Article of Interest: Growing Beyond

In a recent report, Growing Beyond: how high performers are competing for growth in difficult times, Ernst & Young's United Kingdom's operation analyzes the ways in which high-performing companies are responding to the new economic landscape.

Further, it shows that leading companies are striving to grow beyond traditional boundaries by expanding into new markets, promoting innovation in products and services, and nurturing new talent.

Learn more here.

Event of Interest: 100 Black Men of Chicago and the Women Presidents' Organization

100 Black Men of Chicago and the Women Presidents' Organization 
Honoring Women of Color

Sponsored by PNC and IBM

Thursday, November 1, 2012
The Mid-America Club, Chicago
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Private affair - members and special guests only.  

We are excited about honoring WPO Chicago members and many other influential women.  See you there.

For more information, please contact:  Laurel Delaney (773-381-1700).

Article of Interest: Presentations That Matter

Who hasn't put together what they thought was a killer presentation in their professional lifetime only to find out later on -- during the presentation -- that the audience has a glazed-over look in their eyes, some even falling asleep?

Fear no more.  One of my favorite presentation experts, Nancy Duarte, in the following article provides two big ideas on how to make the audience the stars of your presentation and deliver a presentation that matters.

Create a Presentation Your Audience Will Care About

About Nancy Duarte:  She is the author of the all-new edition of the HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations, as well as two award-winning books on the art of presenting, Slide:ology and Resonate. Her team at Duarte, Inc., has created more than a quarter of a million presentations for its clients and teaches public and corporate workshops on presenting. Follow Duarte on Twitter: @nancyduarte.

Illustration credit:  Nancy Duarte, Harvard Business Review

Article of Interest: 10 Secrets to Managing a Successful Blog

As featured in the October 2012 edition of the Women Presidents' Organization newsletter.

10 Secrets to Managing a Successful Blog

How to Grow a Niche-Market Blog Into the Hottest Property on the Planet

Illustration credit:  ©Global TradeSource, Ltd., The Global Small Business Blog

Full disclosure:  Laurel Delaney is the creator and publisher of The Global Small Business Blog

Organization of Interest: Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP)

With the presidential election right around the corner, we've called on Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) to help us better understand the policy impact and policy priorities each of the candidates will have on small business owners, if elected.

That said, at our October WPO Chicago meeting, we will have Ann Sullivan who heads up WIPP's government relationships in DC present a nonpartisan comparison of our presidential candidates.

In preparation, we will read the Economic Blueprint for the 112th Congress.  Please click here to access it.

The Economic Blueprint's strength is evident by its support from the women's business community and many business associations. Through the Blueprint we have a voice, and through the Blueprint, Congress and the Administration are able to clearly understand the economic principles important to small business growth.

 To get involved with WIPP, go here.

Illustration credit:  WIPP

Posted by:  Women Presidents' Organization Chicago

Event of Interest: WBDC Conference in Chicago (9/20)

Bari Ray, Chapter Chair and Membership Services Coordinator for WPO at the WBDC Conference Chicago 2012

We had a wonderful time exhibiting at the Women's Business Development Center (WBDC) conference in Chicago on Thursday, September 20th.  Thank you for stopping by our Booth No. 512!

Bari Ray, Chapter Chair and Membership Services Coordinator (pictured) and I enjoyed meeting you.  We chatted with many talented women business owners, including our very own WPO Chicago members.

If you have any questions about WPO (Chicago), please feel free to contact me.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Article of Interest: Kiss Bad Presentations Goodbye

What's the downside to a bad PowerPoint presentation?  I know, I know, we don't have all day.  Number one, you will either turn people off (forever) or put them to sleep, whichever comes first.  Either one is not too pretty, especially when it relates to nailing down new business.

Here comes Haiku Deck, a free app for the iPad making it impossible to create ugly, pathetic slides.

Curious as to how this is possible?  Me too.  So have a look over at:  Haiku Deck.  Meanwhile, read the entire article:  A Presentation App That Forces You to Tell Better Stories

Illustration credit:  Haiku Deck homepage

Article of Interest: The Next Digital Revolution

©2012 Laurel Delaney, "Digital Revolution"

Below is a snapshot of six trends and developments in the world of mobile along with suggestions on what you should do next with your business to stay ahead and remain relevant. Use it as a guide for paving the way to a more prosperous future in our connected world.

The Next Digital Revolution: Mobile Phones Plus e-Commerce Equals Digital Global Success

Video of Interest: What Is the Women Presidents' Organization?

The Women Presidents' Organization currently has 101 chapters in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Peru and South Africa.

If you would like more information on WPO, please call 212-688-4114 or email info@womenpresidentsorg.com.

Book of Interest: 4 Traits to Business Success

Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck -- already a New York Times bestseller -- is a new book authored by Anthony Tjan, Richard Harrington and Tsun-Yan Hsieh.  It's core finding is that business success and decision-making is driven by the four traits of the book's title.

Do you know which of these traits dominates your personality?  For long-term succees, you ought to.

Learn more here.

Go straight to:  Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck:  Wisdom Manifestos culled from top business leaders

Illustration credits:  Heart, Smarts, Guts, and Luck website

Article of Interest: The Social Media Roadmap

Are you on top of your social media game?  Quick test.  Do you know how to utilize Reddit, Foursquare, Facebook and Twitter to grow your business?  Not so sure?

Get your social mojo in order below.  A snapshot of just a few of the fine insights you will learn:

Social Or Die
What Your Social Media Consultant Should Tell You
The 36 Rules of Social Media

The Social Media ROADMAP

Illustration credit:  Foursquare

Article of Interest: How to Improve Search Rankings Through Social Media Interactions

Online content is Queen (not King in our case). It's a valuable asset to leverage and grow a business.

Here are three ways to use social media to improve your search rankings.

Blog Post of Interest: How Stimulating Should Your Work Environment Be?

Is your lifestyle designed to serve as a smokescreen - hiding the fact that what you do doesn't matter?  If you are running a meaningful and successful business, clearly that should not be the case.  But are you?

How can you tell whether you are pushing your employees too much -- that they never have a moment to think outside the box, create new breakthroughs or even look for new opportunities to help grow your business?

Think there's an easy solution?  Guess again.

The answer isn't a simple "yes" or "no."  While Kreider argues that we need a bout of idleness to get inspired and work more effectively, there is evidence that workers benefit from busyness. 

Susan David at the HBR Blog Network addresses this compelling topic and more in "Is Busyness Bad For Business?"  Take the time to read the reader's comments.

My tip for today is:  "Be idle.  Get inspired!

Article of Interest: How to Build a Great Sales Team

Let's face it, we all want a winning sales team.  But why is it so many of us fall short of building one?  Is it "us" or is it "them?"  Or is it something else?

Clearly, the best sales forces have both excellent salespeople and excellent managers.  A team of ...

Read the entire Harvard Business Review blog post here.

A few interesting reader's comments:

•  You need to get the right person at the driving seat and let him or her run with it. A great manager will get great people working for him and ensure the organization is benefited.

•  Few organizations have any substantial programs for sales managers, much less real sales leadership.  Yet, sales team leaders and sales “managers” are the most critical element for success because they define and drive the culture for each sales person and the sales team.

•  What were great managers before they were great managers?  As far as I know, you don't just get promoted into a management role - you have to earn that right, build that experience and then win the position.  I would disagree and say that all great managers, at one time or another, were great sales people.  "You can't know where you're going, unless you remember where you came from."

 What's your experience?  How have you developed a best sales force?  We welcome hearing from you!

Article of Interest: Mobile Commerce Booms

New data from IBM shows mobile commerce in 2012 is booming, representing 15.1% of all online sales.  Social commerce, on the other hand, is declining 20% in Q2 2012 - just 1.9% of online sales (down from 2.4%).

As a business owner, how are you leveraging technology to perform better for your customers?

... it’s clear that mobile commerce is growing bigger and faster than social commerce.  Why?  Well, mobile-enhanced commerce has a clear value proposition that hits one of the core 4C’s of marketing (as shown above) – convenience.

Read the entire article and view the slideshare here.

Illustration credit:  Social Commerce Today

Article of Interest: Why Emotions Matter in the Business World

What to do with negativity in the workplace?  How do you handle a chronic complainer?   Every once in a while we hire a key person who seems ideal for a job - only to discover later on that they are a big time energy drainer within the firm.

What can you do?  The article below is a good example of how one executive handled a very similar situation.  Once he took action, a cloud had lifted and the sun came out.

Read the entire article:  Emotional Contagion Can Take Down Your Whole Team

Event of Interest: 9th Annual WPO Chicago Summit 2012!

For more information, contact WPO Chicago Chapter Chair Laurel Delaney, ldelaney@globetrade.com or 773-381-1700.

For Members Only.

Books of Interest: Great Summer Reading for Business Owners

Photo courtesy:  ©Laurel Delaney 2012, "Steve Jobs"

Start up or beyond, these books will help you brush up on everything from modern marketing to leadership to innovation.  A terrific book list.

A List of Must-Read Books For Startups and Entrepreneurs

Photo -- "Steve Jobs - Biography" -- courtesy of Laurel Delaney and featured as No. 5 on the book list under Inspiration.


Related posts.

Article of Interest: The Consumer Cloud

©Laurel Delaney 2012

As you run your business, you need to access critical information -- presentations, files, spreadsheets, and photos -- on-the-move.  According to "Top Trends of 2012:  The Consumer Cloud," there are three main types of consumer cloud services.  I just happen to use all three.  Are you?

1.  Online storage:  Dropbox is the leading brand in this category, despite competing with heavyweights like Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive, Amazon Cloud Drive, Box.net and others.

2.  Online sync: iCloud enables Apple users to easily sync their media across devices. So far music is the battleground in this category, although it will eventually extend to other types of media (like videos). iTunes Match allows iTunes users to sync their music collection across devices, using iCloud. Competitors include Google Music and Spotify.

3.  Online notes: Evernote is the leading player in this niche; it really has no peers.

Read the entire article here.

Photo credit:  ©Laurel Delaney 2012

Article of Interest: What's Next for Silicon Valley?

It pays to track trends, especially when running a business.  For the restless souls, this article gives a glimpse of what's around the corner in terms of technological advancements that might disrupt the way in which we conduct business.

The engineer behind Google X, Sebastian Thrun, shares his background and provides ideas on what he's currently working on (e.g., Udacity as shown above) in Google world.

Can't you pinpoint almost everything that happened back to some technological breakthrough?" ~ S. Thrun 

Read:  What's Next for Silicon Valley?