Karen Howell-Rice, Cabinet Design Consultant

503.358.3048

Remodel2Day@gmail.com

Karen Howell-Rice, Marketing Assistant/Business Development Specialist

NW Mortgage Group

347 NE Hood St

Gresham, OR 97030

503.358.3048

karenh@nwmortgagegroup.com

Leaders in all fields-business, medicine, law, government-make crucial decisions every day. The harsh truth is that they mismanage many of those choices, even though they have the right intentions. These blunders take a huge toll on leaders, their organizations, and the people they serve.

Why is it so hard to make sound decisions? We fall victim to simplified mental routines that prevent us from coping with the complex realities inherent in important judgment calls. Yet these cognitive errors are preventable. In Think Twice, Michael Mauboussin shows you how to recognize-and avoid-common mental missteps, including: -Misunderstanding cause-and-effect linkages -Aggregating micro-level behavior to predict macro-level behavior -Not considering enough alternative possibilities in making a decision -Relying too much on experts Sharing vivid stories from business and beyond, Mauboussin offers powerful rules for avoiding each error. And he explains how to know when it’s time to think twice-to question your reasoning and adopt decision-making strategies that are far more effective, even if they seem counterintuitive. Master the art of thinking twice, and you’ll start spotting dangerous mental errors-in your own decisions and in those of others. Equipped with this awareness, you’ll soon begin making sounder judgment calls that benefit (rather than hurt) your organization.

The traditional marketing model (Outbound) relied on you actively pursuing customer or followers. Big companies spent big bucks on this model and it mostly worked but not anymore — Social Media has changed the game.

For most businesses, Outbound Marketing is a nonstarter — not only is it unaffordable; the results are mediocre, boarding on dismal.  Explaining Inbound Marketing can be confusing.

Luckily, a new book sheds some light on the concept and how your business can benefit from it. It’s called Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs. It’s a quick read and well worth it.

The nice thing about this book is that it gives you examples (via the Inbound In Action) that demonstrate how Inbound Marketing works. These case studies reinforce the concepts and are relevant.

The other nice feature is the To Do lists that follow the cast studies. It’s always nice to have some simple, actionable items to go off and perform once you have learned a concept.

The end of the book also has “Tips from the Trenches for Startups” that has 26 things you can do today to improve your businesses Inbound Marketing.

The concept of being “remarkable” is a common thread throughout the book and it captures the essence of Inbound Marketing. Being “remarkable” means that you generate quality content that others want to comment and share.

Quality content is the key. Without that, the rest of your Inbound Marketing actions will fizzle. Quality content also means that your personality shines through in your content and that you are authentically interacting with your community, which means services that auto generate content are not really worth it.

CRUSH IT! by Gary Vaynerchuk is the social media guru’s step-by-step guide for the public’s curiosity with this whole thing called social media marketing.

Published by Harper Studios, Vaynerchuk tells the reader how he came to form his multi-million dollar enterprise and how they can do it too for virtually zero cost. He also tells the reader how they can turn their passion, whatever that may be, into an empire utilizing the internet.

Vaynerchuk, who has appeared on such shows at The Today Show andConan O’Brien became best known for his online television show called, Wine Library TV. His outgoing personality has been called everything from “obnoxious” to “brilliant”. However, one thing is for certain, this man knows what he’s talking about.

Twitterville is a book with a collection of anecdotes and stories about businesses using the social media site Twitter.

One of the best things about this book is how the author, Shel Israel, captures the people and companies that make Twitter such an addicting phenomenon.

While reading the book you begin to feel as if Twitter is a place — a small town perhaps — where you know many of the people.  It’s a place where they may know you, too, or at least know your name.  And you feel welcome … and at home.

That’s why the name “Twitterville” is so apt.

The subtitle of the book is “How Businesses Can Thrive in the New Global Neighborhoods.”  It is a business book.  But if you are expecting a how-to book for businesses, telling you step by step what to do on Twitter — that’s not this book.

Twitterville is a rich compilation of stories, examples and anecdotes.  It’s thorough in covering the culture and key events in Twitter’s short 3-year history.  I doubt that anyone has explained Twitter inside and out the way Shel Israel does, from a business perspective.

He starts with a short history of Twitter itself, which although just 15 pages, should not be skipped.  It sets the stage for subsequent chapters, which take you through Twitter’s “coming out party.”  You learn important tidbits that explain how Twitter became so popular so quickly.  This is essential to help you understand what Twitter is all about.

Have you ever wondered how Chris Brogan became Chris Brogan (outside of Chris’ parents conceiving him and birthing him)?  This book will give you the system that Chris has used (and perhaps Julien as well…I’m not that familiar with Julien’s background and experiences) to build up his community.

In addition to outlining the tools & a systems, this book does a wonderful job of explaining why trust is so important today (hint…it’s because we are all human).  The world today is full of marketers, pitchmen (and women), scammers and con artists and the ability of these folks to reach new people is magnified with the use of the Internet.   Building trust is key for any person or organization to be able to break through the noise of spam and scams to build up their community.

Any company in the world can benefit greatly from the information presented in this book. Companies today must provide much more intimate messages to their communities….the blast messaging of the past no longer works.   Chris & Julien sum this up beautifully with a passage on page 259:

Brands will need to earn a place in our heads with a sense of personal intimacy as well as the consistent messaging they’ve been using to get us to trust them.

Good stuff. This one sentence sums up the entire reason for organizations and people to read this book and practice the art & science of the Trust Agent.

At the end of the day, this book isn’t about the tools and systems that you can use…it’s a treatise on being human.  Treat people well, help them without expecting something in return and give back to the community at large.  Do this and you’ll become a Trust Agent.

Think Bigger  About Who You Are. And What You Offer the World.

Stand for something and make a life statement.  Do not go quietly into the night, Expand and utilize your potential. The play-it-safe, don’t disturb the status quo, sometimes cynical and silenced society that, more often than not, does not encourage self success.

Michael Port, bestselling author and creator of ThinkBigRevolution.com, knows it’s not always easy to think big. But big thinking must happen now; today, tomorrow, and forevermore.

At this very moment, you are the change you want to see in the world—should you choose to accept personal responsibility. Devour every word of The Think Big Manifesto. It is the handbook to your personal revolution.

You are more than you know. And you can do more with less than you think…

This book, and life, is not a conceptual, theoretical experiment in how to do big things. No, this is just what you need if you’re on, or want to be on, the path to doing big things and are willing to invest in your future.

Join or incite a worldwide revolution that inspires others to follow. All it takes is one big thought and the revolution is unleashed. One thought, one person at a time, quickly followed by another—soon big thinking becomes the norm. Your big thoughts enable you to achieve greatness, be remarkable, and create a better world.

Are you a member of the Think Big Revolution? If so, this is your Manifesto.

The recent situations in the whole world have concerned so many people. The economy crashes, the incapable governments, some businesses failures, and much incapability of leaders surely brought some concern of so many people. According to their experiences, Roger Connors and Tom Smith have written a book that according to them could be good enough as a guidance to find the better solution for the world.

They simply don’t talk about any other things but the: how to create more capable and accountable people that surely might have several benefits to the world. Based on their research on several most admired companies, they have proven that something that determine a great achievement of a company isn’t only about the management, infrastructure and any other things, but simply determined by the level of the organizational accountability of the CEO or the managers.

So, they suggest in the “How did that happen?” several ways to make the things better for the company. They present the Accountability Sequence. It uses two approaches. The first is the Outer ring which refers to the how to establish some expectation and connection with everyone. The second approach is how to manage the UN-synchronize expectation to achieve the positive results.

A fascinating, research-based look at the impact of social media on businesses and consumers around the world, and what’s in store for the future.

Social Media. You’ve heard the term, even if you don’t use the tools. But just how big has social media become? Social media has officially surpassed pornography as the top activity on the Internet. People would rather give up their e-mail than their social network. It is so powerful that it is causing a macro shift in the way we live and conduct business.

Brands can now be strengthened or destroyed by the use of social media. Online networking sites are being used as giant, free focus groups. Advertising is less effective at influencing consumers than the opinions of their peers. If you aren’t using social media in your business strategy, you are already behind your competition.

• Explores how the concept of “Socialnomics” is changing the way businesses produce, market, and sell, eliminating inefficient marketing and middlemen, and making products easier and cheaper for consumers to obtain
• Learn how successful businesses are connecting with consumers like never before via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media sites
• A must-read for anyone wanting to learn about, and harness the power of social media, rather than be squashed by it
• Author Erik Qualman is a former online marketer for several Top 100 brands and the current Global Vice President of Online Marketing for the world’s largest private education firm

Socialnomics is essential book for anyone who wants to understand the implications of social media, and how businesses can tap the power ofsocial media to increase their sales, cut their marketing costs, and reach consumers directly.