One of my favorite business books of 2010 was, hands down, Les McKeown’s Predictable Success.

In it he talks about the phases a business goes through, from start-up and growth through becoming stodgy and old.

I actually keep my copy on my desk so, when I’m having a bad day, I can refer back to it to see if what we’re going through is normal.

It always makes me feel better.

So, when he asked me if I’d review his latest book, The Synergist, I gave a resounding yes.

This is a leadership book, in the truest sense of the word. Even if you’re not a “leader” by definition inside your organization, but you work with others, this book is for you. Continue Reading »

All you people have failed me. I have not a single Facebook question to answer this week. So, instead of seeing my pretty face, you get some written something instead.

OH WAIT! I’m wrong. I just scrolled through a lot of status updates and found this from Andy Donovan. Yay Andy! You saved everyone from failure!

“Coming off the presentation this week with you, Carol Roth and Les McKeown – how does a new entrepreneur learn the delicate art of saying “no” to a client request that seems over and above what has been agreed upon? Especially when at the beginning of your career and still ensure the relationship moves forward without any hard feelings?”

But you still don’t get to see my pretty face because, well, I haven’t showered yet. So how about I do our #FollowFriday via video tomorrow?

Andy’s question is a couple of weeks old, but it still works. Continue Reading »

Does anyone else think 27 degrees is too cold for March 25? If it’s going to be this cold, I WANT SNOW! This in between – can’t ski and can’t cycle – weather sucks. Just like spin.

While you’re here, check out the “Dear CEO” eBook that was written by 31 of my friends. So far Danny Brown and Laura Scholz have announced their giveaways. So go check them out, and enter their contests, if you’d like to win a copy!

In this week’s Gin and Topics, we explore the entrepreneurial spirit of social, which means the good, the bad, and the ugly! Continue Reading »

If you read this blog often, you know I’m a big fan of Les McKeown and his Predictable Success. If you follow both of us on Twitter, you’d be surprised to hear me say that. He started it.

Last week he sent me a direct message on Twitter that said his blog post that day was reflective of the work I am doing as a leader. Fully expecting some mean-spirited post, I was pleasantly surprised when I found “On the Underperformance of Overachievers.”

Yes, I am an overachiever (or double type A, as I refer to myself) and, as it turns out, having that “strength” is not a good leadership trait.

Who knew? Continue Reading »

My friend Sarah Robinson has this cool thing going on over at her blog, Escaping Mediocrity, this month. It’s 28 days of getting your shit together and highlights guest bloggers each day who have new and interesting ways for you to, well, get your shit together.

I blogged on day three, which was at the beginning of the month. This is what I had to say.

As I was trying to decide what to write about for this blog post, I Googled “get your shit together” to see if anything came up that inspired me. What I found, instead, was, well, a bunch of shit.

So then I thought, “How do I write about getting your shit together without inspiration?” There are a lot of things to consider: Productivity, time management, keeping up on blogs and social media, growing a business while starting a new business, sending gifts before birthdays instead of after, remembering to eat during the day, washing your hair more than twice a week, exercising, getting more than six hours of sleep a night, mentoring a team, managing clients, getting Sarah her guest post on time instead of a week late, and more. You know, not that I’m feeling guilty or anything.

It’s not like I’ve had some life-changing experience like Les McKeown (did that give you chills, or what?) to make me think it’s time to get my shit together. But, most days, I can barely get three things checked off my to-do list and I know everyone feels that way. Continue Reading »

There has been quite a bit of discussion here of late about the PR industry; why Doug Davidoff thinks we don’t have a seat at the proverbial table, why The Economist is completely off-base about our industry today, and why Les McKeown is tired of hearing about the shiny, new penny from PR professionals.

Because of all of that discussion, and because I know a good majority of business leaders have written checks to PR firms and have nothing to show for their money, I thought it’d be a good idea to define what one should look for when hiring a PR firm.

So this blog post is written for those charged with that task. If you’re not that audience, but a PR professional, I’d love to hear what you would add to the list.

Continue Reading »

A few weeks ago, Doug Davidoff wrote an open letter to PR professionals, which speaks about the client’s view of our profession and how we’re stuck on tactics and not on results.

And on Monday, Les McKeown wrote “Living with the Pregnant Widow,” a tongue-in-cheek look at the so-called social media experts who, again, are stuck on the tactics and not on results (mostly because having a Facebook page or a Twitter account does not lead to business growth, directly).

The interesting thing about both of these letters (blog posts) is both Doug and Les run businesses and have hired PR firms. And they didn’t check with one another before writing their perspectives. This perception of our industry is pretty rampant and it’s also why mainstream media such as The Economist write articles like, “Public Relations: Rise of the Image Men.”

It’s our own fault, really. We ARE stuck on the tactics and the process and not on the results. And it’s because we’re typically not business people. We’re liberal arts people. We can skate by without ever having to take a business class or learn the difference between a P&L and a balance sheet or if revenue or income is better or how to grow the bottom line. Most of us have never walked in our client’s shoes and most of us likely won’t. Continue Reading »

Les McKeown is president and CEO of Predictable Success and occasional champion when playing Gini Dietrich in Words with Friends.

The Russian poet Alexander Herzen wrote that after a revolution we are left with “not an heir, but a pregnant widow…a long night of chaos” in which the old is gone but the new has not yet arrived.

Hello, I’m your client. Nice to meet you.

Um…thanks, that’s kind of you, but no, I don’t need another book, article, blog post, case study or tweet to help me understand that marketing, advertising, PR, and everything else associated with it has been revolutionized by social media in recent years. I get it. Despite the unflattering little stories I see you tell each other about us clients, I’m not a complete doofus.

What do I want? Continue Reading »

I’ve been sitting here for half an hour thinking about what would be helpful to you this week, in order to be ready to start 2011 with a bang. Craig Jarrow, of Time Management Ninja, suggests five things to do this week so your to-do list is clear by Monday. Tim Berry, founder of Palo Alto Software, has tips for dealing with holiday stress. And Les McKeown, author of “Predictable Success,” is walking you through the steps of having your business go through step growth or linear growth, depending on your goals.

All three of these are important, for both your business and personal lives (which really are one, according to Mitch Joel).

But what’s the real equation for using all of this advice, plus getting something really meaningful accomplished this week? Continue Reading »

In my quest to become a better leader and a better communicator, I read everything I can get my hands on and I practice, practice, practice (my piano teacher, who was also my great-aunt, used to say, “Perfect practice makes perfect).

I likely drive my team nuts at times because I practice on them. Sometimes the skills I’m developing work and sometimes they don’t. It’s not easy being at the top – you don’t have anyone to teach and mentor you. You rely on your (very understanding) team to let you try different things.

That’s why I was interested to read about Google granting 10 percent raises to ALL of its 23,000 employees. It’s not like they can’t afford it, as of this morning they’re now offering to buy Groupon for $6 billion (which, BTW, is just insane money, but that’s a different topic for a different time). Continue Reading »