Schaffner Media Partners

My last post discussed the takeaways for entrepreneurs contained in UK mogul Felix Dennis’ incisive assemblage, The Narrow Road: A Brief Guide to the Getting of Money (Viking Portfolio US, April 2011), a handbook of 88 short chapters modeled on the essays of Francis Bacon.

I’m excited about so much of the information here for entrepreneurs that I’m dipping into Dennis’ collection to share his guidance on how to raise, keep, and grow capital–and avoid the disasters that take it from you.

If you need to raise money for yourself or a client, for your business, or an associate, keep these in mind: (Continue reading)

Does someone on your team or in your family struggle with a long-standing habit that makes that person less productive, less able to change effectively, and a distraction or worse to your organization or family? The problem could be obesity, smoking, inappropriate work relationships, or internet addiction. It might include procrastination, social unease, toxic gossip, poor written work, or one of many difficult behaviors.

Do you have a lot at stake in changing this behavior? Does this behavior keep you awake at night?

As someone who reads many business books, I am careful of using too many superlatives about a single book. After all, many authors address similar material and offer helpful advice from various points of view. If you single out one book above many others, you potentially limit the reader’s options.

But Change Anything, The New Science of Personal Success by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler, leaders of the organizational development and corporate training firm VitalSmarts, just might become an enduring classic in how to turn problem behaviors into productivity and happiness. (CONTINUE READING)…

The publishing world has been shaken by 60 Minutes’ expose of possible fabrications in Greg Mortenson’s best-selling memoir, Three Cups of Tea, which was co-authored by David Relin (I also recommend Jon Krakauer’s own account, Three Cups of Deceit). There are many lessons here but especially for authors, who aren’t professional writers, and share a goal of educating readers and building their brand through a book.

I have my own perspective as I know another American who, like Mortenson, had a life-changing experience while traveling through the Himalayas when he encountered poverty and the desperate needs of children for literacy and education. He also left previous career and began a nonprofit organization that would-as of this writing-ultimately bring well over 10,000 libraries to remote areas in Asia and Africa. He also wrote a book about the journey. published, coincidentally, the same year as Three Cups of Tea. CONTINUE READING…

As a former speechwriter, publisher, and frequent presenter, I understand what drives many people to buy books about public speaking: Fear. I know because I’ve shared it.

I remember times when I walked up to the podium in front of an audience, and suddenly felt dry mouth, sweaty palms, shaking hands, pounding chest, even my voice ringing in my ears. I’d prepared a slick speech, but not my brain for the inevitable shock of taking the stage.

Anxiety about public speaking is most commonly rooted in our past negative memories and experiences, according to Randolph and Kathleen Verderber’s classic text, The Challenge of Effective Speaking. The authors–emeritus management professors and communications scholars–say that typically people will relive those times in their past when they were criticized, admonished or deemed in some way as unworthy of the center stage. CONTINUE READING

It’s no surprise to me that the new memoir by Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, is on the top of the best seller lists. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul is a comprehensive, step-by-step personal account of how an entrepreneurial, growth-driven CEO learned from others, changed his leadership style in a difficult time for his company, and reignited passion and confidence in his brand. Onward is a must-read for any manager and ranks as one of the best corporate memoirs written in recent years.

Yes, it has been criticized. Samantha Ettus, a branding blogger at Forbes, called the book misguided and ill-timed, “a marketing exercise which is using the hallowed Starbucks brand as a sacrificial lamb.” But I have no clue what book she and other critics are reading. Schultz’s book is far too transparent, detailed, and honest to be considered a marketing document. Schultz recounts in thorough detail the meetings, memos, consultants, studies, and personal experiences that drove the Starbucks reboot through the end of 2010. CONTINUE READING…