Career Distinction Tip: Do An Online Book Review

I just signed up for the Career Distinction E-mail newsletter, and received my first weekly tip.

Here it is:

DO AN ONLINE BOOK REVIEW
Have you recently read a book that relates to your area of
thought leadership or that fits well with one of your
primary personal brand attributes? Post a review of it at
Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com. It becomes a part
of your professional online identity when people Google
you.


You'll find more on building your brand in bits and bytes
in Chapter 11 of Career Distinction.


Please share this with a friend -- it's good Career Karma.


Until next week,


William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson
Authors, Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand
http://www.careerdistinction.com

So, I just finished writing a review of Susan Friedmann's book, "Riches in Niches" -- it's the first one I've written since 2007 on there.

This tip really does work in building your online brand -- I've come across that "Ice to the Eskimos" book review when doing a Google search for myself.

Even cooler, I saw that Jon Spoelstra has an update to his, "Marketing Outrageously: How to Increase Your Revenue by Staggering Amounts" book coming out in February 2011. I'll definitely be ordering that one!

Magazine & Newsletter Launch

As I contemplate doing more with Resume Writers' Digest, I'm starting to assemble resources for magazine and newsletter publishing. This article has a good discussion of the different types of magazines and some good resources.

I'd also recommend The Laughing Bear Newsletter.

"The Power of Who"

I recently finished reading "The Power of Who: You Already Know Everyone You Need to Know" by headhunter Bob Beaudine, and before I take it back to the library, I thought I'd better write down some of the key concepts. Normally, I'd take notes as I go through it, but I read it while blow-drying my hair over the course of a few days, and it's hard to write and wield a blow dryer at the same time. (I take notes on most business books I read -- not only is it a helpful reference for later, but I remember things better when I write them down, as opposed to just reading them).

Key thoughts:

• Cultivate your "Who" friends. Beaudine defines these as someone who can "intercept you on the dark path you've taken and redirect your steps back on to the path of light." These are the friends that aren't afraid to challenge you, or call "B.S." when you're doubting yourself.

• He urges you to ask yourself, "What am I doing right now to steer my life in the direction of the future I truly desire?" If you use this as a compass, you'll always find yourself moving forward.

• The key concept: You already know everyone you need to know." Although he explains this well, I still am having a hard time with it. My take on it is: Start with the people you know, before thinking that you need to get to know new people. Beaudine supports this: "Most people start looking outside their 'Who' network thinking their success will be found 'out there' somewhere." Instead, start with the people you already know.

• Three simple steps to getting moving on a new project:

1. If you were to refocus your efforts to achieve your goal, what would you do first?
2. Who would you call for assistance?
3. How many people would you call?

• Employ the "100/40 Strategy." 1-100 = Who; 1-40 = What; Connecting the Dots = Success. The first set of numbers (1-100) is about relationships. The second set (1-40) is about what you're after. 

Beaudine writes, "There is a reason you and I have been given the friends we have, and it's this strategic group of friends that is the first part of (the) equation." We don't realize that our closest friends are the best resources we have! Instead, we think a stranger is going to be our biggest help in achieving our goal.

• Your "Who" World consists of several different spheres -- Fans, Acquaintances, Advocates, Allies, "Who" Friends, and then your Inner Circle ("You get 12 friends. 3 close and 1 best.")

1. Allies: People you associate with, connect with, or touch through your 12-3-1 and "Who" friends.
2. Advocates: Someone who speaks or writes in support of you or your cause.
3. Acquaintances: All friends start as acquaintances. It's a relationship "less intimate than" a friendship.
4. Fans: An enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer. "Fans are the economic wheel that keeps things rolling. Fans fuel demand."

• Most people never get what they want for three simple reasons: 

1. They don't ask. No one can help if they don't know what you want. 
2. When they do ask, they ask the wrong people. For some reason, people are uncomfortable asking their "Who" for help. As a result, they'll ask most anyone except their friends, who are the only ones with a motive to help. 
3. When they do ask for help, they ask you vaguely. Even if I'm motivated to help a friend, I can't do it when I don't know what he or she wants.

This makes perfect sense. For example, when my clients are networking, they often don't talk to the people who are best suited to help them succeed. I had a client who worked in the transportation industry and was laid off. After weeks of telling him to make sure that he was talking to his network about his career goal and asking for specific help, he was getting stuck. So I reached out to my network. Within a day, I had an opening at a local company for him to follow up on. When I gave him the information, he said, "Oh. A guy I used to work with works there now." Well then, dude, why didn't you already know about this opening? Because he wasn't using his "100."

• Four instructions on making a good list to help you chart your future course:

1. Dream It. Allow yourself to drift a little.
2. Believe It. "Have the confidence that what may not be readily apparent in objective reality actually already exists."
3. Have Confidence In It. "If you don't decide who and what you want to be or are not willing to pay the price to get there, then somebody else will handle those things for you."
4. Do It. There is a time to stop preparing and just execute!

• Important Traits of Successful People:

1. They start.
2. They are not discouraged by obstacles.
3. They turn mistakes and so-called failures into stunning success. 
4. They maintain self-discipline.
5. They stick to it.

The most important lesson:

Take care of the people on your "100 list" and they will take care of you.

Biggest Loser Interview Questions

Tonight, I did some interview coaching for a friend's nephew who is going to be interviewing at "The Biggest Loser" tryouts.

I assembled this list of questions to help him find his talking points for the interview. Here they are:

1. Tell me about yourself. (This is your opportunity to give your 30-second speech.)

2. Why do you want to be on "The Biggest Loser"?

3. What do you dislike most about being overweight?

4. What things has your weight kept you from doing?

5. How would your life be different if you weighed less?

6. What have you done to lose weight before? What worked and what didn't?

7. Why do you think you haven't been successful in losing weight/keeping the weight off?

8. What is your most painful memory related to being overweight?

9. What would help you be successful in losing weight?

10. How would you change your life to keep the weight off?

11. What would you say is your proudest accomplishment in your life?

12. Why are you overweight?

13. Tell me about your relationship with these three things: Food. Exercise. People.

14. Tell me about a typical day in your life.

I recommended he create a 30-second intro (to answer the "tell me about yourself" question) and 2-3 talking points (specific stories that he can use to answer questions such as, "What would help you be successful in losing weight?")

I wish him luck in his interview!

Scouting Arbor Hall

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to stop by Arbor Hall and check out their services. One of the associations I manage is looking for a new place to host their bimonthly continuing education events, and this meeting space was recommended by one of our current members.

I met with Rachel Pagels, the chef, and she walked me through the space. They have two meeting rooms -- the large one holds more than 100 people; the smaller space holds up to 40 people (although she said 30-40 is ideal). They can set up the space with round or rectangular tables. The smaller meeting room has a separate entrance in back, and two restrooms. The space is already booked for lunch on most Wednesdays and Fridays. There is a soundproof wall between the two rooms.

They can provide lunches for approximately $12 per person (and they require a headcount two days out, although they can accommodate a small number of walk-ins). Coffee, tea, and water are included in the cost, as is a main entree and salad. For example, she said a typical lunch would be grilled chicken and pasta, green beans, and a salad bar. There is no additional room rental fee.

They can provide a podium and microphone. You can project onto one of their walls. They also have blackout shades to darken the room.

Arbor Hall can also accommodate weddings, private parties, and Christmas parties. There is a room rental fee for these types of events, and a cash bar is available.

The hall is located at 14040 Arbor Street. If you turn on 140th Street off of Center, it's just past the Dolphins Car Wash -- on your right.

Why Another Blog?

I'll admit it. I'm a blog junkie. This is the 11th blog that I maintain, created, or contribute to. Some of my blogs are sadly neglected. Others started out really strong but when my old iBook laptop died, so did the attention they got. (My old Imac and Power Macintosh G3 couldn't update Blogger posts.)

With the purchase of my MacBook in June, I re-dedicated myself to my blogs ... and have been doing ... well, "better." But not great.

So Jon just came into my office and noticed the new blog. "Randomly Bridget, huh?" he said. Yep, I replied. It's the place for me to keep the kind of stuff that I normally put in a notebook. Articles I want to be able to reference again. Thoughts on a variety of subjects that don't make my subject-specific blogs.

I don't expect my blog posts to be turned into a book, like some blogs have. (The one on Julia Childs, for example.)

Oh, and to demonstrate the true randomness of "Randomly Bridget," I'm posting this link, to a website I found when I was looking for this site. The little cartoon intro is a bit long, but cute. I didn't sign up for it. It's $24.95, and my Paypal account is empty at the moment, because I've been delinquent on publishing the next issue of Resume Writers' Digest ... and when I don't publish, I perish. (Well, my Paypal account does, anyway.)

I recently read Gretchen Rubin's "Happiness Project" and found it to be quite interesting. Of course, like many books I read, the ideas get into my head, and never get any further.

One thing that would make me happier is less clutter in my office. And, at the moment, I'm overwhelmed with paper. Looking around, that includes: Client resumes in various stages of completion (including several that just need to be finalized!). Business files (years worth of file folders stuffed with business and personal receipts). A whole tote with paper that needs to be shredded. (I'm working on it, one paper sack at a time!) Client projects. Unopened membership renewals.

I'm going to work on getting more of this stuff out of my office and onto my computer. Into "the cloud" as it's called. And one way for me to organize some of this stuff is to put it into this blog. One post at a time, I guess.