The power of positive thinking – you’ve heard that before, right? What about the power of positive interaction?

Now more than ever we can create and share in conversations in ways that were never possible before the internet. But what do you bring to the conversation? Is it really a contribution? Is it meaningful? Is it positive? Consider the Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket for a moment.

The Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket

Each of us has an invisible bucket. It is constantly emptied or filled, depending on what others say or do to us. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When it’s empty, we feel awful.

Each of us also has an invisible dipper. When we use that dipper to fill other people’s buckets — by saying or doing things to increase their positive emotions — we also fill our own bucket. But when we use that dipper to dip from others’ buckets — by saying or doing things that decrease their positive emotions — we diminish ourselves.

Like the cup that runneth over, a full bucket gives us a positive outlook and renewed energy. Every drop in that bucket makes us stronger and more optimistic.

But an empty bucket poisons our outlook, saps our energy, and undermines our will. That’s why every time someone dips from our bucket, it hurts us.

So we face a choice every moment of every day: We can fill one another’s buckets, or we can dip from them. It’s an important choice — one that profoundly influences our relationships, productivity, health, and happiness.

As conversations become easier to start with tools like Facebook and Twitter consider too, how easy it is to add to or take from someone’s bucket and how that impacts your personal and emotional self (not to mention your personal brand).

The Theory of the Dipper and the Bucket is the foundation for the book “How Full Is Your Bucket”. I’ve mentioned this book in earlier posts and highly recommend it. Put the power of positive interaction in action immediately.

You can purchase this book by following my affiliate link here:

While at SOBcon in Chicago, I was talking about project management with the folks at my mastermind table and I went on a quick riff about how I essentially project manage all my projects from book publishing to website launches and marketing plans to business plans and nearly everything in-between.

The discussion was quick, but it’s a great topic to elaborate on.

This article is about project management and includes:

1. A video on what I believe makes a great project manager
2. A basic outline of what a project manager does
3. A few resources to really dig deep and learn about project management processes

This article is based on the past 15 years of launching websites, books, newspapers, magazines, and managing video and photography shoots as well as the management of advertising campaigns among other things link events, business plans, marketing plans.

NOTE: I am not a “Project Manager” by title.  I consider myself to be a Champion for the project and if you are trying to turn ideas or projects into a reality, you should be a Champion too.

This (almost) short video opens up on some of my fundamental ideas on Project Management and sets the tone well for the rest of this article. Watch it to learn about my thoughts on Human Capital.

What Makes a Great Project Manager from Justin McCullough on Vimeo.

In the video, that was not a direct quote from Seth Godin. In Linchpin, Purple Cow, Free Prize Inside (affiliate links) and his blog he talks about championing projects and shipping and I guess I just wanted to name drop

10 Things Great Project Managers Do:

1 – Champions the project.
This includes accepting the responsibility of success or failure of the project from the very beginning. Accept the responsibility right off the bat because you’ll be the first one blamed for it if there are problems or failure, so may as well own it from the start so its easier for you to deal with.

2 – Facilitates communication and becomes the info hub.
You will always be the center of the communication for all internal and external constituents.  Use good judgment and common sense in your communication, maintain a “can do” attitude and always be the first to check in or follow up.  Always be the keeper of current information and share it freely. It helps people understand what you are about and if you offer to help, not just criticize or enforce objectives, you’ll be a friend and ally to the project.

3 – Defines, interprets and shares expectations. Often.
Even the best and most talented minds can be paralyzed if they are unclear on expectations.  This includes responsibilities, process, timeline, tasks, deliverables, budget and PAYMENT for services.  Some of the biggest issues I’ve ever had with experts on a project have stemmed from their incorrect assumptions on when they would get paid or the intent of the project all because I trusted “they were the expert and would know what was expected”.  Appreciate the expertise, but honor the client and the project by clarifying the details and setting expectations.  Those connected to the project will appreciate you for it and know that you run a tight operation that sets the project on the path of success. We all want expectations, so give them.

4 – Asks questions and is not a no-it-all.
Great project managers don’t know the in’s and out’s of every job required to complete the project, but they do know the people involved know their job.  Great project managers ask the right “why” and “how” questions often in order to uncover real issues, real deliverables, real expectations etc.  The why and how aren’t asked so you can learn to do their job, they are asked so you can learn how they see themselves fitting their jobs into the project on time and on budget.  This is a key part of understanding the work to be done as well as the expectations or challenges of the people involved in the project.

5 – Knows the steps, what’s next, and where things are going.
To successfully champion any project you must always be aware of the deliverables, milestones, tasks and pinch-points or bottlenecks in the project.  While you might think “everyone” understands how important the project (the client, the budget etc) is, none of them will be married to the entire project end-to-end like you are, so always know who’s doing what, when, where, why, how and then what’s next.  When in doubt, remember that you are the map and if you don’t know what’s next it’s likely to cause a pinch-point that will cost time and money. Be the map and know what’s next.

6 – Inspects what is expected.
Plotting dates, budgets, milestones and tasks are essential.  Large projects will have many items – enough to warrant project management software, but regardless of size, the tools you use, great project managers inspect what they expect.  The tighter the project is on time and budget, the closer you have to be with your follow-up (inspection).  See, follow-up is a nice way to say it, so follow-up often.

7 – Eternally represents the solution not the problem.
The best project managers internalize the issues and problems and determine next steps and solutions to the problems. As a champion of the project it’s your place to find the solution proactively and keep the project moving forward.  It’s nice when it happens, but never assume someone else will jump in with a solution to bail you out. Again, you are the champion of the project so it is you who represents the solution so always represent that solution so the project can be completed.

8 – Owns the bad news, shares the good news.
Great project managers take the punches and share the successes.  That’s just the way it works so don’t throw your vendors, partners and employees under the bus to save face.  Always own the bad news personally and share what you are doing to fix it. And by all means, celebrate every victory, every win, everything good with the ones who did it – never take the credit for yourself.

9 – Cares.
Great project managers care about the client, the people involved, the project and it’s success.  If you care, it will be obvious.  If you don’t care, it will be obvious too.  When you care it’s much easier to get results.

10 – Knows how to ship.
You must be results oriented and the best project managers help things get unstuck and ship. Everything ships including the final project. Ship on time (or early) on budget (or under budget) and you’ll have a winning project and a remarkably important role in your organization, your ideas, and your success. Focus on shipping and you’ll do great.

Learn More About Project Management and the Process.

I personally try not to use project management software and I have never received formal training in project management which means there are a lot more skilled project managers (as in skilled in the craft, the software, and the formal process) than I am.

However, I have launched about 200 websites, several newspapers and magazines, several books and many many many advertising initiatives that have all gone well without project management software or certification as a project manager. I think you can too.  This is one area where a desire to succeed and learn means you don’t need to be certified in order to be great at it.

In my experience, most clients don’t care how you deliver on their goals and objectives. They only care that you meet and exceed their goals and objectives. In my opinion that’s all that matters too.  My hope is that this article will help you understand the core aspects required to champion a project and become a great project manager.

If you want to dig deeper into the formal processes of project management, here’s some good content to sink your teeth into.

• 11 Things Every New Project Manager Should Know
• 20 Things Every Project Manager Should Know and Do
• Wikipedia definition of Project Management
• Project Management 101
• Top 10 Qualities of a Project Manager
• The SCRUM Process
• The Stage-Gate Model
• The Waterfall Model

My personal methods are something of a mashup between the Agile Method and 37 Signals approach mixed with SCRUM and Stage-Gate processes.  These techniques have been folded in over the last 8 years or so, but prior to that I was literally just learning as I went and still delivering so don’t get tied up on ingesting all this at once.

Good luck on your project management efforts and don’t hesitate to share your experiences or ask for help.

Ok, so in all fairness, the title should probably be:

Online Campaign – How Blue Sky Factory, Chris Brogan and Christopher S. Penn nearly got it right, but failed in my case and how everything here can make your next sales push a success.

But that title is just too long.

We all make mistakes and sometimes, the mistake is farther down the chain than we realize or have control over.

I believe that is precisely what happened in my case.  And IF it happened to more people than just me, you can bet the good guys: Blue Sky Factory, Chris Brogan, and CS Penn are holding the bag – their fault or not.

This is a detailed look at trust, marketing, and execution on an online sales push from some of the biggest names in Social Media – the good and the bad and how you can learn and apply this to your sales and marketing efforts.

Follow every bit of this through (except the last part) and you will succeed in your next email sales push. The sections I call “What’s Happening Here” should provide the key elements for you to model in your online campaign and sales efforts.

Nearly everything here is actually a success story other than the fifth area below.

First – Chris Brogan eNewsletter

Subject line of email from Chris: “Email marketing and the folks at Blue Sky Factory”

This is a great little sales piece from Chris.  It clearly identifies his role in the email, why I (we) received it and who it benefits and why.  On top of that, a nice bit of positioning and display of influence by offering an exclusive ebook download and discount to use Blue Sky Factory as a benefit to loyalty with Chris.  Well done.  This is the right sort of email marketing and who would expect less from Chris?

What’s Happening Here:

1)  Chris leverages his list of readers, his name, and his promise to help others in exchange for our attention in the trusted environment of his newsletter.

2) Chris offers value with an informative eBook and a nice discount if you use Blue Sky Factory for email marketing services.

3)  Chris gives clear calls to action if you are interested in either the eBook or professional services of Blue Sky Factory.

4)  Blue Sky Factory gets great promotion, visibility, and an opportunity to grow their email marketing list via the eBook link and an opportunity to make sales (which I’m sure they did).

5)  It’s understood Chris gets something from Blue Sky Factory for the effort (obviously).

This entire sales push is based on the value of Chris; his audience, and his usage of the Blue Sky Factory services, and his brand promise.

All this is very good marketing, strategically and tactically.

Second – Blue Sky Factory eBook Offer Web Page

Title of Page: Blue Sky Factory presents: The Ultimate Guide to Email

The offer page from Blue Sky Factory is a wonderful sales page that explains the value of the eBook, who will benefit from reading it. (I downloaded the ebook and would explain the value of the content, but Acrobat says its damaged and wont open – so I’m not sure, but I assume it’s high value content). In true Hubspot fashion, you have to complete a lead generation form to gain access to the ebook.  Give up some information about you including email marketing volume and a clear message to indicate how you would like to be sold to.  Well done.  Of course, you expect that a sales push from Chris is going to be this well done.

What’s Happening Here:

1)  Offering value to Chris Brogan’s audience as a thank you for responding to his sales message.

2)  Lead generation. Lots of lead generation from the Blue Sky Factory.  Each email they get could turn into cash and lots of cash if people convert and use the service.

3)  Trust Building.  Thanks to Chris’s endorsement, there is little resistance to the lead generation form and Blue Sky Factory gets trusted implicitly as a result.

This sales and lead generation page is well done. Excellent response items and a clear way to identify the person responding and how to sell to them.  Excellent execution.

Blue Sky Factory undoubtedly grew their permission marketing list and prospect list quite a bit.  So far, Chris Brogan, Blue Sky Factory and the reader (prospects) are all winning.

Third – Christopher S Penn Follow Up and Thank You Email.

Subject line of email from CS Penn: “Thank you for downloading the Ultimate Guide to Email!”

This well thought out and drafted email from Chris S Penn clearly identifies his role at Blue Sky Factory, an oddity with the eBook and how to fix it, and sets a clear expectation to expect follow up from a Blue Sky Factory sales rep.  Excellent writing, not pushy, and relevant.  Very well done.

What’s Happening Here:

1)  Immediately touching you as a result of the free eBook offer to personally tie the prospect to the company and to the next step in the sales process.  You have to create the connection with the prospect or your lead gen form and recipient become a number with no personal contact other than the eBook.

2)  Enhancing CS Penn’s personal brand and connection to Blue Sky Factory (if you didn’t already know) allowing him to leverage Chris Brogan’s relationship with us and give him personal access to us – should he choose to do so.

3)  Clearly setting an expectation to be contacted by a sales rep from Blue Sky Factory.

This is a great ‘next step’ item from Blue Sky Factory to move you further down the sales funnel.  And this is all happening more or less on autopilot because it was pre-planned, pre-written, and all the touch points plotted and setup.  Awesome execution of funnel building. Note, the email included sales reps names, company phone number, company website and CS Penns email.  Completely transparent communication here.  Also note, so far there is no “we are the best”, “hundreds of people use us and love us”, “act now, limited time offer, buy buy buy” messages in this email or the sales page or Chris Brogans eNewsletter.

Fourth – Blue Sky Factory Sales Rep Follow Up and Call to Action Email.

Subject line of email from Sales Rep: “Blue Sky Factory / Publicaster Information”

Now, after three touches with the Blue Sky Factory brand, this is the first somewhat typical sales message. It includes a brief message of thanks for my interest as well as various links to the Blue Sky Factory website and more information on their products.  All pretty standard “learn more about us” type information.  Also included is acknowledgment that the sales rep is indeed interested in talking to me about my interest in their product and asks when we can connect to discuss. Presumably the rep has seen all my information from completing the lead gen form on the eBook page, where I actually listed several questions and areas of interest.  However, the rep does not actually directly speak to those items I indicated so I’m not sure if that information is known at this point.  I am provided links to review and a phone number to call.

What’s Happening Here:

1)  Providing more information on Blue Sky Factory and products.  Which move me further along the funnel as I learn and understand more about their services.

2)  Clearly identified the interest to speak to me, learn about my needs, and ideally sell me something.

This email had a lot to review – too much in my opinion and did not specifically speak to my questions from the lead gen form on the eBook page.  This is not particularly bad, just worth noting as an area of possible opportunity on their side.  Again, this email does not have any swanky sales messages “buy now” offers or promises.  It clearly is a request to learn more from me and offer me ways to learn more about them should I decide to follow all the provided links…. Again too many links in this email, so I didn’t look at any of them. However, I did make a note to call the rep as requested.

Fifth – My Call to the Sales Rep

WHO WAS JUST FIRED.

So, now the breakdown. The kink in the chain.  The plot twist.

After all this excellent marketing, a truly well thought out campaign with many pieces of communication and undoubtedly tons of energy and time and at the expense of Chris Brogan’s name and list, the whole thing comes to a faltering halt – at least for me – all because the sales rep had just been terminated.

How much sense does this make? How many people experienced this? 2 (I count as one of them)? 20? 500?… I don’t know, but it goes to show how you can do all the things right to build the funnel, build interest and momentum, and drop-the-ball when it matters most.

The sales rep was professional despite the situation and did give me a phone number to call (which I already had from CS Penn’s email).  The problem though, is that I’m spent for the moment.

The one-shot opportunity the campaign was all about has come and gone.  My emotional well of interest, trust, and value has drained.  Not completely, but certainly no longer full enough for action.

Why did the Blue Sky Factory management team do this? I mean, either fire the person before the push so they are not a link the chain, or wait till after the push to utilize their role in the campaign and at least move the prospects deeper into the funnel and then strategically migrate those accounts.  But do it in the middle of the push? Crazy.

It should be noted that I got Chris Brogan’s Initial email (first step above) and called the sales rep (fifth step above) all within the same business day.  It’s not like I hesitated in my response and drug out my actions over weeks.  We are talking just a few hours here.

The Result:

1)  Lost confidence in Blue Sky Factory and it’s product – their fault or not, no matter, its happened (for me at least).

2)  A mental note registered against CS Penn and Chris Brogan – one that will either be dismissed as a non-incident and no real risk, or one that will fester and grow over time depending on my future experiences.

3)  Lost conversions.  For every prospect this sales rep is associated with is now costing Blue Sky Factory with little hope of the original ROI goals.

The Praise:

I’m sure its understood by now, but I switch gears through out this post between affected prospect and marketer…

1)  Excellent execution on the front part of the funnel from Brogan’s email, through the creation and leveraging of a valuable eBook and to the positioning of the sale from CS Penn.

2)  Remarkably well written sales messages that were not too pushy, did not have false promises, and effectively moved prospects through the funnel of conversion.

3)  Great timing.  Each follow up piece was appropriately timed and deepend the desire to act since it was timely and appropriately messaged.

This was a 98% perfect campaign, but the last 2% is where it failed.

How Blue Sky Factory, Brogan and Penn Should Fix This:

1)  Acknowledge it.  No excuses, just acknowledge it happened – don’t act as if it didn’t happen and don’t make it about me.  It may not be “your” fault, but that’s the burden of leadership. So own it and work with it.

2)  Communicate.  Maintain the same transparency and authenticity of the earlier messages and emails and reach out to each and every one of the people who got contacted by the terminated sales rep.

3)  Care. Show you think my interest is important and that the situation doesn’t define our budding relationship.

4)  Be Trustworthy.  Make every effort to regain the trust you had at the beginning and make it right, make it remarkable, make it deeply valuable.  This is your opportunity to win despite the written off and implied loss of this experience.

5)  Bring me back into the fold and remind me why I was interested and taking action to begin with.

An upset customer has the capacity to be a great customer.  Don’t loose sight of your efforts to get me here and jump in now and salvage all those interested people before it’s too late.

Conclusion:

This was a well planned campaign and you marketers out there should follow these points all the way through. Just don’t fire your sales rep in the middle of it and you should have stellar results!

Disclosure:
I personally like Chris Brogan (we chatted a bit at this years SXSW in Austin Tx and he has RT’d my blog before), and I like CS Penn and I also intend to get to know Blue Sky Factory and still see if there is a fit.  I follow all three on twitter and value their contribution to social media and marketing 2.o.

My hope is that this shines a light on effective marketing, how it can breakdown, and what we can all learn from it… And, I don’t blame any of the mentioned people – just acknowledge that they have ownership in the process and outcome.

One of my business boundary pushing colleagues, Jason Kellie, recently brought up a few thoughts on “books” and “reading” on his blog.

Jason wants to know a few things:

You can see Jason’s answers to those three points on his blog Idea2Opportunity.com.

Jason and I tweet to each other daily, swap emails weekly, and skype occasionally. I respect Jason for his entrepreneurial ways and his willingness to act on his thoughts. He is business savvy, has a record of success, and fearless when it comes to exploring new territory. He also started an awesome CD / DVD company called DittoBite where you can print short-run or just one disk for about $1 and I think that business fits well with the growth in consumer production where “everyone” is now a producer. Jason is also a Linchpin and one of the earliest members of The Linchpin Way community.

Jason, here are your answers…

As I’ve mentioned in other blog posts, I believe in reading books. I’m a big reader and shared my 2009 book list as well as my first load of books to read for this year.

Why I read books:

Inspiration

I read books with an open mind so it’s easy to be inspired when the information is let in freely. For me, books inspire me to create, experiment, contemplate, and go somewhere I may not have gone before. Books like Linchpin inspire me to act.

Personal Growth

I want to grow personally and books allow me to learn the truest lessons of the author. Think about that. A book is typically the cream that rises to the top in the author’s mind and you get it just by reading what may have taken them years to ascertain. Talk about short cuts to personal development.

Mentoring

As a mentor, it’s my responsibility to learn, stretch and grow so I can take information and teach others. No new information, no new teaching. Every book I read becomes useful to a future lesson I have not yet shared. Books like Marketing 2.0 inspire me to teach social media for business where as books like All Marketers are Liars inspire me to grow the potential of every marketer and business owner.

Leadership

The only way to see around corners and through walls is to have unexpected insight that most do not have. As a leader, the books I read coupled with my own real life experience allow me to see around corners, develop a broader worldview, and see trends, cycles and patterns that others don’t see because they don’t have the incoming data points to connect. Books like the Long Tail and Tipping Point allow me to better define the “why” behind the “what” and because I know to look for it – I see it when others don’t.

Attention

Yep, I said it. I read books for attention… Well I mean, I read books for the nuggets that are repeatable, easy to share and interesting. I read books for the story-telling value, the ability for me to have unexpected connections to conversations and ideas with other people. No-one likes a no-it-all, but everyone loves a good story (and the story-teller). Books keep me full of good stories to tell.

My reading process:

I have several books I am reading at a given time. As few as three and as many as six. I have my “clutch” book, the one I’m committed to reading the fastest. Then I have my “in progress” books that I want to read, but don’t have a mental timeline in mind. Then I have my “fluff” book that is my time away book (I treat this book like TV time – its entertainment). Then I have my “travel” book which is an audio book in my truck and instead of talk radio or music, I listen to an audio book – even if I’ve heard it already.

I read my clutch book about 20 – 30 minutes daily. I typically read from my in progress books about 5 – 10 minutes daily. I read my fluff book when the moment feels right which is usually a few times a week for about 20 minutes. My travel book is the duration of my road trip so usually at least 30 minutes.

Right now, I am reading 6 books as described above. Also, not that it matters, but I always read two pages at least and when I stop, I always stop on the left page at the first noticeable break or paragraph end so I know where to pick up later. Yes, I am a dork.

Justin’s Top 5 Books

This is tricky and it’s possible if you asked me at a later date I may not select the same books. I have intentionally not included spiritual books that are indeed on my top list.

1. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason – Ground Zero for understanding personal finances.
2. The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino – We are all salesmen and this book is paramount for integrity based selling.
3. How Full is your Bucket by Tom Rath and Donald O Clifton – Truly understand why and how positive interaction will change your life and those around you (it’s a lifestyle).
4. Linchpin by Seth Godin – Own your life and live it fully. Your art is a gift, do the work that matters, don’t be a cog in the system.
5. Purple Cow by Seth Godin – Success follows things that are remarkable. Be remarkable.

What are your Top 5 Books? Tell me below and don’t forget to tell Jason on his blog.

UPDATE (Feb 27, 2010)
This post sparked a movement!
Join The Linchpin Way Community.

This is not another Linchpin book review.

I’ve written about Seth before. A full post dedicated to the amazing Box Set launch.  I also included Seth in a post discussing how leaders learn and I tweet about Seth and recommend his books. Seth Godin does good things.

With so many reviews like these, there is little room for another unique book review of Linchpin by Seth Godin. These reviews are outstanding, truly useful, and as you can see, they cover a lot of ground and some were even limited to 140 characters and pdf’d.  From what I can tell, two of those links above will lead you to more than 200 articles about Seth and the book and the number of links grows every day. Many of those articles are by amazing authors and bloggers and include both video and written interviews with Seth himself.

As I said, this is not another one of those reviews.

This article, The Linchpin Way, is for the growing base of people who have already read Linchpin. This is for Linchpin readers and Linchpin leaders. People like me, you and them.

1 of 4 "cube grenades" by Hugh MacLeod

Now is the time to act, unite, and engage. Viva La Linchpin!

Act on your Linchpin mindset with this Linchpin Poll

You know the Linchpin questions and you know the answers – don’t you? Now, ask them yourself in the worlds first user contributed Linchpin poll. You can answer the questions I and others asked.  You can also create your own questions to include in the poll for others to answer – yep, you can modify the poll to include your questions too and see what others say.

You are the Linchpin.  The simple act of reading these Linchpin Poll questions, acting on them with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ will move you closer to complete ownership of the Linchpin mindset and The Linchpin Way.

(start answering or select the blue ‘ask’ tab and add your own questions)

Are you a Linchpin?

Share the poll with others by retweeting this blog post. Or follow @LinchpinPoll on twitter and help others find it. Even easier, here is a retweetable message, just click and it will open in a new window Are You a Linchpin? I just took the Linchpin Poll at http://bit.ly/ctl5SU

Put this poll on your site, inside your blog post or on your Linchpin book review page.  The Linchpin Poll is a great way to introduce people to Linchpin and confirm their Linchpin mindset.  Plus it’s just too easy to use and neat. The embed code is here in this txt file just copy and paste whats in the file and it should work.

“Linchpin” means something.

Linchpin, like Idea Virus and Purple Cow gives us a term, a single word that means something that was previously amorphous and without definition. This is one of Seth’s superpowers; to create a definition, a new term for abstract ideas and previously unrelated concepts.

So, you’re a Linchpin.  Now what?

Unite Linchpin’s by going to the edges.

Right now, all the cool kids are talking about Seth, the book and how wonderful it is. This is great and necessary.  This keeps the book in the media, in the blogs and on the best-sellers lists.  This is all good for us and even the world at large.  There is no denying the power of a Linchpin.  But beyond pushing the book into the hands of the people we love, what else can we do?

The Linchpin Manifesto available for download on Seth’s site is a nice pdf to print and hang on your wall or email a friend or link to from a blog post, but it is not enough.

The Linchpin 2.0 Vision Statement:

We must move Linchpin from a book of ideas into a way of life fully supported by community, fellowship, identity, and purpose.  Linchpins should be identified, connected, cultivated and networked.  There is no excuse to slow the growth of the Linchpin movement or The Linchpin Way.  Linchpin is now an expression, a lifestyle, a way to act, a way to change things and a way to demonstrate our art.

The Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto:

(download the Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto here).

Where Woodstock united a generation and marked an era, Linchstock will unite a population of artists, creators, doers and those who are indispensable. We have the book, the definition, now we need the place. We must create Linchstock to celebrate our Linchpin way of life. Would you meet me at Linchstock?

Just like Boy Scouts, Diabetics, Authors, Millionaires and Celebrities are in their own club, Linchpins now represent a defined Tribe – a special and remarkable group of change-makers, artists and givers. Now you can relate instantly just by saying you are a Linchpin or desire to be a Linchpin.  Us “Linchpiner’s” would meet up at in special gatherings at industry conferences and in mobs at events like Linchstock.

Every great cause has a flag to fly.  Every great organization has a logo to unify.  We must agree and own the Linchpin Badge and spread it. Do we agree the hand gripping the lightening bolt is the badge? If not it must be created intentionally to be shared with no royalties, rights, or disclaimers. If the hand and lightning bolt is the badge, let it go and spread. Linchpiner’s at Linchstock would be proud to wear their Linchpin Badge.

Become a beacon of light that attracts people.  Influence, educate and change these people through your Linchpin mindset. You must demonstrate The Linchpin Way.  Every Linchpin has the authority to share The Linchpin Way and help others become Linchpins.  Linchstock could be the place to fine tune and expand The Linchpin Way.

With your gift, your tools, your art and your generosity use the internet to communicate and spread the idea of the Linchpin. Now is the time to unite Linchpins into a network. A group, an organization, a club, whatever you want to call it.  Seth can not be expected to do it for us.  There is no road-map. The essence of being a Linchpin means that we can do it for others (as well as ourselves). Linchpiners with a Linchpin mindset will create an open network to facilitate The Linchpin Way.  Seth has given us the tools and he has already given us the permission – it’s built into the Linchpin message. Now is the time to create The Linchpin Network.

Become the standard to measure against.  Imagine a world where even performance reviews included a linchpin section along with communication skills, team work, and areas of improvement. Why not?  Even better, why not have performance reviews go away entirely and only give Linchpin reviews?  Shouldn’t we all strive to be measured against The Linchpin Standards, not the status quo standards?

Make Linchpin a verb:
“Just Linchpin it”.  “That problem is not too big for me to Linchpin”. “I can Linchpin it with my eyes closed”.

Push Linchpin into Wikipedia so the current stub means more than the 1.0 definition of Linchpin. Don’t just stop with Wikipedia – spread it everywhere.

A unifying cry:

We must act on and expand the Linchpin 2.0 manifesto. We must change the one dimensional discussions around the book and its concepts and turn it into the multidimensional thing it was intended to be.  Talking and writing about passion is but a small part of actually acting with passion. To leave Linchpin in its current state is to lock it into “a remarkable book with great ideas” but little more.  We are all very pleased that Seth gave this gem to us. Let’s pick it up and grow it to match what’s in our hearts and minds. We must move the movement.

Share this by retweeting or blogging it or downloading and sharing the The Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto pdf. Better yet, rebuild, beautify, and create your own manifesto and set it free. Lets take this to the next level now, not later. There is no reason 2010 can’t be the year of The Linchpin Way… and Linchstock for that matter.

The Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto needs you and other Linchpins like you to take ownership.  Who will create Linchstock? Who will create the Linchpin Badge? How will take The Linchpin Network, The Linchpin Way, and The Linchpin Standards to heart?  Who will move the movement?

Who will put the Linchpin mindset into action to bring us all together?

This will not happen overnight and it may not happen in the ways presented here, but it needs to happen.  We need the results this can produce.

UPDATE (Feb 27, 2010)
This post sparked a movement!
Join The Linchpin Way Community.

Engage others by passing Linchpin along.

Generosity is a way of life. Giving has always been a wonderful thing. Giving Linchpin is a truly powerful thing.

Start by signing and dating your copy of Linchpin and sending it to someone you care about or ask yourself, who do you want to impact or help? Send it to them.

I have a copy of Linchpin going to Marc and Aaron the creators of Urtak. Thank you for giving us Urtak. The Linchpin Poll would not exist without your contribution, your gift, your art.  Look for the book to arrive sometime next week.

Now is the time to share these ideas. Blog about this. Facebook it, tweet it. Put energy and action into these thoughts and ideas. We do not have to wait to start living The Linchpin Way or wait to act on the Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto, or even wait to create Linchstock. Let’s get started, let’s start shipping.

Connect with me, comment below, twitter me – whatever it takes. I’m looking for Linchpins to move the movement. Viva La Linchpin!

This short Bio of Seth was borrowed from the99percent.com where they have a great video of Seth talking about the Lizard Brain:
SETH GODIN is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and agent of change. His recent books, which have graced the New York Times, Business Week, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists, include Tribes, Purple Cow, The Dip, and All Marketers Are Liars. Seth was founder and CEO of Yoyodyne, the industry’s leading interactive direct marketing company, which Yahoo! acquired in late 1998. He holds an MBA from Stanford, and was called “the Ultimate Entrepreneur for the Information Age” by Business Week.

Seth Godin’s Full bio: http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/bio.asp
Buy Linchpin by Seth Godin
Read Seth Godin’s Blog everyday.

JUSTIN MCCULLOUGH is a Linchpin student, a mentor and online enabler as well as the temporary host of some of these Linchpin ideas, the lover of smart people, a fan of great ideas, a reader of insightful books, and a passionate person.  He works for a small niche book publisher and is fueled by a passion to share.  Justin is happily married, a proud father and knows he still has much to learn.

A note from the Lizard Brain. This post took 33 days to create. It started as a “regular” book review. It was drafted and redrafted 4 times. I gave up on it 9 times. I made many excuses to not create the poll, to not create the twitter accounts, to not create the Linchpin 2.0 Manifesto and pdf, to not coin many of the terms used in this post and to not add friction to the shiny object (the Linchpin book) we are all enjoying so much.

Who am I to step out in front of moving traffic and think people will stop? Even as I write this sentence I am considering walking away from this article and not posting it.  I fear criticism and disapproval from others including Seth. I fear that others will not stand behind this post or the idea that there is a need to move the movement, to take action and grow and share The Linchpin Way.

I’m on deadline. Regardless of the failure this could be, this is where my passion is and this is my art. I believe The Linchpin Way will help us all.  I’m shipping are you?

UPDATE (Feb 27, 2010)
This post sparked a movement! Join The Linchpin Way Community.

I have a habit of buying many books at once – in bulk.  Thanks to nice folks giving me BN.com gift cards, this is my first load of books for 2010.  Here’s to happy reading!

Justin's "to read" stack - January 2010

What’s your title?  What’s your skill?  Is it one or two things, or maybe three things?  If so, you’re in trouble over the next 10 years.

The days of being a “plumber” or an “artist” are gone.  No more and never again will a person be able to be just one thing and be successful.  Now and moving forward, you must be multiversatile – capable of many things across many fields competently.

You already see it in the local business owner who is the accountant, the salesman, the customer service rep, the help desk, and the human resources department.  But it’s not just for business owners anymore.  Now it’s the regular guys.  The $10/hr guys.

The guys who will get ahead will be the ones who learn to express their ideas in a blog, an audio clip or a video – even if they are not “writers” or “camera men”.  The guys who will win are the ones who learn to setup a website, a hosting account, and a wireless network – even if they are not “programmers” or “network engineers”.  The guys who will have more accounts, more sales and better reputations will be the guys using facebook, twitter, along with teleseminars and local conferences – even if they are not “social media consultants”.

As we go forward, titles are pointless. If you want to win, you must be bigger than any job title and be able to demonstrate the ability to cross a wide spectrum of skills that were never before required.  The good news is if you do it now, you’ll still be with the pack or maybe even ahead of the pack – for a little while.

What are you doing to blow up your job title and explode with success?

Here’s 7 things you can do:

1. Pick a friend in the company (or at another company) and cross train with them
2. Learn twitter, facebook, blogging, or any other current technology
3. Even if it’s not your job, pick a project, make it your own, and run with it.
4. Learn more about leadership, sales, and/or marketing – you can’t go wrong with these skills!
5. Get out – go to seminars, conference, workshops, and events.
6. Become an expert on your business (not your job specialty)
7. Become the in-house trainer on topics / skills.

// Edit // See Bernie Bay’s thoughts on the future of business and predictions on the next decade.

So, two blog post got me thinking about the books I’ve read this year.  One from Annie Sorenson which I misstated the books I’ve read and another from Lauren Leto where I ribbed her for not having any business books on her list.

Anyway, I am often asked “how I know what I know” and while I’d like to take credit for having a huge brain, vast intelligence and an uncanny ability to see the world in a way no one else does, I simply can’t tell that lie.  The truth is, a lot of what I know and the insights I have is because of what I choose to read.  I then apply these insights into my world view and cement them in real life examples of my own – making them my own, but most of what I know is seeded from great books.  I typically read 3 or 4 books at one time.  That seems to keep me the most interested and also allows me to cover several topics at one time.

I’ve found that books on business, self improvement, sales and just about anything else are truly the cliff notes to success. All you have to do is invest some of your time and attention and a few bucks and you can learn what took someone else countless hours of personal experience and research to create.  Reading books is so much smarter, faster, and more insightful than college classes.  Of course, it’s worthless if you don’t apply what you read or learn and it doesn’t matter if you are reading books that only serve an entertainment purpose.

I think I’ve covered all the books from this year.  The following is my list of books from 2009.

1. Referral of a Lifetime by Tim Templeton. (read this twice this year)
2. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki with Sharon Lechter (second year in a row to read this book)
3. The Microsoft Edge by Julie Bick
4. Tribes by Seth Godin (very quick book – read twice this year)
5. Innovation by Tom Gorman
6. Multipreneuring by Tom Gorman
7. How Full is Your Bucket by Tom Rath and Donald O Clifton ( I read this at least once a year).
8. The Big Red Fez by Seth Godin
9. Write the Perfect Book Proposal by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman
10. All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin
11. Free Publicity by Jeff Criley
12. The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott
13. Unleashing the Idea Virus by Seth Godin
14. Positioning by Al Ries and Jack Trout
15. Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
16. Buzzmarketing by Mark Hughes
17. Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
18. Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz
19. The New Influeners by Paul Gillin
20. No B.S. Direct Marketing by Dan Kennedy
21. What Would Google Do by Jeff Jarvis (have this on audio – 2 times this year).
22. The Google Story by David Vise
23. Purple Cow by Seth Godin (have this on audio – 5 times this year).
24. Small is the New Big by Seth Godin (have this on audio – 3 times this year).
25. Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell (have this on audio – 2 times this year).
26. The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
27. How to Build a Complete Sales Person by Bryan Dodge (have this on audio – 3 times this year).
28. Influence. The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
29. Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven ways to be Persuasive by Goldstein, Martin and Cialdini
30. 91 Mistakes Smart Sales People Make by Tim Conner
31. The 25 Sales Habits of Highly Succesful Sales People by Stephan Shiffman
32. Cold Calling Techniques by Stephen Shiffman
33. How to Become a Marketing Superstar by Jeffrey J Fox.
34. Magic Bullets by Michael Kessee and Ankesh Kothari
35. The Dip by Seth Godin
36. What Matters Now by Seth Godin and friends (free ebook)
37. Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen
38. The Shack by William P Young

Liesure reading:

1. NEXT by Michael Chrichton
2. Ghost Radio by leopoldo Gout
3. Busting Vegas by Ben Mezrich
4. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
5. The Prince of Frogtown by Rick Bragg
6. No Survivors by Tom Cain
7. Ghost Medicine by Andrew Smith
8. The Boxer and the Spy by Robert B Parker

So what are you reading?  Do you agree that books are better than college?  What do you recommend I read in 2010?

When I was a child everyone approved.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my childhood and how my parents and friends parents seemed to encourage me to keep dreaming and using my imagination.  I suppose it’s “what you do” when you are an adult listening to a kid.  I was always the kid and pre-teen who was mowing yards, selling lemonade, and bartering for money.  I was identified as a business minded youngster with imagination and talent with the gift for gab.

From about 10 years old to about 19 years old I heard this line from friends and family: “your so ____ (smart, talented, advanced, wise, etc) for your age”.  I heard it so much that I often wondered when I was going to finally be “as smart, talented, wise, etc as my age”.  Turns out, for me it was about 28 years old.  I still get the ‘wise beyond years’ comments, but otherwise I guess I’ve finally aged enough to match my ideas. I’m 32 now.

The shift.

Reflecting on my life, I spotted a shift where I went from being encouraged to dream to being discouraged by the majority of people around me.

It happened when I fell out of line, out of the status quo, and demonstrated my independence.  I was 20 years old and quit my management job at Gateway Computers to start my own web company. Suddenly, everyone around me wasn’t so sure about my entrepreneurial dreams.  Why? Because I was actually acting on it, not just talking about it.  At 20 years old, this is where I crossed over to the other side no longer a man with potential and promise, but a spectacle for others to watch silently hoping I would fail and continually surprised that I wasn’t.

I didn’t know it at the time, but it’s obvious now, almost no one wants you to live your dream.

Now everyone disapproves.

Unlike my child self, as an adult, any time I ask someone else what they think about my idea, everyone, even the people I trust, love, or respect are quick to tell me how it’s not a good idea.  How frustrating and disappointing this is.

The truth and what you can do about it.

If you have a dream you want to make a reality.  An idea you want to act on.  A goal you want to execute.  Do it.

Don’t ask what your family and friends think because they can’t and won’t ever be able to embrace your idea – it’s not their idea, it’s not their passion, it’s not their life, and it’s not safe to them.  That’s why you don’t need their input or permission to live your dream.

If this scares you, it should.  It means you have to act for yourself and you have be willing to go your own direction regardless of what anyone else thinks.  It also means there may not be a safety net below you or a shoulder to cry on.  If you dream it, you believe it, then own it and do it.  Know that others will judge, discourage, and speak against you because its not their idea, it’s not their passion, it’s not their life, and it’s not safe to them.

A few tips to emerge victorious with your dream.

• Don’t give up just because it’s tough
• Don’t be afraid to change directions to reach your goals
• Cut free from the anchors that hold you back
• Surround yourself with people you can learn from (as it relates to your dream).
• Put people with experience and passion in places you lack experience and passion.
• Be persistent. If you hit a wall, go under, around, through, or connect with someone who has the ability to move the wall.
• Be open minded.
• Seek out answers and don’t kid yourself to think you have all of them all the time.
• Keep moving. Action equals results.
• Measure (track, review etc) what you want to achieve or improve.
• Don’t keep yourself a secret. Tell others what you want and eventually you’ll find someone who can help.
• For as much as you want, be willing to give twice as much to get it.
• “No” is not forever. Keep asking.
• The experience of failure means more than easy successes so fail often and keep trying.
• Appreciate what you do have. It could be worse.
• Be willing to share.
• Invest in yourself (books, experiences, seminars, whatever it takes).

I’m still dreaming and you can too.

Knowing all this makes it so much easier to dream as an adult.Now, I don’t expect others to embrace my dreams or my ideas and I’m better for it.  It also means I don’t fault the ones I love or respect because I understand the fact that it’s just to hard for them to consider my dreams or encourage them.

Keep dreaming and stop looking for permission. Go ahead and step out of line, do something counter the status quo and I’ll see you on the other side.

I originally drafted this with the title of “What do you stand for? Chris Brogan and Seth Godin Know”, but then I realized that might not be a good headline so I changed it before posting – who knows if either were good to begin with….

Back story and foundation for this post:

In a recent article from Chris Brogan, he shared his frustration with Timberland regarding a pair of boots he saw advertised on TV on Thanksgiving day, but couldn’t find locally in any brick-and-mortar stores. His story sufficiently details a negative experience with shoe representatives at various stores in his area with conclusive thoughts on why brick-and-mortar stores are failing and how that leads consumers to make online purchases when they would have done it at a local store. While I did not see his first version of the blog post, it was apparently very negative and he was prompted by a reader to reconsider his narrative (and for good reason too according to his followup post entitled “With Great Power”).

Any how, the original, but revised post: What Timerbland Taught Me About Retail says:

I changed this post around 100% after a conversation with Pat Phelan. He was upset at my handling of the post, and I think I can see his point. More about that in a subsequent post.

Now you should know that Chris Brogan is a prolific writer, consultant, and book author who blogs frequently about his thoughts on what it takes to be successful in today’s world, how to run a great blog and all things social media. Chris happens to be the #1 blogger in the country according to AdAge and all this from a “normal” guy sharing his thoughts on his own blog. His online success stems from his experience, authority and expertise + transparency + consistency around thought leadership. The word ‘trust’ fits in there somewhere too since he can be trusted for what he says and is coauthor of a new bestselling book, Trust Agents.

Why does Chris Brogan or this Story Matter?

I respect what Chris has to say and what got my attention is how he reconsidered his own thoughts and opinions about his experience after hearing others chime in. Not just personally, but as it related to his brand and his blog and seemingly how he viewed himself and how others view him. This shows that leaders really are learners too. As he learned more about this experience, he revised his views and then went on to share his new view post haste. Remarkable to see such transparency in a leader.

Stand up and Stand Out

This brings up two key thoughts. What do you stand for and how relationships are built online.

Continuing with Chris as my real world example (hope you don’t mind Chris), I’ll just keep working through this scenario to reveal how important it is to stand for something and how relationships are built online.

What do you stand for?

People are quite familiar with this question, but it can often be hard to extract or define because we tend to stand for things based on situations and we typically stand for things based on core beliefs. I can’t claim to know exactly what Chris Brogan stands for, but I’m guessing it’s based on trust, leadership and transparency.

According to Seth Godin, another thought leader and online trail blazer has a better way to illustrate this concept and shares it well in his Authenticity post from a few months ago:

Authenticity, for me, is doing what you promise, not “being who you are”… because if you’re inconsistent, you’re going to get caught.

Yep, that’s a good way to be recognized for what you stand for, how/what you are. So, in the quest to stand for something, start by being authentic, which Chris does in his blogs and video posts.

This gives way to how being authentic is at the core of building relationships online (and in life). Mainly because people want to trust and if you can be trusted you’ll win and keep them. Again, Seth Godin chimes in:

People and brands and organizations that stand for something benefit as a result. Standing for something helps you build trust…”

How do you build online relationships?

Being authentic is a key factor. That authenticity leads to trust which is at the foundation of all relationships. In another blog post regarding Seth Godin, Small Biz Bee shares another insight from Seth:

Seth says we should be asking ourselves “Are their people out there I’d go out of my way for, and would they go out of their way for me?” That’s what you should be tracking.

And how do you get there? By going out of your way for them, and earning the privilege of one day having that connection be worthwhile.

While that may seem obvious, we can not all go out of our way for everyone all the time. That’s what leads me back to Chris Brogan. In his post, “With Great Power”, he actually brings you into his thoughts and experiences and the consequences of his actions with the earlier Timberland post. By sharing his new findings, he creates more trust in all of us who follow and read his blog. This new level of insight on how Chris thinks and sees this allows us to buy in a little more. Its this buy in that makes us connect to Chris even though he may not know us. In business terms, we are increasing our loyalty to his brand – just because he consistently can be trusted.

For me, this leads me closer to him, I make a note to read him daily instead of ever few days, I revise my mental note of “maybe” buying his book, to “I will buy his book”. This is social media at it’s finest. Chris like Seth sells himself, his thoughts, his ideas, his passions and I buy into them, one blog at a time until ultimately, the trust, the relationship, and the message is solidified into action. That’s how you build a relationship online.

What this means to you:

If you are considering how you build relationships, what you stand for, and how to use social media in your life, start with authenticity and trust, act consistently and don’t stop learning or sharing. Also, take Lucy Beer’s advice on social media because she’s right, when it comes to a life online and social media, it is about self expression, being personal, and growing as an individual.

Are you trust worthy? Do you stand for something? How are you growing as an individual?

Mentoring requires you to be real, but that’s not a bad thing. Mentoring is pretty easy too. At times, it’s support or a nudge forward. Sometimes it’s a point-of-view or clearing of the air to move things forward. Sometimes it’s a friend or colleague offering insight to a persons blind spot. Sometimes it’s just a conversation over lunch or dinner that jars something loose and shifts a persons thinking. Other times it’s a referral or a suggestion to speak to someone new. Sometimes it’s giving something tangible or intellectual without strings attached. Sometimes its a promise to get others involved because you know you can. Sometimes it’s working for someone else pro bono when you could charge for it. Sometimes you don’t even think about it, you just roll up your sleeves and help.

Mentoring pays it forward, moves other people, ideas and things forward, and generates good will. Plant your seeds of knowledge, kindness and interest in someone else and watch them grow. Be generous with your time, knowledge, and resources and you will live a happy and full life.

All this may sound a bit like a fortune cookie, but trust me, give yourself to others and you will get it back in abundance. Giving someone cash is a transaction, giving a person your time, knowledge, consideration, guidance, and attention is a priceless investment in someones life.

If you aren’t mentoring, you should be.

(originally posted on 409news.com by Justin McCullough – leader4hire)