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Digital Leader: 5 Simple Keys to Success and Influence
Digital Leaders are Made―Not Born "Fail forward, fail fast, fail better is a winning concept from Qualman's latest book, Digital Leader ."
-- Tony Hsieh, New York Times bestselling author and CEO of Zappos.com, Inc. "People with a passion for something can be infectious. It's obvious that Erik Qualman's passion is social media."
-- Dan Heath, New York Times bestselling author of Made to Stick and Switch "Qualman is to social media what Deming is to quality and Drucker to management."
-- Scott Galloway, professor, Stern School of Business, NYU "Erik Qualman is a Digital Dale Carnegie."
-- Todd Young, CEO, ProspX About the "Digital footprints are what we post about ourselves. Digital shadows are what others upload about us. Collectively, they have changed the world forever. As leaders and future leaders we need to adapt to this new world."
-- from Digital Leader Digital leaders are made, not born--you have it within you to become an effective digital leader. As a leader in the digital age, your reach is boundless. With advanced technologies, you can exert more direct and indirect influence than ever before--anywhere at any time. And everything you do, fail to do, and wish you didn't do is documented forever in the digital universe. Digital Leader explains how to take full advantage of everything the digital age has to offer, while avoiding common pitfalls that can damage your "digital legacy." Bestselling author Erik Qualman explains what modern leadership means and describes how to be an effective leader in the digital world. In order to succeed, you need to adjust your leadership skills to adapt to today's digitally open world--and you need to start today . Qualman breaks the process down into five powerful truths you can use to establish your leadership "stamp": S success is the result of simplification and focus
T be true to your passion
A nothing happens without action--take the first step
M goals and visions are needed to get where you want to be
P success doesn't happen alone Basing his conclusions on a wide range of research and resources, Qualman provides an abundance of real-world examples and tips to help you create a path to success while leading others to achieve their best.
-- Tony Hsieh, New York Times bestselling author and CEO of Zappos.com, Inc. "People with a passion for something can be infectious. It's obvious that Erik Qualman's passion is social media."
-- Dan Heath, New York Times bestselling author of Made to Stick and Switch "Qualman is to social media what Deming is to quality and Drucker to management."
-- Scott Galloway, professor, Stern School of Business, NYU "Erik Qualman is a Digital Dale Carnegie."
-- Todd Young, CEO, ProspX About the "Digital footprints are what we post about ourselves. Digital shadows are what others upload about us. Collectively, they have changed the world forever. As leaders and future leaders we need to adapt to this new world."
-- from Digital Leader Digital leaders are made, not born--you have it within you to become an effective digital leader. As a leader in the digital age, your reach is boundless. With advanced technologies, you can exert more direct and indirect influence than ever before--anywhere at any time. And everything you do, fail to do, and wish you didn't do is documented forever in the digital universe. Digital Leader explains how to take full advantage of everything the digital age has to offer, while avoiding common pitfalls that can damage your "digital legacy." Bestselling author Erik Qualman explains what modern leadership means and describes how to be an effective leader in the digital world. In order to succeed, you need to adjust your leadership skills to adapt to today's digitally open world--and you need to start today . Qualman breaks the process down into five powerful truths you can use to establish your leadership "stamp": S success is the result of simplification and focus
T be true to your passion
A nothing happens without action--take the first step
M goals and visions are needed to get where you want to be
P success doesn't happen alone Basing his conclusions on a wide range of research and resources, Qualman provides an abundance of real-world examples and tips to help you create a path to success while leading others to achieve their best.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published November 18, 2011
40 people are currently reading
404 people want to read
About the author
Erik Qualman
20 books64 followersCalled a Digital Dale Carnegie, Erik Qualman is the author of Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business. Socialnomics made Amazon's #1 Best Selling List for the US, Japan, UK, Canada, Portugal, Italy, China, Korea and Germany. His book Digital Leader helped him be voted the 2nd “Most Likeable Author in the World” behind Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. He also holds the Guinness Book of World Record with a team for the longest continuous podcast. He's the inventor of the bestselling family board game Kittycorn.
In 2023 Qualman gave the commencement address at Michigan State University.
Socialnomics was a finalist for the "2010 Book of the Year" award by the American Marketing Association. Qualman produced "Social Media Revolution," the most viewed social media video series in the world, which has been used by NASA to the National Guard. Fast Company Magazine listed him as a Top 100 Digital Influencer.
Qualman has recently given international keynotes with the following: Coach, Sony PlayStation, National Restaurant Association, IBM, Facebook, SCG Thailand, ADP, National Bank of Canada, Credit Union League, Starbucks, M&M/Mars, Cartier, Small Business League, Raytheon, Chrysler, Home Furnishings Association, Montblanc, TEDx, Polo, Small Business League, UGG, Nokia, Google, AutoTrader and more. Qualman gave the commencement address to the 2011 graduating class of McCombs Business School (University of Texas).
Qualman has been highlighted in numerous media outlets including 60 Minutes, The New York Times, WSJ, Mashable, USA Today, ABC News, Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, CBS News, and The Huffington Post. He has been fortunate to share the stage with Julie Andrews, Al Gore, Tony Hawk, Sarah Palin, Jose Socrates (Prime Minister of Portugal), Alan Mulally, James Carville, and others.
Qualman is a Professor at Northwestern University. For the past 18 years, Qualman has helped grow the digital capabilities of many companies, including Cadillac, EarthLink, EF Education, Yahoo, Travelzoo, and AT&T. He is the founder and owner of socialnomics.com, which PC Magazine ranks as a Top 10 Social Media Blog. He sits on the Boards of Manumatix, Bazaarvoice Inc., and WannaBeeSocial. Qualman holds a BA from Michigan State University and an MBA from The University of Texas.
In 2011 Qualman was honored as the Michigan State Alum of the Year, and in 2012 he was selected as one of the Top 50 Professors in the world. He was Academic All-Big Ten in basketball at Michigan State University and still finds time to follow his beloved Spartans while living in Boston with his wife and two daughters.
In 2023 Qualman gave the commencement address at Michigan State University.
Socialnomics was a finalist for the "2010 Book of the Year" award by the American Marketing Association. Qualman produced "Social Media Revolution," the most viewed social media video series in the world, which has been used by NASA to the National Guard. Fast Company Magazine listed him as a Top 100 Digital Influencer.
Qualman has recently given international keynotes with the following: Coach, Sony PlayStation, National Restaurant Association, IBM, Facebook, SCG Thailand, ADP, National Bank of Canada, Credit Union League, Starbucks, M&M/Mars, Cartier, Small Business League, Raytheon, Chrysler, Home Furnishings Association, Montblanc, TEDx, Polo, Small Business League, UGG, Nokia, Google, AutoTrader and more. Qualman gave the commencement address to the 2011 graduating class of McCombs Business School (University of Texas).
Qualman has been highlighted in numerous media outlets including 60 Minutes, The New York Times, WSJ, Mashable, USA Today, ABC News, Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, CBS News, and The Huffington Post. He has been fortunate to share the stage with Julie Andrews, Al Gore, Tony Hawk, Sarah Palin, Jose Socrates (Prime Minister of Portugal), Alan Mulally, James Carville, and others.
Qualman is a Professor at Northwestern University. For the past 18 years, Qualman has helped grow the digital capabilities of many companies, including Cadillac, EarthLink, EF Education, Yahoo, Travelzoo, and AT&T. He is the founder and owner of socialnomics.com, which PC Magazine ranks as a Top 10 Social Media Blog. He sits on the Boards of Manumatix, Bazaarvoice Inc., and WannaBeeSocial. Qualman holds a BA from Michigan State University and an MBA from The University of Texas.
In 2011 Qualman was honored as the Michigan State Alum of the Year, and in 2012 he was selected as one of the Top 50 Professors in the world. He was Academic All-Big Ten in basketball at Michigan State University and still finds time to follow his beloved Spartans while living in Boston with his wife and two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 23, 2012
This is a brief review:
I read this book as a part of the group "12 Books - Business & Personal Development Book Club" ( http://www.12booksgroup.com/ ).
I am really glad that i read it! I was actually not having much spare time, but somehow i managed to read the whole book within a few days! I found that the book was full of positivism in a life-affirming way. The book is well written, and well structured, with a lot of quotes and short stories and references. I personally like that type of writing.
The book has a lot of good ideas, but i knew some of the concepts from elsewhere. This is not necessarily bad, as the book is a great reminder of simple things that can enrich your life, both offline and online.
One of the main concepts of the book is that "The world is becoming fully transparent." and the book describes the consequences of this concept. I tend to agree with this concept and the consequences this has for becoming a leader (do good things and confront your missteps directly) as well as in doing business (business is not so much about money, as it is about connecting with good customers) and for the entire society.
The last thing i have to say is:
Thank you sharing your thoughts on the "Digital Leader" with the world, Erik Qualman :)
I read this book as a part of the group "12 Books - Business & Personal Development Book Club" ( http://www.12booksgroup.com/ ).
I am really glad that i read it! I was actually not having much spare time, but somehow i managed to read the whole book within a few days! I found that the book was full of positivism in a life-affirming way. The book is well written, and well structured, with a lot of quotes and short stories and references. I personally like that type of writing.
The book has a lot of good ideas, but i knew some of the concepts from elsewhere. This is not necessarily bad, as the book is a great reminder of simple things that can enrich your life, both offline and online.
One of the main concepts of the book is that "The world is becoming fully transparent." and the book describes the consequences of this concept. I tend to agree with this concept and the consequences this has for becoming a leader (do good things and confront your missteps directly) as well as in doing business (business is not so much about money, as it is about connecting with good customers) and for the entire society.
The last thing i have to say is:
Thank you sharing your thoughts on the "Digital Leader" with the world, Erik Qualman :)
June 17, 2012
Qualman has written a book that is so much more than Digital Leadership. He argues convincingly that digital leadership is certainly about leadership, but also about how we interact with the world and the people in it both online and offline. I took an incredible amount of notes while reading, which for me is a sign of a really worthwhile read.
January 17, 2012
Probably good tips for baby boomers with no online identity or savvy but nothing new for people with common sense and their fingers already in every digital pie.
July 11, 2021
Start to read this in May, it took a book review session to push me to finish it. Overall a good introductory book on the topic. Among fave takeaways from the book are on the importance of finding your niche/specialisation and to aim for a laughable goal. Admittedly in the digital world full of people vying to attract and be noticed, one must be outstanding, different, dare to take action. I must admit I am certainly not all of the above, but maybe I should start.
May 4, 2012
Two and a half stars.
This book shows you how to be a leader in the digital age and provides "keys" to do it. The keys themselves boil down to: keep it simple, be true to yourself, be decisive, set ridiculous goals and stick to them, and put people first. None of them are particularly groundbreaking, but they were aggregated well from other business books and presented in an engaging way. Although those parts were more like a business primer than a book in its own right, I still enjoyed them.
Another reviewer said that this had good advice for "baby boomers" but was nothing new for the already computer savvy. This may be true, but based on how many public Facebook pages there are with people posting things they clearly don't think are public, maybe there are fewer "computer savvy" people out there than we think. Some of the tips and tricks (like using LIFO for emails, managing your online presence) aren't anything new, but they are definitely things people need to know. The digital-related information comprised only a small part of the book which made me wish it had a different title. When a book is called "Digital Leader," its readers are going to expect digital content.
I still would've rated this more stars if not for the EGREGIOUS editing errors. There were many, many missing commas that made some sentences difficult to read. This was a sentence: "To help sell an original deal to Starbucks's owner Howard Shultz." Yes, that's the whole sentence. And the very worst of all was the paragraph that referred to both "Rosey Grier" and "Rosie Grier." Incredibly distracting. I've never stopped reading a book because of editing mistakes, but I almost got there with this one. Come on--these are basics!
Qualman, I'll read your next book, but only if you get a new editor.
This book shows you how to be a leader in the digital age and provides "keys" to do it. The keys themselves boil down to: keep it simple, be true to yourself, be decisive, set ridiculous goals and stick to them, and put people first. None of them are particularly groundbreaking, but they were aggregated well from other business books and presented in an engaging way. Although those parts were more like a business primer than a book in its own right, I still enjoyed them.
Another reviewer said that this had good advice for "baby boomers" but was nothing new for the already computer savvy. This may be true, but based on how many public Facebook pages there are with people posting things they clearly don't think are public, maybe there are fewer "computer savvy" people out there than we think. Some of the tips and tricks (like using LIFO for emails, managing your online presence) aren't anything new, but they are definitely things people need to know. The digital-related information comprised only a small part of the book which made me wish it had a different title. When a book is called "Digital Leader," its readers are going to expect digital content.
I still would've rated this more stars if not for the EGREGIOUS editing errors. There were many, many missing commas that made some sentences difficult to read. This was a sentence: "To help sell an original deal to Starbucks's owner Howard Shultz." Yes, that's the whole sentence. And the very worst of all was the paragraph that referred to both "Rosey Grier" and "Rosie Grier." Incredibly distracting. I've never stopped reading a book because of editing mistakes, but I almost got there with this one. Come on--these are basics!
Qualman, I'll read your next book, but only if you get a new editor.
May 3, 2012
I read this book as part of the 12booksgroup.com book group. The live Q&A with the author was awesome.
This book is a refresher of ageless leadership principles highlighting the points where technology has modified the execution of those timeless truths. The STAMP acronym is sticky and is a great way to illustrate the keys of digital leadership.
This book is perfect for all leaders regardless of how much they currently interact with digital media. I would recommend this book to anyone because I think much of the focus is on personal leadership
The author does a great job of teaching that we live in a transparent society where everyone has a digital presence (like it or not) and we are better off taking control of that footprint and utilizing it as an extension of our existing offline relationships.
This book is a refresher of ageless leadership principles highlighting the points where technology has modified the execution of those timeless truths. The STAMP acronym is sticky and is a great way to illustrate the keys of digital leadership.
This book is perfect for all leaders regardless of how much they currently interact with digital media. I would recommend this book to anyone because I think much of the focus is on personal leadership
The author does a great job of teaching that we live in a transparent society where everyone has a digital presence (like it or not) and we are better off taking control of that footprint and utilizing it as an extension of our existing offline relationships.
March 31, 2012
A great business book that really shows the importance of focusing on only one task. Although we all think multi-tasking is the answer, this book solidifies that it is not. It also has many other great lessons from leaders of hundreds of business on a variety of other topics on how you can be a true leader.
April 9, 2015
The book should have been called How to Not Be a Digital Dill-hole. Or How to Do the Whole Social-Network-Thing. This is not a leadership book. This is a self-helpy, anecdotal, hugely boring waste of time.
August 22, 2012
Reading it. Seems good!
April 13, 2022
Meh. I had to read this for a grad school class on digital leadership, and I was pretty disappointed in it. The book is very low on examples of leading with technology or digital content. It actually reads more like a book on leadership or a book of common sense ways to handle your life. The "digital" advice was aimed at older Boomers who still use aol and flip phones. This if fine, except the leadership advice he offers were things like "make a to-do list" and "break big tasks into smaller goals." What adult over 40 doesn't already do that? I can't actually figure out who this book was written for.
My other big complaint about this book is that Qualman uses VERY few examples of successful women in leadership or people of color in leadership. I have seen this problem often in non-fiction leadership / self-help books written by white men. Qualman does a great job making the content of his book accessible to all readers by using quotes and stories to illustrate his points. However 80% of these quotes and examples are about white men. 15% are from men of color. 5% are from white women or women of color. It is so disappointing. In my opinion, it is also lazy research. Qualman specifically uses the movie Forrest Gump to illustrate many (many) of his points. Why not find an example from a woman instead?
I am not sure how this book has become so popular or has such a high score on Goodreads, but I don't recommend it. I honestly felt like it was a waste of time.
My other big complaint about this book is that Qualman uses VERY few examples of successful women in leadership or people of color in leadership. I have seen this problem often in non-fiction leadership / self-help books written by white men. Qualman does a great job making the content of his book accessible to all readers by using quotes and stories to illustrate his points. However 80% of these quotes and examples are about white men. 15% are from men of color. 5% are from white women or women of color. It is so disappointing. In my opinion, it is also lazy research. Qualman specifically uses the movie Forrest Gump to illustrate many (many) of his points. Why not find an example from a woman instead?
I am not sure how this book has become so popular or has such a high score on Goodreads, but I don't recommend it. I honestly felt like it was a waste of time.
January 23, 2019
Erik Qualman addresses some of the most overlooked yet important aspects to always consider before you send out any content on the web. This book should be taught in schools and organizations as it can help save peoples business and online reputations in unimaginable ways.
January 23, 2019
What a terrific book! It holds your interest from the minute you start reading. I especially enjoyed the quotes and real-life examples of famous people in the business community. I recommend this to anyone and everyone.
April 9, 2020
I would have liked this book better if i wasn't in the tech industry already.
Most of the advice are for people that have limited digital life exposure.
Some good points for sure but definitely not recommended.
Most of the advice are for people that have limited digital life exposure.
Some good points for sure but definitely not recommended.
July 14, 2022
Insightful strategies on succeeding in this digital business world!
The author uses the acronym STAMP to explain and provide insight into the 5 concepts he illustrates throughout the book. This is an excellent read and provides the reader with solid, real, practical, invaluable strategies on how to tackle and succeed in this digitally connected business world.
The author uses the acronym STAMP to explain and provide insight into the 5 concepts he illustrates throughout the book. This is an excellent read and provides the reader with solid, real, practical, invaluable strategies on how to tackle and succeed in this digitally connected business world.
January 23, 2019
This book is essential and should be a must-read for all thought leaders, CEOs, & top performers in the world!
April 26, 2020
It's a good read, it goes trough the basics of a digital leadership, and the approach of something
June 11, 2021
I finished reading this book. Overall, I would give it 5/5 to Erik. The tips, story shared, and digital deeds really amazed me.
Also, on top of that it makes me want to read more!
Also, on top of that it makes me want to read more!
April 21, 2016
Could be so much better, still worth the read.
How to behave online, what to comment and post (and why) and how to build influence. He gives several examples on how politicians used the internet/social media to get votes - and how you could use their techniques.
Somehow I still hoped to get more insights in this book on how to build a fan-page and a community online.
How to behave online, what to comment and post (and why) and how to build influence. He gives several examples on how politicians used the internet/social media to get votes - and how you could use their techniques.
Somehow I still hoped to get more insights in this book on how to build a fan-page and a community online.
January 19, 2015
It is really an Okay book to start with. I just don't get it why the book is so popular. An accumulation of quotes and the successful stories of the famous people, the repetition of the same thing again and again throughout the whole book made my reading experience a boring one.
November 9, 2015
A must read for everyone. Regardless of your desire or not to be a leader.
This is a great book for anybody aspiring to be a leader in modern ages. Full a good advices and reminders and many useful pointers.
This is a great book for anybody aspiring to be a leader in modern ages. Full a good advices and reminders and many useful pointers.
May 24, 2013
Sometime you must lead from behind to be in front, because the best leaders are the true followers of their own thoughts.
May 2, 2014
More about leadership in general that digital leadership. Annecdotes were nice, but I wanted more concrete examples of affecting change online.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews