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.

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.

Why Every Author Needs a Powerful Online Presence

Yesterday, I posted Four Surprising Conclusions About Author Websites. In case you missed it, I concluded that, for authors, building a powerful online presence doesn’t appear to have much to do with having (1) slick graphics or state-of-the-art technology, (2) a large media platform, (3) a large organization behind you, or (4) a young, hip image.

Joe Sheehan commented on the post and said,

Mike, I have a fundamental question. Why does it matter? Does a powerful online presence really make you a better author? I'm not convinced the two are well-correlated. Word-of-mouth recommendations would probably convince me to read an author more than an obscure website ranking.

Four Surprising Conclusions About Author Websites

A few weeks ago, in preparation for a meeting with one of my biggest authors, I visited his website. I was reminded again how many authors think that by just hanging a website in cyberspace they are somehow building their brand. As it turns out, not so much.

The site looked great. Nice graphics. Cool use of flash. Lots of razzle-dazzle. So I decided to run his site through WebsiteGrader.com. This simple tool is like a CAT-scan for websites. I was surprised at the poor results.

Book Review Friday: Tribes by Seth Godin

Seth Godin is one of my very favorite business authors. His first book, Permission Marketing (1999), helped me understand the importance of crafting messages that are anticipated, personal, and relevant. It shaped the way I think about the Internet as a communications medium.

Since that time, Seth has written many bestselling books on marketing, including The Purple Cow, Word of Mouth Marketing, and, his newest, Tribes. Each time he has challenged the status quo and turned conventional thinking on its head.

Two Things Great Leaders Must Do in Turbulent Times

Thankfully, the election is over. We now have clarity about who is going to lead our country for the next four years. I have never personally witnessed such excitement and hopefulness following an election (though I acknowledge that not everyone shared that sentiment).

However, the problems still remain. The stock market fell precipitously yesterday. In fact, it was the biggest post-election decline in history. I am not sure that this is so much a response to President-Elect Obama as it is a reflection of the fact that the economic environment is still enormously turbulent.

My Four Commitments to Barack Obama

The long, seemingly endless election is finally over. Barack Obama is our new President. His victory was clear and decisive.

I have personally never witnessed a more bitter election. My own household was sharply divided.

Why Most Meetings Still Suck

Leading people and conducting meetings go hand-in-hand. Yes, you can use email, blogs, Twitter, Basecamp, or any number of additional tools. But at the end of the day, you will still need to schedule and lead meetings.

As long as you have to have meetings, you might as well do them well. Before you plan another meeting (and suffer the rest of us to sit through them), make a commitment to do the following:

Does God Send Negative People into Our Lives?

As a leader, it seems that no matter what you do, a few people will find fault. Even if you were standing on a corner, handing out free money, someone would complain.

• “What about the people that didn’t know you were going to hand out free money? You’re not being fair.”
  
  
• “You’re not giving away enough to make a difference!”
  
  
• “You’re encouraging laziness!”

The list goes on.