Browsing Tag
Book Excerpt
205 posts
Resilience in the Face of Crisis: How to Rise Up to Challenges
The following is an excerpt from "Rise Up: Leadership Habits for Turbulent Times" by Mike Watson and Ali Grovue. Copyright 2022 by Figure 1 Publishing. Through COVID-19, my team and I at Ignite Management Services came to understand that while resilience may not feel particularly important when times are good, it is essential when...
The 4 Essential Factors That Make a Good Business Pitch
The following is excerpted from "Brag Better: Master the Art of Fearless Self-Promotion" by Meredith Fineman, in agreement with Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © Meredith Fineman, 2020. Natalia Oberti Noguera is founder and CEO of Pipeline Angels, a network of women investors that’s changing...
PR Is About Perception: The 5 Stages to Positive Branding
The following is an excerpt from “You Need PR” by Jenna Guarneri. Copyright 2022 by An Inc. Original. When a new house is constructed, the builder pulls together the brightest professionals from each construction trade. It takes twenty-two subcontractors to build the average home. Specialists are needed to build out the foundation and others to...
Harness the Power of Conflict to Grow Your Company
The following is an excerpt from “Don't Get Mad at Penguins: And Other Ways to Detox the Conflict in Your Life and Business" by Gabe Karp. Copyright 2022 by Post Hill Press. “Gabe Karp, you look like shit,” Steve grinned as he swept into the waiting area. His bold remark caught me off guard....
How to Handle Career Uncertainty: Take Control of What You Can Change Now
Excerpted from The #Pace Process for Early Career Success. Copyright © 2022 by Mark Zides. Reprinted with permission from Armin Lear Press. All rights reserved. What can I do now? Not tomorrow, not next year, but now? We can’t predict the future, and we can’t have complete control over things that haven’t happened yet. Isn’t it funny we...
Adding Diversity to the Workplace Means Removing Barriers
Excerpted from "All Are Welcome: How to Build a Real Workplace Culture of Inclusion that Delivers Results" by Cynthia Owyoung, pp. 93-97 (McGraw Hill, February 2022). Your company says it wants to add diversity to its workforce, but wanting something to happen doesn’t necessarily make it happen. To build an inclusive team, your organization...
Have a Startup? Make Sure You’re On the Right Fundraising Path
The following is adapted from "Exit Right: How to Sell Your Startup, Maximize Your Return and Build Your Legacy" by Mark Achler and Mert Iseri. Most of us know Travis Kalanick from his meteoric rise as the CEO of Uber, and his ultimate fall from grace. What most don’t talk about is his obsessive focus...
The Blueprint That Brings Your Business Closer to Success
Adapted excerpt from "Self-Made Boss: Advice, Hacks, and Lessons From Small Business Owners" by Jackie Reses and Lauren Weinberg (McGraw Hill/2022) ©2022 by Jackie Reses and Lauren Weinberg. All rights reserved. Small businesses have about a 50-50 chance of surviving the first five years – and one in five don’t even make it a...
How to Deal With Negative Publicity: Resist the Spin, Embrace Facts
Excerpted from "The Public Relations Handbook" copyright © 2022 by Robert L. Dilenschneider. Reprinted with permission from Matt Holt Books, an imprint of BenBella Books, Inc. All rights reserved. Invariably, a company or organization will experience bad news, resulting in negative publicity. Possible reasons can include: Poor revenue or earnings Product recalls Consumer health and safety issues Strikes...
Your Guide to Using Custom Automation for Any Business Process
The following is adapted from "AI as Your Teammate" by Evan Ryan. Copyright 2021 by Teammate Press. There are so many AI tools out there that allow you to automate a multitude of tasks both large and small. But custom automation? That is where the rubber truly meets the road. Once you give your team...
Leaving Corporate to Be an Entrepreneur Empowers Women of Color
This modified excerpt is from THE FIRST, THE FEW, THE ONLY: How Women of Color Can Redefine Power in Corporate America by Deepa Purushothaman. Copyright ©2022 by the author and reprinted by permission of Harper Business. I have met more senior women of color in the past few years who have left companies to start their own endeavors...
5 Foundational Pillars for a Successful Entrepreneur Lifestyle
Being an entrepreneur isn’t a job. It’s a lifestyle built around your businesses. You have to be all in, fully engaged, and willing to do whatever it takes to make your business successful. However, beyond the nuts and bolts of starting, growing and running your own business, you must first build a foundation for the...
Next Time You Think the Cards Are Stacked Against You, Think of Sarah Breedlove
The following is reprinted from "Platform: The Art and Science of Personal Branding" Copyright (c) 2019 by Cynthia Johnson. Published by Lorena Jones Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Sarah Breedlove is considered the first female self-made millionaire. At the time of her death, she was worth $600,000, which would be about $8...
SEM vs. SEO: What’s the Difference and Why Does It Matter?
This excerpt is adapted from “Product-Led SEO” by Eli Schwartz. ©2021 and is reproduced with permission from Houndstooth Press. In conversations about digital marketing, the words SEO and SEM get thrown around with reckless abandon. Some folks aren’t quite sure of the difference, and when the terms are used interchangeably, it can lead to misallocation of...
Build on Metrics by Designing Effective Focus Groups
Click-through rates, purchasing history, engagement rates—such metrics are helpful, but for ultimate success as a brand, you need to get beyond the what of customer behavior and uncover the why. Focus groups are one of the most effective ways to do that. They allow you to engage your customers in conversation and gain valuable qualitative...
Propel Your Business Forward by Avoiding These Entrepreneurial Traps
This excerpt is adapted from "Yes, You Can Take a Day Off: Escape the Nine Traps of Growing Your Small Business" by David A. Hiatt and Susan Hance Sykes. Copyright 2021 Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Sandler and Sandler Training are registered service marks of Sandler Systems, Inc. The nine entrepreneurial traps Let’s...
Dancing with Gorillas: How Startups Can Partner with the Giants
This excerpt is adapted from “Gorillas Can Dance: Lessons from Microsoft and Other Corporations on Partnering with Startups” by Shameen Prashantham. ©2021 and is reproduced with permission from Wiley. Understanding the startup's perspective Of course, it takes two to tango, and the three-step (synergy-interface-exemplar) process just described will only work when the managers involved take...
An Entrepreneur Advises on Juggling Challenges, Putting Principles Before Money
This excerpt is adapted from “Seven Years on the Front Line: True Stories and Tough Lessons about a Small Business that You Won't Learn in a Classroom" by Sarah Y. Tse ©2020 and is reproduced with permission from TSE Worldwide Press. In all the stories in this book, I was dealing with two or...
Understanding the Jobs to Be Done Theory for Breakthrough Innovation [VIDEO]
In "Competing Against Luck," disruptor and Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen shares his theory for breakthrough innovation: the jobs to be done theory. In the book, he and coauthors Karen Dillon, Taddy Hall and David S. Duncan share case studies and real world examples that provide entrepreneurs and business owners with the tools they...
Artist and Entrepreneur Erik Wahl Shares How to Create Brand Value [VIDEO]
In “The Spark and The Grind,” artist, author and entrepreneur Erik Wahl illustrates the delicate balance between creativity and discipline: the spark of inspiration, and the grind of turning that idea into reality. “Sparking the grind and grinding the spark,” according to Wahl, is the two-fold process that ignites the power of disciplined creativity. Wahl...