Under such pressure to stay alive—let alone grow—it’s easy for entrepreneurs to get caught up in a never-ending cycle of “sell it—do it, sell it—do it” that leaves them exhausted, frustrated, and unable to get ahead no matter how hard they try.This is the exact situation Mike Michalowicz found himself in when he was trying to grow his first company. Although it was making steady money, there was never very much left over and he was chasing customers left and right, putting in twenty-eight-hour days, eight days a week. The punishing grind never let up. His company was alive but stunted, and he was barely breathing. That’s when he discovered an unlikely source of inspiration—pumpkin farmers.After reading an article about a local farmer who had dedicated his life to growing giant pump­kins, Michalowicz realized the same process could apply to growing a business. He tested the Pumpkin Plan on his own company and transformed it into a remarkable, multimillion-dollar industry leader. First he did it for himself. Then for others. And now you. So what is the Pumpkin Plan?Plant the right seeds: Don’t waste time doing a bunch of different things just to please your customers. Instead, identify the thing you do better than anyone else and focus all of your attention, money, and time on figuring out how to grow your company doing it. Weed out the losers: In a pumpkin patch small, rotten pumpkins stunt the growth of the robust, healthy ones. The same is true of customers. Figure out which customers add the most value and provide the best opportunities for sustained growth. Then ditch the worst of the worst. Nurture the winners: Once you figure out who your best customers are, blow their minds with care. Discover their unfulfilled needs, innovate to make their wishes come true, and overdeliver on every single promise.Full of stories of other successful entrepreneurs, The Pumpkin Plan guides you through unconven­tional strategies to help you build a truly profitable blue-ribbon company that is the best in its field.

    1 company dominating content marketingWhat do many successful businesses and leaders have in common? They're the first names that come to mind when people think about their particular industries. How do you achieve this level of trust that influences people to think of you in the right way at the right time? By developing habits and strategies that focus on engaging your audience, creating meaningful relationships, and delivering value consistently, day in and day out.It's the winning approach John Hall used to build Influence & Co. into one of "America's Most Promising Companies," according to Forbes. In this step-by-step guide, he shows you how to use content to keep your brand front and center in the minds of decision makers who matter. He reveals:- how consumer needs and expectations have changed and what this shift means for you - how to build a helpful, authentic, and consistent brand that serves others just as well as it serves you - proven methods for using digital content to enrich your target audience's lives in ways that build real, lasting trustWhether you're a marketing leader engaging an audience of potential customers, a business leader looking to humanize your company brand, or an industry up-and-comer seeking to build influence, maintaining a prominent spot in your audience's minds will increase the likelihood that the moment they need to make a choice, you'll be the first one they call. There's no better way to drive opportunities that result in increased revenue and growth.Business is never "just" business. It's always about relationships. It's always about a human connection. When you're viewed as a valuable, trustworthy partner, the opportunities are endless. Position yourself for success by establishing and developing content-driven relationships that keep you and your brand Top of Mind.

    And create Power it must, for without it your business is at risk. He explains why invention always comes first and then develops the Power Progression to enable you to target when your Power must be established: in the Origination, Take-Off or Stability phases of your business.Every business faces a do-or-die strategy moment: a crux directional choice made amidst swirling uncertainty. To get this right you need at your fingertips a real-time strategy compass to discern your true north. 7 Powers is that compass.

    Combining Dave Trott's distinctive, almost Zen-like storytelling, humour and practical advice, One Plus One Equals Three is a collection of provocative anecdotes and thought experiments designed to light a fire under your own creative ambitions. From the First World War sailor who survived being sunk three times in one day to the one-time 'merchant of death' who made his name a byword for peace, and the gypsy who lost two fingers and then reinvented jazz. From boardroom to battlefield, these stories of unconventional wisdom from one of the world's true advertising greats are a rallying cry for anyone who wants to think differently, stand out and truly innovate.

    I learned about myself and learned lessons I will carry with me and reflect on for the rest of my life.”—John W. Fanning, Founding Chairman and CEO napster Inc.“An unusually nuanced view of high-performance cultures.” —Inc.Within each corporation are anywhere from a few to hundreds of separate tribes. In Tribal Leadership, Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright demonstrate how these tribes develop—and show you how to assess them and lead them to maximize productivity and growth. A business management book like no other, Tribal Leadership is an essential tool to help managers and business leaders take better control of their organizations by utilizing the unique characteristics of the tribes that exist within.

    "What makes a great advertisement?" Nearly four decades ago, an unmatched group of five advertising pioneers first answered that question in "The Art of Writing Advertising." Their entertaining and historically compelling answers will provide advertising professionals with valuable techniques for applying breakthrough creativity and innovation in the workplace.

    Does yours stand out from the crowd? After a life of exploring the way people exchange value in over 35 countries, Diehl teaches business owners how to have conversations about brand strategy. In Brand Identity Breakthrough, you will learn how to develop a strong business identity by combining your personality and values with the functionality of your products to become irreplaceable to your audience. Whether you lead a growing company, or are just starting a business, Brand Identity Breakthrough will give you a smarter way to think about new product development and business model generation. With undeniable, well-organized logic, it will show you how anyone can sell more, and at higher prices, so long as they give customers exactly what they want. • Learn how to build a unique selling proposition for your product • Learn the best methods for how to sell a product to customers, no matter what you offer. • Overcome the sales learning curve, and sell products in both physical and online marketplaces. Table of Contents Section I: Why Identity Matters This section will help you learn to see your own value, the value of your business, and the value of your products or services from the perspective of your customers. Only then can you begin to fashion your identity appropriately. If you can train yourself to think like your customers, you can get a much better idea of what value you should be focused on creating. 1. Can You Tell a Good Story? 2. When Good Ideas Fail 3. Why Entrepreneurs Fail to See Their Own Value 4. Why Others Fail to See Your Value Section II: Creating Your Brand Identity We don’t always know what makes our own ideas valuable. Failed entrepreneurs are often very close to getting the results they want. In being so close to your own business, you forget what things look like to an outsider, and you can’t present your business in a way which will appeal to what they are specifically looking for. Time to move beyond functional descriptions of your business, and focus on profound change. 5. Uncovering Your Core Values 6. Developing a Unique Selling Proposition 7. Crafting Your Personality Profile 8. Knowing Your Target Audience Section III: Telling Your Story to the World Communication is happening in every shared moment, and in ways that are not always obvious. There are so many other things we take for granted about the messages we send out to the world. By learning how to be a better communicator, you will gain access to a wide new world of opportunities which are only available if you know how to talk in a way that makes others want to listen. 9. How to Sell Who You Are 10. How to Speak with Clarity, Authority, & Authenticity 11. How to Display Your Character Through Writing 12. How to Educate Your Audience Section IV: Brand Identity Case Studies Case Study #1: From Consultant to Concierge with Productized Services Case Study #2: Pre-Seeding a Two-Sided Marketplace for Launch Case Study #3: Turning a Charitable Project into a Profitable Movement Case Study #4: Skyrocketing a Personal Brand through Narrative Focus Case Study #5: Embracing Personality in a Technical Niche Section V: Resources for Prospective Entrepreneurs Appendix 1: Entrepreneurial Terms Defined Appendix 2: 50 Useful Starting Questions for New EntrepreneursAppendix 3: Making Money Online ask them to buy copies as well!"

    Three dots to represent Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Three arrows to show direct flights. Problem solved, and the picture made it easy to sell Southwest Airlines to investors and customers. Used properly, a simple drawing on a humble napkin is more powerful than Excel or PowerPoint. It can help crystallize ideas, think outside the box, and communicate in a way that people simply “get”. In this book Dan Roam argues that everyone is born with a talent for visual thinking, even those who swear they can’t draw. Drawing on twenty years of visual problem solving combined with the recent discoveries of vision science, this book shows anyone how to clarify a problem or sell an idea by visually breaking it down using a simple set of visual thinking tools – tools that take advantage of everyone’s innate ability to look, see, imagine, and show. THE BACK OF THE NAPKIN proves that thinking with pictures can help anyone discover and develop new ideas, solve problems in unexpected ways, and dramatically improve their ability to share their insights. This book will help readers literally see the world in a new way.

    Your product or service works beautifully - but something is missing. People just don’t see the big idea - and it’s keeping you from being successful. Your idea has an explanation problem.The Art of Explanation is for business people, educators and influencers who want to improve their explanation skills and start solving explanation problems.Author Lee LeFever is the founder of Common Craft, a company known around the world for making complex ideas easy to understand through short animated videos. He is your guide to helping audiences fall in love with your ideas, products or services through better explanations in any medium. You will learn to:• Plan: Learn explanation basics, what causes them to fail and how to diagnose explanation problems.• Package: Using simple elements, create an explanation strategy that builds confidence and motivates your audience. • Present: Produce remarkable explanations with visuals and media. The Art of Explanation is your invitation to become an explanation specialist and see why explanation is now a fundamental skill for professionals.

    You see, it's impossible to build a profitable blog if you're NOT providing value to visitors.In "How to Write Great Blog Posts that Engage Readers" you'll get a simple system for writing blog posts that readers love!Take Your Blog to the NEXT Level...Once upon a time, blogging was a platform for sharing your thoughts with the world. Now it has become a big business. You can’t write about yourself and expect to make money.What you need to do is create content in a strategic way where you're building a business.Always remember this:Most people read blogs for selfish reasons. Their loyalty largely depends on how much value you provide. They may "like" you, but they’ll stop reading the moment you stop publishing great content.Your goal is to always answer the "what's in it for me?" question that people have about your website.What you'll get with this booklet is a proven recipe for publishing great posts on a regular basis. You won’t just learn how to write the occasional “one hit wonder.” Instead you'll discover a method for cranking out great articles on a weekly basis.Follow the 5-Step Compelling Content Action Plan"How to Write Great Blog Posts that Engage Readers" details a proven strategy for building a rock-solid publishing plan.Inside this booklet you'll discover: 19 Compelling Blog Post Ideas 5 Steps to an Actionable Blog Post Schedule 12 Elements of Engaging Blog Posts How to Improve the Quality of Your Blog Content 9 "Must Read" Content Creation ResourcesYou can write great blog posts! Just follow this blueprint and you'll learn how to do it.

    And it’s still short, profusely illustrated…and best of all–fun to read.If you’ve read it before, you’ll rediscover what made Don’t Make Me Think so essential to Web designers and developers around the world. If you’ve never read it, you’ll see why so many people have said it should be required reading for anyone working on Web sites.

    Do the WorkOur enemy is not lack of preparation; it's not the difficulty of the project, or the state of the marketplace or the emptiness of our bank account.The enemy is resistance.The enemy is our chattering brain, which, if we give it so much as a nanosecond, will start producing excuses, alibis, transparent self-justifications and a million reasons why he can't/shouldn't/won't do what we know we need to do.Start before you're ready.

    It is an easy-to-use handbook of scientifically proven, field-tested methods to improve skills—your skills, your kids’ skills, your organization’s skills—in sports, music, art, math, and business. The product of five years of reporting from the world’s greatest talent hotbeds and interviews with successful master coaches, it distills the daunting complexity of skill development into 52 clear, concise directives. Whether you’re age 10 or 100, whether you’re on the sports field or the stage, in the classroom or the corner office, this is an essential guide for anyone who ever asked, “How do I get better?”“The Little Book of Talent should be given to every graduate at commencement, every new parent in a delivery room, every executive on the first day of work. It is a guidebook—beautiful in its simplicity and backed by hard science—for nurturing excellence.”—Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of The Power of Habit   “It’s so juvenile to throw around hyperbolic terms such as ‘life-changing,’ but there’s no other way to describe The Little Book of Talent. I was avidly trying new things within the first half hour of reading it and haven’t stopped since. Brilliant. And yes: life-changing.”—Tom Peters, co-author of In Search of Excellence

    In fact, being chosen for a position is only the first of the five levels every effective leader achieves. To become more than "the boss" people follow only because they are required to, you have to master the ability to invest in people and inspire them. To grow further in your role, you must achieve results and build a team that produces. You need to help people to develop their skills to become leaders in their own right. And if you have the skill and dedication, you can reach the pinnacle of leadership—where experience will allow you to extend your influence beyond your immediate reach and time for the benefit of others.The 5 Levels of Leadership are:1. Position—People follow because they have to.2. Permission—People follow because they want to.3. Production—People follow because of what you have done for the organization.4. People Development—People follow because of what you have done for them personally.5. Pinnacle—People follow because of who you are and what you represent.Through humor, in-depth insight, and examples, internationally recognized leadership expert John C. Maxwell describes each of these stages of leadership. He shows you how to master each level and rise up to the next to become a more influential, respected, and successful leader.

    it's downright simple! In the Invisible Selling Machine, entrepreneur, Ryan Deiss, walks you through all 5 phases of the prospect/customer lifestyle, and shows how each step can be automated and perpetuated to invisibly convert strangers into friends, friends into customers and customers into raving fans. This book is for startup founders, small business owners, marketing professionals, consultants, service professionals, authors, speakers, and even brick and mortar butcher, baker and candlestick makers. In short, if you want to grow your business and your customers just happen to have an email address... ...this book is for you.