Media Rules!. Mastering Today's Technology to Connect With and Keep Your Audience

Your digital presence tells the story of who you are… so what should you be saying? In a world overflowing with the noise of Facebook updates, tweets, blog posts, Pinterest pins and YouTube video responses, it’s difficult to connect with the people who matter most to your business and your career. Mastering Story, Community and Influence explains the art of social media storytelling, showing you how to turn your offline expertise into the sort of online thought-leadership that cuts through the noise and attracts larger, more important communities. Whether you’re new to social media or racing to keep up with every new platform, social media storyteller extraordinaire, Jay Oatway, reveals the underlying mechanics and best practices behind becoming a serious online influencer. Mastering Story, Community and Influence will help you become an authoritative presence online and build both the reputation and community you need for your future success in the Social Media Era.

What you need to know about your customers Now more than ever, every interaction you have with customers is critical. Customers today have unlimited information at their fingertips—and can influence the purchase decisions and behaviors of millions of others. With this comes a shift in the balance of power, and every company must come to terms with the fact that the customer is in control. Interacting with customers in the way they want is an essential business strategy and in many industries, the key to business success. Executives still refer to B2B and B2C business models, as though companies control demand by going to customers with products and services. But as Bill Price and David Jaffe (authors of The Best Service is No Service) show, a new business model is emerging in which the customer directs the relationship. It is becoming a world of «Me2B»—one in which the customer, not the business, dictates the terms of engagement. In order for your business to thrive, you must create positive experiences to fulfill a range of customer needs. Though the mediums for customer engagement continuously evolve, Price and Jaffe show that customer needs remain unchanging. In Your Customer Rules!, they define a critical hierarchy of seven needs that your company can meet and apply as a methodology. Throughout this practical guidebook, Price and Jaffe share examples of companies who succeed by meeting these seven needs, including Amazon, Apple, IKEA, Nordstrom, USAA, Shoes of Prey, Vente-Privee, and Yamato Transport, as well as those that didn't. Your Customer Rules! offers tailored advice for companies at every stage, from nimble startups to legacy firms with established customer service practices—and everyone in between. With a simple, elegant solution for driving lasting value for customers, Your Customer Rules! is a clear guide for strengthening customer relationships and competing on more than price. It is essential reading for executives at all levels—business owners, marketing managers, and anyone who works directly with customers.

Enjoy the ride of your life with the Wall Street Journal bestseller None of us can expect to get through life without any challenges. Life isn’t always a constant daydream of unbridled pleasure and happiness. But that doesn’t mean you can’t approach everything with some zing – a big dose of positive energy is what you need to feel great, be successful and love life! And the international bestselling The Energy Bus can help you live your life in a positive, forward-thinking way. Learn the 10 secrets that will help you overcome adversity and harness the power of positive, infectious energy, so that you can create your own success. International bestselling author Jon Gordon draws on his experience of working with thousands of leaders and teams to provide insights, actionable strategies and positive energy. The Energy Bus: Shows you how to ditch negativity and infuse your life with positive energy Provides tools to build a positive team and culture Contains insights from working with some of the world’s largest companies Foreword by Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-Minute Manager

The Energy Bus, an international best seller by Jon Gordon, takes readers on an enlightening and inspiring ride that reveals 10 secrets for approaching life and work with the kind of positive, forward thinking that leads to true accomplishment – at work and at home. Jon infuses this engaging story with keen insights as he provides a powerful roadmap to overcome adversity and bring out the best in yourself and your team. When you get on The Energy Bus you’ll enjoy the ride of your life!

Your answer to the software project management gap The Complete Software Project Manager: From Planning to Launch and Beyond addresses an interesting problem experienced by today's project managers: they are often leading software projects, but have no background in technology. To close this gap in experience and help you improve your software project management skills, this essential text covers key topics, including: how to understand software development and why it is so difficult, how to plan a project, choose technology platforms, and develop project specifications, how to staff a project, how to develop a budget, test software development progress, and troubleshoot problems, and what to do when it all goes wrong. Real-life examples, hints, and management tools help you apply these new ideas, and lists of red flags, danger signals, and things to avoid at all costs assist in keeping your project on track. Companies have, due to the nature of the competitive environment, been somewhat forced to adopt new technologies. Oftentimes, the professionals leading the development of these technologies do not have any experience in the tech field—and this can cause problems. To improve efficiency and effectiveness, this groundbreaking book offers guidance to professionals who need a crash course in software project management. Review the basics of software project management, and dig into the more complicated topics that guide you in developing an effective management approach Avoid common pitfalls by perusing red flags, danger signals, and things to avoid at all costs Leverage practical roadmaps, charts, and step-by-step processes Explore real-world examples to see effective software project management in action The Complete Software Project Manager: From Planning to Launch and Beyond is a fundamental resource for professionals who are leading software projects but do not have a background in technology.

100 ways to tap into social media for a more profitable business In Social Media 101, social media expert and blogger Chris Brogan presents the best practices for growing the value of your social media and social networking marketing efforts. Brogan has spent two years researching what the best businesses are doing with social media and how they're doing it. Now, he presents his findings in a single, comprehensive business guide to social media. You'll learn how to cultivate profitable online relationships, develop your brand, and drive meaningful business. Brogan shows you how to build an effective blog or website for your business, monitor your online reputation and what people are saying about your business online, and create new content to share with your customers. Presents specific strategies, tactics, and tips to improve your business through improved social media and online marketing Looks at social media and the wider online universe from a strictly business perspective If you aren't using the Internet and social media to market your business and stay in touch with your customers, you're already falling behind. The Social Media 100 gives you 100 effective, proven strategies you need to succeed.

Launch effective real-time communications to win in today's always-on world Gone are the days when you could plan out your marketing and public relations programs well in advance and release them on your timetable. «Real time» means news breaks over minutes, not days. It means companies develop (or refine) products or services instantly, based on feedback from customers or events in the marketplace. And it's when businesses see an opportunity and are the first to act on it. In this eye-opening follow-up to The New Rules of Marketing and PR, a BusinessWeek bestseller, David Meerman Scott reveals the proven, practical steps to take your business into the real-time era. Find out how to act and react flexibly as events occur, position your brand in the always-on world of the Web, and avoid embarrassing mistakes and missteps. Real-Time Marketing and PR will also enable you to: Develop a business culture that encourages speed over sloth Read buying signals as people interact with your online information Crowdsource product development, naming, and even marketing materials such as online videos Engage reporters to shape stories as they are being written Command premium prices by delivering products at speed Deploy technology to listen in on millions of online discussions and instantly engage with customers and buyers Scale and media buying power are no longer a decisive advantage. What counts today is speed and agility. While your competitors scramble to adjust, you can seize the initiative, open new channels, and grow your brand. Master Real-Time Marketing and PR today and become the first to act, the first to respond, and the first to win!

Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission is a practical resource that will help nonprofit professionals make smart, strategic decisions about technology. The book shows how to effectively manage technology and offers practical advice for decision makers and staff alike who often have little or no experience with technology. With contributions from the top experts in the nonprofit technology field, this must-have guide addresses technology planning and people. It includes the tools you need to get the work done, and the knowledge that will help you communicate better, evaluate technology investments, raise money, and more. Written in nontechnical language the book covers a broad spectrum of topics including: Achieving IT Alignment with Your Mission Steve Heye, YMCA of the USA Managing Technology Change Dahna Goldstein, PhilanTech Measuring the Return on Investment of Technology Beth Kanter, trainer, blogger and consultant IT Planning and Prioritizing Peter Campbell, Earthjustice Finding and Keeping the Right PeopleJames L. Weinberg and Cassie Scarano, Commongood Careers Budgeting For and Funding Technology Scott McCallum and Keith R. Thode, Aidmatrix Foundation Introduction to IT and Systems Kevin Lo and Willow Cook, TechSoup Global Where Are Your Stakeholders, and What Are They Doing Online? Michael Cervino, Beaconfire Consulting Effective Online CommunicationsJohn Kenyon, nonprofit technology strategist Effective Online Fundraising Madeline Stanionis, Watershed The Future if IT in NonprofitsEdward Granger-Happ, Save the Children Praise for Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission «This invaluable guide for nonprofit leaders proves that nonprofit organizations can and should embrace technology, rather than being scared of or intimidated by it!» —Kristie Ferketich, senior strategist, Google Grants, Google Inc. «NTEN's Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission can help leaders craft a technology strategy that makes sense and builds ROI while also providing inspiration for their staff and supporters!» —Jonathon D. Colman, associate director and web evangelista, digital marketing, The Nature Conservancy «This book shows what NTEN does best: Bring together a wide range of voices to provide practical technology strategies and know-how to help nonprofits more efficiently and effectively move their own missions forward.» —Marnie Webb, TechSoup Global

The world’s most forward-looking CEOs recognize the real challenge facing business today: a fundamental shift in the nature of commerce. While sustainability programs, government action, and nonprofits are all parts of the solution, CEOs and other leaders must focus on social, environmental, and economic benefit—not only because it will make the world a better place, but because it will ensure lasting profitability and success in the business climate of tomorrow. The Breakthrough Challenge is both an inspiring call-to-action and a guide for this transformation, based on the work of The B Team, a major initiative uniting leaders in sustainability. As a founding advisor and member of The B Team, John Elkington and Jochen Zeitz map out an agenda for change. The most important goal for businesses must be redefining the bottom line to account for true long-term costs throughout the supply chain. To achieve this, leaders must rethink everything: what counts on balance sheets, how to incentivize performance, who does what in the C-suite, and even what inspires us. The Breakthrough Challenge draws on over 100 exclusive interviews to show this shift in action, sharing the pioneering work of leaders such as Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever; Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of The Huffington Post; Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman of the Nestl? Group; and Linda Fisher, pioneering Chief Sustainability Officer at DuPont, among many others. Change-as-usual strategies are not enough to move business from breakdowns to breakthroughs. The Breakthrough Challenge shows leaders how to achieve a true transformation and refocus the definition of profitability on the lasting wellbeing of people and planet—for the lasting success of their business.

A game-changing approach to management Too often discussions of management practice focus exclusively on managing people and organizational issues. Rarely, however, do they incorporate a discussion about technology or address all three dimensions in a balanced way. When they do, the result is game changing. In our hypercompetitive environment, those managers who are outstanding at being plugged into their people, technology, and organizational processes simultaneously excel at coming up with effective business solutions. The Plugged-In Manager makes the case that being plugged-in—the ability to see choices across each of an organization's dimensions of people, technology, and organizational processes and then to mix them together into new and powerful organizational strategies, structures, and practices—may be the most important capability a manager can develop to succeed in the 21st century. Step by step Griffith shows you how to acquire this ability. Shows what it takes for business managers to succeed as technology and organizations become more and more complex Profiles exceptional leaders and organizations who are plugged-in, such as Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com Offers a fresh look at management issues Filled with compelling case studies and drawing on first-hand interviews, The Plugged-In Manager highlights this often neglected managerial capability and the costs of only focusing on one dimension rather than all three.