A 10 Year Old Leader Who Believes

I've got to give a big 'ol hat tip to Phil Gerbyshak and Stephen Hopson for sharing this 9 minute video. I know 9 minutes sounds like a long time, but it's definitely worth it to see this inspiring 10 year old leader. He gets it! It all starts with belief! Belief in youself and belief in others. Please take the time to watch.




Do you believe in yourself? Your coworkers? Your kids? Believing is the first step!

Age Of Conversation 2: 1 Book, 237 Authors, 1 Charity

updated: you can get the book here http://stores.lulu.com/ageofconversation

It's finally here: The launch of the book "Age of Conversation 2: Why Don't They Get It?" Several months ago, Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton decided to put together another great cast of bloggers to write the second installation of the Age of Conversation. I'm honored to say that I was included in this second edition.




AOC2 is a book written in one page articles by 237 different authors. It tackles various marketing topics from conversations to creative branding to business model evolution. This is going to be one amazing book, and it will be released on Wednesday, October 29th, at 8:00 AM (EST) on www.lulu.com. Oh, and the amazing part of this book is that ALL proceeds will be going to Variety - The Children's Charity. That's Right!! Not one person involved in this project is going to make a dime. We are giving all money to charity. So, get out there and get yourself a copy or two. It would make a great Christmas gift for your book loving family and friends!! You can pick up a hardback, softback, or e-book.


Do you need a teaser?


Is social media starting to take the place of our face-to-face conversations, or is it just a tool to help us network more efficiently? Is it "bad" that we are becoming a society that loves to talk online? Have you hopped on the online conversation highway, yet?


These are all questions that I discuss in my section in the book. Of course, I'll let you grab a copy for yourself and take a look! So, again.......hop on over to http://www.lulu.com/ on Wednesday and pick up yourself and a couple friends a copy of the book. It's sure to not disappoint. In the meantime, please say hello to my fellow authors:



Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

updated: you can get the book here http://stores.lulu.com/ageofconversation

3 Keys to Achieving Success

You can be successful!! In fact, I would argue that you already are successful!! But, in the event that you aren't successful (or don't feel you're successful), let me give you 3 key steps to achieving success:

1. Create a Personal Definition of Success - How do you define success? What does success "look like" to you? Is it money? Is it power? Is it positive relationships? Is it career advancement? Is it faith? There really is no wrong answer, here. The only wrong answer is no answer at all! I used the word "personal" because I feel it's important to realize that you can't let someone else tell you what success is. Everyone has a different view of success (which is sometimes hard to remember in this age of movie stars and millionaires) You must be able to "explicitly" define what "success" is to you! Once you can do that, then you can take the next step: Clearly identifying action steps to help you achieve success!



2. Clearly Identify Action Steps to Help You Achieve Success - It would be great if "defining success" was all we had to do. Unfortunately, it's not. We also have to actually achieve success. Therefore, you need to write down clear and precise action steps as to how you are going to achieve success. Create a gameplan. Create a vision. Whatever you want to call it. The purpose is to have something written down to remind you of how you plan to achieve success. Now, plans can change, so re-evaluate your plan as you journey down the path to success.



3. Embark on Your Success Journey with Perseverance and Determination - Once the plan is set, start walking! Heck, start running if you want. Whatever you do, though, enjoy the journey. It will be fun. Also, keep in mind that life happens! Things change. Be adaptable. Don't get discouraged. If something comes along and knocks you off the path; get up, dust yourself on, and continue. If the road's closed, then realize that your plan can change! Revise your action steps and continue forward. Most importantly: BELIEVE! Know that you are going to succeed! Know that you will be successful!

Can you think of other "steps" needed to achieve success? How do you define success?

And remember: "SUCCESS IS ONE ACTION AWAY!" I saw this quote on the "Two Scrolls" blog. It was in a post written by Ty Canning. I would recommend you check it out! It's a great post.

note: picture courtesy of http://www.forex-trading-insight.com/images/Key_to_success.jpg

Motivational Monday: Excellence

"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration"

- Thomas Edison

Excellence is achieved through hard work and dedication. You must possess the desire for excellence, along with the determination to see that excellence through to fruition. What are you doing to unleash your inner genius? Thomas Edison achieved his genius through hard work and intense labor. He realized that frequent failure was his friend, as it opened new doors to discovery. Through dedication and determination, Edison achieved excellence!

What are you doing to go beyond your potential? How will you ensure excellence is achieved?

Leadership Quote #2: Kouzes and Posner on Articulation and Leadership

There's nothing more demoralizing than a leader who can't clearly articulate why we're doing what we're doing.

- James Kouzes and Barry Posner

I think this is a great quote from James Kouzes and Barry Posner. Articulation of your vision and goals is a huge part of being an effective leader. If, as a leader, you can't effectively articulate why it is your team is doing what they are doing, then you can't get good "buy-in" from your team. There's really two main keys to this quote that I see worth dwelling on:

1. The word "articulation." It really goes beyond communicating. Many leaders can communicate their vision. They can talk about their vision. They can inform the team of their vision. But, if they can't articulate the details of their vision (the true reasons of why "we're doing what we're doing"), then they can't effectively get everyone going in the same direction.
2. The word "demoralizing." It sounds harsh, doesn't it? I think it's properly used. It is demoralizing for a team to be working towards a common goal where they have no idea why they are working towards that goal. When a team hasn't truly "bought in" to the direction they are heading, they become demoralized. That is, team morale starts to fall when people don't know why they are doing what they are doing. There's no passion. There's no purpose.

What abou the rest of you? How do you ensure that you are effectively articulating why it is you're doing what you're doing? How do you ensure morale stays high on your teams? Do you agree with James and Barry?

Dad-O-Matic: Where Dad's (and other parents) Go For Conversation

I just wanted to take a quick minute to plug a new writing project created by Chris Brogan. Chris has created the site Dad-O-Matic, where you can find me and other dads as we share stories, advice, product reviews, and anything else related to parenting. It's an honor for me to be able to participate in this great new project, and I sure hope all of you (my faithful followers) will stop on by every once in a while. Maybe you're a new dad, an old dad, a dad-to-be, a want-to-be-a dad, a mother, a parent, a guardian, a child, or someone that just values great conversation. No matter where you are at in this point of your life, I can say with certainty that Dad-O-Matic is an amazing site, and will not dissapoint!


So.....Swing on over and help us continue the dialogue!

You Don't Need a Title to Be A Leader: Leadership Lessons from a Book

I’ve been reading a book entitled “You Don’t Need a TITLE to Be a Leader,” written by Mark Sanborn. It’s an engaging book that reads easy and fast. Besides the fact that Mark shares some very inspiring tales of “untitled leaders”, the amazing thing I’ve found is that Mark’s take on leadership seems to be in line with my view on leadership. So without just listing out all the similarities between our views on leadership, I’m instead going to spend the next several posts pulling out the real value points of the book and sharing them with all of you.

Today’s point: The difference between leaders and managers!

Mark states that “As all leaders know, untitled or not, leadership is power with people, not power over people.” Mark then goes on to list out the differences between managing others and leading others:

So, are you a manager or a leader? I must admit that the last couple months have found me more worried about managing my team than actually being a true leader to my team. I think this can happen very easily for many, as they try to “get more performance” from their employees. The problem is that as they “manage” they are using more of a positional power to influence their subordinates. Their followers are being obedient and therefore performing just enough, but obedience alone won’t allow them to reach that next level. “Leading” subordinates (as opposed to just managing them) relies more on a referent power base, one that garners respect and admiration for the leader. “Leading” helps empower followers to truly buy in to the leader’s vision and direction. It creates an atmosphere of eagerness and passion, and encourages followers to kick it up a notch.

What are your thoughts? Should a supervisor/director/C-level executive be a manager or a leader? Or, are there times where even good leaders need to pull out their “manager mentality?”