Listeners to my podcast, ADHD Wise Squirrels, will already be familiar with the executive coach and author, Rob Hatch.

I loved his latest book, Success Frames: Why learning from success is the key to understanding what motivates and inspires us.

In "Success Frames," Hatch delves into the intricacies of building a framework for success by learning from both achievements and failures. The book highlights the importance of reflecting on one's experiences, emphasizing that true learning stems from analyzing both triumphs and mistakes.

Learning from Experience

Hatch underscores the value of reflection in the learning process, citing John Dewey's assertion that "adults don’t learn from doing. They learn by reflecting on what they have done." This reflection is crucial in understanding why things go right and how to replicate those successes. Hatch shares that while failures can illuminate gaps in knowledge or execution, they must be balanced with an understanding of what successful efforts look like.

Defining Success

Success is a subjective term, and Hatch emphasizes the importance of personalizing its definition. His research identified education, relationships, and character as the top three components of their success. Hatch encourages readers to define what success means to them, incorporating elements like financial freedom and personal growth into their definitions.

Building a Success Framework

A significant part of Hatch's approach involves creating frameworks based on successful experiences. These frameworks, which he calls "Success Frames," help individuals and organizations replicate positive outcomes. The beauty of these frameworks lies in their flexibility—they allow for customization based on the specific needs and goals of the people using them.

Hatch introduces various strategies to build these frameworks:

• ActionStacks: These are step-by-step checklists that guide the completion of recurring tasks. By pre-defining the steps, ActionStacks help automate processes and reduce decision fatigue.

• OODA Loop: This decision-making model involves observing, orienting, deciding, and acting. It’s a cyclical process that encourages continuous improvement and adaptation.

Leveraging Strengths

Hatch advocates for a strengths-based approach, echoing findings from Gallup that focusing on strengths significantly boosts engagement and performance. By leveraging what people do well, individuals and teams can achieve higher levels of success and satisfaction.

Practical Application

Throughout "Success Frames," Hatch provides practical advice on implementing these principles. He discusses the importance of planning ahead, reducing reliance on willpower, and creating environments conducive to success. For instance, Hatch recommends scheduling specific "success blocks" of time dedicated to critical projects, free from interruptions.

Learning from Others

Hatch also highlights the value of learning from others' successes. By identifying and connecting with individuals who have achieved what one aspires to, people can gain valuable insights and guidance. This network of successful individuals can provide support, advice, and inspiration.

Emotional and Mental Well-being

Understanding and managing emotions is another critical aspect of Hatch's framework. He points out that focusing on what’s going well can help counterbalance the natural tendency to dwell on problems. This positive focus can enhance resilience and motivation, making it easier to overcome challenges. Hatch shares his own experiences with his late diagnosis of ADHD and how considering his coping mechanisms can be impactful.

You can listen to my full interview with Hatch by clicking the play button below or visiting Wise Squirrels.

Rob Hatch's "Success Frames" offers a comprehensive guide to achieving personal and professional success. By reflecting on experiences, defining success on one's own terms, building adaptable frameworks, leveraging strengths, and learning from others, readers can create robust paths to their goals. The book serves as both a practical manual and an inspirational resource, encouraging individuals to take control of their success journeys and that’s exactly what I plan to do after reading it!

Thanksgiving is coming up soon. It’s a beautiful time of the year to be grateful for all we have, including dinner with our extended family members with opposing political and religious views. That’s why I’m finally writing this book review and highly recommending you read it before you gather and all hell breaks loose around the turkey.

In his compelling book Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know organizational psychologist Adam Grant explores the intricacies of cognitive biases, the importance of intellectual humility, and the art of rethinking. The journey through the pages of this thought-provoking work challenges readers to reconsider their preconceived notions and embrace a mindset of continuous learning; it’s a good way for all humans to behave.

The First-Instinct Fallacy

Grant introduces the concept of the first-instinct fallacy, highlighting our natural resistance to rethinking answers and the psychological phenomenon known as "seizing and freezing." We're encouraged to spend as much time rethinking as we do thinking, emphasizing the value of flexibility in our beliefs.

Cognitive Biases: Confirmation and Desirability

Grant addresses confirmation bias, our tendency to see what we expect, and desirability bias, where we see what we want. The brighter we are, the harder it is to recognize our own limitations, making it crucial to develop intellectual humility and acknowledge what we don't know.

The Curse of Knowledge

The curse of knowledge closes our minds to what we don't know. Recognizing cognitive blind spots becomes imperative, and Grant warns against the Dunning Kruger effect, where overconfidence prevents us from questioning our knowledge.

Evolving Beliefs and Learning

Grant argues that the purpose of learning is to evolve our beliefs, not merely affirm them. He stresses the importance of humility in the pursuit of knowledge and advises against the trap of the beginner's bubble, where overconfidence stifles curiosity.

Avoiding Belief Identity

Think Again suggests refusing to let beliefs become part of one's identity. By detaching from past selves, individuals may experience less depression and find wisdom in avoiding internalizing every thought and feeling.

Effective Communication and Leadership

Grant explores the role of effective communication and leadership, emphasizing the importance of engaging critics and remaining open to change. The book encourages reasonable dialogue, asking questions such as, "What evidence would make you change your mind?" to foster understanding.

The Art of Listening

Grant champions the art of listening as a means to open minds. Great listeners focus on making their audience feel smart and acknowledge complexity. Rather than bombarding others with facts, the book suggests asking about their sources, fostering a more credible and respectful discourse.

Think Again serves as a powerful reminder that the quest for knowledge is never finished. By embracing intellectual humility, acknowledging cognitive biases, and remaining open to rethinking, individuals can navigate the complex landscape of beliefs and ideas. Grant's insights offer a roadmap for personal growth, effective communication, and leadership grounded in the pursuit of truth. This is why it’s one of my favorite books; I expect you will love it, too.

I’m writing the next sentences in my best Julia Child voice... Combine a large pot of stellar speaking skills with several dollops of branding and marketing smarts. Mix a fresh bunch of humor, several cups of creativity, sprigs of kindness. Add these ingredients together, bake, and voilà - Ron Tite!

Ron is the president and CEO of Church + State, a creative agency in Toronto. He is also the author of the new book, Think. Do. Say. How to seize attention and build trust in a busy, busy world. I loved it!

I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with Ron over the last several years. We both belong to a speaker mastermind group called Speak & Spill. Ron has also graciously shared ideas and feedback with me. He’s a solid fellow, but let’s get back to that book.

The following are my takeaways from Think. Do. Say. I highly recommend you pick up a copy for yourself if you work with an agency or marketing firm. The book is full of case studies and examples of how we can improve everything we do by focusing on our beliefs, actions, and communication.

Key Takeaways from Think Do Say

Three pillars of great organizations know:

What they think

What they do

What they say

Your clients don’t know where to look and they don’t know who to trust.

Move from being product-focused to purpose-focused.

Believing isn’t enough. You have to act to reinforce your beliefs.

What you do immediately following an integrity gap will say more about your character than what you did before.

Believe in something more important than your bottom line. 

Answer the following questions

What’s your essential do?

Who do you do it for?

What do they want you to do?

Who do you do it with?

It’s easier to come up with a revolutionary idea to topple the establishment when you’re not a part of it.

Want people to look in your direction? Start solving their real problems before someone else does. 

The first step to innovation is improving the efficiency of what you already do. 

Honesty and transparency lead to trust. And trust leads to momentum. 

True authenticity is being comfortable with your imperfections. 

Something we’ve never seen before will get our attention.

---

I wanted to close this blog post with a Julia Child quote (there’s even one in the book). I found the perfect one that sums up Ron and his work, “Find something you're passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”

One last Julia Child quote because I couldn’t resist, “A party without cake is just a meeting.”

Now go order your copy of Think. Do. Say. You will be glad you did.

Pick up a copy of Same Side Selling.

For the first few years of my adventures in entrepreneurship, I told friends and colleagues that I’m not good at sales. I would explain that my expertise is in marketing and communications, but not sales. Guess what, I was wrong. I had to be.

I had always thought of sales in the worst possible way. I envisioned the cheesy, pushy, used-car sales guy. Or the uppity, asshat in business class on his second cocktail before takeoff.

One day, it dawned on me that if I run my own business and I am not good at sales, I’m in big trouble. If I am my only employee, I had better be damned great at sales or my family will suffer. 

Spoiler alert: You don’t have to be a jerk to excel in sales.

I went out on my own as a consultant and professional trainer and speaker in 2011. I’m happy to report that I have increased my earnings each year. I have become more knowledgable in how best to approach sales, but I don’t consider myself an expert.

One true sales expert I personally know is Ian Altman, co-author (along with Jack Quarles) of Same Side Selling: How Integrity and Collaboration Drive Extraordinary Results for Sellers and Buyers. I absolutely loved the lessons and approach to sales taught in their excellent book. Spoiler alert: You don’t have to be a jerk to excel in sales.

In this short blog post, I’m going to share some key takeaways directly from Same Side Selling. There is much more within the book that you should not miss. Pick up a copy.

Same Side Selling Takeaways

There is an adversarial trap that causes buyers and sellers to work against each other instead of collaborating. Replace this trap with a cooperative, collaborative mindset. 

Selling is not a game because in a game one side wins and the other loses.

Selling is a puzzle. With a puzzle, you are solving. You create something and over time provide value. People sit on the same side to determine if the pieces fit. It’s better to solve puzzles than play games. 

Same side selling is about finding the fit. FIT. Finding Impact Together.

The objective is to be seen as a solver instead of a seller.

Answer the questions:

• Whom do you help?

• What do you do to help them?

• Why do they need your help?

The most successful pitch will resonate with the prospect’s pain.

Find people who not only face problems you can solve, but also recognize those problems and believe they are worth solving.

Focus on the challenges that your client is facing, rather than on the things you are selling. 

Entice. Disarm. Discover.

• Entice. Entice the customer by identifying something you have that might be of interest.

• Disarm. Make it clear that you are not there to sell, but want merely to see if there is a fit. 

• Discover. Trigger a discovery phase in which you learn about them (instead of opening a meeting talking about your stuff). 

The truth is always your ally in same side selling, even when it seems to decrease the likeliness of making a sale. 

Ask who else is affected by this project? How can we engage them in a way that works for you?

Don’t start with your qualifications. Start with the buyer’s problem

Gracefully guide the conversation away from details and toward impact.

It is not the client’s job to see the big picture.

If your price is too high don’t discount. Rather expand the scope to create more value.

What do you think?

How do you handle sales? Are you an expert or a novice? What sales lessons have you learned over the years?

I loved The Business of Expertise How Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight to Impact + Wealth. Author, David Baker is brilliant. The content of this book will make you stop to question your brand's positioning as you strive for expertise. As Baker points out, "If you are positioned well, then they find very few substitutes."

The Business of Expertise contains plenty of wisdom and actionable steps you can take to becoming a true expert. He also includes important advice about self-confidence and self-improvement.

Here are some takeaways directly from the book. I highly recommend you pick up a copy for much more wisdom, context, and steps for you to achieve expertise in your space.

25 Takeaways from The Business of Expertise

1. Personal relationships are not about giving in order to get.

2. Good positioning makes you non-interachangable.

3. If you are positioned well, then they find very few substitutes.

4. Expertise blends knowledge with self-awareness of that knowledge.

5. You need to earn your positioning.

6. We gravitate to where we excel.

7. Clients are drawn to confidence.

8. If I find a much lower price than I would expect, I know that they don’t have much confidence.

9. Confidence also comes when we say “no”.

10. You should always have a list with getting to “know” topics on it.

11. People don’t die “doing what they love” unless they love dying.

12. Just doing what you love and making no money does nobody any favors.

13. Just because you are good at something, even enjoy it, doesn’t mean that you are good at making money doing it.

14. Make expertise the addiction.

15. Money is the currency of respect, and the customer of an expert treats the advice more seriously if it comes with a hefty bill.

16. Consultants who interview employees at client engagements look brilliant early in the process.

17. Without strong positioning and the opportunity that stems from effectively applied lead generations, you are stuck with whatever opportunities fall in your lap instead of making your own success.

18. Don’t add additional goals to your life until you decide which ones you’re going to drop. There is as much power in stopping something as there is in starting.

19. Ask yourself “Okay. What is my role in the world?” - ask often.

20. The only two kinds of experts who aren’t generally busy are new to the game or are incompetent.

21. Choose between vertical and horizontal positioning.

22. A great client may bring you new clients through career changes.

23. Positioning is public and must be declared.

24. Clients want to work with experts in demand.

25. You’ll never get discovered and followed unless you’re an expert, but you’ll never be a good expert unless you’re grounded.

Pick up a copy of The Business of Expertise today to dive into the takeaways I shared above.

Have you ever gazed out of a car window as you traveled along a long country road? Did you see cows along the way? Probably. Did you note anything special about our bovine friends? Probably not. Why not? Because cows are boring*. 

Now what if you drove along that road and suddenly saw a purple cow? Whoa! Now that’s worth talking about, right? 

Seth Godin is Marketing Yoda

Seth Godin is a powerhouse in the world of marketing, he is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, and speaker. Google “Seth” and he’s sure to be the first result. I heard him referred to as the “marketing Yoda” on a podcast recently, Godin quickly added that he’s better looking than Yoda. I concur. 

I’m writing this on a flight home to Nashville from a speaking engagement in Yuma, AZ. Yuma is a three-hour drive from the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. I didn’t see any purple cows to and from Yuma, with the exception of my copy of Godin’s best-selling book, Purple Cow - Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable. I had read the book many years ago, but the information didn’t sink into my thick head at the time. I remember enjoying it, but it wasn’t as relevant at that juncture in my career.

My flights to and from Phoenix gave me plenty of time to re-read Godin’s inspirational book. This time, his words left me filled with ideas to implement for my business. The following are twenty-five takeaways from Purple Cow. There is obviously much more to the book, it is a must-read for business leaders from small organizations to large companies.

25 Takeaways from Purple Cow

1. It’s cheaper to keep an old customer than it is to get a new one.

2. The leader is the leader because he did something remarkable.

3. It’s safer to be risky.

4. (Make your service) easy to talk about and easy to demonstrate.

5. The way you break through to the mainstream is to target a niche instead of a huge market. With a niche, you can segment off a chunk of the mainstream, and create an idea virus so focused that it overwhelms that small slice of the market that really and truly will respond to what you sell.

6. Services that are worth talking about get talked about.

7. Your ads (and products) should cater to the customers you’d choose if you could choose your customers. 

8. Criticism comes to those who stand out.

9. Being safe is risky.

10. Boring always leads to failure.

11. Make a list of ways you can catch up by being different.

12. Measurement means admitting what’s broken so you can fix it.

13. If you measure it, it will improve. 

14. (You) have a lot to gain by changing the rules of the game.

15. They’re not trying to interrupt strangers; they’re selling to the converted (Pearl Jam).

16. Otaku is the desire to find out everything about something.

17. Smart businesses target markets where there’s already otaku.

18. Go for the edges. Sketch out where your edges are…and where your competition is.

19. Discover the fringes that make your competitors’ products remarkable.

20. Find your positioning statement.

21. You can’t build a fast-growing company around vanilla.

22. Are you obsessed or just making a living? 

23. The number-one question about the Purple Cow is, “How do I know it’s remarkable.”

24. Instead of selling what we wanted to sell, we sold what people wanted us to sell, and then figured out how to make money doing it.

25. It’s not about being weird. It’s about being irresistible to a tiny group of easily reached sneezers** with otaku. Irresistible (for the right niche) is just remarkable.

Have you read Purple Cow? Did you act on what you learned? If so, what were the results? 

* I apologize to any normal cows reading this. 
** You’ll have to read Purple Cow to find out what a sneezer is (not as gross as you think). 

I’m finally getting around to sharing what I learned in Donald Miller’s Building a Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen. I’ve heard great things about this book from multiply friends since it’s publishing in 2017. I finally read the book late last year and it did not disappoint. It led me to rethink many of the aspects of my own brand. Who the hell is Dave Delaney? As Miller writes, “If you confuse, you lose.”

In order to understand and create your brand you must have a clear story. In a story, audiences must always know who the hero is, what the hero wants, who the hero has to defeat to get what they want.

Take my communication workshops for example. The Hero is the person who hires me for a workshop, usually the CEO, COO, or HR Director. The Hero wants to improve his or her workplace culture by improving communication. The Hero is trying to defeat a potential toxic work environment and employee churn because both are costly concerns.

Customers don’t typically care about your story; they care about their own. Customers buy solutions to internal problems. By talking about the problems our customers face, we deepen their interest in everything we offer.

When we fail to define something our customer want, we fail to open a “story gap” with a single focus. We must define a specific desire and become known for helping people achieve it. That’s certainly what I am working on.

The specific desire for my clients is to improve communication. The Master Communicator’s Secret Weapon is my keynote presentation designed to help audiences use my advice to help them achieve their desire.

Miller writes, “When we frame our products as a resolution to both external and internal problems we increase the perceived value.” For example, part of what I teach is how to improve listening and how to lead with acceptance. Doing this in the workplace improves employee morale. Doing this outside with prospects, clients, and even friends and family improves sales and life in general.

Miller points out that, “A brand that positions itself as the hero is destined to lose.” This isn’t about me. It’s about you and helping you achieve success with your team. My brand is the guide that will help you. I truly care about helping you and your people. Miller reminds us that to succeed we must care.

Talk about the end vision. For what I do, it’s leaving you with a team who are better connected, listening more effectively, open to change, thinking quickly on their feet, leading with acceptance, becoming empathetic, and ultimately reducing employee churn by improving your company culture and overall communication.

Donald Miller writes about the importance of clearly defining the steps your hero needs to make in order to do business with you. He explains, at least three steps and no more than six.

For me it’s scheduling an introductory call. Speaking with me, so I can learn more about your needs. Determining the time and date of the workshop. I facilitate the workshop and you see the results. Boom, four simple steps.

I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Donald Miller’s Building a Story Brand for your own business. I found the lessons within to be exceptionally helpful. I also recommend you subscribe to Miller’s podcast for more insights and interviews with branding thought-leaders.

One of the biggest challenges for any consultant is business development. I would be lying if I said my business was booming - always. I’ve written about the big business lie we tell one another before. Business isn’t always great sometimes it’s actually terrible. 

I recently picked up a copy of How Clients Buy: A Practical Guide to Business Development for Consulting and Professional Services by Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher. I literally found the book on the shelf at the airport and purchased a copy. I usually buy books or get sent books that come recommended to me but the title resonated with me, so I coughed up some cash and dug right in.

The following are my key takeaways directly from How Clients Buy:

It’s crucial that we recognize the seven elements of how clients buy. They have to be aware of your existence. They come to understand what you do and how you’re unique. They develop an interest. They respect your work and are filled with confidence that you can help them. They trust you. They have the ability to pull the trigger. They are ready to do something.

In professional services, we are the product. The biggest challenge in our path to become rainmakers is to unlearn what we think we already know. 

If you want to be remembered, you must find a category where you can be number one. You have to know who you want to serve. Identify the type of company but also the role inside the company who you help. When selling consulting or professional services, the goal is not to identify prospects and process them like corn flakes; it is to identify a community and position ourselves to serve it over time. Prospective clients cannot engage with us unless they know us. Niche yourself and then re-niche yourself over time. 

Create a point of differentiation. When there’s a really clear association in your mind between a person that you trust and the problem that they can solve, it makes it easier to refer you.

Great client relationships are built over time on foundations of trust and are not, by definition, transactional. Respect trumps charm when it comes to most buying decisions for consulting and professional services. Instead of focusing on like in “know, like and trust” focus on respect. They have to know, respect and trust you. 

Clients have to conclude that: What you do is relevant to them and their goals. You have to solve a problem, support a strategic initiative, or promote an organizational agenda that is on their plate. The goal is to be a problem solver. If you can tell them a solution before they recognize they have a problem they need, you are best positioned to win the business.

New business comes from three places: repeat, recommendations, new clients with no relationship. Always start with your current or past clients.

A high-return opportunity with very low risk will attract attention. Dedicate time every day to building genuine relationships with clients and prospective clients. Never underestimate the value of networking and the value of your network. 

The secret to business development is to ask lots of questions. Start from a place of empathy. No one ever needs a consultant until they do.

There are many actionable ideas you will learn in How Clients Buy. I highly recommend you pick up a copy now and dig right in.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

One of the first of many valuable tips in Andy Bailey's book, No Try Only Do: Building A Business On Purpose, Alignment, And Accountability is to seek guidance and advice for your business. I expect you will agree if you are a busy owner or leader of a business or department.

I recently spent some time with the author, CEO, and founder of Petra Coach. Bailey shared his story with me and gave me invaluable advice for my business, Futureforth. He also handed me a copy of his book filled with professional wisdom to help business owners.

Twelve Key Takeaways from “No Try Only Do” 

1. You must want to change. You have to know that where you are is not where you need to be for change to occur. Bailey urges his readers to “suck up your pride and get out of your own way.” It’s true that we all fall guilty of thinking we know what’s best all of the time. This simply isn’t always true, so learning from mentors and peers will help change yourself and your businesses. 

2. Create a one-page strategic plan and list your quarterly priorities. Stick this on your wall in your office. 

3. Determine what your Core Purpose for your business is. Who do you serve? What will they gain from working with you? Then add your Core Values. Begin by asking, “What is the purpose of your organization? Why does your company exist?”

4. Create a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) and set a date in the future when you will reach that goal. Bailey uses +10Mhm in his LinkedIn profile summary and email signature. This represents his goal of having a positive impact on ten million people. His previous BHAG was +10Khm which he reached. Anything is possible.

5. Hold a daily huddle with yourself. Write down your top priorities each day and recap the previous day. Create a weekly accountability report. Review these at the end of each quarter. Consider what lessons you have learned. Where were your biggest wins and biggest failures?

6. Money is something you can either spend wastefully or use strategically to build wealth.

7. Keep an Evernote list of people you have met whom you would call “A-Players”. These are people you wish to get to know better. Refer to this list and promote what these individuals create. Keep in touch with them.

8. Use handwritten Thank You notes. A physical note goes a long way in a digital world. 

9. Remember the value of being personable and ensuring you appreciate who you work with and who works for you.

10. To grow, you need to produce more time. Hiring interns and staff and outsourcing jobs will help you achieve this. 

11. Let go of things in order to grow. 

12. Create a plan and outline what you want to accomplish in a ten-year period for your business. Break that plan down to determine how you will reach each goal. Work backward to discover what it will take to make it work. 

Follow the steps above, and as the book subtitle reads, “you will build a business on purpose, alignment, and accountability.”

Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash.

I have had the good fortune of spending time with best-selling author, speaker trainer, and keynote speaker Michael Port. He is a warm, wise, and sincere guy - my kind of people! 

I recently read and loved his best-selling book, Book Yourself Solid: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Reliable System for Getting More Clients Than You Can Handle Even if You Hate Marketing and Selling. I have already seen an increase in new consulting clients as a result of reading and working through the excerises in his book.

Here are some of my takeaways from Book Yourself Solid. I encourage you to pick up a copy and dig right in today.

17 Takeaways From Book Yourself Solid

• You are the company you keep. 

I've read this in many of my favorite business and self-help-type books. It's true. Choose your friends wisely. Ditch them if they don't support you.

• Your ideal clients are those individuals who energize and inspire you. 

This is why I typically work with small business owners and teams. It always seems like small businesses are the most passionate about the work they do. That passion always gets me excited to serve them.

• Being everything to everyone just isn't possible. 

I'm guilty of trying to please all of the people all of the time - in the past. Michael serves his readers a good reminder of why this doesn't work.

• It’s much easier to carve out a very lucrative domain for yourself once you’ve identified a specific target market. 

This is something I have been doing with NetworkingForNicePeople.com. I wrote my book all about networking, so I have returned to the topic to teach and build a community. My target market is anyone who wants to jumpstart their career or grow their business. 

• If your potential clients are going to purchase your services and products, they must see them as investable opportunities; they must feel that the return they receive is greater than the investment they made.

• The secret to having a successful business is to know what your clients want and deliver it. 

• People buy results and the benefits of those results. So think about the solutions you offer and the subsequent results and benefits they provide.

• View yourself as a leader in your client’s life.

• Your brand is about making yourself known for your skills and talents. More than that — your brand is about what you stand for.

• Establish an advisory board.

I'm finally in the process of making this happen officially in a private mastermind. 

• Read one book a month.

You'll know I did this from reading these mini book-report posts.

• When you have made the effort to speak and write directly to your ideal client, he’ll feel it.

• Perform daily tasks that will keep your name in front of potential clients.

I do this with my writing here, at Networking For Nice People, in my email newsletters, and in my column in The Tennessean. I also use a CRM to remind me to check-in with clients and follow-up. 

• From a practical perspective there may be two simple reasons why you don’t have as many clients as you’d like: Either you don’t know what to do to attract and secure more clients; or You know what to do but you’re not actually doing it.

Guilty as charged with not doing what I knew I needed to be doing. I'm getting better at holding myself accountable, though. The photos of my family in my office help keep me focused. 

• Each day, introduce two people within your network who do not yet know each other but you think might benefit from knowing each other. 

I do this with my Daily Goals Worksheet. You can grab a copy here. 

• Start by choosing one day of the week that you can focus on where and when you could be asking for referrals.

• Instead of focusing on what I do, focus on what I can do for my clients.

Get a Copy of Book Yourself Solid

I pulled each of these quotes from Michael Port's valuable book because they stood out to me. I expect many (if not all) will stand out to you too.

Book Yourself Solid is a must-read book to help you grow your business. Michael Port is definitely somebody you should be following. 
 

My long-time, personal newsletter subscribers will attest, I have struggled to find my writing voice in the past. I'm thankful people like Chris Brogan are around to inspire me to be authentic by sharing what's on my mind. My wonderful subscribers have taken note, I have seen the difference in all of the replies I receive from each of my newsletters these days. Finding my voice has been a journey and Chris has certainly inspired me along the way. 

Chris Brogan will help you find your voice.

Chris and I have been long-time friends since my first Podcast New Media Expo in 2007. We also hung out on Twitter together quite regularly back in the heyday. Chris has always brought a refreshing breath of truth to everything he has written. I am a fan of all of his work, his personal newsletter, his blog, and his New York Times best-selling books. He is a master at helping people find their voice.

Chris' ninth book, Find Your Writing Voice: How to write more like your amazing self, for books, blog posts, and email is an instant hit in my opinion. He takes no time to get to the nitty gritty in this short, self-help book for people who want to write authentically. The following are ten takeaways from Find Your Writing Voice that will help you find your voice. Consider these as you start to scribble your next blog post.

10 tips to help you find your writing voice.

1. Write with your destination in mind.

2. Your voice will come to you the more you practice.

3. Write ten ideas every day. Shout out to James Altucher here.

4. Assign yourself to write 300 words each day.

5. Remember you are writing for one person. 

6. Read it out loud.

7. You have to talk about your topics in original ways.

8. Use small words, unless it's vital that you use big ones.

9. When you write to please someone other than yourself, you set yourself up for failure.

10. Be someone with an opinion.

I highly recommend you download a copy of Chris Brogan's Find Your Writing Voice. Chris goes into more details on each point above. He also breaks down how he strategically composes his blog posts, newsletters, and books. Readers are also invited to join a private Facebook Group to share with one another. 

If you are ready to find your voice and want people to discover your writing, you need to grab this quick read.

You know those people who you meet who you can tell are good people. Joe Calloway is one of those guys. Joe helps organizations focus on what is truly important, inspires constant improvement, and motivates people to immediate action (I stole that from his site). Jos is the author of nine books, a business coach, and a keynote speaker.  

Joe and I met for a coffee a while back, and we instantly hit it off. His long career as a speaker, consultant, and writer has certainly inspired me to keep pushing forward, even when the going gets rough. It gets rough sometimes. Anyone who says it doesn't is a liar; don't trust them. 

I recently reached out to Joe to check in and to say hello. Just a day after our email exchange, a package arrived at my door. I was excited to find a sweet letter and his latest book, Keep It Simple: Unclutter Your Mind to Uncomplicate Your Life.

Just as the title suggests, Keep It Simple is a short and simple book about simplifying your life. I highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself. I’m going to buy a few to give to friends who need to simplify things in their own lives, too. 

10 Joe Calloway Quotes That Will Inspire Simplicity

The following are ten quotes from Keep It Simple. Use these to start moving yourself in the right direction by simplifying your business, career, and life.  

"In order to get to simplicity, you have to have focus."

"Focus means clarity. Clarity means knowing what is most important."

"Getting focused is the path to simplicity, and simplicity is the path to success and fulfillment."

"Successful people have the ability to make the complicated simple."

"Our goal should always be to do that which creates value for our customers."

"As we simplify, we increase the likelihood of success."

"Complication freezes you into uncertainty and inaction."

"The quality of your life is largely determined by the quality of your relationships."

In addition to the inspiring ideas in his book, Joe recommends several thought-provoking exercises. Two of my favorites are the following.

"Create a “let-go-of list”. There is great wisdom and power in this idea, as you can’t accomplish the things you aspire to until you clear the space for them to happen."

"Think about every person in the past three days that has made a favorable impression on you. What was the common factor?"

I highly recommend picking up this little gem and putting it to work for yourself. Leave me a comment if you do, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

We have challenged one another in the NBN Club to read two books each month for the year. You may scoff at the simple quest of reading twenty-four books in a year, but to me it is a challenge. What can I say? I am a slow reader. 

My first book of the new year is Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim. Blue Ocean Strategy presents a systematic approach to making the competition irrelevant and outlines principles and tools any company can use to create and capture their own blue oceans. Cirque du Soleil and Curves are two such companies that have created their own blue ocean businesses. As I read the book, I pictured Julien Smith's Breather as a great example as a company that found a blue ocean.  

The following are fifty takeaways from the book. I recommend reading the book in its entirety to fully grasp each point. The takeaways include points and questions you should consider regarding your own business. It definitely made me rethink some aspects of my digital marketing consulting business, Futureforth.

50 Takeaways From Blue Ocean Strategy

1. The only way to beat the competition is to stop trying to beat the competition.
2. Value innovation occurs only when companies align innovation with utility, price, and cost positions.
3. …those that seek to create blue oceans pursue differentiation low cost simultaneously. 
4. the creation of blue oceans is about driving costs down while simultaneously driving value up for buyers. 
5. Effective blue ocean strategy should be about risk minimization and not risk taking.
6. …you must begin by reorienting your strategic focus from competitors to alternatives, and from customers to non-customers of the industry.
7. Every great strategy has focus, and a company’s strategic profile, or value curve, should clearly show it. 
8. By applying the four actions of eliminating, reducing, raising, and creating, they differentiate their profiles from the industry’s average profile.
9. A good tagline must not only deliver a clear message but also advertise an offering truthfully, or else customers will lose trust and interest. 
10. …companies must understand how to read value curves. 
11. Rarely do sellers think consciously about how their customers make trade-offs across alternative industries.
12. What are the alternative industries to your industry?
13. By looking across buyer groups, companies can gain new insights into how to redesign their value curves to focus on a previously overlooked set of buyers. 
14. What is the context in which your product or service is used? What happens before, during, and after? Can you identify the pain points? How can you eliminate these pain points through a complementary product or service offering?
15. If you compete on emotional appearance, what elements can you strip out to make it functional? If you compete on functionality, what elements can be added to make it emotional?
16. The process of discovering and creating blue oceans is not about predicting or preempting industry trends. 
17. Focus on the big picture, not the numbers.
18. …the strategic profile with high blue ocean potential has three complementary qualities: focus, divergence, and a compelling tagline. If a company’s strategic profile does not clearly reveal those qualities, its strategy will likely be muddled, undifferentiated, and hard to communicate. 
19. A company should never outsource its eyes.
20. A company’s pioneers are the businesses that offer unprecedented value.
21. They should use innovation because, without it, companies are stuck in the trap of competitive improvements.
22. Reach beyond existing demand.
23. Do you seek out key commonalities in which buyers value?
24. Non-customers tend to offer far more insight into how to unlock and grow a blue ocean than do relatively content existing customers. 
25. What are the key reasons first-tier non-customers want to jump ship and leave your industry?
26. Harboring within refusing non-customers, however, is an ocean of untapped demand waiting to be released. 
27. …by looking to second-tier non-customers and focusing on the key commonalities that turned the away from the industry.
28. What are the key reasons second-tier non-customers refuse to use the products or services of your industry?
29. …explore whether there are overlapping commonalities across all three tiers of non-customers. 
30. …retrain existing customers and seeking further segmentation opportunities.companies need to build their blue ocean strategy in the sequence of buyer utility, price, cost, and adoption.
31. Does your offering unlock exceptional utility? Is there a compelling reason for the mass of people to buy it?
32. Is your offering priced to attract the mass of target buyers so that they have a compelling ability to pay for your offering?
33. Can you produce your offering at the target cost and still earn a healthy profit margin?
34. The last step is to address adoption hurdles. What are the adoption hurdles in rolling out your idea?
35. Yet it did so many different tasks that people count t not understand how to use it. 
36. Unless the technology makes buyers’ lives dramatically simpler, more convenient, more productive, less risky, or more and fashionable, it will not attract the masses no matter how many awards it wins. 
37. Create a strategic profile that passes the initial litmus test of being focused, being divergent, and having a compelling tagline that speaks to buyers. 
38. To secure a strong revenue stream for your offering, you must set the right strategic price.
39. It is increasingly important, however, to know from the start what price will quickly capture the mass of target buyers. 
40. People will not buy a product or service when it is used by few others. 
41. …the strategic price you set for your offering must not only attract buyers in large numbers but also help you to retain them… an offering’s reputation must be earned on day one, because brand building increasingly relies heavily on word-of-mouth recommendations spreading rapidly through our networked society. Start with an offer that buyers can’t refuse.
42. They key here is not to pursue pricing against the competition within an industry but rather to pursue pricing against substitutes and alternatives across industries and non industries. 
43. To hit the cost target, companies have three principal levers. 
44. Partnering, however, provides a way for companies to secure needed capabilities fast and effectively while dropping their cost structure. 
45. A business model built in the sequence of exceptional utility, strategic pricing, and target costing produces value innovation.
46. In every organization, there are people, acts, and activities that excretes a disproportionate influence on performance.
47. People remember and respond most effectively to what they see and experience: “Seeing is believing”.
48. Numbers are disputable and uninspiring.
49. Showing the worst reality to your superiors can also shift their mindset fast. 
50. You must create a culture of trust and commitment that motivates people to execute the agreed strategy - not to the letter, but to the spirit. 

Have you read Blue Ocean Strategy? Did it make you rethink your business? 

I'm always on the lookout for my next books to read this year. Please leave a comment with your favorite business books. 

One of my favorite people (who I have never met) is James Altucher. James is a serial entrepreneur and investor who has had big wins and plenty of failures throughout his career. I like his somewhat kooky approach to life. I’m somewhat kooky too, so he appeals to me that way. He’s a big fan of comedy, I am too. He writes from the heart, I do too. He’s had some dark days in his life, moi aussi. 

James’ blog is prolific and his podcasts are always enjoyable. I enjoy listening to his amateur sounding interviews with his stellar guests and amazing questions. You can tell he listens intently and truly gets excited by his guests. I don’t mean amateur in a negative way. I mean that he comes across sincere, with a voice unlike professional broadcasters. That’s what podcasting is all about. 

James has written several amazing books, but the one that has impressed me the most is Choose Yourself. The following are ten takeaways that stuck with me from the book. Consider each point for your own life.

10 Takeaways From Choose Yourself

1. Every second, you have to choose yourself to succeed.

2. Rejection - and the fear of rejection - is the biggest impediment we face to choosing ourselves. 

3. Only think about the people you enjoy. Only read the books you enjoy, that make you happy to be human. Only go to the events that actually make you laugh or fall in love. Only deal with the people who love you back, who are winners and want you to win too.

4. The past and future don’t exist. They are memories and speculation, neither of which you have any control over.

5. What does purpose mean when we are dead? We might as well choose to be happy now.

6. Think of two people in your network who don’t know each other but you think can add value to each other’s lives (I added this idea to my daily goals document). 

7. All you have to do is stay in the present. When you catch yourself upset about the past or worried about the future, say to yourself, “Ah, I’m time traveling,” then STOP.

8. If you don’t promote yourself, nobody else will. 

9. We only ever remember the things we are passionate about.

10. We never learn when we are talking. We only learn when we are listening.

Bonus: Pretend everyone was sent to this planet to teach you.

I recommend you pick up a copy of Choose Yourself today. Get started.

What book have you read this year that left you inspired? Leave a comment, I would love to learn more about the books that mean something to you. 

Photo by Sean McGrath from Flickr.

I walked Max yesterday and froze my butt. When I checked the temperature, I noted it was colder in Nashville than Toronto. The weather app told me it was 28 in Nashville and 41 in Toronto. For the rest of the world that's 5 degrees Celcius in the T-Dot and -2 in Music City.

The cold weather reminded me of a long walk through Montreal one frigid February night. I was on my way to meet my friend, Julien Smith, for poutine and pints. It was -28 that night and I had about a 40-minute walk. I handled the cold way better than I do now. I guess I've been spoiled living in Nashville for eight years. 

When I arrived home from my walk with Max, I was ready to jump into a steamy shower. Then I thought about Julien's excellent book, The Flinch. Have you read it? It's a short, inspiring book about facing the things that make us flinch in our lives. 

You Should Take a Cold Shower

Julien Smith photo by Loic Lemeur from Flickr.

Julien encourages us to take a cold shower. He writes, "As the cold water hits you, you might shout or squirm. But the discomfort lasts only a second. You quickly get used to it. You get comfortable with the cold, instead of trying to avoid it. You put yourself in the path of the shower to speed up the adjustment process. Remember your reaction. You can use this method for everything."

Julien is one of the smartest people I know. I've enjoyed watching him face the cold water through his career. He's gone from renegade podcaster and blogger to a New York Times Best-Selling co-author. Did I mention his start-up, Breather, just received $20M in funding? 

I sucked it up and braced for the cold water this morning. Julien was right. It was shocking at first, I think my scream scared Max. My heart was racing after the cold shower and I felt more alert all day. There are scientific studies that prove taking cold showers can even help with depression and improve memory.

Download a copy.

Do yourself a favor and spend less than $3.00 for a copy of The Flinch. There is much more inspiration inside that will leave you ready to make some changes for the better. Leave a comment here if you read it, I'd love to know what you think.

How about you? Are you going to take a cold shower like I did this morning? Do you already take cold showers?