Marketing experts Mitchell Grooze and Ralph Mroz, authors of the insightful book Value Acceleration, describe how to accelerate your company's value creation to gain an unbeatable competitive advantage. Mitchell Grooze and Ralph Mroz are my internet radio show guests on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.






The show airs live on Thursday, November 29, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Mitchell Grooze and Ralph Mroz, describe how to accelerate your company's value creation to gain an unbeatable competitive advantage by applying process management to the marketing function. You will learn:

* The crucial need for process management in marketing

* How to apply a process management model to the entire marketing function

* How the process can be managed using time proven principles

* The steps to implement a process management system to marketing



Mitchell Goozé (photo left) is the president and founder of Customer Manufacturing Group (CMG). His broad scope of business experience ranges from operations management in established firms, to start-up and turn-around situations and mergers. He has headed divisions of large corporations and been CEO of independent firms, always focusing the company strategy on the most important person in business — the customer. Prior to founding Customer Manufacturing Group in 1991, Mitch was president of Teledyne Components, a division of Teledyne, Inc.




Since 1978, Ralph Mroz (photo left) has managed or implemented nearly every step of the marketing process. His experience spans hands-on tactics to corporate strategic planning, with large corporations, small companies, and start-ups.

Ralph has years of experience in the research and analytical aspects of Environmental Influences, Value Specification and Solution Development. He helps clients fully integrate marketing and product development processes, enabling them to successfully enter a new market with a new or existing product set.

My book review of Value Acceleration by Mitchell Gooze and Ralph Mroz.

Mitchell Grooze and Ralph Mroz also have a blog called Value Acceleration.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with Mitchell Grooze and Ralph Mroz, authors of the insightful book Value Acceleration, as they describe how to accelerate your company's value creation to gain an unbeatable competitive advantage to boost your business success, on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Mitchell Gooze, Ralph Mroz, Value Acceleration, marketing process management, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

READ MORE - Mitchell Grooze & Ralph Mroz: Accelerate Your Value Creation - Blog Business Success Radio

This week sees a personal finance approach to the traveling business show, recognized by one and all as Carnival of the Capitalists and arrives at the personal finance blog known as Money Walks.

This week's edition of Carnival of the Capitalists highlights some of the best bloggers writing on the internet today, as well as some of the best and most popular entries ever to the Carnival.

Blogging topics presented include entrepreneurship, management, stock market trading, internet commerce, marketing, the national economy, and personal finance.

As you would expect from Carnival of the Capitalists, there are many discussions of economics, marketing, business, and small business.

It's always great to read and discover the many high quality business and economics blogs, out there in the blogosphere.

We don't always get to them all, and this edition of Carnival of the Capitalists has introduced many of us to some brand new ones; as well as some long time contributors.



I have an entry in this week's Carnival of the Capitalists as well.

My post is titled "Interviewing employees: Avoiding problem workers" where I discuss how it's a business nightmare that happens all too often. The new employee turned out to be a disaster of just slightly less than Biblical proportions. Instead of being the competent, skilled worker that appeared at the job interview, the person was more like the spawn of some renegade demon. Instead of enduring the worst, it's imperative for an employer to make sure the person hired, is what they seem on the surface.

If you wish to submit an entry to next week's, or any Carnival of the Capitalists edition, e-mail your entries to the new address:

thecotc -at- gmail -dot- com

You can always use the handy entry form at Gongol.com where all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Talk about making it easy to be included!



If you are searching for new and exciting ways to expand your blog's readership, you should seriously consider sending an entry to Carnival of the Capitalists.

Merely being included in the company, of the first rate regular Carnival of the Capitalists contributors, will enhance the reputation of your blog.

The extra visitors sent to your blog won't hurt either!

The growth and staying power, of Carnival of the Capitalists, is beginning to catch the attention of people outside the blogging community. Each hosting, brings a fresh assortment of new readers, to the various blogs involved.

The visitors aren't only bloggers anymore.

Readership is expanding to include the mainstream media, various government and private organizations, many businesses, and other interested people from beyond the blogging community.

Many people are introduced to some tremendous business blogs that they might otherwise have missed.

Next week's Carnival of the Capitalists will be hosted at a business blog to be announced.

In the meantime, click your mouse over to the Money Walks hosting of Carnival of the Capitalists.

If the great posted entries don't convince you to click, or the possibility of finding some brand new blogs to read doesn't do it, then visit Carnival of the Capitalists and get into business for yourself.

Tags: carnivals, capitalism, business, marketing.

READ MORE - Carnival of the Capitalists at Money Walks

Value Acceleration

By Mitchell Gooze & Ralph Mroz

Published: Jan 15, 2007
ISBN: 9781601940049
Format: Hardcover, 208pp
Publisher: Elevate






Understanding customer demands and aligning them with your company's capabilities, are the fundamental process for your organization, writes Mitchell Gooze and Ralph Mroz in their insightful book Value Acceleration. Building on the unique capabilities of your business for creating value in this process is your company's major competitive advantage. The book provides a framework to accelerate this value building process.

Mitchell Gooze and Ralph Mroz describe the crucial need for process management in marketing. By defining a process as a defined and ordered set of activities, the authors point out that management is the only corporate function that lacks a defined process. They consider marketing to be poorly defined and understood in the corporate world and as a result, no process has been put in place to enhance and streamline the role of marketing. Instead, the authors believe that marketing is an operation that has a system that can be turned into a process.



For Mitchell Gooze (photo left) and Ralph Mroz (photo below left), time proven management processes from other corporate functions can be applied successfully to marketing. They describe techniques for analyzing constraints to marketing and sales, including profit margins, growth targets, and sales results. They also discuss the importance of eliminating waste to create a more efficient marketing process in terms of personnel, time, and money. Each step in the marketing process must be taken, and steps that fail to add value must be removed to enhance effectiveness.



Ralph Mroz (photo left)

For me, the power of the book lies in the identification of marketing from a holistic viewpoint. By taking the marketing function as a whole, an effective and efficient marketing process can be created and applied to any campaign.

Not only do the authors provide the theoretical framework for process management in marketing, but they set out the steps for its practical application. Because marketing can be turned into a process, in the same way as a manufacturing process is designed, marketing can become much more cost and time effective. At the same time, the process can prevent management from becoming trapped into side issues, and keep their focus on the end goal.

I highly recommend Value Acceleration by Mitchell Gooze and Ralph Mroz for any company that is serious about developing a superior marketing process. The technical framework provided helps create a systematic management approach to marketing to further value and competitive advantage. Even more than that, the book provides the tools to accelerate value creation, as the title suggests.

Read Value Acceleration by Mitchell Gooze and Ralph Mroz, and you will never look at the marketing function in the same way again. By learning how to apply time proven and familiar processes from manufacturing and production to marketing, a less risky and more profitable marketing function can be put into action. That is real value acceleration.

Tags: Value Acceleration, Mitchell Gooze, Ralph Mroz, marketing process management, business book reviews.

READ MORE - Value Acceleration by Mitchell Gooze & Ralph Mroz - Book review

It's a business nightmare that happens all too often. The new employee turned out to be a disaster of just slightly less than Biblical proportions. Instead of being the competent, skilled worker that appeared at the job interview, the person was more like the spawn of some renegade demon. Instead of enduring the worst, it's imperative for an employer to make sure the person hired, is what they seem on the surface.

A job interview is somewhat of an artificial event. While that statement might strike some people as absurd, let's look a bit more deeply into the event. A person, known only to the interviewer from a resume, appears at the office door. They will usually be dressed well, and be quite polite. Based on some vague first impression, the person may become your employee for years. It's crucial to look beyond the first glance, and delve a bit more deeply into your future staffer's past.



Interviews for new hires should be conducted by the person's future supervisor or manager. This is especially important for technical positions. While Human Resources personnel can often do a fine job in selecting general employees, they often lack the technical knowledge to choose the right skill set for technology jobs. For a small business, the owner or top manager can take care of the interview process if the person reports to them. The key is to have the supervisor select her own staff people.

In the interview, be sure to include some technical questions that sift out anyone not qualified for the position. Job seekers will often inflate their skill levels on their resumes. It's up to the interviewer to delve into the applicant's technical knowledge. A person attempting to pass themselves off as skilled, in a field where they lack expertise, should be viewed with some suspicion. An exception to this rule is the employee who admits a lack of knowledge in that area, but expresses a willingness to learn the new skills.



Create a series of questions that bring out the entire person. While technical questions are important, it's essential to examine the person's creativity and problem solving skills. Ask some questions in the form of a problem, and see how the applicant responds to them. Other important questions involve ethical situations. If a person demonstrates a lack of ethical behaviour, they might be wrong for your company. Personal interests are also an area where beliefs and practices may be uncovered that may not be in tune with your company's culture as well.

Beware of any job applicant who badmouths their previous employer. All they are saying to you is that you will be the next evil one on their list. Employees who speak ill of former companies are also very likely to make yours a very unpleasant place as well. Be sure to check references. While it is not legal to ask some types of questions, very often the obvious question, of whether the person even worked at a company, will reveal some rather unsettling results. Not every resume is the truth, the whole truth, or even something that resembles the truth in barely the most peripheral way.

Good employees are out there for your company. The important factor is to select the right people, and avoid the employees who should come complete with their own headache remedies.

Job interviews are important. Treat them as such.

Tags: job interviews, selecting employees, personnel management, job references.

READ MORE - Interviewing employees: Avoiding problem workers

Educator and entrepreneur Corey Donaldson, founder of the Freedom Academy and author of the eye opening book Liberating Volunteer Slaves in a Free Nation, describes how entrepreneurship means true freedom in a person's business and personal life; and how to overcome barriers to achieving that freedom. Corey Donaldson is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.




The show airs live on Thursday, November 22, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Corey Donaldson describes how entrepreneurship means true freedom in a person's business and personal life. You will learn:

* Five addictions that prevent personal empowerment

* The cultural barriers to taking charge of your own life

* Ten events that create freedom in your life

* The power of entrepreneurship in achieving freedom



Corey Donaldson is the founder of The Freedom Academy. Corey Donaldson has been interviewed in hundreds of newspapers and magazines including The Wall Street Journal, The Dallas Morning News, The Arizona Republic, The New York Daily News and Mademoiselle. Corey has been interviewed on more than 500 radio stations and has been on TV with Dick Clark and was a judge on the TLC reality TV show Love University.

My book review of Liberating Volunteer Slaves in a Free Nation by Corey Donaldson.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with Corey Donaldson, author of the empowering book Liberating Volunteer Slaves in a Free Nation, as he describes how entrepreneurship means true freedom in a person's business and personal life. Learn how to overcome barriers to achieving that freedom, to boost your business success, on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Corey Donaldson, Liberating Volunteer Slaves in a Free Nation, entrepreneurial freedom, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

READ MORE - Corey Donaldson: Entrepreneurship Means Freedom - Blog Business Success Radio

This week sees a search engine marketing and SEO approach to the traveling business show, recognized by one and all as Carnival of the Capitalists and arrives at Gabriel Goldenberg's search engine optimization SEO blog known as SEO ROI Services.

This week's edition of Carnival of the Capitalists highlights some of the best bloggers writing on the internet today, as well as some of the best and most popular entries ever to the Carnival.

Blogging topics presented include entrepreneurship, management, stock market trading, internet commerce, marketing, the national economy, and personal finance.

As you would expect from Carnival of the Capitalists, there are many discussions of economics, marketing, business, and small business.

It's always great to read and discover the many high quality blogs out there in the blogosphere.

We don't always get to them all, and this edition of Carnival of the Capitalists has introduced many of us to some brand new ones; as well as some long time contributors.



I have an entry in this week's Carnival of the Capitalists as well.

My post is titled "Business disasters: Turning the page" where I discuss how business people have too often felt the pain, both personal and financial, of a business disaster. The reasons for failures are many and varied, and require a careful analysis to assure the don't recur. The problem then often moves from business analysis to decision paralysis. It can be very difficult to turn the page.

If you wish to submit an entry to next week's, or any Carnival of the Capitalists edition, e-mail your entries to the new address:

thecotc -at- gmail -dot- com

You can always use the handy entry form at Gongol.com where all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Talk about making it easy to be included!



If you are searching for new and exciting ways to expand your blog's readership, you should seriously consider sending an entry to Carnival of the Capitalists.

Merely being included in the company, of the first rate regular Carnival of the Capitalists contributors, will enhance the reputation of your blog.

The extra visitors sent to your blog won't hurt either!

The growth and staying power, of Carnival of the Capitalists, is beginning to catch the attention of people outside the blogging community. Each hosting, brings a fresh assortment of new readers, to the various blogs involved.

The visitors aren't only bloggers anymore.

Readership is expanding to include the mainstream media, various government and private organizations, many businesses, and other interested people from beyond the blogging community.

Many people are introduced to some tremendous blogs that they might otherwise have missed.

Next week's Carnival of the Capitalists will be hosted at the personal finance blog known as Money Walks.

In the meantime, click your mouse over to the SEO ROI Services hosting of Carnival of the Capitalists.

If the great posted entries don't convince you to click, or the possibility of finding some brand new blogs to read doesn't do it, then visit Carnival of the Capitalists and get into business for yourself.

Tags: carnivals, capitalism, business, marketing.

READ MORE - Carnival of the Capitalists at SEO ROI Services

Liberating Volunteer Slaves in a Free Nation

By Corey Donaldson

Date: 2007
Format: Paperback; 320 pp
Publisher: The Freedom Academy










Being a dissatisfied employee is the equivalent of becoming a volunteer slave, write Corey Donaldson in his eye opening book Liberating Volunteer Slaves in a Free Nation. To escape the bonds of voluntary servitude, the author describes the process, of internal changes in habit of thought, that can result in achieving freedom as an entrepreneur.

For Corey Donaldson, a free person takes personal responsibility and accepts accountability for their actions. Instead of maintaining the dependent modes of thought that wallow in servitude, the author describes some positive steps that will remove the bonds that stifle personal freedom. One of the most crucial aspects of achieving freedom is the overcoming of obstacles and personal failures and setbacks. Within these experiences are the keys to future entrepreneurial success.



Corey Donaldson (photo left) pulls no punches with his call for personal empowerment. He discusses openly the factors that he believes hold people back from reaching their full potential. He turns self help books upside down with his radical acceptance of personal responsibility and total accountability concept. The author provides the tools necessary to overcome your personal fears and to take control of your own life. The road to personal success is not an easy one, and Corey doesn't sugar coat his ideas. To his credit, he even tells his readers that if they are not ready to let go of their fears and seek freedom as humans, then they should stop reading his book at the first chapter.

For me, the power of the book is in its honest approach to achieving personal empowerment. Instead of providing feel good nostrums, Corey Donaldson guides the former slaves as he calls them to freedom. His book is a wake up call for anyone who hates their job and feels trapped with no visible escape. At the same time, the author values personal experience as the keys to a better future. His entrepreneurial solution, to gaining financial and personal security might not be for everyone, but paradoxically that hard nosed approach makes the book more powerful.

I recommend Liberating Volunteer Slaves in a Free Nation by Corey Donaldson for anyone seeking the keys to unlock the cell door that blocks their personal and business success. Instead of forcing yourself to go to work, at a job that you hate, the book provides an alternative path. That journey to self understanding and taking charge of your life will often lead to a very successful entrepreneurial career as well.

Read Liberating Volunteer Slaves in a Free Nation by Corey Donaldson and thrown off those chains, and become empowered as never before in your life.

Tags: Corey Donaldson, Liberating Volunteer Slaves in a Free Nation, entrepreneurial freedom, business book reviews.

READ MORE - Liberating Volunteer Slaves in a Free Nation by Corey Donaldson - Book review

Business people have too often felt the pain, both personal and financial, of a business disaster. The reasons for failures are many and varied, and require a careful analysis to assure the don't recur. The problem then often moves from business analysis to decision paralysis. It can be very difficult to turn the page.

Moving on from disaster can be very problematic for many organizations. Often, the owner or CEO become defensive and decide and prefer to avoid risk. The failure to place the problem in the past, and look to the future, can often be a worse decision than the original crisis. It is important to remember that choosing to retrench, and even to do nothing, is a decision in and of itself. By keeping that fact in mind, moving forward can become an easier transition.

The effects on an organization, following a major disaster, are not always obvious at first glance. Very often, they are subtle and deadly. An examination of some of the effects of a mistake can help a company recover and return to success. Following the assessment of the damage and its causes, the next step is to chart a course for the future. This is not the right time to get scared of making any decisions.



One result of a mistake is a round of finger pointing and blame placement. This is not the correct approach to the problem. Instead of placing blame on a scapegoated employee, there needs to be a renewed emphasis on team building and internal company cooperation.

Sometimes, good decisions just go bad due to to timing, competition, or the industry health in general. Firing or demoting an employee for risk taking sends the wrong message to the rest of the staff. Creating a culture of covering up, keeping heads down, and risk avoidance is a recipe for business failure in the long run. Be sure to let your employees understand that risks are rewarded, and are seen as a step to future profits.

Another costly result is an exodus of good staff people. The round of resume circulations is often seen as result of the disaster. Instead, the employee turnover is a consequence of the blame game. No one wants to remain in an organization where any mistakes result in a one way trip to the company's Siberia. Risk takers should be praised for their creativity, and a series of pilot programs, periodic checkpoints, and research plans be developed to prevent future monetary drains.



A third result is often a concentration of decision making into the hands of the owner, CEO, or senior management. The company becomes more centralized with a deepening sense of two way mistrust and micromanagement. Instead of helping the company move forward, this approach is focussed on the past. A fear of mistakes paralyzes the entire company into inactivity. A steady erosion of market share is the all too frequent next step.

When a disaster strikes a business, it is important to turn the page. If employees understand that risk and mistakes are part of the overall success of the company, they will continue to develop new financial, marketing, production, and distribution plans. Creativity should be encouraged, and tightening the decision making screws won't get the job done.

If a disaster happens, turn the page and write a new chapter of company success instead.

Tags: decision making, business management, creative thinking, overcoming disasters.

READ MORE - Business disasters: Turning the page

Author, business professor, and former executive Dorothea E. Gaulden, author of the provocative book Right Makes Might: Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business, discusses the unethical practices that have overtaken business in the past decade. She describes how employing ethical principles can help your company achieve greater success than competitors using unscrupulous business methods. Dorothea Gaulden is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on Blog Talk Radio.


The show airs live on Thursday, November 15, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Author, business professor, and former executive Dorothea Gaulden discusses the unethical practices that have overtaken business in the past decade. You will learn:

* How good ethics are good business

* How to become an ethics based company

* How to make ethical business practices part of your company culture

* The financial consequences faced by unethical businesses



Dorothea E. Gaulden (photo left) is former finance executive with over 25 years experience and an adjunct professor of business. Dorothea E. Gaulden understands the importance of correcting the unethical behavior overtaking our business community at the corporate level and in university classrooms.

Dorothea attended Youngstown University in Ohio, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She earned an MBA in finance from the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, and a Ph.D. in organization and management from Capella University in Minneapolis.

After 10 years with ITT Corporation, as assistant controller, Dorothea Gaulden was promoted to Director of Governmental Financial relations in Washington, D.C. where she worked with several government agencies on behalf of the company. Three years later she was promoted to vice president and controller and subsequently promoted to North America group controller responsible for financial performances of facilities in Mexico, Canada and the U.S.

Today, she serves as an adjunct business professor for undergraduate and graduate students at American InterContinental University, Indiana Wesleyan University and Argosy University.

During an active career, Dorothea E. Gaulden has witnessed first-hand the decline of ethical standards in the American business community from corrupt practices by corporate executives to dishonest business students in her classes. Inspired to make a positive impact, she authored Right Makes Might: Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business (Bridgeway Books, Aug. 2007), in which she provides a timely glimpse of the current pervasive, troubling condition of business practices.

She explores the lack of common sense and respect for others, and the willingness of corporations and individuals to knowingly engage in unethical practices. She then utilizes her expertise to offer a workable remedy to combat this cancer tainting our business environment.

My book review of Right Makes Might: Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business by Dorothea E. Gaulden.



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with Dorothea E. Gaulden, author of the provocative book Right Makes Might: Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business, discusses the unethical practices that have overtaken business in the past decade. She describes how employing ethical principles can help your company achieve greater success than competitors using unscrupulous business methods, to boost your business success on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Dorothea E. Gaulden, Right Makes Might, business ethics, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

READ MORE - Dorothea Gaulden: Right Makes Might - Reviving Ethics To Improve Your Business - Blog Business Success Radio

This week sees an entrepreneurial approach to the traveling business show, recognized by one and all as Carnival of the Capitalists and arrives at the UK based entrepreneurial blog known as Business Opportunities and Ideas.

This week's edition of Carnival of the Capitalists highlights some of the best bloggers writing on the internet today, as well as some of the best and most popular entries ever to the Carnival.

Blogging topics presented include entrepreneurship, management, market trading, internet commerce, marketing, the national economy and personal finance.

As you would expect from Carnival of the Capitalists, there are many discussions of economics, marketing, business, and small business.

It's always great to read and discover the many high quality blogs out there in the blogosphere.

We don't always get to them all, and this edition of Carnival of the Capitalists has introduced many of us to some brand new ones; as well as some long time contributors.



I have an entry in this week's Carnival of the Capitalists as well.

My post is titled "Decision making: Avoiding two false choices" where I discuss how management decision making is crucial to the success of an organization. While that statement may appear moot, the decision making process is often taken for granted in many companies. In a few businesses, the process is even short circuited to gain support for some very questionable policy choices.

If you wish to submit an entry to next week's, or any Carnival of the Capitalists edition, e-mail your entries to the new address:

thecotc -at- gmail -dot- com

You can always use the handy entry form at Gongol.com where all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Talk about making it easy to be included!



If you are searching for new and exciting ways to expand your blog's readership, you should seriously consider sending an entry to Carnival of the Capitalists.

Merely being included in the company, of the first rate regular Carnival of the Capitalists contributors, will enhance the reputation of your blog.

The extra visitors sent to your blog won't hurt either!

The growth and staying power, of Carnival of the Capitalists, is beginning to catch the attention of people outside the blogging community. Each hosting, brings a fresh assortment of new readers, to the various blogs involved.

The visitors aren't only bloggers anymore.

Readership is expanding to include the mainstream media, various government and private organizations, many businesses, and other interested people from beyond the blogging community.

Many people are introduced to some tremendous blogs that they might otherwise have missed.

Next week's Carnival of the Capitalists will be hosted at Gabriel Goldenberg's search engine optimization SEO blog known as SEO ROI Services.

In the meantime, click your mouse over to the Business Opportunities and Ideas hosting of Carnival of the Capitalists.

If the great posted entries don't convince you to click, or the possibility of finding some brand new blogs to read doesn't do it, then visit Carnival of the Capitalists and get into business for yourself.

Tags: carnivals, capitalism, business, marketing.

READ MORE - Carnival of the Capitalists at Business Opportunities and Ideas

Right Makes Might

Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business

By Dorothea E. Gaulden, PhD.

ISBN10: 1933538864
ISBN13: 9781933538860
Format: Hardcover
Pub. Date: August 1, 2007
Publisher: Bridgeway Books



The application of strong ethical practices will make a business more successful in many different ways, writes Dorothea E. Gaulden in her provocative book Right Makes Might: Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business. She describes the importance of becoming an ethical company for the benefit of shareholders, employees, customers, and society in general. The author also sets out a solution to the dilemma of how to become a business that practices ethics as a way of life.

Dorothea Gaulden begins her book with a discussion of the decline of ethical values in all areas of modern life. Whether it's students cheating in university courses, or executives in huge corporations engaging in illegal and unethical practices to improve a short term quarterly report, ethical behaviour is lacking in modern society. While painting a gloomy portrait of today's society, Dorothea demonstrates clearly that dishonesty provides at best a short term gain. As we see from the current financial headlines, illegal and unethical corporate activities are unraveling at an alarming rate.



Dorothea E. Gaulden (photo left) makes a powerful case for establishing strong ethical practices as core company values. To achieve this goal, business leaders must move far beyond the lip service paid to their alleged codes of conduct. All too often, the ethical words are derailed by tacit or even overt rewards for employees stepping outside those best practice guidelines. Instead of active support of unethical behaviour, good ethics must start at the top, by example. If leadership involves facilitating change in company practices, then the establishment of impeccable ethics is a good place to start.

With so many industry leading companies in the financial and housing communities, teetering on the edge of financial ruin, there is no better example of the failure of unethical practices. They simply don't work over the long term. When unscrupulous business techniques are uncovered, the resulting loss of confidence in the company results in its often very rapid demise. Regardless of the size of the organization, the establishment and adherence to strong ethical principle would have prevented disaster. At the same time, ethical companies gain customers and clients because of their cleaner image.

For me, the power of the book is the development of a program for successful implementation of total ethical behaviour within a company. The author's unflinching dedication to moral and ethical actions is vindicated by current events within society in general, and the economy in particular. Being ethical in business is demonstrated clearly as being good business. People prefer to business with other people whom they know and trust. A strong sense of ethics is essential to creating and nurturing that trust. As we have seen in the business news, unethical companies are failing at an alarming rate. On the other hand, being ethical in your business pays.

I highly recommend Right Makes Might: Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business by Dorothea E. Gaulden for any business person who is serious about incorporating ethics into their company culture. Ethics must become a way of life for successful organizations in the future. This book helps guide your business on that important high road to improved company culture.

Read Right Makes Might: Reviving Ethics to Improve Your Business by Dorothea E. Gaulden, and feel good about how you conduct your business, and how you live your life.

Tags: Dorothea E. Gaulden, Right Makes Might, business ethics, business book reviewsi.

READ MORE - Right Makes Might by Dorothea Gaulden - Book review

Author and conversational marketing expert Lois Kelly, of The Foghound Blog, and author of the insightful book Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing shares ideas for improving your conversations with your customers, and for listening and learning from them to enhance your marketing. Lois Kelly is my internet radio show guest on Blog Business Success; hosted live on Blog Talk Radio.



The show airs live on Thursday, November 8, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

Lois Kelly shares ideas for building word of mouth marketing campaigns through improved messages and enhanced communication techniques. You will learn:

* Why it is vital to open the lines of communication with your customers

* How to engage your customers in real and meaningful talks

* How to use blogs and other social media tools to facilitation conversations

* How to employ the new marketing techniques in your own company

Lois Kelly, (photo left) is the author of Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing. She believes the root cause of many business and marketing problems is communications. She’s dedicated her career to helping companies talk about their companies and issues in ways that get people to buy, believe and change, no matter how complex the topic or how competitive the market. Her clients have included SAP, Sun Microsystems, Sapient, FedEx, The Business Innovation Factory, Hyperion, eRoom, Copernicus, Orange, and SAS Institute.

Lois’ articles have appeared in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Brandweek, Advertising Age, and Adweek, and she frequently speaks at conferences on marketing and communications throughout the world. Lois Kelly is a board member of the Tony-award winning theater, Trinity Repertory Company, and is an advisor to Northeastern University’s fast-growing Communications Studies program.

My book review of Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing by Lois Kelly



If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.



To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832

Let's talk with Lois Kelly, of The Foghound Blog, and author of the insightful book Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing, as she shares ideas for improving your conversations with your customers, and for listening and learning from them to enhance your marketing and to boost your business success on Blog Business Success Radio.

Tags: Lois Kelly, Beyond Buzz, marketing conversations, Blog Business Success, Blog Talk Radio.

READ MORE - Lois Kelly: Beyond Buzz - The Next Generation of Word of Mouth Marketing - Blog Business Success Radio

This week sees a small business approach to the traveling business show, recognized by one and all as Carnival of the Capitalists and arrives at the small business information blog known as Small Business Essentials.

This week's edition of Carnival of the Capitalists highlights some of the best bloggers writing on the internet today, as well as some of the best and most popular entries ever to the Carnival.

Blogging topics presented include entrepreneurship, management, market trading, internet commerce, marketing, the national economy and personal finance.

As you would expect from Carnival of the Capitalists, there are many discussions of economics, marketing, business, and small business.

It's always great to read and discover the many high quality blogs out there in the blogosphere.

We don't always get to them all, and this edition of Carnival of the Capitalists has introduced many of us to some brand new ones; as well as some long time contributors.



If you wish to submit an entry to next week's, or any Carnival of the Capitalists edition, e-mail your entries to the new address:

thecotc -at- gmail -dot- com

You can always use the handy entry form at Gongol.com where all you have to do is fill in the blanks. Talk about making it easy to be included!



If you are searching for new and exciting ways to expand your blog's readership, you should seriously consider sending an entry to Carnival of the Capitalists.

Merely being included in the company, of the first rate regular Carnival of the Capitalists contributors, will enhance the reputation of your blog.

The extra visitors sent to your blog won't hurt either!

The growth and staying power, of Carnival of the Capitalists, is beginning to catch the attention of people outside the blogging community. Each hosting, brings a fresh assortment of new readers, to the various blogs involved.

The visitors aren't only bloggers anymore.

Readership is expanding to include the mainstream media, various government and private organizations, many businesses, and other interested people from beyond the blogging community.

Many people are introduced to some tremendous blogs that they might otherwise have missed.

Next week's Carnival of the Capitalists will be hosted at the UK based entrepreneurial blog known as Business Opportunities and Ideas.

In the meantime, click your mouse over to the Small Business Essentials hosting of Carnival of the Capitalists.

If the great posted entries don't convince you to click, or the possibility of finding some brand new blogs to read doesn't do it, then visit Carnival of the Capitalists and get into business for yourself.

Tags: carnivals, capitalism, business, marketing.

READ MORE - Carnival of the Capitalists again at Small Business Essentials

Beyond Buzz:

The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

By: Lois Kelly

Published: Feb 28, 2007
ISBN: 9780814473832
Format: Hardcover, 228pp
Publisher: Amacom Books



New marketing is about conversations, and not hiding behind outmoded corporate speak, writes Lois Kelly , in her insightful book
Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing. Talking with customers as if you really mean it, and listening to their thoughts and ideas, are how new marketers learn what is important about their companies and products.

For marketing expert Lois Kelly, the importance of engaging customers in real and meaningful conversations is crucial to successful marketing campaigns. While the tools of marketing, including blogs and the many social media sites are important, they are only the vehicles to help facilitate an honest discussion. A successful marketer seeks ways to open lines of communication, around topics of interest to the customer. Letting go of control of the marketing message, and becoming more open to ideas outside of your company and its products, helps the marketer to learn what is important to people.



Lois Kelly (photo left) makes a convincing case for listening to customers and learning their needs and desires, as the keys to successful marketing. The only way to learn is to talk, and to create comfortable and meaningful ways to open up real discussion. It is not enough to place advertisements, write a few blog posts, or join a social media network.

Without engaging customers and clients in the conversation, the entire point of the new talk based marketing is lost in the shuffle. Engaging with customers on a deep emotional level requires talking and listening to their ideas about needs. For many traditional marketers, that is a radical step in thinking that is essential in the modern marketplace.

For me, the power of the book is in its direct approach, to conversation and talking with customers, as the crux of successful marketing. Lois Kelly sets out concrete examples of successful conversation building marketers, demonstrating the effectiveness of real discussion. She also provides a workable framework to help any marketer talk on a meaningful level with customers. The book is a concise crash course in conversational marketing that can be used by anyone in any business.

I highly recommend Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing by Lois Kelly for anyone who is really serious about engaging customers in meaningful conversations. If your goal is to listen to your customers, and you are not sure how to create the right climate, this book sets out a myriad of ways to help you talk and learn from your own customers and clients.

Read Beyond Buzz: The Next Generation of Word-of-Mouth Marketing by Lois Kelly, and start some real conversations with your customers today.

Tags: Lois Kelly, Beyond Buzz, marketing conversations, business book reviews.

READ MORE - Beyond Buzz by Lois Kelly - Book review