Stephen Denny: Killing Giants - Author interview

strategist and marketing consultant, and President of Denny Marketing, Stephen Denny, was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions about his thought provoking and insightful book Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry.

Stephen Denny describes how a small player in any industry can topple the giant industry leader through a combination of brains, street smarts, and agility.

Thanks to Stephen Denny for his time, and for his thoughtful and fascinating responses to the questions. They are greatly appreciated.





What was the background to writing this book Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry?

Stephen Denny: An email. A former direct report sent me a note telling me she was, as she put it, “stuck between 2 giants.” I hit reply and before I knew it, I’d gone 500 words. And I was just getting started. I thought it would be rude at that point to hit “send” – think of that coming over your Blackberry – so I ended up writing the book instead.

I’ve spent a lot of time over the course of my career, both on the brand and consulting sides of the table, fighting these sorts of uphill battles. Capturing the right strategies and putting them on paper was a natural progression.

Many small business people believe that they simply can’t compete, let alone thrive, against the dominant company in their industry. You disagree with that idea. Why do you say that?

Stephen Denny: I spoke to over 70 “giant killers” and profiled 33 different companies across 13 countries – from Silicon Valley to the townships of South Africa - who told their stories in their own words of how they out-maneuvered or just killed the giants they faced. They often spoke with the confidence of retrospect, but clearly their struggles weren’t easy. The good news, though, is that they were ultimately successful. It can be done, in other words. And these “giant killers” can teach us ways to do it.



Stephen Denny (photo left)

Being a small business has many advantages that large companies lack. What are some of these advantages and how can they level or even take over the playing field?

Stephen Denny: When giants become giants, their problems change. Global distribution and consistency become more important that craftsmanship. They started hiring and rewarding different kinds of people. The void left behind is an area many successful “giant killers” end up filling.

Another is the encroaching presence of risk avoidance. Big company executives are paid to say “no” to risky things. The larger the company, the more risk averse they often become. They hire and reward people who fit neatly into their existing pre-conceptions, as a result. Risk is bred out of the company culture. As a result, bold product innovations – Method detergent, Sam Adams beer, Vibram FiveFingers shoes, Schweitzer Engineering digital protective relays – are only possible in cultures where such risk is embraced.

How can the small company find and add new customers right under the giant company's nose?

Stephen Denny: The best – and most counter-intuitive – way is to look forward to the giant’s big spending and capitalize on the flood of highly qualified traffic that ensues. Adobe provided a wonderful example of converting retail shoppers at the point of purchase with in-store demonstrations during a significant competitive merchandising event. This doesn’t just apply to physical stores, either. A story from Oslo University illustrated how leveraging the giant’s keywords drove search and ultimately enrollments for this “giant killer” higher education brand.

So let them spend the big dollars and drive the eyeballs and the foot traffic. That’s the most qualified crowd of potential customers you’ll ever see. Meet them there and convert them one by one.

Many people believe that the giant companies set the ground rules of the game in their industry. How can a small company create their own rules to compete with the big company?

Stephen Denny: Jim Koch told me that he set out to change how Americans thought about beer and is personally responsible for re-writing the rules of how we, in this country, all relate to this 10,000 year old human tradition. He is the proverbial father of the craft brewing movement. Look to Eric Ryan of Method, the original standard bearer for the sustainably formulated detergent industry. Cricket Holdings is re-writing how brand managers allocate advertising budgets with a “pay per lead” fixed cost business model. Lots of disruptive examples in Killing Giants.

Are there some real world success stories of small companies who took on the giants and won?

Stephen Denny: Often it’s a case of maneuvering to find a slipstream where the giant just doesn’t want to go, but there are plenty of examples where the “giant killer” just killed the giant it faced. Look at GoDaddy, now #1 in domain name registration and growing the fastest in its space. Look at Baidu, clearly #1 in search in their home market of China. Read about Searle Canada’s brilliant launch of their arthritis drug, Arthrotec, or Oi Mobile’s emergence in Brazil.

There are many categories where “giant killers” could quickly gain momentum and swamp the former giants in their spaces. Inspirational stuff!

What is the first step a small business person should take toward out-competing the giant in their industry?

Stephen Denny: First things first: create meaningful separation. Getting your messaging – the “arc of your story” – nailed down is the first step. Once you know who you are, all things are possible. Everything you do, from your website to your customer service to your product design, becomes an “eigen value” – a self-defining entity, something that could only come credibly from you. Nothing happens without a clear sense of who you are, who you’re not, and what you’re willing to leave behind and walk away from.

MINI is “an impossibly small car” for most – but for many, its size is the crystallization of how they feel about fun, responsibility, and stewardship in what Jim McDowell would call this ‘post-materialistic’ consumer landscape. Polarize your market. Let them choose you – or actively choose to not choose you.

What is next for Stephen Denny?

Stephen Denny: What’s next is spreading the gospel of Killing Giants. I find that speaking to companies and organizations about these ideas is tremendously powerful. Many businesspeople have unstated fears about competing and delivering the message live helps open them up to new possibilities. Once we cross this threshold, developing the right attack plan is an exciting process for everyone.

We all come from cultures where the archetypal story of the hero emerging and defeating the giant is central to our belief systems. Importantly, the hero then returns to the people and bestows the gift on them. In a life of business, this story resonates. It’s powerful. It’s also very timely. There’s plenty to do! Let’s get to work!

****************

My book review of Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry by Stephen Denny.

Tags: Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry, Stephen Denny, market competitiveness, business author interviews.

Killing Giants by Stephen Denny - Book review

Killing Giants

10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry

By: Stephen Denny

Published: March 31, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 256 pages
ISBN-10: 1591843839
ISBN-13: 978-1591843832
Publisher: Portfolio/Penguin













"What connects each is a desire to do the impossible, every day: kill the giant in their industry", writes strategist and marketing consultant Stephen Denny in his thought provoking and insightful book Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry. The author describes how a small player in any industry can topple the giant industry leader through a combination of brains, street smarts, and agility.

Stephen Denny takes the provocative position that the small competitor in an industry can out think and out compete the leader in that same field. The concept that a Goliath in the market can be felled by a little David is counter to conventional thought. When considered objectively, and without the fear of being trampled by the behemoth, the idea that the little guy can prevail takes on new meaning. The small less bureaucratic business, is much more nimble and able to respond to changes in the marketplace and the overall economy, than the much slower moving giant. This ability to act quickly decisively, serves to level the playing field on behalf of the giant slayer. What is critical for the small player is to think and act in new and exciting ways, and take advantage of smallness, to displace the established industry leader.



Stephen Denny (photo left) reminds the would be giant killer that the market conditions of today actually work in favor of the small player. The economy and the marketplace of the past, that worked to the benefit of the giants, no longer exists. Stephen Denny points out that the giants, being slow and resistant to change, have not yet grasped the evolution in the marketplace. As a result, customers can be taken right under the nose of the oblivious giant. Stephen Denny not only provides a detailed examination of both giants and giant topplers, but also offers ten very intriguing strategies for taking down the unwary colossus. The tactics are presented in the form of tales of giant killing successes, and what worked for the smaller competitor. The stories not only contain overt lessons, but on additional examination yield up also deeper philosophies of winning what is on the surface an unfair game. For the would be defeater of giants, the stories are more than just a collection of case studies, but are a series of stories of reinventing the marketplace to one that tilts the scales toward the small company.

For me, the power of the book is how Stephen Denny describes both the theory and the process for defeating the giant in any industry. The author presents a solid case on behalf of the smaller, more responsive competitor as holding much more power than they usually believe they possess. Stephen Denny points out that not all giants are identical, and this important factor also works to the advantage of the would be giant killer. The differences in the forms and sizes of the largest players offer different options and opportunities for the small company. The author illustrates each of the book's ten strategies through intriguing stories, in a self contained chapter format. The tactics can be read sequentially, or as stand alone lessons from the real world.

To his credit, Stephen Denny resists the usual desire on the part of business book authors to offer standard advice and best practices. Instead of this usual technique, the author shares the stories of companies who overcame the challenges presented by facing an overpowering giant in their market. What the stories provide, that the simple reciting of advice does not, are the variety of giants and of the types of smaller companies that defeat them. A combination of the tactics employed by the successful giant slayers, or any one of their methods, might work for any small business. What is important is the understanding, as conveyed so well by Stephen Denny, is that small is a virtue and an advantage in today's marketplace. The old rules no longer apply, leaving the giants more vulnerable to being overwhelmed than ever before.

I highly recommend the essential and must read book Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry by Stephen Denny, to anyone seeking to dislodge the seemingly invincible leader from their industry. This book will change forever the way that you view the large players in your market. Instead of being dazzled by their sheer size or market share, you will discover how to identify and exploit their structural weaknesses.

Read the industry transformational book Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry by Stephen Denny, and be prepared to challenge the leaders in your industry for market supremacy. You will soon learn that the bigger the giant, the harder they fall.

Tags: Killing Giants: 10 Strategies to Topple the Goliath in Your Industry, Stephen Denny, market competitiveness, business book reviews.

Victoria Livschitz: Founder & CEO of Grid Dynamics - Interview

President and CEO of global leader in scaling mission-critical systems Grid Dynamics, Victoria Livschitz, was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions about her company, and about the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in the technology industry.

Thanks to Victoria Livschitz for her time, and for her comprehensive and informative responses. They are greatly appreciated.

When you founded your company, you noticed that some of the problems that had confronted large companies were becoming a problem for Web 2.0 companies as well. What were those challenges that online companies faced?

Victoria Livschitz: I read recently a study from IBM that stated by end of 2010 the total amount of digital information in the world doubled every 11 hours. I did not know this statistic before but it did not surprise me in the least. Five years ago when I founded the company, the trend towards the explosion of data and the enormous aggregation of processing via the Internet was crystal clear for me. What we thought about the scalability problem 10 years ago is child’s play in today’s terms.

The challenges and the opportunities I saw five years ago were: how one can design and deliver a system, which is scalable and elastic, without paying a huge engineering price? Why is it a challenge—because everybody needs it, because it has to be pervasively available, and because a simple application written overnight by a college dropout with the next great idea about web service should be very rapidly developed and deployed and work successfully to support their business model. Delivery of transparent scalability and elasticity is what the world needs badly and has no fixed recipes for. That was the reason I founded Grid Dynamics, to be a part of this quest.

How did handling peak user and processor loads become such a widespread problem?

Victoria Livschitz: I believe the computing is intrinsically elastic, meaning the amount of hardware needed to process a piece of software changes from a function call to a function call, from one input parameter to another, and also depends on the state of the environment where and when the processing occurred. The first 50-60 years of computing did not produce a technological and economical answer of how to let bursting software to consume required hardware resources in a sensible way. Of course in the world of intense Internet traffic patterns we have extreme cases of bursting.

There is always an event which causes an enormous response in the amount of Internet searches, in the amount of twittering, or number of buyers interesting in procuring the next iPod in the next few minutes. The technology services became global and they became a social phenomenon when a little local news can generate a huge spike in demand. Spikes that affect millions or sometimes billions of people mean that in computing we need to manage peaks of unprecedented magnitude.



Victoria Livschitz (photo left)

The Study of Entrepreneurship has found that between 2004-2007 women founded only 1 % off high tech companies in the US. What challenges have you faced as a woman entrepreneur in a high tech field?

Victoria Livschitz: I have to say that entrepreneurship is hard – period. I would say that 90 percent of the challenges facing entrepreneurs are common to both men and women. There are still a few which put us apart. Entrepreneurship is a very time and life consuming activity. It is more like an obsession, especially when you are in a very high-tech business. Theoretically, if a start-up founder is a college-aged kid who has not much social responsibility such as a family, I do not see a lot of difference in patterns for men or women. However, many successful companies are not started by such young people in the greater scheme of things.

Most start-ups are launched by seasoned professionals; people who have reached a higher lever of maturity; or, the pinnacle of their corporate careers. They learned a lot about technology creation and can apply their wisdom and connections to building their own companies. They are mainly middle aged and that means that there are a lot of social and family responsibilities on their shoulders. This does make a difference between men and women. For a woman in her 30’s or 40’s to part with a job and dedicate herself entirely to the new business means that her domestic responsibility will unquestionable suffer. If she has a husband and children, it will have a profound effect on the family.

But it is also a kind of double jeopardy. Not only as a wife and mother are you not able to do what you did before for your family, but another part of the family (the husband and children) has to do more than they did before. It is not easy. Not easy on a woman, not easy on her family. There is another part of the problem. Entrepreneurship is such an intense and high stress activity that in order to sustain the consistent and permanent stress, to perform at your peak every day, every hour, you have to have some place where you can come to decompress, a place where your family and friends give you unconditional love and support.

You can say that a man with family and kids is going into such a business facing similar problems, but again the barrier is higher and implications are tougher for a women entrepreneur.

Many start-up entrepreneurial ventures struggle with achieving profitability, yet your company was profitable from day one. How did you become profitable so quickly?

Victoria Livschitz: Grid Dynamics is a service business. In my opinion, service companies should be profitable quickly, as they don’t have long non-revenue generating start-up periods such as product companies or expensive manufacturing facilities. I started the company with $15,000 of start-up capital, and then looked for creative ways to bootstrap operations without cash. For example, I contracted with one offshore development company that was willing to take stock options instead of cash for their engineering services for the first 6 months of development and another that was willing to give me a long period of time – up to six months – on paying their services fees, so that I could bill my client and get the money long after the engineers were paid their salaries.

I was also very lean with overhead, doing everything myself, including sales, marketing, account management, technical design, operational management, even accounting. Since I started without venture money, and until I raised the first capital years later, we had to be profitable always, or die.

You left the corporate world to start your own company. That bold step is one that you must not have made lightly. What caused you to become an entrepreneur, rather than remain in with Fortune 500 employers?

Victoria Livschitz: Well, for me entrepreneurship was not a question of “if”, but a question of “when”. I got my first taste of the entrepreneurship within a few months after immigrating to the U.S. when I set up a professional chess academy with my husband…basically a private chess school. It was our first business, which allowed us to support the family and put ourselves through college. When I became a high tech professional I began thinking about a number of business ideas. Understanding the work-life balance challenges for women, I did not start my company sooner because those years were dedicated to my family. I have three children and it was not until my youngest turned six years old that I could seriously consider the possibility of leaving my job at a Fortune 500 company and start my own business.

Ultimately, a big part of my decision was a matter of the right timing. I saw a business opportunity as the industry was going through gigantic paradigm shifts, which lead to many fresh ideas and entrepreneurial opportunities.

What advice would you give for entrepreneurs seeking to start a company in the high tech world?

Victoria Livschitz: Well, the biggest advice is for entrepreneurs to stop procrastinating, making excuses and do it! If your dream is big, if you think that you have what it takes to change the world then go try it! You might be successful, and you might not. Actually, I doubt you’ll be unsuccessful in a true sense of this word no matter what happens with your venture. You may not become a millionaire, but you will experience life in a way you never anticipated. It will be a journey, a quest, which will take you places that you would never have gone to otherwise. So, go ahead…try it.

Do you have some additional insights and advice for women entrepreneurs in technology fields?

Victoria Livschitz: Figuring out the work-life balance is the key for success for any entrepreneur. It’s important to have this balance to stay grounded and to take enjoyment out of both your professional and personal life.

What is the first step a person should take toward living their dream of entrepreneurship?

Victoria Livschitz: The first one is to conceive the idea, then try to understand what it means for you and your industry. The entrepreneurs coming from the technology world are mainly former engineers and some have very naive and idealistic images of the world of venture capital, of the world of start-ups, of the world of business management. A lot of things are counter-intuitive to the engineers who turn into entrepreneurs. You have to take time to educate yourself, to speak with people who have done it before. Start getting involved in local organizations, which exist in most places to help you with information, resources, and connections. Find out as much as you can about what you are planning to do, and then learn the rest on the job.

What is next for Victoria Livschitz and Grid Dynamics?

Victoria Livschitz: This is a tough question. I honestly don’t know what the future holds! I know that we have a company to run, to grow, and to take to the next level. I know that we have new and interesting solutions to bring to the market.

Tags: Grid Dynamics, Victoria Livschitz, women entrepreneurs, business interviews.

Spencer Lord: The Brain Mechanic - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Writer, teacher, consultant, seeker, and author of the empowering and insightful book The Brain Mechanic: A Quick and Easy Way to Tune Up the Mind and Maximize Emotional Health, Spencer Lord, describes how you have the power to really change the way you think. Spencer Lord introduces the concept of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). CBT has a successful track record in treating anxiety, depression, mood, and emotions. Until recently, CBT was available only through professional therapy. Spencer Lord removes the mystery cognitive behavior therapy with simple exercises, clear explanations, and helpful insight. Learn how to use CBT to enhance your life, improve your mood, boost your communication skills, and enrich your relationships.

Spencer Lord is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, March 31, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Writer, teacher, consultant, seeker, and author of the empowering and insightful book The Brain Mechanic: A Quick and Easy Way to Tune Up the Mind and Maximize Emotional Health, Spencer Lord, describes how you have the power to really change the way you think. Spencer Lord introduces the concept of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). You will learn:

* Why understanding cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is important for change

* How discovering that change in outlook leads to change in behavior

* How to perform some simple exercises to facilitate change

* How to make behavioral transformation last and not revert to past habits



Spencer Lord (photo left) worked for Mother Teresa in Calcutta after attending the University of Chicago. In 2008 he founded The Hyperagency where he created the cognitive exercises presented in The Brain Mechanic: A Quick and Easy Way to Tune Up the Mind and Maximize Emotional Health.

You have the incredible power to change the way you think, perceive, and react to stress—for the better—through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ("CBT"). CBT has been known to be widely successful in the treatment of problems associated with anxiety, anger, depression, mood, personality, addiction, weight, insomnia; and many other emotional disturbances.

Until recently, access to CBT was only available through professional therapy. Now with The Brain Mechanic: A Quick and Easy Way to Tune Up the Mind and Maximize Emotional Health Spencer Lord delivers a concise, entertaining, and easy-to-use handbook that demystifies Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. First, the reader learns "Emotional Algebra," which lies at the heart of the Cognitive Model. The author then presents customizable mental exercises, which allow people of all ages and backgrounds to experience the life-changing benefits of CBT. Through simple exercises, and clear explanations "The Brain Mechanic" makes it easy for you to fit the techniques of CBT into your daily life to improve your mood, broaden your communication skills, and enrich your relationships.

My book review of The Brain Mechanic: A Quick and Easy Way to Tune Up the Mind and Maximize Emotional Health by Spencer Lord.

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 writer, teacher, consultant, seeker, and author of the empowering and insightful book The Brain Mechanic: A Quick and Easy Way to Tune Up the Mind and Maximize Emotional Health, Spencer Lord, as he describes how you have the power to really change the way you think. Spencer Lord introduces the concept of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). CBT has a successful track record in treating anxiety, depression, mood, and emotions. Until recently, CBT was available only through professional therapy. Spencer Lord removes the mystery cognitive behavior therapy with simple exercises, clear explanations, and helpful insight. Learn how to use CBT to enhance your life, improve your mood, boost your communication skills, and enrich your relationships on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: The Brain Mechanic: A Quick and Easy Way to Tune Up the Mind and Maximize Emotional Health, Spencer Lord, personal development, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

The Brain Mechanic by Spencer Lord - Book review

The Brain Mechanic

A Quick and Easy Way to Tune Up the Mind and Maximize Emotional Health

By: Spencer Lord

Published: January 3, 2011
Format: Paperback, 144 pages
ISBN-10: 0757315569
ISBN-13: 978-0757315565
Publisher: HCI Health Communications, Inc.











"Basically, cognitive behavioral therapy demonstrates that our thoughts - not external things like people, events, or situations - cause our feelings and behaviors", writes educator, consultant, and seeker Spencer Lord, in his empowering and insightful book The Brain Mechanic: A Quick and Easy Way to Tune Up the Mind and Maximize Emotional Health. The author describes how people possess the power to change the way they think, perceive life, and respond to stress, resulting in real transformation in their lives.

Spencer Lord takes the mystery out of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in a readable, and and easy to understand manner. For a topic as potentially complex in explanation as CBT, this engaging and accessible format is important for the reader. The author presents the concept as a series of very practical and simple to perform exercises. With these useful and helpful exercises as examples of how the process of CBT works, Spencer Lord is then able to provide the more theoretical framework as to why the concept of cognitive behavioral therapy is so effective for the individual. For the author, the entire journey is based on changing the way the individual thinks, with the end results being the important goal.



Spencer Lord (photo left) presents a complicated subject in easy to understand manual, using a tool box analogy. The four overall sections include:

* The cognitive model
* Change your beliefs
* Exercises for living
* Five quick steps to emotional well-being

Utilizing this logical, and module based approach helps the reader to discover the concept of CBT as one that changes how the world is perceived, and then followed up with advice for making that transformation a reality. Spencer Lord provides leading edge brain science as support for the concepts, describing effectively how and why the change is partially a function of how the human brain works. In effect, Spencer Lord teaches the reader that even the brain can be rewired to improve the quality of a person's life. The presentation is not only about the brain, but also includes a very important emotional component that offers a sense of spiritual peace with the changes as they happen. The entire book guides the reader to release the dangerous negative emotions that prevent a breakthrough to a happier and more fulfilling life.

For me, the power of the book is how Spencer Lord presents the very complex topic of cognitive behavioral therapy in accessible and understandable language. The author also shares the techniques for utilizing CBT effectively to make real progress in breaking free of the old barriers and obstacles to changing behavior. Whether the emotional problem is depression and anxiety, addiction, weight issues, or mood, the exercises offer release from the old patterns of self-destructive behavior. To his credit, Spencer Lord admits that his methods are not for the person with severe emotional problems. For those individuals, the author recommends seeking professional guidance.

For the average person, however, this book is an excellent primer in how the brain functions, how the brain can be taught to think and react differently, and how real breakthroughs and insights can be achieved successfully. Spencer Lord also shares his personal journey, making the book a revelatory experience as well. For business people, the advice for enhancing communication skills, overcoming fears of failure, and enriching relationships is both helpful and easy to apply in everyday life. In the end, the discovery that anxiety only breeds more anxiety, and that positive emotions also multiply in a good way, offers a basis for overcoming obstacles in one's own life.

I highly recommend the practical and outlook altering book The Brain Mechanic: A Quick and Easy Way to Tune Up the Mind and Maximize Emotional Health by Spencer Lord, to anyone seeking a useful and results oriented approach to changing negative emotions and behavior into positive outcomes in life. The author offers a solutions based approach that provides a system of procedures for creating real change.

Read the perceptive and concise book The Brain Mechanic: A Quick and Easy Way to Tune Up the Mind and Maximize Emotional Health by Spencer Lord, and put the power of cognitive behavioral therapy to work for you. The result will be a happier life, filled with more confidence and deeper emotional relationships.

Tags: The Brain Mechanic: A Quick and Easy Way to Tune Up the Mind and Maximize Emotional Health, Spencer Lord, personal development, business book reviews.

Shraga Biran: Opportunism: How To Change The World One Idea At A Time - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Entrepreneur and founder of one of Israel's leading law firms, and author of the visionary and yet very pragmatic book Opportunism: How to Change the World--One Idea at a Time, Shraga F. Biran describes how social and intellectual capital trump the traditional measures of capital. Entrepreneurship and opportunity are the new wealth. As a result of the rise of global technology, and the instant sharing of information, the need to protect intellectual capital takes on new importance. Shraga Biran points out the importance of government and society protecting the creators of this new idea based wealth. He describes the need to extend to all individuals the rights and stability necessary to own whatever opportunities they create as their private property. As a result, Shraga Briran proposes a new social and legal framework to make opportunity a tangible, valuable, and positive asset. The new framework will transform the idea from just a means to create wealth, but into a form of wealth itself.

Shraga F. Biran is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, March 29, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Entrepreneur and founder of one of Israel's leading law firms, and author of the visionary and yet very pragmatic book Opportunism: How to Change the World--One Idea at a Time, Shraga F. Biran describes how social and intellectual capital trump the traditional measures of capital. Entrepreneurship and opportunity are the new wealth. You will learn:

* What opportunism really means in today's economy

* Why social and intellectual capital are the new wealth

* How opportunism can transform society to a more democratic economic model

* How to protect intellectual property as real wealth itself



Shraga Biran (photo left) is the founder of one of Israel’s leading law firms and an entrepreneur specializing in energy and international real estate.

He lives in Tel Aviv.

He is the author of Opportunism: How to Change the World--One Idea at a Time.

My book review of Opportunism: How to Change the World--One Idea at a Time by Shraga F. Biran.



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 entrepreneur and founder of one of Israel's leading law firms, and author of the visionary and yet very pragmatic book Opportunism: How to Change the World--One Idea at a Time, Shraga F. Biran as he describes how social and intellectual capital trump the traditional measures of capital. Entrepreneurship and opportunity are the new wealth. As a result of the rise of global technology, and the instant sharing of information, the need to protect intellectual capital takes on new importance. Shraga Biran points out the importance of government and society protecting the creators of this new idea based wealth. He describes the need to extend to all individuals the rights and stability necessary to own whatever opportunities they create as their private property. As a result, Shraga Briran proposes a new social and legal framework to make opportunity a tangible, valuable, and positive asset. The new framework will transform the idea from just a means to create wealth, but into a form of wealth itself on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Opportunism: How to Change the World--One Idea at a Time, Shraga F. Biran, intellectual property, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

Opportunism by Shagra F. Biran - Book review

Opportunism

How to Change the World--One Idea at a Time

By: Shraga F. Biran

Published: January 2011
Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
ISBN-10: 0-374-17578-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-374-17578-8
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux













"Opportunism is an approach to life that seeks to combine the elements of time, place, and initiative to as to dismantle an already existing set of circumstance and reassemble them in a new way, to combine them with new and hitherto unknown elements. Opportunism is fatalism's opposite: it can generate unexpected results", writes founder and owner of top ranked law firm in Israel, Shraga F. Biran and Co., Shraga F. Biran, in his visionary and yet very pragmatic book Opportunism: How to Change the World--One Idea at a Time. The author describes how the underutilized concept of opportunity contains the underpinnings of a new social and legal framework, that transforms opportunity into a tangible asset that constitutes real wealth itself.

Shraga Biran understands that opportunism has long been considered a negative concept, filled with connotations that are often shady and even dishonest. The author takes that idea to task, and replaces those older views of opportunism with a fresh, positive, and democratic principle of opportunity as a benefit to all. For Shraga Biran, opportunism is both realistic and pragmatic in its approach to the world. Since a number of possibilities always exists, and the outcome not preordained by events, opportunism opens up exciting value building ideas to anyone. Opportunism operates on the twofold basis of objectivity and subjectivity. The objective side includes empirical facts and circumstances, while the subjective element depends on how people utilize those tangible facts, events, and real world conditions. The brief, shining moment, when the individual sees and acts upon the possibilities and potential in those conditions, is when opportunity is created.



Shraga Biran (photo left) provides a strong overview of the nature of opportunism, and in effect, develops an entire new concept of opportunism. The author explains that opportunism is also a theory of opportunity that leads to social and economic renewal that benefits all of humanity. Opportunism is also a dynamic concept that involves change, reform, and transformation instead of continuity and the status quo. Creative thinking and innovation go to the core of opportunism, rather than being a result; they are a root cause. Opportunism goes far beyond initiative and and invention, but these two ideas are part of the opportunity process. For the author, the very populism and democratic nature of opportunism, as ideas that can be seized and acted upon by anyone, give the concept a universalist and inclusive value. Shraga Biran then describes how to protect this new form of wealth, as an end and asset in itself, and not simply a process or conduit to wealth. This change in thinking forms the transitional basis for an entirely new legal, social, and economic system and mode of thought.

For me, the power of the book is how Shraga Biran develops and articulates the important new societal, economic, and legal theory of opportunism. The author provides a complete background of what the new paradigm of opportunism means, and then describes how it works to transform the way people think about new ideas, intellectual property, and the nature of what constitutes wealth itself. Shraga Biran supports his concept with a compelling assessment of how innovation and opportunity, as well as entrepreneurship, are the new wealth supplanting the traditional measures of capital value. Social and intellectual capital have overtaken the concept of of physical asset based wealth in the twenty-first century. The author provides the intellectual background to this profound change society, law, and economics.

I highly recommend the intellectually satisfying and idea transformational book Opportunism: How to Change the World--One Idea at a Time by Shraga F. Biran, to anyone seeking a fresh and original analysis of the transition from an asset based wealth system, to one where intellectual capital and entrepreneurship represent the true wealth of an economy. The author describes how and why this intellectual property, which forms real wealth, changes societies, and how to protect the ideas in the hands of the opportunity seizing the opportunity.

Read the society and economy changing book Opportunism: How to Change the World--One Idea at a Time by Shraga F. Biran, and discover how if given chance, opportunism has the power and the potential to enhance society, build companies, and enrich economies in new and exciting ways. Opportunism is an idea whose time has not only come, but represents a critical path to creating real wealth now and in the future.

Tags: Opportunism: How to Change the World--One Idea at a Time, Shraga F. Biran, intellectual property, business book reviews.

Seeing Red Cars by Laura Goodrich - Book review

Seeing Red Cars

Driving Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization to a Positive Future

By: Laura Goodrich

Published: February 7, 2011
Format: Paperback, 192 pages
ISBN-10: 9781605097275
ISBN-13: 978-1605097275
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers











"You could be getting more of what you want - more new ideas, more teamwork in your department, and a more positive attitude in the company", writes internationally recognized expert in the field of workplace dynamics and relationships, Laura Goodrich, in her inspirational and very practical book Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization to a Positive Future. The author describes how we get more of what we focus on, and shares the tools for enhancing and sharpening the focus on what we really want.

Laura Goodrich points to the very familiar phenomenon of the purchaser of a red car suddenly seeing red cars everywhere. The author recognizes this sudden appearance of red cars as simply a fresh focus on red cars on the road. In fact, the red cars were there all along, but without the focus on them, they went unnoticed prior to the red car purchase. With this change in concentration, writes Laura Goodrich, a dramatic and very noticeable change in outcomes is possible. Unfortunately, as the author describes, people will often concentrate their focus on what they don't want. The result is that those people also receive the bad things on which they sharpened their gaze. Laura Goodrich shares how the world doesn't have to be that way, and guides the reader to focus on the desirable outcome, and how this reversal of direction makes all the difference in the world.



Laura Goodrich (photo left) understands that not only can individuals change their outlook, but that entire corporate cultures can be transformed as well. Instead of concentrating on weaknesses, the author demonstrates how entire organization can enhance strengths, increase passion, and develop a more engaged and productive workplace. Combining the change in thinking with the tools necessary to make the transition from a negative focused culture, to that of one where the positive outcome is sought, the author provides a system that provides real bottom line results. While many companies expend their energy on what they believe is preventing problems, the more effective organization creates an atmosphere where overall success is the goal. With this profound difference in organizational culture and behavior, any company can get what it really wants.

For me, the power of the book is how Laura Goodrich utilizes the red car phenomenon effectively to describe how people see and receive what they focus on in life. The author combines effectively the theory of why concentration on anything either good or bad, produces that result, with practical steps on how to change that concentration problem. Laura Goodrich bolsters her theoretical framework with the latest research in how the brain processes information, and how it focuses upon either good or undesirable results. The author shares the tools, including an online toolkit, to effectively rewire the brains of individuals or of entire organizations to effect positive and lasting change.

Along with the theory and practical exercises, Laura Goodrich also shares real world stories of companies who have made the leap to a focus on positive goals. The results of these corporate cultural changes are both dramatic and motivational for anyone seeking to improve morale within the company culture. Engaged and positive employees are also more productive and increase the organization's revenue and profitability. Happy workers, concentrating on seeing the shiniest red cars in life, are more likely to be creative as well. When innovative thinking is sought, bold new ideas and initiatives seem to arrive out of nowhere. Just like the red cars, those fresh ideas were there all along.

I highly recommend the innovative and results oriented book Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization to a Positive Future by Laura Goodrich, to anyone looking for commitment, both individually and on an organization wide basis, to focusing on positive events. Looking for what you really want will surprise and delight the seeker of good things in business and in life.

Read the negative pattern breaking book Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization to a Positive Future by Laura Goodrich, and discover how to make positive change with both realistic and effective techniques for personal and organizational transformation. You will be seeing red cars everywhere in the office and on the road of life.

Tags: Seeing Red Cars: Driving Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization to a Positive Future, Laura Goodrich, organizational behavior, business book reviews.

Peak Everything By Richard Heinberg - Book review

Peak Everything

Waking Up to the Century of Declines

By: Richard Heinberg

Published: July 15, 2010
Format: Paperback, 240 pages
ISBN: 9780865716452
Publisher: New Society Publishers













"We really have reached Peak Everything...but we've barely had a chance to enjoy the view; how brief was our moment at the apex! From here on, it's going to be a bumpy, downward roller-coaster ride", writes leading educator on Peak Oil and Senior Fellow-in-Residence at Post Carbon Institute, Richard Heinberg, in his provocative and thought provoking book Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines. The author describes how in the light of diminishing global resources, that traditional concepts of economic growth will have to be reassessed, and replaced with fresh thinking on how society and the global economy will operate in the twenty-first century.

Richard Heinberg paints a dismal picture of how all resources are in decline, and how current rates of consumption are unsustainable even over the short term. Growth in those rates of resource use is simply not possible, according to the author. In a series of perceptive and self-contained essays, Richard Heinberg describes the resource shortage problem in several critical industries, and how the end of the oil and resource era will usher in a new paradigm based on sustainability. The author offers a glimpse of a grim future for all of humanity, if the current course is not changed dramatically. Throughout the book, Richard Heinberg presents alternative ways of thinking, acting, and living that are both sustainable and respect the dignity of everyone on this planet.



Richard Heinberg (photo left) provides the numbers and graphic evidence of resource decline, and the twenty-first century will experience crises in the following areas unless steps are taken now to change consumption rates:

* Oil, natural gas, and coal extraction
* Yearly grain harvests
* Climate stability
* Economic growth
* Fresh water
* Minerals and ores, such as copper and platinum

While Peak Oil attracts the vast majority of the headlines, the author points to the other resources that are also experiencing decline. Fresh water and food are even more essential to human life than oil and minerals, and unsustainable practices threaten their availability, and will create shortages. While Richard Heinberg stresses that not all peaks will occur at once, they are all close or have already passed their apex. For the author, without a dramatic change in attitudes toward the planet and its resources, the twenty-first century will be a very dismal place for almost every person on earth.

For me, the power of the book is how Richard Heinberg describes the rapidly escalating problem of resource shortages in a matter of fact, and non-sensational manner. He provides evidence of decline, and shares the wisdom of others regarding the development of a new era of sustainability and respect for the environment and for all people. The book is formatted from a series of stand alone essays, covering technology, agriculture, and the arts in the first group. The second grouping of essays focuses on nature's limits and the human condition. The third section describes the end of one era and the beginning of another new era. Taken together, the three sections and their subsidiary essays provide a solid overview of the growing problem or resource decline, how they affect the increasing global human population, and what must happen to prevent a catastrophic future for all humanity.

The book is a well structured, convincingly argued, and very eye opening account of the challenges facing every person in the world. The author invites readers to examine their own lives and attitudes, as the age of excess slips into the past, and how the age of sustainability can be ushered in successfully. The various essays can all be read in any order, and each one contains a warning, and an opportunity for fresh thinking and action. The future doesn't have to be a nightmare, but first everyone must recognize and understand the severity of this onrushing crisis. The author does a good job in conveying those concepts to the reader.

I highly recommend the important and must read book Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines by Richard Heinberg, to anyone who is serious about understanding the challenges posed by peak everything. Anyone who wants to create a better, cleaner, more just, and sustainable world would do well to read this book.

Read the enlightening and complacency shattering book Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines by Richard Heinberg, and discover how the future will happen with or without your cooperation and support. This book offers the choice to become part of the solution, rather than remain a part of the problem.

Tags: Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines, Richard Heinberg, peak oil, environmental book reviews.

The Startup Game by William H. Draper III - Book review

The Startup Game

Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs

By: William H. Draper III

Published: January 4, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
ISBN-10: 9780230104860
ISBN-13: 978-0230104860
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan










"When people ask me whether venture capitalists are born or self-made, I tend to waffle. I suspect it's a little bit of both, with definite shading toward the self-made", writes pioneering venture capitalist and founder of Sutter Hill Ventures in Palo Alto, California, William H. Draper III, in his fascinating and insightful book The Startup Game: Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs. The author describes, from both sides of the table, the intimate and often challenging relationship between the venture capitalist and the entrepreneur.

William Draper shares his extensive experience as a long time venture capitalist. He provides stories of successes, that include household name companies including Skype and Hotmail, and how and why those investments worked so well. Perhaps, even more importantly, the author describes his failed investments as well. There are critical lessons, for both investors and entrepreneurs, to be learned from the mistakes as well as the success stories. William Draper offers both the bright lights and losing investments, to show how the venture capital industry really works, for both the investing firm and the entrepreneur. Along with the author's insider perspective on how venture capital really works, is a description of why venture capital is of critical importance to the present and future of business.



William H. Draper III (photo left)n understands the symbiotic and mutually supporting partnership between entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Ideas need money to fund them and to transform them into viable wealth building companies. Investors need great entrepreneurs and their teams to generate more capital for further growth investments. William Draper provides ample evidence of how the partnership between entrepreneurs and venture capitalists enhances economic growth and strengthens the economy. At the same time, the author describes how venture capitalists can partner with global entrepreneurs to develop businesses to build more robust economies around the world. Throughout the book, the author shares his failures and bad investments as object lessons as to the nature of both entrepreneurship and the life of the venture capitalist. As William Draper points out so honestly, and with total candor, there will always be huge losses in many if not most of the investments made in emerging companies. As a result, the book also offers advice for both entrepreneurs and venture capitalists for increasing the odds of success.

For me, the power of the book is how William Draper provides an engaging and personal account of his career as a venture capitalist, international business leader, and philanthropist, that also shares valuable lessons on the role of the venture capitalist and entrepreneurial partnership in building the economy. The author presents a clear eyed view of what the venture capitalist does, how that role is filled, and why they make their many investment decisions.

William Draper removes some of the mystery and even the mystique that so often surrounds the venture capitalist firm, and opens their mode of thinking and operations to the reader. For the entrepreneur, the information on what venture capitalists seek in terms of opportunities, what is expected of the entrepreneur, and how decisions are reached, make this book an indispensable resource. Wrapped up in an entertaining narrative, with the added bonus of the author's thoughts on helping others, the information in this book is both enjoyable to read and to understand.

I highly recommend the intriguing and very informative book The Startup Game: Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs by William H. Draper III, to entrepreneurs seeking real world advice from one of the truly great venture capitalists. The experience and practical advice shared in this fine book are priceless for anyone seeking investment through a venture capitalist. The book is also an excellent guide for practicing venture capitalists, as the wisdom of a seasoned expert in the industry, will improve their investment performance as well.

Read the passionate gem of a book The Startup Game: Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs by William H. Draper III, and discover the world of venture capitalists where collaboration with entrepreneurs and their ideas, can and will build a growing economy that benefits everyone.

Tags: The Startup Game: Inside the Partnership between Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs, William H. Draper III, venture capitalism, business book reviews.

Edward Hallowell: Shine: Using Brain Science To Get The Best From Your People - Blog Business Success radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio



Acclaimed Child and Adult Psychiatrist, founder of the Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health, and author of the groundbreaking and results oriented book Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People, Edward "Ned" Hallowell, MD, describes what it means for a person to really shine. He shares how to motivate a person to be their best at work, and to really shine. Ned Hallowell employs the latest research in brain science and unveils his tested and proven plan called The Cycle of Excellence. He provides insights into why so many employees fail to perform well, and how to get them back on track. He points out how to better match employees with the right jobs, and how to avoid the sense of disconnection so often found in today's work environments. Discover how the impact of technology based communications, rather than face to face conversation, leads to disconnection and lower performance levels. Learn how as a manager to help your employees to shine more brightly than ever before.

Edward "Ned" Hallowell, MD is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Thursday, March 24, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Acclaimed Child and Adult Psychiatrist, founder of the Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health, and author of the groundbreaking and results oriented book Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People, Edward "Ned" Hallowell, MD, describes what it means for a person to really shine. You will learn:

* Why in today's high pressure workplace, employees don't always shine

* What it means to really shine and achieve peak performance

* Hoe the five step Cycle of Excellence works to develop star employees

* How any manager at any level can implement the Cycle of Excellence



Edward M. Hallowell, MD (photo left) offers groundbreaking advice on how to survive in an ultra-competitive, ultra fast, attention deficit society while remaining sane, how to raise happy children, the art of forgiveness and how to manage worry. He also offers a prescriptive guide that shows how to get the most out of life with Attention Deficit Disorder.

A graduate of Harvard College and Tulane School of Medicine, Dr. Hallowell is a child and adult psychiatrist and the founder of The Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health in Sudbury, MA. He was a member of the faculty of the Harvard Medical School from 1983 to 2004.

Dr. Hallowell is considered to be one of the foremost experts on the topic of ADHD. He is the co-author, with Dr. John Ratey, of Driven to Distraction, and Answers to Distraction, which have sold more than a million copies. In 2005, Drs. Hallowell and Ratey released their much-awaited third book on ADHD, Delivered from Distraction. “Delivered” provides updated information on the treatment of ADHD and more on adult ADHD.

Dr. Hallowell’s most recent book, Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People was published January 17, 2011. In Shine, Dr. Hallowell draws on brain science, performance research, and his own experience helping people maximize their potential to present a proven process for getting the best from your people. He introduces the 5 steps in the Cycle of Excellence: Select, Connect, Play, Grapple and Grow, and Shine. He shows how each step is critical in its own right and translates into actions a manager or worker can do and do now to propel their people to excellence.

My book review of Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People by Edward M. Hallowell, MD.

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 acclaimed Child and Adult Psychiatrist, founder of the Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health, and author of the groundbreaking and results oriented book Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People, Edward "Ned" Hallowell, MD, as he describes what it means for a person to really shine. He shares how to motivate a person to be their best at work, and to really shine. Ned Hallowell employs the latest research in brain science and unveils his tested and proven plan called The Cycle of Excellence. He provides insights into why so many employees fail to perform well, and how to get them back on track. He points out how to better match employees with the right jobs, and how to avoid the sense of disconnection so often found in today's work environments. Discover how the impact of technology based communications, rather than face to face conversation, leads to disconnection and lower performance levels. Learn how as a manager to help your employees to shine more brightly than ever before on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People, Edward (Ned) Hallowell, MD, personnel management, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People by Edward M. Hallowell, MD - Book review

Shine

Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People

By: Edward M. Hallowell, MD

Published: January 13, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
ISBN-13: 9781591399230
ISBN-10: 1591399238
Publisher: Harvard Business Press












"The more a manager can help the people who work for him or her to shine, the greater that manager will be, and the greater the organization as a whole", writes child and adult psychiatrist, and founder of The Hallowell Center for Cognitive and Emotional Health, Edward (Ned) Hallowell, MD, in his groundbreaking and results oriented book Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People. The author describes how managers can bring out the best in their employees through an effective process that combines the best of performance management and the latest brain research.

Ned Hallowell recognizes that the job of the manager has become more difficult in today's challenging business climate. The workplace is affected by the troubled economy and by rapid ongoing changes in the marketplace. Employees are being asked to do more with less, and the pressure affects their productivity and morale. Managers are very often at a loss as to how to get the best from their employees, as so many fail to achieve the results expected from their potential. Ned Hallowell combines the latest in brain research with proven performance management to create an effective process for managers to bring out the very very best from their employees. The result is that the employees live up to their fullest potential and shine like stars in the organization.



Edward M. Hallowell, MD (photo left) understands the problems facing both managers and their employees, and provides a process where managers can accelerate their employees to achieve peak performance. The author offers the five step Cycle of Excellence that enrich the workplace and inspire staff members to strive for and reach their fullest potential. Taken together, each of the critical steps in the process will transform the workplace from the mediocre to the outstanding. The five steps in the Cycle of Excellence are:

* Select - choosing the right people for the job
* Connect - building their teamwork levels
* Play - encouraging creativity and innovation
* Grapple and Grow - overcoming job pressures
* Shine - using the right rewards to build loyalty and create excellence

For me, the power of the book is how Edward M. Hallowell, MD combines the latest cutting edge research in brain studies with forward thinking performance management concepts to produce a workplace transformational process. The author combines theory and practical advice into an effective process that any manager can utilize to help their employees shine as stars. Ned Hallowell also provides illustrative stories, within the various chapters, to demonstrate the steps of the process in action. The stories bolster understanding of the concepts as they answer many of the questions that arise about each of the five principles of the Cycle of Excellence. At the same time, the stories underline the importance of each step to the overall goal of attracting the best performance from the entire staff.

I highly recommend the innovative and insightful book Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People by Edward M. Hallowell, MD, to anyone seeking a practical and workable process to enhance the performance of their employees in a positive and engaging manner. The author shares a system that is both workable in any organization, but is also one that should be embraced by the employees as well.

Read the essential and work environment building book Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People by Edward M. Hallowell, MD, and put the five steps of the Cycle of Excellence to work for your organization. You will discover that your company has more stars shining brightly than anyone could ever have imagined possible.

Tags: Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People, Edward (Ned) Hallowell, MD, personnel management, business book reviews.

Fostering Sustainable Behavior - Third Edition by Doug McKenzie-Mohr - Book review

Fostering Sustainable Behavior

An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing Third Edition

By: Doug McKenzie-Mohr

Published: February 1, 2011
Format: Paperback, 192 pages
ISBN-10: 0865716420
ISBN-13: 978-0865716421
Publisher: New Society Publishers




"Behavior change is the cornerstone of sustainability", writes award-winning environmental psychologist and specialist in sustainable behavior, Doug McKenzie-Mohr, in his seminal and action oriented book Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing Third Edition. The author describes a revolutionary system for designing and implementing effective and behavior changing environmental programs.

Doug McKenzie-Mohr recognizes that behavioral changes truly matter in sustainable environmental systems applications. The change in actions and behavior not only have an impact on the environment, but they also affect how the people taking the actions view themselves. As the author points out, individuals engaging in environmental activities see themselves as the type of people who care about pollution, climate change, deforestation, and other environmental issues. As a result, those same people will be much more likely to support environmental protection policies. For Doug McKenzie-Mohr, action is required to cause behavioral change. Education, and reading brochures won't create the internalized attitude that supports sustainability. Only a more active approach will be effective in generating long term changes of habits and attitudes.



Doug McKenzie-Mohr (photo left) understands that economic incentives alone are not enough to facilitate changes in sustainable behavior. Since the monetary incentive fails to reach the person on a deeper level, the full impact of the program will be less than expected by planners. For the author, the developers of a sustainable environmental policy must look past economics and take a more holistic approach to the system. Doug McKenzie-Mohr proposes a community -based social marketing approach to replace informational campaigns and economic incentives. The author shares how to build support for a community-based program, and how to utilize a multi-disciplinary concept to involve the entire community and all facets of the population and their activities and goals. To achieve success, the author presents a plan for total involvement, complete with activities large and small; and both personal and community wide.

For me, the power of the book is how Doug McKenzie-Mohr combines theory and practical techniques into a holistic system of behavioral change. Not only does the author provide a step by step process for designing and implementing a system successfully, but also includes tips and advice for developing and enhancing the changes made within the individuals themselves. These personal changes are then transferred and and multiplied into support for the efforts on behalf of the entire community. The book is nothing short of a manual for operating a community-based social marketing system. The author shares ideas both large and small, and provides the tools and techniques for putting those ideas into practice.

Doug McKenzie-Mohr goes far beyond economics, informational and educational programs, and other traditional approaches to environmental sustainability, making this book the go to guide for policy makers everywhere. Filled with checklists, take away hints and tips, and important case studies, the book is useful to both an individual, a community, or even a larger political organization. The book is essential reading for everyone from individuals, to community leaders, to government officials. There is powerful information for removing barriers to buy in, or to taking action, that help to keep the system on track to ensure the desired change in behavior and community culture.

I highly recommend the definitive and must read book Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing Third Edition by Doug McKenzie-Mohr, to anyone serious about creating a sustainable environment policy or plan, and for implementing a system of community-based social marketing. This book will be read over and over again, and makes the ideal textbook for developing and enriching behavioral change regarding sustainability and the environment.

Read the landmark and now classic guide Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing Third Edition by Doug McKenzie-Mohr, and discover some fresh thinking, and a community based approach to sustainable development. This book provides the framework to transform people's behavior and their lives as they change their behavior and attitudes toward the environment and sustainability.

Tags: Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing Third Edition, Doug McKenzie-Mohr, social marketing, environmental book reviews.