Information Architecture

BLUEPRINTS FOR THE WEB
A Book Review by David Bookout

Now I have three information design heros – Tufte, Wodtke & Govella. “Information Architecture - Blueprints For The WEB” SECOND ADDITION by Wodtke & Govella is exactly what the title suggests – a guide to effective form, structure and organization of information on the web. A quick glance at the table of contents reveals essential topics like; Principles, Balance, Search, Navigation, Flow, and Social Spaces. Graphic illustrations abound to give the reader concrete examples of the principles the authors set forth. Anyone considering upping their game and thinking relative to web building should get two ( 2 ) copies of this book; one to read, reference and literally carry around, and a second one to replace the first one when it wears out.

Effective Negotiation Seminar...

...@ UCSC Extension - The MILE Program 2009
by Steve Brown

One of my passions is negotiation. Don't get me wrong, I personally detest the "I'm gonna get everything I can outta you" approach to negotiation. There's no pleasure for me in that combat experience. What I enjoy is the art of looking for, and delivering, the creative win/win. The win/win I seek is more than what was hoped for at the beginning. It takes time, energy, and a certain type of approach to life. But it's worth every ounce of effort.

Playing Games

An early eye opener for me was the book Finite & Infinite Games by James Carse. He was a professor of theology at the time he wrote this short philosophy book. It separates human interactions into those that are Finite, limiting and diminishing, from those that are Infinite, opening, unlimited, and invigorating. It truly sharpened my perceptions of the win/lose vs win/win energy that can be detected in people. It is also very useful to characterize the approach we take in various situations, and how controlling or collaborating we might be perceived by others.

What I personally enjoyed the most about the book was getting a clear picture of how creativity and key words can create and foster win/win relationships at home, work, and play.

Another book conveys the same concepts but in a more mainstream format more readable to most. Power: The Infinite Game, by Michael Broom and Donald Klein, is a fantastic review of the energy dynamics involved within yourself, and between people. It connects that energy exchange to the concepts of win/win and win/lose, and continues on to provide a well balanced journey through advanced negotiation concepts.

Taping Into Local Expertise

I'm now a guest lecturer for UCSC Extension’s Management Institute of Leadership Excellence (MILE) II; Course 19032-004. The section I will teach is a 3.5 hour condensed version of my "Effective Negotiation Skills" seminar, and focuses on the most impactful building blocks in expanding one's win/win approach to life. The MILE program is delivered by a team of guest lecturers who bring their particular expertise to the classroom, along with their passion to teach and have an impact on the community. It's great company to be in, and I can't wait to meet this year's students!

The MILE Program 2009
Leadership Excellence I, 19032-004
Tuesdays 6-9:30pm
March 17 – May 19, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 9:00am - 3:00pm
10420 Bubb Rd., Cupertino

They are still accepting applications, but you need to sign up soon!

Personal Brand Tip - Get An Inside<->Out Look...

...for a more complete picture of who you really are !!...
by David Bookout

Related Post: How To Build A Personal Brand...
Related Post: Why build a Personal Brand ?...
Related Post: What is a Personal Brand ?...

Related Tool: Personal Brand Strategy Brief


Having done personal development work for over 15 years one of the things that continues to intrigue me most is the often difference in interpretation we have between; what we think about ourselves, and what others think about us. This plays a particularly important role in Personal Brand Development because who we "think" we are doesn't really matter when it comes to getting the job we want, or building the relationships we want. In a business context what matters most is how others view you !

Why?

Because chances are they have the power. They have the power to introduce you to others, or not. They have the power to add value to what your up to, or not. They have the power to hire you, AND MAY NOT, based on who you are for them.

There are many ways to get at the vital information you seek - what do others really think of me - AND conversations of this type need to be held in a certain context to avoid becoming opinion sessions. Aside from our tool, which gives you a framework to get at this critical area:

Related Tool: Personal Brand Strategy Brief

Here are three key things to do:

01 - Listen carefully to what others say, AND what they don't say in regard to who you are for them.

02 - Observe closely what other do, AND what they don't do in regard to the offers and requests you make.

03 - Ask people you can trust to give you an honest assessment of what they see. Often, it is NOT the best thing to ask family and close friends. They have a different connection to you that may not enable them to be clear, concise and valuable in what they share.

Enjoy and mobilize !!

© Copyright 2009 - Effetti, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.


The article "Personal Brand Tip - Get An Inside<->Out Look...", the subtitle "...for a more complete picture of who you really are !!..." and contents herein, unless otherwise specified in writing - by Effetti, Inc. are ALSO licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available by contacting the author through Effetti, Inc. http://www.effettigrowth.com/about-contact.php.

The image was found on, and may be © Copyright to Math.UCR.Edu

Effective Action...

...is a fine line between arrogance and doubt !!...
by David Bookout

Related Posts: Does Fear Affect / Effect Outcomes...
Related Posts: Closure & A New Design ( II )...


It seems like a lifetime ago when some colleagues and I were building a high-tech manufacturing company from scratch. The ride from $0 to $100MM / Yr. in 5 years was spectacular, and the lessons numerous. Today, one particular lesson comes to mind, and that is the fine line between arrogance and doubt. Falling too far off center in either direction can render some pretty unsatisfactory results.

The good news is we all get to choose the line we take.

Arrogance - Is having it all figured out. We used to joke about a recurrent trend. It went something like this - "just when I'm thinking I've got it all figured out I get hit in the head with a 2 x 4". Even metaphorically this hurts, and it is a great posture to block effective action. Why? Because it invalidates others, limits their ideas, and destroys collaboration.

Doubt - Can also be about having it all figured out. Just in a negative way. Doubt is an equally potent fuel for alienation. The interesting thing, to me, is that when we have doubts we are actually in distrust of either our own, or another's ability to fulfill. When we doubt, the very things we want get farther and farther away.

So, how do we stay on the fine line of Effective Action, particularly when the wind and other elements threaten to take us off course?

Here are Five Quick Tips:

01 - Maintain a healthy wonder about what you, and those around you might be missing. This is different than doubt. An interesting way to view this is; know what you know, know what you don't know, and know that there are things that you don't even know that you don't know.

02 - Maintain a healthy respect for what others think. This is different than sucking up. To be heard, you have to hear others.

03 - If and when others make a commitment to do something, figure out how you can be of value and support them in the fulfillment of their commitment. If you can't be positive at least be neutral, and don't be negative.

04 - Make what you say publicly, particularly about others, match what you say privately to others.

05 - Be willing to wipe the white board clean. As we interact with others we build a mental map of thoughts about each person. Another way to think about this is that we begin to fill the whiteboard with our positive and negative experiences. If negative things begin to pile up, AND your willing, you can wipe that board clean. When you do this you choose to hold old actions in a new, agreed upon light. Once you declare that your going to wipe the board clean with someone, and you should actually tell the person that this is what your doing, you can't continue to bring up the old, negative interpretations.


© Copyright 2009 - Effetti, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.


The article "Effective Action...", the subtitle "...is a fine line between between arrogance and doubt !!..." and contents herein, unless otherwise specified in writing - by Effetti, Inc. are ALSO licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available by contacting the author through Effetti, Inc. http://www.effettigrowth.com/about-contact.php.

The image was found on, and may be © Copyright to BlogTalkRadio.com/TheFineLine

Great Leadership / Followership In Business...

...is a lot like great dancing !!...
by David Bookout

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, break, hands & twirl - 5,6,7,8, and back... Dancing is a wonderful metaphor for leadership, and follower-ship in business because just like great dance teams great business teams know how to share the leadership role. The key is learning to effectively share control - back and forth - as needed to move with maximum velocity. Observe any highly effective business, or dance team and you will see the leader making requests ( let's now focus on this new sector - twirl left ), and the followers moving to fulfill that request. AND, if you look carefully, you'll notice that the followers have complete control over how they fulfill. Outside of breaking ethical, or legal standards effective leaders aren't concerned with exactly how things get done. Effective leaders care about results, velocity, and mood, and not necessarily always in that order.

Unfortunately a more common interpretation of leadership, particularly in business, is that it is a one way street. People think that the "Boss" controls everything. Subsequently, those followers want to lead so badly that they forget to watch where they themselves are going, and in doing so they forget that their true value is playing their position the best that it can be played. They forget that the way to build a successful Personal Brand is to become virtuoso in their current role.

Ten Quick Tips To Being A GREAT Follower:

01 - Know your position ( role ) inside and out.

02 - Don't fall into the common trap of being entitled.

03 - Observe, study and understand the business game your in.

04 - Remember that respectful, public decent opens the door to new thinking.

05 - Don't undermine your leader with private conversations about other directions.

06 - Study best practices, and refine and invent new ones. This is where you can make your Personal Brand shine, and stand out.

07 - Make valuable offers to your leader BEFORE you just go and fulfill them.

08 - Study and learn your direct leader's role.

09 - Remember that the best apprentice is the one that anticipates the tool that is needed BEFORE the craftsman needs it.

10 - Publicly declare that you want to be a good follower ( not this exact language ) to attract the help of others. Pay particular attention to what other successful leaders and followers advise and do.

Ten Quick Tips To Being A GREAT Leader:

01 - Know you're position ( role ) inside and out.

02 - Don't fall into the common trap of being entitled.

03 - Observe, study and understand the business game you're in.

04 - Remember that respectful, public decent opens the door to new thinking.

05 - Empower your followers to be creative, think and do for themselves.

06 - Study best practices, and refine and invent new ones. This is where you can make you're Personal Brand shine, and stand out.

07 - Make effective requests of your followers.

08 - Have compassion when followers don't understand.

09 - Past the healthy debate of decent and co-creation DO NOT have sentimentality for followers that don't want to follow.

10 - Publicly declare that you want followers to offer reciprocal leadership in their discreet domains of expertise. Know these areas well enough not to be blind sided.

© Copyright 2009 - Effetti, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.


The article "Great Leadership / Followership In Business...", the subtitle "...is a lot like great dancing !!..." and contents herein, unless otherwise specified in writing - by Effetti, Inc. are ALSO licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available by contacting the author through Effetti, Inc. http://www.effettigrowth.com/about-contact.php.

The image was found on, and may be © Copyright to Kezrush @ Xanga.com

Sales Conference 2.0 in San Francisco...

My friend Don Langley over at ConnectAndSell.com recently gave me the heads up on the upcoming ( March 4th & 5th ) Sales Conference 2.0 that will be here in San Francisco.

Here's the agenda overview:

How to Accelerate Sales in a 2.0 World
Sales Lead Management 2.0
Customer Engagement Strategies
Analytics and Compensation Management
Accelerating Productivity – New Sales 2.0 Tools
The Foundation of a Sales 2.0 Business

, and core promise from their website:

Benefit from eye-opening presentations, candid conversations, and collaborative sessions all focused on helping you create your own Sales 2.0 success strategy. You will walk away with practical ideas that your sales team will benefit from immediately.

Hope to see you there !

The image and conference promotional content is Trademarked & © Copyright to the folks SalesConference 2.0

Getting A Job In A Down Market

How To Create Competitive Advantage In Your Search
by Steve Brown

Related Post: Strategy, Brand, and Go-to-Market
Related Post: Polishing up the old CV...
Related Post: Q: When should I network?...

Related Tool: Personal Brand Strategy Brief

I believe one of the important principles of marketing and branding is: being different is always better. As unemployment swells to 5 million citizens, an increasing number of my friends and acquaintances are refreshing their connections and asking for help finding new jobs. The internet era is motivating everyone to get online, and use social networking sites such as LinkedIn, FaceBook, and Monster. That is the problem - everyone is doing it. While I believe one must get involved in that new way of finding work leads, I'm increasingly advising job seekers to return to the basics and create face time with potential employers.

Distinguishing Yourself From The Crowd

There are really only two ways to improve your chances of getting a job. First, is finding the lead and closing on the interview ahead of the crowd. Second is to create the job opportunity by getting in front of potential hiring managers and showing them what you can do.

Internet based job search does not give anyone an advantage except the hiring company. It reduces their costs to find more qualified candidates. There is an illusion that you're able to find more open positions than if you use traditional search techniques. But the numbers don't play out in your favor.

Shifting Job Market and Acquiring New Skills

Another challenge people are facing is the shrinkage of available jobs in their area of expertise. More people are needing to make career transitions, some small, some significant. It isn't easy to convince a hiring manager to take a chance on you when there are so many qualified candidates available.

A Fresh Idea - A Return To The Past

I am increasingly advising people to enhance their internet-age job search with an approach of old. You could call it apprenticeship, or simple smart hustle. Either way, more and more people are recognizing that they are against some giant odds in finding a job quickly. My guidance to is to offer their services free to managers and executives at companies where they'd like to work. The strategy is to get in front of potential hiring managers, show them what you can do, and learn about the companies needs, long before a job is posted to the internet for hiring.

We used to do this in college - they were called internships. There are several options for marketing these experiences into resume' builders. You can create a consulting company that provides specific services, or simply offer yourself. As you network with executives you can explain that you're building your experience base and are willing to offer yourself free for a period of time in exchange for the experience, the resume' entry, and their reference. Limit the time you are committed each day so you can continue your job searching. And put yourself to work. This gives you inside access to lots of people.

Marketing yourself this way provides you access to potential hiring managers that you can't reach if you're just looking for a job. It's catching on, and I hope it helps. We need to get creative in this economic turmoil in order to move past it and return to more positive prosperity.

© Copyright 2009 - Effetti, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.


The article "Getting A Job In A Down Market", the subtitle "How To Create Competitive Advantage In Your Search" and contents herein, unless otherwise specified in writing - by Effetti, Inc. are ALSO licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available by contacting the author through Effetti, Inc. http://www.effettigrowth.com/about-contact.php.