Monthly Archives: July 2010

Are You In The Biz?

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Do you believe that good things or bad things come in sets of three? Let’s think positive and say that good things appear in groups of three. I bring this up because Soundview is now offering a third FREE e-newsletter: BizBook Review. This weekly e-newsletter provides readers with in-depth coverage of recently released business books. It’s a great way to keep up with titles that you may have missed.

BizBook Review solves a problem that many readers experience. The volume of business books, thanks in large part to independent publishers and e-publishers, has increased. Meanwhile the amount of time a person has to devote to reading has decreased. You want to make sure that you select only the most worthwhile business books, the books you know will deliver interesting and applicable takeaways. BizBook Review gives you the insight to help make your reading selection process a little more simple.

Sign-ups are starting now at Summary.com. Make sure you visit the site and click the tab on the home page labeled “Free E-Newsletters” to sign up and get your weekly delivery of BizBook Review.

Don’t forget, BizBook Review joins our roster of FREE e-newsletters, including Soundview Leadership Alert and Soundview Executive Book Alert.

The Untouchable Goal

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One of my favorite Twitter feeds to keep tabs on belongs to our friend Marshall Goldsmith. Take a peek for yourself by clicking this link. He lives up to his reputation as one of the premiere coaches in business by providing daily insights and what I like to call “mini motivators.” I found myself thinking a little bit about a statement he put up today about the psychological perception of achieving a goal.

The original Twitter post said, “We think that achieving a goal will make us happy, ignoring the fact the goal line always moves slightly beyond reach.” Be honest. Do you feel this way from time to time? It’s no coincidence that Goldsmith concludes this thought with a link to his book Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back if You Lose It. Throughout this book, Goldsmith takes a different perspective on motivation and reward. There are some that theorize that successful people are driven by a state of perpetual hunger. It’s based on the notion that there is always a new mountain to conquer and successful people never rest on their accomplishments. Goldsmith’s Twitter post reinforces an idea he discusses in Mojo that searching for fulfillment solely based on achieving a goal can lead to the endless pursuit of the unachievable.

Would you like to know what Goldsmith really believes is the secret to Mojo? Check out Soundview’s summary of Mojo to learn more about what drives people to success and fulfillment. Also, if you’re adding Marshall to your “following” list on Twitter, why not add Soundview, as well? It’s a great way to stay up-to-date on new blog posts, E-Book news and the latest events at Summary.com.

A Can’t-Miss Conversation of Fierce Proportions

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The world of business books is similar to today’s pop music world in one regard. It takes something special for a book or an album to have longevity. For every The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, there are countless other titles whose reign lasts little more than a fortnight. In fact, that’s the reason that you won’t find certain “hit” titles at Summary.com. The criteria we use to select the 30 best business books each year include questions about a book’s long-term relevance. Our mission is to offer you titles that deliver a little more than a quick injection of trend-based knowledge.

One title that continues to deliver year after year is Susan Scott’s Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life, One Conversation at a Time.  This title, originally released in 2004, remains a strong seller due to its no-nonsense tips and Scott’s straightforward writing style.

Now you have the opportunity to get in touch with Susan Scott! She’s the featured guest on the next installment of Soundview Live. Live from Seattle, next Monday, August 2nd at Noon Eastern. She will discuss Fierce Conversations as well as answer audience questions. If you’re currently having difficulty communicating with someone in your organization, regardless of where that person stands in the company, this is your chance to find out how to connect. Scott will help you make sure your message is heard loud and clear. Soundview has interviewed Scott before and she pulls no punches during her enlightening commentary. I hope you’ll join us next Monday for Soundview Live!

And don’t forget … subscribers attend this event for FREE!

China, India … Facebook?

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Houston … we’ve reached Zeitgeist.

On Wednesday of this week, I read a few stories online about social networking site Facebook reaching 500 million users. Later that day, I watched ABC World News devote the bulk of an entire episode to the company. That evening, I went to a movie where one of the preview trailers was for the film The Social Network, a “based on a true story” account of the company’s founding. I devoted so much time that day to reading and hearing about Facebook that I was only able to check out Soundview’s Facebook page six or seven times.

All kidding aside, the social media site’s growth is awe-inspiring. Several like-minded media outlets wrote that if the site were a country, its population would make it the third largest on Earth. While everyone else is chipping in with their two cents about Facebook, we thought it was an opportune time to profile David Kirkpatrick’s new book The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World. You might be surprised at what we found out when we spent some time with this book.

Of course, the only place you’ll be able to see our exclusive coverage of The Facebook Effect is in the next edition of our e-newsletter Soundview Executive Book Alert. Never read it? It’s the best place to read reviews of books that are making waves, upcoming must-read titles, and books that may have escaped your radar. Here’s a link to a previous edition of Soundview Executive Book Alert.

Soundview Executive Book Alert is one of three e-newsletters currently offered at Summary.com. Best of all, they’re all FREE and you do NOT need to be a subscriber to read them. The Soundview Executive Book Alert featuring The Facebook Effect drops in less than 10 days. Sign up now and make sure you’re on the list!

The App You’ve Known For All These Years

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I noticed this piece from PCMag.com that discusses Apple’s attempt to keep up with demand for the iPad and iPhone 4. Apple is blessed with a rare commodity built into its audience; its consumers have patience. While many businesses would love to be in the enviable position of having a backlog of orders, this can occasionally panic successful companies. The traditional theory states that every day a customer waits for an order is an opportunity for a vendor of a similar product to steal him or her away. However, since the iPhone is a much a status symbol as it is a technology tool, people are willing to wait.

But does the innovative company’s modern image as the king of cool equate to being bulletproof? Not necessarily.

I stumbled across a great video yesterday that offers a unique vision of what could happen to Apple. Rex Crum, a technology correspondent for The Wall Street Journal‘s MarketWatch Web site, found a way to tie together two entities that left massive footprints on the cultural landscape: Apple and The Beatles. Crum points out that Apple hasn’t really suffered a setback since it revolutionized music with the introduction of the iPod. He claims The Beatles also enjoyed an uninterrupted string of successes until the late-1967 television film Magical Mystery Tour. Longtime fans of either entity could easily poke holes in this argument, but I prefer to focus on the picture Crum is attempting to paint with his broad, broad brush.

Success, adoration and loyalty, whether in business or music, carry a heavy set of expectations. I think Crum misses a key point about the upside of groundbreaking success. Being a member of the absolute elite also endows those entities with an extra amount of forgiveness on the part of the audience. I don’t necessarily agree with Crum that the initial problems with the iPhone 4 could signal the start of a trend. Apple has a way of making even a bad situation work in its favor.

What’s funny about Crum’s comparison is that he ignores the long-standing feud between his two subjects. You can’t find an original album by The Beatles on iTunes. But guess what you can find? Soundview iPhone apps.Which one is your favorite?