My Blog List
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Is This the Most Epic Marriage Proposal In History? I Don't Really Know, But I Would Say YES! [Video] - [image: Click here to read Is This the Most Epic Marriage Proposal In History? I Don't Really Know, But I Would Say YES!] This is from last week, but sin...1 hour ago
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Google Readies New Local-Ad Assault - Google is preparing to launch its largest-ever assault on the roughly $20 billion market for local business advertising.1 hour ago
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World Heritage in Sri Lanka Observes Buddhist Sites Only - Salem-News.com is the premiere Independent Online Newsgroup in the United States.2 hours ago
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Capitalism on trial - The foregoing reports constitute a serious communications challenge for the president's reelection campaign.3 hours ago
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Use Expert Tips to Build Authority on Your Brand New Blog - This guest post is by Daniel Kidd of Best Money Saving Blog. I’ve found out over the past couple of months that the hardest part of blogging isn’t thinking...6 hours ago
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Google Acquires Trust Seal Provider KikScore - Google has acquired the technology and assets of KikScore, a Washington DC and Denver-based provider of online trust seals for small businesses. The ann...6 hours ago
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Neil Gaiman Shares His Secrets for Freelancers - Neil Gaiman gave the Commencement Address to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Neil explained the subject of his address as "Everything I could t...7 hours ago
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Webb & Carey: When Control Is Bad -- Receiver Uses Debtors' Controlling Interests In Partnerships To Get At Partnership Assets - If a creditor's remedy is restricted to a charging order, that means that the creditor cannot get at the assets of a partnership or LLC, right? Wrong. A ch...7 hours ago
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Skeleton Key: Diverse Complex Networks Have Similar Skeletons - Source: ScienceDaily Researchers have discovered that very different complex networks -- ranging from global air traffic to neural networks -- share very ...8 hours ago
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Joshua’s Story: Living with Schizophrenia - As a woman living with bipolar disorder, I understand mental illness-related stigma. I understand the damage it causes and the impact it can have on a pers...10 hours ago
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Marketers React To News Of Google Shopping Changing To Paid Inclusion With Hope & Concern - A few days after Google upended the ecommerce marketing world with the announcement of upcoming changes to what will now be called Google Shopping, many re...12 hours ago
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The Milgram extension - In his famous experiment, Stanley Milgram gave his subjects a switch and then encouraged them to give (fake) electric shocks to his confederates if they were...17 hours ago
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More Male Befriender Volunteers Needed For UK Children - Many boys say they would prefer a male befriender according to early findings, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Yet, less than a ...19 hours ago
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Dot Com Pho – WordCamp Orange County 2012 Edition - Instead of doing our standard Saturday afternoon Dot Com Pho, the crew decided to hit WordCamp Orange County 2012 instead. WordCamp is the name given to al...19 hours ago
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Berlin notebook: on tourism - After we had been in Berlin for some weeks, it was decided that we had better do the right thing: we had better see the sights. After all (so we told ou...20 hours ago
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A Google-a-Day Puzzle for June 3 - Google's daily brainteaser helps hone your search skills.22 hours ago
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Top 10 Most Popular Stories Of The Week - We love 'em. You loved 'em. Unless you missed 'em. Here's your chance to catch up. This week Robyn Benincasa analyzed different leadership styles and of...1 day ago
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Judgment According to Works - When all has been said and done, the peoples will all be judged according to their works (Rom 2:6). That's you and me and everyone. With winnowing fork in ha...1 day ago
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Google Bids on New gTLDs .google, .youtube., .lol & More - While Google didn't disclose just how many domains it had applied for, Google chief internet evangelist Vint Cerf said in a company blog post that the comp...1 day ago
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Weekend Favs June Two - My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week. I don’t go into depth about the fi...1 day ago
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7 Writing and Marketing Links Worth Reading - This week on The Lede … One Man’s Email Newsletter Leads the Fight Against Tweet Overload Twitch When You Should (and Shouldn’t) Use a WordPress Plugin 11 ...1 day ago
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Scentsy and the Sweet Smell of Success - A couple's last-ditch entrepreneurial effort fends off bankruptcy in favor of a balmy future.1 day ago
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The Gas Station of the Future Just Opened - Propel Fuels is using more than $20 million in grants and $19 million in venture capital to build 100 alternative-fuel filling stations across California2 days ago
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Daily Search Forum Recap: June 1, 2012 - Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web. Search ...2 days ago
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What Would Tyler Say? - Economist *Tyler Cowen*'s Twitter feed was recently hacked -- for the purposes of selling a weight-loss product. In response, and following in the heels...2 days ago
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The Role of Intuition in Business - I attended the SV2 Sprint Meeting on Tuesday night and one of the presenters made a point that has stuck with me all week, I will make my best effort to re...2 days ago
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U.S. Consumer Spending Holds Higher for Third Straight Month - U.S. consumers' self-reported daily spending averaged $73 in May, holding on to the elevated rate seen in April and May, and marking a three-month streak s...2 days ago
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Quixotic Fusion, flying from TEDxKC to the TED mainstage - Sneak peek: Quixotic rehearsals at TED2012: Full Spectrum. February 27 – March 2, 2012. Long Beach, CA. Photo: James Duncan Davidson Cross-posted from the ...2 days ago
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Critical Success Factor: Developing a Moral Character to Achieve Greatness - No matter what you do, your ultimate goal, beyond what you are trying to accomplish at the moment, is to achieve your own happiness and become a good perso...2 days ago
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Iraqis' Views of Their Health Worst in MENA - Iraqis' views of their health are the worst in the Middle East and North Africa. The country's score on Gallup's Physical Wellbeing Index is nearly half th...2 days ago
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Loyalty: Six Social Media "Personas" Call For Segmented Marketing - Those who "Like" are not alike at all in how or why they engage with brands in social media. Aimia, the worldwide loyalty management consultancy, has unvei...2 days ago
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Judge Grants Class Status to Authors in Authors Guild v. Google Lawsuit - *Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware* An important legal ruling was handed down yesterday by Judge Denny Chin in the five-year-old Authors Guild v...2 days ago
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How Do You Heal From Assault? - How do you heal from a traumatic assault? What does it take to get back on your feet. I had the opportunity to interview Jenny Lynn Anderson, author of Roo...2 days ago
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First Look: Leadership Books for June 2012 - Here's a look at some of the best leadership books to be released in June. The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone—Especially Oursel...2 days ago
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Brand Naming: The Right-Brain Approach - When you engage in a naming initiative from the right side of the grey matter, the concern is less on structure and convention, and more on creating a clear ...2 days ago
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Understanding the China Slowdown - April's dismal economic indicators are prompting a new round of state spending3 days ago
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Comment Marketing as an Inbound Tactic - Whiteboard Friday - Posted by randfish Take those black and grey hat comment marketing tactics and throw them away once and for all. In this week's Whiteboard Friday, we wil...3 days ago
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New Aweber Message Editor = Disappointment - My readers know that I'm a huge fan of Aweber. I've been with them myself for years and I truly think they're the best option out there. However, their new...3 days ago
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How to decide when to work for free - High performers work for free. The difference between working for free because you’re a loser and working for free because you’re a high performer is what...3 days ago
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Amazing Advice for Aspiring Writers by Neil Gaiman - Every once in a while we get to hear great advice from someone who’s actually done what we hope to do–achieve extraordinary writing success. So check out t...3 days ago
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15 Ways Entrepreneurs are Saving the World - When I made my list of the top 30 reasons to be an online entrepreneur, I left out the biggest reason: when you become an entrepreneur, you join a group of...3 days ago
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Case Study:: Homepage Testing: 91% conversion lift from new copy and layout - When done correctly, conversion rate optimization not only increases conversion rates, it reveals details about customers. This B2B service provider ran a ...3 days ago
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What habits, routines help you create your best work as a writer? - For many years at Poynter, we have studied the writing process — the steps we believe that all writers at some point will have to master. That does not m...3 days ago
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How to Make Your Site the Destination for Your Market - Why do you blog? Is it for traffic and attention? If you blog to get more visibility, then you have a lot of company. One of the major reasons companies an...4 days ago
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Nalanda University and Buddha's last sermon - Nalanda - the first university of the world - is close to the place where Buddha delivered His last sermon Rajgir, India -- “The ruins of Nalanda stretche...4 days ago
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Google+ Plus Local Makes Me Sit Up and Take Notice - I haven’t been as attentive to Google+ as I have to Twitter and Facebook and today my business, Marketing Resources & Results, may start paying for it. Ove...4 days ago
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The sacred pause - In our lives we often find ourselves in situations we can’t control, circumstances in which none of our strategies work. Helpless and distraught, we franti...4 days ago
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Improving Organizational Project Performance: What Works and What Doesn’t - Organizations with project failure rates above 50% have trouble surviving, particularly in tough economic times. But their efforts to improve performance o...4 days ago
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TLBT Video #77Service: TGW and TGR - Now available on YouTube: the latest video in The Little BIG Things series. Tom presents an alternative to minimizing Things...5 days ago
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How Selling Insurance Helped Me Sell SEO Services - Post-Google update season is typically a boon for SEO providers (good ones and bad ones unfortunately). The industry isn't dead or dying, it's simply evo...5 days ago
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Winning the battle for technology talent - The right technology talent can be hard to find. But executives can learn from the ways in which leading IT organizations develop, retain, and recruit go...5 days ago
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BG 256: Will the Real Buddha Please Stand Up? - Episode Description: John Peacock is a scholar and Associate Director of The Oxford Mindfulness Centre. His studies of the earliest Buddhist writings have ...6 days ago
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Angelo Debarre - Angelo Debarre, born in St-Denis, France, started playing guitar at the age of 8. In the manush (gipsy) community, tradition is transmitted oral...1 week ago
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Reism - [Revised entry by Jan Woleński on May 21, 2012. Changes to: Bibliography] Reism is the doctrine that only things exist. The name is derived from the Latin ...1 week ago
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5 surprising things about word of mouth marketing - Social media marketing is still all the rage, but an important new book out from Ed Keller and Bray Fay reminds marketers where and how customers are actuall...1 week ago
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Ask JF: Leap And Pray or Build On the Side? - Because of my somewhat public evolution from lawyer to serial entrepreneur, blogger, author, speaker, producer and beyond, I’ve been asked one question mor...1 week ago
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In the WayBack Machine With Goose - Waaaaay back in 2010, I had a great chat with Chris Taylor of Actionable Books. Aside from my looking particularly chunky, I’d have to say this was one of...2 weeks ago
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Ken Burns on Story Telling - Your weekend assignment: Watch this short film on compelling story telling. When you’re ready to start telling your story, check out Shortcut Blogging.2 weeks ago
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Socially Sound: Interview with Cole Egger – CEO of Quick Sticks - Socially Sound: Interview with Cole Egger – CEO of Quick Sticks2 weeks ago
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Startups and Intellectual Property (IP) - Lately questions about Intellectual Property or IP have been cropping up left and right. Eliot Durbin (my partner at BOLDstart Ventures) and I had a long ...2 weeks ago
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Entrepreneurs Must Save America - The U.S. has no shortage of great ideas and innovations. What the country needs now are highly motivated entrepreneurs who can turn those ideas into great ...2 weeks ago
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Entrepreneurs Must Save America - The U.S. has no shortage of great ideas and innovations. What the country needs now are highly motivated entrepreneurs who can turn those ideas into great ...2 weeks ago
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Using Twitter Data to Map Emotions Geographically - A few weeks ago, I spoke at a federal agency conference in Arlington, VA and one of the most interesting topics was the potential use of social media, by...3 weeks ago
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Why Offline Stores and Small Businesses Need to Embrace Online Shopping and Build Better Websites - I recently wrote a story How Brick and Mortar Stores Can Use eCommerce to Drive Sales about tips that eCommerce stores can use to drive traffic to their ...4 weeks ago
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Historic Buddhist Statues Destroyed in Maldives by Extremists. Why? - (PHOTO CREDIT: "Light of Buddha" by Loster20 for Free Digital Photos.net) *Similar to the Afghan Islamic Taliban’s destruction of the priceless Buddhis...4 weeks ago
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10 Things You Can Learn From the Apple Store - My friend, Carmine Gallo, has written a book called The Apple Experience: Secrets to Building Insanely Great Customer Loyalty. The Apple Store is the most ...1 month ago
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Why Strengths Matter in Training - Companies invest millions in training and developing their employees. But all too often, those investments don't pay off because leaders fail to factor in ...2 months ago
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Creating Impact in B2B Relationships - Being a successful business-to-business company takes more than delivering a product or a service. It requires making an impact on customers by improving t...2 months ago
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Embark on an Amazonian adventure in Wilderness — Second Life’s newest Premium destination. - For a limited time, take advantage of 50% off Premium membership.2 months ago
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Postdocs at ANU - We've just posted the following ad for postdoctoral fellowships in the ANU Centre for Consciousness. The deadline is just two weeks away, so please apply soo...3 months ago
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Fueling the Fire of Entrepreneurship – Colorado Companies to Watch - [image: Steven Groves standing by the rail at City Hall Event venue overlooking the Terminal Kings display]Last Friday I was able to attend an event they...4 months ago
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Thank you for subscribing to our High Performance Business Research RSS Feed. - We will be discontinuing this feed on September 30th. To continue to receive updates on ways your organization can achieve or sustain high performance, p...9 months ago
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Corporate Sponsorship is as American as Apple Pie - Hoover's shines a rocket's red glare on some of the companies backing big Fourth of July celebrations this year.10 months ago
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Business Owners: Celebrate Your Personal Independence Day - I've long thought entrepreneurs have a lot in common with America's founders -- upstarts taking on the establishment, driven by faith, guts, and confidence.11 months ago
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How Can Entrepreneurs Impress Their Bank? - In these tight credit markets, small business owners need to be prepared. To nab funding at attractive terms, get set to wow a loan officer.1 year ago
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Be Honest: Do You Do Your Plan vs. Actual? - Are you doing your plan vs, actual meetings? If not, why not? Don't you want to run your business as well as you can?1 year ago
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Is It Time For New Financial Software? - The end of the year is always a good time to do an assessment of the tools you use in your business. One of those key tools is the program you use to manag...1 year ago
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Top 10 ways to Use LinkedIn for Sales Success - My position on using social media in sales is simple: It's a fantastic tool for building relationships and an absolutely awful environment to deliver your pi...1 year ago
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How Vulnerable Is Your Firm to Cyber Crime? - Here's how to reduce your exposure to risks you may not be aware of.1 year ago
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Leaders of Tomorrow 2010 - Chances are you haven't heard of them—yet—but these 12 executives are poised to play pivotal roles in shaping the future of business.1 year ago
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When Your Employees Know More Than You - Managing today's highly skilled professionals takes special skills — and not the ones that you may think. Oftentimes, knowledge workers...1 year ago
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Lead a Business Session at SLCC 2010 - The 2010 Second Life Community Convention (SLCC) is coming up in Boston August 13-15th. I know you've got things about business to share with the Second Life...1 year ago
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Join Us in Washington, D.C. July 13! - Today I'm going to talk about our upcoming Business Leadership One-Day events (there are two) set for July 13 in Washington, D.C. – and why you m...1 year ago
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Monsanto's Hugh Grant, CEO of the Year 2010 - Recognizing that helping farmers around the world gain access to the best technologies is in everyone's interest, Hugh Grant has made it central to Monsant...1 year ago
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Choosing Not to be Angry - I was teaching the 7 Habits at a professional gathering last week when I experienced something remarkable. While I spoke about Habit 1, Be Proactive, and s...2 years ago
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New Blog - One final goodbye. As I mentioned in my last post, the Servant Leadership Blog has come to an end. I am not sure if archives of the blog will be availabl...2 years ago
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The Future of Selling - I have seen a future in which salespeople study sales in college and are true professionals. That future is here! For those of us who have dedicated our ca...2 years ago
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We've Moved!! - All good things must come to an end....*or do they? * Starting today (Saturday, March 20, 2010) - we're no longer publishing new blog posts here at the Be...2 years ago
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Weak Economy, Strong Bank - In the past year alone, more than 100 American banks have been taken over by the FDIC. But not WSFS, a regional, 41-office financial services company. In f...2 years ago
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Day 1251: Sirena NEW Animated Hair (Alyssa) + Free Hair Ribbons - Have you seen the Rose Theatre Opera House in SL? It's like an old opera house come to life, full of amazing details like crystal chandeliers and reflect...2 years ago
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Email and Social Media Marketers Helping Haiti - What’s this about. We all know of the unprecedented tragedy in Haiti. Often in situations like this we feel helpless to know what to do or who to trust when ...2 years ago
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Getting Perspective - A recent news item on Inc.com asked the question, "Are your employees afraid to take a vacation?" You should pose that same question to yourself. It is eas...2 years ago
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A Creative Example of Low Cost Marketing - The following short story is a great example of how thinking “out of the box” can get you new business even in a tough economy. A savvy restaurant owner k...2 years ago
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The Next Generation of Leadership - From: The Gallup Management Journal (GMJ) The old rules still apply. But to win in the new world, leaders must understand their constituents’ state of min...2 years ago
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“So Now I Know … Why I am Where I am” - In the last few weeks, you have taken the opportunity to look at where you spend your time. You are now one among the elite few who have made it a priority...2 years ago
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Be still (4 of 4) The Tree of Life - The Journey Back into the Garden My intention with this last entry, in this series, is to provide the final guiding principles into our journey away from...2 years ago
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GOODBYE - After long deliberation, I have decided to close down Slow Leadership and retire from blogging. I think I have written almost all I want to write and the e...2 years ago
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We've Moved Our Marketing to Women Blog to WonderBranding.com - Michele Miller has moved her marketing to women blog to a new and improved version, which can now be found at WonderBranding.com. WonderBranding was recently...2 years ago
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Biofuels: Bridge or Dead End? - I spoke to the Minnesota Renewable Energy Roundtable last month, which resulted in a fascinating glimpse into the dynamic and controversial world of emergi...3 years ago
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The Reuters Second Life bureau is now closed - Reuters has closed its Second Life bureau after more than two years of in-depth coverage on the virtual world's business and economy. Our technology team w...3 years ago
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We've Moved - The Entrepreneurial Mind has moved. Nothing has changed other than our address. After almost five years of blogging we had started to outfgrow our old digs...3 years ago
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The BrandBuilder Blog Has Moved - Hey, thanks for dropping by! The BrandBuilder blog has moved to a new home: http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/ Follow this link, and don't forget to up...3 years ago
The Business Coach: The Hobbyist's Level of Commitment

By: Santi Chacon
Business Coach
Introduction
I understand that for some reason you don't think of yourself as a business person, but you are. You made money at this thing right? There are a couple of things you can do to get this thing up and going, but you will have to begin thinking like a business owner rather than a hobbyist.
Everybody has insecurities and uncertainties when dealing with this sort of thing, just take it one step at a time. Focus on improving each area before moving onto the next.
What you are going to need at this stage of your business falls into one of six areas:
- Level of Commitment
- Your Offering
- Your Marketing Message
- Lead Generation
- Sales
- Partnerships
What is You Level of Commitment?
You need to make up your mind regarding your standard. You must decide that you are going to be a workaholic for the next three to five years. This is an undertaking of 12 to 15 hour days for six days a week. If you are not sure than figure it out. One thing to keep in mind is that your life should be different after you make the decision. Your time should be consumed with your business. It's not like you can choose to start a business and continue spending your time hanging out with your buddies or spend time watching TV. Your commitment should be a 'magnificent obsession'. If you can't embrace this type of commitment you are not ready to start a business.
The Business Coach: The Cost Of Doing Business
Business Coach
Alright so you are attempting to have that conversation again with Bob regarding his changing needs. No matter how much you have tried to make that personal connection and add value to Robert, he has been indifferent and seems to be on the fence about a few things. In your opinion he has a different agenda then he leads on. Reading in between the lines you are convinced he sees your solution as ubiquitous and something that can only be differentiated on price. You know the moment you are not able to meet his needs at commodity prices he will shop elsewhere.
- What are the costs associated with doing business with Bob long-term?
- How much is your time worth? and how much time does Robert require?
- If you want to make your company profitable (long-term implication) can you afford to continue to pay Bob's monthly costs (both in time and discounts) with enough profit to justify him as a customer?
- What is Bob paying you to add value?
- Is he paying you less than you pay for him?
The Executive Coach: From Traditional to Social Leadership
You always wanted to lead.
Why not now?
The landscape for effective leadership is transforming before your very eyes. Those with the most ideas win; throw enough crap against the wall and eventually something will stick.
Social Media has put a new twist on leadership and it is as follows:
Our measure of influence determines the progression and impact of our leadership. The impact of our leadership is determined by our methods of syndication. Syndication is measured by our voice, content, or message and route of distribution. The methods of distribution determine who hears the message and influences others to listen to it.
A leader must engage in the development of her voice and should work to provide thought leadership for her constituents and then work to self-promote to build upon her following.
In the beginning, social success is determined by quantity of content; in a beginner's world quantity beats quality every time. Don't be such a perfectionist throw crap against the wall.
Having your FREE evaluation with a business coach is a $500 value.
The OCD ADHD CEO: Hey Michelangelo, CALM DOWN! (7)
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| Business Coaching | Client Fulfillment |
By: Santi Chacon
Business Coach
Take a deep breath we are almost finished!
Let's talk commitment...
Client Fulfillment
An exchange of value for its monetary equivalent is the least you should be prepared to offer. There are five precepts, in which your brand integrity can shine. Integrity as it relates to the 'brand experience' you create is a very simple concept of congruence and commitment.
Precept #1: The Process Addiction
As a consumer my expectation with every company I do business with is to have a consistent experience. As most consumers I have no preference towards spontaneity. I prefer not to have my coffee served cold if I didn't order it that way or to watch half of a movie at my local theater. I desire to have the same brand experience that I had grown accustom to. For each brand that I have grown accustomed to business processes exist with the aim of delivering that value. Likewise when a company forsakes to provide an experience market share is thwarted.
For your intent and purpose consider the consistency of a successful franchise. Well established franchises exemplify value add processes. You will have the same brand experience in your home town as you will in China. Value in this context is not something you purchase rather it's an experience that will cause positive emotions to emerge. So, how about it Boss-what emotions are your processes conjuring up?
Precept #2: Integrity In Your Service
Let's get you on the right page. Regardless of how you perceive your offering you will always be in a service industry by delivering a brand experience. The sooner you realize this the better. You have the capacity to map out and script the type of brand experience that would be most profitable to the organization. So by your own ingenuity dictate what prospects and customers feel about your brand (97% of the time) at every touch point.
Alright lets talk delivery. The fashion, in which you deliver your solution should be differentiated from your product or service. How do you deliver value in your approach before you ever get to your solution? by design of course. So, what is your plan to engage your audience while you deliver your solution? This becomes a great opportunity for branding. If delivering an experience is the goal then figure it out. Your success or failure begins and ends with you and it's always a matter of creativity and drive.
Precept #4: Integrity In Your Solution
The challenge for you may not be in solving problems or driving to a cost effective solution but it might be in the instance your solution doesn't work or your pricing fails to be cost effective because of complications or negligence. Allow me to assume that since you are in business that you are learning the valuable lesson of under promising and over delivering on your commitments. You know as an executive (perhaps as the only one in your company) that the words 'contingency plan' should be part of your vocabulary and business practice regardless of how promising things look. What happens to your brand experience when (not 'if') you can't solve what you committed to solving? Can you still deliver value to a disappointed customer? The value is found in the question: 'How?' Ya think it would help your brand?
Precept #5: Integrity In All Customer Touch Points
Now we are talking about doing things intentionally aren't we? This is too much commitment for spontaneity but just enough for process management. It may be more difficult when you began relying on others to provide a brand experience; however, it is possible to deliver consistent value at every customer touch point if you map it out. Consider a few touch points that are found in every business: sales, customer service, customer support, account management, and human resources. So, where does the action happen for you and your business? and what is the best way to respond to that kind of action consistently?
Having your FREE evaluation with a business coach is a value of $500.

