"...keeping you great"
HEADLINES:
Photo Request -- did you have your picture taken with one of the keynote speakers at the Fortune Sales & Marketing Summit? We would love to have a copy to post on our website (and we'll link back to your website). Please send with your name, title, and company name.
The Myth of the Daredevil Entrepreneur -- I missed Malcolm Gladwell's (Tipping Point fame) insightful Jan 18 New Yorker article entitled "The Sure Thing (How Entrepreneurs Really Succeed)". Notes Stephen Adele, CEO of iSatori, "Gladwell uncovers the fact that discipline vs. luck, risk, or daredevil tactics, makes for a successful entrepreneur." In the article Gladwell tells the inside story of "The Greatest Trade Ever" and makes a strong case that highly successful entrepreneurs obsess over minimizing the downside while going after opportunities that provide a huge upside. In other words, the best entrepreneurs are risk averse. Take 10 minutes and read this article -- then plan for the oversized transaction that propels you to prominence.
Why Amish Businesses Have a 95% Success Rate -- hard work, staying lean, and remaining focused on what they do best. There are 9000 Amish businesses in the U.S. and the guy that's researched them more than anyone else is Erik Wesner. He's the author of a new book Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive. For a quick overview, read this CNN/Money article.
Welcome to rUSsiA -- another nightmare as been discovered buried in the U.S. Healthcare Reform Bill. Starting in 2012 a 1099 form must be filed for ALL payments over $600 made to any person, company, organization, restaurant, or corporation -- the IRS wants to track every expenditure you make! This means billions of forms will need to be tracked and filed by small businesses (and we'll pay for these billions of forms to be reviewed by government employees).
Russian Nightmare -- the entrepreneurs I met in Russia explained how they employ an extra 1 - 3 accountants just to complete all the paperwork required by the government. And they spend an hour each day just signing a pile of forms sometimes a foot thick. This, in turn, gives government employees, jealous of the "rich" business people, a reason to blackmail funds from the entrepreneurs. I heard horror story after horror story (and similar stories in the U.S.!). As a result, there are only 16 Russian EO members in all of Russia because most entrepreneurs want to stay hidden from their government. BTW, it seems women intuitively know where it's corrupt. The Russian population is expected to fall by 25% because women are reluctant to bring children into such a corrupt society.
Show at Your Weekly Sales Meeting -- here's a 2 minute interview I did with Jeff Thull (tool), author of Mastering the Complex Sale. He succinctly explains the differences between sales era's 1, 2, and 3.
Show at Your Weekly Marketing Meeting -- here's a 3 minute interview I did with Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot and author of Inbound Marketing. He discusses the fundamentals of inbound marketing (attract) vs. outbound marketing (spray and pray).
Show at Your Weekly Management/Employee Meeting -- here's a 3 minute interview I did with John Assaraf, author of The Answer. He explains the importance of getting your inner game right before the outer game (all the tools and techniques) will be effective.
Best Place to Work in Spain -- I wish I could take credit, but client Softonic was just named the #1 company to work for, not only in their size range (100 -- 250 employees) but also the #1 company to work for in Spain, no matter the size! "This is the second year we've won this award and we are extremely happy," notes Emilio Moreno. At least I've not messed them up.