Dave Harries of GuruView.TV began this interview by asking how important a network is for small and medium sized businesses? He also asked what networks are, if there are different levels of networking and whether offline networking is now more or less important.
Finally he asked what key piece of advice I would give to someone new in business. You can watch my answers in this seven minute interview.
Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Just how important is a network in business?
Another big lesson from the General Election
On Tuesday this week I spoke at a Marketing Masterclass in Newbury about 'How Business Networking Really Works'. Two of the other speakers, Nigel Morgan and Karen Chapple presented about the growing importance of Social Media. Karen shared the news that Google now has a Social Tab on its default search page in the US.
We had a big lesson in the UK yesterday on the power of Social Media. I wrote yesterday in 'Another Lesson from the General Election' about the off camera remarks from Gordon Brown that were picked up on microphone.
The speed at which this spread across the world should leave you in no doubt about the power of Social Media. It was a little ironic that Andy Lopata wrote about 'Whatever happened to the Social Media Election' yesterday morning where he included this rather prescient comment:
"Don't underestimate the power of a politician's gaffe during the closing days of the election to have a much bigger impact than ever before. Thanks to social media any slip up can be both shared globally and repeated ad nauseam irrespective of how many people witness it in person. The news media pick the stories up and run with them as people share them on Twitter, Facebook and Youtube."
If you are still wondering about whether Social Media is right for you and your business you should heed what Nigel and Karen said on Tuesday "If you do not have a Social Media presence you need to do something about that right now..."
Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Another Lesson from the General Election
I was asked a question via Twitter yesterday about my advice for someone attending her first networking event. I suggested that she smile and wrote:
"Enjoy the meeting, introduce who you are, what you do, who for & how you look forward to getting to know the others."
The main thing is to be genuine and authentic. That is how you will build relationships with others as they get to know, like, rate and trust you. This brings me on to the latest networking lesson from the General Election. Everyone makes mistakes, but it is rare for such a gaffe as this one from Gordon Brown to be caught on camera. You can see the video at the BBC website. Gordon Brown is filmed saying one thing to a woman on camera and then something completely different off camera.
The lesson for networking is not to tell people what it is that you think they want to hear. Be yourself and be genuinely interested in the people you speak to.
Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
A Networking Lesson from the General Election Campaign
As I write this we have 10 days to go until the UK General Election. Until April 15th the Public Opinion Polls were predicting the following share of votes:
Conservative 36%
Labour 31%
Liberal Democrat 20%
Other 13%
The conservatives were in the lead and two thirds of the votes were predicted to be shared between them and Labour. The Liberal Democrats trailed in third with 20%.
Three days later the Liberal Democrat share had increased dramatically and they had moved into second place. Their support remains at this level according to the latest 'poll of polls':
Conservative 35%
Liberal Democrat 29%
Labour 28%
Other 8%
So what happened?
On the evening of April 15th we saw the first ever live TV debate between the main party leaders during a General Election Campaign. The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg, was generally acknowledged to have won the debate against his Conservative and Labour rivals, David Cameron and Nick Clegg.
If he had not taken part he would not have won and that is the networking lesson to learn.
Most networking groups give their members the opportunity to share their expertise and raise their profile by speaking at events. I have, however, seen people refuse opportunities to speak because they feel they are not ready or the circumstances are not quite right.
If you don't feel ready then prepare a few options and the next time you get the opportunity take the plunge and volunteer to speak. Your audience will be on your side and it's a great way of helping people understand when and how to advocate you!
Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Do you meet the right people when you go networking?
In a conversation with the partner in a professional firm last week he said "I know networking is about building relationships and not selling directly, but I never meet the right people". I asked him who the right people were and he tried to explain. He found it difficult and rambled on a bit.
I suggested (gently) that he might like to give it some thought because then he would have an idea where he might find the 'right people'. He asked if I had any tips that might help and I said he could start with where his referrals came from today. He mentioned a couple of sources which was great because now he will be looking for networking groups with others like them.
I also suggested that when he finds that group he should invite his current referral sources too. That way he will be building his Inner Network* and strengthening the relationships with his current Advocates*.
*Explained in more detail in the NRG Advocate Marketing System.
Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
How to have a productive One2One Meeting
The key to building a successful relationship with someone in business networking is follow up. One2One interactions are an essential part of this follow up. It is the next step after you have invested time in getting to know someone at your regular networking group meetings. In this podcast I explain how to have a productive One2One Meeting.
Listen here:
If you don't have a couple of minutes to listen then this image from the NRG Networking System covers the main points:
Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Using the Internet to get off the Internet
In 'Using online to get offline' I briefly mentioned Meetup.com Founder, Scott Heiferman, and his talk in London about the importance of meeting offline.
Scott shared that he really began to experience the power of community in post 9/11 New York when people began again to rediscover the importance of looking out for each other. I was in London during the bombs on the underground and on a bus on 7 July 2005 and saw many people going out of their way for others in a similar way.
Scott shared that the idea for Meetup came from that time and he wanted to create a site to help strengthen community. To give people the opportunity to use the Internet to get together in local communities each day with the goal of improving themselves or their communities. Their mission today is to revitalize local community and help people around the world self-organize. Meetup believes that people can change their personal world, or the whole world, by organizing themselves into groups that are powerful enough to make a difference.
As Scott said it's about "Using the Internet to get off the Internet!"
A great insight into how to use Online Social Media and Networks in your Business Networking, a subject I addressed more fully in this article:
'10 top networking tips to increase business with the effective use of offline & online networks'
Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Sharon Drew Morgen: Dirty Little Secrets - Author interview
Sales visionary and thought leader Sharon Drew Morgen, author of the groundbreaking sales transformational book Dirty Little Secrets: Why buyers can't buy and sellers can't sell and what you can do about it, was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions about her book and her insightful ideas for facilitating change management for buyers and sellers. The author uncovers the real reasons why buyers don't make the expected buying decisions, and how sales people can help potential buyers make good buying decisions.
Thanks to Sharon Drew Morgen for her time, as well as for her insightful and thought provoking answers.
What was the background to writing this book Dirty Little Secrets: Why buyers can't buy and sellers can't sell and what you can do about it?
Sharon Drew Morgen: I have been writing books on Buying Facilitation(R) since my first book came out in 1992 (Sales on the Line). In Dirty Little Secrets, I finally explain it in simple terms that make it easy to understand: sales only handles needs assessment and solution placement; buyers need to manage behind-the-scenes 'stuff' privately, and don't always know the route they must take til they get there. Sellers can help if they learn a few new skills.
You point out from the very beginning of the book that this is not a sales manual. Why do you write that?
Sharon Drew Morgen: Buying Facilitation(R) is a neutral navigation, decision facilitation model that leads buyers through their behind-the-scenes decision issues (such as relationships and company/family politics, feelings, rules, vendor or partner issues) that need to be addressed to get buy-in to make a decision. It's systems based, and the goal is to help manage the private issues buyers go through internally that sales folks and outsiders cannot be privy to.
Sales manages the needs assessment/solution placement end of the buying decision. It has no capacity to help manage the behind-the-scenes buy-in issues. But because buyers have to do this anyway, sellers are left out and have no influence over the process.
That's where buyers go when they say "I'll call you back." and then disappear. And this is why only 7% of sales close. Imagine! Sales has a 93% failure rate, and we build this in to our projects because this figure is endemic in the assumption of the sales model.
You make the provocative opening statement that both sellers and buyers are not very smart. What do you mean by that?
Sharon Drew Morgen: It's a term the industry uses every moment: "Buyers are stupid." I hear this every day. Sales folks assume that because THEY can see 'the problem' and THEY have the solution and the buyer does not do 'what they are supposed to do' that the only conclusion is that they are stupid.
The book shows what the seller is missing and how to address it with a different took kit. So I'm kinda throwing it back in their face: You say the buyer is stupid, but I'm saying you're both stupid because buyers actually DON'T know how to go through the buying decision process because of all of the variables, and sellers DON'T know how to help them navigate through their decision issues because sales doesn't handle that end of the buying process.
Sharon Drew Morgen (photo left)
You state that the current sales model is incomplete. What is missing from the current sales model that would make it more effective?
Sharon Drew Morgen: Because the sales model is based on needs assessment/solution placement, I've added a decision facilitation model to the front end - an additional skill set - called Buying Facilitation(R) that helps buyers navigate through their off-line, behind-the-scenes decision issues that they must handle before they can make any decisions about a purchase. That makes it a one/two punch: first help buyers navigate through all of their decision issues and pull together a Buying Decision Team, and THEN sell.
Buyers have to do this anyway, and the time it takes them to come up with their own answers is the length of the sales cycle. They will do this with you, or without you. So you might as well add a new skill set and do it with them.
Why must sales techniques and ideas change?
Sharon Drew Morgen: Because sales only manages a very very small percent of what a buyer needs to make a decision. And, the success rate of sales, across the board, averages 7% success. there is no other field that allows for a 93% failure rate. Imagine a doctor or even a baseball player, or an airline, with a 93% failure rate.
How do buying decisions really get made?
Sharon Drew Morgen: First, Sales treats an Identified Problem as if it were an isolated event. It's not: it's part of a system that maintains it daily.
Buying Decisions get made only when the entire system lines up behind change - it's really a change management situation. Buying Decisions get made when the people, policies, rules, relationships (the system), buy-in to change, and agree to do something different. This happens only when the 'system' recognizes it will remain in balance once something new enters. This is why the sales model has such a low success rate: sales pushes solution (i.e. 'change') into an existing system that fights back if it thinks it will be unbalanced.
How can buyers be helped in their purchasing process and with decision making to make better choices?
Sharon Drew Morgen: Buying Facilitation(R) is a decision facilitation model that leads buyers through all of the internal, off-line, behind-the-scenes decision issues that they must go through privately before getting buy-in to bring in a new solution. It's based on systems thinking,and employs a form of question that I developed called a Facilitative Question that actually teaches folks how to consider and manage change - using their own values and criteria. These questions are used in a specific sequence of how decisions get made (the book explains each of the decision sequences and what happens in each).
An example of a Facilitative Question: How would you and your decision team know when it was time to bring in an additional resource for those times the ones you are using are insufficient?
In the end, how can sellers and buyers help one another to become smarter?
Sharon Drew Morgen: Using Buying Facilitation(R), the seller becomes the servant leader to the buyer, helping them navigate their decision issues well before the act of sales even begins. The buyer becomes the neutral navigator; sellers help Buying Facilitator's listen better, serve better, and think in systems. When sellers use BF, buyers can buy much quicker and more efficiently and include all of the right people with the right decisions. So sellers are helping buyers close the right business, with more prospects, and place their product into the most appropriate client situations. It becomes win-win.
What is next for Sharon Drew Morgen?
Sharon Drew Morgen: I have been teaching this material since my first program in 1989. My goal is to start an institute and teach the material to coaches, teachers, doctors and other professionals, negotiators, etc. It's a wonderful collaborative communication tool that has a universal application.
**********
My book review of Dirty Little Secrets: Why buyers can't buy and sellers can't sell and what you can do about it by Sharon Drew Morgen.
Dirty Little Secrets by Sharon Drew Morgen - Book review
Dirty Little Secrets
Why buyers can't buy and sellers can't sell and what you can do about it
By: Sharon Drew Morgen
Published: October 15, 2009
Format: Paperback: 272 pages
ISBN-10: 0964355396
ISBN-13: 978-0964355392
Publisher: Morgen Publishing
"At the end of the day, no matter how much our buyers have a need and we have the best solution, if they don't know how to decide to make a new choice, it doesn't matter what we've got", writes sales visionary and thought leader Sharon Drew Morgen in her sales transformational book Dirty Little Secrets: Why buyers can't buy and sellers can't sell and what you can do about it. The author uncovers the real reasons why buyers don't make the expected buying decisions, and how sales people can help potential buyers make good buying decisions.
Sharon Drew Morgen understands that sales people are very often frustrated by low sales success rates. Instead of blaming the sales technique, the author delves into the often hidden circumstances that drive the buyer to make decisions that may appear irrational on the surface, but are logical within the context of their own company buying system. A failure on the part of sales people to understand the buyer's perspective, as related to their company politics, rules, and regulations, causes a failure to close the sale. Sharon Drew Morgen calls these norms on the buyer's side a "system", and as such is very powerful in maintaining the status quo, regardless of the validity of the resulting buying decisions. Unless there is change in how the system influences the buyer, there is little chance of success for closing any sale.
Sharon Drew Morgen (photo left) recognizes that the forces to maintain the system status quo are very powerful, and require skill and cooperation on the part of both the buyer and seller to create change. The author considers the only way for a system to change is for the buyer to generate the change within that system. Sharon Drew Morgen presents the Buying Facilitation (R) model, that uses what she calls Facilitative Questions, that helps buyers understand their own buying environment so as to create the necessary change to result in better buying decisions. To assist the seller in guiding the buyer through the process of systemic change, the book describes ten steps that are common to all buying decisions. When these steps are understood and internalized, a buyer can facilitate the internal changes necessary to overcome the status quo.
For me, the power of the book is how Sharon Drew Morgen provides a fresh, groundbreaking approach to understanding why buyers make decisions based on factors rarely considered by sellers. The concept of drilling down into the systemic constraints placed on buyers, so as to create change within that process, turns the entire world of traditional selling techniques upside down. Instead of focusing the sales effort on standard selling practices, the author proposes a collaborative method where seller and buyer work together to facilitate a transformation of the buying system for the benefit of all stakeholders. As Sharen Drew Morgen makes clear, the book is not a sales book, but a study on change management. Without the cooperative challenge to the system, the buyer is simply unable to make the best buying decision. This book helps guide both the sales representative and the buyer to the fastest and most efficient path to making the right decision.
I highly recommend the insightful and revolutionary book Dirty Little Secrets: Why buyers can't buy and sellers can't sell and what you can do about it by Sharon Drew Morgen, to anyone seeking a more in depth analysis, into the real reasons for why buyers make their decisions, than is usually presented in traditional sales books. The author shares a new approach that helps both seller and buyer arrive at a solution through collaboration and change management of existing systems. The end result is an easier way for buyers and sellers to complete the sales process, while achieving satisfactory results that meet the buyer's real needs.
Read the essential and pioneering book Dirty Little Secrets: Why buyers can't buy and sellers can't sell and what you can do about it by Sharon Drew Morgen, and move beyond the often shallow and superficial concepts taught in most courses about sales. The author encourages sellers and buyers to turn the process upside down, and examine the system from the inside out, resulting in enriched understanding of the real system and constraints placed on buyers. By thinking in a change management and facilitation model, rather than with a conventional sales mindset, the entire sales process is streamlined and expedited. A more rewarding experience, for all stakeholders in reaching the final buying decision, is the positive win-win outcome.
Should you lead your networking group?
In the NRG Linkedin Group last week there was a discussion about 'Making a Business out of Networking'. Some of the discussion was about leading a networking group as a way of growing your existing business.
Last month Sarah Owen of the Referral Institute presented a Networking Masterclass before the NRG Charing Cross lunch in London. One of the things she want through was their VCP Process™. This stands for Visibility, Credibility and Profitability*. A good networking group provides the platform for people to go through this relationship building process.
Leading a group can move your relationships through to Profitability when done in the right way with the right people. Sarah shared with us the experience of her and her clients who see a seven fold increase in the profitability of their networking for their existing business when they lead groups. Too often, however, people think about running a group in the wrong context. Some think it is about a new revenue stream. Others that it is just about lead generation and concentrate exclusively on the Visibility bit.
Many networking organisations have positions for people to lead groups (including ours). These positions are not usually about creating an additional revenue stream. I would treat anyone that claims that for leading a group with suspicion. Leading a group is really about increasing the overall return on investment in your networking for your main business. As Sarah said "it is about increasing the profitability of the business relationships you build through networking". A good rule of thumb is that any income generated just for running a group should pay for your networking activity.
There are some business opportunities with networking organisations that are genuinely about creating a revenue stream. These are usually a networking franchise of some description where you are investing equity to build a business. In this scenario you will building a business with the primary revenue being from the activity of networking itself.
Leading a group could be right for you if it makes sense for your business to be at the hub of the business community in that group. That could be an existing group or using a networking organisation's existing infrastructure to get a group together of the people you want to have around you in the group.
*VCP Process™ copyright Referral Institute 2010, all rights reserved.
Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Darryl Jarmosco: Map Of Intention - Blog Business Success Radio
Listen to Wayne Hurlbert
Peak Performance Coach, professional speaker, and author of the inspirational and life transforming book Map of Intention: A 30-day system for getting results, Darryl J. Jarmosco shares his 30 day system for changing your life, achieving your goals, and of following your dreams. He describes how to discover and live the life you really want and how to be happy every day. He teaches you how to define your categories of intention, and how to create clarity and focus in your life. Instead of living a life of reacting to others and events, learn how to live your own life of intention.
Darryl J. Jarmosco is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.
The show airs live on Thursday, April 8, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.
Peak Performance Coach, professional speaker, and author of the inspirational and life transforming book Map of Intention: A 30-day system for getting results, Darryl J. Jarmosco shares his 30 day system for changing your life, achieving your goals, and of following your dreams. You will learn:
* How to live a life of intention and follow your dreams
* Why establishing realistic and time bound goals is essential
* How to write down your goals with clarity and fucus
* How to make a real change in your life in just thirty days
Darryl J. Jarmosco (photo left) is a motivational speaker, trainer and author, whose passion is empowering people and helping them have a larger vision for their lives. Darryl’s straight-from-the-heart, high-energy, passionate message motivates and engages all audiences to step into their greatness. He provides them with the motivation to take the next step toward living their dream. His charisma, warmth and sense of humor have impacted many lives.
Darryl’s experience, working with clients from all over the world, has given him the knowledge and ability to create results with a variety of people and teams. His engaging speaking and training style creates a great atmosphere for learning and change. As a coach for Anthony Robbins Companies, Darryl has trained alongside world leaders in personal and professional coaching. He has transformed many lives and can do the same for you and your team.
My book review of Map of Intention: A 30-day system for getting results by Darryl J. Jarmosco.
Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.
If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.
To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832
Let's talk with Peak Performance Coach, professional speaker, and author of the inspirational and life transforming book Map of Intention: A 30-day system for getting results, Darryl J. Jarmosco as he shares his 30 day system for changing your life, achieving your goals, and of following your dreams. He describes how to discover and live the life you really want and how to be happy every day. He teaches you how to define your categories of intention, and how to create clarity and focus in your life. Instead of living a life of reacting to others and events, learn how to live your own life of intention on Blog Business Success Radio.
Map of Intention by Darryl Jarmosco - Book review
Map of Intention
A 30-day system for getting results
By: Darryl J. Jarmosco
Published: 2009
Format: Paperback, 87 pages
Publisher: Darryl Jarmosco International
"We have a choice to live our lives two ways; either we live it in reaction or intention", writes Peak Performance Coach and speaker Darryl J. Jarmosco, in his inspirational and life transforming book Map of Intention: A 30-day system for getting results. The author challenges the reader to take action on their dreams, and to stop making excuses, and to quit limiting their life options.
Darryl J. Jarmosco presents the challenge of declaring your life. He considers this declaration essential as the turning point in finding clarity in your personal dreams and goals. Without this strong declaration, the author describes your life as one of reaction, and of being controlled by events and other people. The result, according to Darryl Jarmosco is a poor outlook on life that is both unfulfilling and personally exhausting. The author offers an alternative way to live one's life, by making the choice to live a life of intention. That means choosing what you want your life to be about, and to follow your own dreams and aspirations.
Darryl J. Jarmosco (photo left) understands that not everyone is at the same emotional state of readiness to declare a life of intention. As a result, he encourages his readers to get into a positive state of mind, and to feel good about themselves and the world around them. The author recognizes that not everyone's personal goals and dreams are the same. Indeed, he encourages his readers to write down and visualize their own dreams and goals, to establish focus and clarity. Darryl Jarmosco shares his ideas and proven techniques to move toward those goals, and away from the distractions and negative influences that created the life of reaction. Instead of living a life of aimlessness, the book presents a system for working toward a target that achieves your personal goals.
For me, the power of the book is how Darryl Jarmosco creates a practical and workable system for building a life of intention. The book is more than just an inspirational guide. It's also a work book and journal, that requires the reader to write down their goals and dreams on the page. Through the act of writing, the goal becomes a tangible reality, and sharpens the focus of the reader on reaching a target. The author makes a bold claim, that anyone can get results and move toward their goal, in only thirty days. Because of the daily written and practical exercises in the book, and the constant reinforcement of those dreams, the reader is propelled forward toward their ultimate target. The completely interactive format of the book is a huge part of forming that focus, clarity, and constant mode of action necessary to make dreams a reality.
I highly recommend the motivational, step by step goal achievement book Map of Intention: A 30-day system for getting results by Darryl J. Jarmosco, to anyone seeking to change their life from one of reaction to one where they live their own dreams. This book creates the positive frame of mind that guides the reader toward the target, while providing daily activities that make the life of intention one of reality. The author creates a format where the reader builds measurable goals, and takes actions that are specific and realistic. These actions are time bound, making them critical to achieving your life aspirations.
Read the life changing guide book Map of Intention: A 30-day system for getting results by Darryl J. Jarmosco, and change your life from one of reaction to living a life of intention. Instead of making excuses, and putting off your dreams and goals, let this book guide you to taking charge of your own life. Replace negativity and reaction with a focused target, and live your dreams on your own terms.
A simple equation for networking successfully
'Can you make networking really simple?' was the headline last week when I wrote about making networking simple. Someone asked me if I could give them a simple equation for successful networkng. Here is what I gave them:
plan + structured approach = successful networking
First of all you need to know what you actually want from your networking. Then you can do the things that will ensure you achieve your goals.
At NRG-networks we encourage people to use the NRG Advocate Marketing System. The 5 simple steps include the essential components in this equation - your plan and a structured approach;
1. Set your networking objectives
2. Identify your target market
3. Develop your proposition
4. Define your inner network
5. Build your advocates
Read more about this business networking system here.
Good Networking!
Dave Clarke
Adam Hartung: Create Marketplace Disruption - Blog Business Success Radio
Listen to Wayne Hurlbert
Thought leader, speaker, consultant, Managing Partner of Spark Partners, and author of the visionary and dynamic book Create Marketplace Disruption: How to Stay Ahead of the Competition, Adam Hartung, describes how most companies fail to respond well to marketplace disruption. They even fail as businesses. Discover how deliberate creation of marketplace disruption will put your company well ahead of the competition. Learn how to dispel the most common management myths and replace them with ideas and techniques that really work. Find out how to embrace innovation and change and make them work for your company as you leave the competition in the dust.
Adam Hartung is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.
The show airs live on Tuesday, April 6, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.
Thought leader, speaker, consultant, Managing Partner of Spark Partners, and author of the visionary and dynamic book Create Marketplace Disruption: How to Stay Ahead of the Competition, Adam Hartung, describes how most companies fail to respond well to marketplace disruption. You will learn:
* Why disruption and innovation are critical to company survival
* Why being locked into existing success formulas is a recipe for disaster
* How the Phoenix Principle of practicing constant disruption is essential
* How to develop White Space where new success formulas can be created
Adam Hartung (photo left) helps companies innovate to achieve real growth. He began his career as an entrepreneur, selling the first general-purpose computing platform to use the 8080 microprocessor when he was an undergraduate. Today, he has 20 years of practical experience in developing and implementing strategies to take advantage of emerging technologies and new business models. He writes, consults and speaks worldwide.
His recently published book, Create Marketplace Disruption: How to Stay Ahead of the Competition (Financial Times Press, 2008), helps leaders and managers create evergreen organizations that produce above-average returns.
Adam is currently Managing Partner of Spark Partners, a strategy and transformation consultancy. Previously, he spent eight years as a Partner in the consulting arm of Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) where he led their efforts in Intellectual Capital Development and e-business. Adam has also been a strategist with The Boston Consulting Group, and an executive with PepsiCo and DuPont in the areas of strategic planning and business development.
At DuPont Adam built a new division from nothing to over $600 million revenue in less than 3 years, opening subsidiaries on every populated continent and implementing new product development across both Europe and Asia.
At Pepsi, Adam led the initiative to start Pizza Hut Home Delivery. He opened over 200 stores in under 2 years and also led the global expansion M&A initiative acquiring several hundred additional sites. He also played a lead role in the Kentucky Fried Chicken acquisition.
Adam has helped redefine the strategy of companies such as General Dynamics, Deutsche Telecom, Air Canada, Honeywell, BancOne, Subaru of America, Safeway, Kraft, 3M, and P&G. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School with Distinction.
My book review of Create Marketplace Disruption: How to Stay Ahead of the Competition by Adam Hartung.
Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.
If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.
To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832
Let's talk with thought leader, speaker, consultant, Managing Partner of Spark Partners, and author of the visionary and dynamic book Create Marketplace Disruption: How to Stay Ahead of the Competition, Adam Hartung, as he describes how most companies fail to respond well to marketplace disruption. They even fail as businesses. Discover how deliberate creation of marketplace disruption will put your company well ahead of the competition. Learn how to dispel the most common management myths and replace them with ideas and techniques that really work. Find out how to embrace innovation and change and make them work for your company as you leave the competition in the dust on Blog Business Success Radio.
Create Marketplace Disruption by Adam Hartung - Book review
Create Marketplace Disruption
How to Stay Ahead of the Competition
By: Adam Hartung
Published: July 2008
Format: Hardcover, 256pp
ISBN-13: 9780132343916
ISBN-10: 0132343916
Publisher: FT Press
"A considerable amount of of business education, and the activities undertaken by managers as they advance their careers, is dramatically removed from implementing, or even understanding, innovation", writes strategy consultant and Managing Partner of Spark Partners, Adam Hartung, in his visionary and dynamic book Create Marketplace Disruption: How to Stay Ahead of the Competition. The author provides fresh thinking and a new approach to innovation and change in the marketplace, and how management can embrace that dynamism to achieve industry dominance over the competition.
Adam Hartung recognizes the critical importance of change to any company, industry, and to the economy as a whole. He also understands that embracing the concept and inevitability of change and disruption are very difficult to grasp for many business leaders. As a result, formerly industry leading companies find themselves left behind by change that they believed was impossible to see in the marketplace. The paradox, as described by Adam Hartung, is that the very organizations that had created the new success formula, are the very companies who discover too late, that their once dominant formula led to their own demise. Because of the success of their formula, the corporate leaders chose to ignore warnings of change and disruption, and defended and extended their system long past its useful lifespan. As a result, their companies began a spiral downward into oblivion.
Adam Hartung (photo left) urges corporate leaders to seek out disruption and innovation, as embracing those principles are critical to the long term success of their organizations. The author goes farther than many discourses on innovation, and recommends that business executives create their own disruption, and challenge their organizational success formula. As Adam Hartung describes innovation, failure to disrupt the current business model by the organization on its own terms, will only mean change and disruption is caused by competitors and the economy. Adam Hartung offers convincing evidence that current success by an organization, if extended and defended against innovation, will result in inevitable decline or failure of the company.
For me, the power of the book is how Adam Hartung not only describes the current problems and myths facing companies, but also how he offers an alternative technique for long term business success. Unlike many books that simply diagnose the problem, Adam Hartung provides a viable and transformational model for embracing and even initiating change. The author shares case studies of corporations, formerly at the pinnacle of their industries, who were blindsided by disruptive innovators that changed their market sector almost overnight. The failed company success formulas had been thought previously to be unbeatable, and were defended and extended by themselves, and even their competitors and by academia. The old paradigms became locked into place, and were resistant and even hostile to changes that could have saved the company and restored it to competitive leadership.
What happened was change and innovation, on someone else's terms, and not on those of the failed corporations. Adam Hartung offers his Phoenix Principle, of practicing constant disruption until it becomes part of standard corporate thinking. This seeking of continuous innovation is part of what the author calls the white space where new ideas are created and put into practice. Finding that critical white space is critical to establishing fresh ideas and establishing new formulas for success. At the same time, keeping the white space open causes organizations to continue seeking and exploring new concepts, preventing the trap of being locked into the older system. Instead of defending and extending a previous, but no longer effective business model, concepts of the Phoenix Principle and white space cause deliberate disruption and innovation on the company's own terms.
I highly recommend the brilliat and must read book Create Marketplace Disruption: How to Stay Ahead of the Competition by Adam Hartung, to anyone seeking fresh, groundbreaking ideas for breaking through the barriers of outdated, but formerly successful business models. This important book establishes clearly that holding onto older ideas, while discouraging innovation and creative disruption, will lead to the company demise. The very defenders of the older paradigm are the very people who contribute to business failure, because they are locked into that success formula. Companies must seek out innovators and disruptive agents to ensure long term corporate success.
Read the often challenging but always rewarding book Create Marketplace Disruption: How to Stay Ahead of the Competition by Adam Hartung, and put the Phoenix Principle and the concept of white space to work for your company. Cast off the blinders of current success formulas, that are already showing signs of decay and decline, and embrace change and innovation. Disrupting your own corporate success today will lead to even greater success and profitability tomorrow.
Delay, Deny, Defend by Jay M. Feinman - Book review
Delay, Deny, Defend
Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It
By: Jay M. Feinman
Published: March 18, 2010
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
ISBN: 9781591843153
Publisher: Penguin/Portfolio
"Insurance is the great protector of the standard of living of the American middle class, but only when it works", writes insurance expert and Distinguished Professor of Law at Rutgers University School of Law, Jay M. Feinman, in his hard hitting and landmark expose of of the insurance industry Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It. The author describes in vivid detail how the insurance industry delays processing of claims, denies payment of legitimate claims, and defends its actions in court even in cases where prompt payment of the claim would be the correct and legal course of action.
Jay M. Feinman pulls no punches as he builds his case against what he considers unethical and often illegal actions taken by insurance companies. The desire on the part of the insurance companies, writes the author, is a widespread policy designed to increase company profits by routine delay and denial of legitimate claims. Jay Feinman traces this change in insurance company policy, from paying policy holders the correct amount of their claim to one of reducing or avoiding payment entirely, to the mid-1990s, when insurers began to see claims processing as an area of potential profits. The author writes that the industry began to examine the claims payout as leakage of cash, that if retained, would serve to enhance the company's profit margins.
Jay M. Feinman (photo left) describes how global consulting giant McKinsey Consulting recommended that insurers examine more closely the claims processing department for possible cost reductions. Jay Feinman points out that the initial concept was to lower overhead and operating costs in claim processing, but that concept evolved into the principle of delaying, reducing, and avoiding some claim payouts entirely. The idea of claim delay and denial became the new industry method of operation, according to the author, resulting in a sea change in the way that insurance companies treated claims and their customers. What Jay Feinman describes as systemic abuses by the insurance industry, became business as usual leaving policy holders often destitute, homeless, or facing long and expensive court battles.
For me, the power of the book is how Jay M. Feinman provides a clear eyed analysis and evaluation of the worst practices of the insurance industry. He names companies he considers to be the worst offenders, while not letting the other insurers off without mention for their practices. He presents real life stories of people caught on the wrong end of delay, deny, and defend, despite their legitimate claims that should have received prompt payment in full. At the same time, what makes the book especially powerful is that the author offers new ideas and fresh thinking into solving the problems facing the industry and the average policy holder.
Jay Feinman is not anti-insurance. Indeed, he considers insurance essential as disaster protection for maintaining a middle class standard of living. To that end, he provides valuable information for consumers to select the best insurer for their needs, and how to best make a claim should misfortune strike. The author also shares some ideas for legislators to curb the systemic abuses that serve neither the policy holders or the long term viability of the insurance industry. Should current and future policy holders elect to not purchase insurance coverage, and lose confidence in their insurers, the insurance industry and the economy as a whole will suffer. Good business practices, including prompt payment of the correct amount of the claims, will enhance the long term image and profitability if the entire insurance industry.
I highly recommend the seminal and must read book Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It by Jay M. Feinman, to anyone seeking a deeper understanding in how the insurance companies operate their businesses in the treatment of claims. The author delves deeply into the concept of delay, deny, defend, and why that practices is so widespread in the industry. He also offers real world, workable solutions that benefit the policy holders, the industry, and the overall economy.
Read the controversial and important book Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It by Jay M. Feinman, and discover for yourself how to best protect yourself in case of an insurance claim. By better understanding of the industry, and how it operates, and by advocating changes in insurer practices, consumers and businesses will be better protected from disaster, now and in the future.
Carma Spence-Pothitt: Home Sweet Home Page - Blog Business Success Radio
Listen to Wayne Hurlbert
Professional web designer, owner of Wordpress ReVamp, and author of the concise and idea packed book Home Sweet Home Page: The 5 Deadly Mistakes Authors, Speakers and Coaches Make with Their Website's Home Page and How To Fix Them!, Carma Spence-Pothitt, describes how your website home page is your most important internet real estate. Many businesses don't take full advantage of the power of their website for communication with customers, and settle for a less than professional look.
Discover the five deadly mistakes that authors, speakers, and coaches make with their websites. Here's how to fix them the right way to provide your customers with a professional look and better service. Learn how to choose a professional website designer who really understands your situation.
Carma Spence-Pothitt is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.
The show airs live on Thursday, April 1, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.
Professional web designer, owner of Wordpressrevamp.com, and author of the concise and idea packed book Home Sweet Home Page: The 5 Deadly Mistakes Authors, Speakers and Coaches Make with Their Website's Home Page and How To Fix Them!, Carma Spence-Pothitt, describes how your website home page is your most important internet real estate. You will learn:
* The five most critical mistakes made on websites
* Why it's crucial for authors, speakers and coaches to have professional sites
* How to establish your website's purpose and vision
* Some simple search engine optimization SEO techniques for any site
Carma Spence-Pothitt (photo left) has been a writer and educator for almost her entire life. She first started telling … and attempting to write down stories …. at the age of three. Her talent with words was noted by her fourth grade teacher, who pulled her aside one day and told her she should become a writer.
Momentarily side-tracked by her love of science (she has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology), Carma eventually fell into a career as a science communicator. She has more than 20 years experience in marketing communications, as well as writing and editing, in the fields of health care, food and wine, computers, business, television, biology and agriculture. She can research, digest and write highly technical material while making this same material comprehensible to people unfamiliar with the topic. She has built her career on helping people understand something that is new to them, taking information—from dry facts to common knowledge to scientific research—and making it sparkle with life.
Maybe it’s her ADD or maybe it’s her insatiable curiosity, but Carma has developed quite an eclectic background: a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, a Master’s degree in Journalism from the number one public relations graduate program in the nation (according to U.S. News & World Report), and education in video production, science communication and dance. Her hobbies include baking, cooking, reading & watching speculative fiction, and collecting stamps and vintage science fiction movie posters.
A Toastmaster for six years — earning her Competent Toastmaster (CTM) Award and working half-way to her Able Toastmaster (ATM) Award — she has developed excellent verbal communication skills. She also produced a 27-minute video introducing new and prospective members to the Toastmasters experience.
Carma is passionate, enthusiastic, creative and kind. She pours her heart and soul into her writing and believes that everyone has a gift to give to the world.
My book review of Home Sweet Home Page: The 5 Deadly Mistakes Authors, Speakers and Coaches Make with Their Website's Home Page and How To Fix Them! by Carma Spence-Pothitt.
Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.
If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.
To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832
Let's talk with professional web designer, owner of Wordpress ReVamp, and author of the concise and idea packed book Home Sweet Home Page: The 5 Deadly Mistakes Authors, Speakers and Coaches Make with Their Website's Home Page and How To Fix Them!, Carma Spence-Pothitt, as she describes how your website home page is your most important internet real estate. Many businesses don't take full advantage of the power of their website for communication with customers, and settle for a less than professional look. Discover the five deadly mistakes that authors, speakers, and coaches make with their websites. Here's how to fix them the right way to provide your customers with a professional look and better service. Learn how to choose a professional website designer who really understands your situation on Blog Business Success Radio.
