Michael Hyatt's Blog, page 188
August 29, 2012
No Podcast Until Thursday [Announcement]
No Podcast Until Thursday
Since I posted on my blog yesterday (Tuesday), I decided to wait and post my podcast on Thursday. Thanks for your patience. I think you will like this episode. It’s one of my favorites so far.
August 28, 2012
The 10 Most Common Objections to Hiring a Virtual Assistant
I have been using a virtual executive assistant now for over a year. It’s one of the best business decisions I have ever made. Tricia, my assistant, has enabled me to focus on what I do best and less of what I either don’t do well or don’t enjoy.
Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/TommL
As a virtual executive assistant, she is really no different than what I was accustomed to in the real world. She can do anything that doesn’t require her physical presence (like running errands or bringing me coffee).
For example:
She screens my e-mail. She checks my main email accounts, handles what she can, and “redirects” the messages that require my personal attention to my private account. She has reduced my email load by 90 percent.
She books my travel. She handles all the details, including airline reservations, hotels, car rental, etc. She sets up a trip in TripIt, so I have everything I need in one place.
She make calls on my behalf. She makes appointments (both personal and professional), confirms my appointments, checks my voice mail, and follows up as needed.
She manages my calendar. Almost nothing gets on my calendar unless it passes through her first. We have agreed together that I will only accept appointments on Fridays, and she works to stay within those boundaries.
She handles other projects as needed. For example, yesterday, my accountant and I decided we want to start using a hosted QuickBooks solution in the cloud. I gave Tricia the requirements and then asked her to do the research and make a recommendation.
Best of all, I don’t have to employ her full-time. I am currently contracted for just fifteen hours a week. Yet, it feels like I have access to her 24–7. She is uber-responsive and efficient.
My experience with Tricia has made me a big believer in the value of virtual executive assistants (VEAs). Naturally, when I share this with other business leaders, they are intrigued but often skeptical. This is unfamiliar territory to many of them.
Over the last year, I have catalogued the ten most common objections they have voiced. I thought I’d address those here in the hope of getting you the help you and I both know you need!
I’m not sure about this whole virtual thing. Before I had a VEA, I was used to dealing face-to-face with the people who work for me. But increasingly, most of my interactions with others are virtual—via phone, Skype, or e-mail, webinars—regardless of where they live. This is no different.
In fact, when you eliminate the requirement of physical proximity, it opens tremendous possibilities. Suddenly, you can source world-class talent from anywhere on the planet. Plus, new technologies make you feel even more connected.
I’m not exactly sure what I would have them do. The most important thing is to think about yourself first. What are the three or four activities you do well and which add the most value to your organization? Literally write these down.
For me, it is “writing, speaking, and consulting.” Everything not on your list is a candidate for delegation. By the way, to stimulate your thinking, here is a list of the most common tasks assigned to VEAs.
Frankly, this kind of delegation is the key to leadership effectiveness—and making more money in your business. Stay focused on what you do best and figure out how to offload the rest.
I’m afraid my VEA will be too disconnected from my day-to-day business. I was concerned about this too. But then I realized so many of my relationships are virtual. This was true even when I was in the corporate world. I had salespeople on the road, departments in other buildings, and entire divisions in other cities.
Like everything else, you just have to be intentional about managing them:
You can schedule a weekly “calibration call” to make sure you are on the same page.
You can use Skype to replicate face-to-face contact.
You can use a private Facebook group to connect your VEA with your team.
You can also include your VEA on corporate calls and invite them to be part your corporate annual retreats and other meetings. Before long, you will forget your VEA is virtual. I have.
My company won’t approve access to our systems. This is a legitimate concern. Good IT people work hard to control access to sensitive data. But this too can be dealt with if you are thoughtful about it and ask your technical people for help in finding a solution.
(By the way, this is also one of the reasons I use a domestic VEA provider. I just have more confidence in someone from my own county of residence. I realize that 90 percent of this is psychological.)
Most modern systems do a great job of providing tiered access. You can start you VEA at the level of access that makes sense and then increase it as you gain experience and confidence. With so many companies utilizing outsourcing, this simply isn’t the obstacle it used to be.
I don’t know how many hours the work will take. Most of us don’t. This is why we default to a forty-hour work week when hiring employees. But does every job require this amount of time?
You really won’t know how long something takes until you determine what you are asking your VEA to do. Take ten minutes to write down all the things that you would like to delegate.
Don’t worry about prioritizing the list. Just get the tasks/projects out of your head and onto paper. This is a critical first step in assessing time.
Now estimate how long each task will take. For example, do you want your VEA to screen your e-mail? How much time are you spending on that now?
And, don’t assume it will take your VEA as long as it takes you. This has been a pleasant surprise to me. In most cases, once your VEA is trained, she will be much more efficient than you.
I don’t know how I would monitor whether my VEA is really doing the work. Fair enough, but how do you know whether or not any employee is really doing the work?
The issue is not how long she spends at her desk but the results she achieves on your behalf. In other words, you evaluate her performance just like you evaluate any other employee—the results.
You can also do status calls or reports, leverage project software like Basecamp or Asana, or simply ask yourself, “are things getting done by my VEA the way I want?”
I don’t want to commit to something before I try it. I totally understand this. I am much the same way. This works when you are trying out a new car or testing some new software. It doesn’t work so well with people.
Why? Because people don’t perform as well without a commitment. Without it, you are saying, “You work for me, and, if I like you, I will keep you.” Try this with a traditional employee and see how far you get.
The best VEA services (like the one I use) don’t just assign you a VEA at random. Instead, they find out what you need and then go through a rigorous process of selection. In essence, they are professional “matchmakers.” It requires a commitment by both parties to work.
I’m not sure I like the idea of someone else picking my VEA. I understand this. This kind of hands-on management and attention to detail is what got you to where you are today. But it’s also one of the things keeping you from going to the next level. Let me explain.
Remember what I said above about focusing on your strengths? You are probably not the best person to scour your local community looking for the perfect assistant. And why would you want to do the preliminary interviews and screening? You have better things to do.
The best way to hire is to articulate the objective and then trust others to manage the process. This is why God made HR departments and executive search firms. I never—and I mean, never—made a better decision by going it alone.
I’m concerned my VEA might misuse my credit card information. This was my biggest obstacle. Heck, I even wrote a book on the subject of privacy and how to protect your personal information. This issue is very important to me.
Frankly, this is something you need to ask of any firm you are considering. You need to be assured that they have:
A great reputation and come highly recommended
A well-defined process for screening new VEAs
Appropriate policies in place for protecting your data.
My VEA has access to my most sensitive data: credit card info, website logins, e-mail accounts, etc. She must have this to function well. But I only turned this over to her once I was confident I could trust her.
I’m not sure this will improve my bottom line. This was difficult for me too. I hate spending money on overhead.
But think of it this way:
What is your lack of focus and loss of productivity costing your business?
What could you be doing with your time if you were not buried in administrative detail?
What could you create that would truly advance your business if you didn’t feel so overwhelmed?
If you see this as just an expense, you’ll never take your business or your career to the next level. You can only do so much. Hiring a VEA is a less expensive, less risky alternative to hiring a full-time employee.
If I didn’t believe in the value of hiring a VEA, I wouldn’t have spent this much time addressing these objections. I honestly believe this is one of the best investments you can make to become the leader you were meant to be.
If you are ready to take the next step, visit the eaHELP website and request a proposal. It is the firm I have used for more than a year. I recommend them unconditionally.
By the way, if you are looking for a position as a virtual executive assistant, eaHELP is currently hiring in all four U.S. Times zones. However, they only hire U.S. citizens living in the U.S. You can find out more here.
Question: What would a virtual executive assistant make possible for you? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
August 27, 2012
Telecommunications Association of Michigan [Event]
I’m excited to address the Telecom Association of Michigan in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It has a great reputation in the telecom industry. It is a non-profit organization, providing educational programming, public policy knowledge, and regulatory compliance assistance to its members.
Date:
September 11, 2012
Time:
09:00-10:00 a.m.
Event:
Telecommunications Association of Michigan
Topic:
Shift: Leading in Challenging Times
Sponsor:
Telecom Association of Michigan
Venue:
J. W. Marriott
Location:
Grand Rapids, MI
Public:
Public
Registration:
Click here to register.
More Info:
Click here for more information.
How to Manage a Micromanager
About five years into my career, I found myself working for a micromanager. He drove me crazy. He wanted to know everything I did and when I did it.
If you can’t see this video in your RSS reader or email, then click here.
He required me to furnish daily status reports. I had to document every call, every conversation, and every action I took on every project. It was oppressive.
I tried to be patient. But at that point in my career, I didn’t have the skills necessary to deal with his leadership style. I eventually found another job and quit. Unfortunately, I cheated myself out of an important leadership lesson.
Some micromanagers can’t be rehabilitated, of course—at least not by you. But others can if you know what to do.
Later in my career I worked for another micromanager. He wasn’t as bad as the first, but he was still overbearing. Thankfully, by this time, I had picked up a few more skills. I ended up having a very positive relationship with him. We worked together for several years.
If you find yourself working for a micromanager, here are three steps you can take to get him or her off your back. These actions won’t work in every instance, but you owe it to yourself to give them a try before moving on. (To make this less cumbersome, I will use the masculine pronoun when referring to your boss.)
Tell him what you plan to do. If you tell your boss what you plan to do, then he has the opportunity for input before you have invested a lot of time and energy.
As much as possible, keep this part of your conversation focused on results rather than activity. One way to do this is to focus your work around 90-day objectives.
If your boss insists on knowing how you plan to tackle the job, you can also provide your basic approach or strategy. If you get a sign-off at this point, then you can proceed without constantly looking over your shoulder.
Do what you said you would do. Planning is one thing. Execution is another. Bosses tend to micromanage when they lose confidence in you.
If you want your boss out of your hair, it’s easy. Just perform. Do what you said you would do—on time and on budget.
This is where things can get off track. If you don’t execute, trust is broken. If trust is broken, you’re going to get more supervision than you want.
The only way to fix it is to make more “deposits” in “the execution bank.” You must make follow-through—especially when it comes to your boss—your top priority.
If anything changes, be the first one to tell him. Reality is that “do-do occurs.” Things are not going to go according to plan.
Sometimes, for reasons you can’t control, you are going to be late or miss your budget. It’s inevitable. Your only salvation is to beat a path to your boss’s office and tell him first.
In my experience, I have never been chewed out for bringing bad news to my boss—provided he heard it from me first. That’s the key.
Bad news does not get better with age. (If you have a tendency to avoid conflict, re-read that sentence again.) Someone has to tell the boss what happened, and it should be you.
If your boss is any good at all, he will respect you for having the guts to come to him directly and immediately. In this sense, bad news can actually build trust rather than destroy it.
Getting your boss off your back and keeping him off usually boils down to one word: proactivity. Take the initiative. Don’t make him come to you.
Question: Have you ever worked for a micromanager? How did you handle it? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
August 25, 2012
How to Get Noticed by Your Boss
This is a guest post by Jeremy Kingsley. He is the president of OneLife Leadership. He has written four books. His newest one, Inspired People Produce Results , will be published by McGraw-Hill in March 2013. You can follow him on Twitter.
Have you ever wondered what it would take to get noticed by the “big boss?” To get promoted? To get a raise? What do I need to consistently do to achieve professional advancement?
Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/kupicoo
We often overanalyze and forget to stick to fundamental principles that have worked for years. Let’s keep the answer easy and simple by concentrating on “The Three C’s of Professional Growth: Competency, Commitment, and Courtesy.”
Are you competent? I like this definition for Competent: “The ability to consistently perform activities to the standards required for the job you are in or the job you desire.”
Research shows that basic competencies will often advance your career more than your IQ! Focus on your strengths.
Are you gifted in organizing, research, tech, or simply working well with people?
Are you willing to learn to raise your level of competence?
Are you becoming more educated in your area, finding ways to prove to your boss that you are very valuable in your current position but hungry for more responsibility?
It’s not always about being exceptional. Great leaders know that there is great value in being consistently competent.
Are you committed? Have you ever known someone who changes jobs often? Each time you get together for lunch you are hearing how he was “going nowhere” at his old job and the work was “not his cup of tea.” I wonder how many people were close to advancement but left to early. People change jobs at alarming rates.
Good leaders notice commitment. They do not want to see an employee who is “in” one day and “out” the next.
Do your co-workers always hear you talking about putting your resume out?
Do they see you searching the internet for new opportunities?
Do they hear you talking about how excited you are about where the company is going and how you could see yourself with this group for a long time?
Leaders like to promote from within, especially those that have shown they are “all in.”
Are you courteous? No one likes a person who is rude. It’s amazing today how many employees lack common manners. This can often cost a company profits and potential or repeat customers.
How you treat people is vital, not only customers but also fellow employees. Simple things like giving your full attention, knocking on a door before entering, asking before borrowing or taking, using a calm voice when there is a problem, can go a long way.
I know when I go into stores, I always appreciate it when the sales person is friendly, honest, and treats me like someone they hope will consistently return. Guess what, I do!
Nothing will put you in the “dog house” faster than seeing you treat a customer or co-worker in a rude way. On the other hand, consistently treating people with courtesy could be a step toward the next level.
The Three C’s: Competency, Commitment, and Courtesy are three things that upper management will take notice of and can put you on the path to career advancement.
Question: On which of these do you need to focus to take your career to the next level
? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
August 24, 2012
How to Launch a Bestselling Book
Ever since my book, Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, hit the bestseller lists, I have been asked how I did it. Aspiring authors want to know what they can do to enhance their chances of success.
Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/jcarillet
I spoke on this topic yesterday in New York City under the title, “My Bestseller Launch Formula: How I Mobilized My Tribe to Drive My Book onto the Bestsellers List.” It was well-received, so I thought I would share the highlights here.
As you may know, Thomas Nelson published my book on May 22 of this year. In the first week after the publication, it hit all three major bestseller lists, including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.
I took seven actions to make this happen. First three disclaimers:
I can’t promise this will work for you. While I characterize this as a “formula,” I refer to it as my formula. This is what worked for me. Hopefully, you can personalize what I have done and build on it.
This assumes you have a wow product. As I say in my Platform keynote speech (quoting from David Ogilvy), “Great marketing only makes a bad product fail faster.” Your book must meet a felt need, be well-written, and have the potential to reach a large enough segment of the population.
This doesn’t include what the publisher did. In Chapter 8 of the book, I exhort my readers to accept personal responsibility for the success or failure of their product launch. This is especially true in book publishing. This list only includes the items I had control of.
Okay, with that out of the way, here are the seven actions I took:
I set a specific goal. On December 16, 2011, as part of my annual goal-setting exercise, I wrote this: “Get Platform on the New York Times list by May 30, 2012.” I was notified on that exact day that the book had hit the New York Times “Hardcover Advice” list.
Not every goal I write down comes true, of course. But the act of writing a specific goal—with a due date—set in motion several things, especially in my own thinking and actions. Don’t overlook this step. It is essential.
I assumed personal responsibility. I wasn’t expecting the publishing company to make me famous or make my book successful. I’ve been in this business a long time, and that’s not how it works. If you expect this, you will be disappointed.
I assumed the role of Chief Marketing Officer for this project. Why? Three reasons:
No one knows the product better than I do.
No one can be a better spokesperson than I am.
No one has more at stake than I do.
I engaged my tribe early. Most of the chapters in the book started as blog posts. (Yes, you can blog a book. See Nina Amir’s book, How to Blog a Book .) I read each of the comments on those posts and used them as an opportunity to clarify my thinking and address specific concerns.
I then solicited their input on the subtitle and copy line and then again on the jacket cover. This was enormously helpful. Not only did it make the final product better, it created ownership in the outcome.
I secured endorsements. Frankly, this was the scary part. Whenever you ask for an endorsement, it is risky. People might say “No.” I don’t like rejection any better than anyone else.
But, despite my fear, I made a target list of thirty potential endorsers. I first went to the one I thought was most likely to endorse the book. He gave me a fabulous endorsement.
Then I included his endorsement in my next e-mail and rolled it out to the next four prospects. Then I rolled it out to the final twenty-five people.
I ended up getting twenty-seven of the thirty I asked, including Seth Godin, Chris Brogan, Dave Ramsey, John Maxwell, and Tim Sanders. (The list is here, on the right-hand sidebar.)
I formed a launch team. Daniel Decker, who helped manage the launch, came up with this idea. About three weeks before the official pub date, I wrote an invitation on my blog. I invited people to apply to join the team. I offered them five benefits:
An electronic edition of the book in advance of publication.
Access to me—and the other team members—via a private Facebook group.
A free half-hour teleseminar with me prior to the launch. (It actually lasted an hour.)
A thank-you link (i.e., “back link”) on my blog.
A 25% discount on my soon-to-be-released Get Published audio course.
I asked them for three commitments:
Write a short review on Amazon or another e-tailer site—good, bad, or ugly.
Help spread the word about the book on their existing platform, especially during the week of May 21st.
Share ideas and brainstorm additional ways we might further expose the message to an even greater audience.
I ended up with seventy-six reviews on Amazon, before the pub date. They averaged 4.8 stars out of five. (That’s still the average with 197 reviews as of today.)
This provided social proof to the thousands of prospects who visited that page during launch week. As research continues to show, people are much more likely to believe a peer recommendation over an advertisement.
If I had to do this over again, I would have done it earlier than I did. I would recommend four weeks before the pub date.
Regardless, 786 people applied to become members of the team. We randomly selected 100 people. Why didn’t we let everyone in? Because we wanted to create the sense that this was an elite group with special privileges—and responsibilities.
I focused the promotion. The bestseller lists measure sales for a seven-day period. The book that sells the most through the channels and stores they poll, takes the number one slot. The book that sells the second most, takes the second slot, and so on. Each week, the list resets, starting from zero.
What this means is that selling ten thousand copies in one week is very different than selling the same amount over two weeks. Assuming you sell five thousand copies in each of the first two weeks, you have essentially cut your chances of hitting the bestseller list in half.
I literally asked people not to buy the book until the week of May 21. I promised that I would make it worth their while if they waited. (I didn’t focus on Amazon pre-orders because they release the books when they have them to ship, often well in advance of the pub date.)
Thankfully, I only had forty-seven sales through Amazon before the pub date. This was exactly what I wanted. I didn’t want to waste those sales when they wouldn’t count toward the bestsellers list.
I also asked bloggers and podcasters, big and small, to review the book during this first week. I had hundreds participate. Not everyone could do it that first week, but most did. Here’s a list of reviews. (We probably missed some.)
I created a can’t-say-no offer. My goal was to move as many books through the cash register that first week of publication. So I created a massive incentive to get people to take action then.
The offer was simple: Buy Platform from any retailer (online or off), e-mail me the receipt, and I’ll send you seven free bonuses worth $375.98. I teased this for several weeks before the pub date, encouraging people to wait.
I offered seven bonuses:
“Platform Video Jumpstart” (a six-session video series)
“Why Now Is the Best Time Ever to Be an Author” (a one-session video)
“How to Write a Winning Book Proposal” (a two-session audio set)
Writing a Winning Non-Fiction Book Proposal (an e-book)
Writing a Winning Fiction Book Proposal (another e-book)
All the digital editions of Platform (including the Kindle, Nook, iPad, and PDF formats)
Audio edition of Platform (unabridged)
As a result, I sold at least 11,000 books during that first week. (I may have sold more; this is just how many emailed their receipt.)
Interestingly, we did not verify whether or not the e-mails contained a receipt. It was just too much hassle. However, in spot-checking the file after the fact, we could not find a single instance in which someone tried to cheat the system.
Some authors don’t think it is worth this kind of effort to get their book on the bestseller lists. That might be the right decision for them, but I think they are the exception.
Most authors will benefit from hitting the bestseller lists, just as I have. The issue is not whether the bestseller lists are accurate (they aren’t) or whether they are fair (they’re not). The question is whether or not the additional visibility creates sufficient value for the author.
From my perspective, hitting the bestseller lists had five benefits:
It credentialed me as an expert (or at least a perceived expert).
It raised the visibility of the book with retailers, resulting in more orders, and thus spreading the message.
It resulted in more media interest and more interview requests.
It provided more speaking inquiries and enabled me to secure higher fees.
It continues to open doors.
If you are writing a book or plan to write a book, it’s my hope that my launch formula will be helpful to you. I have no doubt that you can improve on it. But it at least gives you some ideas for getting started.
Questions: What would having a bestselling book make possible for you? What ideas do you have for making this launch formula even more effective? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
August 23, 2012
[Quote]
You cannot be anything you want to be—but you can be a lot more of who you already are.”
Tom Rath
StrengthsFinder 2.0 (Gallup Press, 2007), 8
August 22, 2012
#023: Operating in Your Strengths Zone
In this episode, I discuss discovering and using your strengths, based on the StrengthsFinder assessment developed by the Gallup organization. I first took this test back in 2003. It was a major turning point in my leadership philosophy.
Photo courtesy of
©iStockphoto.com/MichaelSvoboda
One of the most important questions you can ever ask yourself is this: “What are my strengths?” Knowing the answer is the key to job satisfaction and effectiveness.
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Unfortunately, most of us have been trained to think first about our weaknesses. For example:
Teachers pointed out our errors and marked them with a red pen.
Parents scanned our report cards and focused on those subjects where we needed to improve.
Employers have noted our weaknesses and discussed them at our annual performance review, often under the heading, “Opportunities for Improvement.”
I used to do the same thing with my direct reports. I thought I was being helpful. As a leader, I thought that this was my role.
Everything changed when I read, Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton’s bestseller, Now, Discover Your Strengths. At the time, both men worked for Gallup. The book was based on their research there.
They had a simple but powerful thesis. The best way to get ahead in your career and be satisfied in your job is to focus on developing your strengths. No matter how hard you try, you really can’t improve your weaknesses. You are wasting time and energy trying to do so. The best thing you can do is discover your strengths and then find a role that allows you to use them.
In their extensive research, Buckingham and Clifton identified thirty-four different strength themes. They also developed an online strengths assessment that identified your five top strengths. Since the book originally came out, Buckingham left Gallup and went on to write several more bestsellers. Sadly, Donald Clifton passed away.
However, Tom Rath, another Gallup employee, picked up the torch and refined the research. He used the results from the four million people who took the first test to develop an even more accurate, reliable, and faster assessment tool.
In 2007, he wrote a follow-up book called StrengthsFinder 2.0, documenting his research. Gallup then made the new assessment available online, renaming it “Clifton StrengthsFinder 2.0” in honor of Donald Clifton.
We have a misguided maxim in our culture that says, “You can be anything you want to be, if you just try hard enough.” Rath tells the story of Rudy Ruettiger as an example of this. He became a cultural icon for this philosophy.
After much research, Rath suggests a better principle: “You cannot be anything you want to be—but you can be a lot more of who you already are.” This is a major key to success.
Here are seven steps you can take to discover your strengths and start operating according to your unique design:
Step #1: Buy the StrengthsFinder 2.0 book and take the test. Inside the book, you will find an “access key” that enables you to take the online assessment. (If you buy the Kindle edition of the book, Amazon e-mails you the key after you complete the purchase.)
Step #2: Review your customized report and reflect on your strengths. Ask, “How well do these strengths describe me?” In other words, do they resonate with you?
Step #3: Share your strengths with those who know you best. Ask, “How well do you think these strengths describe me?” What do they say in response?
Step #4: Evaluate your current job in light of your strengths. What strengths does your job require? Do you have these strengths? On a scale of 1–10, how satisfied are you in your role?
Step #5: Develop a strategy to align your strengths and your job. This will likely require you to start focusing on those aspects of your job where you can express your strengths. What do you do with the other aspects of your job?
Negotiate with your supervisor.
Delegate them to someone else on your team.
Partner with someone who has the strengths you are missing.
You might have to look for a new opportunity.
Step #6: Share your strengths with your colleagues. Tell them you want to focus on your strengths, so that you can make your greatest contribution to them and the team. If they know your strengths, they can help you find opportunities to express them.
Step #7: Have your entire team take the test. If you want to build a strengths-based culture, this is essential. You can map your team’s strengths on a grid. Then ask:
How can we use our collection of strengths? Like a symphony conductor, you can call up the various instruments as you need them.
What is missing from our collection of strengths? What strengths do we need to recruit, given the nature of our business or the function of our operating unit.
Listener Questions
Travis Dommert asked, “What is the biggest breakthrough you had in discovering someone’s strengths? How did that change your view of that person? How did the discovery change that person’s role or their impact on the organization?”
Frank Dickinson asked, “I believe your strengths are already built in and all you need to do is develop them. How do you feel about this?”
Gail Hyatt (that’s right, my wife) asked, “I see how this applies to people in business, but how does it apply to stay-at-home moms?”
Special Announcements
If you are ready to get serious about building your platform and taking your blogging to the next level, you can’t do better than launching a self-hosted WordPress blog. That’s what nearly all professional bloggers use. That’s what I use at MichaelHyatt.com. However, if you are a little technically-challenged and have been afraid to try and install WordPress, I have great news.
A few weeks ago, I produced a free screencast called “How to Setup a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog in 20 Minutes or Less.” This short video will take you through the process step-by-step. Trust me, anyone can do this. In the last ten days, I’ve had almost 200 people use this video to launch their blog.
Episode Resources
In this episode I mentioned several resources, including:
Conference: Catalyst Conference (you can find the registration link and discount code here.
Book: Now, Discover Your Strengths
Book: StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath
Website: StrengthsFinder.com by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton
Show Transcript
You can download a transcript of this episode here.
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Question: What additional questions do you have about getting published? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
August 21, 2012
Register Now for Catalyst Atlanta and Save 28%
If you have read my blog for more than a few months, you know I love the Catalyst Conferences. I have spoken at the last nine in a row. I’ll be speaking again at the Atlanta conference, which will be held on October 3–5, 2012.
If you can’t see this video in your RSS reader or email, then click here.
The Atlanta conference is Catalyst’s biggest one. More than 13,000 next generation leaders will attend. It always sells out. (If you have ever been, you know why.) If you haven’t registered, you can do so between now and Friday, August 23rd and get 28% off the regular ticket price. This makes the ticket price less than the Early Bird or even the Super Early Bird pricing. (I’ll tell you how at the end of this post.)
As usual, the speaker line-up is awesome. It includes:
Andy Stanley
Francis Chan
Mark Burnett
Christine Caine
Geoffrey Canada
Craig Groeschel
Simon Sinek
Bryan Stevenson
Susan Cain
Matt Chandler
Perry Noble
Patrick Lencioni
Jon Acuff
In addition, I will be leading one of the labs, along with a bunch of my friends and colleagues, including Mark Batterson, Bob Goff, David Platt, Lysa Terkeurst, Reggie Joiner, Tim Elmore and more. (You can see the full list here.)
If you are coming, make sure you also register for the labs. This is a completely different experience than the main stage, and well-worth the investment. (Okay, maybe I am a little biased!)
Catalyst is not just another leadership event. It is educational, inspirational, AND hugely fun. (It is the only conference I have ever attended where a man was shot out of cannon!)
This is also a chance to connect with other leaders—something that is critically important for your leadership journey. You need the encouragement of like-minded Christian leaders.
If you use the special discount code “MHBLOG” BEFORE the end of the day on Thursday, August 23rd, you can register for $229.00. This is $90 less than the regular $319.00 price. (It is $60 less than the Early Bird special price of $289.00.)
Plus, you can also receive a discounted LAB rate of only $99, which is a $20 savings of the current $119 price. But again, you must register before the end of the day on Thursday, August 23rd. The labs is where I will be speaking. Use special discount code “LABS” to get the special.
Finally, I highly recommend that you don’t come alone. Bring your entire leadership team. It will amplify your experience exponentially. AND, you can pass along these discount codes to them.
Reserve your spot today! You can register online or call (888) 334-6569.
Question: If you have been to a Catalyst Conference before, how did you like it? You can leave a comment by clicking here. You can leave a comment by clicking here.
August 20, 2012
Why You Should Welcome Problems
Several years ago, I was having a really rough day at the office. It seemed everything that could go wrong was going wrong—at the worst possible time.
Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/kickstand
One of my biggest authors was threatening to leave. I had a major position I couldn’t seem to fill, despite numerous interviews. And, several of our customers were upset over what I had thought was a minor policy change.
When will it ever end, I thought.
About that time, Mark Schoenwald, now the CEO of Thomas Nelson, but then our Chief Sales Officer, sent me a wonderful quote from Max Lucado’s book, Great Day Every Day.
Citing management consultant Robert Updegraff, Max wrote:
You ought to be glad for the troubles on your job because they provide about half your income. If it were not for the things that go wrong, the difficult people with whom you deal, and the problems of your working day, someone could be found to handle your job for half of what you are being paid.
So start looking for more troubles. Learn to handle them cheerfully and with good judgment, as opportunities rather than irritations, and you will find yourself getting ahead at a surprising rate. For there are plenty of big jobs waiting for people who are not afraid of troubles.
Mark had no idea what kind of day I was having when he sent this, but his e-mail could not have been more timely.
I was guilty of the faulty logic that says,
If I’m in the right job, I won’t have any problems.
Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, as I look back over my career, it is clear that growth and promotions were always dependent on solving problems.
Big problems brought big opportunities.
In fact, If you ever find yourself in a job without problems, you should immediately start looking for another one.
Without problems, there aren’t opportunities. And without opportunities. you can’t grow, be given more responsibility, or make more money.
Question: What problem are you facing today that could be an opportunity in disguise? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
