Antonia Mantonakis, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Marketing, Brock University Goodman School of Business: Perception of Wine Taste Due To Celebrity Athlete Endorsement - Interview


Antonia Mantonakis, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Marketing at Brock University Goodman School of Business, was kind enough to take the time to answer a few questions about a recent study she and her colleagues conducted, about how consumers perceive the quality and taste of a wine. The study of consumer perceptions was based on the impact of having celebrity athletes, from various sports, endorse a wine.

Antonia Mantonakis described the background to the study, its methodology, and shared some of the findings from that study.

Thanks to Antonia Mantonakis for her time, and for her responses to the questions. They are greatly appreciated.

What was the background to creating this study of the perceived relationship between customer behaviour and consumer decision making; and who were the participants?

Antonia Mantonakis: My co-authors (Sarah Clemente, Eric Dolansky, and Katherine White) and I have been studying consumer decision making ever since we were graduate students. I’ve always found the topic fascinating given my background in Psychology.

Participants are usually community members, including students at the University. We kept track of their wine knowledge, and were able to split the respondents into high vs. low knowledge participants.

The study examines the relationship between wines and celebrity athlete endorsements in various sports. How did you determine if there are real and quantifiable relationships between customer behaviour and the endorsements?

Antonia Mantonakis: Well we first did a pre-test, where we gave participants a list of athletes such as David Beckham and Christine Sinclair, and had them rank order the degree of “fit” to the product of wine. It was interesting to see how respondents rated the golfer Vijay Singh as a “good” fit, whereas “The Rock” (wrestler) was a poor fit, and Jeremy Wotherspoon (speed skater) was perceived to be a moderate fit.

When you examined different sports, how did the choice of sport athlete make a difference?

Antonia Mantonakis: In the actual tasting study, we paired each of these athletes with wines, to taste. What was interesting was that, for high knowledge respondents, taste ratings were higher for the “moderate” fit. In addition, these respondents reported a higher willingness to pay for the wine with a moderate fit.



Antonia Mantonakis, Ph.D. (photo left)

You discovered that there was a different fit between consumers and the athletes and sports selected. Why is this concept of fit an important consideration for marketers?

Antonia Mantonakis: This is actually a topic that’s been studied extensive in marketing, especially for co-branding efforts. Ours is the first to examine “fit” in the context of taste.

When consumers were rated on different knowledge levels regarding wine, what did that knowledge level mean for the amount of the endorsement fit?

Antonia Mantonakis: This is interesting, actually, because our results (that consumers preferred the wine with the “moderate” fitting celebrity endorsement) appeared only for the high knowledge consumers, not for the low knowledge consumers.

Were the more knowledgeable consumers more swayed by the taste of the wine or the fit of the endorsement?

Antonia Mantonakis: Here’s the other trick in our study: all wines (for all 3 celebrity athletes) were the same. They only thought that they were different. So, they were more swayed by the fit of the endorsement, yes.

For marketers how is the level of knowledge held by consumer to be considered when finding endorsements for either high, medium, or low knowledge level consumers?

Antonia Mantonakis: This is a good question because we know that consumers of different knowledge levels approach and evaluate products differently. For instance, lower knowledge consumers may look more at price, whereas high knowledge consumers look more at other features of the product, like what’s written on the label in the case of wine.

What conclusions and marketing lessons were uncovered from this study?

Antonia Mantonakis: The take away message in this study is that consumers (even those who know a lot about the product they are evaluating) can be swayed by who is endorsing the product, to the point that it actually tastes different (even though it should taste no different).

What is next for Antonia Mantonakis?

Antonia Mantonakis: Hmmm always more studies to be done on how consumers make decisions! Right now, my colleague Keri Kettle and I are working on consumer perceptions of wine that simply has the wine maker’s signature on it. Such a simple addition to the printed label, but, so far, we are finding that seeing a signature on a label makes a huge difference in perceptions, and willingness to buy the wine! Isn’t that interesting?






Peter Witham, Director & Retail Lead: UNIT4 Business Software - Interview


Thanks to Peter Witham, Director and Retail Lead, UNIT4 Business Software for taking the time to answer a few questions about the current state of the retail market, technology based solutions to help retailers, and about the use of the cloud.

Thanks to Peter Witham for his time, and for his very comprehensive responses. They are greatly appreciated.

What does the retail market like right now?

Peter Witham: The back-to-school season signals the start of push to the year-end and important holiday buying. The National Retail Federation anticipates U.S. families spending about seven percent less than they did last year on back-to-school purchases; so retailers are deploying a variety of sales strategies to lure shoppers and their dollars into their stores as well as online. Customer-facing technology and apps – both social and mobile – are being used to attract and keep buyers. It is a time of constant change, continued optimism and strategies to stay top of mind with customers.

Social and mobile are indeed good strategies to get shoppers in early and often, but what else could a retailer do from a technology standpoint to be successful?

Peter Witham: Understandably, retailers most often focus on the front end of their technology and their operational systems, because that is where the customers are. Increasingly, astute retailers are learning new ways to get the most mileage out of their back office systems, and using them in innovative ways.

For example, an average finance system helps by running day, month and quarter reports. Good systems can be equipped with some basic analysis tools that can help decipher more data and run more reports. Best-of-class financial systems, such as UNIT4 Coda, can help retailers do drill down analyses based on real-time data resident in both the front-end and back-end, because they integrate seamlessly and are based on a single ledger system. They work the way the retailers work today: flexible, nimble and scalable.

No longer does a retailer have to build its market strategy around its technology’s limitations; rather, the finance system strategically supports whatever the retailer needs to do to grow the business.



Peter Witham (photo left)

We hear a lot about cloud computing these days. What is the state of cloud in the retail industry?

Peter Witham: One of the hottest topics right now in retail is cloud computing as it is transforming the technology landscape. According to IDC, by 2016 cloud services will become “an everyday sourcing option for the CIO and LOB manager alike, forcing change on both the infrastructure vendors, the owners of business IP and the consumers of cloud services and technologies.”

Scalability, speed and data availability are three of the main advantages of cloud computing – all important to a retailer. Scalability allows a retailer to allocate IT resources to priorities quickly and easily, and the retailer’s software remains current and full of the latest features. The cloud can grow as a retailer’s needs grow, allowing the retailer to maximize limited resources and dollars.

By speed I mean the ability to get set up and in use by employees faster than a more traditional deployment option. Who doesn’t want to give their employees the tools they need as quickly as possible? Data availability means your information is available in real-time to your employees, wherever they are.

How can cloud computing be deployed?

Peter Witham: Cloud is being used at the front-end as well as the back-end but in different ways. For example, some of the larger retailers keep the majority of their IT on premise. For others, the cloud is a way for them to bring their technology current quickly and get back to business. Still others are in between – a hybrid approach consisting of part-on-premise and part-cloud. We recommend that retailers look for cloud options that put them in the driver’s seat, allowing them to decide and change their ratio of on-premise/ cloud deployments as often as internal and external conditions indicate.

Additionally, we recommend they kick the tires of their proposed cloud solutions, to ensure they are getting full-featured versions of the software, not merely lighter versions that do only the basic tasks. Finally, we urge them to choose vendors that go beyond integration with basic apps such as HR and billing and instead offer open APIs that allow retailers to integrate with whatever apps they have today as well as those they may have tomorrow.

Can cloud financial systems accommodate both retail accounting and cost accounting methods?

Peter Witham: Systems such as CODA Financials can. That’s a particularly important option when a retailer acquires a new brand in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world that may use different accounting methods, for example. Retailers need to speedily report data in multiple formats very easily – according to the way the parent company, the U.S. government, or individual countries require it.

Additionally, retailers will want to analyze details, such as profitability, no matter which accounting method is used, so that they can better understand the true cost of running a particular line or going through a particular channel in a certain state, region or country. This is important data for decision-making around such marketing strategies as dynamic pricing, supply and demand and profitability. All these things gathered in real-time can give the retailer key insight to determine how to counter or pre-empt a competitor’s actions.

What’s next for UNIT4 Business Software in retail?

Peter Witham: With a 30-year history of working with some of the world’s leading retail brands, UNIT4 Business Software “gets” retail. We have found that best-in-class retailers want best-in-class technology solutions that enable them to make changes quickly, provide a single view of the truth and work the way they work.

Cloud enables that vision quickly and equips them to adapt to whatever lies ahead, not only in the upcoming shopping season but also well beyond into the future. We will be there to help them navigate change, wherever it takes them. You can learn more about UNIT4 Business Software in the retail industry as well as download a free brochure about the company’s approach to cloud computing here: http://bit.ly/11z1uSc.

What’s next for Peter Witham in retail?

Peter Witham: We have a great group of retail customers and many more coming our way, so I am more than happy to team with them to help them realize their bottom-line goals as quickly as possible.

************

Peter Witham is Director and Retail Lead for UNIT4 Business Software, the North American subsidiary of UNIT4, a $624 million global business software and services company that creates, provides and supports software for Businesses Living IN Change – delivered via the cloud and on-premise. UNIT4 Coda Financials cloud deployment for retailers is offered on UNIT4’s own robust and proven infrastructure from several locations throughout the world, as well as through the company’s new membership in the Amazon Web Services' (AWS) Partner Network (APN). For more information, please contact: author@unit4software.com.


Sharon Birkman Fink: The Birkman Method: Your Personality At Work - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio


Leadership trainer, President and CEO Of Birkman International, Inc., and co-author of the very hands on, and career and organizational transforming book The Birkman Method: Your Personality at Work, Sharon Birkman Fink describes the Birkman Method of personality assessment and how to discover the underlying drives and inspirations to achieve your own success. Sharon Birkman Fink presents a personality assessment tool that goes far beyond the usual tools that help you discover basic truths about yourself, and how to leverage those strengths and behaviors in your career. Sharon offers the Method as one that is inclusive, rather than one that screens out diversity. Sharon also dispenses with the myth that certain jobs and industries should seek only one type of personality. Sharon demonstrates how the Birkman Method helps build teams, and how to match people to specific roles within that team. Learn how to utilize personality traits and strengths to build leadership, boost careers, and improve overall organizational performance.

Sharon Birkman Fink is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio

The show airs live on Thursday, August 29, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Leadership trainer, President and CEO Of Birkman International, and co-author of the very hands on, and career and organizational transforming book The Birkman Method: Your Personality at Work, Sharon Birkman Fink describes the Birkman Method of personality assessment and how to discover the underlying drives and inspirations to achieve your own success. You will learn:

* How the Birkman Method uncovers hidden truths about your personality

* How to apply the Birkman Method to the hiring process to find great people

* Why many personality tests simply screen out people and don't utilize their strengths

* How to use the Birkman to build strong teams with the right people in each role


Sharon Birkman Fink (photo left) has served as Birkman International, Inc. President and CEO since 2002. Originally trained as a singer/musician, Sharon was a National Merit Scholar and Woodrow Wilson Fellow who completed a Master's degree in Music at the University of Texas. She asserts that "any child raised in a family business is always a part of the business" and this makes her Birkman tenure very long indeed.

Throughout the 1990's, Sharon assisted with Birkman training and feedbacks, working in the firm part-time until 2001. In 2005 - 2007, she attended the Owner/President Management program at Harvard Business School. Under her leadership, Birkman has had successive years of growth, profitability and new product development.

She is married to international opera performer and 2012 Grammy award winner, Richard Paul Fink, a dramatic baritone who sings regularly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and has three daughters. Sharon is involved with several charitable and civic organizations in the Houston area and is member of the Board of Directors of the Escape Foundation. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Goodwill Industries of Houston.

My book review of The Birkman Method: Your Personality at Work by Sharon Birkman Fink and Stephanie Capparell.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.

BlogTalkRadio.com

If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.

Add to iTunes

To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with leadership trainer, President and CEO Of Birkman International, and co-author of the very hands on, and career and organizational transforming book The Birkman Method: Your Personality at Work, Sharon Birkman Fink, as she describes the Birkman Method of personality assessment and how to discover the underlying drives and inspirations to achieve your own success. Sharon Birkman Fink presents a personality assessment tool that goes far beyond the usual tools that help you discover basic truths about yourself, and how to leverage those strengths and behaviors in your career. Sharon offers the Method as one that is inclusive, rather than one that screens out diversity. Sharon also dispenses with the myth that certain jobs and industries should seek only one type of personality. Sharon demonstrates how the Birkman Method helps build teams, and how to match people to specific roles within that team. Learn how to utilize personality traits and strengths to build leadership, boost careers, and improve overall organizational performance on Blog Business Success Radio.

The Birkman Method: Your Personality at Work by Sharon Birkman Fink & Stephanie Capparell - Book review




The Birkman Method

Your Personality at Work


By: Sharon Birkman Fink, Stephanie Capparell


Published: April 29, 2013
Hardcover: 240 pages
ISBN-10: 1118207017
ISBN-13: 978-1118207017
Publisher: Jossey-Bass











"The Birkman is the only assessment tool that reaches beyond mere self-described behavior to reveal the underlying motivations that drive and inspire you", write President and CEO of Birkman International, Sharon Birkman Fink; and journalist and filmmaker, Stephanie Capparell, in their very hands on, and career and organizational transforming book The Birkman Method: Your Personality at Work. The authors describe how the Birkman Method of understanding personalities provides an objective assessment of different personalities. The Birkman provides a guide to coaching each personality type toward achieving peak performance in the individual's personal career path; as well as for their contribution to the organization as a whole.


Sharon Birkman Fink (photo left) and Stephanie Capparell recognize that everyone possesses strengths, passion, and that something extra that motivates them to achieve great things. This recognition that everyone has value is a core principle of the Birkman Method. The Birkman assessment tool helps the individual and the organization to better understand their personalities to transition those internal abilities into a stronger and better balanced workplace environment.

At the same time, the authors overturn the myth that only certain types of personalities fit into specific workplace. The Birkman establishes an objective and inclusive self-awareness that provides a role for any personality type in all types of firms.


Stephanie Capparell (photo left) Sharon Birkman Fink understand that any assessment that only examines skill levels, character, and experience is only considering a very small part of the person. Instead, the authors demonstrate how the Birkman offers the means to teach and enrich people with various attributes, and to make best use of those personality traits for the benefit of everyone. Instead of selecting only the most obvious candidates, the Birkman provides a guide to selecting a widely diverse workforce, who bring complementary skills, personality traits, and behaviors to the organization.

Sharon Birkman Fink and Stephanie Capparell present the Birkman Method, designed by workplace psychology pioneer Roger W. Birkman, as an assessment guide with no right or wrong answers, and no profile traits or work preference that are detrimental to success in the workplace or in one's personal life. Indeed the Birkman Method, as offered by the authors provides a large number of uses and applications in any work environment. The authors cover the following aspects of the Birkman Method:

* He we are: Taking the Birkman
* Identifying your strengths
* The components: Eleven personality markers
* Your communication comfort zone: Esteem and acceptance
* The power of process: Structure
* Are you a boss of just bossy: Authority
* Are you in it to win it: Advantage and activity
* How your emotions can help or hurt a decision: Empathy and thought
* Are you a frustrated maverick in the workplace: Freedom and change
* The wide angle view: Challenge

For me, the power of the book is how Sharon Birkman Fink and Stephanie Capparel combine a comprehensive examination and understanding of the Birkman Method, with the practical skills and techniques for putting the individual personality assessments into practice. The authors not only provide insights into the use and application of the Birkman Method, but they also offer techniques that organizations can utilize to transition the personality profiled individuals into successful members of the team.

The methodology uncovers hidden strengths and talents that will benefit the company, while also bringing to the surface those traits that need change to prevent them from causing damaging behavior. Part of the overall value of the Birkman Method is its very inclusiveness in that it creates a format where everyone becomes a candidate for the organization's various needs.

In place of being presented as a tool to screen out applicants, as so many assessment tools have become in practice, the Birkman proposes the opposite role of increasing and enhancing diversity within the workplace. Instead of the popular misconception that certain jobs and industries require only special types of people, the authors demonstrate how a wider diversity of personalities and behaviors creates an even more productive work environment. Instead of weeding people out, the Birkman helps companies utilize individual strengths, while modifying their personal weaknesses.

I highly recommend the very clear and concise book The Birkman Method: Your Personality at Work by Sharon Birkman Fink and Stephanie Capparel, to anyone seeking a practical and very useful personality assessment tool that goes beyond the standard assessment tools, and provides real insights into coaching, career management, and peak performance abilities. This book will guide you and your organization away from personality assessment as a screening out tool, and toward this highly inclusive and diversity development tool.

Bill Treasurer: Leaders Open Doors - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio


Leadership guide, humanitarian, Chief Encouragement Officer at Giant Leap Consulting, and author of the transformational and refreshingly straightforward book Leaders Open Doors: A Radically Simple Leadership Approach to Lift People, Profits, and Performance, Bill Treasurer describes how open door leadership creates opportunities and growth for followers to achieve their goals. Bill Treasures provides insights into how the very concept of leadership has become overly complicated, and has done real harm to overall leadership development. To counter that leadership regression, Bull Treasurer offers the six principles of open door leadership that develops leaders through opportunity and growth. Fat from being an open door policy, the principles of open door leadership open doors for people to develop and grow, creating a much more empowering personal dynamic. Learn how to utilize these simple to understand principles, that take you on a lifelong journey to leadership excellence, and guide your followers to become great leaders themselves. As an added benefit, Bill Treasurer has donated all proceeds from this book to helping organizations for people with special needs.

Bill Treasurer is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, August 27, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Leadership guide, humanitarian, Chief Encouragement Officer at Giant Leap Consulting, and author of the transformational and refreshingly straightforward book Leaders Open Doors: A Radically Simple Leadership Approach to Lift People, Profits, and Performance, Bill Treasurer describes how open door leadership creates opportunities and growth for followers to achieve their goals. You will learn:

* Why the concept of leadership has become so complicated over time

* Why a simpler and more understandable approach to leadership is needed now

* How the principles of open door leadership provide opportunities to others

* How to practice open door leadership effectively in your organization


Bill Treasurer (photo left) is founder and Chief Encouragement Officer at Giant Leap Consulting. Bill is the author of Courage Goes to Work: How to Build Backbones, Boost Performance, and Get Results, a book about how to inspire more courageous behavior in workplace settings. The book introduces Bill’s pioneering work in the new organizational development practice of courage-building.

Bill’s first book, Right Risk is about how to take smart risks, and draws on Treasurer’s experiences as both an organizational development professional and as a daredevil athlete. Management guru Ken Blanchard calls Right Risk “a book for our times.”

Bill Treasurer has also served as chief editor of Positively M.A.D. (Making A Difference), a compilation of stories from world-renowned experts that inspires readers to make a difference in their organizations. Gannett newspapers calls it “required reading for all employees contemplating putting a co-worker’s tie through the shredder — with the co-worker still attached.”

Bill’s insights have been featured in over 100 newspapers, including The Washington Post, The NY Daily News, The Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Boston Herald, and Investor’s Business Daily. Bill’s insights have also appeared in such magazines as Leader to Leader, Entrepreneur, Woman’s Day, Redbook, Fitness, and The Harvard Management Update.

Bill is a former member of the U.S. High Diving Team. For seven years he traveled throughout the world performing with a team of high performing athletes. During that time, Bill did over 1500 high dives from heights that scaled to over 100 feet . . . sometimes on fire!

My book review of Leaders Open Doors: A Radically Simple Leadership Approach to Lift People, Profits, and Performance by Bill Treasurer.

My book review of Courage Goes to Work: How to Build Backbones, Boost Performance, and Get Results by Bill Treasurer.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.

BlogTalkRadio.com

If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.

Add to iTunes

To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with leadership guide, humanitarian, Chief Encouragement Officer at Giant Leap Consulting, and author of the transformational and refreshingly straightforward book Leaders Open Doors: A Radically Simple Leadership Approach to Lift People, Profits, and Performance, Bill Treasurer, as he describes how open door leadership creates opportunities and growth for followers to achieve their goals. Bill Treasures provides insights into how the very concept of leadership has become overly complicated, and has done real harm to overall leadership development. To counter that leadership regression, Bull Treasurer offers the six principles of open door leadership that develops leaders through opportunity and growth. Fat from being an open door policy, the principles of open door leadership open doors for people to develop and grow, creating a much more empowering personal dynamic. Learn how to utilize these simple to understand principles, that take you on a lifelong journey to leadership excellence, and guide your followers to become great leaders themselves. As an added benefit, Bill Treasurer has donated all proceeds from this book to helping organizations for people with special needs on Blog Business Success Radio.

Leaders Open Doors by Bill Treasurer - Book review



Leaders Open Doors

A Radically Simple Leadership Approach to Lift People, Profits, and Performance


By: Bill Treasurer

Published: March 7, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 114 pages
ISBN-10: 1475976380
ISBN-13: 978-1475976380
Publisher: iUniverse.com











"Leaders open doors of perception, possibility,and most importantly, opportunity. This book is about how leaders help people and organizations by creating opportunities for growth", writes leadership guide, humanitarian, and Chief Encouragement Officer at Giant Leap Consulting, Bill Treasurer, in his transformational and refreshingly straightforward book Leaders Open Doors: A Radically Simple Leadership Approach to Lift People, Profits, and Performance. The author describes how the very concept of leadership has become much too complicated, and provides a simpler philosophy and practice of leadership that is both effective and caring of people and their lives.

Bill Treasurer recognizes that the theory and practice of leadership has become overly complex, and along with the introduction of complicated analysis and jargon, the real values of leadership were covered over with confusion. To remedy this overemphasis on formulas, technical terminology, and difficult to understand ideas, the author takes the principle of leadership back to its most basic premise. Bill Treasurers presents the leader's role as that of opening doors of opportunity for others to grow and succeed. That basic and simple concept forms the foundation of this book in what the author calls open-door leadership.


Bill Treasurer (photo left) understands that, as a leadership consultant himself, that the leadership consultancy industry has made becoming an effective leader more difficult than ever. Instead of developing effective leaders, the author points out that there are fewer good leaders than ever before. Bill Treasurer returns to the core leadership principle of helping to inspire leaders, to open those doors of opportunity for those they lead, to achieve their goals and aspirations.

Bill Treasurer provides a complete and readily understood set of concepts that share the principle of leaders as opening doors of opportunity for their followers. In keeping with the book's theme that leadership should be simply, and not overly complicated, the author shares the following six doorways of opportunity and growth:

* The proving-ground door
* The thought-shifting door
* The door to a second chance
* Opening doors for others
* The door to personal transformation
* The door to your open heart

For me, the power of the book is how Bill Treasurer combines a strong theoretical and philosophical framework, with the practical and hands on skills to become an open door leader. The author emphasizes opportunity and growth, but not only for the benefit of the organization at the present time. The principles also fulfill that crucial role of a leader of creating more leaders for the future.

To his credit, Bill Treasurer points out that while the open door leader principle is a simple one, it is by no means easy. As with any other effective leadership development plan, open door leadership requires constant self awareness, practice, and acting on the ideas to make them effective. Knowing that leadership is always a wonderful and challenging journey is part of the development process.

At the same time, the author points out the important distinction that open door leadership is not the same thing as having an open door policy. Indeed, Bill Treasurer considers the much vaunted open door policy to be a weak leadership concept. Open door leadership is not about opening doors to others; but instead is about opening doors of opportunity for others.

I highly recommend the clear and concise book Leaders Open Doors: A Radically Simple Leadership Approach to Lift People, Profits, and Performance by Bill Treasurer, to any leaders at any stage of their career development and in any industry, who are seeking a readily applicable road map to becoming a better and more effective leader. This book will transform you from an ordinary leader, to an outstanding leader, who creates opportunities and real growth for your followers as they become great leaders as well.

As an additional benefit of owning this book, Bill Treasurer has donated 100 percent of of the proceeds from the sale of this book to organizations that assist individuals with special needs. This generous support, opens doors of opportunities for people with special needs, to achieve their goals as well.

The Complete Guide On How To Negotiate by Tali Raphaely - Book review



The Complete Guide On How To Negotiate

Master the Art of Getting What You Want in Business and in Life


By: Tali Raphaely

Published: June 27, 2013
Format: Paperback, 112 pages
ISBN-10: 0615783465
ISBN-13: 978-0615783468
Publisher: Tali Raphaely











"My goal is to equip you with the negotiating skills to get more from everyday life - and reveal the philosophy behind these practices", writes attorney, motivational speaker, and President and Managing Member of Armour Settlement Services, LLC, Tali Raphaely, in his concise and effective results oriented book The Complete Guide On How To Negotiate: Master the Art of Getting What You Want in Business and in Life. The author describes the importance of understanding negotiation, its ubiquitous nature entering all areas of our lives, and provides the principles of negotiation that achieve a win-win outcome.

Tali Raphaely recognizes that while some people may possess natural negotiating abilities, the vast majority of people face a real challenge when they enter into any negotiation. The author bridges this knowledge gap by providing the skills, strategies, and techniques necessary for becoming a good negotiator. Tali Raphaely helps people overcome an aversion to negotiation, that results from a fear of confrontation and argument, by transforming the event into a mutual problem solving process that benefits both parties. The author presents the ability to negotiate effectively, and with a positive and mutual solutions based approach, as a skill that can be learned, developed, and practiced by anyone.


Tali Raphaely (photo left) understands that negotiations are a part of life, and theu take place not only in business or governmental activities, but within families, buying a car, or purchasing a home. Negotiation skills are essential to achieve a satisfactory and mutually rewarding outcome whether at home or on the job. Tali Raphaely shares the skills that he learned and practiced over many years, and presents them in a logical and readily understood and applied format for the reader.

Tali Raphaely takes a positive and optimistic approach to negotiation that values the concept of seeing the other person's point of view, working together to achieve positive solutions, and the avoidance of negotiation breakdown through maintaining respect, integrity, and empathy. The book covers the following aspects of negotiation:

* The tale of Sad Sam and Skillful Sam: Different existing skill levels
* Getting started with some basic concepts
* Talk :less, listen more: Principles of verbal communication
* The offer: Starting off on the right foot
* The fundamentals: Framing devices as ways of thinking
* Understanding and using precedents
* Cooperation not competition: Creating a connection and mutual satisfaction

For me, the power of the book is how Tali Raphaely not only shares his proven strategies and tactics for successful negotiation, but also offers the philosophy of why he makes those recommendations. The author provides a step by step guide to negotiation that presents real advice to people who may have reservations about the entire idea of negotiation. The author emphasizes that the art of negotiation is a learned skill that anyone can master with practice.

Tali Raphaely puts forward his negotiation philosophy that places the central importance, not on some vague concept of somehow winning the negotiation, but on making real connections and reaching mutually beneficial solutions to problems. The book is written in a logical and easy to follow format, that can be reread as a reference when the principles are needed in a real world negotiation. The methods are presented with wit and a with examples of the process by which they are applied in real world situations.

I highly recommend the hands on and very handy reference book The Complete Guide On How To Negotiate: Master the Art of Getting What You Want in Business and in Life by Tali Raphaely, to any business leaders, sales representatives, sales managers, entrepreneurs, and anyone who is seeking a clear and readily applicable guide to learning and improving their negotiation skills. Instead of always feeling like you got the short end of any negotiation, this book will help level the field and provide you with real win-win results.

Fish Can't See Water by Kai Hammerich & Richard D. Lewis - Book review




Fish Can't See Water

How national culture can make or break your corporate strategy


By: Kai Hammerich, Richard D. Lewis

Published: September 3, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 312 pages
ISBN-10: 1118608569
ISBN-13: 978-1118608562
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons,Inc.










The idea we present in this book is simple: national culture, through its influence on corporate culture, has a powerful but often invisible impact on the success of global companies. What's more, the very same national traits that accelerated growth in one stage of the corporate lifecycle may derail growth at a different stage or when an inevitable crisis hits", write international headhunter with Russell Reynolds Associates, Kai Hammerich; and renowned British linguist and founder of Richard Lewis Communications, Richard D. Lewis, in their pioneering and practical idea packed book Fish Can't See Water: How national culture can make or break your corporate strategy.

The authors describe how people living in different countries do things in very different ways, as a result of their national cultural traits, and share how business leaders can identify and act upon these national cultural differences.


Kai Hammerich (photo left) and Richard D. Lewis understand that different cultures act in very different ways from one another. As the authors point out, strong corporate results may arise in very different ways from those dissimilar cultures, but one culture is not superior to another.

At the same time, differing national cultures may create rapid growth in one stage of a company's overall lifecycle, but that same culture could be a detriment in another development stage. The ability to learn and recognize these often subtle and hidden differences between national cultures, that are reflected in their national corporate cultures, is critical for success in a globalized economic marketplace.


Richard D. Lewis (photo left) and Kai Hammerich recognize that the national cultures of every country provide both advantages and disadvantages. The authors studied the national traits of seven countries - the United States, Sweden, Italy, Germany, France ,, Japan, and Great Britain - to determine how and why their national traits provided advantages in one area, but also worked against the company in others. The authors examined a series of case studies to find out what worked, what went wrong, what lessons were learned, and where a failure to recognize and learn to overcome different cultural challenges led to losses.

Kai Hammerich and Richard D. Lewis present the often unnoticed, but very visible with a little careful examination, cultural differences that taken together, can propel forward or completely derail a company's international ventures. To discover and analyze the national cultural differences in an objective way, the authors offer Kai Hammerich's Cultural Dynamic Model®. This system provides a framework to examine cultural traits in an analytical format, and through fresh and open eyes.

Overall, the book is divided into three major parts, with each one considering an important component in understanding the underlying components of the national cultural dynamic, as follows:

* Developing the Cultural Dynamic Model®
* Cases: The company lifecycle, from innovation to consolidation
* The model in action: Lessons for managers and investors

For me, the power of the book is how Kai Hammerich and Richard D. Lewis combine a comprehensive analysis of the seven highlighted national cultures, with the workable and objective framework of the Cultural Dynamic Model® to assess the impact of those national characteristics. The authors provide an important, and very hands on approach, to the nascent but growing field of cultural intelligence. Along with the consideration of the national culture, the authors assess the impact of those national traits on corporate cultures.

The authors found small cultural factors that had deep and lasting effects on companies. Different national traits would often come into conflict with the characteristics of people from other nations. To provide background and deeper understanding of the role of national traits on company culture, growth, and success, the authors present a group of case studies to illustrate the concepts in the real world. The authors demonstrate clearly how cultural considerations must be recognized and taken into consideration by leaders and strategists of any company operating on an international scale.

I highly recommend the important and cultural intelligence building book Fish Can't See Water: How national culture can make or break your corporate strategy by Kai Hammerich and Richard D. Lewis, to any business leaders, managers, strategists, and marketers seeking a clear and concise examination and assessment of the importance and impact of national cultural traits on international companies. This book will open many eyes as to why understanding national traits can lead to greater successes or avoid an unexpected disaster for unwary business executives.


Drucker on Marketing by William A. Cohen, Ph.D. - Book review






Drucker on Marketing

Lessons from the World's Most Influential Business Thinker


By: William A. Cohen, Ph.D.

Published: September 12, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 288 pages
ISBN-10: 0071778624
ISBN-13: 978-0071778626
Publisher: McGraw-Hill








"Much of what Drucker taught ran counter to what is said about marketing even by many expert marketing practitioners and academics and what is written in many marketing books", writes internationally renowned thought leader and President of the Institute of Leader Arts, William A. Cohen, Ph.D., in his landmark and comprehensive book Drucker on Marketing: Lessons from the World's Most Influential Business Thinker. The author describes the marketing theories, concepts, and principles devised and shared by the late Peter Drucker, into the first guide to the pioneering marketing guide to the marketing ideas of that great business genius.


William A. Cohen, Ph.D. (photo left) recognizes that Peter Drucker was a groundbreaking thinker in the field of marketing. Indeed, as the author points out, Peter Drucker has been considered the grandfather of marketing. William Cohen offers the insight that Peter Drucker considered marketing and innovation to be the foundation of business success.

As would be expected of a genius, writes the author, Peter Drucker had ideas about marketing that not only ran counter to the traditional approaches to marketing, but were in direct conflict with the recognized experts in both academia and corporate boardrooms. Since Peter Drucker never wrote a book exclusively on the principles of marketing, William Cohen wrote this book to organize the marketing genius of Peter Drucker into one volume.


William A. Cohen understands that Peter Drucker (photo left) thought very differently from what is even considered as accepted marketing wisdom. The author offers the insight that while many experts have long considered sales and marketing not be the same thing, but that Peter Drucker presented the radical concept that sales and marketing could even be adversaries. As a result, the author provides a book that demonstrates clearly just how different the thinking of Peter Drucker truly was fro, that of the supposed conventional wisdom.

William A. Cohen shares the powerful marketing insights discovered by the late Peter Drucker, as well as the impact of these ideas that continues to this day. The author points out that while Peter Drucker told business and marketing leaders what to do, ut not always how to do it. To his credit, William Cohen offers the understanding that Peter Drucker provided timeless truths, but as times change so too does their meaning application in those changing environments. The marketing wisdom of Peter Drucker is offered in five overarching sections as follows:

* The ascendency of marketing
* Innovation and entrepreneurship
* Drucker's marketing strategy
* New products and service introduction
* Drucker's unique marketing insights

For me, the power of the book is how William A. Cohen, Ph.D. combines a collected work of the groundbreaking marketing insights uncovered by the late Peter Drucker, but offers those ideas with his own analysis of the overall concepts. Theauthor adds his own experiences and concepts to further illustrate the monumental monumental thinking offered by Peter Drucker. This book is a really needed addition to the overall marketing literature. Peter Drucker never authored a specialized volume on marketing, but included his seminal thinking in his overall business philosophy.

As is pointed out by William A. Cohen in the book, Peter Drucker frequently took positions that contradicted directly those of business and academic experts. As was almost always the case, the ideas of Peter Drucker were not only more effective on their own contemporary context, but proved to be correct over the long term as well. This volume is more than a mere collection of the marketing thought of Peter Drucker, but is a tribute to the greatness of Peter Drucker as a pioneer in the entire field of marketing.

I hightly recommend the very essential and must read book Drucker on Marketing: Lessons from the World's Most Influential Business Thinker by Wiliam A. Cohen, Ph.D., to any business leaders, executives, marketing and brand managers, academics and business students, and anyone interestesd in the seminal marketing ideas of the great genius Peter Drcker. This book places Peter Drucker where he belongs, in the very upper pantheon of thinkers about marketing and its impact for the organization, the customer, and for society.

Compelling People by John Neffinger & Matthew Kohut - Book review




Compelling People

The Hidden Qualities That Make Us Influential


By: John Neffinger, Matthew Kohut

Published: August 15, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1594631018
ISBN-13: 978-1594631016
Publisher: Hudson Street Press











"This book explains how character judgments work. When people size you up, what are they looking for? It also explains how to make character judgments work for you - what you can do to affect how others see you", write presentation coaching and communications strategists, and partners in KNP Communications, John Neffinger and Matthew Kohut, in their cutting edge research based and and very practical book Compelling People: The Hidden Qualities That Make Us Influential. The authors describe how when two people meet, they make very rapid character judgments about each other, with those judgments based on the two criteria the authors call strength and warmth.

John Neffinger and Matthew Kohut understand that the instant judgments made about other people are really two impressions. The first of two important criteria is strength, based on the perceived ability and drive to get things done. The second of the paired criteria is warmth, based on a perception of shared feelings, values, and worldviews. People respect people who provide that sense of strength. People are drawn others who radiate personal warmth.

With these two crucial insights in place, an entirely fresh realization of the human experience is made clear. The authors demonstrate how, along with knowing the value of projecting strength and warmth, to act upon that knowledge effectively in all social environments.


John Neffinger (left in photo left) and Matthew Kohut (right in photo left) recognize that not only do people make judgments about others, but they are being assessed themselves in turn. The authors present the concept that in every social interaction, the individual is sending out personal signals and a message about who they are or appear to be to others. As a result of this important knowledge, it becomes a decision to send out different signals to others in social situations.

The challenge, write John Neffinger and Matthew Kohut, is that it is very difficult to send simultaneous messages of both strength and warmth. To combine the two signals, the authors present a comprehensive outline of how to display this image of leadership potential. After extensive research, the authors offer insights into the dynamics at work for every person. These variables include traits over which a person has little control, and those that can be improved to project warmth and strength, including body language, speech, personal style, and clothing choices. The topics covered in the book include the following overarching sections:

* The big idea: Warmth and strength
* The hand you are dealt
* Playing the hand
* Strength and warmth in the world

For me, the power of the book is how John Neffinger and Matthew Kohut combine the powerful insight of projecting strength and warmth, with the guidance for being self aware of one's personal attributes and choosing to demonstrate the positive traits to the world. The authors provide insights into the reasons why judgments are made regarding the perceived traits of strength and warmth. Those reasons are presented as being influenced by physical, gender, and racial attributes; as well as by behavioral traits that can be transformed by the individual.

The authors provide a complete program for empowering a person to demonstrate leadership potential by radiating both warmth and strength. Instead of being forced to choose one or the other, the authors share the techniques to display them both. The book is designed to be read either as complete narrative, or as a reference to enhance a weakness in either the strength or the warmth attributes. The research based information moves beyond mere opinion, but shows how and why judgments of a person arr made in real world social interactions.

I highly recommend the very hands on and leadership skills development book Compelling People: The Hidden Qualities That Make Us Influential by John Neffinger and Matthew Kohut, to any current or prospective leaders, in any organizations or industries, who are seeking to increase their level of influence by improving how they are judged by others. This book is a clear and complete guide to projecting both warmth and strength as a dynamic and charismatic leader.

Terry Pearce: Leading Out Loud - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio


Executive coach, consultant, founder and President of Leadership Communication, and author of the completely revised third edition of his landmark and classic book Leading Out Loud: A Guide for Engaging Others in Creating the Future, 3rd Edition, Terry Pearce, describes the importance of leadership communication based on authenticity, trust, and empathy with others. Terry Pearce offers the principle of self awareness as the cornerstone of achieving the critical element of authenticity in leadership communication. Terry goes beyond the standard how to methods of communication, and enters the area where the soul meets science, in a holistic approach to inspirational leadership. Terry offers the wisdom that without the soul as a guide, and personal values and self awareness as touchstones, that true visionary leadership is not possible. In the lifelong journey of leadership, Terry Pearce presents the ongoing biography approach to learning in the form of the Personal Leadership Communication Guide. Learn how to transform ordinary leadership into authentic leadership based on a very human and empathic approach to communicating a vision.

Terry Pearce is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio

The show airs live on Thursday, August 22, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Executive coach, consultant, founder and President of Leadership Communication, and author of the completely revised third edition of his landmark and classic book Leading Out Loud: A Guide for Engaging Others in Creating the Future, 3rd Edition, Terry Pearce, describes the importance of leadership communication based on authenticity, trust, and empathy with others. You will learn:

* Why leadership communication is an essential skill for inspiring others

* Why authenticity, self awareness, and empathy are needed to build trust

* Why both the soul and science are part of authentic leadership

* How to create a Personal Leadership Communication Guide to map your journey


Terry Pearce (photo left) is the Founder and President of Leadership Communication, a company that coaches high-profile corporate, political and community leaders.

In 2003, Business Week magazine called Terry the “eminence grise” of leadership coaches, as his clientele list includes a select group of leaders from around the world.
The content and method of his coaching are departures from conventional wisdom, and are designed to move people to commitment rather than mere compliance, inspiring new levels of contribution and innovation across a spectrum of ethnic, religious, geographic and cultural boundaries.

Terry was an Adjunct Professor at The Haas Graduate School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, (retired 2008) and has served as a visiting faculty member at The London Business School for the MBA program and the Sloan Fellowship Programme.

In 2006, he participated in the Ethics and Leadership Roundtable at Stanford, where he joined other thought leaders in providing case studies to be used to educate future leaders at the Stanford Graduate Business School. He is a doctoral candidate at Pacifica Graduate Institute, studying Comparative Mythology and Depth Psychology, and in 2007, he hosted the Forum on Cross-Cultural Inspiration in San Francisco to explore the ways in which people are inspired without regard to their basic beliefs or cultures.

The first edition of Terry’s best-selling work, “Leading Out Loud, A Guide for Engaging Others in Creating the Future,” was honored by Executive Summaries as one of the best thirty business books of 1996. The third edition was released in 2013. This work is broadly acknowledged as creating the field of Leadership Communication as a distinct discipline and continues to set the standard for the subject.

The principles from all of Terry’s works are used as the basis for corporate leadership development programs offered through BlessingWhite, and by communication departments in colleges and universities around the world.

Terry’s background is as eclectic as his current activities. He was educated in Oregon in business and religious philosophy; then spent 17 years as a manager and executive with IBM. In the 80’s he worked extensively in citizen diplomacy, and pioneered American business activities in the Soviet Union as a co-founder of Partners, a Soviet-American trading company.

He is a former Fellow and Senior Vice President of Executive Communication for Charles Schwab & Co., and his work there from 1994 through 2002 won both the “Golden Quill” award from the International Association of Business Communicators and the “Compass” award from the American Association of Public Relations.

My book review of Leading Out Loud: A Guide for Engaging Others in Creating the Future, 3rd Edition by Terry Pearce.

Listen live on Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.

BlogTalkRadio.com

If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.

Add to iTunes

To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with executive coach, consultant, founder and President of Leadership Communication, and author of the completely revised third edition of his landmark and classic book Leading Out Loud: A Guide for Engaging Others in Creating the Future, 3rd Edition, Terry Pearce, as he describes the importance of leadership communication based on authenticity, trust, and empathy with others. Terry Pearce offers the principle of self awareness as the cornerstone of achieving the critical element of authenticity in leadership communication. Terry goes beyond the standard how to methods of communication, and enters the area where the soul meets science, in a holistic approach to inspirational leadership. Terry offers the wisdom that without the soul as a guide, and personal values and self awareness as touchstones, that true visionary leadership is not possible. In the lifelong journey of leadership, Terry Pearce presents the ongoing biography approach to learning in the form of the Personal Leadership Communication Guide. Learn how to transform ordinary leadership into authentic leadership based on a very human and empathic approach to communicating a vision on Blog Business Success Radio.

Leading Out Loud by Terry Pearce - Book review





Leading Out Loud: A Guide for Engaging Others in Creating the Future, 3rd Edition

By: Terry Pearce

Published: February 11, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
ISBN-10: 047090769X
ISBN-13: 978-0470907696
Publisher: Jossey-Bass









"The distinctions that separate leadership communication from operational communication reflect the difference between a set of instructions and an internal connection", writes coach, consultant, founder and President of Leadership Communication, Terry Pearce, in the completely revised third edition of his landmark and classic book Leading Out Loud: A Guide for Engaging Others in Creating the Future, 3rd Edition. The author describes the critical importance of authentic communication by leaders, to build trust and inspire others, and shares provides the concepts and exercises to achieve effective communication skills in a globalized and interconnected society.

Terry Pearce understands that the ability to communicate effectively, in a manner that combines personal values with empathy for others, is an essential leadership skill. The author presents the various forms that leadership conversation takes, including speaking to groups of various sizes, written messages, and those informal discussions that happen at random times and places.

For Terry Pearce, these spontaneous conversations, where trust and authenticity are established, and where empathy for others takes place on a deeply personal level, is where leadership takes its real form. For the author, it is crucial for the leader to develop their won self awareness, in order to discover their own true and authentic selves, to build deep and trusting relationships with others.


Terry Pearce (photo left) recognizes that leadership is a place where art and science not only intersect, but become entwined, as the mind and the sole connect as one. Leadership is a deeply personal event, built on trust, authenticity, values, and empathy. These aspects of the leader are all shared between the soul and the mind. Neither science nor the soul has a claim on their entirety. These very fundamental human qualities are part of the holistic human experience. For leadership, they form the core of real communication and inspiration.

Terry Pearce divides the book into two overall sections. The first of the two sections considers the concepts of leadership, self awareness, and personal connection with others. The second section presents the construction of Personal Leadership Guide to enhance communications and to build trust authentic leadership. The areas covered in the two parts are as follows:

Part I: Leadership Communication

* Discovering what matters
* Deepening emotional awareness
* Connecting with others
* Writing: Applying discipline to authenticity

Part II: The Personal Leadership Communication Guide

* Establishing competence and building trustworthiness
* Creating shared context
* Declaring and describing the future
* Committing to action
* Leadership communication in action

For me, the power of the book is how Terry Pearce combines a theoretical and philosophical examination of the nature of leadership communication with the practices and exercises to develop leadership as a skill. The author offers insights into why there is such a crisis in leadership, and why trust in leaders and the organizations they are supposed to guide are failing. Terry Pearce offers an alternative approach to leadership communication through self awareness, authenticity, and empathy for others.

The book is a deeply personal look at the true guiding principles of leadership and its role in the inspiration of oneself and of those who share in the leader's vision. The create this sense of being part of something larger, people must be deeply and personally inspired to achieve greatness. The author offers the path through a soul and science based approach to communication. it's not enough to have the skills of communication in the technical sense if the soul isn't part of the vision sharing process. The role of the leader is not a destination, but a journey, and the personal leadership guide is the record of that self awareness and personal development journey.

I highly recommend the essential and deeply personal book
Leading Out Loud: A Guide for Engaging Others in Creating the Future, 3rd Edition by Terry Pearce, to any leaders at any levels of any organization, who are seeking to establish deeper and more trust build relationships with their followers. This book offers a road map to navigate that very personal journey along the path of authentic and empathic leadership.

Commercial Management: Theory and Practice by David Lowe - Book review




Commercial Management: Theory and Practice

By: David Lowe

Published: August 5, 2013
Format: Paperback, 522 pages
ISBN-10: 1405124687
ISBN-13: 978-1405124683
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell












"Commercial exists as a distinct management role in many organizations, particularly those originating from the UK, although it is becoming more accepted globally as a valuable business activity", writes Senior Lecturer in Commercial Management, Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester, UK, David Lowe in his comprehensive and very well structured book Commercial Management: Theory and Practice. The author and the globally recognized contributors describe the important role of commercial management within organizations with a project orientation, including a theoretical framework for the latest theories, ideas, and best practices.

David Lowe recognizes the importance of establishing a complete framework as fundamental to a full understanding of the principles and practices of commercial management. The author and contributors utilize the framework as a foundation from with to build and add the various concepts of the subject matter. Through this methodical building process, the student is able to learn the theoretical concepts and practical methodology in a logical and well structured format.

David Lowe offers a complete examination of the commercial management practice providing perspective from both the supply side and the demand side; along with the other pertinent topics that fall under the grouping of commercial management.


David Lowe (photo left) provides a structural approach to the theories and practices that offers a logical route to learning the principles of commercial management. The author and the contributors guide students through an overall introduction to the framework and premises of commercial management. With the roles of the manager, in various positions within the framework, the author continues through the common areas of practice in project based organizations.

The book is divided into four overarching sections that present a complete foundational approach to commercial management in a project oriented environment. The four parts of the book are as follows:

* Introduction: Commercial management in project environments
* Elements of commercial theory and practice
* Approaches to commercial practice
* Case studies: Two extended case studies

For me, the power of the book is how David Lowe, and his contributing experts, combine the frameworks of the various factors within commercial management, with the strategies, tactics, and best practices for their successful implementation. The author and contributors provide in depth examination of the relevant topics, using a logical building block type format to add new concepts to those learned previously. The book is crammed with charts, graphs, highlighted principles, and handy shout outs that guide the student farther along the journey toward fully understanding the role of the commercial manager within a project oriented enterprise.

The author enhances the understanding of the concepts and the framework through two extensice and intensive case studies. These real world examinations of the principles in action in actul project environments illustrate the concepts for additional comprehension. Each chapter has the additional bonus feature of PowerPoint slides, sample exam questions for student practice, ando links to online resources and journals.

I highly recommend the excellent and all inclusive idea filled book Commercial Management: Theory and Practice by David Lewis, to any students at the graduate or undergraduate levels in management, commercial management, project management, educators in academia, professional commercial and project managers, business leaders, pub;ic policy analysts and anyone else interested in the theory and practice of commercial management. This book covers all of the relevant areas completely and authoritatively.

Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey: The Barefoot Spirit - Blog Business Success Radio

Listen to Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio


Entrepreneurs, Barefoot Wine co-founders, and co-authors of the inspirational and engaging book The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America's #1 Wine Brand, Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey describe how they built their highly successful company and brand through a shared vision of living and acting on their personal values. Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey share their challenges and triumphs as they overcame obstacles through creative thinking and applying their values as a touchstone for every decision. They present their important Worthy Cause Marketing initiative as a way to build brand awareness without advertising, while also giving back to hundreds of non-profit organizations. The authors provide insights into the key principles that built their company, their visionary company culture, and their wildly successful brands. The authors offer their experience and wisdom to other entrepreneurs as part of fulfilling another of their visions, of that of the mentor to other entrepreneurs.

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey are my internet radio show guests on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.

The show airs live on Tuesday, August 20, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Entrepreneurs, Barefoot Wine co-founders, and co-authors of the inspirational and engaging book The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America's #1 Wine Brand, Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey describe how they built their highly successful company and brand through a shared vision of living and acting on their personal values. You will learn:

* How the founders started and built their winery and brands

* How vision and living your values, and acting on them creates good decisions

* How the Worthy Cause Marketing concept achieved greater results than advertising

* How challenges and obstacles develop creative thinking and innovative solutions.


Michael Houlihan (photo left) s a serial entrepreneur, industry reformer, and brand builder. His consulting company, Great Thinks helps small and medium size businesses build their brands and achieve profitability.

As a keynote speaker, author and consultant, Michael focuses on the proven Business and Marketing principles he learned growing the Barefoot Wine Brand. Using out-of-the-box thinking, pay-for-performance, positive culture, channel distribution management, and "Worthy Cause Marketing" he took an obscure brand to a National and International Best Selling American wine icon. He shares his winning business philosophies in his new book, "The Barefoot Spirit."

Michael is a partner with Martin Jones in a consulting firm assisting small and medium size wine country businesses to develop their brands, become more efficient, and achieve profitability.

Founder, President and CEO of Barefoot Wines, June 1985 - January 2005
With no money and no knowledge of the industry, Michael started and built the famous Barefoot Wine brand. Michael earned the industry's top sales awards, including "Trend Setter, "Fast Track Growth Brand" and "Hot Brand" for sales and growth in 2003 and 2004 - all without advertising. In 2005, he successfully sold the brand to E&J Gallo. During the next year, he worked with them as a business consultant to maintain Barefoot's entrepreneurial character and Worthy Cause Marketing program.


Bonnie Harvey (photo left) is Co-Founder of Barefoot Wines and was Vice President for 19 years. During that time, she was an active proponent of Worthy-Cause Marketing over commercial advertising. This resulted in strong company culture and a loyal customer base. She was responsible for the design of the now iconic Barefoot label. The famous bare footprint is Bonnie's footprint.

She used her personal interest in clean water, land preservation, and civil rights to guide Barefoot's support for hundreds of local non-profits. By participating in their fundraising efforts, donating products, and helping them get the word out about their goals, she gave their membership a social reason to buy Barefoot Wine.

Bonnie has a background in entrepreneurialism and financial oversight as well as cash flow management. As Vice President, she was responsible for the company's goal setting and business strategy. She was the final editor for all written materials.

My book review of The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America's #1 Wine Brand by Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey.

Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.

BlogTalkRadio.com

If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.

Add to iTunes

To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with entrepreneurs, Barefoot Wine co-founders, and co-authors of the inspirational and engaging book The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America's #1 Wine Brand, Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey, as they describe how they built their highly successful company and brand through a shared vision of living and acting on their personal values. Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey share their challenges and triumphs as they overcame obstacles through creative thinking and applying their values as a touchstone for every decision. They present their important Worthy Cause Marketing initiative as a way to build brand awareness without advertising, while also giving back to hundreds of non-profit organizations. The authors provide insights into the key principles that built their company, their visionary company culture, and their wildly successful brands. The authors offer their experience and wisdom to other entrepreneurs as part of fulfilling another of their visions, of that of the mentor to other entrepreneurs on Blog Business Success Radio.