.



Stephen Epstein (photo left)

How does videoconferencing play in all this?

Stephen Epstein: Many consumer devices today already have a proprietary videoconferencing element, but typically work only between same-brand devices. What is happening now is the bringing of people together through a seamless, interoperable and reliable voice and videoconferencing experience via the cloud -- and Avistar is the only company that can do this today. We make videoconferencing available anywhere, to anyone on any device. This is changing the way business application and service providers, communications solutions and business partners are delivering voice and videoconferencing features to their clients and end users.

Where does videoconferencing go from here?

Stephen Epstein: As videoconferencing in the cloud increases in 2013, we will see traditional hardware-based videoconferencing vendors make some tough decisions. Selling off assets, getting out the business, or morphing into software-only videoconferencing vendors are just some of the tough decisions hardware vendors will need to make as software-based videoconferencing becomes the new normal.

We expect the cloud to bring about an increase in videoconferencing services and capabilities, driven in part by BYOD and the necessity to make apps and access available to employees regardless of the device or platform they’re using. In fact, we expect cloud-based B2B videoconferencing to become so big over the next several years that the sector will be mostly comprised of either cloud-based vendors or on-premise vendors, with little overlap because the tech requirements are so different. However, we think customers will want solutions that offer a choice of cloud-based, on-premise and a hybrid solution offering both.

What other trends do you see on the horizon?

Stephen Epstein: As videoconferencing becomes as second nature as talking on the (BYOD) smartphone or traditional telephone, we see a couple of other related trends emerging:

• Working from home: This will become mainstream. According to Home-Based Workers in the United States: 2010, a recent Census Bureau report, 9.5 percent of the U.S. workforce – 4.2 million Americans – work from home. That’s an increase of 2 million, a jump from 7.8 percent in 2005. The growing population of employees who work at least part of the week from their homes is another reason for companies to embrace BYOD because BYOD can enhance productivity and collaboration, even or especially when employees work from home.

• The rise of Chief Mobility Officers. As nearly half of the world’s population is projected to be mobile users by 2018, companies will shift from being PC-centric to being Post-PC- or smartphone/tablet-centric. We expect companies will hire chief mobility officers to break down silos between development, sales, marketing and IT to enable companies to offer a seamless mobile approach to em

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Tredy Beerman: Get Debt Free Wealth - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Entrepreneur, BlogTalkRadio host, and author of Get Debt Free Wealth, Trudy Beerman describes how to get out of debt, stay free of debt, and build your wealth without the burden of debt. Trudy Beerman shares her strategies for eliminating debt, and also for better understanding what debt means in terms of wealth creation. Trudy offers her ideas for better understanding how people view money and wealth, and how to get money working for you instead of being a constant problem. Trudy presents ideas for investing in precious metals and other assets. She also offers the journey of entrepreneurship as a viable wealth building alternative. Trudy provides advice for ensuring a safe and comfortable retirement, and for leaving you r wealth behind for family and loved ones. Learn how to get debt free and stay that way for life.

Trudy Beerman is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, March 7, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Entrepreneur, BlogTalkRadio host, and author of Get Debt Free Wealth, Trudy Beerman describes how to get out of debt, stay free of debt, and build your wealth without the burden of debt. You will learn:

* How to get out of debt without sacrificing your entire lifestyle

* Why you should consider entrepreneurship as a career journey

* How to invest in precious metals and other assets

* How to retire comfortably and leave wealth to your family and loved ones



Trudy Beerman (photo left) holds a Florida License in health& life insurance, and variable annuities, Florida Real Estate Broker, Florida Notary, Paralegal (stint at the US Attorney's Office), Gold and Silver Sales Executive, Former Forex Trader, Student of the Crown Financial Program, former member of Kingdom Advisers, former Budget Counselor for Idlewild Baptist Church. She is the Host of Debt Free Wealth Radio.

She is a professional writer, author of JESUS HAD A STEP DAD TOO, former columnist, former contributor to EHow.com's financial section, has published work ParentLife magazine, Caribbean Lifestyle magazine, and others.

Her BA degree is in Biology, Chemistry and Pre-Medical studies, she pursued (but did not complete) a Masters in Community Health Education, and was a former Instructor Trainer for Fitness Professionals (pre 2007). She is an Instructor Trainer for CPR and other OSHA approved safety training and has a 14 year old company that offers onsite corporate safety training.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with entrepreneur, BlogTalkRadio host, and author of Get Debt Free Wealth, Trudy Beerman, as she describes how to get out of debt, stay free of debt, and build your wealth without the burden of debt. Trudy Beerman shares her strategies for eliminating debt, and also for better understanding what debt means in terms of wealth creation. Trudy offers her ideas for better understanding how people view money and wealth, and how to get money working for you instead of being a constant problem. Trudy presents ideas for investing in precious metals and other assets. She also offers the journey of entrepreneurship as a viable wealth building alternative. Trudy provides advice for ensuring a safe and comfortable retirement, and for leaving you r wealth behind for family and loved ones. Learn how to get debt free and stay that way for life on Blog Business Success Radio.

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The Art of Doing Good by Charles Bronfman & Jeffrey Solomon - Book review

The Art of Doing Good

Where Passion Meets Action

By: Charles Bronfman, Jeffrey Solomon

Published: September 11, 2012
Format:Hardcover, 288 pages
ISBN-10: 1118264355
ISBN-13: 978-1118264355
Publisher: Jossey-Bass








"This book has a fairly audacious goal: to teach you how to change the world. Not through warfare, politics, or technology, but through a unique social invention, the nonprofit, that is intended to do good on a grand scale", write Chairman of The Andrea & Charles Bronfman Philanthropies Inc., Charles Bronfman; and President of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, Jeffrey Solomon, in their insightful and societal transforming book The Art of Doing Good: Where Passion Meets Action. The authors describe how to establish and manage a successful nonprofit organization, maintain its drive and spirit, overcome the many challenges along the way, and to change the world in the process.



Charles Bronfman (photo left) and Jeffrey Solomon understand that social entrepreneurs and even long time nonprofit professionals may have the all consuming drive to change the world, but may lack the experience to manage a new organization. The authors fill in that knowledge gap through sharing their own wealth of experience, combined with that of eighteen very innovative and successful social entrepreneurs.

The authors recognize that any new organization, regardless of its mission and membership commitment, will face challenges of management and leadership. By sharing the real world advice and experience, of both themselves and others, the authors present a blueprint for establishing and running a world changing nonprofit organization.



Jeffrey Solomon (photo left) and Charles Bronfman know from personal experience the power of a nonprofit organization to make real and positive change in the world. The authors also recognize that passion and and drive are not enough to achieve the goals and mission of the nonprofit. Whether the nonprofit is a fresh initiative, or an existing organization seeking to refresh its journey, the advice offered is both inspirational and practical.

The authors present their guidance in a useful and logical manner to aid the social entrepreneur in achieving their overall mission goals. The book is divided into four overarching sections, with each one containing chapters providing ready to apply concepts for each aspect of successful nonprofit management. The four parts of the book are as follows:

* Sources of inspiration
* Bringing your idea to life
* Managing the organization
* Resources

For me, the power of the book is how Charles Bronfman and Jeffrey Solomon combine a powerful theoretical background for social entrepreneurs, with real world proven advice for starting and managing a successful nonprofit organization. The authors present their own experiences with world class association management, along with eighteen other visionary social entrepreneurs who add their guidance to the book. The authors include all aspects of establishing and guiding a nonprofit in the carrying out of its mission.

The authors provide additional real value to the book with the inclusion of a comprehensive resources section. This indispensable portion of the book offers more sites and organizations from which to find more information on every aspect of nonprofit management. The short biographical sketches of the eighteen guest contributors offers more depth to their advice and vision as social entrepreneurs as well.

I highly recommend the visionary and inspirational book The Art of Doing Good: Where Passion Meets Action by Charles Bronfman and Jeffrey Solomon, to any aspiring or current social entrepreneurs, nonprofit organization managers, board members, and any one seeking a real world based guide to building and maintaining a successful and effective nonprofit organization. This valuable book will help you transform the world and change the lives of real people for the better through the effective implementation of your organizational mission.

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Steven Snyder: Leadership and the Art of Struggle - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Leadership consultant, founder of Snyder Leadership Group, and author of the breakthrough and real world based book Leadership and the Art of Struggle: How Great Leaders Grow through Challenge and Adversity, Steven Snyder describes how leaders must embrace adversity and challenges to achieve their full potential as leaders. Steven Snyder points out that social mores that cause struggles to be seen as weakness cause great harm to leaders and to the organizations they lead. Steven Snyder shares an alternative approach to leadership through what he calls the struggle lens, where challenges are repositioned as positive learning opportunities. Steven offers the concept of building what he calls adaptive energy through resilience and self awareness. Steven presents the practices and exercises that will guide a leader inward toward greater self awareness and to eliminate personal blind spots. Steven Snyder teaches leaders to welcome struggle as an opportunity for learning and to develop fully as effective leaders.

Steven Snyder is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, March 5, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Leadership consultant, founder of Snyder Leadership Group, and author of the breakthrough and real world based book Leadership and the Art of Struggle: How Great Leaders Grow through Challenge and Adversity, Steven Snyder describes how leaders must embrace adversity and challenges to achieve their full potential as leaders. You will learn:

* Why social mores that consider leaders who struggle as ineffective are incorrect

* Why leaders must embrace challenge and adversity to learn and grow as leaders

* How to welcome struggle and utilize it to achieve your full leadership potential

* How other great leaders have embraced the struggle to benefit their organizations



Steven Snyder (photo left) is the founder and managing director of Snyder Leadership Group.

Steven Snyder joined Microsoft in 1983, when the company was in its infancy. His work there, praised by Bill Gates, secured the relationship with IBM during a crucial stage in Microsoft’s growth and helped shape the history of the personal computer industry. Promoted as Microsoft’s first business unit general manager, Snyder led the company’s Development Tool business, where his team won PC Magazine’s Technical Excellence Award on three occasions.

In 1996, Snyder co-founded Net Perceptions, where he commercialized “collaborative filtering” – a technology that enables the real-time personalized recommendations that have become central to the online shopping experience. This groundbreaking work won Snyder the first-ever World Technology Award for Commerce in 1999 for “contributing to the advance of emerging technologies for the benefit of business and society.”

Steven Snyder holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar, and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Minnesota. Leadership and the Art of Struggle: How Great Leaders Grow through Challenge and Adversity is his first book.

My book review of Leadership and the Art of Struggle: How Great Leaders Grow through Challenge and Adversity by Steven Snyder.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with leadership consultant, founder of Snyder Leadership Group, and author of the breakthrough and real world based book Leadership and the Art of Struggle: How Great Leaders Grow through Challenge and Adversity, Steven Snyder, as he describes how leaders must embrace adversity and challenges to achieve their full potential as leaders. Steven Snyder points out that social mores that cause struggles to be seen as weakness cause great harm to leaders and to the organizations they lead. Steven Snyder shares an alternative approach to leadership through what he calls the struggle lens, where challenges are repositioned as positive learning opportunities. Steven offers the concept of building what he calls adaptive energy through resilience and self awareness. Steven presents the practices and exercises that will guide a leader inward toward greater self awareness and to eliminate personal blind spots. Steven Snyder teaches leaders to welcome struggle as an opportunity for learning and to develop fully as effective leaders on Blog Business Success Radio.

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Leadership and the Art of Struggle by Steven Snyder - Book review

Leadership and the Art of Struggle

How Great Leaders Grow through Challenge and Adversity

By: Steven Snyder

Published: March 11, 2013
Format: Paperback, 216 pages
ISBN-10: 1609946448
ISBN-13: 978-1609946449
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers








"Leadership is often a struggle. Yet societal taboos often prevent leaders from talking openly and honestly about their struggles for fear of being perceived as ineffective and inadequate", writes leadership consultant and founder of Snyder Leadership Group, Steven Snyder, in his breakthrough and real world based book Leadership and the Art of Struggle: How Great Leaders Grow through Challenge and Adversity. The author describes how societal expect an unrealistic perfection in leaders that causes a loss of confidence and derails their careers, and offers embracing of struggle and failure as afresh approach to achieving success.

Steven Snyder understands that the most insightful and self aware leaders realize that leadership is a struggle, and leverage adversity to learn and master their internal and external challenges. The author points out that the denial of struggle, and by maintaining the false premise that struggle is a sign of weakness, leaders fail both themselves and their organizations. By failing to recognize their own blind spots, leaders will repeat the same mistakes over and over, and never reach either their own or their organizational potential. To counter this unfavorable behavior, Steven Snyder proposes that a leader should look inward for deeper self awareness. Instead of denying struggle, the author offers a fresh alternative where struggle is understood and embraced to achieve one's full potential as a leader.



Steven Snyder (photo left) recognizes that the necessity of thinking differently about leadership, and of re-framing struggles as helpful and positive learning experiences. For the author, leadership must be examined through an entirely different lens if the leaders is to reach their fullest potential. In this case, the lens is one of struggle, where potential is reached through mastery of adversity.

Steven Snyder presents the struggle lens as a way of becoming grounded and harnessing the leader's own energy as what he calls adaptive energy. The author offers the following principles for embracing struggle, a;long with the positive steps and exercises to transform them into a way of living as a leader:

* Becoming grounded
* Exploring new pathways
* Deepening adaptive energy

For me,the power of the book is how Steven Snyder uncovers the underlying psychological aspects of leadership, and builds on that self awareness to grow as a leader. The author points out that the struggle for leaders is within themselves. To overcome the often ingrained social mores that depict struggle as weakness, Steven Snyder repositions the concept of struggle as a powerful force for learning and developing leadership skills.

In this very hands on book, Steven Snyder shares the first person accounts of successful leaders who embraced the art of struggle to fulfill their destinies as effective leaders. Each chapter contains challenging questions that require the leader to look inward to seek out their own answers and understanding. The author also includes practical exercises to guide and assist the leader in this self discovery and self awareness building process. Implementing the exercises will break the old habits and limiting modes of thinking that prevent positive leadership breakthroughs.

I highly recommend the empowering and illuminating book Leadership and the Art of Struggle: How Great Leaders Grow through Challenge and Adversity by Steven Snyder, to any leaders at all levels who are seeking a insightful and powerful process to change how they approach struggle and adversity, so as to embrace these realities, and achieve both personal and organizational potential. This book will change how you think about leadership, its challenges, and the rewards of understanding the true nature of struggle.

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Beyond Good Intentions by Tori Hogan - Book review

Beyond Good Intentions

A Journey into the Realities of International Aid

By: Tori Hogan

Published: September 25, 2012
Format: Paperback, 304 pages
ISBN-10: 158005434X
ISBN-13: 978-1580054348
Publisher: Seal Press







"I felt a deep obligation to share the truth about aid with others and to uncover how the 'helping industry' could be reformed", writes researcher, filmmaker, aid critic, and founder and director of Beyond Good Intentions, Tori Hogan in her eye opening and provocative book Beyond Good Intentions: A Journey into the Realities of International Aid. The author describes how as a young intern in Kenya, for Save The Children, she discovered how the aid industry was failing to achieve its goals, and shares her personal journey to reform the abuses and failures of international aid.

Tori Hogan recognizes that not all aid is wasted, and indeed some aid agencies do the right thing and perform good works. The author also points out that while well intentioned, too much international aid to the developing world often results in more harm than good. During her eight year odyssey through Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda, Tori Hogan found enormous waste, inappropriate solutions pushed by outsiders, and counterproductive humanitarian activities that made the problems even worse.

The author shares her first hand experiences with the aid community, and reveals the failures of international aid and its often naive but well meaning volunteers and staff. At the same time, Tori Hogan presents a manifesto to others, to meet the challenges facing the people targeted for aid effectively, and to make a positive impact on their lives.



Tori Hogan (photo left) understands that the people, who are the intended recipients of the international assistance, are not always happy with the outcomes. Indeed, it was the story given to her by a young African boy that provided the impetus to the author's journey to reform the entire international aid effort. The harsh truth Tori Hogan learned in that fateful conversation transformed her life and her goals as a humanitarian.

Discovering that aid intentions are not always as they seem, and many being outright harmful to the recipients, Tori Hogan began a complete examination of the international aid process. To find out the real story, the author talked to the people who were the intended beneficiaries of the aid. The author was shocked to learn that aid was not only wasteful, but also given to the classic bureaucratic challenges of waste, entrenched elites, and mission creep. Tori Hogan traveled back to Africa, years after her initial epiphany, and visited Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. In each country, the author's quest was the real truth about international aid.

For me, the power of the book is how Tori Hogan combines an overview of the challenges and problems resulting from international aid programs, with her own personal odyssey to uncover the real story from the recipients. The author shares the unvarnished story through her conversations with the people most affected by the aid efforts. Startling discussions are recounted of the failure of the aid to achieve even the most basic goals, and also how the recipients were actually harmed by the failures.

Along with the analysis of the shortcomings of international aid, Tori Hogan offers concrete recommendations for reforming the system to achieve positive results. The author offers the concept of involving local people in establishing their own goals, empowering the population, rather than maintaining the existing paternalistic programs. The author is both cautious, and optimistic, that tangible improvements can and will be made to really help the people in the developing world.

I highly recommend the groundbreaking and deeply personal book Beyond Good Intentions: A Journey into the Realities of International Aid by Tori Hogan, to anyone involved in international aid programs, public policy making, non-governmental organizations, corporate leadership, and interested citizens who want to make a real difference in the lives of people in the developing world. This book will change forever your perspective on international aid programs, transform your thinking into that of questioning the organizations, and empower change in how aid agencies conduct their operations.

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Whitney Keyes: Propel: Five Ways to Amp Up Your Marketing - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Marketing expert, blogger, global business strategist, and author of the straight talking and very hands on book Propel: Five Ways to Amp-Up Your Marketing and Accelerate Business, Whitney Keyes, describes how to combine the best of traditional marketing techniques with the best of new marketing methods, to create a powerful marketing strategy. Whitney Keyes provides guidance for marketers on how to improve their marketing and strengthen their brands by adopting a strategic approach to marketing. This holistic way of thinking about marketing will avoid the most common mistakes that can derail any marketing process. Whitney Keyes demonstrates how to remove the obstacles that are holding back your marketing, and shares ideas for finding and new opportunities that had been hidden from view. Learn how to create a customized marketing strategy that is best suited for your unique brands, and how to implement that strategy effectively to produce powerful results quickly.

Whitney Keyes is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, February 28, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Marketing expert, blogger, global business strategist, and author of the straight talking and very hands on book Propel: Five Ways to Amp-Up Your Marketing and Accelerate Business, Whitney Keyes, describes how to combine the best of traditional marketing techniques with the best of new marketing methods, to create a powerful marketing strategy. You will learn:

* Why marketers must take a strategic approach to marketing

* How to avoid the most common mistakes made by marketers

* How to combine the best of traditional marketing with the best of new marketing

* How to implement the marketing strategy effectively



Whitney Keyes (photo left) is regularly asked to serve as a subject matter expert on current business and career-related news.

From Pinterest to personal branding, Whitney’s commentary is engaging, insightful and timely.

She advises viewers, listeners and readers on everything from how to use social networks for business to free ways to market in a down economy.

Whitney hosted an award-winning segment of the popular TV show, Designing Spaces, and co-hosted and produced WhitneyandWyatt.com, a magazine-style talk show for women on the web.

Whitney Keyes has helped organizations and individuals be more successful. Whitney has worked as a senior Microsoft manager, a strategic advisor for American Express and a marketing consultant to thousands of businesses around the world through the U.S. Department of State's programs to empower women entrepreneurs in Malaysia, Kenya and Namibia. Whitney serves as a fellow for the Center for Strategic Communications and professor of Global Reputation Management at Seattle University.

While at Microsoft, Whitney managed global marketing campaigns, including the launch of Office 2000, an $8 billion business, and helped create the company's primary philanthropy program, Unlimited Potential. Prior to that, she worked for the City of Tacoma helping over 500 small businesses stay in business and started her career managing her family's retail store.

Today, Whitney manages a consulting practice, delivers keynotes and facilitates workshops for national organizations including Small Business Administration and writes for business publications including the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Biz Bite Blog.

Whitney lives in Seattle, Washington.

My book review of Propel: Five Ways to Amp-Up Your Marketing and Accelerate Business by Whitney Keyes.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with marketing expert, blogger, global business strategist, and author of the straight talking and very hands on book Propel: Five Ways to Amp-Up Your Marketing and Accelerate Business, Whitney Keyes, as she describes how to combine the best of traditional marketing techniques with the best of new marketing methods, to create a powerful marketing strategy. Whitney Keyes provides guidance for marketers on how to improve their marketing and strengthen their brands by adopting a strategic approach to marketing. This holistic way of thinking about marketing will avoid the most common mistakes that can derail any marketing process. Whitney Keys demonstrates how to remove the obstacles that are holding back your marketing, and shares ideas for finding and new opportunities that had been hidden from view. Learn how to create a customized marketing strategy that is best suited for your unique brands, and how to implement that strategy effectively to produce powerful results quickly on Blog Business Success Radio.

»»  read more