This day will remain in my memory

Today will remain on my memory as the day the world lost a great visionary. The reason I don’t talk about Apple products is that I’ve never owned any. However, I’ve admired Steve Jobs as a leader for a long time. Without his visionary leadership companies like Apple and Pixar would not develop into what they are today. I just re-watched one of the videos of Steve Jobs presenting and wanted to share it with you.

Share the video with your friends and colleagues (you don’t have to share this page, just share the Youtube video with your networks) and spread the three stories from the video.

Weekend reading list on social media

It’s been a great weekend! Along with a few personal celebrations and meetings I also had a chance read a few periodicals. I prepared a list of articles on topics such as leadership, business, social media, etc. in case you may be interested.

Eight Ways to Ruin Your Social-Media Strategy

So you’ve set up a company fan page on Facebook and you’re letting your employees fire off messages to the world via Twitter — or you’re at least thinking about it. Well, congratulations! You’re part of the social-media revolution, which can offer unparalleled access to word-of-mouth buzz among those you most want to reach: your customers, current and future.
Read more at BNET.com

Rich Vs. Poor Is Not The Right Debate

I have received numerous comments from readers on my recent column, Capitalism’s Fundamental Flaw. A wide range of ideas and explanations of our current plight were offered, including one comment that pointed out that as long as there is a government and it regulates, we are not practicing free-market capitalism.
Read the entire story at at Forbes.com

The 10 Questions You Should Never Stop Asking

In the early 1990s, I was brought in as an interim president/CEO of two regional monthly magazines. Both are now out of business. It was a trying time–and also one of the great learning experiences of my life.
Read the entire story at at Forbes.com

How Entrepreneurs Identify New Opportunities

A key question that all would-be entrepreneurs face is finding the business opportunity that is right for them. Should the new start-up focus on introducing a new product or service based on an unmet need? Should the venture select an existing product or service from one market and offer it in another where it may not be available? Or should the firm bank on a tried and tested formula that has worked elsewhere, such as a franchise operation?
Read the entire story at at Forbes.com

How Hierarchies Do Harm

As a coach he has been a revolutionary in his way of building winning organizations, by developing what he calls the “leaderful team,” in which every player is prepared, technically and psychologically, to step up to lead–or to step back to support, as needed. The idea is to maximize the potential contribution of every team member in a way never before attempted in sport.
Read the entire story at at Forbes.com

Where Your Customers Are: How Facebook, Twitter and Others Break Down by Age

Facebook, the largest social media network, recently reached 300 million users worldwide — roughly the population of the United States. So do your homework before you approach your customers online. Here’s how users on the top social media sites broke down by age in August 2009.
See graphs at BNET.com

Remembering how to forget in the Web 2.0 era

Amid ongoing debates over the hazards of excessive digital exposure through such Web 2.0 social networking platforms as Facebook and Twitter, a new book by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger extols the virtues of forgetfulness.
Read more at Reuters UK Blogs

Takeaways on motivation

A good friend and a colleague of mine Rob Howard of Suitcase Interactive lent me a great book recently. “The Leader in You: how to win friends, influence people and succeed is a changing world” by Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc. Stuart R. Levine and Michael A. Crom, VP. I’m still going through it but I wanted to point that although it was printed in May 1995, the materials have significant relevance in today’s world and will have it in the coming years.

In this post I want to share key points that complete each chapter. If you are not sure you want to buy this book, please see the points below to get more details about it. Please note that these are not from the back or the front cover, these points are “hidden” at the end of each chapter. I’m writing these things down for two reasons: 1) I want to make sure that I review these principles. 2) I want to share these with you. Here we go…

1. the first step toward success is identifying your leadership strengths
2. communication is built on trusting relationships
3. motivation can never be forced. people have to want to do a good job.
4. there’s nothing more effective and rewarding than showing a genuine interest in other people
5. step outside yourself to discover what’s important to someone else.
6. nobody is more persuasive than a good listener.
7. team players are the leaders of tomorrow.
8. truly respecting others is the bedrock of motivation.
9. people work for money but work the extra mile for recognition, praise, and rewards.
10. be quick to admit mistakes and slow to criticize. above all, be constructive.
11. set goals that are clear, challenging, and obtainable.
12. leaders never loose their focus. they keep their eyes on the bog picture.
13. consistently high performance comes from a balance between work and leisure.
14. gain strengths from the positive and don’t be sapped by the negative.
15. tame your worries and energize your life.
16. never underestimate the power of enthusiasm.

I plan to get back to each of those points and add relevant examples from my daily life for each of the points above. I will be happy to see your examples too in the comments.