Exposure – Inside the Olympus Scandal: How I Went from CEO to Whistleblower –

In neon, electric Tokyo, a gaijin has risen through the ranks of multi-national corporation to be the first outsider to take the role CEO. Soon after being given control he discovers corporate shenanigans and as he starts to investigate he gets stonewalled by shady characters loyal to the prior leadership. High stakes board room maneuvering ensues and the newly minted CEO finds himself sacked and smack dab in the middle of a major scandal.

The latest from a master thriller director or perhaps a bestseller from a dealer in international intrigue? Nope…the true story of Michael Woodford a three decade employee of technology giant Olympus Corporation.

Woodford earned the title of CEO the old fashioned way; he earned it. One of small number of top executives who found their way to the helm of a Japanese based multi-national, Woodford walks the reader through the finer points of crossing of formal cultural and business traditions of the Far-East boardroom.

Woodford paints a detailed portrait of the changing landscape of business in Japan at a time of internal upheaval caused by the devastating earthquake that hit the nation in 2011. The result is a page turner that only loses some stream when Woodford gets locked into describing the finer things in life that come with the rarified air of the executive suite.

In a day and age when corporate leaders are vilified for their ruthless wheeling and dealing, Woodford’s story is one of a morally centered CEO who faced with a difficult choice, did the right thing and held those responsible for their dirty dealings accountable for their actions.

Masters of Disaster: The Ten Commandments of Damage Control – Christopher Lehane, Mark Fabiani and Bill Guttenberg (Palgrave Macmillan)

With the staggering growth of communications vehicles; the 24 hour news cycle, internet news sites, citizen journalists, bloggers, social media, and the everyone’s a reporter cell phone video, crisis communications has become not only an art form, but a highly valued skillset.

Dubbed the “go-to manual” of crisis communications, Masters of Disaster: The Ten Commandments of Damage Control by former Clinton White House spin masters Christopher Lehane and Mark Fabiani and their business partner Bill Guttenberg really proves that crisis communications and damage control isn’t brain surgery; much of what they preach boils down to common sense.

The authors cite numerous, recent, high profile examples of crisis situations that went off the rails because the principals involved more often than not left common sense at the door and stumbled over one, two, even three or more of the simple ten commandments they lay out in the book. Even major players get tripped up by these things; Penn State University with the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the Tiger Woods’ sex scandal and the BP Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico leap to mind.

Easily the most important “Commandment” that the trio lay out is the first; Full Disclosure. There is a reason way the phrase “the cover up is worse than the crime” has become a cliché…because it’s TRUE! Even the “Masters” have been tripped up by this one, when President Bill Clinton wagged his finger at the nation and boldly proclaimed “I did not have sex with that women…Miss Lewinsky.” When the crude details of Clinton sexual exploits with a White House intern played out on the 24 hour news channels and the Drudge Report most couldn’t help but recall the President’s finger wagging proclamation.

The days of the sycophant media covering up the dalliances of President Kennedy are a long forgotten memory. Now the trick according to the authors is Commandment II; speak to Your Core Audience. The Masters rebounded well in Clinton’s case skillfully utilizing the sycophant, liberal media to spin the sex scandal into an indictment of the “vast right- wing conspiracy” out to get the President.

Like I said, it’s not brain surgery, but it is based on a strategy to be responsive, upfront, straight forward and to lay out the problem as you see it and how you plan to directly address it. Think about how things could have been different in some of those high profile cases if the players involved had acted prudently and developed a plan to be ahead of the story instead of chasing after it. The outcomes certainly would have been much more favorable in the end.   

Steve Chandler - 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself

Have you ever wondered why there are literally shelves full of so-called “self-help” books at your local bookstore that sell tons of copies every year? Logically, if these books offered the magic bullet, the secret to success or whatever answer the reader is seeking, then wouldn’t that eliminate the need for new books in the category?

The answer to the questions lies not within the pages of the books, but within the persons buying and reading all those  books.  Steve Chandler the author of the bestselling Success Library series also gives a simple, winning, hint in this the third edition of 100 Ways To Motivate Yourself.

While I have read and reviewed a shelf full of these kinds of books, I don’t think I ever remember an author nudging the reader to “Apply the book you read.” No magic hocus pocus, no secrets to unlock, no course book to work through or DVDs to watch, just straight forward DO IT!

While I don’t think anything in Chandler’s list is earth shattering or groundbreaking, I like the fact that he keeps things simple, straight forward and easily actionable. Things like 22. Kill Your Television, 51. Advertise Yourself and 72. Go To War, aren’t objectives that take weeks to plan then put into play. Chandler’s list contains a wide range of things that you can put into play today.

You won’t be able to use all of the 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself, but chances are you’ll find more than a handful that you can put into action and have a positive impact. While it won’t clear the book shelf it will offer you workable solutions.

The Impact Equation - Chris Brogan & Julien Smith (Portfolio)

The rallying cry among marketers for the past few years has gone something like this: "you've got to be on Facebook" or "are you Tweeting? Twitter is where it's at!" or "You don't have a blog yet?" Google +. Pintrest. Yada yada yada.

From Fortune 500 companies to Mom and Pop stores the clarion call of social media has been nearly irresistable. The question I have had and one that any smart marketer should be asking; does it work?! Is all the zeitgeist having an actual impact? We are spending all of this time, energy and money to be a part of something, but is it delivering the return, the results, and the impact that we want...or are we just making noise for the sake of making noise?

Chris Brogan and Julien Smith the authors of Trust Agents are back with The Impact Equation which helps conect business strategy and methodology and applying it to social platforms. Consider it a conect to purpose.

Brogan and Smith offer actionable steps that will not only help you be more impactful with your platforms, but also to tie platforms to your strategic plan. It's about being an impact player in your business whether you're just starting out or have been in the social media media game for a while.

They utilize the equation: Impact = C x (R+E+A+T+E). No you don't have to be a math wiz, just understandthat the equation stands for:

Contrast: Does your idea stand out?

Reach: How many people do you connect to?

Exposure: How often does your audience hear from you?

Articluation: Is your idea clear enough?

Trust: Do people believe you?

Echo: Does your idea connect to your audience?

 

While like all successful marketing, there is no one size fits all formula, The Impact Equation is about finding what works for you to maximize the impact and the outcomes of what you're doing.