By Karen Post, on April 12, 2012

So many books, so little time to read. The next 4 titles I’ve read, I loved, I recommend. They cover marketing, branding, the human condition and how to stay competitive.

Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun
Loaned to me by another speaker, I laughed out loud for several nights while reading this book. It’s a gem. Whether you do presentations as part of your job or you are a paid professional speaker, this book is raw, funny and a valuable resource.

Why it’s worth the read

• It’s a fast fuel to improve your speaking, around 200 pages.
• I love snarky humor, its got lots of it.
• It provides simple, actionable how to’s.
• It’s real. Scott has been around.

Covers:
Provides applicable checklists.
Interesting science about attention, human fear and communication.

Biggest take away for me
Preparation and practice are the magic moves to home run speeches. Period.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
I’m an Apple addict. I’ve been one since my first computer in 1983. So I really connected with this book, feeling like it was part of my personal and business growth. It’s a big book, almost 600 pages.  Most importantly I related to how a college dropout, who lives a Zen life and had a very quirky, intense, odd personality with bouts of distorted reality could end up being a such legend and leader in global business and life changing technologies.

Why I’ve given it a glowing report

• It’s inspiration on steroids.
• It proves you can be a little weird and succeed.
• It’s well written.
• It proves sticking to your standards. With Steve, extreme attention and dedication to design and doing things differently, can pay off.

Biggest take away for me
Dreams can come true and turnaround even while operating a company on death row (almost out of cash and losing millions) is possible.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Conquering Fear and Anxiety by Sharon Heller, PhD.
Everyone feels fear and anxiety, including me, the brave soul who has walked on fire, driven a Porsche around a race track at 120 miles per hour and addressed thousands of strangers on a huge stages. If you don’t battle with moments of mental craziness every blue moon, I suspect you are an alien who flew in from a planet for the day. Even history’s great leaders faced fear and anxiety. I love this quote by Winston Churchill.

“You may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman, or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table—what do you get? The sum of their fears.”

As a student of better and happy living, I’ve also been curious about stress, phobias, fear and anxiety as I have my daily share of all of them. This book has been a useful tool for me. I really like it because the format is organized in a way that after you finish the book, you can refer back to a specific section for a quick fix.

If you battle with high anxiety, this book is a must have survival resource

• Beyond ways to manage stress and mental demons, it exposes the root causes.
• Provides simple rituals that can greatly reduce nervous bouts, panic attacks and sleep disorders.
• Shares real professional people situations that I related to.

Biggest take away for me
Peak mental health, just like physical health, is a work in progress. A better understanding of human psychology, triggers and controllable external factors can accelerate one’s journey to personal and professional bliss.

Sharkonomics, How to Attack Market Leaders by Stepfan Engeseth
I recently met a new friend and marketing expert from Sweden. The new business relationship was the result of meeting and counseling a student from the University of Tampa who is also from there. I love how the planet is so small and one local connection opens up a world of new resources. After a few online chats, Stepfan sent me his latest book, which was an exhilarating read to say the least.

A contrast from the book review above on managing fear, Sharkonomics will likely spread fear in some boardrooms with just cause.  Not only is the shark metaphor a very cool marketing idea, the author actually spent time in the water with these very strategic predators (sharks) and parlays this insight into meaningful business lessons and useable management methods. His premise is that nature can be smarter than business as usual. Instead of endless PowerPoints and studies, companies need to embrace a hard survival psyche.

Business can be a dangerous adventure, here’s just a few ways to make sure you are not someone’s lunch

• Strike unexpectedly.
• Hunt in packs.
• Leverage blind spots.

Biggest take away for me
Don’t get stuck in history. Keep moving. Kill with style.

Till next time, read on!

For more books reviews, click here.

By Karen Post, on February 14, 2012

In the spirit of love and affection as many celebrate Valentine’s Day, the day of awesome relationships, frisky friendships, risky affairs and just plain gushy lust, I thought it would be appropriate to mention the everyday occurrence of unavailable brands. You know the kind, the not so healthy, lots of issues, not worth the time and certainly not worth the loyalty—when company brands get so chilly, so unconnected and just straight up are not available to their paying customers who truly want to love them.

The sad fact is there are many brands who behave like this and then wonder why their customers cheat and defect to a younger or more loving competitor.

Here are the red flags to know when it may be time to start dating- I mean shopping around:

• You’ve got a problem and there is no phone number on their website.
• Or it takes way too long and way too much work to find it.
• Or a “contact us” form with no reply or at best a form reply that says: “we are very busy, we’ll try to get to you some day”.
• Or you call them and after 20 minutes in the phone tree jungle, you speak with a customer service rep by the name of Carol, who you can’t understand, and you know darn well no Carols’ live in that country.

It’s unfortunate there are not horse-mounted brand police that would issue costly citations when companies play like this. But then again, unhappy customers now have a voice with social media, word of mouth and on high traffic blogs, just ask Dell, Bank of America and Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Tonight at tennis I asked my buds who they thought were some of the worst offenders, the not available brands, here’s what I heard. Tazo Tea, the Starbuck’s company, Sam’s club, the Walmart Company, Skype and the Microsoft Company. I’m sure you’ve got your list too. It is a shame that these big brands would be so clueless to the basic concept that open communication is essential to keep a relationship red hot.

Smart brands who value relationships with their customers make it easy for them to talk and they listen.

A big kiss and hug to Apple, American Express and Southwest airlines.

How easy is it for your brand to be loved?

To learn about more brand bumps and how the got back on the saddle, view: Brand Turnaround.

By Karen Post, on October 16, 2011

Every Saturday I salute someone or a group that deserves a little extra attention for his or her good deeds, achievements, creative solutions, witty comments or meaningful acts of customer love.

This week my hat goes off to Jeff Bezos founder of Amazon.

I’ve admired Jeff for many years, but tonight after reading the WSJ and an essay by Richard l. Brandt about his new book, “One Click: Jeff and the Rise of Amazon.com” I was reminded of what an amazing journey Jeff Bazos has had as an entrepreneur and the incredible success his company has earned.

Wearing cowboy boots as I write this blog post, I do have an extra soft spot for Texas-breed business heroes like Jeff. Jeff spent many of his summers in Cotulla, TX at his grand daddy’s Lazy G Ranch. The Journal article recounts Jeff’s early inspiration from rural living and his grandfather.  Citing that self-reliance was an important value. “People do everything themselves and when something is broke you fix it.” This upbringing turned out to be a valuable entrepreneurial trait for Bazos as he built his global empire.

A great American success story for all start-ups and entrepreneurs with big dreams
From the early years of working from a garage office, to a diet of Pizza on most days, to answering customer emails himself, Bazo’s passion, vision, quirkiness and micromanaging have paid off quite well.

I admire so much about Jeff’s leadership and the company including:
Great brand name and branding.
It is cool, smart and simple (the original name was Cadabra, it was nixed after being mispronounced as Cadaver).

Amazing technology.
I enjoy and use often all the site features and intelligent marketing from their patents from “One Click” to many rumored others.

Remarkable experiences.
The ease of the shopping experience and thoughtful customer service.

Being an advocate and channel for other entrepreneurs.
I’m so thrilled and grateful that Amazon is such a dominant book channel for affiliate marketing and for promoting and selling books like: Brain Tattoos and my new title Brand Turnaround, my new baby that is about to be born in December.

Thank you Jeff. You inspire us!

By Karen Post, on October 5, 2011

Like I mentioned the other day, I have aged a bit since jumping into the world of being an entrepreneur. In fact, almost thirty years have whipped by me. Many things remain the same, but some things have changed.

My entrepreneurial traits that remain:

• I’m still very fearless in business.
• I still fear a few things like: being struck by lightning, being hit by a flying baseball, hockey puck or golf ball and I still hope I never meet a snake.
• I still have a strong sense of humor, love comedy and gravitate toward people who make me laugh.
• I still believe personal responsibility is a big deal. And when people don’t take responsibility for their actions and blame others for their fate, that’s not a laughing matter, it’s a character flaw.
• I still love my work, in fact so much that most of the time it doesn’t feel like work, but extremely satisfying play.

Some new human conditions that recently have shown up:
While my mind and passion for business and entrepreneurship remain high and are still on the “GO track”, my body has been signally some new trends. Most of which I’ve managed to fix, like gray hair – there’s hair color for that, some new facial geometry – there’s Botox® for that and even my true age – you can lie about that. But the next one I’m still working on and can’t say I’ve found the fix yet. But as an optimist, I’m confident a solution is near.

I’ve been diagnosed with Osteoarthritis. Just hearing the name creeps me out because it sounds like a very old person’s disease. Well, it turns out it’s not. Osteoarthritis can affect young people and active athletes too and most people will get some form of this condition as their bodies’ age – or we can say ‘mature’.

My case makes me feel like I’ve been hit by a Mac truck every morning. Throughout the day I get very shifty and my neck stays pretty pumped with pain. This started about a year ago. I went to a doctor just recently and she told me after reviewing my x-rays that I’ve likely had this bad boy, Osteoarthritis, for over five years.

Well, I’m not going to let some lame disease slow me down, even though there is no cure, there are things one can do to minimize the pain and I’m all about that. So this past month I embarked on a full throttle, super-sized, manage-this program.

Yes it was extreme and expensive, but I need my body in sync with my mind and saying GO! Not NO! After all, I may be aging a little but I’m not turning in my serial entrepreneur card and I have many big goals that I’m determined to reach.

So for any you that may share my pain, here’s what I did and what I believe is working.

• I hired a stretching coach for three days a week.
• I got regular acupuncture treatments and took a bunch of Chinese herbs that tasted like what I can imagine eating incense tastes like. If you are in Tampa, I highly recommend Dr Jiang.
• I got a massage every week.
• I started taking a non-addictive muscle relaxer at bedtime.
• I started taking Advil daily.

I can’t say all the pain is gone. But my neck is more flexible and less sore. My body is still pretty tight and hurts in the morning. I play tennis 2-3 times a week and for some reason when I’m in the tennis zone and playing well my pain is completely gone.

So my move forward plan is:
I ended the stretching coach. Once I learned the stretching moves, I wanted that hour back for myself. With any coach, small talk is required and that stressed me out, especially when my work plate is really full. I need that time to think and fix stuff. The stretching coach investment was worth it because not only do I now know the exercises, but my coach also introduced me to a couple of stretching tools like my big fitness ball.

and a Real-Ease Neck and Shoulder Relaxer.
Real-Ease Neck and Shoulder Relaxer (See all Massage & Relaxation Products)

So from here, I will continue to stretch throughout the day. This means: no more 6-hour long writing sessions, remain disciplined and keep moving around whenever possible. I’m also going to maintain the massages, acupuncture, muscle relaxer and Advil.

The big message to my fellow aging entrepreneurs–stay loose, keep moving forward, have fun and take care of what hurts.

By Karen Post, on September 10, 2011

As promised every Saturday I’m going to recognize someone who deserves a little extra attention for his or her good deed, creative solution, witty comment or meaningful act of customer love.

This week my hat goes off to call center person at Federal Express.
I’ve been a customer there for years and they do a great job of getting my packages delivered. But recently, I’ve been getting a little cranky because I have to call them every month to straighten out my balance. This happens because I often over pay my account when I’m on the road and I don’t have my invoice in front of me, but I know I owe them something. I have a very good memory for numbers, I just have a habit of rounding them off, so I over pay by a few bucks. Consequently, they are always sending me a check back. This somehow messes up balance due. And then they send me an assertive note saying I’m behind, when in my mind, I’m ahead.

Many companies would tell me that I have to follow their system or I’ll keep getting checks back and demand notes for 2 bucks.

Not this nice Fed Ex gal, she was empathic, not bureaucratic, and apologized for the hassle. She also told me how much they appreciated my business and called in a supervisor to see how they could correct the situation.

In a few minutes they adjusted a setting on my account and told me I can now make my random, rounded off payments and won’t have to call Fed Ex every month to straighten out my account.

They got it right.
Their phone system is easy to use to get a live person, (just hit #0) and does not require taking a muscle relaxer to stay calm like many phone trees do. The Fed Ex staffer was very pleasant. She listened. She showed gratitude and came up with a fast solution. And it was obvious; well trained too. My kind of company, thanks!

How are your company’s problem solving skills on the phone? This is a critical touch point in any brand experience.

By Karen Post, on March 22, 2011

Part 2 of a 3 part series on visiting Nigeria.
Andrew, part my bodyguard, part my cinematographer and part photographer and I flew Delta Airlines. Fortunately we got to fly business class and it was a great experience. In fact, the Delta service team was one of the best ever on the way to Nigeria. On the way back was another story, which I promise I will write about in the next few weeks.  The food was excellent too. It was just a little weird dining at midnight, right before you popped an Ambient sleeping pill.

Delta to Nigeria

Our plane arrived 11 hours later about 3 PM Nigerian time. We were greeted by our government assigned, armored, traveling security team with big AK47’s. From there we plowed through at least a million cars and saw miles of poverty en route to our hotel on the island of Victoria. This is a sad sight considering the amount of oil money that comes from this country. It does seem like there should be a better outcome.

City scape in Lagos

The ride was intense and not without fear. The driver had two speeds: super fast and stop. I honestly thought this was one of my last trips on earth.

Scary car ride on way to hotel

One hour later, we arrived at the Ecko Hotel. The hotel was comparable to a lower end 3-star US hotel. Contemporary, it had some cool African art in the lobby, and was gated with several towers. Andrew and I were split up. In hindsight, I should have demanded this be corrected. Fortunately, our four days were safe and without incident.

African art in Lagos

The service was very good. The wine was divine. The food OK and interesting. Lots of plantains, which I like. But everything had an odd fishy flavor to it that I’m still trying to identify. I believe it’s the cooking oil. I’ve noticed this in other countries I’ve visited too.

Our rooms were comfortable, once you got past the constant horn blowing outside, the fact the internet moved like a drunk snail and the power completely turned off about every couple hours without notice. Apparently, this has to do with a power supply issue. We did get used to that, but it totally sucked when Andrew’s only power cable blew up from a surge. $200 later, a scarier cab ride, a tire blow out and some serious sweat, he was back in business.

During our stay, as long as we remained inside our compound, we felt safe, just on alert, as there were always several armed guards outside our windows at all times.  There was also a high degree of missing trust and crime related issues that were apparent. Below is the sign that greeted us upon check in? This is a shame because the country is filled with many more honest and trusting people, than the minority of bad folks who have tarnished the country’s image.

The first day there was a press conference at 10AM promoting the event. We were driven over and greeted by a roomful of 25 plus curious journalist, Internet, print and broadcast. Everyone was unbelievably friendly and warm. This calm tone changed dramatically at the event. The media at the event was like no paparazzi I’ve ever imagined, swarming like bees, hungry for up close photos of the Governor and the branding speaker, “moi” from the US. There were a couple times that I had big fears, not for my life or safety, but that my hair piece (curls) were definitely going to fly off.

Both days, everyone wanted to know how branding could help their country, leadership and ultimately the people the government served. I covered the highlights at the press conference and encouraged everyone to attend the event later that night.

I will cover this topic of government branding and post my presentation in my next blog post.

Until then, here are a few more lessons from African trip. Missed my first one?
1) Always pack two power cables for your computer if your work depends on power.
1.5) Pack legal pads, so when you don’t have Internet service, you can still write.
2) Save your earplugs from the flight, so the cab horns don’t keep you up all night.
3) When visiting another country and doing an event with 500 people, pack a box of business cards 500+.
4) Pack at least a dozen energy bars, in case you are not loving the food.
5) Pack super light, international airport travel will not be so stressful.
6) Don’t wear anything scented – hair product, lotion, nothing. Mosquitoes love the stuff. You don’t want them sucking your blood and giving you a serious disease.

By Karen Post, on March 13, 2011

Today I paid my property taxes. I never enjoy paying this cost. To me it’s like buying tires or a new air conditioning unit. It’s not quit the same as investing a Hermes handbag, that cost about the same thing. Now that gives me a lot of joy and pleasure.

My point today is: over and above my tax bill, I was charged 2.5% of the total to use my American Express credit card.

I’ve had experiences like this in the past, where retailers will do this. They make you pay extra for using a credit card. Which I find annoying. I felt like I was being nicked and dimed by the store and they were a loser business, struggling so much that they added this petty fee, which in my mind should be build in to the price.

Today was different. I wasn’t peeved at all. Why? Because the fee was framed as a convenience fee. I value convenience and had no problem with the 2.5%. It really boiled down to how they presented it to me.

Next time you charge your customer some fee, think about how you package it. This one word made a big difference in how I felt about the cost and vendor charging  me.

For more on pricing and why we pay what we do, check out a previous blog and a book I found very insightful.

For more tips, also check out:
3 productivity tips to prevent eye strain
How I earned the #1 spot on Google

By Karen Post, on March 4, 2011

Last week I was in an elegant, Italian restaurant in Jeddah, Saudi with my speaking colleague, Dr. Jim Balasco. Every inch of the place was opulent, sophisticated and refined. The food presentation was a master piece and the flavors were beyond my highest expectations.

Shortly after the food arrived, the waiter returned with a gigantic pepper mill. The largest one I’ve ever seen. It was very over the top, unexpected and fun. A small touch of hugeness, an element of solid magnitude and a story that I’ve shared with at least 20 people since that night.

Years ago, I first discovered a company that specializes in big stuff. And I’m happy to report they are still delivering big stuff and their offering has gotten much bigger.

There’s a lot to be said about big things. Remember Tom Hanks in the movie big, how could you forget it. It was a bit hit.

Big stuff some is more stick-to-your-memory than small items. Sometimes big reflects a persona of confidence, sometimes even a mammoth kind of goofiness, but it’s always a memorable image.

Is there anything you can pump up in size in your brand experience? Consider these applications to increase your big brand memory effect.

1) What about when you mail a prospect and it’s packaged in a very big way?
2) Or something that you display at a trade show booth that really stands out from all the boring exhibits?
3) Why not something big in your retail shop that people want to be photographed next to?
4) What about a PR photo visual that is really super-sized? Tie in a holiday and create something enormous and then break a Guninness world record too. Like Charlie Sheen has done. To date he has earned being the highest paid actor for a sitcom, attracted the most twitter followers in faster time and I suppose biggest pathetic guy.

For more on branding, view: Brand makeovers can add new life to a business.

By Karen Post, on February 28, 2011

You bet my pearly veneers it can.

I’ve never been a big fan of going to the dentist. Maybe it’s because my parents were such sticklers and sent us so often as kids. And as an adult I’m very grateful for that, my teeth are in good shape.

Or maybe it’s because I still remember exactly what it felt like the day the orthodontist yanked my braces off. I thought all my teeth were coming off too.

Or maybe it’s because my last dentist always acted like a Nazi commando and if I didn’t follow everyone of her every recommendations, she would send me a threatening letter stating that my failing to spend $3,000 on something she believed was needed could cause brain damage and other deathly ailments. Beyond the scare tactics, she and her staff hard pushed products and services like used car salesman. And when I don’t floss, they don’t pour the guilt trip on me, like “Karen, you know this is a team thing, I’m doing my part, you’ve got to do yours.” I don’t remember signing up for the dental team. Bad experience. Bad memories. Bad brand. I don’t go there any more.

My new dentist Dr. Gregory Jacobs is not a pain at all and neither is the experience. In fact, I enjoy going there. They have current magazines that I enjoy, nothing against Golf Pro. The environment is relaxed. There is no tacky, bold faced policy signage posted everywhere. No glass wall implying I’m am disturbing them. The office looks like an interior design studio, not a stinky medical clinic for lab rats. The restrooms are equally as cool and the staff is always nice.

I feel a whole lot less pain, stress and anxiety when I go to the dentist these days. And always tell my friends about my great dentist. All the touch points are thoughtfully provided (music, scent, decor, staff, lighting, restrooms, parking) and geared to my comfort, not the efficiency of the practice.

I always wonder why 95% of health care providers don’t get this powerful connection to the customer experience and their bottom line. And this concept is not restricted to only health care providers, anything that is not organically enjoyable and tilts toward painful, like: buying tires, repairing your AC unit or purchasing insurance can benefit from a really pleasant and memorable experience.

Is there anything you can do to improve the experience you deliver to your customers? Remember, the brand is what the customer thinks, feels and expects about the sum of all you do.

OK, I do schedule my dental appointments right after lunch and usually have a glass wine with my salad too.

For more on strong brand concepts, view: Want to be a standout brand? Avoid these 5 costly mistakes.

By Karen Post, on February 6, 2011

This sediment is shared by millions of young baby boomers everywhere. While official boomers (over 76 million of us) were born between 1946-1964, I’m so not ready to hear that term, if fact it really freaks me out.

I know I’m not alone. And smart marketers understand that there is a brand new generation of boomers, just like me.

Don’t call me a senior, and don’t even remind me that I’m aging, even if I am like a nice bottle of Merlot.

I prefer something more like a middle-aged person or how about no reference to age at all, that’s even better. That’s not a lie, 51 is the middle of 100. A lot of people live that long.

So why a blog about this?

My birthday is next week. On Feb. 12th I will be 51. Yes I’m crossing the mark of the other side of the game. Ole Abe and I share the day, although he is a real senior at 201.

I don’t feel 51 and I live a young lifestyle, I play tennis 4 times a week, I watch music videos, love Linken Park, Train and Katy Perry, shop at Forever 21 and occasionally drink really cheap wine.

Today, the Wall Street Journal did a story on retooling boomer marketing and it caught my attention. The story covers everything from how small type faces can hurt sales  to colors that won’t help you market either. But the big point is, don’t tell any of that to the young boomers.

Seniors like my mom, are cool with that Senior marketing stuff. I suppose when you hit 75, it’s like a merit badge and senior discounts are a bonus. But for people like me, marketers better be very sensitive with how they speak to me, or I’m not buying their products.

As a young boomer, I’m famously demanding, independent and rebellious. I’m health-conscious, I text daily, tweet sometimes hourly, don’t have gray hair (thank you Clairol®) and my eyes were bad when I was 30.

So marketers, please don’t use models that look like my parents to get my attention, don’t assume I won’t try new things and do know that I’m fit, not fat and child proof containers always pissed me off.

And AARP, I have enough magazines, so why not save a tree and your postage and just chill for a few years.

For more on aging, check out: Who said interns have to be young?