Rothacker Reviews

Helping Authors I Dig

Do you like to learn? Do you like to write? Do you like to help authors? Want to know a few secrets that will make learning, writing and helping fun?

Why Write About You?

The first time that I did this I walked up to an author in her booth at a tradeshow. I asked, "Why should I write about you over your competitor?"

In order to learn topics written in books or at Websites, I'd approach authors in my former industry in that manner or online. Sometimes, once you wrote positive things about them, they'd give you more access to their material. While they wouldn't flat out teach you for free, some would offer teaching guidance at little or no cost. This works really well within individual industries!

Now unless you're a cat who has a million or so followers, this approach will not work for authors like Dan Pink and Seth Godin. They are popular and crazy busy. When it comes to authors of high notoriety, I suggest joining their communities, learning from their books and or online material and supporting them when they ask. I enjoyed a really cool learning opportunity when I joined an exclusive online community to help promote Dan's book To Sell is Human. And the value that I received by participating in a Seth Godin Kickstarter campaign for The Icarus Deception far exceeded my cost. 

Do you think Dan and Seth said, "I'm going to be an author," and instantly gained fame? No. So get to know the next batch of Dan's and Seth's before they become Dan and Seth. I began supporting Penelope Trunk and Pam Slim a little over seven years ago and Rosa Say nearly nine years ago. While they might not be as popular as Dan and Seth, they have achieved that crazy busy status.

How do You Support Authors? 

Here are a couple of ideas:

• One way is to review their books at your Website
• Write an Amazon review
• Write a Goodreads review
• Create a Pinterest board
• Tweet about their book
• Post a note at Facebook
• Refer their book in the comment section of blogs (when appropriate)
• Talk about their books in your favorite Linked In group
• Join their community & get their newsletter
• Gift their books to coworkers, friends & relatives
• Gift their books to deserving young adults

I recently began experimenting with a new way to help authors I dig. Here I review Kathy Hansen's A Foot in the Door: Networking Your Way Into The Hidden Job Market. Because I want to one, promote Kathy's book and two, provide more value for my readers, I created a mind map that lists resources relative to this book in particular. The mind map link is located towards the end of that review.

The second thing that I'm doing in that review is to NOT provide a comment section on my blog. Instead I refer the readers to a Facebook Page. That way it's easier for readers to talk to their friends about the book. 

A combination of an insatiable curosity, being a book junkie and having tremendous respect for those who write books has led me to a very fulfilling endeavor in helping authors I dig.

Graphic via The Graphics Fairy

Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way

Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way: Developing and Applying a Future-Focused Mindset by Bruce Rosenstein.

Bruce Rosenstein researched and studied Peter F. Drucker for twenty-seven years. He has written about him in the media and published one book, Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker's Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life. Bruce gives speeches and workshops based on Mr. Drucker's philosophy. 

Even the mildest of imaginations can conjure the amount of material Bruce accumulated and has within reach for researching and writing Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way. Drucker, the most important management figure in the 20th century, was productive from a public standpoint, for nearly seventy years. By the way, when you were conjuring, did you know that Bruce had and has access to The Drucker Institute and The Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University?

Bruce prepares a thorough, meticulous and careful treatment here. How? How within two-hundred and two pages, forty-one of which are devoted to reference, can he possibly cover what needs to be covered from a Library of Congress sized collection of Drucker material? 

The student becomes the teacher. Bruce Rosenstein writes Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way, the Peter Drucker way. He economizes his words on his march to the Sea of Clarity. Peter would be proud.

In his quest to teach a future-oriented mindset, Bruce calls upon Mr. Drucker's approach to life, business and school. Drucker lived the future-oriented mindset. He also calls upon the wisdom of modern day thought leaders whose outlook on the future parallels his own and Mr. Drucker's. This neon-signs relevancy.

One of my most favorite passages in the book is when Bruce describes what Mr. Drucker spoke about in a commencement speech:

He spoke that day of how people must transform their lives on an ongoing basis, as the world is continually changing, requiring different  work and different knowledge as people further their lives and careers. He told the graduates that they had a responsibility to put their knowledge to work for the benefit of others, not just for themselves. 

Do you have any doubts that Peter F. Drucker is a rich source from which to cultivate wisdom, knowledge and advice for creating our future? Well think about this: Mr. Drucker gave that speech May 31, 1964. 

Bruce organizes Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way around five chapters, a conclusion and a hearty reference section. The chapters are titled: 

1. Create a Future-Focused Mindset
2. Determine the Future That Has Already Happened
3. Become Your Own Successor
4. Shape the Future of Your Organization
5. Build Your Future beyond Your Current Workplace
6. Conclusion: Your Future Begins Today

Bruce Rosenstein: Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way (Resources)

Bruce Rosenstein's recently published book, Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way mirrors one of Mr. Drucker's most valuable assets: Clarity. And in a reflection of the reflection it continues on with another one of Mr. Drucker's assets: Economy of words. I've yet to read the writer who could take an often times complex subject, and pack more clarity in so few words. Peter F. Drucker would be proud of how Bruce took his Library of Congress - equivalent body of work and carved out future-oriented lessons, combined them with relevant messages from today's writers and produced this invaluable roadmap.

I created this mind map to provide easy access to the material and resources surrounding Bruce and his Creating Your Future the Peter Drucker Way publication. I will be adding more links within the next week or so. 

Feel like making a comment on this post? Have a suggested link for me to add to the mind map? Follow this link to our Standing Out in a Sea of Sameness  Facebook page and look for the post dated 11/28/2013.

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

The pulsating drumbeat that courses through Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean In is equality for women in the workplace. Sitting on the other side of the forest listening to Sheryl's rhythm of reason however, that's not what I hear at first. I'm hearing an unbelievable opportunity to free and unleash production, effectiveness and innovation in the workplace!

Sheryl's book is going on its fourteenth printing and selling like mad. I think it's women reading the book and shouting out, "that's me, that's me, that's me!" But a lot of others, I hope, are buying and reading Lean In and saying, that's an opportunity, that's an opportunity, that's an opportunity!"

Observation: Listen, I know Sheryl comes from a well-to-do background that most of us only dream about. Get over it. She speaks the truth, the truth of what's going on out there; the truth of what most women are enduring in the workplace.

The opportunities that I feel are coming are more like a hurricane than a drumbeat. The vision I see is two 1972 Cutlass's sitting at a red light out in the desert. One has fat tires, is jacked up and breathes fire. The other looks like something your grandma might drive. But under the hood is 2013 tricked out, computerized technology. For Grandma to win the race she only has to step on the gas. And when she does, the muscle car gasps for breath while it eats her dust.

Many women today are your Grandma's 1972 Cutlass. They have what it takes. They need understanding, guidance and care from both women and men who are in a position to give it. They need to hear, "Suze, pound on that accelerator girl! We got your back. Let it out. Let the world see what you got!"

If the status-quo American business society today can get out of its own way and wake up to the fact there are millions of women, who if at least, are accorded the same opportunities as men, but on a more progressive note, are encouraged and guided,the productivity gained and innovation uncovered would reestablish America as the national business power she truly should be, and place all other nations soundly in the second paragraph. Who knows, we might even give Finland, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan a run at their global educational power rankings.

Do You Work @ Facebook?

Do you work at Facebook? Wanna know a little secret for how to excel and stand out from your coworkers? Actually you can take the secret advice that I'm about to give and tell it to everyone you know at Facebook. You wanna know what? Somewhere between ninety and ninety-seven percent will totally disregard it. 

Now, what sort of advantage do you suppose that gives you?

Ready? Take another chomp on that donut and you'll miss it.

Read Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean In. Apply what you learn. That's it!

This advice applies to men and women, but especially to women. Of course I am speculating that the culture that Sheryl talks about trickles down more than a few layers of management. In reality, Sheryl would be laughed out of Silcone Valley if it didn't.

Here's one example that screams about what Sheryl and Facebook value. Lori Goler, a marketing director at eBay, called Sheryl up inquiring about work at Facebook. She asked, "what is your biggest problem, and how can I solve it?" Sheryl mentions in hiring thousands of people over a ten year period, no one had ever asked that question. It blew her away. Lori got the job.

 If there was a book out in public about a company that lays out in black and white what they value in their workforce and I was a part of that workforce, I'd memorize the doggone thing. Fortunately for you ninety to ninety-seven out of one-hundred of your coworkers will go about their business oblivious to this or think the highway they're already traveling is the right one.

Read the book. Apply what you learn. Stand Out in a Sea of Facebook Sameness!

Seth Godin, Marci Alboher and How to Matter

Special thanks to our good friend Denny Locascio of Impact Fitness in Tampa, Florida for turning us onto Seth's eight-minute talk here!

Seth talks about the importance of the stories we tell ourselves, how they're fused with memories of our past and how to matter to other people. How can we matter to others? By connecting people with a story they care about and one they'll tell others about.

Denny's timing in sending me the link to Seth's video this morning is uncanny. I'm in the process of reading Marci Alboher's book The Encore Career Handbook. I'd just written about how Gen-Y can go into espionage mode in order to enhance their career, by using Marci's book. But as I got up from my reading chair this morning, I grabbed the Encore book with the intention writing a little bit more.

Marci's chapter titled Back to School screams, just screams of the methodology I am attempting to etch out in Standing Out in a Sea of Sameness. Most people will not put to task and do the exploratory work described in the stories Marci weaves into this chapter. These most people, constitute the Sea of Sameness. The first component of Standing Out is to do this work.

So Marci's style of educating us through stories and the importance Seth places on stories compelled me this morning to tell you about both of them. Their stories matter to me and they'll matter to you.

I've been thinking long and hard on who The Encore Career Handbook might not pertain to. I've already mentioned how important it can be to younger folk and it's a no-brainer for those over fifty and considering something more meaningful to do in the encore years of their lives. That only leaves those who are approaching fifty. Let's think about that. Here's a guide that helps you prepare to enrich your encore years. Do you want to be like everyone else when you get older? Or do you want to Stand Out?

Feel like making a comment? Please join in on the conversation at our Standing Out in a Sea of Sameness Facebook Page!

Why can't we comment here Davo? Because one click to FB is easier than screwing around with the Captcha hassle issues.

 

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The Encore Career Handbook

The Encore Career Handbook by Marci Alboher

Are you a Gen-Yer looking to stand out, looking for an edge, looking to grow? Then The Encore Career Handbook, designed for older people looking to make a difference in the second half of their lives, is the perfect road map for you!

Are you one of those folks who grew up with What Color is Your Parachute? The Encore Career Handbook is the What Color is Your Parachute for the 21st century. Although I wouldn't replace the Parachute book with it, just use it to supplement your knowledge.

 

Back to Gen-Y, my most favorite generation. What do you suppose the odds are that sometime in your life you'll work for or with a Baby Boomer (people 49-67)? Do you think it might be to your advantage to get to understand thoughts, beliefs and ideas from this age group have?

To be real, I've moved away from forming hard fast opinions on people because of the generation they belong to. If it weren't for my bald head and the fact I look every bit of my fifty plus years on this planet, I'd say I'm a Gen-Yer - because I feel that way. But generalities are useful, particularly when they come to this subject.

I recommend reading The Encore Career Handbook because it will help you learn about some of the underlying motivations that Boomers take to work everyday. Did you know that Suzy, the fifty-one year old manager of your office, secretly desires to work with wounded animals? No. But engage her in exploratory conversations and you'll probably learn a whole lot more when it comes to your personal development.

I once told Penelope Trunk, author of Brazen Careerist, a book on career advice targeted to Gen-X & Y, that I bought and read her book so I could learn more about those generations and be a better manager. I believe the words I used were I was using her intel to go undercover. 

This is precisely what I recommend Gen-Yers do. Buy and read The Encore Career Handbook in order to learn more about Baby Boomers.

Update 8/14/2013 - I was a bit hasty in declaring The Encore Career Handbook the new What Color is Your Parachute? Dick Bolles has published a fresh and new copy of Parachute for thirty-nine straight years. And that doesn't include the two editions he published before 1975. That's just crazy man! I believe however, that Marci captures both the spirit and detail of what Mr. Bolles has been providing for nearly four decades. 

How to be an Explorer of the World

How to be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith

Does the idea of bringing value to another person's life intrigue you? Where do you get the stuff value is made of? Grade school? High School? College? Sure. 

Let's say you have a small bottle filled with marbles. Let's say a marble is the equivalent of a good deed. Let's say each time you do a good deed one marble is removed from the bottle. What happens when all of the marbles are gone? Do you run out of good deeds?

In order to give value, one must ingest the type of stuff value is made of. When marbles are taken out, new ones must go in. Conventional learning is a fine place to begin. School, seminar and websites provide knowledge that can be turned into value. But take a look around you. Isn't everyone trying to take their education and turn it into a value supplying machine? Sure. That's the world of work.

I don't know about you, but when I see sheep standing in line to walk off the cliff because the sheep in front of them are, I'm thinking twice before getting in that line. The key is to turbo charge and enhance your education. And you don't have to go to school to do it. Increase your value by providing something that no other person in the world can. How? By being an explorer of the world.

 If you take basic math in school and your job requires this knowledge to produce results, the outcome that you produce will be identical to everyone else who works in your field and who took the same math. Think sheep. Think cliff. Think splat. But if you go out and explore the world, download what she has to offer onto your internal hard drive, letting it permeate your existing education, knowledge and wisdom, then what comes out will most likely be unique to anything in the universe. 

In How to be an Explorer of the World, Keri Smith provides a creative medium that will help transfer what the world has to offer onto your own personal hard drive. 

Check out the following book photos:

What One Book Transformed Your Life Forever?

Vishen Lakhihani and his friends are tapping into the power of crowdsourcing to come up with the top list of books that transformed people's lives. It appears that Vishen's efforts are just getting under way. As more people hear about it, the list will no doubt change. 

This is so beyond cool that I am speaking about it on all of my online outlets. 

 

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Selling Your Book: To Sell is Human

As a member of Dan Pink's pre-launch / launch book team, I've enjoyed a sort of behind the curtain look into a portion of the process. The thing that is most noticeable to me is the exhaustive effort he's placed into birthing this book. The folks in this video do a superb job in bringing clarity to some of the book's main themes.

 

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