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1/31/2009

Facebook or LinkedIn ??

I've noticed a change in my use of LinkedIn since starting with Facebook.

Is it the newness (for me) of Facebook?
Is the interface so much more compelling?

Does LinkedIn function as my "serious" place and Facebook as my alter ego?
I have done more "business" on Facebook than LinkedIn.
But LinkedIn has more contact detail.

LinkedIn has more employment and professional information.
But Facebook allows potential clients/partners to see what makes me tick.

1/30/2009

High Fives to the new president

I've been looking for good examples of Leadership RE:Vision
and President Obama's comments on Wall Street bonuses certainly fit the bill. Leadership Re:Vision is about looking at leadership through a new set of lenses and telling the truth.



The private sector should step up and police itself. Perhaps Mr. Obama can start the conversation toward a revised idea what true leadership involves.

1/29/2009

Blogging dilemma

To post or not to post -
That is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler to daily fill one's post with swill,
Or to wait until one has something substantive to spill.

And who's to say which post has value for others,
And which are nothing more than a bother.

I mean Jerry Seinfeld did an entire TV series on "nothing"
Yoko Ono once published a book that was nothing but blank pages (I bought one).

I do have something to write about. Notes like this in my email are better than gourmet tea:

I met you at the Church Bookstore Conference earlier this month and was lucky enough to get a copy of Leadership RE:Vision... I told you it was the book I was the most excited about... you asked me why and I shared with you that I am from a church where Leadership and Vision are constant topics. I couldn't wait to read your book... and NOW I'm so bummed I'm through it. I purposely slowed down my pace in the final few chapters, only allowing myself one per day. I wanted to savor the first read through fully! Though I am certain each time I read it I will find something new to love and learn from.

This book is absolutely incredible! You really opened my eyes to stuff I was missing or ignoring. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU for a fresh perspective!
Wow - how cool is that? Something I had the pleasure of writing is going to help someone get unstuck.

1/28/2009

Where do teens shop for books ? Surprising fact

Found this surprising factoid in the Youth Markets Alert, published by Ira Mayer at EPM Communications

46% of teen book buyers purchase their books at a chain bookstore, 16% buy books online, and 8% from a mass merchandiser, according to Publishers Weekly.
Seems to go against conventional wisdom that teens do EVERYTHING online.

1/27/2009

OMG - I'm becoming one of "them"


Working in and around the publishing industry since 1994, one of my recurring questions has been, "Can't authors talk about something besides their latest book?"


Hah - I am becoming one of them. Just finished a set of short interviews for Salem that will be clipped together into radio features on 100's of stations around the country. The taping session ran 28 minutes and I must have said the words "leadership revision" 50 times.

I must say the interviewer knew what he was doing. He asked good questions and led me into provocative answers. As with anything in life, the going is easier if you have a good leader and are able to follow him or her without hesitation.

1/26/2009

Promoting Leadership Re:Vision - Radio Interviews

The first of what we hope will be healthy series of radio interviews is scheduled for Tuesday morning on the Salem Radio Network


Tyndale House has arranged the session. It's a hybrid - somewhat of an advertorial piece on radio. They are taping a phone interview to clip into three radio commercials that will run on Salem stations around the country to promote Leadership Re:Vision.

The folks at Salem told me in an email to keep my answers short - oh yeah. Uh-huh. I guess I can do that, but what are you supposed to wear for a radio interview?

1/25/2009

Book promotion continues - Slightly peeved at Staples.com

I use Staples.com for office necessaries because with a $50 order they'll bring it to my door and the online inventory allows to buy exactly what I need, rather than settling for what I can find in the store.


We're rolling out promotion on Leadership Re:Vision and an important element in the plan involves mailing copies to friends and family. I went online, found the perfect mailing envelope and placed the order. It came to $45 and some change, so I found a box of pencils I needed, added it to the order and hit the $50 level for complimentary shipping. 

When the confirmation email arrived, I noticed that the pencils will arrive within a few days, but the envelopes won't get here until Feb 4 - more than a week away. Hmmm. Darn.  I wanted to mail those books THIS week and I don't think Staples.com warned me sufficiently about the lengthy wait for my order.

So - if I cancel the envelope order, will I get a box of pencils delivered with a shipping charge that is more than the item itself? Perhaps I'll send them an email or try to contact their customer service people. 

1/24/2009

Happy Birthday Mac

Today, January 24, is the 25th anniversary of the Mac. 


As one whose personal and professional mantra is helping people think differently, it's only fitting that I give credit where it's due -

This TV spot from Apple still sends goosebumps down my arm.

Sometimes you get exactly what you asked for

Came home Friday from a grueling day of driving in the rain on LA freeways and didn't feel like cooking supper. Rhonda had a rough week at work - so we decided to use one of the coupons in our dining out book and went to a place that features "home-style cooking."


The food was crap. Over-cooked meatloaf, seasoned with a tablespoon of black pepper per bite. Canned green beans, suspended in a cesspool of stewed tomato and bacon bits.  If this actually was the style of cooking in my HOME, I'd run away and join the circus.

Note to self - people go to restaurants to eat "restaurant-style food." 

It comes down to adding value. When people interact with you, do they come away better from the connection? Personally, professionally. Do you seek to add to or subtract from the exchanges you encounter along the way?

Do you know your strengths? Are you using them? I will admit that I am a Maximizer and somewhat picky about the food I eat - but the cook at this place should really try another line of work.




1/22/2009

Creating buzz for Leadership Re:Vision

In the continuing series on activities related to promoting my new book:


Had a good lunch meeting yesterday with Ron Johnston and my daughter, Noelle. Ron is a former Apple exec and Web2.0 guru. Noelle really "gets" social networking. We had a lively discussion about all the channels available and necessary to create buzz over the book when it releases a couple of weeks.

There's a mind-numbing labyrinth of touch points that need to be covered, none of which on its own will generate a critical mass of awareness; each adding to an amorphous mosaic that will raise Leadership RE:Visionabove the clutter. None of the promotional channels can stand alone, but none can be ignored.

This is the perfect definition of "buzz" - a difficult to define amount of noise, coming from many sources, all about the same product or idea. Consider the actual occurrence of buzzing - a bee, fly or wasp. When the insect approaches, you don't hear the flapping of each individual wing, but rather the buzz that's created by the sum of the parts. 

Buzz over a particular product or service - in my case, the new book - is the sum of awareness caused by the individual networks we'll use to promote it. This blog entry, on its own, will not assure success, but it adds to the chatter - and helps to "create buzz."

1/21/2009

Leadership Re:Vision - the promotion begins


So, after years and years of working to help other people succeed with their books and other projects - I now get the opportunity to try all my "incredible" ideas on my own project.


And now I am wondering (hoping) whether my ideas are all that.

The book releases in a few days/weeks - Unlike the BIG titles, mine will get to the stores whenever it gets there. No specific "release date" when throngs of people line up all night to be the first to buy it.

In fact, if more than two of three people show up at most stores they'll wipe out the supply. On line shoppers will have better luck.

The promotion is beginning - as far as I can tell the first major publicity is a front page story on New Man magazine's online edition, today (Jan 21) 

I'll write more as the process continues.