A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners, LLC
Iâm Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors & writers to help them with their book promotion and social media marketing. As part of my job I read a lot of books (I love to read anyway!).
This week I will be highlighting two books; both I found on Amazon and added to my “reading list”.
The books in the Book List Series will cover a range of topics such as social media, product development, marketing, blogging, business, organization, career building, finance, networking, writing, self development, and inspiration.
‘Poke the Box’
by Seth Godin
As you may know, I go on Amazon.com frequently and I did something a bit out of character the last time. As I was on the home page, instead of going to the search box at the top and typing in “business books” or “social media books”, I happen to click on the Kindle books.
And what popped out to me was this book titled, ‘Poke the Box’. Love the title because it definitely got my attention. What was even more surprising was it was by international best selling author, Seth Godin. Then again, Seth is famous for his unexpected titles….remember Meatball Sundae.
Once I found out it was from Seth, I knew I wanted to highlight it here this week.
Mix things up and get your butt moving on your dreams!
This is one book he has created to mix things up and get you moving. If you want to do something….don’t waste time thinking about doing it, do it.
I found the timing of my finding this book on Amazon interesting (you may call it an intervention of sorts) because I did posted a video just yesterday about how writers can “get in your own way” from writing a book. And this seems to go along the same thinking.
And I remember when I used to work in the corporate world, my department would have meetings to start projects but hardly anything ever did get done. I will be getting this book of Seth’s very soon as I believe it will be great reminder to keep moving forward toward the dream. Or as Seth puts it, ‘Poke the Box’.
The Domino Project
This book, Poke the Box, is one of Seth’s latest ventures. The Domino Project is an independent publishing imprint created by Seth and Amazon.
Read more of the interview at Amazon with Seth.
About the Book*:
If you’re stuck at the starting line, you don’t need more time or permission. You donât need to wait for a bossâs okay or to be told to push the button; you just need to poke.
Poke the Box is a manifesto by bestselling author Seth Godin that just might make you uncomfortable. Itâs a call to action about the initiative youâre taking-â in your job or in your life. Godin knows that one of our scarcest resources is the spark of initiative in most organizations (and most careers)-â the person with the guts to say, âI want to start stuff.â
Poke the Box just may be the kick in the pants you need to shake up your life.
About Seth*:
Seth Godin is the author of ten international bestsellers that have been translated into over 30 languages, and have changed the way people think about marketing and work. His Unleashing the Ideavirus is the most popular ebook ever published, and Purple Cow is the bestselling marketing book of the decade.
His penultimate book, Tribes, is a nationwide bestseller, appearing on the Amazon, New York Times, BusinessWeek and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. It’s about the most powerful form of marketing–leadership–and how anyone can now become a leader, creating movements that matter.
His last book is called Linchpin, and it is the fastest selling book of his career. Linchpin challenges you to stand up, do work that matters and race to the top instead of the bottom. More than that, though, the book outlines a massive change in our economy, a fundamental shift in what it means to have a job.
In addition to his writing and speaking, Seth is founder and CEO of Squidoo.com, a fast growing recommendation website. His blog (find it by typing “seth” into Google) is the most popular marketing blog in the world. Before his work as a writer and blogger, Godin was Vice President of Direct Marketing at Yahoo!, a job he got after selling them his pioneering 1990s online startup, Yoyodyne.
You can find every single possible detail that anyone could ever want to know at squidoo.com/seth.
You can purchase a copy of ‘Poke the Box’ online at Amazon. *this information came from Amazon.
Next, I would like to introduce you to another book on the business book list on Amazon and on my reading list: ‘Thank you Economy’.
The Thank You Economy
by Gary Vaynerchuk
Amazon.com Review*
The Thank You Economy is much more than saying “thank you.â The Thank You Economy represents a much bigger movement. This book could easily have been called The Humanization of Business or Manners Marketing.
I feel that we’re living through the biggest culture shift of our time. The internet, itself, is 17-years-old. It’s just hitting the social part of its life. It’s just like growing up. As you get to 13, 14 and 15, you want to go out and go to parties. That’s what’s happening right now! The internet is growing up.
What happens when we live in this word of mouth world where we’re tweeting out “I love Company X’s orange juice”? We’re sharing thoughts that we never would have picked up the phone and called somebody about in the past. What happens when brands can be humanized? In The Thank You Economy, I tackle the issue of the ROI of social media and provide case studies. I think we wrote a much, much stronger book than I did with Crush It. When I say we, I mean the people in the social graph–the people that are living it.
There is enormous ROI in social media. It’s like my famous saying though, “What’s the ROI of your mother?” The data isn’t as black and white like it has been in the past. I firmly believe that the brands that have a soul and a heart and understand how to scale this will win.
This is a comprehensive book from a guy that has lived in the social space for the last 6 years like I have. I live and breathe my community and I’ve been able to consult with big brands for the past two years on how to leverage this world of caring. This is the perfect book, not only for entrepreneurs who might have an employee or two, but also for brand managers and CMOs at bigger companies.
Say thank you and know the strength of social media
As I read the following Amazon review and I believe this is a good reminder about the simple things as a society we may have forgotten or just don’t take the time to pay attention to as we should. Just taking the time to say “thank you” and mean it—simple but very poignant. Especially when you are talking about social media. It is important to take the time to say thank you and be present when networking and building your community online.
And I like how he is talking about the internet and it is growing up. It is as if the internet is hitting its stride now and having fun exploring all the possibilities. And we (as business people, whether you are a entrepreneur, manager or employee) are realizing all the things the internet can help us with, we need to remember to say thank you to all those involved in our life.
About Gary*:
Meet Gary Vaynerchuk (VAY*NER*CHUK), a 33-year-old self-trained wine and social media expert who has revolutionized the wine industry. Gary’s cult-like following is the result of his unconventional, often irreverent commentary on wine, combined with his business acumen and foresight to use social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to reach an untapped audience. He hosts a daily webcast called “The Thunder Show”on tv.winelibrary.com that attracts over 90,000 viewers each day. Recently, Gary’s podcast became the most downloaded show on iTunes in the Food category, beating out venerable names in the industry including Martha Stewart and Jamie Oliver.
Known as the “King of Social Media,” Gary is one of the first–and one of a few–Facebook users who has maxed-out his friend limit, with over 17,000 pending friend requests. He is in the top 100 people followed on Twitter and was the keynote speaker at noted events like the 2009 South by Southwest Interactive conference and the New Media and Web 2.0 expos. A weekly contributor to TheStreet.com and Popeater.com, Gary is regularly asked to consult on social media for some of the world’s largest and most recognizable companies like Google, Johnson & Johnson, Disney, Proctor & Gamble, and Pepsi.
*courtesy of book website and Amazon
You can purchase a copy of ‘The Thank You Economy’ at Amazon.