Becky Robinson's Blog, page 29

Spring into Something New on Social Media

Yes, it’s a cliché, but it’s also true — spring is a time to try something new, to dust off the winter blues and throw open the windows to light and fresh air. The same holds true for your social media marketing — it’s time to freshen things up.

We recommend a social media review each quarter to make sure your bios, photos, and social headers are current. It’s also a smart idea to re-evaluate your social strategy on a quarterly basis. Ask yourself, what can I do differently? How can I share my message in a more compelling way?

Experimentation is the key to social media success. In that spirit, here are some ideas you might want to try this spring (or any season!).

Ephemeral Content

It’s what all the cool kids are doing, really, all the top influencers live in ephemeral content. Ephemeral content is simply content that disappears in 24 hours. If you’ve wondered what Facebook and Instagram stories are . . . they are ephemeral . . . and you need to post here. This is a great place to show your personality and really open up to your audience. Brene Brown does this very well. Seriously, she has a saved category of Stories that are just her playing music while riding down the highway. Doesn’t have much to say about vulnerability, but it does let us know a bit more about her, and Texas — it’s all very Texan — and if you don’t follow her, these stories make you want to! (By the way, you can also save your Stories and create great categories like Brene.)

Video

I know I sound like a broken record (see here and here), but video performs better than anything on social media. Why aren’t you posting video content? Is it because you don’t want to hire a production team? Well, I have great news — you don’t have to. You can create short, fun videos with your phone, and if you post them in Stories, you can even annotate and draw on them.

Live Content

Most of our clients do speaking and consulting work — you basically tell people important and worthwhile things for a living. I challenge you to do this live on social media. You’ll be able to connect directly with your audience, impart actionable ideas, grow your brand, and have a great time. It’s truly a win for everyone! It’s also simple. Just go to your social platforms as if you are posting content and hit the live button. Bill Treasurer is having a lot of fun with it! Be like Bill.

Create a Campaign

This may sound complicated, but I’m here to let you know that it’s not. You have great content — just organize it around a theme, come up with an engaging hashtag, and share it all in a regular cadence. Voilà, you have a campaign! You can use free tools to create fun graphics to support your campaign, and encourage others to jump on board and share their content, too. Ruth Carter, the Academy Award winning costume designer for Black Panther, kicked off a campaign built entirely on user-generated content. Her users are celebrities, but you can do this too!

Get creative, have fun, and try something new on social media this spring!

You may be surprised how it energizes your social media marketing and grows your brand and thought leadership. You also never know who might dance along with you. Just ask Ruth!

Speaking with Intention—Key Factors in a Successful PR Strategy

I rarely do yoga, but I found myself in a studio last week, stretching out my hamstrings and listening to the instructor softly speak about acting with intention. What is your intention in this moment? she asked. What is your intention for the day? In everything you do, act with intention.

This was some pretty good advice that went beyond becoming more limber. After some reflection, I realized it applies to pretty much everything in life—from holding a meeting, to grabbing lunch with friends or getting media placements (aka, public relations).

After all, public relations is merely a way of communicating with others with intention—thinking before you speak and knowing your audience. Acting with intention with public relations means having a PR strategy.

Don’t have a PR strategy? Here are the 6 key components.

A Goal

You know you want some media placements, but stop for a moment and think about why. What is your ultimate goal? Is it to build credibility? Sell books? Boost thought leadership? Boost business? This information will guide you in honing your message and who you want to spread it to. If possible, try to put numbers or guideposts onto this goal, e.g., you want to sell a thousand books in the next six months.

A Message

Okay, you want to sell books or get more clients. How do you do this? By telling them people they should buy your book or collaborate with you. Aim to make your messaging short and simple, believable, memorable, distinctive, credible, and key to driving your agenda. Think: What makes you different from your competitors or unique in your industry? What expertise and experience do you have that benefits your potential customers? What’s your story?  Why are you doing what you do? Take these answers and package them into an elevator pitch.

An Audience

You know what you want to say and why. Now, who do you want to say this to? Do you want to reach human resource trainers or aspiring entrepreneurs? Pinpoint your target group. These are the individuals or groups that have influence and decision-making power over your products or services. Then, investigate key media outlets that these folks read. Google can be your friend here. Visit each media site to ensure it is still active and a fit for your target audience. Then, write out this list.

An Avenue

Now it’s time to investigate who to pitch at these outlets, e.g., editors or writers. If you cannot find the info online, call their newsrooms and ask who you should pitch to. (WI subscribes to a media directory to get updated info in our back pockets.)

A Plan

Also for consideration in your strategy is what you want to pitch. Are you looking for contributed articles? Or do you want broadcast media? Do you want to spread the word of your new book with a press release or just targeted pitching? Are you comfortable with speaking about hot news topics to get your expertise out there, even though it may be a bit off topic? Do you want to do the pitching yourself, or do you want a publicist to handle it? Do you want to send books to media or share PDFs? Do you need a press kit? Other PR tactics for consideration include email newsletters, social media campaigns, blogs, and public speaking.

A Review

You figured out what you want to say and why, who you want to say it to, how you want to say it—and, you’ve said it. You’ve pitched media or put out a press release. Now what? It’s time to keep track of your efforts and outcomes by going back to your goals. Did you sell any more books? Get any more business leads? PR successes can be a bit nebulous. After all, it’s difficult to draw a line from someone reading an article to then going online and buying a book. If you have some key performance indicators, you should be able to identify whether your PR efforts have lived up to your intention.

Namaste.

Hit or Miss — the Reality of Book Sales

In 2010, two years before I joined Becky at Weaving Influence, my husband and I finalized the production and publication of a short, illustrated children’s storybook about a boy named “Little Brother.” Even though I told myself that we weren’t going to get rich off of it, there was an underlying hope that someone would see it, love it, tell their friends about it, and a real publishing house would make us an offer. After all the time, effort, and money that we had poured into getting the story illustrated, edited, and through the self-publishing process, it would have been nice to see some kind of return on our investment, or at a minimum, break even. I had big dreams.

Let’s Talk Reality

In the nine years since Mashed Potatoes entered the book world, we haven’t recouped the cost of getting it published, let alone the money that we shelled out for illustrations. Although we have 10 reviews on Amazon (all 5 star), all of those are from people we know. When we decided to use it as a fundraising tool for our 2016 adoption of 5 siblings from Costa Rica, we thought it might be the “secret sauce” we needed to really get it out there. I ran a Facebook page for it (now closed), tweeted about it (then stopped), and even created a book trailer. I think we sold 16 books, which might have covered the cost of one fast-food meal for our new family of seven.

Sometimes, no matter what you do, it’s not enough to turn you into Dr. Seuss.

In the almost seven years that I’ve been working with Weaving Influence, I’ve learned a lot about marketing books, building platforms, and weaving together a community of supporters. I’ve been a part of really successful, best-selling book launches, and I’ve also been on the receiving end of unhappy authors who didn’t get an Amazon “Bestselling” flag. It’s the nature of the business.

If you’re preparing to launch a book, there are a few things that you can do to prepare yourself — mentally and emotionally — for what’s ahead.

Be Realistic

You might think your book is the answer to the world’s problems (and I hope you do, since you wrote it!), but that’s not a guarantee that everyone else feels the same way. Go into the process of book promotion with a realistic outlook. Make a plan, do the work, build your team, but maintain a grasp on the reality that only 15-20 titles (per list and subcategory) make it to the New York Times Bestseller list.

Decide Who You’re Writing For

It is estimated that there are 2 million books published each year around the world, and at least 600,000 of those (or more) are published in the United States. You may have written a great book, but so did lots of other people. Acknowledge that other books are probably better than yours, and then work harder to find the niche of people who will appreciate and be helped by what you have to say.  

Not Everyone Walks On the Moon

While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were busy walking on the moon, Michael Collins was up in the Command Module making sure they could all get home again. Even though Collins often gets lost in the shadow of Armstrong and Aldrin, he saw his role as equally important. I think the same can be said of authors who want to add to a genre like leadership, which is already filled with successful names like Blanchard, Maxwell, Drucker, and Covey. You may never get the notoriety that they have, but that doesn’t mean that your contribution isn’t vital.

Would You Give It Away?

Even the clients who tell us they don’t care about book sales, usually do care about book sales. We’re all human. When you spend so much time writing, editing, reworking, and finessing, it’s inevitable that you want to see people get excited about it, and it would be fantastic if that excitement translated into sales. But if it doesn’t, as is so often the case, are you still passionate about your book? Do you still believe in it so much that you would be willing to give it away? Bob Tiede, a longtime Weaving Influence client, just recently published his third book, Now That’s A Great Question. He spent hours making sure it was just perfect for his audience and poured his heart, time, and finances into the project . . . just so that he could giveaway a resource for others to use. Do you feel that strongly about your message?

My work getting Little Brother from notebook paper to printed book was a labor of love, and I wanted other people to see it, and appreciate it, the same way that I did. When they didn’t — it stung a little. There are times when — no matter how hard you try or how much you love your book — the final outcome doesn’t live up to your expectations.

But before you get discouraged and chuck it all, remember this: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, Dr. Seuss’ first book, faced 27 rejections before Vanguard Press agreed to publish it in 1937.

If at first you don’t succeed . .  .

Big 4 Numbers to Monitor in Google Analytics

We’re often asked to advise clients about which social media platforms will deliver the best results. We have a general answer based on the results we see across clients and the overall growth patterns on the social platforms, but Google Analytics helps us make custom recommendations.

You may be asking yourself, what does Google Analytics have to do with social media?

The answer? A lot.

If you don’t have Google Analytics on your website, make an action item to create that connection as soon as possible. It’s critical data that can help you achieve greater results, faster.

Next, dive into those numbers. Google Analytics offers a wealth of information about visitors to your website. Here are four important metrics you can learn.

How many people visit your site: This is one of the first numbers you’ll see in Google Analytics. It lets you know what kind of traffic you have to your site. Tracking this from week to week or month to month will help you detect trends. The goal is always to drive more traffic; so if your numbers aren’t climbing, you may want to dig deeper into why.

How long they stay on your site: In the dashboard, this is called the Bounce Rate. The numbers here show you the percentage of time people stay on your website. You want that number to be low. It’s shown as a percentage, and it lets you know how many people view one page on your site and then leave or ‘bounce.’ You’ll also see just how long people are staying on your site. Anything above a minute is good, but again, the goal is to keep visitors longer. Having ‘sticky’ content that draws people in will help those numbers increase.

What they like on your site: This metric is really important—it lets you know what the majority of people are checking out on your site. Click on Behavior in the dashboard to find out where people are going on your site. If you have a blog post that performs well month after month, it’s a smart idea to try to create more content similar to that post—in style, subject matter, or appearance. Conversely, these metrics help you identify what’s not working, so you can stop creating that type of content.

Where they are coming from: This metric lets you know how your marketing efforts are working and can help shape your social media plan, too. If you click under Acquisition in the Analytics dashboard, you’ll find out how people are discovering your site. Odds are, many are coming via a direct link, but social media should be in your top 3 traffic drivers. Click on Social, and you’ll see exactly how many people are coming from each platform. If you love Twitter, but it’s driving the least amount of traffic, it might be time to update your social media strategy.

Google Analytics offer a wealth of information and the numbers can be overwhelming. There are great tutorials online to help, or you can get comfortable with the Big 4 and start updating your marketing efforts to take advantage of this data. Remember, as Peter Drucker so famously said: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”

A New Website to Inspire Conscious Success

The Weaving Influence team is please to feature a new website designed and developed for change management consultant, executive coach, and author David Neilson. If you are tired of the trial-and-error approach to your life, explore davidenielson.com and find yourself on the path to conscious success today!

David Nielson & DNA Worldwide

David Nielson is the founder and CEO of DNA Worldwide, a management consulting firm specializing in the execution of business strategy implementation and large-scale change. He brings over three decades of corporate, Fortune 500, and private consulting experience in organizational change management, leadership development, and training.

DNA Worldwide, LLC, is a management consulting firm that provides custom organization change management products and services, executive coaching, and leadership development. They serve an international clientele by ensuring change can be implemented with confidence, internal capability, and success achieved at every level within the organization. Utilizing their proprietary methodology, Change Management Essentials (CME), the DNA approach is straightforward, practical, focused on bottom-line results, and guided by the idea that “simpler is better and less is more.” This efficient approach makes change manageable and measurable – even within the largest organizations.

Conscious Success

Personal and professional success in today’s crowded, competitive economy is dependent on your discovery of the answer to the following questions:

What is my best purpose to achieve conscious success?
How can I demonstrate high awareness for conscious success?
How can I positively differentiate myself from others?

In his book, The Nine Dimensions of Conscious Success, David Nielson addresses the dilemma of how to define your purpose in life to achieve conscious success. Drawing upon his unique life experiences as a management consultant, an executive coach, and an organizational developer at Coors Brewing Company, he outlines a practical process model for you to achieve individual success. He uses real-life stories, humor, and a humble approach that has connected with audiences of all ages worldwide in his consulting practice and in the pages of this breakthrough book.

Nielson builds the foundation of his “Conscious Success Model” on three pillars: Purpose, Self Awareness, and Social Awareness. When combined and mastered, these essential starting blocks will bring you fulfillment on their own; but they can also be used to create your unique brand, style, and strong reputation.

Visit the new website to learn more

Discover his approach to change management essentials and CME services.
Learn more about David’s newest book Conscious Success.
Watch David in action on his speaking page.
Take the assessment to discover your strengths and barriers to success.

 

Interested in learning more about our web design and development services? Contact us to schedule a meeting!

Meet Kyle Csortos, Children’s Book Illustrator

You may not be aware that Weaving Influence provides book production services including copy editing, typesetting, interior and cover design, paperback book publication through Kindle Direct Publishing, conversion to ebook, and hardcover production.

We are always looking for opportunities to provide you with fresh, up-to-date services. Enter Kyle Csortos, a graphic designer based in northern Ohio, who specializes in illustrating children’s books. We were introduced to him recently and spent some time chatting with him to learn more more about his work.

Meet Kyle Csortos

Q. How long have you been illustrating, and do you only illustrate children’s books?

A. I have been illustrating my whole life, but I have been doing it professionally for 4 years. Besides illustrating children’s books and covers for authors, I also illustrate people’s pets and homes.

Q. Can you share examples of books you have worked on in the past that are now published?

A. Of course! Here is a link to my website that shows the books I have done that are published on Amazon: https://kcsortos.myportfolio.com/books.

Q. Is your fee all up front or do you also work on commission (meaning, based on how many books are sold)?

A. I have done both ways, and I find that doing a fee pricing that they pay throughout the process works a bit better. Especially if they aren’t looking to sell a lot of books and just wanted to create a book for a grandchild, etc. But if I know they are going to put the time and marketing in the selling of the book I will also do commission on royalties, it just all depends.

Q. Do you work for yourself? And if so, where do you do most of your work (home, office, coffee shop)?

A. I do work for myself. I work out of my home in my office.

Q. What do you enjoy most about the work that you do?

A. What I enjoy most about the work I do is that I get to be creative. I am able to create things out of a story or an idea people have and make it something people can see and get an emotion from. Sparking joy and happiness in someone is something I love to do.

Q. Have you ever written and illustrated your own book?

A. I have actually! I am just finishing up my first book I have written and illustrated. It is called Scaredy Bat. It is a story about a bat named Benji that has trouble seeing in the dark and gets afraid easily because of it. This book teaches kids about bullies, bravery, and bats.

Q. How did you become connected to Weaving Influence?

A. I became connected with Weaving Influence through a business connection. He is a business coach named Ernie Lewis. I was talking about my upcoming book and he mentioned I should get in contact with Becky Robinson from Weaving Influence. So I did and I am grateful that I reached out.

Thanks for chatting with us, Kyle!

Want to learn more about any of our book production services? Send us an email!

How to Take Your Newsletter From Mundane to a Must-Read

What is your favorite newsletter to read, and why? I’ll strongly suggest that it’s because of the value you perceive it gives YOU. You find it thought-provoking, inspiring, actionable, or educational. You should write your newsletters with the same value and intentionality that you find in other emails you read.

It’s time to break the barriers of what you “think” you should put in a newsletter and start challenging your creative processes. Here’s some tips to kick your cliche newsletter into something subscribers look forward to.

Open with Intention

I’m sure you’ve written some great blog posts or have an event coming up that you want to share. But instead, ask yourself these two questions before you start crafting your message:

What do I want my recipients to feel when they read my email?
What do I want them to do as a result of my email?

Communicate this first and foremost, so readers know exactly what’s coming and why it should matter to them (and hopefully they’ll keep reading your email!).

Get Personal

What’s been going on in between the hustle bustle of your workday? Sharing a short, impactful story of something you experienced or learned lately is a great strategy to expand outside the cookie cutter newsletter. You can use that story to tie into a key theme of your brand.

Give a Behind-the-Scenes Glimpse

Subscribers want to know YOU. Each subscriber on your list represents a real person who felt a need to connect with you and your work. Take a moment to share something special and intimate with this network. Working on a new project? Writing a new book? Share the news with them before anyone else! Share special photos of your upcoming plans to help create excitement.

Share Something Valuable

It’s likely that your subscribers joined your list from a freebie that you were promoting. Why stop giving? If you have some other valuable resources, sprinkle those in from time to time. This communicates two things to your subscribers: you truly value their growth and you’ll continue adding value to their inbox!

Make it Quick

Chances are, your subscribers have countless other emails in their inbox competing for their attention. Your newsletter doesn’t have to be short, but it should pack a punch in a concise manner!

Your newsletter communications need to be original and thoughtfully crafted. If you want your subscribers to interact and engage with you, take the time to consider what THEY want to receive from being connected to you.

How to Keep Your Remote Team Engaged

As an introvert and a resident of a rural town in Wyoming that has very few people and even fewer jobs, I love being able to do my job remotely. It’s nice to have a commute that just takes me down the hall, to a sunshiny (quiet) office with my own tea kettle and essential oil diffuser. I love having my husband working in the room next to me; and being able to shift between work responsibilities, household chores, short errands, and side hustles, depending on the needs of each individual day.

But working remotely has one serious drawback — it’s very hard to get to know your team members. Even as an introvert, I sometimes miss the personal connections that happen during lunch breaks or morning updates. I miss the shared sense of camaraderie that happens when you face shared crisis situations, check up on sick colleagues, or celebrate birthdays together. While some of us stay connected on Facebook, it’s hard to root for each other’s personal accomplishments or feel much sorrow when they move on to new jobs, if we haven’t been any more personal more than simply assigning tasks to each other. There’s something to be said for the human connection you get working side-by-side on a daily basis.

Some jobs, however, require remote work . . . but they are not doomed to remaining impersonal! Here are a few ways we’ve found to help team members engage with each other on a more personal basis (but not so much that it scares off the introverts!).

Fun (Non-Mandatory) Meetings

Every month we have a stand-up call for whoever is able to attend. It usually includes a brief update on new projects or upcoming changes, and is also a great time to introduce new team members or share farewell wishes with those who are moving on. But the thing that makes these meetings something to look forward to is our more personal discussion questions.

For example, during our last meeting we each shared how we first got connected to Weaving Influence. Some had personal connections with a team member, some met Becky at a job fair, and others quite aptly found the company through social media. It was fun to discover some shared connections and learn how the job met a different need in each of our lives.

Sometimes we discuss “silly” things like our favorite back-to-school or office supply, favorite type of M&Ms, or favorite tv show to binge watch. Other months, we get a little deeper and share things like personal goals for the year, a big dream we’re working towards, or a relationships that blesses us deeply.

For me, these questions are one of the highlights of our month, since it gives us a better sense of who we’re working beside, so to speak, and helps to build connections that last outside working hours and spill over into real-life friendships.

Bonus tip: always allow the introverts plenty of time to think before they have to respond.

Virtual Water-coolers & Bulletin Boards

At Weaving Influence, we rely on Basecamp for project management and team interaction. One of the things we love about it is the ‘Campfire’ feature — basically a virtual watercooler system, with a designated campfire for each project. These discussion boards allow for more interaction than what you normally get within the weeds of an individual project, but still keep things contained to only those people who have an interest in that topic.

For instance, if you have a general question or comment about Client XYZ’s project, only the team members involved in that project will see it. On the other hand, if you have something to share that involves everyone on the team, the main campfire is a great place to post it. We use that space to share personal news, pictures of cute pets or beautiful outdoor workspaces, troubleshoot website issues, ask for backup support or clarification, or anything else that you would normally share around a watercooler or bulletin board.

Another way we love staying engaged with each other is through automated check-ins. We have #MakeItHappenMondays to share goals for the week (work or personal), #TeamTuesdays for shout-outs to fellow coworkers, #WednesdayWins (work or personal), #ThankfulThursday, and #FinishItFriday to share how our week went. Though we don’t all participate in every check-in during the week, it provides a great space to learn what matters to everyone and encourage each other in other areas of life besides work.

Personal Updates from the Top-Down

Those in leadership generally set the tone for the rest of the workplace, even in a remote team. That’s why it’s so critical to have personal updates, even on the little things, from those at the top. A few ways we’ve implemented this is through weekly “Look Ahead” messages that cover upcoming meetings or events, changes in scope or schedules, company-wide questions or announcements, and anything else that’s helpful for everyone to know. We also have regular messages from our boss, letting us know her heart for the company, anything big on her radar (work or personal), and a quote or thought that has impacted her life recently.

It also helps to involve the whole team in making decisions and improving processes. While there obviously needs to be a clear leader, and a final decision-maker, it helps keep everyone engaged when they can all share input on things like improving team communication, developing or refining processes for certain tasks, or better implementing core values in the day-to-day work. We all have opportunities to share our opinions without being belittled or shot down. Discussions are respectful and gracious, even when we disagree, and we end up with a stronger, more cohesive team as a result.

Do you have any other tips for staying engaged with virtual team members?

A Blueprint for Success from ‘The Dentist Who Gets It’

There’s no such thing as a “quick fix” for health or wealth, and the same thing holds true in business (and anyone who tells you differently is probably selling something). Rather, it takes many hours of hard work, cycle after cycle of trial-and-error, and oodles of sweat and tears before we start making — and seeing — progress.

It helps to have a coach to advise, encourage, reassure you — someone who’s been there personally, who knows firsthand the stressors and uncertainties of the journey. This week’s featured book offers such guidance from someone who’s been there, done that, and now shares the insights he learned along the way to help you find the same success he did.

The Dentist Who Gets It

The Dentist Who Gets It is a book for those in specialty healthcare, healthcare, or business in general, who are looking for momentum in their business and life. It looks past “quick fixes” to putting the time in for success, and guides readers to the path where they can marry their head and heart — and be successful professionally and personally. The book fills a void for those in healthcare who are left in an uphill battle for success after graduate school, daunted by debt and lacking business acumen.

Dr. H, a self-made man, shares his tried-and-true methods for success — from keeping pace with the latest healthcare trends, to leading in today’s environment, managing balance sheets, and selling a practice for a profit. Using self-deprecating and smart humor, The Dentist Who Gets It is an enjoyable read that helps readers figure out where they are and where they want to go.

“Quick fixes, like ten-minute abs, do not exist. If you are of a mind to lead, I give some insight into what I feel makes a good leader. If you are looking to sell your practice, you will find some advice about that as well… I’ll also take you through my new passion, the work I presently do that has brought me directly from a full-time practicing endodontist into the next stage of my life.” — Dr. H

Meet the Author

Dr. Steven Hymovitch (aka, “Dr. H”) is the dentist who gets it! Dr. H is no stranger to hard work. He grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood in Montreal, Canada, the son of hard-working parents who ran a successful “mom and pop” shop. He got his first job at age 10 as a newspaper delivery boy; as a teenager, he sold soda at hockey games in the Montreal Forum. He served with the Canadian Army Reserves for 14 years, and even worked as a meat slicer at a delicatessen in Boston while simultaneously finishing his endodontic residency.

Dr. H received his BS and DDS from McGill University, an MBA from Arizona State University, and a root canal specialty degree from Tufts University. He settled in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1994, and continued his career as a serial entrepreneur. Over the next 10 years, Dr. H grew his Tucson- and Phoenix-based practice, Valley Endodontics and Oral Surgery, into more than twenty offices, making it the largest endodontic/oral surgery practice in the southwestern United States. He received his Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching from the Royal Roads University in Canada, and in 2017, co-founded the Scottsdale Leadership & Coaching Center, helping business owners in the U.S. and Canada build their balance sheets and scale their practices to help more people.

Dr. H is a devoted husband to Julie, and loving father to Stefanie, Hannah, Hallie, David, and Evan. He enjoys traveling with his family, reading, and constant continuing education especially in the realm of emotional intelligence and leadership coaching. He finds great joy in sharing his personal and professional experiences to help others, and is equally excited about learning new things and expanding his colleague bases while networking and coaching.

Praise from Readers

“This book should be a bible for every leader aspiring for innovation. Understand and practice the principles in this book and it will substantially increase your chances of winning through innovation. ”  — Nathan Laufer, Medical Director, Heart & Vascular Center of Arizona

“The Dentist Who Gets It is full of takeaways and nuggets of wisdom that any health professional can use right away. Dr. Steve’s reference points that paint physical pictures as his message about the struggles he endured in becoming a dentist and then endodontist are relatable to so many other careers! Can’t wait for his next book!” — Steve Brierley, President & Chief Experience Guy at Real Leader Development

“This book supplies you both with concepts that you can apply immediately, and that you can consider in the future. Hymovitch shares insights into his thought processes as he expanded his business, and explains some of the risks that he took along the way. You may well come away from the book inspired and thinking, ‘If he can do it, I can do it.'”  — Robert Passloff, President, Advanced Root Canal Specialists of MA

“The Dentist Who Gets It is an easy-to-read and entertaining blueprint that will lead practitioners to success! It is filled with lots of helpful ‘pearls’ and is valuable in all healthcare fields, not just dentistry.” — Mehdi Mazaheri, MD, PC, CEO of M Spa

Learn More

Visit Amazon to buy a copy of the book, or leave a short review of it.
Check out the website for more information about the book and its author.

How to Stay Engaged in the Workplace

Earlier this month we hosted an hour-long webinar with bestselling author (and 40 year employee of Chick-fil-A), Mark Miller. His newest book, Win the Heart, was just released on March 5th, and he spent his hour with us sharing about the ways that C.A.R.E. (Connection, Affirmation, Responsibility, Environment) can impact organizations and individuals.

I’ve had the privilege of working behind the scenes on Mark’s projects since our first launch with him, back in 2013, and I still learn something new from him whenever I have the opportunity to hear him speak.

Mark has the unique ability to state things in a way that anyone can understand, and quickly gets to the heart of the most common issues that companies and organizations have to face. Whether it’s a lack of leadership, people in the wrong positions, or finding and communicating your passion, Mark’s got a ready answer and — more importantly — actionable ideas to help leaders at all levels get out of the rut and move forward.

Although I loved learning about the ideas and cornerstones of CARE, it was the final 30 minutes of Q & A with the webinar audience that really stood out for me, as Mark answered real problems from real people. These aren’t just ideas found in a book (even if the book ideas strike a chord); they resonate because the real people asking them are regular Janes and Joes, getting up and going to work everyday, struggling to find their passion in the midst of getting the work done, and attempting to follow leaders who fail to inspire.

Know Your Why

One attendee asked Mark if he had any ideas for the individual leader who is struggling and not engaged. As much as I appreciate my flexible job and enjoy the work that I do now, I’ve certainly been in situations before where I didn’t, and this question for Mark resonated deeply with me. How do you inspire others when you, yourself, struggle to engage in the work at hand? I would suspect each of us has experienced this very thing at one time or another.

Rather than throwing out some patent “leadership book” answer, Mark engaged with the question and encouraged the questioner to get to the root of the WHY, to do some introspection and figure out if they could affirm why they do what they do. That left me with food for thought and some introspection to do.

Step Up and Lead

But I think my favorite question came from the person who asked what Mark would suggest when you’re not in a leadership position, but those in leadership aren’t leading. Oh yes, been there and experienced that! Which is why, despite the numerous leadership books I’ve read over the years, his response stopped me in my tracks: If there’s a leadership void, STEP UP when and where you can. See what you can do to close that gap. Try to add value.

And then the real clincher: Leadership is not a role, it’s a FUNCTION. You can fill that countless ways, and you can function as a leader without being in leadership. Can you begin to imagine how our workplace engagement levels might change if we all viewed the role of leadership as one that we could own, no matter what our title or actual responsibilities?

So yes, Mark Miller knows how to sell chicken. He’s been doing it for a long time. But even more than that, he knows how to engage with people and train others to CARE and lead. There’s no telling how the world could change if each of us followed Mark’s example and began to lovingly and proactively engage with others — in the marketplace, online, and at home.

I’m game to give it a shot, how about you?