I bought Doing What Matters based on title alone.
I thought it was a time managment book.

If I could just get everything done—all email answered, all phone calls returned, all tasks completed—then I could do the really important stuff. {wry grin}

Turns out I was wrong in my favour.

Kilts is the guy Warren Buffet approved to lead the turnaround at Gillette. This is the story of

1. why he accepted the assignment (in his own words, his financial situation did not require him to continue working)
2. what he did to prepare for the assignment (assembling a research team, preparing communications to employees, and deciding what, in fact he would do to stop and reverse the hemmoraging.)
3. what he did on day one (a three-hour strategy session with top executivesw,  to let people know he was there to work, and expected them to work too.)
4. what he did for the first 100 days (action, action, action)
5. how the weekly meetings were structured (mandatory Monday meetings with both a 15 minute and a 3 minute report. Execs say they started prepping on Wednesday. Everyone’s briefs were distributed Friday. It took at least a hour to read, more to process, over the weekend. Meeting Monday, which gave part of Monday and all of Tuesday before the process began again on Wednesday.)
6. how he went toe-to-toe with Wall Street for Gillette’s benefit. (and went head-to-head to combat internal sacred cows.)

I am perhaps most amazed at the correlation between Gillette, (acquired by P&G for $55b in Q4 2005) and the small businesses and Teams I work with. (Often under $1m. Sometimes well under.) This may be due to the skill of the writers Kilts selected, or his own business accumen, or simply the fact that principles are universal.

Would I have selected this book, in the genre with Good to Great, Built to Last, The Myth of Excellence, Execution, and The Rule of Three, if I’d know what it was about?
Probably.
Would I have selected it this week.
No.

So glad I was wrong!

It’s not news, of course, that small things make a big difference. The wording on a survey affects answers, and on test questions, and on the forms we’re required to complete.

So the question becomes where should we nudge, and how much.

Thaler and Sunstien promote a concept called Libertarian Paternalism.  Libertarian, meaning everyone ultimately has the opportunity to choose for themselves. Paternalism meaning the nudge is in the “right” direction.

Cass Sunstein is the most-cited law professor on any faculty in the United States (and probably the world). He is a professor at the Harvard Law School where he directs the Program on Risk Regulation.

Richard Thayler is Professor of Economics and Behavioral Science at the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago

“The greatest good you can do for another is to not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.” B. Disraeli

When I saw her name on the list I knew what I should do,
I just didn’t know if I could do it.

Little clue: If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be sharing this with you.
The fact that I am sharing is confirmation
this is the first time I’ve ever been this brazen.

We hadn’t met.
She presented at the National Speakers Association in San Diego two years ago.

Two years ago, that’s a long time.

And subsequently sent me a copy of her book.
Not because she knew me,
just because my name was on the list of attendees.

There is no way she would know me,
I didn’t go up to speak with her afterward,
I didn’t write her a note,
I didn’t make myself known to her in any way.

So I picked up the phone,
was grateful to get voicemal,
and left this message:
“Hello Elizabeth, My name is Wendy Kinney, I was in your audience when you spoke for NSA in San Diego two years ago. I see that you are speaking for the NAPO conference this Friday; I’m on the program too. The Georgia Chapter of NSA meets on Saturday, and our board dinner is Friday night. I’d love to invite you to join us, both for dinner and for our Saturday meeting. You can reach me at . . .”

Jump right to the end of the story.
I have two new friends!
Two.
Because Elizabeth called back to say she would love to join the
NSA board for dinner, could she bring her hostess.

(Elizabeth lives in Souix Falls, South Dakota.
She was staying with Leslie while in Atlanta.)

Friday morning Elizabeth and I met because
we were doing back-to-back breakouts in the same room.
We shared a lav mic, and tips.

She showed me the hot pink table cover
she uses to reinforce her brand;
I showed her the ZOOM I record on.

At the break she introduced me to her Atlanta hostess Leslie,
who shook my hand while saying,
“My husband has heard you speak.
He still has the handout on his desk, he said to tell you he refers to it frequently.”

In my after lunch keynote I shared with 100 women that
I am shy and introverted.
Across the table at dinner Elizabeth leaned forward to say
“I’m introverted too.
I’m so glad you called.
How did you make yourself do that?”

And then, we made arrangements to share a room in Scottsdale.

Cost: One phone call with heart in my hands.
Reward: New friend Elizabeth,
new friend Leslie,
and I save $225 in hotel expense!

Share with me! Share with me!
When have you done the hard thing you knew you should do,
and what where your wonderful rewards?

“If happiness is always in the future, then you’ll never be happy.”

P. Zimbardo

I was raised with a lot of rules: food rules, behavior rules, dating rules . . .

One of the things I like about The Nutrition Diva is her credible way of busting the myths I thought were rules.

Check out the podcast on how much water to drink.
Interesting.

The Nutrition Diva is the newest guru on the Quick and Dirty Tips Network, one of my favorite resources for usable, on-the-go information.

I particularly like her because of her voice, (she is an operatic singer), the way she uses words to mean different things at the same time (her ending is “Eat something good for me.”), and her pacing.

And, I like the format of the podcasts on the QDNow Network because the show notes are a complete transcript (for people who would rather read than listen) and there are often extra links in the transcript–important since I’m always driving while I’m listening.

If you haven’t gotten the podcast bug yet, this might be the place to get exposed.

Enjoy ~ W!

So I was thinking in my sleep this morning . . .

Yesterday I was at my hair salon, and saw Beth.
I used to go to Beth. Now I go to Michael.

It happened pretty organically; I needed an appointment, Beth was out, the receptionist said Michael was available. The next time I called Beth was busy, but Michael was available.

I was afraid it would be uncomfortable, but Beth was cool.
She stopped by, put her hand on my shoulder and said 
“Looks great.”

After awhile I stopped even asking for Beth.
If Michael’s not available I check another day.

Now, imagine you’re Beth.
How Could This Happen?

Here’s an interesting piece of information:
I was referred to Beth.
By Amy.
Amy still goes to Beth.

So, I was thinking in my sleep this morning . . .

and I remembered the last time Beth cut my hair.
I was standing at the desk, paying, and Beth came up to me with four cards.                           
“I’ve got space for a few more clients,” she said.

You’ve been taught that script, right?
Jason Wright uses a variation of it very successfully.

“Here are three of my cards with your name on them,” Beth said.
“Give them to your friends.
When they come in, I’ll give them 20% off.
When three of your referrals come in I’ll give you a free haircut,
and a free massage from Juan. This is Juan. He’s terrific.”

So I went back to the office, walked over to Amy, and said,
“Look what I just got from Beth!”

Amy took the cards in two hands,
looked at them,
looked up
and said,
“She’s never given me a free haircut,
and I’ve referred more than three people to her. I sent you.
And I sent Sarah.  And I sent Rebecca.  And I sent Diane.”
and she handed the cards back to me.

This is worth thinking about.
This is what Dan Airely researched.
If I have to choose between Beth and Amy, Beth loses. Every time.
If I have to choose between benefit for myself and offending Amy, I opt out.
Every time.
Without even thinking about it.

So, I was thinking in my sleep this morning . . .
and it occurred to me why asking for referrals backfires.

• Years ago we were at a New Year’s Eve party.
  As we walked in the host greeted us with“Mr. Important is coming!
  Isn’t that great? We’re so excited that Mr. Important would come
  to our party. It’s going to be a great party  once Mr. Important gets here.”

I remember thinking: Then we can leave.
but I don’t think I said it out loud.

Mr. Important never did show up.

I think we opted out of future invitations from them.

Don’t you always want to feel like the important guest?
Then how can there possibly be any benefit
in telling guests they are less important than anyone else?

And it occurred to me in my sleep this morning . . .

that when Beth asked me to refer my friends to her,
and offered 20% off - times three friends
plus 100% off for me
and a massage worth even more than that
I heard her say that my [unknown] friends were more important to her
than I was.

And when one of my friends felt left out,
I opted out of Beth’s party.

So the answer came to me in my sleep this morning . . .
asking for referrals backfires
because it makes the person being asked
feel less important.

of the things I like most about PowerCore meetings is the 7-Minute presentations. It was the CPA’s 7-Minute presentation at the first meeting I attended that hooked me. I didn’t join for referrals; I joined because I wondered why my CPA wasn’t telling me the things this guy was sharing. That’s how I feel about the TED blog. These scientists are sharing cool info I don’t hear anywhere else.

Yesterday we flew from Atlanta to San Diego via Denver.

(Needed to get the Denver Skyline mug.
Didn’t.
If you’re going through Denver and feel like doing me a favor, give me a call.) {grin}
Just before the Denver landing the battery on my computer expired and with no time to recharge I feared boredom for the final leg of the journey.
[DA-DU.DU.DUON] {sound of George riding to the rescue}
He suggested it was a perfect opportunity to watch the TED video blog.

Jill Pullen introduced me to TED with this video of Jill Bolte Taylor, a neurologist, describing her experience having a stroke.
(At one point she gloves up and uses a real human brain, including spinal cord, as a prop. Incredible.)
Hooked, I found the link and downloaded all back copies to George’s iPod. (Mine is full of other stuff.) We hadn’t had time to watch anything since April. The flight from Denver was the perfect opportunity to experience TED again.

We listened to Paul Stamets - telling how mushrooms can save the universe
Hector Ruiz - CEO of AMD (the Intel competitor) with his big bold goal, and a touching story of his father
They Might Be Giants (These guys are silly, they start with a song whose lyrics are: “You’re older than you’ve ever been, and now you’re even older. And now you’re even older. And now you’re even older. And now you’re older still.” Approaching our birthdays we fast-forwarded to the end.)
Brian Cox - on particle excelleration
Dean Ornish- showing that our genes are not our destiny
Brian Greene - explaining string theory.

Wish my battery had given out sooner.

This is Dave Balter’s second book, (hence the Volume II) his first was Grapevine (yes, he knows).

Lee Kantor turned me on to Grapevine, where Balter shared the surprising information gleaned from his business, BzzAgent, the first word-of-mouth marketing company.

In The Word Of Mouth Manual Volume II

Dave continues sharing incredible value.

The book itself is unlike any other - remember the Volume II? that’s the least remarkable feature. The size, paper, placement of title, author’s name and photo, and the price ($45!) are all singular.
On page 71 he covers the reason why paying for word-of-mouth doesn’t work. (Same principle as Dan Airely, different logic.)
On page 77 Balter references Duncan Watts research at Columbia University, which shows that marketers should focus less on people who influence and more on how people are influenced. (That would be InfoMinute technology.)
On page 94 (there are only 119 4″ x 5″ pages!) Balter uses a rolling the dice metaphor to explain the difference between viral marketing and word-of-mouth.

I’m looking forward to having that same discussion with him about the relationship between word-of-mouth and referrals.

Until then, I’d love to discuss it with you. Which is possible because Balter is giving the book away by .pdf! (He calls this the non-waterproof version.)

Can’t wait to hear what you think ~ W!