My Blog Has Moved!

Thanks for visiting this blog. However, I have moved to a new home. If you are getting this message, it is because you have my original TypePad blog bookmarked. Please change your bookmark to my main domain name. The easiest way to do this is to delete the old bookmark, visit my new site and book mark that page.

Or better yet, subscribe to my RSS feed or my e-mail newsletter. This way you won't have to keep checking my home page to see if I have updated my content. Instead, I will tell you each time I have posted something new.

Under Construction

I haven’t changed my blog design in about three years. I kept thinking that it needs a refresh, but I dreaded the chaos that I knew would ensue once I flipped the switch.

Well, that day has come. I have taken the plunge. Things will not likely be back to normal for several days, so please be patient. I think you are going to like the new design. It will make it much easier for you to navigate the site and find your favorite posts.

In the meantime, my Web designer, the very talented Human3rror has requested that I not add any new posts until he has the new design in place and the paint is dry.

I look forward to seeing you on the other side!

The Gift of Validation

Validation. Everyone needs it. Hardly anyone gets it. Yet it is the very thing that most people crave. More than sex. More than money. More than drugs.

I’m not a psychologist. But I think it’s safe to say that most people who have an unhealthy craving for anything are really craving validation. Why is it so hard to get?

My Current Presentation Tools

I usually make three to four major presentations a month. In January, for example, I made presentations at our Quarterly Business Review Meeting, our All Employee Meeting, and The Thomas Nelson Way session. In February, I will make four presentations.

I often get asked what tools I use to create my presentations. Currently, I am using eight:

Come Run with Me!

Many of my running friends like to run with groups. Frankly, it has never appealed to me. When it comes to running, I am a “Lone Ranger.” I like running alone and listening to audio books.

But two weeks ago, I decided to participate in Powered by Hope’s team run on Saturday here in Nashville. This is training that they are providing through the Jeff Galloway organization for those of us at Thomas Nelson who are participating in the Country Music Half Marathon in April.

Creating an Annual Time Block

Stephen Covey tells the story in First Things First of attending a seminar, in which the instructor pulled out a wide-mouth gallon jar. He sat it on the table next to some fist-sized rocks.

“How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?” he asked.

My Most Popular Posts of 2008

Since the first of the year, I have seen several bloggers post links to their most popular posts for 2008. I decided to post mine in case you missed these when I originally wrote them.

Since TypePad, my blogging service, doesn’t provide this kind of statistical information, I had to look elsewhere. In the process, I stumbled across PostRank, a service that “measures engagement by analyzing the types and frequency of an audience's interaction with online content.”

The 2009 Half Marathon Challenge

Two years ago, I ran the Country Music Half Marathon for the first time. Sixty-five of my colleagues from Thomas Nelson ran with me (about 10% of our workforce at the time). It was such a great experience that we did it again in 2007. Last year, we doubled the number of participants—135 finished the race (about 20% of our workforce).

Well, we want to do it again this year. My goal is for 150 of our Thomas Nelson employees to run the half marathon this year. This represents about 25% of our post lay-off workforce. I don’t know about you, but after the holidays, I am feeling more motivated than ever to get myself in shape.

Book Marketing 101: What Works and What Doesn’t

Part 1: Start with Great Content

This is the beginning of a series of posts I am calling, “Book Marketing 101: What Works and What Doesn’t.” I have wanted to write this series for a long time. There are so many opinions when it comes to marketing books. I certainly don’t have the last word on this topic, but I do have some experience.

I have been involved in the book publishing industry for 30 years. My career has included working at three different publishers, serving as a marketing director, marketing VP, acquisitions editor, editor-in-chief, publisher, chief operating officer, and now, of course, chief executive officer. I was also a literary agent for six years and have written four books, including one that was on the New York Times bestsellers list for 28 weeks. I am currently writing a new book called, The How of Wow.

Getting Things Done: An Update

I have long been a fan of David Allen’s Getting Things Done™ (GTD). If you are serious about increasing your productivity, this is the one book you must read. His methodology is the most effective I have seen.

I have written extensively on my implementation of David’s system. Here is a sampling of previous posts:

A Self-Imposed Media Fast

I’m tired of the relentless torrent of bad news coming from the media. I feel like I am stuck in a recession version of Ground Hog Day.

The names and places change with each story, but underneath the veneer, it’s the same story-line:

• “We’re in a severe recession.”
  
  
• “It’s the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.”
  
  
• “It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
  
  
• “There’s very little you can do about it.”

The Recession Hits Home

Today, was a very difficult day at Thomas Nelson. We informed fifty-four of our friends and co-workers (about 10% of our workforce) that we have eliminated their jobs, effective this Friday. This will affect nearly every department in our company.

This was the second round of reductions this year. Unfortunately, this one was no less painful. We did the first round after significantly cutting our SKU count. However, this second round was purely a result of the slowdown in the economy.

Cut Travel Costs with Video Conferencing

Like every other company, we are looking for ways to cut costs. One of the things we have been experimenting with is video conferencing.

Two years ago, I looked at a very sophisticated video conferencing system. It had cameras that you could move and zoom on both ends of the conversation. But it was about $80,000—a little more than I wanted to spend.

Print-on-Demand and the Future of Publishing

Two weeks ago, two of our dear friends celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary. Their daughter asked me to photograph the event, knowing that I am an amateur photographer. I happily agreed.

I took about 250 photos altogether, using the quantity-over-quality method of photography. (I assume that if I shoot enough pictures, I’m bound to get something I can use.)

10 More Things You’d Love to Say at Work ... But Still Can’t

The list I posted yesterday was so popular, I thought I’d post a few more items from the original one. So by popular demand, here they are:

1. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
   
   
2. I’m not being rude. You’re just insignificant.
   
   
3. Do I look like a “people person”?

10 Things You’d Love to Say at Work ... But Can’t

Thank God there is a filter in place between my brain and my mouth. If I said everything I thought, I would be in constant trouble.

Yesterday, while cleaning out my closet, I stumbled across an article I had saved. It is called “Things You’d Love to Say at Work But Can’t.” It had thirty-eight items. Here are the first ten:

What Have You Been Putting Off?

I cleaned out my bedroom closet this morning. I’m not sure what got me started. But once I got going, I couldn’t stop. I literally got rid of half my stuff.

I can’t tell you how good I felt after clearing out all this clutter. With the recession, less is the new more.

Book Review Friday: My Top Ten Favorite Business Books

Rather than reviewing one book this week, I thought I would share my favorite business books. I get asked this question regularly, most recently when I was lecturing at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Business School earlier this week.

I have blogged on this topic previously. However, it has been almost two years. Since that time, my list has changed. Only four of the previous ones are on the new list. However, all twenty (the previous list and this one) are excellent.

A Prayer for Times Like These

Several weeks ago, I was on a strategic planning retreat with my executive team. I began the meeting with a prayer that I have used for years in my own morning devotions.

This prayer was originally composed by Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow (1782–1867).It seems particularly relevant and timely in these turbulent times.

10 Benefits of a Recession

If you want more bad news, then don’t read this post. But if you are tired of reading about bailouts, bankruptcies, and poor earnings, keep reading.

I’m no Pollyanna. I have blogged previously about embracing the most brutal facts of your current reality. I know people are suffering, and I hate that.

Seven Ways to Build Your Author Brand Online

On Saturday, I posted Four Surpising Conclusions About Author Websites. Yesterday, I posted on Why Every Author Needs a Powerful Online Presence. Today I want to address the how of building your author brand online.

Let me begin with a disclaimer. I am not a web guru. I am not a professional. I am simply a guy who has been blogging since 1998 (before they called it blogging). I have some degree of success, but mostly I have just tried to be a student of what works and what doesn’t work. And, I have made a lot of mistakes along the way.