LinkUP Thursday: This Holiday, Give The Gift of Knowledge

"Even if your not  a salesman, selling skills will help you in every facet of life from buying our selling a house, to blowing away that interview for the dream job, to negotiating your next car. All told these books leave a lasting impression that will accelerate and improve the quality of your life and career."

Good Morning Folks,

Books make great gifts, but they’re even more meaningful with a story behind them.

Inspired by the LinkedIn Influencer series  CEO and other thought leaders were asked "What Book Changed You" — a new tradition has been born as these recommendations are serving as great gift lists for the executives, students, managers and career seekers in your life.

Unlike the traditional sweater or tie, these life-changing books empower you with knowledge, tools, techniques and tips— lessons that keep giving for the res of your life.

At FSO, myself and team are are already receiving some of the recommendations from our thoughtful friends and partners . We wanted to share some favorites those with you.

The Greatest Salesman in the World, by Og Mandino, was the first book that spoke directly to me and that addressed what I was going through while trying to seek clarity as a young businessman most, and when I first read it and every time since.

You can learn something from every experience — be open to learning new things and living new experiences.

1. Decide what you want.

2. Discover what the customer wants.

3. Deliver what the customer wants, plus one — SURPRISE THEM!

Many other books have changed me, one was the new bestseller from Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, Built to Last - Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. It was one of the first evidence-based books to explain the value of a vision. They found that the companies that got the vision and purpose right outperformed their industry (in stock market returns) by 1500% or 15 times! We knew that this would get the attention of CPAs as we asked them to help us create a vision for their future.

The lesson: Be a leader in your industry, not a “me too” company — understand and leverage your core competencies. Adapting to change and becoming a learning organization are competitive advantages.

In 1990, I discovered Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and was transformed.

For me, another book that transformed me the most is Dale Carnegie’s massive bestseller, How to Win Friends and Influence People. While this classic, advice-driven read may seem like a no-brainer, you can never hear it enough times.

More recently: The Five Best Social Media Books For Holiday Giving 

This month, over 60 of the most powerful figures in business shared the one book that got them where they are, and described how reading it transformed them professionally and personally. “The Book That Changed Me,” November’s feature series of Influencer posts on LinkedIn, amounted to a library of life-altering books. Some were inspirational, some serious, and others downright silly. But they all had a profound impact on the lives of leaders, among them Virgin founder Richard Branson, executive recruiter James Citrin and GE CMO Beth Comstock.

LinkedIn’s members enthusiastically participated in the series, and added another shelf to that library. Responses in the comments and on social media layered new meaning onto some Influencer favorites and offered a whole new selection of great books.

HERE, you’ll find MORE the top ten books that LinkedIn members and Influencers say changed their lives.

Even if your not  a salesman, selling skills will help you in every facet of life from being our selling a house, to blowing away that interview for the dream job, to negotiating your next car. All told these books leave a lasting impression that will accelerate and improve the quality of your life and career.

Best of all, these books can be purchased online, gift wrapped with a personal message and delivered to your recipients door within two days. So why waste gas finding another sweater to collect dust in the closet?

In the spirit of the season.... CHEERS!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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 "Stop being afraid of what could go wrong 

and start being positive about what could go right". — zig

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Barry Moltz: 10 Simple Ways To Motivate Your Best People

"Employees that are able to have control over their daily environment have a higher level of job satisfaction and stay longer."

Good Morning Folks,

Barry Moltz Small Business Speaker, Consultant, and Author offers 10 simple ways to motivate your best people that mesch exactly with the way we say and do things at FSO.

The path for making most small businesses successful goes directly to having outstanding employees. Hiring and rehiring staff is a time consuming and expensive proposition for any company. How do you retain the best people and keep them motivated?

The golden rule of employment is employee goals = company goals.

When the employees’ career goals match what the company is trying to achieve in the long term, people stay and prosper. As soon as this equation becomes unbalanced, great employees seek opportunities elsewhere.

Here are 10 simple ways to motivate your best people:

1. Challenge them
Every top performing employee wants to be challenged on a weekly basis. As you raise your expectations, their performance and job satisfaction will also increase.

2. Give them the opportunity to make a difference
Forget about hiring “the best.” Most employees want to use their careers to make a difference in the world. Show them how they can accomplish that through their work at your company. People really do feel a sense of accomplishment after hard work.

3. Give them the opportunity to advance their career
Show every employee where they can go inside your company. Share a detailed vision! I will never forget in the late 1980's how my IBM Branch Manager, Jim Corgel once took his business card and scratched out his name. He then wrote my name in its place. Jim was showing me where I could go in the organization.

4. Be one of the leading places to work
Give them bragging rights at every party and family event. How do you think the employees at Apple, Google and Groupon feel right about now? Like business rock stars? You bet!

5. Pay them well
This is not a place to save money in your business. Give your best employees golden handcuffs by paying them above market rate and provide incentives to be the highest paid employee in their field. If you pay the best, you can expect the best.

6. Give them the ability to make decisions on their own
“Empower” is an overused word in business. But, we still need to give employees the ability to make their own decisions and be responsible for their outcome. Employees that are able to have control over their daily environment have a higher level of job satisfaction and stay longer.

7. Be the boss they want to work for
Be someone that all employees can communicate with without fear of judgement. Be available to talk with them as they make their own decisions in  your business.

8. State the companies beliefs and values
Publish a company manifesto clearly and ensure that every company action is in harmony with them.

9. Be supportive of their personal goals
Katrina Markoff, Founder of Vosges Haut Chocolates always asks her employees what their personal dreams are over the next 3 years. She then figures out ways to be supportive in order for them to meet their personal goal.

10. Provide complementary team members
Weed out the non performing employees quickly (Everyone knows who they are anyway)

In the spirit of the season.... CHEERS!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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 "If you're not happy with what you have, 

you'll never be happy with what you want."

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Ted Tuesday: Do you love what you do for a living?

"There is never a job shortage for good people! There is an endless number of jobs that you could do successfully, and make a good living doing them. You never have to feel stuck in a particular position, company, or industry. You deserve to do what you love for a living." ~~ Brian Tracy

Good Morning Folks,

Brian Tracy made a very motivational post on Facebook (see above) that made me wonder if he ever given a TED talk.

I couldn't find a TED talk, but my online search led me to this timeless gem on YouTube (24 Techniques for Closing the Sale) that is a must for anyone in sales to watch or watch again. This being a long weekend, you might simply bookmark the link and hope to find time to consume it.

 

Have a GREAT day. Love LIFE!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. 

Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." - Mark Twain

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Inspire ME Friday: Love Life

"Life is Short, Break the Rules, Forgive Quickly, Kiss Slowly, Love Truly, Laugh Uncontrollably, And Never Regret Anything That Made You Smile!"

Good Morning Folks,

I'm going to make it short and sweet. 

The quote above, and this week's dose of inspiration, great article from a man who watched 70 hours of TED talks; short, 18-minute talks given by inspirational leaders in the fields of Technology, Entertainment, and Design (TED). He watched 296 talks in total, and recently went through the list of what he watched, weeded out the crappy and boring talks, and created a list of the 100 best things he learned. Have a look and you'll want to print it out and keep it close for anytime, anywhere priceless inspiration.

In closing, I started this blog as a blank canvas 134 posts and five months ago sharing with you "If you are tired of laziness and complacency in pursuing your dreams and need guidance in cultivating your career or profit center, you’re going to love my new blog here at MitchWeiner.com. I look forward to being your tour guide on this wild, wild ride that is today’s rapidly changing job market."

It's a post worth revisiting.

Meanwhile, the blog and our social media initiative has taken off beyond my wildest expectations. And I want to thank the ever growing list of brands who have become faithful readers and loyal fans:


Aarhus Kobmandsskole
Access Staffing
ADP
Amazon.com
American Express Company
American University
Arhus Kobmandsskole
Automatic Data Processing
Automattic
Baltimore Technology Park
Barclays Capital
Bbdo New York
Bloomberg
Brookfieldts Lp
Bsnl
Cahill Gordon & Reindel
California Department Of Justice
California Education And Research Federation
California State University, Long Beach
Cb Richard Ellis
Charles Schwab & Co.
Citigroup
Comporium Communications
Condenast Publications
Credit Suisse Group
Datagram
Deloitte & Touche 
Detroit Public Schools
Devry
Dga Security Systems
Dickstein Shapiro Llp
Discover Financial Services
Ernst & Young Llp
Esi International
Facebook
Fedex Neuberger Berman
Fisher Scientific
Florida International University
Fort Hays State University
Fortressitx
Free Sas
Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, P.c.
GE
Gerson Lehrman Group
Godaddy.com, Llc
Google 
Graphnet Inc.
Graphnet Inc.
Group M Worldwide
Hachette Book Group
Hearst Corporation
Hewlett-packard Company
Higher Colleges Of Technology
Hilton Hotels Corporation
Hma
Intergrated Office
Johnson & Johnson
Kabel Bw
Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hayes, And Hudler
Kirby Mcinerney Llp
Legal Source Ls Llc
Leslie Digital Imaging Llc
Lexis-nexis
Los Angeles County Office Of Education
Loyola Marymount University
Macquarie Bank
Macquarie Holdings
Mayer, Brown & Platt
Miami University
Microsoft Corp
Milbank - Milbank Tweed Hadley Mccloy
Ministry Of Education Computer Center
Moses & Singer Llp
Nassau County Board Of Cooperative Education Services
National Board Of Medical Examiners
Nbc Universal (multiple)
Nbs
Ncs Pearson
Neuberger Berman
Nomura International Plc
Old Republic
Peter-paul_verduin
Polytechnic University
Pricewaterhousecoopers, Llp (multiple)
Sarah Lawrence College
Sfr
Socorro Independent School District
Stinson Morrison Hecker Llp
Syracuse University
The Chubb Corporation
The City Of New York
The Coca-cola Company
Ungaretti & Harris
Universitypeter-paul_verduin
Us Department Of Defense Net
Volumedrive

You are forever in my heart and mind. As the season of gratitude rolls in, I am a grateful man indeed. You make it so. Together we are unstoppable.

In the spirit of the season.... CHEERS!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

Learn more about what DIFFERENTIATES FSO here

Ted Tuesday: Rita Pierson— Every Kid Needs A Champion

"Simply outstanding and relevant to all those who dare to struggle and dare to win in the game of Education."

Good Morning Folks,

On this Ted Tuesday, I'm excited to share this inspiring talk from Rita Pierson.

Pierson, a teacher for over 40 years, has seen all sides of education. Both of Pierson’s parents and grandparents were teachers, and since 1972, Pierson has taught elementary school, junior high school and special education. According to Pierson, the most important component of learning – what keeps kids in school and passionate about reaching their goals – is simple: relationships. “Every child deserves a champion,” says Pierson,”an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.”

Rita Pierson is one of the best educators i've ever seen! Her powerful voice is also inspiring me. I bet this talk is strong enough to stimulate the educators all over the world!!

She has such a passionate, compassionate, witty way of bringing her ideas through! She made me think about the teachers I had who were there for me and my class mates. Our champions...I will never forget them.

Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don’t like.’” A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level.

Indeed, it’s heroes just like Pierson and the educators we honor today that are these very champions. “Is this job tough? You betcha,” says Pierson. “But it is not impossible. We can do this. We are educators. We are born to make a difference.”

I hope you enjoy Pierson’s TED Talk as much as I did.


Have a GREAT day. Love LIFE!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me."

~~Ayn Rand

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Ted Bonus: A Talk to Cheer You Up On Hump Day

"Take a moment this Wednesday to be thankful for all the wonderful things in your life. "

Good Afternoon Folks,

I thought that on hump day something to lift the spirits would be in order.
Louie Schwartzberg’s TEDxSanFrancisco talk “Nature. Beauty. Gratitude.” from June 2011 is an excellent mediation. 

Schwartzberg’s talk is a beautiful embodiment of these virtues, and while it’s not a typical presentation, there are certainly elements in it that we can use to better ours.

Most of the power in Schwartzberg’s presentation lies in his use of visuals. Arrestingly beautiful video plays in the background as an accompaniment to his words. Smartly, he avoids use slides riddled with bullet points and words, instead harnessing the power of the incredible photography and video he has collected over years. His visuals fit ideally with the topic at hand, and they do a great job of keeping the audience enthralled from start to finish.

With that said, take a moment this Wednesday to be thankful for all the wonderful things in your life. As Brother Steindel-Rast points out: we so rarely take time to look at the sky and at the faces of other people. Spend a few moments this upcoming holiday season letting gratefulness wash over you, and allow yourself to fall in love with nature’s enduring beauty.

For I am deeply thankful and grateful for all of you reading this right now!

Have a GREAT day. Love LIFE!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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"The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, 
whose presence calls forth your best." - Epictetus 
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Ted Tuesday: Dan Pink— What Motivates People

"You should watch this because it is influencing the conversation about what makes a great workplace. It can help you do a better job as a boss" 

Good Morning Folks,

On today's show, career analyst and author of the best-selling business book Drive, Dan Pink, examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward. 

The talk contains the substance of this book. If you're a boss or concerned about leadership, you need to become familiar with that message. The ideas are important. Pink's rendering of them, for good or ill, will define and influence the discussion of motivation in business for quite a while. He does get the big picture right. He says that people would prefer activities where they can pursue three things.

==> Autonomy: People want to have control over their work. 

===> Mastery: People want to get better at what they do. 

==> Purpose: People want to be part of something that is bigger than they are. 


Pink delivers many key ideas that matter. 

Key Idea: There is a difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. 

Key Idea: Intrinsic motivators are more powerful. 

Key Idea: If you use monetary rewards to get people to perform the way you want, those rewards may have the opposite effect. These are important things for a boss to know. 

Bottom line: "You should watch this because, it is influencing the conversation about what makes a great workplace. It can help help you do a better job as a boss."

Now let's join Dan Pink for "The Puzzle of Motivation."

Have a GREAT day. Love LIFE!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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“People may not always remember what you said, 
but they will always remember how you made them feel."
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TED Tuesday: Forget Mindfulness.Try Nevermindfulness: Bruce Turkel at TEDx

"At FSO we strive to surprise, delight and WOW you every day. Our brand is not about what we do, but built on what we can do for you."

Good Morning Folks,

My friend Bruce Turkel, whom we featured here recently, makes brands more valuable. He's worked with Bacardi, Discovery, Philips, MetCare, Miami, spoken at MIT and Harvard, and discusses branding on FOX Business.

In his TED talk "Forget mindfulness.Try nevermindfulness" he helps us understand that a brand is more than just a logo or a sign; that it is the entire experience of interacting with a company at every touchpoint. He argues that great brands make themselves all about you whereas less successful brands lose touch with the customer by having it backwards.

At FSO we strive to surprise, delight and WOW you every day. Our brand is not about what we do, but built on what we can do for you.

Have a listen to Bruce's brief talk. It can change how you approach your job and how your leaders can better understand their challenges.


In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Want to read more from Bruce? Visit his blog at TurkelTalks.com

Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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 "“Customers are hard to build and easy to loose”

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Ted Tuesday: The Science of Stage Fright (and how to overcome it)

Interviewing for a job? First day in a management position addressing your team? In the military and standing up in front of dozens of soldiers and trying to maintain your composer while trying to keep trying to keep their attention and respect? How scared do you get before speaking in public?

Good Morning Folks,

One thing can strike fear into the heart of the fiercest warrior, the most powerful CEO and the smartest person in any given room: having to speak in public. The thought of it makes the palms sweat, the heart beat faster and the limbs start to shake. An estimated 75% of people have a fear of speaking in public, and it’s something that nearly everyone who takes the TED stage must work hard to overcome.

 Mikael Cho

Heart racing, palms sweating, labored breathing? No, you're not having a heart attack -- it's stage fright! If speaking in public makes you feel like you're fighting for your life, you're not alone. But the better you understand your body's reaction, the more likely you are to overcome it. Mikael Cho advises how to trick your brain and steal the show.



This TED-Ed lesson, the science of stage fright, just might help. In the lesson — which is taught by educator Mikael Cho and directed by animator Robertino Zambrano of KAPWA Studioworks — looks at stage fright not as an emotion, but as a physiological response. In other words, it’s not so much something to be overcome as to be adapted to.

“Humans are wired to worry about reputation. Public speaking can threaten it,” says Cho in the lesson. “It’s the fight-or-flight response, a self-protective process seen in a range of species.”

The lesson explains exactly what happens in the body before speaking in public and, of course, gives suggestions on how to calm stage fright. The obvious: practice, practice, practice. The not-so-obvious: stretch your arms above your head before you go on to trigger a relaxation response in the hypothalamus. (Yeah, it kind of reminded us of Amy Cuddy’s idea of power posing too.)

The best way to not get stage fright is to not care what people think about you to begin with. The easiest way to do that is to simply run through the worst possible scenario that's outside of your control, then ask yourself "So what if this happens? Is it THAT bad?".

Now, of course, you may end up in a loop by imagining worse and worse scenarios as consequence, but remember that we're talking about stuff you can't control. The moment you reach something that you DO control, imagine you make it!

Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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“Truth alone will endure. All the rest will be swept away before the tide of time.” ~~Ghandi.

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Guest Post- Bruce Turkel: The Simple Precision Of Language

"Remember Gershwin when you’re writing to be understood and when you’re writing to be influential. Your reader most certainly won’t read your text the way you want them to read it; instead they’ll bring their own pacing, emphasis, and meaning to your words. To build your brand value it’s important that your intention be so clear that your audience will internalize it no matter how they pace their reading."

Good Morning Folks,

Today's guest poster will help anyone who makes Power Points, sales calls or other presentations to avoid audience confusion and misinterpretation to be more effective communicating their intentions.

He is Bruce Turkel, founder and executive creative director of the brand management firm, Turkel Brands. Buce has helped create some of the world's most compelling brands including Miami. Bruce has worked with Hasbro, Nike, American Express, Charles Schwab, Citicorp, Discovery Networks, Bacardi, Sol Melia Hotels, Azamara Club Cruises and many more great companies.

A captivating speaker and author, Bruce has spoken at MIT, Harvard, TEDx, and hundreds of corporate and industry conferences. Bruce appears regularly on FOX Business and has been on CNN, ABC, CBS, and NPR. He has been featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, Communication Arts, and AdWeek.

Bruce, over to you:

Do you know how to read musical notation? If you do you know that when you’re reading music you’re actually reading at least two things simultaneously. Written music tells you what note to play and when to play it.

Written language, on the other hand, only tells you one thing – what letter to pronounce. Of course, punctuation helps indicate pacing – pause at a comma, stop at a period (I’m not really sure what to do at a semicolon) but it’s still up to the reader to interpret how the author wanted the piece paced.

For example, read the following sentences aloud and place the emphasis on the bold faced underlined word. You’ll see how the pacing, and the meaning, can change based on where you choose to place the emphasis.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

Music notation is not like that. The composer provides the note to play, the time signature to play it in, the exact time each note should be played, the way the note should be attacked and the volume with which the note should be played. That’s why an entire orchestra can play a piece of music simultaneously and get it mostly right on their first reading. Of course the conductor can add flavorings and nuance, as can each player, but the basic structure still provides instructions for every part of the composition.

At the same time, musical notation has a way to allow the musician to add his or her own ideas, or improvisation, to the piece. Here the composer might suggest what the musician should play but also provides for the instrumentalists to create their own music and explore their own musical ideas by playing what they feel, and hopefully, what fits into the structure of what the rest of the ensemble is playing.

Ironically, written language, which doesn’t put nearly the same restraints on interpretation of prose, has no such flexibility. Sure, a rabbi or minister might halt their liturgical reading to allow parishioners to riff on a theme (they call it private mediation) but when was the last time you were reading a novel and the author inserted a few blank pages for you to add your own thoughts? There’s no room for readers to add their own words to a written piece.

That’s why sarcasm and irony seldom works well in print or static online advertising. It’s one thing for the copywriter to add their own inflection to a headline when they present it to a client but it’s quite another to expect a reader to add that same emphasis. Instead, the language of ads must be clear, simple, and to the point. Hopefully this will cause an emotional response without depending on a specific interpretive performance from the reader.

Imagine if Gershwin had e-mailed the lyrics of his famous song to his manager:

“You like potato and I like potato,

You like tomato and I like tomato,

Potato, potato, tomato, tomato,

Let’s call the whole thing off.”

Say what? Call the whole thing off just because we both like the same vegetables? Clearly something was lost in the transmission.

Remember Gershwin when you’re writing to be understood and when you’re writing to be influential. Your reader most certainly won’t read your text the way you want them to read it; instead they’ll bring their own pacing, emphasis, and meaning to your words. To build your brand value it’s important that your intention be so clear that your audience will internalize it no matter how they pace their reading.

And by writing simply and clearly, the results of their interpretation will be music to your ears.

Want to read more from Bruce? Visit his blog at TurkelTalks.com

Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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 “Life Begins At The End of Your Comfort Zone”

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