Do Cool Sh*t

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible for people to have enjoyable careers and work with like-minded people who share their interests. In Do Cool Sh*t, Miki Agrawal, a young, successful entrepreneur, shares her journey of finding work she loves rather than working only to make money. For her, making money is not how she defines success. Rather, success is about doing the absolute best with the capabilities a person has rather than putting in hours in exchange for a paycheck and a boring existence. Her belief is that people truly can have it all.

According to Agrawal:

*People who step outside their existing social networks to make new connections may find it difficult at first, but it could create opportunities to meet potential investors for new business ventures. Without taking chances, these connections will never be made.

*Before asking for something, it is important for individuals to first understand exactly what they want. Clear proposals will make recipients more accepting of the "ask."

*Although there is a place for passion, entrepreneurs also need to stop and identify what they are good at. It is difficult to be successful in a venture without the skill set to back it up.

*Opportunities do not have to be strictly entrepreneurial--there is also an "intrapreneurial" approach where people expand their reach with their existing employers by growing their internal programs. This can only happen in work environments where creative thinking is encouraged.

*Part of the journey to success includes creating a list of admirable people. Entrepreneurs must connect personally with the people they admire in order find mentors who can help them launch their businesses.

*Teams are vital to success. Not investing the time to hire the right people can result in constantly re-hiring and training new people.

*If people are not willing to change the way they do business, they will never get the chance to experience new things. New experiences are vital for achieving success.

*The type of communities people spend time with strongly influence the types of people they become. Part of creating new lifestyles and mindsets involves finding new people with whom to spend time.

To learn more, please visit http://www.bizsum.com/summaries/do-cool-sht

Peer-to-Peer Leadership

In a world of globalization and ever-increasing connectivity, organizations need to fully leverage the autonomous, multifaceted capabilities of all employees in order to succeed. It is no longer effective to artificially designate “leaders” and “followers.” Instead, everyone must be empowered to take the lead as opportunities arise and circumstances change. Peer-to-peer network architecture, based on sharing of both information and power, offers a roadmap for building this egalitarian, organic type of leadership. In Peer-to-Peer Leadership, Mila N. Baker explains the model’s importance, reveals the source of its power, and describes how any organization can use it to create value.

To learn more, please visit: http://www.bizsum.com/summaries/peer-peer-leadership

Become the Real Deal

Regardless of people's business goals, whether they aspire to reach the highest levels of leadership or become influential within their own spheres, they must do what it takes to be viewed as the "real deal." Become the Real Dealby Connie Dieken takes people through the three layers of self development toward becoming sincere leaders in a world that lacks transparency.

There are three layers of the self that people must master if they want to become great leaders; inner presence, verbal presence, and outer presence. Some key points in understanding these layers are:

• People must invest time to understand who they are and establish their inner presences or they risk losing the ability to stay centered when they allow others to define them.
• Leaders with centered presences are good listeners. They recognize that not everything is about them and demonstrate a willingness to listen and learn from the ideas of others.
• People who are "worriers" should deal with the anxiety of perfectionism by shutting down their inner critic.
• People who are "egotists" need to work more on how they relate to other people to build trustworthy relationships. They are quick to shut other people down with negative comments.
• Those with strong, centered verbal presences think about how their messages will be received rather than focusing only on how these messages will be delivered.
• People who identify as "the mouse" need to focus on what other people say so they have more confidence when it is their time to make a contribution to the conversation.
• When leaders recognize the "motor mouth" trait in themselves, they need to ensure their messages are beneficial to the audience, rather than simply looking for an opportunity to speak.
• The outer presence is about how people respond to others based on what they see on the outside. This is established by facial expressions, tone, dress, and body language.
• "Ghosts" are people who lack an outer presence. They are rarely noticed in meetings due to their lack of contribution. They need to find their personal power and work to become more visible.
• "The pretender" personality types are often overbearing around other people. They can change this impression of themselves by admitting to mistakes and listening to others.

Getting from College to Career

In Getting from College to Career, Lindsey Pollak provides 90 tips designed to help young people land the perfect job and become successful and happy in their careers. This is a modern take on career advice with tips on everything from what to do (and not do) on social media to how to dress for an interview. Pollack relates her own experiences and includes interviews with dozens of professionals.

What You Need to Know About Marketing

Marketing has a somewhat negative reputation in modern society—it is often thought of as an attempt to get people to buy things they neither need nor want. This, however, is based upon a misconception that marketing and sales are synonyms. Not only are the two concepts not the same thing, they are actually in many ways the opposite of one another. As Simon Middleton explains in What You Need to Know About Marketing, sales begins when a company has a product it needs to sell to a customer, while marketing begins when a company attempts to understand what the customer wants or needs to buy. It is a matter of learning what those wants and needs are and how they can best be satisfied. Therefore, the customer’s satisfaction lies at the very heart of marketing.

It's Not the Size of the Data

It’s Not the Size of the Data: It’s How You Use It combines rigorous research, numerous case studies, and step-by-step instructions on how to design and implement a marketing analytics dashboard. Koen Pauwels teaches managers to stop getting lost in data and bring clarity to every short-term and long-term marketing decision. Through the use of dashboards and analytics, businesses learn how to integrate data with marketing strategies to increase company success.

Data Crush

Advances in technology combined with the proliferation of data—the information gleaned from consumers’ movements online, through emails, over their phones, and in stores—has opened up many possibilities and opportunities for businesses and has also made running a successful business more complex. To keep up with the changing times and their competitors, companies have to keep up with the changes that have occurred, get savvy with the data they do have, and prepare for the inevitable fast-moving changes that will occur. Christopher Surdak predicts in Data Crush that by the year 2020, consumers will encounter more customized, relevant messages wherever they go, whether they are at work, on vacation, or at home. Companies that are setting themselves up now for such changes will thrive.