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Social Media Book List: The NOW Revolution and Smarter, Faster, Cheaper

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners, LLC

I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors & writers to help them with their book promotion and 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 are on the Amazon business marketing list and ones on my “reading list”.

The books I cover in the Social Media Book List Series will cover a range of topics such as social media, marketing, blogging, business, organization, career building, finance, networking, writing, self development, and inspiration.

‘The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social’

by Jay Baer and Amber Naslund

“Action. I no longer read a business book like this seeking thoughts and ideas. I read them to get actionable bits I can employ immediately. ‘Now’ is staring all businesses in the face. It doesn’t matter whether you want to join the conversation. They’re already shouting for you (or AT you). Get this book and heed Baer and Naslund’s advice. Now.”
~ Chris Brogan, President Human Business Works

“Social media has caused a paradigm shift in how we function and do business on the planet, yet so many companies are still stuck in the old media world and are getting left behind. The Now Revolution is the missing handbook for exactly how to successfully navigate and integrate the new media paradigm. Packed with examples, tools, checklists, case studies and best practices, this book absolutely must be on the desk of every executive serious about thriving in the new social economy.”
~ Mari Smith, Facebook Business Coach

About the Book*:

The social web has changed the way we do business forever

The future of your company is not in measured, considered responses and carefully planned initiatives. Business today is about near-instantaneous response. About doing the best you can with extremely limited information. About every customer being a reporter, and every reporter being a customer. About winning and losing customers in real-time, every second of every day. About a monumental increase in the findable commentary about our companies.

Having the time and information required to make a considered business decision is a luxury – a luxury that’s quickly facing extinction. Yet business hasn’t adapted to this evolution. And adapt you must.

This book isn’t about how to “do” social media. Instead, The Now Revolution outlines how you must retool your organization to make real-time business work for you rather than against you.
Read about seven shifts that will help you make your company faster, smarter, and more social:

* Engineer a New Bedrock
* Find Talent You Can Trust
* Organize your Armies
* Answer the New Telephone
* Emphasize Response-Ability
* Build a Fire Extinguisher
* Make a Calculator

The Now Revolution is pushing you to adapt the way you do business, from the inside out. It impacts your organization culturally, operationally, and functionally. This book is your guide to making the changes you need, and to harnessing the potential of this new communication era.

Customers aren’t going to wait for your next polished press release to decide if they like you and your products or services. Instead, they’re choosing between you and your competition every second of every day—and talking about it online. Keeping up with them requires seven shifts that will make your business faster, smarter, and more social:

* Strip away silos and overgrown business processes
* Hire and empower a new type of employee
* Organize internal teams for maximum external impact
* Listen at the point of need
* Travel the Humanization Highway and respond effectively to customer inquiries
* Plan for, find, and manage real-time crises
* Redesign success metrics in a business world that’s increasingly instantaneous

Real-time communication and social media have changed the way we do business—forever. The Now Revolution shows you how to adapt your organization to meet the expectations of today’s always-on customer and harness the power of now.

About Jay*:
Jay Baer is a tequila-loving social media strategist and speaker, and President of social consultancy Convince & Convert.

Founder of five companies, he’s worked with over 700 brands since 1994, including 25 of the Fortune 1000.

His Convince & Convert blog is ranked among the world’s top marketing resources, and he’s the co-author of the much ballyhooed, forthcoming book The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social.

Before becoming involved with digital marketing, he was a political consultant; a marketing director for an environmental services company (he knows more about landfills than you); and a spokesman for a state government agency (he knows more about juvenile prisons than you)!

He’s on Twitter as @jaybaer and for the record his favorite tequilas are: Tres Amigos Blanco, Corzo Reposado, Milagro Single Barrel Anejo, and Del Maguey Chicicapa Mezcal.

He lives in beautiful Bloomington, Indiana with his wife, two children, and assorted mammals and reptiles.

About Amber*

Amber Naslund is a communications and business strategist, and the VP of Social Strategy for Radian6, a social media listening and insights platform. In her professional role, she cultivates the Radian6 brand through speaking, content creation, and client strategy and support.

For the past 15 years, Amber has worked with businesses of all sizes, from the Fortune 50 to startups and local nonprofits, to lead branding, communications, and client experience initiatives. She’s enjoyed a diverse career as a fundraiser, client services professional, marketing and communications executive, and entrepreneur. Today, she focuses her work and writing on creating effective change, and solving business problems through better communication, online and off.

Amber is also a frequent speaker at conferences and private events, talking about the intersection of the web, communication, and business culture. Amber is an avid writer and passionate content creator, and her blog has been been recognized among Forbes’ 20 Best Social Media and Marketing Blogs By Women, as PostRank’s top community management blog of 2009, as one of the Top 10 Social Media Blogs of 2010, and among the AdAge Power 150. Amber lives in Chicago with her daughter and a four-footed menagerie of cats and dogs.

You can purchase a copy of ‘The NOW Revolution’ online from the author site or on Amazon. *this information came from the author’s website or Amazon.

Next, I would like to introduce you to another book on the business book list on Amazon and on my reading list: ‘Smarter, Faster, Cheaper’ by David Siteman Garland.

Smarter, Faster, Cheaper:Non-Boring, Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business

by David Siteman Garland.

“David brings to business marketing something that is essential to your success, motivation and passion. The stories and lessons shared here are rich with real advice wrapped in vitality and proven through experience. Take this book and go earn your success!”
—Brian Solis, author of Engage, the complete guide for businesses to build, cultivate, and measure success in the social Web

“In his smart and practical book, David Siteman Garland shows how to deploy your personality, passion, and knowledge to turbocharge your marketing. This no-nonsense guide will help entrepreneurs large and small spread their message and build their business.”
—Daniel H. Pink, author of DRIVE and A WHOLE NEW MIND

About the Book*
Save time and money in building, marketing and promoting your business

With huge recent shifts in the way enterprises are built, marketed, and monetized, these are “wild west” times for business. In this new landscape, entrepreneurs and small business owners actually have an edge in marketing without spinning their wheels or going broke.

Smarter, Faster, Cheaper gives you an innovative, approachable new guide on how to market, promote and improve your business drawing on real world examples and offering practical advice as opposed to fluffy theory. It presents a complete roadmap for marketing and promoting your business with the latest techniques.

* Draws from author David Siteman Garland’s extensive experiences as a successful entrepreneur
* Based on countless interviews with successful leaders, including conversations with entrepreneurs and owners of businesses large and small
* Strategies and ideas are easy to understand, digest, and immediately put to use

From learning when to skimp and when to splurge to mastering the art of online schmoozing, Smarter, Faster, Cheaper will save you time, money, and aggravation whether you’re building your tenth business or your first.

About David*:
Entrepreneur, mediapreneur, speaker and author David Siteman Garland is the Founder of The Rise To The Top, The #1 Non-Boring Resource For Building Your Business Smarter, Faster, Cheaper and upcoming author of Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business (Wiley Publishing). He writes/hosts RISE, a a web show for entrepreneurs, forward-thinkers, business owners and marketers, as well as The Rise To The Top TV show on ABC.

His philosophy is simple: Money follows passion and not the other way around.

After starting and stopping several unique entrepreneurial adventures and dabbling in everything from radio to hockey, David became frustrated that he could not find a great resource (that wasn’t a snoozefest) where forward-thinkers could learn more about building, marketing and promoting their own businesses by being smarter, faster, cheaper as opposed to dumber, slower and expensive. What was missing was a new kind of TV and web show, one that was entertaining and educational, and that was part of an online hub that resonated with forward-thinking entrepreneurs and others that struck out on their own without multi-million dollar budgets.

Since such a show and website didn’t exist, David decided to build it himself by investing all of his savings, time and energy to create from scratch a TV show, online resource and community of entrepreneurs and marketers.

Like many ventures, The Rise To The Top was born through brainstorming in a coffee shop. David shared his idea for the show with friends, successful business owners and creative types, all of whom thought it was a great concept. The Rise To The Top quickly attracted a wide and varied fan base, including not only the targeted demographic of those in their 20’s, 30’s and early 40’s, but also more “mature” viewers.

The show and web resource now has over 100,000 monthly viewers with a big focus on interviews and picking the brain of top entrepreneurs, forward-thinkers and authors including Gary Vaynerchuk (Wine Library), Chris Brogan (ChrisBrogan.com), Tony Hsieh (Zappos), The Millionaire Matchmaker Patti Stanger, Seth Godin and many others.

He has been featured on CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, City TV, My Network Television, as well as on KMOX and in Alive Magazine, The Riverfront Times, Ladue News, and St. Louis Magazine. He has no idea why he has become a media magnet so early in his career, but he’s certainly not turning down interviews and requests for videos.

David contributes as a writer and business/entrepreneurial commentator to CNN, CBS Bnet, Small Biz Trends, The St. Louis Business Journal, Personal Branding Blog, Speaker Magazine, Small Business Monthly and Great Day St. Louis. He was recently selected by Speaker Magazine as one of the Hot Speakers Of The Year.

He also has guest lectured at Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis University and Fontbonne University.

*courtesy of book website and Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘Smarter, Faster, Cheaper’ at Amazon.

I truly hope you will check out these books and please comment and let me know your thoughts on them.

Social Media Book List: No Such Thing as Small Talk and The Innovation Playbook

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow of Key Business Partners, LLC

I’m 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; one author I am currently working with ‘No Such Thing as Small Talk: 7 Keys to Understanding German Business Culture’ by Melissa Lamson and one book on the business Amazon list ‘The Innovation Playbook’ by Nicholas J. Webb.

The books I cover in the Social Media Book List Series will cover a range of topics such as social media, marketing, blogging, business, organization, career building, finance, networking, writing, self development, and inspiration.

‘No Such Thing as Small Talk: 7 Keys to Understanding German Business Culture’

by Melissa Lamson

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“We see Melissa as a key resource for developing business relationships with German companies who want to establish a presence in Silicon Valley. The information in this book is crucial to helping joint venture partners and investors understand the German business mind. It’s a must-read.”
Alfredo Coppola, Director, Business Development, U.S. Market Access Center

“As a Chinese-American business leader at one of the largest global IT companies, I can truly attest to Melissa’s insight and knowledge about the German mindset and communication styles. I’ve read
numerous books about cross-cultural communication and this is a must-read for anyone working in a global business environment.”
Alice Leong, Global Vice President of Diversity, SAP

You may think, “German business book, what does that have to do with me in the United States?” Our world, especially business is becoming more global every day. Especially with the advancements and the never ending freight train that is social media, understanding how other business cultures work, could be extremely helpful to US businesses and entrepreneurs.

Just check out the Table of Contents on this book:

Chapter 1 – Big Talk, Myths & Status Symbols
Chapter 2 – Key #1: Seriousness Is a Virtue
Chapter 3 – Key #2: Be Reliable
Chapter 4 – Key #3: The Train Comes at 8:52 a.m.
Chapter 5 – Key #4: We Think the Opposite
Chapter 6 – Key #5: Email Builds Relationship
Chapter 7 – Key #6: “I need it yesterday” Doesn’t Motivate
Chapter 8 – Key #7: Directness Doesn’t Hurt
Chapter 9 – Stuff People Ask (FAQs)
Chapter 10 – Don’t Forget to Have Fun
Afterword
Appendices
Resources

Right there, you have some key points to learn about German business culture (and can possibly be something you may wish to use in your business.

About the Book*:

Many business leaders, when they begin to work overseas or interact professionally with teams abroad, are surprised by how much they thought they knew about the other culture, but how little it counts for on the ground. The reality is that communication is multi-dimensional, and simply knowing a foreign language doesn’t mean one automatically understands the culture that goes with it. Idiom, psychological factors and cultural nuance all come into play. To grasp a culture, and communicate meaningfully to it, you need familiarity with language, of course, but also with non-verbal communication, customs, perceived values, and concepts of time and space.

Melissa Lamson, with years of experience in creating and nurturing high-performing global teams, understands how “It’s not enough to know the language!” In her book, No Such Thing as Small Talk, she focuses on Germany, a major business partner for the United States, and the country in which she has lived and worked for over a decade.

Business leaders today expect to face cultural differences when they do business with, for example, China or Brazil. But with a Western, industrialized country like Germany, one that displays a business etiquette and work ethic similar to the United States, it is easy to overlook the differences simply because so much appears, on the surface, to be the same. The differences are not in your face but subtle. And these small, yet critical, differences are exactly what Melissa’s book will help you identify, respect and bridge.

Melissa succinctly presents what she calls seven keys, or principles, to unlocking the German business mind. Her principles, whether they relate to process, punctuality, discipline or email communication, are insightful, personal and compelling. Not only does she clearly lay out the differences, but she also offers a cultural perspective that is rich with personal narrative.

If you plan to be in any way professionally engaged with Germany–whether you wish to participate in trade fairs, carry out negotiations with partners or colleagues, discuss schedules or terms with customers, or even apply for a job in Germany–the appropriate cultural understanding, as this book describes, will create mutual trust and will quite likely be the key to your business success.

About Melissa*:

Back in the U.S. after ten years based in Europe, Melissa Lamson is a pioneer in the field of cross-cultural communication and global business development. She has run projects in more than thirty countries, working with Fortune Global 500 companies, governments, nonprofits, SMEs, foreign investors, and C-level executives across all industries.

In 2008, Melissa was nominated as one of 25 top female entrepreneurs in Europe and she was among the first female-owned businesses to receive an award from the German Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Melissa is regularly invited to speak on the topic of global business development and she guest lectures in executive MBA programs in Europe and the United States.

To find out how your company can benefit from Melissa’s expertise, visit www.lamsonconsulting.com

You can purchase a copy of ‘No Such Thing as Small Talk’ online on the publisher site, Happy About or on Amazon. *I did receive a digital copy of this book from the publisher to help in the promotion of the book.

Next, I would like to introduce you to a book on the business book list on Amazon and on my reading list: ‘The Innovation Playbook’.

The Innovation Playbook

by Nicholas J Webb

“As the CEO of a multi million dollar corporation that was a start-up, I have worn many hats over the last fifteen years. I found The Innovation Playbook Well worth the money and time to read.
Webb covered many points I had never learned or in some cases, simply forgotten . In these challenging economic times, his “value strata” and “conduits of connectivity” pages hit home for me.
I found it to be a easy read that was well thought out and written.
I recommend it for anyone trying to improve their business or department.”
-Robert Mather, Amazon review

About the Book*

A complete roadmap to a revolution in business excellence founded on innovation

Author and successful innovator Nicholas Webb believes we need a revolution in business excellence founded on innovation. In The Innovation Playbook, you will learn why innovations fail, the five rules of customer connectivity, the power of “real open” innovation and customer co-creation, the secret formula for reducing product and market risk, the magic of Future-casting, and so much more.

* Includes an abundance of anecdotes and examples of successful-and unsuccessful-innovation
* Shares the 56 ways in which innovations fail
* Learn the success secrets of “Innovation Superstars”
* Reduce innovation failure and build speed to market

Includes online training a ($150.00 value) that will help you put the theory into practice, The Innovation Playbook will prepare you to get your CIS Certification, as well as to implement a successful innovation culture in corporate life.

About Nicholas*:

Nicholas J. Webb is a successful inventor, entrepreneur, author and management consultant in the field of innovation and customer relationship management. He has served as the CEO of several successful technology firms including Myocure, Inc. a pioneer in refractive ophthalmic surgery. He is the founder of Nupak Medical, LLC a medical product-manufacturing firm. He has also served as a CEO with several other technology- related companies. He is a successful inventor having been awarded over 35 patents from the US Patent and Trademark Office. His technologies range from one of the world’s smallest medical implant to industrial and computer technologies. He currently serves as the CEO of Lassen Innovation, providing strategic innovation and management consulting services, and has attained certification as a Certified Management Consultant. His client list represents some of the best companies and research organizations in the world. He is a prolific book author; his most recent books include The Innovation Playbook-a revolution in business excellence and The Digital Media Innovation Playbook-creating a transformative customer experience (Wiley). Nicholas is a frequent speaker and workshop leader at vertical industry conferences as well as innovation, licensing and technology forums around the world. Nick combines his own personal experience of “having been there” with a proven strategy for increasing profits and market share through a combination of leading-edge innovation methods and general business best practices. He lives in Northern California with his wife of twenty years and his four children.
*courtesy of book website and Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘The Innovation Playbook’ on Amazon.

I truly hope you will check out these books and please comment and let me know your thoughts on them.

Social Media Book List: Community 101 and The Digital Handshake

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors by managing their book promotion and publicity. As part of my job I read a lot of books (I love to read anyway!).

This week I will be highlighting two books; one author I am currently working with ‘Community 101′ by Robyn Tippins and Miranda Marquit and one book on the social media Amazon list ‘the Digital Handshake’ by Paul Chaney.

The books I discuss in the Social Media Book List Series will cover a range of topics such as social media, marketing, blogging, business, organization, career building, finance, networking, writing, self development, and inspiration.

‘Community 101’

by Robyn Tippins and Miranda Marquit

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“Finding and connecting with the right people is part of the social gluethat hold personal and professional relationships together on the Internet. Robyn and Miranda go through a detailed process of identifying, establishing and building an online presence by combining various strategies and tools to enhance your success.”
~Andrew Wee, Blogger and Business Consultant
WhoIsAndrewWee.com

“Robyn and Miranda have simplified online communities in a way that any business owner can understand. Community 101 is filled with gems to help your community thrive in the online space.”
~Tamar Weinberg, Techipedia.com

    Few great tips from this book about building an online community:

1. Use straight talk.
Tell it like it is.
Teresa Tidbit–>yes, authenticity is key with online communications.

2. Use your community members for positive change.
Invent ways for your community to be more involved and use their
information to improve your product and website.
Teresa Tidbit–>Get people involved in something bigger than themselves.

3. Visibility.
Get out there. Be seen.
Teresa Tidbit–>Again, no one knows you are online unless you are really involved.

4. Tweak.
Be willing to change things to better suit the needs of your community.
Teresa Tidbit–>Flexibility and compromise, the cornerstones to any relationship, even an online one.

5. Remember the Golden Rule.
Think about how you want to be treated—then treat your community members the same way.
Teresa Tidbit–>Think before you put something out there. Focus on resolutions, not the issue.

About the Book*:
Making an online community that grows and survives isn’t easy. It takes planning, vision and dedication. Most companies aren’t prepared to invest the time and manpower it takes to make it happen, and when their communities fail to prosper, they blame it on chance.

But chance doesn’t play a part in whether or not you respond to your community’s needs. Successful online communities don’t just happen, but with proper care and feeding your company can build a community that surpasses all of your expectations. If you are kind to the people who make up your community, you’ll gain a sold-out customer base and your business will be the beneficiary of increased sales, increased loyalty and increased customer satisfaction. This book isn’t intended to tell you what a community is, it will explain what a company can gain from a great online community and it will give you the education and tools you need to make it happen.

This book is for anyone who wants to build a fantastic online community. From Product Mangers to Executives, from Entrepreneurs to Evangelists, anyone can make their company’s community thrive. Community management isn’t about trickery or contests, but about treating your community’s members as if they matter to you. After reading this book, you have no excuse not to build your own thriving online community.

About Robyn Tippins*:
Robyn Tippins is a community advocate with over 10 years experience in the social media space. From her early days marketing her own small business using forums and email lists, to blogging, podcasting, vlogging and video game immersion, she’s often used social networking to engage and communicate. In her current role, Robyn oversees the community aspect of the external developers on the Yahoo! Developer Network.

Robyn has blogged for blog networks and corporations, podcasted for small and large businesses, worked closely with social networking sites, and advised Fortune 500 companies on social media and community. Her early podcasts featured some of the web’s most interesting and well-known Web 2.0 experts in fields such as VoIP, Technology, Open Source, Marketing, Social Networking, Video Games and Blogging.

About Miranda Marquit*
Miranda Marquit is a professional blogger and freelance writer working from home. She has five years experience in the blogging and social media space, mainly providing content and support for corporate blogs. Miranda understands the importance of blogging and social media in online marketing and community building, and enjoys interacting and networking via the Internet.

In addition to professional blogging, Miranda is a freelance writer with a Journalism degree. Her work has appeared in national magazines and on news Web sites. She is also a columnist for her local newspaper. Miranda enjoys reading, music, travel, and the outdoors. Her favorite activities involve using her hobbies as a way to spend time with her husband and their six-year-old son. Miranda lives with her family in Logan, Utah.

You can purchase a copy of ‘Community 101’ online at Amazon or on the publisher site, Happy About.
*courtesy of book website and Amazon

Next, I would like to introduce you to a book on the social media list on Amazon and on my reading list is ‘The Digital Handshake’.

The Digital Handshake: Seven Proven Strategies to Grown your Business using Social Media

by Paul Chaney

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    One Amazon reviewer

stated:
“I really enjoyed reading “The Digital Handshake” and learned quite a bit about how to use Social Media to grow my business. I’ve read other books about Social Media before but they were geared toward corporations and very large businesses. I found there to be much more information that was relevant to my small business. This book not only gave me specific ideas about how to use social media for marketing my small business, but also taught me more about the nuts and bolts of each medium so that I can better understand how to create content.”

About the Book*:

Practical applications for using social media to boost your business

Even today’s most successful businesses are seeing shrinking returns on their advertising and marketing dollars. The Digital Handshake explains why advertising and marketing are losing their effectiveness and how to solve the problem using social media to corral elusive consumers. It explains the best practical business applications in current use and how you can use them to ramp up your business.

Using case studies gleaned from real businesses, author Paul Chaney shows you how companies both large and small that can tap social media to mitigate market changes and reap valuable business benefit in the real world.

* Explains how you can use social media to grow your business and connect with consumers
* Author Paul Chaney is a leading authority on blogging and social media
* Covers practical, effective business applications for blogging, social networking, online video, microblogging and much more
* Shows how to design a comprehensive marketing strategy using traditional and new media platforms

Today’s technology can either undermine your marketing efforts or enhance them. The Digital Handshake helps you make sure the Internet grows your business for the long run.

About Paul Chaney*:

Paul Chaney is Internet marketing director for Bizzuka, a Web design, content management and Internet marketing company based in Lafayette, LA.

Prior to joining Bizzuka Paul was co-founder of Blogging Systems, a blog software company that significantly impacted the real estate industry by encouraging Realtors to adopt blogging as a marketing strategy. He is the co-author of Realty Blogging: Build your Brand and Outsmart Your Competition, which similarly impacted the industry and which was the first blogging book to target a specific industry vertical.

Paul serves as president of the International Blogging and New Media Association (IBNMA), an organization dedicated to advancing the growth of blogging, podcasting and social media as an industry. He sits on the board of advisors for the Women’s Wisdom Network, the Social Media Marketing Institute, and SmartBrief on Social Media.

He is a feature writer for Practical Ecommerce magazine on the use of social media for marketing purposes and blogs for MarketingProfs Daily Fix blog. Paul has led numerous blog and social media workshops and seminars, including the first ever such seminar to be held in Asia. He has also blogged professionally with Weblogs, Inc., as well as with Allbusiness.com.

Paul has served as Technical Editor on a number of For Dummies series books related to blogs and Internet marketing, and was contributing writer on Buzz Marketing with Blogs For Dummies, published by Wiley.

*courtesy of book website and Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘The Digital Handshake’ on Amazon.

I truly hope you will check out these books and please comment and let me know your thoughts on them.

Social Media BookList: Let’s Talk Business, Tweets and Dreams

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors, writers, speakers and coaches. As part of my job I read a lot of books. I am here to offer a weekly post about one that I am working with and one I have put on my reading list. The books will cover topics such as social media (Facebook & Twitter), organization, career building, networking, writing and self development and inspiration.

#DreamTweet

dreamtweet_covermid

This week I would like to start off with a book I have read and working with entitled #DreamTweet by Joe Heuer, aka The Rock and Roll Guru published by ThinkAha books.

Last night while watching TV, I began to notice the commercials were predominately about the Winter Olympics. I watched and listened to the athletes as they talked about what it meant to them to be a part of this worldly event. The described how much dedication it took for them to reach this goal of a lifetime but they wouldn’t have it any other way because it was their DREAM. It was so important to them, that no matter what, it was the one thing they wanted to do it was a part of who they are as a human being.

Well, this is the kind of advice, tips and inspiration you will receive when you read, #DreamTweet by Joe Heuer.

Here are just a few of the wise words from Joe in #DreamTweet:

  • Be specific in creating your dream. Clarity provides tremendous power. (pg 3)
  • Find people who are living their dream and study them. (pg 19)
  • You absolutely, positively gotta be the number one believer in your dream. No ifs, ands, or buts! (pg. 28)
  • Fear is your dream’s adversary. The most effective technique for casting off your fears is to bathe them in the
    light of love.     (pg. 49)
  • Each day spend time imagining your dream in all its resplendent glory, while feeling the rush of positive emotion that accompanies it. (pg 74)

And Joe is a great role model for his kids because they had this to say about their dad:

“Our dad is the perfect person to write ‘DREAMtweet,’ since he’s living his own dream as the Rock and Roll Guru!” –Alex and Rachel Heuer

What else more can I say? So Rock on and live your dreams!

You can order your copy of download a copy of #DreamTweet at ThinkAha website.

Joe Heuer, is known worldwide as the Rock and Roll Guru (http://RockandRollGuru.com ). An entertaining speaker, author, and full-time rocker, he shares the nuggets of wisdom he has gleaned from Rock & Roll with professional audiences throughout this third rock from the sun.

He believes that in addition to being a groovy musical genre, rock and roll is a way of life that has served as his constant companion and inspiration. Joe has lived numerous dreams, including a stint as the youngest collegiate head basketball coach in the country… who never played the game.

He has written several books, some of which have actually been published. Recent titles include ‘The NEW Idiot-Proof Guide to Customer Loyalty’ and ‘The Rock and Roll Guide to Patient Loyalty.’ He also has several rock and roll books in the works.

His wife calls him an idiot savant for his uncanny recall of obscure rock and roll lyrics and trivia.

Good to Great

Now is time for me to showcase a book I have not read but it is on my reading list. This week my choice is Good to Great by Jim Collins.

When I picked up this book off my shelf, I happened to open the pages to the beginning of Chapter 6, subtitled The flywheel and the Doom Loop. There is a image there of a flywheel which portrays a timeline of buildup to breakthrough and discipline of people and action. But this is not what caught my eye. The saying, ” Revolution means turning the wheel”  by Igor Stavinsky did.

Sometimes, it does amaze me how things happen they way they do. I mean how pertinent that the page of Good to Great would up to that saying. It is so relevant to living your dream. You can not start living your dream unless you start somewhere living it. Change can not happen without action.

If each day you take a step toward your dream, you are one step closer at achieving it. But if you don’t do anything, you are still where you are right now-wishing and waiting for the dream to happen.

I look forward to reading this book because each of us can always strive to improve something in our lives.

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of enduring great companies — how they grow, how they attain superior performance, and how good companies can become great companies. Having invested over a decade of research into the topic, Jim has authored or co-authored four books, including the classic BUILT TO LAST, a fixture on the Business Week best seller list for more than six years, and has been translated into 29 languages. His work has been featured in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Harvard Business Review, and Fast Company.

You can pick up your own copy of Good to Great on Amazon.