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A few new free eBooks

I do not necessarily endorse everything they say. I just thought I would let you decide for yourself!

Marketing Mismatch: When New Won’t Work with Old
(Riffs on Meatball Sundae)
By Seth Godin

“People treat the New Marketing like a kid with a twenty-dollar bill at an ice cream parlor. They keep wanting to add more stuff—more candy bits and sprinkles and cream and cherries. The dream is simple: 'If we can just add enough of [today's hot topping], everything will take care of itself.' Most of the time, despite all the hype, organizations fail when they try to use this scattershot approach.”


The Future is Here and It is Bright: What Are We Waiting For?
By Gary Hirschberg

“We need more than simple awareness to break our generations-old, fossil-fuel-induced stupor. We have known what we should do, but we clearly have not done it. And the situation has deteriorated because of our lack of action. After more than three decades spent working in the environmental movement, I am convinced that economic self-interest—whether it is achieved by saving, earning, or a combination of the two—is the most powerful, if not the only, force capable of bringing about the future we need in time to make a difference….”


Humanize It: Bring a five-star sparkle to your customer interactions and watch your business flourish.
By Leonardo Inghilleri and Micah Solomon

“The best thing you can do for your business is not about new technology, brute force, or first-mover advantage. It’s something simpler. And more dependable. Humanize each customer interaction, in order to turn your product or service into much more than a commodity. In your customer’s mind, commodities are interchangeable and replaceable. Humanized relationships are not.”


A “Where’s Waldo” Approach to Problem-solving
By Adelino de Almeida, PhD

“We’ve all encountered bad solutions that come from bad problem-solving; heck, we’ve even encountered good solutions that were somehow generated from bad problem-solving…All you need to become a proficient problem-solver is a basic understanding of the concept behind the Where’s Waldo books: unbeknownst to most, these books encapsulate all the wisdom necessary for sound problem-solving.”

The Six Core Values of Innovation

Jeff De Cagna
Innovation is the critical capability for all organizations trying to succeed in today's marketplace. But the case for innovation cannot be made solely on the basis of the economic value it creates for customers. It is equally important for enterprises and their leaders to embrace the 6 underlying core values of innovation as an integral element for a more vibrant future. This manifesto explores these values and explains how leaders can infuse them into their organizations in various ways.

About the author:
Jeff De Cagna is a long-time student of innovation and serves as chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation LLC, his own consulting firm, located in Reston, Virginia. Jeff believes deeply in the necessity of innovation for all organizations, and always challenges others to do the same.


The Six Core Values.pdf

Seduced By Success: How the Best Companies Survive the 9 Traps of Winning

Robert J. Herbold
Kodak and Sony reached the pinnacle of success within their markets, but were unable to react to changes within those markets. Herbold, retired COO of Microsoft Corporation, examined 44 successful companies to discover 3 common mistakes made by previously successful companies. The mistakes generate 9 traps which can be avoided as companies like Proctor & Gamble and Apple did by anticipating unarticulated customer needs.

About the author:
Robert J. Herbold, retired chief operating officer of Microsoft Corporation, is the Managing Director of The Herbold Group, LLC, a consulting business focused on profitability. Herbold serves on the Board of Directors of Agilent Technologies, First Mutual Bank, and Indachin Ltd. Hong Kong. Prior to Microsoft, where he was COO from 1994 until 2001, Herbold spent 26 years at The Procter & Gamble Company, serving as senior vice president of marketing during the last 5 years.


Seduced by Success.pdf

HELLO, My Name is Scott

THE NAMETAG GUY. Scott is the only person in the world who wears a nametag 24-7 to make people friendlier. (In case you’re wondering, he has a nametag tattooed on his chest for certain occasions.) While transforming his simple idea into a business, his adventures have earned him recognition as “The World’s Foremost Expert on Nametags” and secured a spot in Ripley’s Believe it Or Not!

Here are some FREE downnloads from his site.

Sticky Note Success: 25 Self-Motivating Messages to Pump Up Productuvuty and Stimulate Sales

Let Me Ask Ya This:55 Great Questions to Ask Someone You Just Met.

203 Things I’ve Learned About Writing, Marketing and Selling Books

66 Priceless Pieces of Business Advice I Couldn’t Live Without

234 Things I’ve Learned About Creating, delivering and Marketing Speeches.

Bring Your Brand to Life: Harnessing the Power of Remarkable Corporate Video Stories

Bring Your Brand to Life: Harnessing the Power of Remarkable Corporate Video Stories
Thomas R. Clifford Every company must tell their story. Thomas Clifford is a filmmaker, an expert on telling these stories through corporate videos. Say hello to emotionally engaging pieces of film that will spark conversation and energy through the ranks. In fact, he believes a good corporate video can change the world. Not in the market to make a corporate video? Really, Clifford’s advice applies for any medium you choose through which to tell your company’s story.


About the author: Thomas Clifford is a seasoned, multi-award-winning, corporate documentary filmmaker. For 23 years, organizations like Deloitte, MassMutual, UCONN and the Epilepsy Foundation commission Thomas to create authentic videos to strengthein their brand. His work has been on PBS, MTV, AFC Championship.

Making the Most of Your Time: Going Beyond To-Do Lists

Making the Most of Your Time: Going Beyond To-Do Lists
The author of one of ChangeThis’ most popular manifesto, 25 Ways to Distinguish Yourself, Rajesh Setty returns with a new set of suggestions for optimizing your abilities. He asserts that even though everyone is given only 24 hours in a day, the most successful people are those who make every minute count. Here, he tells you how project management, understanding your abilities, investing in relationships and making a difference are just some of the ways you can make the most of your time.

About the author: Rajesh Setty is a serial entrepreneur, investor and author based in Silicon Valley. Rajesh is involved in several companies in US and India mostly in some combination of investor, advisor or operating executive. Currently, he serves as the president of Suggestica, a company that powers vertical discovery engines. He also serves the chairman of iPolipo, a company that aims to make scheduling simple. His latest book “Beyond Code” (foreword by Tom Peters) was published late 2005. He maintains a blog called Life Beyond Code (http://blog.lifebeyondode.com) Rajesh is a member of “Band of Angels” in Silicon Valley. He also serves on the advisory boards of PSVillage and SIPA and as a volunteer for Isha Foundation.

Build Your Brand in Bits and Bytes: Building Your Personal Brand Online

Build Your Brand in Bits and Bytes: Building Your Personal Brand Online

Arruda and Dixson warn: you are being googled. Internet research is now a no-brainer in the hiring process, whether you are applying for a job or pitching your bid. So, how can you impress recruiters and clients when they perform this kind of reference check? The authors offer steps to making you digitally distinctive.

About the author: William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson are two of the world’s leading personal branding experts. They’re also the founding partners of the Reach Branding Club, an innovative, e-learning branding program. Learn more at www.reachbrandingclub.com.

Just 1%: The Power of Microtrends

Just 1% of people can create a new market for business, spark a social movement, or effect a political change. Here, Penn (one of the world’s most highly regarded pollster) and Zalesne (social-change expert) introduce you to this compelling idea of microtrends, and their assertion that the culture is formed by the push and pull of small trends that are often invisible or ignored. Just think “Soccer Mom”…and you’ll know the power wielded by these small, but strong groups.

About the author:
Mark Penn was dubbed “the most powerful man in Washington you’ve never heard of” by "The Washington Post." Penn is the worldwide CEO of Burson-Marsteller. he was pollster to President Clinton in his 1996 re-election campaign, and has been an adviser to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, numerous corporations, and 25 foreign heads of state. E. Kinney Zalesne has served as a White House Fellow, Counsel to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, and Executive Vice President and President of two national social-change organizations.

66 Priceless Pieces of . . .

Here you go . . .

(Don't forget to use your coupon!)

What Must Starbucks Do?

By John Moore . . .
In response to Howard Schulz’s memo citing his concern over the direction Starbucks is headed, John Moore, a former long-time marketer at Starbucks, enlists the ‘Starbucks Board of Customers’ (i.e. readers of Moore’s blog and Starbucks customers) to propose which changes the company must make to maintain (reclaim?) its integrity.

For this "freebie" simply click here.

About the author:
For the past decade, John Moore has made his mark in the marketing world by creating, championing, and implementing marketing ideas and branding ideals for Whole Foods Market and Starbucks Coffee. As the Director of National Marketing for Whole Foods Market, John focused his team on engaging in activities which were less about using traditional advertising and more about using the influential power of customers as the advertising vehicle. At Starbucks, John led countless highly successful in-store and out-of-store marketing promotions as a Retail Marketing Manager. Today, through speaking engagements and through his Brand Autopsy Marketing Practice, John shares business and marketing advice with companies aspiring to become the next Whole Foods or Starbucks. He has been recognized by Fast Company magazine as a “leading practitioner of the arts of customer service and marketing” and serves as a Standards Council Advisory Board Member with the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. John is also the author of the Brand Autopsy blog and the author of Tribal Knowledge, a business management book from Kaplan Publishing (fall 2006).

For the best in personal and professional development DVD's visit our eStore.

You are Being Lied To and Other Truths

This is a manifesto’s manifesto and an absolute must-read. Here, Larry Winget is everything you know him to be: upfront, relentless, hilarious, and full of wisdom about giving and getting business advice. Click here to find this FREE downloads.

If you enjoy what you read, check out this great offer on a DVD of Larry speaking live!

About the author: Larry Winget is an attitude looking for a place to happen. Like Dr. Phil on steroids, he has developed a signature style that is by turns both eye-opening and hilarious. He is caustic, sarcastic, and abrasive and yet what he says makes perfect sense. Larry Winget is the author of the #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller, "Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get A Life". He is also the host of the A&E reality show, "Big Spender". His new book is "It’s Called Work For A Reason", and along with other products, is available here.

100 Ways to Kill a Concept: Why Most Ideas Get Shot Down

100 Ways to Kill a Concept: Why Most Ideas Get Shot Down
So, you’ve got an idea. A big idea. But will your idea take flight? Not if you let your concept be killed by all the usual excuses you hear from your managers, your bosses, your spouses—excuses motivated by fear or possessiveness. In this wide-ranging manifesto, Iva offers you ways to persuade someone to embrace your idea, to not be swayed by negative responses, and to utilize your creativity.

About the author:
Michael Iva, internationally renown designer, writer, new product launch consultant, and marketing expert. Helped to successfully launch 127 new products and services, into countless different industry groups. (More than any other 'individual' new product launch practitioner in the U.S.A.)

Keep It Real

Keep It Real
Julien Smith confronts companies and marketers with a deceptively simple question: Are You Keeping It Real? And if you don’t know what he means, you probably aren’t. So, read up on how you can walk the walk in this new consumer-led century.

About the author:
Julien Smith is a podcaster, blogger, and entrepreneur. His podcast was among the first in Canada, and his blog was recently named among the 10 best art/entertainment blogs in the country. He resides in Montreal, and is an amateur of hip-hop, punk, body modification, and DIY culture. Visit Julien at his blog.

Frontline Leadership: A Cycle of Engagement Manifesto

Frontline Leadership: A Cycle of Engagement Manifesto
Mark Graban

The contact point between your customers and your company is at the front door, at the front counter, on the frontline. And most of your frontline associates are very competent people who can do the work, but George Reavis warns that most companies fail to make the distinction between perfunctory performance and enthusiastic engagement. Here he offers tools for providing the right kind of motivating feedback to jumpstart a cycle of engagement between management, frontline employees and customers.


About the author:
Mark Graban is a Senior Lean Consultant with a firm that specializes in Lean and Six Sigma consulting for hospitals. Mark has studied and worked with lean principles for over twelve years in industries including automotive, personal computers, and industrial products. He has a BS in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University and an MS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from MIT’s Leaders for Manufacturing Program. Mark is also the founder and contributing editor of the Lean Blog, which can be found online at www.leanblog.org.

How to Become a Customer Action Hero in 10 Steps

How to Become a Customer Action Hero in 10 Steps
Jeanne Bliss

“Rate your experience from 1 to 10.” “Would you recommend our company?” We ask the questions of our customers. But what do we do with their answers? Jeanne Bliss gives us the action plan to actually make our customers happy with our services.

About the author:
Jeanne Bliss spent 25 years inside corporations arm wrestling them on behalf of customers. She reported to the Presidents of 5 US Corporations including Lands' End, and Allstate traversing the silos, urging them to work together to deliver experiences customers would actually want to have again.

The Care and Feeding of Your Network

The Care and Feeding of Your Network
Bob Allard

If everyone is networking, who's working for you? Allard and Banfield will show you how to "get 100, 200, 500 people thinking about how they can help YOU with your project, your passion, your school, your business." The authors remind us that networking isn't accidental, but a skill to be honed. The more you care, the better you listen, the more likely you are to reap what you sow.

About the author:
Bob Allard is an entrepreneur with a passion for connecting people who can assist each other in their work and lives. He makes hundreds of intros a year, and is currently developing software tools for connectors and businesspeople. Check out www.youshouldmeet.com / www.referralmonitor.com

Your Are Being Lied to and Other Truths

Your Are Being Lied to and Other Truths
Larry Winget

This is a manifesto’s manifesto and an absolute ChangeThis reader must-read. Here, Larry Winget is everything you know him to be: upfront, relentless, hilarious, and full of wisdom about giving and getting business advice.

About the author:
Larry Winget is an attitude looking for a place to happen. Like Dr. Phil on steroids, he has developed a signature style that is by turns both eye-opening and hilarious. He is caustic, sarcastic, and abrasive and yet what he says makes perfect sense. Larry Winget is the author of the #1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller, "Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get A Life". He is also the host of the A&E reality show, "Big Spender". His new book, "It’s Called Work For A Reason", is available now.

The 21st Century CEO

The 21st Century CEO
Mark Goulston

These are the four things every CEO needs to be successful today, according to Mark Goulston. Read his manifesto on leadership to find out why these four attributes are so important, and examples of what can happen when they're ignored.

About the author:
Mark Goulston, M.D., F.A.P.A. helps high performing leaders, senior managment and sales people reach their high potential through learning and utilizing emotional intelligence. He is Senior Vice President Executive Coaching & Emotional Intelligence at the Palo Alto based business advisory firm, Sherwood Partners, and has worked with businesses ranging from early stage to Fortune 100 as well as national law firms. He speaks nationally at offsites and conventions, and is the best-selling author of "Get Out of Your Own Way: Overcoming Self-Defeating Behavior" (Perigee). He appears regularly as an expert resource in print, on network television and on syndicated radio news programs.

Maximising the Value of Sponsorship

Executive Summary

Sponsorship worldwide is predicted to hit an all time high of $26.2 billion in 2003 – up 7.4% from $24.4bn in 2002. Behind this above inflation level growth is sponsorship’s appeal as a relationship-building tool that is not just concerned about brand awareness but engages with an audience on both rational and emotional levels.

It is easy to forget the fact that modern sponsorship, particularly in sport, is a relatively recent phenomenon.The passing of Mark McCormack in May 2003 is a reminder that the global sports sponsorship industry owes a great deal to one man with such a powerful vision.

It was in the late 1950s that McCormack, a talented golfer himself, could see the potential for sports stars to earn money through sponsorship and endorsements and with that in mind he sought and acquired from Arnold Palmer an agreement to manage him. And the rest as they say is history.

Fifty years on and sports sponsorship has moved from being simply an opportunity for corporate entertainment and brand awareness into a sophisticated brand building and two way marketing platform.

The major challenge for rights holders as well as brand owners is the ability to successfully activate a sponsorship programme so that it achieves all of its strategic objectives. A sports sponsorship agreement, no matter how attractive, will never achieve its full potential unless it is activated by other communication and promotional activities.

This takes sports sponsorship into a new dimension – that of experiential communication where the audience takes part and shares in the excitement that successful sports sponsorship has to offer.

At the heart of sports sponsorship is a commercial proposition that provides a return on investment for both the brand owner and rights holder. Recent years have seen the development of a host of measurement and evaluation techniques yet still many brand owners fail to realise the full potential of their sponsorship investments.

This report sets out to cover both theory and best practice in sports sponsorship, providing a unique “road map” in Chapter 5 that guides the prospective sponsor through the various phases of a sponsorship project from both strategic and operational perspectives.

The report incorporates interviews with leading industry figures, detailed case studies and new research in an examination of sponsorship best practice. The report analyses the key factors in individual chapters that combine to provide a comprehensive guide to maximising the value of sponsorship.

Case Study of Audi Sport Sponsorship

Here is a thesis intended to help readers gain a deeper understanding of how companies use sponsorship of sporting teams as a strategic took in their marketing program.

It is certainly a bit academic for students, but teachers might find some of the information useful.

100 Ways to Help You Succeed/Make Money, Part 1

Tom Peters Tom's back! In this first installment, you'll find 50 short, wonderfully sweet nuggets of advice that you will love, love, love.

About the author: Fortune calls Tom Peters the Ur-guru of management and compares him to Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman and H.L. Mencken. The Economist tags him the Uber-guru. His unconventional views led BusinessWeek to describe him as "business' best friend and worst nightmare." Tom describes himself as a prince of disorder, champion of bold failures, maestro of zest, professional loudmouth (as a speaker he?s "a spitter" according to the cartoon strip Dilbert ), corporate cheerleader, lover of markets, capitalist pig...and card-carrying member of the ACLU.

Giving Away Big Buck$ (Sports Marketing)

An exerpt from The Sports Marketing Playbook

Really Bad PowerPoint

Hey--the title says it all.

Everyone Is An Expert (about something)

THIS BOOK is for anyone who wants more online traffic, more revenue, more followers, more attention, more interest, more donations or more influence.

The paradox, of course, is that the best way to get all these things is by delivering less.

This is a book about focus and meaning. Feel free to share it.

Customer Evangelist

Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba Get customers who worship the ground you advertise on. "A customer evangelist not only purchases from you regularly, she feels compelled to tell others." They demonstrate how to create customer evangelists in today's market of endless choices. Ben and Jackie use triumphs from the business world to deliver sound advice on how to maximize your marketing output and quality. A must-read for any consumer-heavy business.

Early Reader Quotes:"This is the first document I have ever seen that recognizes the fact that people who provide unsolicited negative feedback are advocates for a company. Most managers view these suggestions as intrusive and insulting indications that management doesn't know what they're doing, or that the customer or employee is hypercritical or "difficult". But in fact, taking the time to give this kind of feedback means that person really cares about the company and wants it to shine." -- Isabel Walcott

"I think marketing people often feel like they have or want "control". "Build the Buzz" and "Create the Community"... I totally agree with the bite size pieces bit and sharing knowledge, but a lot of buzz and community is grass roots and emergent. It's about letting the buzz and the community happen and then feeding it.

One way that we can help feed the community better is to make information and content more "fluid". As you know, I am a board member of Creative Commons, which is making available copyright licenses that encourage people to share content in ways that the author permits.
I think that motion picture companies should make photos and trailers available and freely shareable, not just available to their partners as is the current norm. In fact, they should encourage people to edit, play with and distribute trailers and information about the films and set up fan sites. In fact, they are doing the opposite and shutting down unauthorized fan sites. This gets back to my point above about control. The buzz is happening but many marketers are trying to do this with control and it isn't natural.

And most importantly, your product has to be excellent and the best way to make your product excellent is to listen to your customers. It would be great if all of the ad money went towards product development instead of stupid ads in the mass media." -- Joi Ito


Excerpt from the manifesto:"Technology has leveled the playing field to make quality less of a competitive advantage. Product and service saturation is rampant. We’re drowning in a sea of media. In a world with so much choice, how do people even make decisions anymore? By relying on trusted friends, colleagues or family members."

Art of the Start

Guy Kawasaki A former Apple Fellow and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Guy talks about up-starting a start-up. A sneak preview from his upcoming book, "The Art of the Start." Guy encourages entrepreneurs to make meaning, make mantra, and get going. According to Kawasaki, some examples of making 'meaning' are: make the world a better place, increase the quality of life, right a terrible wrong, and prevent the end of something good. Plus, his brilliant FAQ's (frequently avoided questions) will answer almost all your fears about starting a new business.

Early Reader Quotes:"Once I started reading Guy Kawasaki's manifesto, I couldn't stop. Taking the time to hear out his ideas on entrepreneurship has given me valuable insight, affirmation, and perspective now that I'm 33 days into my new business venture." -- Red Maxwell, onramp

"I'd highly recommend it to anyone thinking about starting a business. I particularly like the Make Meaning, Make Mantra, and Get Going sections. In fact, I think I'll start using the Make Mantra as my own Mantra with entrepreneurs." -- Fred Wilson, Union Square Ventures

Excerpt from the manifesto:"Forget mission statements; they’re long, boring, and irrelevant. No one can ever remember them — much less implement them. Instead, take your meaning and make a mantra out of it. This will set your entire team on the right course."

Escape Adulthood

Jason Kotecki “Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.”

About the author: Jason Kotecki has been called The Champion of Childhood. He is an author, cartoonist, and speaker with the mission of helping grown-ups escape adulthood and children have better childhoods. He is the creator of the comic strip, "Kim & Jason." He greatly enjoys sugar-laden cereal.

Does Anyone Know How to Market (and will anyone care?)

Chris Houchens Go to your bookshelf. Find all the marketing business books you can. Throw them out. Rinse. Repeat. Chris Houchens isn't kidding.

About the author: Chris Houchens founded Shotgun Concepts in 1997 to help small businesses who are at that "awkward age" of being between solo marketing and big agencies get the most out of their marketing, advertising, and PR efforts.

25 Ways to Distinguish Yourself

Rajesh Setty According to Setty, "being part of the commodity crowd erodes your value." You need to rise above the crowd by following Setty's 25 ways.

About the author: Rajesh Setty is currently the chairman of CIGNEX Technologies, Inc (which he co-founded in late 2000.) Rajesh wrote his first novel when he was nine years old and got it published by the time he was thirteen. His upcoming book "Beyond Code" is being published in US and India simultaneously

Bootstrappers Bible

Available to you once again FROM Seth Godin! There's never been a better time to start a business with no money. This manifesto will show you how. A great read for both teacher and studnet!

About the author: Seth Godin is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change. In Free Prize Inside, his follow up to the best selling marketing book of 2003, Purple Cow, Seth helps you make your product remarkable with soft innovations. You need to make each of your employees idea champions so they can find the Free Prize. Godin is author of six books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change and work. Seth is a renowned speaker as well. He was recently chosen as one of 21 Speakers for the Next Century by Successful Meetings and is consistently rated among the very best speakers by the audiences he addresses. He holds an MBA from Stanford and was called "the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age" by BusinessWeek.