White Collar Middle Management Ranks Will Continue Disappearing At An Accelerated Rate. Geoff’s detailed, fact-based research is sobering. Continuous advances in software design, machine learning, and artificial intelligence results in the need for fewer, white collar workers.
Remember, white collar workforces? MBA-types, MD-types, JD-types, aka the left-brain masters of the universe?
Cognitive, analytical work is on an accelerated chopping block. Increasing automation and computing power means replacing humans isn’t isolated to blue collar Americans.
A Phenomenon Extending Beyond Decades-Old Outsourcing. Why? Because machines do old-school, cognitive, and analytical work better than humans. That prowess IS EXACTLY what machines do better.
I love reading books. They’re my secret weapon for accessing critical thinking. Here’s a short listing of my favorite books / authors who inspired me and exhausted my Kindle in 2014 (by the author’s last name in alphabetical order). Note: Some of these titles are pre-2014.
Seth calls out our schadenreude, spectator sport culture, and it’s power in curbing intelligent risk taking (except in Silicon Valley). When It’s Your Turn is an in-your-face, call-to-arms, entrepreneurship manifesto. The battle cry rallies around showing up everyday, to create and ship our art. Now’s the time to revel in that uncomfortable place of “this may or may not work.”
I’m moving into a new career as an entrepreneur in an early stage startup, That’s a scary leap after corporate life. But, those simultaneous feelings and fear are the right place to be:
I’m late in reading this classic marketing book. I hope to meet Seth, shake his hand, and talk marketing strategy. That requires fluency in Ideavirus terminology (i.e., sneezers – both promiscuous and powerful, the hive, persistence — not the one related to effort, vector, vacuum, amplifier, smoothness, etc.).
Technical prowess and technical insight aren’t enough. Creative storytelling and written communication carry equal weight (direct quote from Everybody Writes, page eight):
What’s harder is to find a book that functions for marketers as part writing and story guide, part instructional manual on the ground rules of ethical publishing, and part straight talk on some muscle-building writing processes and habits.
What’s also hard to find is a book that distills some helpful ideas about the craft of content simply and (I hope) memorably, framed for the marketer and businessperson, as opposed to say, the novelist or essayist or journalist.
I wrote this book because I couldn’t find what I wanted—part writing guide, part handbook on the rules of good sportsmanship in content marketing, and all-around reliable desk companion for anyone creating or directing content on behalf of brands.
Everybody Writes teaches disciplined practice to elevate and sustain our writing skills. Ann’s book reads like cozy conversation with her while enjoying a great cup of coffee or a couple of frosty Sam Adams beers (keep in mind, she’s a Bostonian).
Ann poured her heart and soul into this work (or as she says “gave birth to a Volkswagen”). I guarantee you’ll benefit from her knowledge, talent, and heart.
If Tribes is the strategic and conceptual framework for digital leadership, Platform is the tactical roadmap for its successful execution. Creating and managing a personal brand is imperative in a crowded marketplace and recovering economy. Michael’s book unpacks the why’s and how’s of building a digital platform — i.e., the collective fans who subscribe to and follow your blog, email newsletter, podcast, Twitter feed, etc.
He explains step-by-step how he built his influential online presence and to power his career as a publisher, educator, and public speaker.
Art takes many forms (e.g., words, pictures, spreadsheets, presentations, sculptures, music, photographs, process diagrams, or anything we create with pride). These remarkable books capture Austin Kleon‘s philosophies and experiences on creating and promoting art. These fun, short reads answer two common questions among artists, writers, entrepreneurs, or marketers:
Question 1: How Do I Create My Art? Answer: Steal Like an Artist
Question 2: How Do I Promote My Art? Answer: Show Your Work
Austin’s writing and storytelling teach “how to get out of your own way.” Yes, creativity and innovation are messy. They’re hard and time-consuming. Manage those frustrations / fears so you focus on creating and shipping. Struggle produces. Struggle inspires. Steal. Show. Repeat.
Thank goodness that’s exactly what Judy teaches! Her book will change my life. Invest in yourself by buying and studying How to Be a Power Connector. It will change your life too.
Traction delivers a clear, how-to method supported by real-world, actionable insights. Gabriel‘s and Justin‘s interviews and case studies describe the successful execution of Traction’s Bulls Eye Methodology. Bulls Eye focuses on the second most important aspect of an early stage startup’s life cycle:
Critical Success Factor Number 1: Create, release, test, iterate, your product or service (hopefully, a good one solving a current problem)
Critical Success Factor Number 2: Get customers by experimenting / testing, measuring, and ultimately focusing on one customer acquisition tactic
Critical Success Factor Number 3: Max out the customer acquisition in CSF Number 2 and repeat Bulls Eye to find another customer acquisition tactic
Please share in the comments the digital marketing and entrepreneurship business books you read in 2014. What did you love about them? How did they inspire you?
I’m here to learn from YOUR PERSPECTIVE. Comments are open. Let’er rip!
Members of the Social Media ReInvention Blog Community know I'm a HUGE Mitch Joel Fan. I'm currently studying his latest book, CTRL ALT DELETE. I love this book because it's typical Mitch Joel:
Visionary / Forward Thinking
Entertaining / Great Writing
Thought-Provoking / Cites Tons of Other Great Books I Need to Read
I still need to finish Part 1 of the book describing five (5) current/future business drivers. As soon as I get the "story structure" better organized, I'll ship and publish the full book review. Until then, here's a glimpse of what I've learned from studying CTRL ALT DELETE:
CTRL ALT DELETE'S Seven (7) Reboot: You Triggers
1. A Digital First Posture (as defined by Mitch Joel, page 124 of CTRL ALT DELETE). "A digital-first posture means that the first place your consumers go when making a business decision is to their computers, smartphones, and/or tablets. This should be your default posture as well.
2. The Long and Squiggly Road (e.g., Embrace the Squiggle) Career paths are forever-changing because the "career escalator is jammed up" especially in large, Fortune 500 companies. Careers no longer follow a linear trajectory. If you want to continue developing valuable and marketable skills, you have to embrace the squiggle and adapt to pursuing multiple careers (not just multiple jobs) during your lifetime. It's permanent beta personafied.
7. Embracing the Next. Longevity in a productive, rewarding career requires a continuous ability to adapt, iterate, and spot game-changing trends. Mitch lists and describes six (6) of these trends in this chapter. If you want to learn what they are, buy his book.
This seventh annual competition thrusts UMKC's Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation students into an exciting, fast-pased, full-day competition to earn attention and "investment." The morning starts with 60-second elevator pitches, continues with point-blank discussions on the exhibit room floor, and culminates with 40-minute grill sessions.
And, when I say grilling, the judges are brutal. In the afternoon finalist sessions, I was one of the judges who evaluated presentations from the following teams:
* AllerganEaterTM (presented by Deon Whitten, Cletus Obahor)
* Nstox (presented by Seth Cooper)
* Alpha 1 Biologics, LLC (presented by Matt Heimann, Rita Cortes, Lara Ogle, and Tim Schallert)
We were tough on these student presentations. Our questions and assessments were pointed and critical. But, these students handled themselves with tremendous poise and grace. No one flinched. Each held strongly to his/her belief and conviction in the viability and value in his/her individual or team ventures.
Were there moments of nervousness and stumbles? Of course. But, they kept going — that's confidence and courage personified.
60+ teams competed (and my one regret is I didn't have enough time to visit with all of them). You only have two hours to speak with students on the exhibit floor. 120 minutes immediately evaporates when speaking with enthusiastic and engaging people.
Words of Encouragement
Here are a few additional encouraging words to some of the fantastic students I had the privilege of meeting. You're so inspiring!
Seth Cooper of Nstox: I love how you're targeting small and mid-sized businesses with your web-based management and decision support software. One of my favorite companies, HubSpot (based in Cambridge, MA), received a $32 million investment from Google Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Google Ventures last year. Quantify or dollarize how your offering will help your target customers either make more money, save money, or decrease their costs associated with customer retention. That's what HubSpot does. And, there's no reason why you can't replicate their success.
Rita Cortes, Matt Heimann, Lara Ogle, Tim Schaller, and Tony Luppino – UMKC Faculty Sponsor of Alpha 1 Biologics, LLC: When your team shared your diverse backgrounds and the limited time you had to get up-to-speed on the pharma / biotech industry, I shake my head in amazement. Your industry analysis and your abilities to move this venture to this point is FANTASTIC! Rita and Tony – you have my business cards. As we discussed post-competition, if you think I can help you keep this venture moving, I'm here to assist.
Danella Obraztsov of The Six: It takes guts and patience to literally build a consulting practice one-client-at-a-time. And, you're on your way to doing just that with your online dating consultancy. I was so impressed how you pulled together a makeshift homepage for your future website (and how you're taking a programming class to take it to the next level). Get those YouTube or Vimeo video testimonials on your site to share your current client successes! I met my wife on eHarmony. And, I would have met her a lot sooner (with less frustration) if I had your expertise to help me with my online profile!
Evan Bryant, Fredrick Manasseh, Greg Walling, and Kashif Rathore of Infalite: If you hadn't gracefully pulled me over to your exhibit, I wouldn't have learned about your innovative idea for giving parents peace-of-mind that their child is safely resting in their car seat during night time driving. In June, I'll be attending ASCO (the biggest cancer and pharmaceutical conference in the world). And, the pros who traditionally work that convention room floor can't hold a candle to you guys! Thank you for pulling me aside to share why you believe in your concept and idea.
Brandon Thompson of The Smartboard and Ernesto Tinoco of SmartDWELL: Your passion, conviction, belief, and enthusiasm is INESCAPABLE. Your infectious energy is why I remember you! Don't ever, ever, ever lose that. Because, your continued passion and conviction can be game-changing.
Concluding Thoughts
It's Kansas City's civic mission and vision to create and become America's most entrepreneurial city.
The Kansas City community can achieve this outcome. Why? Because the UMKC Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation encourages and espouses a vital, ageless, and lifelong lesson to these students: having the courage to pick yourself.
And, UMKC's students (and our community) need to keep moving closer in executing another valuable Palo Alto lesson:
Silicon Valley is not a location. Silicon Valley is a mindset:
Fostering collaboration among all entrepreneurs
Exchanging ideas over breakfast, lunch, dinner, or drinks after work (even if you might be competitors)
Reinforcing competition and cooperation to advance the entire community's long term growth (versus a winner-take-all / zero-sum-game mentality)
And, it revealed how much I need to step up my game just to keep pace with not only these outstanding students but also the top-notch people affiliated with this program.
I wish I had more time to recognize, mention, and share more about the inspiring students and people I had the privilege of meeting. But, just like yesterday, I'm out of time.
On February 23rd, I attended a great social media networking event hosted by Ben Smith and Social: IRL. The Taste, Tweet, Meet With Boulevard Brewing Company event was exceptional.
But, it wasn't for the usual reasons that I found this event so enjoyable (i.e., the personal camaraderie of social networking connections in Kansas City, the privilege of personally meeting these wonderful people sometimes for the first time, etc.).
Discuss how she's continuously informing Boulevard's customers / fans about this ongoing process
She openly fielded numerous questions. Plus, she patiently spoke with individual attendees about specific questions after concluding her presentation. I was one of those folks (more on that later).
Julie openly sharing this presentation and Boulevard's ongoing efforts in addressing the Chocolate Ale product recall demonstrates:
Leadership Lesson #2: When You Say You're Sorry, Mean It
Don't Cram Rehearsed Corporate Management-Speak / Public Relations-Speak Down Our Throats. Julie's presentation included the following YouTube video with John McDonald, Founder and President of Boulevard Brewing Company, and Steven Pauwels, Boulevard's Head Brewmaster:
Why This Apology Is Genuine. Why It Is Human. I asked Julie whose idea was it to produce and publish this video on the Internet. She said it was hers. And, she convinced Boulevard's top two leaders of immediately and publicly addressing this communications crisis.
"Speak From Your Hearts." The reason why this video resonates with me and Boulevard's many fans is because it's genuine. Julie told me McDonald and Pauwels did this video without a script.
Her only instruction: "I need you guys to speak from your hearts."
If Boulevard's fans and consumers don't consider this video a genuine and heartfelt apology (and it comes from the firm's highest leadership), I don't know what is.
Every Fortune 500 CEO in America could learn from McDonald's and Pauwels' plain-spoken example to inform its consumers of bad news (and the subsequent actions to make things right).
Weldon talked about Johnson & Johnson's apology and how it was working to regain consumer trust in May 2011 during an interview with Geoff Colvin, Senior Editor-at-Large of Fortune Magazine. Unfortunately, repeated and multiple product recalls over a two-year period upended Mr. Weldon's otherwise outstanding career (he was regarded as one of the most respected leaders in the pharmaceutical industry before these product recalls):
Closing Thoughts
Pride In Your Organization. Pride in Your Products. Pride in Your Community. Boulevard Brewing Company is a Kansas City Community Crown Jewel. And, I'm proud to not only be a HUGE FAN of their beers but I'm also a HUGE FAN of Julie Weeks and Boulevard's leadership because of their actions.
(Around time stamp :25 of the YouTube Chocolate Ale Announcement from John McDonald) "We're a proud brewery and we want to do the right thing …"
A Vital Kansas City Civic Principle. Boulevard Brewing Company embodies a vital Kansas City civic principle: Kansas City is a proud community built and driven by the resourceful and creative entrepreneurial spirit of people like the John McDonalds, the Henry Blochs, the Ewing Kauffmans, and the J.C. Halls:
And, that entrepreneurial spirit continues to thrive because of the leadership of people like John McDonald, Steven Pauwels, and Julie Weeks.
Hang In There Julie! As I conclude this post, I know Julie Weeks is working today, tomorrow, and how ever long it will take to address the Chocolate Ale situation. She takes TREMENDOUS PRIDE as Boulevard's online ambassador.
Julie, if you see / read / monitor anything remotely negative about Boulevard Brewing Company, please remember these four (4) things:
Your social media friends and colleagues are rooting for you
You're doing a fantastic job as Boulevard's Online Ambassador!
I've been impatiently waiting for this book for months. I finally downloaded the Kindle version and started reading it this evening.
I'm not sure why Hoffman doesn't receive the attention and adulation of his Silicon Valley counterparts such as the late Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin.
But, what I respect most is his guiding, personal and professional philosophy to help others succeed. So many people choose to focus the power of social technologies on creating noise and interruption that centers on "look at me."
Meahwhile, Hoffman focuses on "how can I help you." This guiding philosophy is well-articulated in the following articles:
The following videos are my three (3) favorites plus two bonuses. These interviews showcase the genius, vision, and humility of Reid Hoffman. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do:
(Bonus) Time Video: LinkedIn Co-Founder On "The Start-Up of You"
(Bonus) CBS This Morning Video: LinkedIn Co-Founder, Social Web Still Very Young
Charlie Rose: A Conversation With Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn (March 2009)
YouTube: Reid Hoffman Entrepreneurs Will Create The Future Endeavor Entrpreneur Summit at Stanford University (July 2011)
The Premise / Goal / Timing of This Weekly Feature
Premise. If you like the content in this blog, you may like the type of content I regularly read and study on the Web.
Goal. On a weekly basis, I'm going to publish links to three (3) articles I find interesting. I'll include a brief summary with some bullet points explaining why I think the content is worth consuming.
Timing. I'll publish this content every Wednesday / Thursday.
Hoffman bases his networking philosophy two (2) basic principles:
* See the world from the other person's perspective — putting yourself in another person's shoes is the first step to developing an honest connection
* Think about how you can collaborate with and help the other person versus thinking about what you can get out of the relationship — your first move should always be "how can I help."
2. The $1.6 Billion Woman, Staying on Message (The New York Times): I'm a huge fan of Facebook's COO, Sheryl Sandberg. In my opinion, she deserves just as much credit (or more) as Mark Zuckerberg in transforming Facebook into an advertising revenue juggernaut.
I find this article interesting because it emphasizes her multi-faceted role at Facebook:
* Sandberg is the public face of of Facebook. She's Facebook's corporate amabassador to Wall Street analysts, thought leaders at global forums such as Davos, global government leaders, and global brands (i.e., she's one of the few global corporate leaders who's been to Bentonville, Arkansas twice).
* She's the driving force in recruiting and mentoring top talent at Facebook (especially women).
* She's publicly stated her views about furthering the professional interests of women in Corporate America (particularly Silicon Valley and the technology industry).
The last point is especially intriguing because Sandberg's recently received criticism for expressing her views on the success of women in the workplace. And, the critics are women.
* His voting power with those shares (due to various agreements with other investors) grants him voting control of 60% of the company's shares.
* The article gives context to how Zuckerberg's control of company stock compares with Microsoft's Bill Gates and Google founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, when their respective companies went public:
Microsoft: Bill Gates controlled 49% of company shares
Google: Brin and Page controlled 16% each of the company shares (for a total of 32%)
Your Feedback Please!
I'd like to experiment with this type of post for the next two to three months. Let me know what you think (especially if this idea sucks):
How can I improve the value of these weekly posts?
Is my initial timing choice for publication okay with you (e.g., middle of the week versus the end of it)? If not, please tell me.
What content are you reading?Please share your links with our community in the comments section!
Humans Are Underrated: What High Achievers Know That Brilliant Machines Never Will by Geoff Colvin is an inspiring book about how and what we can individually do to prepare ourselves and our children for the 21st century workplace revolution happening before our eyes.