Mobile app developer Rovio has famously turned its Angry Birds game into a popular toy franchise, but most other new-fangled gaming companies haven’t spent much energy going this route. But now social gaming leader Zynga is, per a big licensing deal with Hasbro. The long-time toy and board game maker is paying Zynga to turn games like FarmVille, CityVille, and its other hit titles into real world products. Details on what this will look like are scant in the press release, so I’m left guessing what this is going to mean. Fluffy pink FarmVille tractors? Lego-style CityVille…
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Most Topular Stories
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Click And Mortar: Zynga Signs Deal With Hasbro For Real-World Toys and Games
TechCrunch9 Feb 2012 | 12:30 pm -
New Backlink Analysis Tool
Daily Blog Tips8 Feb 2012 | 3:56 amSince Yahoo! closed the Site Explorer service bloggers and webmasters (myself included) were left without any solid alternative. I have been looking for similar tools since then, and an interesting one I found recently is called ahrefs.com. It’s a paid service, but there are many free tools you can use on their website as well. For instance, right on the homepage you can type your domain name and click on “Explore Links” to get an overview of how your website is doing. As you can see from the screenshot above you get a lot of data back. For instance, you can see the total… -
Eight Simple Tips for Editing Your Own Work
Write to Done9 Feb 2012 | 12:03 amA guest post by Ali Luke of Aliventures.com One key factor that separates mediocre writers from good ones (and even good from great) is the quality of their editing. If you’re working for a big magazine or publishing house, you’ll have an editor who goes through your work, checks for any clumsy or ambiguous phrasing, and fixes any typos – but if you’re working on your first novel, or publishing posts to a blog, you’re almost certainly going to be on your own. It’s hard to edit your own work. You might end up skipping editing altogether because you hate it – or you might spend… -
Sharpen Your Heels
800 CEO Read8 Feb 2012 | 1:38 pmTweet Mrs. Moneypenny, long-time Financial Times columnist, concludes her book, Sharpen Your Heels: Mrs. Moneypenny’s Career Advice for Women, with this: One more piece of careers advice. A final word to all the ambitious women who will read this book. When you get to the top — and if you follow my advice, you will do so — remember to turn round and reach back to help the generation of women behind you. As Madeleine Albright once said, ‘There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.’ At the risk of ‘giving away the… -
Live LOLCats: Cheezburger Plans Grammy Awards Memes in Real Time
Mashable!9 Feb 2012 | 12:35 pmI Can Has Cheezburger plans to turn the 54th Grammy Awards into a laughing matter by giving viewers an outlet to write funny captions for red carpet and ceremony photos. The “Live LOLing” event starts Sunday at 4 p.m. PT when Cheezburger’s ROFLrazzi site, Twitter profile and Facebook page will begin publishing Grammy images with humorous captions — in lolcat meme format. People can click “Recaption This” to plop their own witty text on the photos. Participants can then share their creations on their social networks. Cheezburger editor in chief Emily Huh…
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TechCrunch
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Click And Mortar: Zynga Signs Deal With Hasbro For Real-World Toys and Games
9 Feb 2012 | 12:30 pmMobile app developer Rovio has famously turned its Angry Birds game into a popular toy franchise, but most other new-fangled gaming companies haven’t spent much energy going this route. But now social gaming leader Zynga is, per a big licensing deal with Hasbro. The long-time toy and board game maker is paying Zynga to turn games like FarmVille, CityVille, and its other hit titles into real world products. Details on what this will look like are scant in the press release, so I’m left guessing what this is going to mean. Fluffy pink FarmVille tractors? Lego-style CityVille… -
Music Labels’ Joint Venture, VEVO, Shows Pirated NFL Game At Sundance
9 Feb 2012 | 12:04 pmOver the last decade the major music labels — and their trade organization, the Recording Industry Association of America — have established a repeated pattern of attacking consumers in the name of squelching illegal file-sharing. Piracy, they claim, has been the industry’s undoing, accounting for an over 50% drop in sales since 1999 (the industry likes to discount the impact of legal per-song music downloads via services like iTunes, and the myriad other changes facilitated by the rise of high-speed Internet connections). Their efforts to combat piracy are often draconian: threatening… -
You Can Buy Me Love, But Please Don’t Buy Me Gadgets
9 Feb 2012 | 11:52 amValentine’s Day is just around the corner, and the majority of us are likely scrambling to find that special gift. (The rest of us, meanwhile, are cursing couples.) A Valentine’s Day gift is usually more important than others because it’s a one-on-one situation, unlike Christmas or birthdays. Just one gift, to just one person — and it better be good. With that in mind, I’d like to address an article out of AllThingsD this morning that sourced information from PriceGrabber’s Valentine’s Day Dashboard Report. The report took information from February 4… -
The Google+ Platform Roadmap From Director Of Engineering David Glazer
9 Feb 2012 | 11:49 amIt won’t stop with Google Search Plus Your World. When asked if we should expect more integrations of Google+ into Google products, G+ director of engineering David Glazer said at today’s Inside Social Apps 2012 conference, ”Yes, where it’s good for the user. I think there’s more places to make people happy by showing them content they care about.” At the first major speaking engagement about its social network, Glazer also discussed user acquisition, monetization, and support for brands. Regarding Google+ expanding into more Google properties,… -
AT&T, Google Among The Biggest Online Advertisers — comScore
9 Feb 2012 | 11:47 amAs part of its 2012 US Digital Future in Focus whitepaper, comScore looked at the online ad landscape and found a mix of old and new names. The report includes a list of the top 10 display advertisers in the United States (all of this data is US-only), as measured by impressions. AT&T topped the list, as it has in previous years, but there’s a newcomer — Google, which delivered 40.4 billion ads for products like Chrome, Google Offers, and Google+. Large brand advertising on the Internet is growing in general, comScore says. To quantify that, it measured the number of advertisers…
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Daily Blog Tips
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New Backlink Analysis Tool
8 Feb 2012 | 3:56 amSince Yahoo! closed the Site Explorer service bloggers and webmasters (myself included) were left without any solid alternative. I have been looking for similar tools since then, and an interesting one I found recently is called ahrefs.com. It’s a paid service, but there are many free tools you can use on their website as well. For instance, right on the homepage you can type your domain name and click on “Explore Links” to get an overview of how your website is doing. As you can see from the screenshot above you get a lot of data back. For instance, you can see the total… -
Come Join the Social Media Club
7 Feb 2012 | 4:37 amBack in 2009 I created two clubs, one called “Retweet Club” and the other one called “Facebook Club”, where members would share each other’s content, with the goal of increasing social media traffic to their blogs and websites. The clubs worked as mailing lists (using Google Groups), but eventually the activity died down. The main reason was the following: sharing wasn’t fair. A member could be selfish and only send requests to the club, without ever sharing the content from other members. A couple of weeks ago I started thinking about what could be a… -
How Many Posts Should You Write Each Week?
5 Feb 2012 | 7:01 pmWhen I started blogging, four years ago, many experts advised posting daily – to increase traffic and keep readers hooked. And many popular blogs do post every day (at least on weekdays). Should you post every day, though? Probably not. Why? Because: If you write two posts each week instead of five (or seven), those posts will be much better written. If you only post once or twice a week, you’ll usually find that you get more comments on each post. If you don’t post too frequently, readers may actually read every post, instead of one in five. If you don’t use up all your ideas in the… -
How Much Does A New Customer Cost?
3 Feb 2012 | 8:28 pmFor someone who is about to start up their own business, whether online or not, this is an essential question to ask. When you sell a product or service you need someone to make a purchase so you can make money. The most important principle in business is that there are two different types of people involved in your business; customers and clients. While both of these may appear at first to be the same they are critically different and concentrating on one over the other can be the difference between success and failure. This concept, what I call the $1 Customer, I teach to clients in order… -
10 Ways to Ensure No-One Will Read Your Content
2 Feb 2012 | 8:44 pmSo many bloggers put tons of time and effort into getting more traffic – but perhaps that sounds like trying way too hard. Your ideas are so awesome, your personality so strong, that readers will just come to you. I’m going to give you ten straightforward ways to make sure the whole world knows you’re not going to pander to your readers. (Oh, and if you would like to have a few more readers – try doing the opposite of everything on this list.) 1. Give Your Post the First Title You Come Up With You’re in a hurry, right? So your post will do just fine with the…
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Write to Done
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Eight Simple Tips for Editing Your Own Work
9 Feb 2012 | 12:03 amA guest post by Ali Luke of Aliventures.com One key factor that separates mediocre writers from good ones (and even good from great) is the quality of their editing. If you’re working for a big magazine or publishing house, you’ll have an editor who goes through your work, checks for any clumsy or ambiguous phrasing, and fixes any typos – but if you’re working on your first novel, or publishing posts to a blog, you’re almost certainly going to be on your own. It’s hard to edit your own work. You might end up skipping editing altogether because you hate it – or you might spend… -
The Biggest Mistake Most Writers Make
6 Feb 2012 | 12:05 amA guest post by Sean Platt of GhostWriterDad.com. Not having a website or blog to call their own is one of the biggest mistakes a modern writer can make. It’s shocking how many writers make it anyway. Perhaps it’s the abundance of free solutions that lull writers into the false belief that they’re building something with long term, sustainable value, when the truth is they own nothing at all. From social media hot spots such as Twitter and Facebook, to Web 2.0 properties like Tumblr and Posterous, writers can easily find free solutions that will allow them to easily hop online and get… -
Know Thyself. 7 Truths About Writers
3 Feb 2012 | 4:07 amA guest post by Joanna Penn from The Creative Penn, one of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers Claiming the word ‘writer’ for yourself can be a big step. You may have been writing all your life but do you actually call yourself a writer? Know Thyself was inscribed on the ancient Greek temple of Apollo at Delphi. People would go there to seek knowledge of the future or to find revelation about themselves. The words were a reminder that the first step to truth is to look inside. Fundamentally, writers write, they put words onto a page or screen. But there are other aspects to writers. Do you… -
A Radical Approach to Launching a Book? Interview with Danny Iny of Firepole Marketing
30 Jan 2012 | 3:19 pmDo you plan to write a book at some point in the future? Writing a book is a big challenge. But there is another hurdle at the end: you have to launch your book. Danny Iny of Firepole Marketing came up with a radical strategy of creating and launching a book when he created Engagement from Scratch. Read about his new strategy in this no-holds-barred interview with Mary Jaksch: Q: How did you come up with the idea for the book, “Engagement from Scratch”? A: It started with my own experience building Firepole Marketing, which I started really working on about a year ago, in… -
Is Your Writing Career Missing This Single Most Crucial Element?
26 Jan 2012 | 4:10 amA guest post by Josh Sarz of Sagoyism I read a story a while back about a farmer who was sowing seeds by hand. He would bring his pouch of seeds, go out and start sowing. The farmer threw the seeds everywhere. At first, one would think that he is losing so much because he throws handfuls of seeds on the ground. To the extremely hungry, those seeds could make a decent meal. Why would he be throwing them away like that? But when you look at the big picture, the farmer really does lose handfuls of seeds, but in time he gains bounties more. I was reminded of this story when I was out fishing with…
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800 CEO Read
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Sharpen Your Heels
8 Feb 2012 | 1:38 pmTweet Mrs. Moneypenny, long-time Financial Times columnist, concludes her book, Sharpen Your Heels: Mrs. Moneypenny’s Career Advice for Women, with this: One more piece of careers advice. A final word to all the ambitious women who will read this book. When you get to the top — and if you follow my advice, you will do so — remember to turn round and reach back to help the generation of women behind you. As Madeleine Albright once said, ‘There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.’ At the risk of ‘giving away the… -
Paper Promises
7 Feb 2012 | 2:43 pmTweetOur economic lives could literally stop on a dime. All it would take is an agreement redefining what a dime is, or is worth, backed by or tied to. It’s happened before, and The Economist‘s “Buttonwood” columnist Philip Coggan believes it will inevitably happen again as the great international play of creditors and debtors enters its next act. Coggan, in his new book Paper Promises: Debt, Money, and the New World Order (released today by PublicAffairs), identifies turning points in the history of economies, nations and international affairs by examining the… -
Business Book Awards Lab
7 Feb 2012 | 9:13 amTweet “Reading leads to more reading. It leaves you hungry and leads you to the ideas, information and inspiration to try something new. As the book of the year, Great By Choice begins: “We cannot predict the future. But we can create it.” – In the Books, 2011 800-CEO-READ has spent the past 28 years helping lead people to ideas that can change the way they think about business. Join us on February 14, 2012 at a very special Translator Lab as we facilitate a conversation about each of the winning books from the 2011 Business Book Awards. You’ll hear lessons and insights from the… -
The Start-Up of You
2 Feb 2012 | 9:36 amTweetIt used to be that there were entrepreneurs, and then the rest of us who were happy to help others achieve their goals and somehow find our own in the process. That’s changed. Many people are pursuing their own business ideas, and catching up on ideas and knowledge to help them run that business. For those that work for others, they too sense that stability is not what it used to be, and might be mentally preparing for the next step – whether they decide to take it, or it’s decided for them. Here’s a book that can help people on either side of the fence. Reid… -
Have a Nice Conflict
1 Feb 2012 | 1:03 pmTweet In a serendipitous turn of events, a copy of Have a Nice Conflict landed on my desk the same day that I happened to watch a current episode of Sesame Street with my son that features Mother Goose and her struggle to write a new rhyme because she had run out of conflicts to inspire her. As with all Sesame Street skits, there is a lesson to be learned. Conflict happens, and while the drama of a good conflict can be sensational (or rhyme-spirational), it’s important to learn how to work through them to maintain good relationships between friends. It struck me that day that while we…
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Mashable!
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Live LOLCats: Cheezburger Plans Grammy Awards Memes in Real Time
9 Feb 2012 | 12:35 pmI Can Has Cheezburger plans to turn the 54th Grammy Awards into a laughing matter by giving viewers an outlet to write funny captions for red carpet and ceremony photos. The “Live LOLing” event starts Sunday at 4 p.m. PT when Cheezburger’s ROFLrazzi site, Twitter profile and Facebook page will begin publishing Grammy images with humorous captions — in lolcat meme format. People can click “Recaption This” to plop their own witty text on the photos. Participants can then share their creations on their social networks. Cheezburger editor in chief Emily Huh… -
Popularity of an Article Can Be Predicted Before It’s Tweeted [VIDEO]
9 Feb 2012 | 12:24 pmHP Labs says it’s possible to know if your tweet will be a dud before you type the 140 characters. Researchers have developed a formula that predicts the number of times a news “article will be tweeted with surprising accuracy.” The researchers predicted tweet popularity with 84% accuracy based on ranking news articles by four criteria. In the new study called “The Pulse of News in Social Media: Forecasting Popularity, HP Labs used a statistical model to rate the popularity of 40,000 news articles published during nine days in August 2011. The statistical model… -
Yahoo’s New Visualization Beautifully Shows What’s Happening on the Web
9 Feb 2012 | 12:00 pmYahoo has launched a new webpage that visualizes what’s happening on the web in near real time — and it’s totally beautiful. The Content Optimization Relevance Engine (C.O.R.E.) HTML5 site hopes to show users the “behind the scenes” process Yahoo uses to match readers with content on their personalized homepage, using technology developed in a Yahoo research lab a few years ago. While Yahoo’s homepage used to be arranged by editors, it now uses an algorithm to match individual user preferences. “We can provide users with insights through the lens of… -
Who Really Invented the Web? Texas Trial Questions Tim Berners-Lee [VIDEO]
9 Feb 2012 | 11:48 amTim Berners-Lee, who is credited with inventing the World Wide Web, testified this week in a Texas courtroom against a company that claims it has a patent on the same technology. The man who claims to have the patent on the “interactive web” is Michael Doyle. His company, Eolas Technologies, has filed suit against many of the world’s biggest Internet companies — including Google and Yahoo — over the case. Doyle’s lawyers say the companies owe him millions in royalty payments for using such common functions as watching online video or search suggestions pop… -
Mass Effect 3 Gets iPad Version with Action-Packed ‘Infiltrator’ [PREVIEW]
9 Feb 2012 | 11:35 amMass Effect 3 is coming to an iPad near you in the form of Mass Effect Infiltrator, an iOS game aimed at expanding the game’s narrative and give players some mobile combat. Infiltrator isn’t a direct port of the latest Mass Effect game. Unlike its big brother, a sci-fi role-playing game known for its first-person shooter gameplay and massive, branching story-lines, Infiltrator is all about fighting. Mashable got a demo of the game played on an iPad and hooked up to a television at an EA showcase. The story follows a soldier called Randall Ezno as he travels the universe tracking…
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SmartBrief on Leadership
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Myanmar rebels dodge bullets, then shoot birdies
9 Feb 2012 | 5:43 amAfter a hard day battling government troops, Myanmar's rebel fighters like to decompress by playing a round or two of golf. -More- Executive Vice President Media Works Ltd. -
Do your workers know when it's OK to unplug?
9 Feb 2012 | 5:43 amIf you e-mail your workers at 4 a.m. -More- -
It's morning in Africa
9 Feb 2012 | 5:43 amAfrica's economy is looking up, writes Ndubuisi Ekekwe. -More- -
3 lessons from the Komen crisis
9 Feb 2012 | 5:43 amThe reaction to the Komen Foundation's decision to defund Planned Parenthood, later reversed, shows the need for leaders to p -More- -
Why leaders should be philosophers
9 Feb 2012 | 5:43 amBusiness leaders should be philosophers, says John Petrucci. -More-
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CEO Blog - Time Leadership
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Brothers Weekend - Solving the Greece Problem
5 Feb 2012 | 4:28 pmI am just back from Brothers' weekend - an Estill brother tradition for 20 plus years. It was a great weekend (although we still miss my brother Mark). I find on brothers' weekends I often laugh more in a short weekend than I do in a month.The weekend was held at my youngest brother, Lyle's house in North Carolina.At first I was honoured to be invited to help solve the Greece problem but when I arrived I found out it was a grease problem (my brother Lyle owns a Biodiesel plant).Busy weekend. I helped Lyle deliver a truckload of biodiesel (well, perhaps not helped but road shotgun). We kayaked… -
The See Do Time Management System
3 Feb 2012 | 3:53 amLately I have been using a slightly different time management technique which I call the "See Do" method. As the word implies, I see it and I do it.This method works great for keeping things clean and tidy. See a spot, wipe it. See something out of place, put it away.In email. I get an email and deal with it. Previously I had often used a 2 minute rule. If I could deal with it in less than 2 minutes I would but leave the longer ones. And during busy times, I would reduce that to a minute or less.The see do method helps reduce stress and that nagging feeling there is something still ahead to… -
YPO in Panama
30 Jan 2012 | 3:06 pmI am just back from a YPO event in Panama. I had never been there. Interesting country.If I were to invest in Latin America (and I do not - lots of business close to home), Panama would be my choice. They have only 3.5 million people and have a canal that delivers $3.6 Billion in revenue which keeps the economy stimulated. And the Billion in profit goes to pay for education and other government services.And Panama signed a neutrality pact which means they cannot have any navy or military so there is no tax to fund that.Only downfall might be the differences in income from lower to upper class… -
Simple Works
24 Jan 2012 | 5:55 amA friend emailed me the following (although as a brevity guy, I slightly edited it):A toothpaste factory had a problem: they sometimes shipped empty boxes, without the tube inside. This was due to the way the production line was set up, and people with experience in designing production lines will tell you how difficult it is to have everything happen with timings so precise that every single unit coming out of it is perfect 100% of the time. Understanding how important that was, the CEO of the toothpaste factory got the top people in the company together and they decided to start a new… -
Management Tips
23 Jan 2012 | 3:53 amWe finally got a bit of snow. It is beautiful. And grandson Josh continues to flourish. He does quite an ab workout (I tried doing it). Lying on his back and kicking his feet and hands. It is tough.I read a neat little book by Harvard Business Review that is just called Management Tips. It is divided into 3 sections - Managing Yourself, Managing Your Team and Managing Your Business. Each page is a short stand alone tip. There are about 200 tips. An example:"Be Confident But Not Really Sure.One of the keys to effective decision making is confidence. Even if you only have temporary convictions,…
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The Recovering Leader
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Effective Team Meetings: Subtracting Bad Behaviors
9 Feb 2012 | 6:27 amIf you’re like most people at work, you probably wish you spent less time in meetings. I remember as a COO, my colleagues and I used to estimate the cost per minute of the aggregate salaries around the table in “leadership team meetings” and wish we could spend the money on something more worthwhile. Yet search the web for “effective meetings” and you get overkill: 9.4 million helpful ideas, along with everyone’s favorite book or article about it. Based on my experience as an executive and coach, I approach it a bit differently. I propose there are seven “faces” or patterns of… -
Self-test: Doing and Being at Your Best at Work
30 Jan 2012 | 2:43 pmAre you doing your best work and happy at work, most days? Here’s a tool I use with some executive clients to self-assess what may be standing in the way of being at their best and happiest at work, and what to do about it. Take a look at the graphic below and place yourself in the square that reflects the level of work you are doing, and how happy you are most days at work. Find your “number” and read the corresponding self-coaching suggestions, below. Square One: Definitely time for a change You know, or have known for a while that you need to make a change. What will help you do… -
Three Key Principles of Believe-In-You Leadership
11 Jan 2012 | 8:34 pmNever has there been a more important time for leaders of organizations, communities, and governments to believe in their people—for each of us to believe in each other. That’s the world I want to live in, and the organization I want to do business with. Yet it's in major short supply. People in organizations and communities around the world are yearning to do their best work. What's getting in the way? They simply can’t be at their best when operating with fear, amplified by their leader’s directives, advice, withholding, stoicism and skepticism—by being discounted or treated as… -
Recovering Our Leadership: Seven Intentions for 2012
2 Jan 2012 | 10:08 amHappy New Year! While no one knows what 2012 has up its sleeve, based on my own post-executive experience working with leaders across industries over the last eight years, no one doubts it’s time for a positive “pivot.” My hope is that will include a new sense of executive responsibility when it comes to humanism, collectivism, and capitalism with care for ethics and fairness. This, I believe, is the net / net of what protestors are saying, and it will continue to grow in resonance. Along those lines, and in keeping with my commitment to practice principles of recovery in all my… -
Leadership and Resetting a Tough Day
28 Nov 2011 | 2:46 pmThe best of the best athletes, scientists, soloist musicians, and executives alike can find themselves dwelling on a snag or difficult situation, as if getting taken hostage by it. If left unchecked, it can get in the way of what could be a good day. Whether you've had something (or someone) turn your day upside down, are stymied by a problem, or feeling overwhelmed, noticing it in real time is key. Once you see you're stuck in an unwanted "loop," you'll need to step away from it to solve it rapidly. As soon as possible, get up and walk out on whatever you're doing for a ten-minute break (and…
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Seth's Blog
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The Weird interview
9 Feb 2012 | 12:06 pmTo celebrate the launch of Squidoo's new UpMarket magazine, we got permission to post an audio interview I recently did with Darren Hardy of Success. You can find it here. Thanks for listening. -
Inaccurate labels and why we need them (and need to improve them)
9 Feb 2012 | 2:46 amIf I tell you, "I'm going to the baseball game," it seems as though you're likely to understand what I mean. Of course, you won't. When George Will goes to a baseball game, it's a religious experience. Me, I don't even like baseball. Or maybe it's my nephew's ball game (the playoffs), or maybe going to the game causes me to miss an important event, and on and on. We label the experience with just two words, and two words can't possibly capture the emotions and circumstance surrounding an event. The same thing is true with brands. If I tell you that a new business was funded by USV, that might… -
How do they know you're not a flake?
8 Feb 2012 | 2:43 amBefore your link gets clicked or your proposal gets read, a busy person is going to triage it to find out if it's even worth glancing at. Since everyone is now connected, the new permeability has created a deluge of noise, and just about everyone worth contacting is taking defensive measures. Do I know this person? Did someone I trust send them over? Where does she work? (Ideo? the FDA? The New York Times?) Has she won an award? Is she famous? Are there typos and is the design sloppy? Are they pestering me? Do I already follow this person online? Does music play when I visit the website? Will… -
Horizontal marketing isn't a new idea
7 Feb 2012 | 2:09 amBut it is the new reality for just about every organization. Vertical marketing means the marketer (the one with money) is in charge. Vertical marketing starts at the top and involves running ads, sending out direct mail and pushing hype through the media. Your money, your plans, your control. It might not work, but generally the worst outcome is that you will be ignored and need to spend more money. Horizonal marketing, on the other hand, means creating a remarkable product and story and setting it up to spread from person to person. It's out of your control, because all the interactions are… -
Who is your customer?
6 Feb 2012 | 2:26 amRule one: You can build a business on the foundation of great customer service. Rule two: The only way to do great customer service is to treat different customers differently. The question: Who is your customer? It's not obvious. Zappos is a classic customer service company, and their customer is the person who buys the shoes. Nike, on the other hand, doesn't care very much at all about the people who buy the shoes, or even the retailers. They care about the athletes (often famous) that wear the shoes, sometimes for money. They name buildings after these athletes, court them, erect…
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The Tom Peters Weblog
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Off the Cuff #2
7 Feb 2012 | 8:17 amOur Off the Cuff video series is a direct response from Tom to your questions. This is the second video in the series, which poses the question, "What is the greatest piece of advice you ever received that has made you a better writer or communicator?" It's a terrific question for Tom, and he discusses not only writing influences, but touches on public speaking as well. Don't miss the Dan Pink technique at the end; it may feel excruciating in practice, but there's no denying the improvement gained. -
TLBT Video #73Strategy: Measure Innovation
3 Feb 2012 | 8:46 amWe've posted the latest video in The Little BIG Things series on YouTube. Do you think it's impossible to measure innovation? In this video, Tom offers a brilliantly simple, easy-to-implement method for ensuring that a good portion of your work meets the mark on innovation. You can find the video in the right-hand column of this page or watch it at YouTube (time: 2 minutes 3 seconds). Or, get a PDF transcript of the video's content: Strategy: Measure Innovation. -
MOAP #4
30 Jan 2012 | 7:53 amThe latest installment of Tom's "Mother of All Presentations," or MOAP, is now available at ExcellenceNow.com. You can download the PowerPoint version or a PDF. We'll be releasing a section every other week throughout 2012. Part 4 introduces Tom's conviction that encouraging your people to make friends in other functions of the organization should be a top priority. Tom says you should reward such behavior, make it an agenda item. Download Part 4 of Tom's Mother of All Presentations, and learn how and why cross-functional socialization (read, idea-sharing) is essential to business excellence. -
Race to Nowhere
27 Jan 2012 | 4:51 amTom has said, "We tell our kids to 'be still,' then tell them to 'read history books'—which are replete (100%!) with tales of people ... who never sat still." This is obviously not the ideal way to cultivate a talented workforce. The education system in the United States still seems to be attempting to churn out well-behaved factory workers. With the enormous pressure placed on teachers to produce sufficient test results, the classroom becomes more about test preparation than exploration and discovery. Albert Einstein, long since deceased, had this to say: "It is nothing short of a… -
Advice, For What It's Worth ...
25 Jan 2012 | 7:20 amI was asked to contribute (a very few words) to a family page offering words of wisdom to a graduating high school senior. That's a serious challenge—and I literally spent days on the task. Here, for better or for worse, is the result: Rules For Living Life to the Hilt Nothing will turn out the way you thought it would. There is no bigger waste of time than making plans. Any success you have will be the byproduct of having thrown yourself headlong and without reserve into what you were most passionate about—and then ridden the wave you created wherever and at whatever speed it…
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Management-Issues
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Why have a meeting?
9 Feb 2012 | 12:00 amWhy have a meeting? The answer depends where you're from. We might think the purpose of a meeting is obvious – but many cultures around the world take a very a different view. -
Newsletter, Dec 01 2011
7 Feb 2012 | 12:00 amViewed from Australia, the Eurozone's slow-motion train wreak might be half a world away, but what it tells us about leadership (or the lack of it) has a universal resonance. -
Blowing smoke
7 Feb 2012 | 12:00 amSoon you might get fired eating too many Krispy Kreme donuts. Why? To save on health care costs, your company has instituted a policy that allows them to fire overweight people. OK, so this is fictional for now - but for how much longer? -
Ten habits of bad management
6 Feb 2012 | 12:00 amIf you're looking to run a High-Performance Organization, you need to be able to be able to recognize the signs of bad management. Here are ten classic bad habits to look out for that you ought never to put up with: -
Let your team tell you what they need
6 Feb 2012 | 12:00 amWe all understand the need to keep in touch and share as much information in as many ways as possible. Yet we often resist or ignore the technology that allows us to do exactly that. What gives?
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Management and Career » Stanley Bing
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Best Companies: The quiz
8 Feb 2012 | 2:00 amDoes your employer belong in the pantheon? Could it be that the answer depends on where you stand? By Stanley Bing FORTUNE -- We've done our best to identify corporations that are a pleasure to work for. But we couldn't possibly list them all. Maybe your company, too, is a party on a half shell! Take this quiz and find out. When I go to work in the morning, I ... A. Smile a little secret smile to myself. B. Do a crossword puzzle on the train. C. Have a sphincter the size of a pinhead. The clothing I am expected to wear to work ... A. Is a badge of honor. I wear it to sleep. B. Is a uniform. -
A look back from 2022
18 Jan 2012 | 2:00 amRemember the old days, before we had even moved government into the Cloud? How did we get anything done? FORTUNE -- Happy 2022! No, that's not a typo, although it sure seems like it could be. 2022! For a while there it didn't look like we were going to make it, did it? But I think it's fair to say that with the destruction of the last fleet of Nebulons and the refreezing of the polar icecaps, we can relax for a moment to reflect on the events and people that got us here. I guess you'd have to say that the current chapter of our history started about 10 years ago, back in 2012, with the… -
All I want for Christmas
28 Dec 2011 | 10:36 amI don't ask for much. A stable euro. An economic recovery. A new Congress. And a Vitamix. FORTUNE -- Dear Santa Hi again. It's me, Stan. How is Mrs. Claus? And the elves? Still on leave from Wharton? How about the North Pole? I hear it's melting. That can't be good. Anyhow, enough about you. This is about me, and all the good things I want to find under my tree this year. I know you've been following me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Google+, so you know when I was sleeping, you know when I was awake, you know when I've been bad and good and that for the most part I've been better… -
Europe, go home!
7 Dec 2011 | 2:00 amWhatever you've got, it's obviously contagious. So until you're feeling better, hasta la vista, baby! FORTUNE -- So I came into work this morning, and before I even had a chance to butter my muffin, I watched our stock take a nosedive. And we weren't alone. The whole market was bleeding. "Drat," I said, although that was not the word I used. I called Tupper, our IR guy. "What's up?" I asked. "Not much," he said wearily. "It's a sea of red out there." "But why?" I inquired. "Our earnings were good. The marketplace is hanging in there. Nothing is different today than it was yesterday." And he… -
The peasants are revolting!
16 Nov 2011 | 2:00 amWhat plutocrats can do to take Wall Street back from the occupiers FORTUNE -- Order! Order! All right then. This meeting of the Ultra-Secret Super Committee to Defeat the Wall Street Occupation is now in session. And let me just say how nice it feels to be back together after the hiatus of the past several years. Let's not let our agendas lapse that way ever again, gentlemen. It's too much fun when we get things done. First, I'd like to congratulate the Subcommittee for the Harvesting of Pointless Distractions, which has been so successful in combing through the crowd at Zuccotti Park to…
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Lead on Purpose
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Managing conflict
4 Feb 2012 | 9:59 am“In a environment that is often fearful and ego-driven, she created a space where people could give up their worries and thrive.” The word ‘conflict’ is used in so many ways that I’m conflicted as I try to make sense of it (ok, that was a ‘tongue-in-cheek for my good friend Jim Holland). For purposes of this post, ‘conflict’ is a mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes or demands. It’s manifest in both internal and external ways; internal conflicts based on our beliefs and ethics, and external conflicts between individuals, groups or… -
Guest Post: 7 Key Elements To Building A High Performance Team and Organization
28 Jan 2012 | 8:28 amBy John C. Stevens Managers and executives, who are trying to improve the performance of their teams, are actively helping to improve the overall performance of their organization. Wondering what you can do to boost your team’s engagement and output? Keep in mind these key elements of performance management: Image Source: Guillermo Camargo Leadership. In order to get a group performing effectively, you need a leader who thinks and communicates clearly. An effective leader is one who has a clear vision of his or her team’s purpose and can effectively communicate that vision to the members… -
Leadership and integrity
21 Jan 2012 | 9:34 amIntegrity is one of the top attributes of a great leader. It is a concept of consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcomes. It connotes a deep commitment to do the right thing for the right reason, regardless of the circumstances. People who live with integrity are incorruptible and incapable of breaking the trust of those who have confided in them. Every human is born with a conscience and therefore the ability to know right from wrong. Choosing the right, regardless of the consequence, is the hallmark of integrity. In his recent post 10 Mistakes… -
Making tough decisions
14 Jan 2012 | 10:37 amMaking big decision is not easy; in fact it might be one of the most difficult things we ever have to do. The tendency is to postpone decisions as long as we can and put of the pain. At its root the word of decision means to cut off. When you make a decision you go with one thing and leave all the rest behind. Cutting yourself off from other choices is not easy, and that’s at the root of why we tend to put off big decisions. We postpone decisions for various reasons: we don’t want to offend people; we’re not sure who or what to choose; we’re afraid we’ll be wrong… -
Tenacity in 2012
31 Dec 2011 | 11:57 amSuccessful people share several common traits; tenacity is at the top. Merriam-Webster defines tenacious as “persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired.” Think about your favorite athlete, actor, business leader, or other successful person and you’re sure to find tenacity as one of their defining characteristics. Tenacity fuels persistence. Persistence is analogous to running a marathon. To run a successful marathon you have to spend ample time (months or more) preparing. The time you spend, and what you do leading up to the race, will determine how…
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Coaching Tip: The Leadership Blog
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Take Control of How Others See You
9 Feb 2012 | 11:55 amYou are being perceived, either positively or negatively, every day of your life. Others are constantly viewing and making judgments of you. The impact of this perception can happen quickly; it takes only a few seconds to form an opinion. Even though you don't have control of how others view you, you do have control over your actions, which can substantially affect others' perceptions. This is "the power of thinking without thinking," as Malcolm Gladwell describes subconscious mental processes in his bestseller Blink. You can't influence… -
Brand Ideals Drive Performance
7 Feb 2012 | 12:10 pmThink about what and how you buy in your business and personal life. Whether it's household products or enterprise software services, what ultimately determines why you buy from one company rather than another? It's their brand's image and reputation along with the relationships you have with them. A brand is simply the collective intent of the people behind it, a brand defines who you are and what you stand for as a business to everyone the business touches, from employees to end consumers. If you want great business results, you and your brand have to stand… -
Leading Synergistically
6 Feb 2012 | 9:43 amIf you're involved with any group of people who are trying to achieve common goals, you soon become acutely aware that those goals will be achieved only through the work of the people in the group. Yes, all work is done through relationships and wisely managing these relationship is critical to your team, group, division, company and community. Put simply, organizations don't succeed in and of themselves. They succeed only through individuals working in groups or teams. The synergistically-oriented leader observes the team interactions from an elevated level, watching… -
Work Together or Fail Alone
3 Feb 2012 | 7:24 amJonah Lehrer's article, "GroupThink" in The New Yorker, January 30, 2012 states that brainstorming seems like an ideal technique, a feel-good way to boost productivity. But there is a problem with brainstorming. It doesn't work. Scientific advances have lead to a situation where all the remaining problems are incredibly hard. Researchers are forced to become increasingly specialized, because there's only so much information one mind can handle. And they have to collaborate, because the most interesting mysteries lie at the intersection of disciplines. "A… -
Credit Crisis: Are We Set for the Perfect Storm?
26 Jan 2012 | 10:18 amIn this video clip, taken from Robert Prechter's interview with The Mind of Money, Prechter and host Douglass Lodmell discuss "real" money vs the FIAT money system, and what is backing your dollars under our current system. Enjoy this 4-minute clip and then watch Prechter's full 45-minute interview here >> Watch the full 45-minute interview FREE Get even more valuable insights as Mind of Money host Douglass Lodmell interviews Elliott Wave International's President, Robert Prechter, about how to keep your money safe, the deflation versus inflation debate, and…
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Management Excellence
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Lessons in Management Innovation from Main Street
8 Feb 2012 | 10:01 amDuring the past few years, I’ve marveled at the start-ups and small to mid-sized businesses in my community who didn’t need an army of consultants or MBAs to teach them the very relevant and important lessons that Reeves and Deimler share in their recent Harvard Business Review article, "Adaptability-The New Competitive Advantage." -
Leadership Caffeine: Teach Your Team Smart(er) Decision Processes
6 Feb 2012 | 6:29 amNothing happens without a decision. Nothing good happens without the right decision. And, in case you doubt the need to focus on making better decisions, spend some time skimming the news. If you’ve kept up with your health and fitness resolutions thus far this year, you know that even minor adjustments in diet and exercise pay big dividends. The same goes for our individual and group decision-making approaches. Here are 5 key questions and suggestions for strengthening your team's decision-making processes. -
Leadership Caffeine at Information Management and New Newsletter Resource
2 Feb 2012 | 6:10 amTwo news items here at Management Excellence: First, as of February 1, 2012, the good folks at Information Management are kindly syndicating selected posts from my blog at their resource rich website: info-mgmt.com under my name and the Leadership Caffeine label. And second, I'm pleased to announce the launch of a new resource to support your professional development...the Leadership Caffeine Newsletter. -
No One Asked My Opinion…But $100 Billion for What?
1 Feb 2012 | 6:29 amAs of this writing, the world is abuzz with the expected Facebook IPO. The number $100 billion is being floated and passed around (probably by those who stand to benefit from a big IPO), and whether real or wild speculation, that’s a number that gives one cause to pause. This is beginning to feel like Déjà vu all over again (thanks, Yogi Berra), much like that fascinating period in the late ‘90’s when stratospheric valuations were applied to firms that had no products, no earnings and sometimes no revenues. -
Leadership Caffeine: Change or Learn to Say, “Would You Like Fries with That?”
29 Jan 2012 | 12:34 pmMuch of the pablum that is passed off for guidance on leading others ignores the reality that the context in which we lead has changed from just a few years ago, and it continues to change faster than any of us can truly understand. While it’s a bit disheartening to realize that those of us with much time under our belts and more than a few laps around the block of life are vestiges of a bygone business era, we are. That doesn’t mean we can’t be relevant, but first, we have to understand and accept some of the important contextual changes in our world of business:
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Sanders Says
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Rehearse Before You Create
9 Feb 2012 | 10:13 amOn Tuesday, I spoke to a group of creatives in Nashville (Twitter Stream). One point that stuck with them was this simple thought, a quote from fellow creative David Lynch: "It takes four hours to get one hour of creative work done." After my talk, a great deal of the Q/A explored that mind blowing observation. Why does it take so long, distraction? Nope. Editing? Nope, that's not part of creation. I recollected my application of this idea when writing Today We Are Rich. After studying Lynch, I discovered one of his secret weapons: Rehearsing the act… -
Always Build Culture (the ABC of effective organizations)
30 Jan 2012 | 10:07 amLast year, a conference attendee asked Tony Hsieh (founder of Zappos) what he'd do differently, if he knew then what he knows now. "Build culture from Day One," was his thoughtful and profound reply. Not technology, partners, product lines, marketing - culture building! In his book, Delivering Happiness, he described several ways he and his team cobbled together a customer-obsessed culture ... including offering new-hires thousands of dollars to quit at the end of the customer-mania training program. But his point: You need to build culture starting the minute you… -
Focus Your Attention When It Is Go-Time
20 Jan 2012 | 5:47 amIt's 5:32 AM and this is the last thing I'm doing before I'm on Go-Time-Lockdown. Today I have a speaking engagement for UMEC in Phoenix. It's a return engagement for a group of great people that support my work and practice what I preach as leaders. There is nothing more important today than this talk - and the takeaway value it should deliver to the audience. In our culture, we have one area of over-confidence that holds us back: The Myopia Of Can-Juggle. We think we can do several things at once well. But the reality is that we can't. If I get… -
Sitting Is The New Smoking
10 Jan 2012 | 3:11 pmThe above image is taken from a great infographic on Techcrunch. It's message is simple: The more you sit, the worse you'll feel. Recent studies suggest that of all of our bad contemporary habits, sitting all day is a killer. With the rise of the information age, more of us earn a living sitting down, working on computers. Our parents were more likely to sit less than a quarter as much as us and their parents more even less sedentary. So why isn't this post titled, "Cube Farms Are The New Coal Mines" ??? Because sitting all day is your choice, not your… -
Best Business Books Of 2011
4 Jan 2012 | 10:15 amHere's a six pack of 2011 releases that represent the year's best business books: The Master Switch: The Rise And Fall Of Information Empires by Timothy Wu. This read is gripping as a biz-book like The Social Network was interesting as a movie. Wu chronicles the rise of AT&T, it's demise, then later monopolies leading up to Google. Very provocative, and good food for our understanding of how things work in the free market now - and into the future. Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge From Small Discoveries by Peter Sims This new book…
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IMD Business School - Tomorrow's Challenges Articles
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CHINA IS NOT AN OPTION; IT'S AN IMPERATIVE
31 Jan 2012 | 4:59 amIMD - China Power - As The Economist launches a special weekly section on China, IMD Professor Jean-Pierre Lehmann reflects on the country’s rising global power. -
THE END OF THE CHINESE DREAM?
31 Jan 2012 | 4:25 amIMD - Economic Challenges - Property bubble, overcapacity in manufacturing, inflation and rising labor costs. After 30 years of steady growth, is China's economic dream turning into a nightmare? -
THE FUTILE SUN WARS
27 Jan 2012 | 6:39 amIMD - Solar Energy - Ten, twenty years ago, solar power was considered a distant dream. Today, the dream is fast becoming reality. -
NETWORKING AS AN ENTREPRENEUR
25 Jan 2012 | 5:34 amIMD - Networking - How do you define success for your start-up? And what are your networking objectives? IMD Executive Director Jim Pulcrano has some observations and warnings for Swiss entrepreneurs. -
IT'S NOT ALL THAT BAD
19 Jan 2012 | 8:59 amIMD - Layoffs - Can being laid off actually improve overall health and well-being? Does it irrevocably damage their self-esteem? IMD Professor Suzanne de Janasz sheds light on a business landscape dark in unemployment.
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Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
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310 GG Stationary, Stationery, Complement, and Compliment
2 Feb 2012 | 8:48 pmMemory tricks! -
111 GG Everybody Wants Some
27 Jan 2012 | 9:48 pmIndefinite pronouns. The Grammar Girl print book is now available on Amazon.com! http://tinyurl.com/2pkej7 -
307 GG Omitting "That"
19 Jan 2012 | 8:48 pmWhen you can and when you can't -
306 GG "The Night Circus": Well Done Second Person Narrative
12 Jan 2012 | 8:48 pmDid you know there are three kinds of second person? -
305 GG Where Did the @ Symbol Come From?
5 Jan 2012 | 8:48 pmWhy does it look like a snail?
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Get Paid to Write Online
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It’s Time To Increase Your Freelance Writing Rates – Part 2
8 Feb 2012 | 12:03 pmLast week, I started this two part series on increasing your freelance writing rates by explaining the first two steps in my three step process – reviewing your existing rates and being able to justify an increase. At the end of any rate increase, you should always end up smiling Today, I’m going to explain what I do after I’ve reviewed my existing rates to confirm I actually need to increase them and feel confident that I can justify a raise with both my existing clients and potential new clients. 3. Increase your rates confidently Although this section of the three step… -
8 Types of Blog Posts to Get Out of a Blogging Rut
6 Feb 2012 | 3:59 amby Lior Levin Every blogger, at some point in their writing career, gets a little stumped when it comes to finding something great to write about. In the beginning, ideas are flowing like crazy. But at some point, between wanting to be completely original and yet wanting to drive tons of traffic to the blog, many bloggers find themselves slowly but steadily running out of steam. This is where content planning comes in. I admit that planning out every post for the next year seems incredibly difficult, but content planning doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to come up with all of the… -
The 3 Things You Must Have To Start A Freelance Writing Business
3 Feb 2012 | 2:43 amI’m so pleased to welcome Anne Wayman as a guest poster on Get Paid to Write Online, since I’ve been following her writing blog for years. Today she shares her views on must-haves for a successful freelance writing business. Don't panic about your freelance writing business - show some moxie instead. Ask a dozen people, or do a search on the ‘net, about what you need to start a freelance writing business and you’re likely to end up with a list as long as someone’s proverbial arm. Online you’ll be told about something called the entrepreneur’s… -
It’s Time To Increase Your Freelance Writing Rates – Part 1
1 Feb 2012 | 5:00 amFor most new freelance writers, writing rates are arguably the most complicated and frustrating part of their new career, for a variety of reasons. Increasing your freelance writing rates can be difficult, but it's an important part of your continual development Thinking back to when I first started freelancing, the primary reasons why it was such a headache topic for me were firstly because I had absolutely no idea what a ‘good’ per word / article rate was and secondly because I was, without sounding a little melodramatic, petrified that if I ever increased my rates, all of… -
3 Lessons from My (Initial) Failure with Writing Hotel Copy
27 Jan 2012 | 3:25 amAs easy as writing sales copy might seem – let’s face it, it’s what we do every day and we are supposed to know how to get it right (within reason) – I recently got reminded that things are not always that easy for us, the craftsmen of words. Up until early last year I hadn’t written a single word for a hotel. Sure, I had some knowledge about hotel sales copy but it came mostly from studying hotel websites while booking our holidays and playing smart alec, thinking I could write it better. Real life likes to play tricks on us and my writing skills and confidence…
