Belatedly, I’m going to wax poetic over Michael Port’s latest book, The Think Big Manifesto: Think You Can’t Change Your Life (And the World)? Think Again. I was privileged to read this earlier this spring and then my summer unprivileged me by a hectic day job, and lots of summer stuff.

Anyway, I am back (it is September after all) and back with a flurry of post ideas, blog expansion plans, and yes, the long-anticipated ebooks that I promised like months ago. Argh. Nothing like a reread of Michael’s book to get me back on track. Get ready, get set, here I come!

Michael Port’s latest book is one of those books you’ll want to read if you need to think BIG about your life, your business, your goals, your faith. Seriously, if you need a book to prop up your plans, this is the book. No one calling anyone out in these pages. It’s all about moving forward, moving upward, and not letting the fear of failure hold you back.

Port is an excellent writer and teacher. I’ve read everything he’s written, and taken several of his free and tuition classes. Every time I learn something. He’s gifted with helping those of us learning marketing inside out to do it better, easier, healthier, and with authenticity (my big button word).

Port goes after small thinking with a passion in this well-written treatise. I was motivated to not let my brain take over my thought life (really, doesn’t our mind have a life of its own so often?) and I was challenged “What if  . . .”

Now, for those of you thinking that “I’ll never be as good as . . .” this is the book you need. Port tackles that thought process head on. No more can you sit in a pothole thinking you’ll never be as good as the other guy. Hogwash! (I’m telling myself that, mind you.) It’s just not true. You don’t know anything until you try. And trying is the battle, it is the war of art, it is the biggest obstacle you face. Finding your market, learning about your customers, selling to those customers, none of this is the hard part. It’s just starting.

Thus, I would press Port’s latest book into the hands of every entrepreneur I know. And I’m not one who pushes books lightly. I try to weed through the good and the bad and I get way too pumped up about books that I feel are truly worth the time and money. This is one of those books.

Get it, read it, stretch your mind, reach for the highest star. Now, go!

Books on corporate communications number in the hundreds (perhaps even the thousands), so if you’re a corporate communicator, where do you even start?

I’ve hand-picked three great books that have earned the Love It rating (at least I think):

Mary Munter’s Guide to Managerial Communication is really, really good. A book that will help anyone who struggles to make themselves clear in a business environment, this one is FULL of great ideas. Don’t just check this one out, run to the nearest bookstore or even Amazon and buy this one.

Love It!

Corporate Communication by Paul Argenti. (A minor disclaimer, I was the proofreader for this book in 2007.) That’s how I know about it. Fabulous book and so interesting. I think this was the first time I figured out how companies could control their brand inside and outside of their business. If my disclaimer doesn’t bother you, get this one!

Love It!

The Power of the Tale: Using Narratives for Organizational Success by Julie Allan is one that I don’t own (yeah, I got this from the library because of the price; so follow my lead and just check this one out; I plan to purchase it at some point this year for my Kindle), however, it’s worth noting because of the very interesting theory it espouses. That storytelling in organizations is vital to the survival and health of the organization. I agree.

Love It!

A few folks have mentioned to me in recent weeks that they believe Twitter will function as a stronger business app than Facebook. Why?

1. It’s easier to find good up-to-date info on Twitter. The new Facebook redesign (as Twittery as it is) just doesn’t cut it.

2. It’s easier to broadcast business happenings on Twitter, which can be reTweeted out to huge amounts of people. My Tweets are roaming around the Web much more than anything that happens on Facebook (the setup is different, true). But Twitter allows me to reach folks I can’t reach myself. I then gain them as followers and my network broadens.

3. It’s easier to keep up with thousands of people on Twitter. Even without the use of TweetDeck, I find Twitter much easier to use. Facebook this week is a clunky mess, but once I get used to it, I’ll love it again. However, I adore Twitter.

4. Facebook’s experimentations with design and ads clunk up the usability. Perhaps it will improve as time goes by. To me, Twitter is a lean machine. I can track what almost 4,000 people are doing on an up-to-the-minute basis. True, I don’t see it all, but I see enough. If I was trying to grab snippets from my 2600 Facebook friends, I’d be there all day.

If you’re not on Twitter, why not? Find me here.

I’ve read every book out there on blogging. A few are fab (see this post) and I say Love It! (which in my world means buy it), but some are not so fab (they serve a purpose, true, but they aren’t worth purchasing; just check them out from the library if you’re interested in reading them) and to which I give a label of Leave It!

The first is an interesting premise, and perhaps one more suited to personal blogging than anything, No One Care What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog by Margaret Mason.

What I think
Leave it. It’s a cute idea, but kinda gimmicky. The ideas she presents are easily found online for free (just look at twelve blogs today and you’ll see all these ideas). Not sure how to make it a better book either. I would pass.

Another book you should either just check out of the library or skip is The Rough Guide to Blogging by Rough Guides author Jonathan Yang.

What I think
Leave it. Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 18 months, this book will be no help to you and your blogging endeavors. Gone are the days of explaining what a blog is in a book (folks can find that online); now is the time for best practice books (content, design, tech) to appear and really push blogging to the next level. As a matter of fact, I’m working on a book like that right now! Stay tuned!

My disclaimer
When I write a Leave It! post, I always want to add a few words. I do not wish to attack the authors or publishers of these books. They are actually well-written, interesting, and timely, back when they came out. Now, I just call upon the authors to revise and reissue, or to write a new book that pertains to the blogging environment we have currently. Survival of the fittest, remember. In the book world, you’ve got to have timely content, or you’ll be left behind.

Have a great weekend!

There’s a sharp uptick in the numbers of social media books coming out (or being written right now) and I’ve nabbed a few for some Love It! attention.

Amazon writes,

If the idea of starting a social media marketing campaign overwhelms you, the author of Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day will introduce you to the basics, demonstrate how to manage details and describe how you can track results.  Case studies, step-by-step guides, checklists, quizzes and hands-on tutorials will help you execute a social media marketing campaign in just one hour a day.  In addition, learn how to integrate social media metrics with traditional media measurements and how to leverage blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts, and user-generated content sharing sites like YouTube.

What I think

I’ve used several of these “hour a day” type books and while I skip several sections to get to the good stuff, this is a great model for a lot of business owners. These books force to you to put down actual goals for your social media and then gives you the action steps to accomplish those goals. Plus, I’m a process gal, and this book most definitely provides a nice (and simple) process.

Score: Love It!

Amazon writes,

Get the business leader’s guide to using Twitter to gain competitive advantage.

Since 2006, forward-thinking companies like Apple, JetBlue, Whole Foods, and GM have discovered the instant benefits of leveraging the social media phenomenon known as Twitter to reach consumers directly, build their brand, and increase sales. Twitter is at the leading edge of the social media movement, allowing members to connect with one another in real time via short text messages–called “tweets”–that can be received either via the Twitter site or by e-mail, instant messenger, or cell phone. Many companies have started building entire teams within their organization dedicated solely to responding to tweets from consumers about their brand. And this is just the beginning.

In Twitter Power, Internet marketing and Web innovation expert Joel Comm shows businesses and marketers how to integrate Twitter into their existing marketing strategies to build a loyal following among Twitter members, expand awareness for their product or service, and even handle negative publicity due to angry or disappointed consumers. The book also presents case studies of companies on the forefront of the Twitter movement, to help you develop your own social networking strategies. Twitter Power is the result of extensive testing and participation in the social networking community and is a must-have for any business that wants to keep up with the social media movement. Twitter Power features a foreword by Tony Robbins.

What I think

Joel Comm is a friend of mine and he does know his stuff. This book is a great addition to anyone’s library on Twitter (there are more and more books coming out on the subject). Most of the other books are full of badly organized case studies, and Twitter Power is a neatly organized reference to Twitter tools and strategies. Nicely done, Joel.

Score: Love It!

Amazon writes,

Secrets of Social Media Marketing is a handbook for marketers and business owners to use in deciding how to employ the new social media for online marketing. Social media has quickly moved from the periphery of marketing into the forefront, but this is a new and quickly-evolving field and there are few established formulas for success. Building on the lessons set out in Gillin’s acclaimed and oft-reviewed The New Influencers: A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media, this book provides practical advice on strategy, tools, and tactics. It is a hands-on manual that will educate marketers on how to extend their brands, generate leads, and engage customer communities using online tools.

What I think
Paul Gillin’s book is THE resource book for companies on social media. This will become the reference book everyone will be using shortly (at least I think), similar to Chris Pearson’s ProBlogger I highlighted last week. This takes social media and plugs it in to a company’s overall marketing goals and provides a very good structured argument for managers seeking to utilize social media to take back to their higher-ups. Worth a read most definitely.

Score: Love It!

At some point, I will have to point out a few Leave It books. I hate to, because I’m just a glass half-full person, but truth is what I promised on this blog, and truth is what you’re going to get.

Have a great weekend!

I’ve had a lot of folks ask me what blogging books do I like. As you know, I own pretty much all of them. It’s just my nature. I like information, lots of information, so I tend to overwhelm my bookshelves. Let’s face it: I’m keeping the booksellers in business. Seriously.

The first book I will say LOVE IT! Problogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income by Darren Rowse.

If you are buying a book on blogging (whether for your business or your personal blog), this is the one book everyone needs to have on their shelf. Don’t believe me? Check out http://www.problogger.net on the Web. This book is your manual. Reviews say to also buy Blog Schmog by Robert Bly (I have it, but haven’t read it yet. I’ll let you know in a later post!)

Clearing Blogging by Bob Walsh is a nice intro to blogging. A bit outdated if you know what a blog is and why it can help you, but the principles are still there. I recommend everyone (whether looking for a job or project currently) should be blogging (author Penelope Trunk was the one who first said it, or the second who said it, can’t remember). It gives prospective employers and managers a way to find out more about you that you can control. It can also shift your Google resume to the positive side (see this post about that). I say LOVE IT!

Amazon writes,

Clear Blogging sets out to answer in nontechnical terms what blogging has to offer and why and how you should blog. If youve never read a blog, but you keep hearing that term on the news, Clear Blogging will show you why blogging has shaken up mainstream media, and how a blogger can end up on CNN. If youre just starting to read blogs, Clear Blogging is your native guide to the blogosphere, covering how to get the best, most interesting information with the least amount of time and effort. The main course of Clear Blogging shows what you stand to gain from blogging, and how you can go from your first post to being welcomed aboard the blogospheres A-list.

The final book to which I give the LOVE IT designation is Robert Scoble and Shel Israel’s Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk With Customers.

Publisher’s Weekly writes,

For the past five years, Microsoft employee Scoble has maintained one of the most popular blogs on the Internet. Mixing personal notes with passionate, often-controversial commentary on technology and business, his blog is “naked”—i.e., not filtered through his employer’s marketing or public relations department—a key part of its appeal. In this breezy book, Scoble and coauthor Israel argue that every business can benefit from smart “naked” blogging, whether the company’s a smalltown plumbing operation or a multinational fashion house. “If you ignore the blogosphere… you won’t know what people are saying about you,” they write. “You can’t learn from them, and they won’t come to see you as a sincere human who cares about your business and its reputation.” To bolster their argument, Scoble and Israel have assembled an enormous amount of information about blogging: from history and theory to comparisons among countries and industries. They also lay out the dos and don’ts of the medium and include extensive statistics, dozens of case studies and several interviews with famous bloggers. They consider the darker aspects of blogging as well—including the possibility of getting fired by an unsympathetic employer. For companies that have already embraced blogging, this book is an essential guide to best practice.

Next time, I’ll hit some books that aren’t worth picking up (LEAVE IT). In the meantime, have a great weekend! May your communication efforts be read and understood!

Ever feel like all your blog gives you is more stuff to do? Fresh updated content on a weekly or daily basis (or sometimes multiple times a day) is wearing you down and really throwing a wrench into your schedule, right?

I’ve got a few tips to help you survive and contain the writing of posts. Read on.

1. Batch write for the week or month. Take a couple hours one day a week to write just blog posts. You can write them and preview them, but then don’t publish, just schedule them in advance. This works brilliantly for me when I’m headed out for a few days. I also know what I’m going to write for a couple of weeks in advance. I have topic lists and ideas in a file that I keep near me when I write. I also pull down several photos from the web in prep for these posts.

2. Think about using guest bloggers every so often. I’m looking into guest bloggers for my blogs (leave a comment or email me if you’re interested in being a guest blogger). This gives a variety of writing and topics and might give you the rest you’re looking for. Burnout it a real issue, so care for yourself if you feel early signs coming on.

3. You can do a series of posts. More than three in a series and folks will lose interest. I do know one blogger who does twelve and seventeen-part series posts and I keep reading because she’s a darn good writer! But most bloggers should stick to a small number of series posts. But that way, you can spread out your message over 1200 words rather than three 400-word posts. It helps to write longer every once in a while. Writing short is hard work. Can I hear an amen?

4. Another blogger friend of mine does a Q&A post each week, which helps her come up with content that’s specifically focused to her readership. I am frequently bored with Q&A, but it’s a great idea for stretching content out on a slow week. You can set out a series of topics you want to talk about even and have readers comment with their questions. I’m just saying, others use this a lot.

5. You can interview someone else of interest. This is the format I appreciate. I love reading interviews of experts/authors on other blogs. I love to know what makes them tick. It’s all in the questions asked of them. I am not a fan of Q&A, but when done right, it actually is fascinating. Even I can’t stop reading! So, who can you interview on your blog? Who would your readership flock to learn more about? This is something I’m working on for 2009. It’s fun to meet authors and experts on Twitter or Facebook and to figure out what they could offer my readers. I may become a huge fan of Q&A before the year’s over. Hey, I’m fickle!

Do these ideas help jumpstart your writing karma? It should. They can help even the most worn-out blogger restart her writing and spice up his blog. Any questions, feel free to ask.

Have a great Monday!

Along comes a book by renowned Duarte Design owner, Nancy Duarte, who has put together some of the most important slide presentations in recent business history, which explains the reasoning behind great presentations. Slide:ology is one of those books that you just have to check out from the library (at least I do).

I am fascinated by the process of communication in business, be it social media, corporate communications, or marketing, and this book really nails the principles of presentations for me. I did wish it was less about her exploits and more about how I can make it work for me. Some of the Amazon reviwers were’t impressed and recommended Robin Williams’s Non-Designer’s Design Book, which I do agree with. Robin Williams understands design implicitly. I do wish this book had more of Williams’s helpful commentary and how-to.

Another book I got from the library was Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds. Highly recommended by Michael Hyatt and others who have jobs making presentations, I was interested to hear that Garr’s blog on presentation was more helpful than the book itself (thus why I’m checking out from the library first). However, I do think Garr’s ideas are very good. I will now be checking out his blog more often (saved it next to Seth Godin’s on my bookmarks tab).

The thing about business books is that they are more fat than lean meat. There is a lot of fluff out there. One of the things I hope this feature every Friday on this blog will do for my readers is save them some money by finding only the best business books. If I buy it, you can feel safe to buy it.

Have a nice weekend all.

Two books I read on the plane back and forth to London.

Murder in the Bastille by Cara Black. Publishers Weekly writes “PI Aimee Leduc is in the dark not only figuratively but literally after
a mysterious attack leaves her blinded at the start of her fourth
absorbing Paris mystery (after 2002′s Murder in the Sentier). Aimee and
her partner, computer expert Ren‚ Friant, face dual dilemmas as a
client’s recalcitrance to comply with a court request coincides with
Aimee’s misfortune. The diminutive Ren‚ must become the eyes of the
team while Aimee makes do as best she can with her other senses.
Meanwhile, with her attacker still on the loose and the police off on a
wrong scent chasing a serial killer, Aimee remains a vulnerable target.
Black loads her plot with Eastern European thugs, aggressive developers
and other familiar villains, but she compensates the reader with the
rich ambiance of Paris as well as a realistic and moving account of
Aimee’s coming to terms with her new condition. Some readers may be
annoyed by the use of French words and phrases not obvious from
context, but for the rest of us these authentic touches will be as
welcome as the fresh butter on our morning croissant.”

The Tsarina’s Daughter by Carolly Erickson. Publishers Weekly writes “Historical maven Erickson (The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette)
delivers a top-notch narrative featuring beautiful and courageous
Tatiana Romanov, daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra, during the final
years of their reign. As life becomes increasingly bleak in
prerevolution Russia, Tatiana sneaks out of the palace and sees
firsthand the poverty and violence pervading her country. With
Communist rebels shouting for equality and enemy countries invading,
Tatiana befriends a young and destitute pregnant woman whose fiancé has
just been murdered by Cossacks, opening up her conscience in unexpected
ways. But as the czar falters and the czarina takes refuge from her
afflictions in the company of Father Gregory (better known as
Rasputin), Tatiana finds solace in the arms of a fierce patriot.
Erickson creates an entirely convincing historical backdrop, and her
tale of a family’s fall from power and a country in transition is both
romantic and gripping.”

I’m glad to be home again!

A couple of books this week that I’ve read revolve around C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia (or commonly called the Narniad). If you’re a fan, these are worth the time. This adds a great perspective to the beloved series.

Planet Narnia by Michael Ward. The praise for Ward’s book is loud and overwhelming.

“I cannot contain my admiration. No other book on Lewis has ever shown
such comprehensive knowledge of his works and such depth of insight.
This will make Michael Ward’s name.” –Walter Hooper, Literary Adviser
to the Estate of C.S. Lewis

“Noting Michael Ward’s claim that he
has discovered “the secret imaginative key” to the Narnia books, the
sensible reader responds by erecting a castle of scepticism. My own
castle was gradually but utterly demolished as I read this thoughtful,
scholarly, and vividly-written book. If Ward is wrong, his wrongness is
cogent: it illuminates and delights. But I don’t think he is wrong. And
in revealing the role of the planets in the Chronicles, Ward also gives
us the fullest understanding yet of just how deeply Lewis in his own
fiction drew upon those medieval and renaissance writers he so loved.”
–Alan Jacobs, Professor of English, Wheaton College and author of The
Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis

“Michael Ward
presents an absorbing, learned analysis of C.S. Lewis’s bestselling and
beloved series, The Chronicles of Narnia. Readily accessible to the
average reader, Ward’s book reads so much like a detective story that
it’s difficult to put down.” –Armand M. Nicholi, Jr. M.D., Professor
of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and author of The Question of
God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud

“All who have enjoyed the The
Chronicles of Narnia and indeed are interested in any aspect of Lewis’s
imaginative work should read Michael Ward’s book. He argues
convincingly for a hitherto unrecognized inner structure of the
Chronicles, and gives excellent reasons for understanding why Lewis
should have worked in such a mysterious way, his wonders to perform.
Ward has an encyclopedic knowledge of Lewis’s writings and uses it to
support his theory that each of the seven volumes of the The Chronicles
of Narnia is based on the classical, medieval and renaissance
mythography of one of the then seven planets. Even those critics who
dislike the Narnia books in principle because of their implicit
Christianity must consider their planetary structure and its
significance. Michael Ward has made an outstanding contribution to
Lewis studies.” –Derek Brewer, Emeritus Professor of English,
University of Cambridge

“Planet Narnia is not simply one for the
fans. Lewis had, and has, many enemies. This brilliant study may not
persuade them that he was right, but it should convince them of his
extraordinary subtlety.” –The Independent

Nuff said.

The Magician’s Book: A Skeptic’s Adventures in Narnia by Laura Miller. Amazon.com writes “Jam-packed with critical insights and historical context, this
discussion of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia from Miller’s double
perspectives–as the wide-eyed child who first read the books and an
agnostic adult who revisits them–is intellectually inspiring but not
always cohesive. Finding her distrust of Christianity undermined by her
love of Lewis’s indisputably Christian-themed world, Salon.com
cofounder and staff writer Miller seeks to “recapture [Narnia's] old
enchantment.” She replaces lost innocence with understanding, visiting
Lewis’s home in England, reading his letters and books (which she
quotes extensively) and interviewing readers and writers. Lengthy
musings on Freudian analysis of sadomasochism, J.R.R. Tolkien’s
Anglo-Saxon nationalism and taxonomies of genre share space with
incisive and unapologetic criticism of Lewis’s treatment of race,
gender and class. The heart of the book is in the first-person passages
where Miller recalls longing to both be and befriend Lucy Pevensie and
extols Narnia’s “shining wonders.” Her reluctant reconciliation with
Lewis’s and Narnia’s imperfections never quite manages to be
convincing, but anyone who has endured exile from Narnia will recognize
and appreciate many aspects of her journey.”

Really interesting read. I love the Christian message in the Narniad, but these two books showcase the brilliance in the books even if you remove that Christian influence (which C.S. Lewis would abhor). These have been a delight and I think I may read both these books again very soon.

I’m off to London! Ta-ta!