Escaping Mediocrity

So I am one of the lucky bloggers who received an advanced copy of Tony Hseih’s book Delivering Happiness. I talked a bit about it and even gave away a copy here.

No doubt you’ve seen all of the amazing reviews out there. If you haven’t just take a peek at the book’s Amazon page. The glowing kudos are well deserved. It is truly an amazing book with a TON of practical application (that I plan to use my very self!).

And instead of adding my own run down of the incredible content you will find in it, I’ve decided to take a slightly different tack. I know I know. Now there’s a surprise.

What I learned from the book and from my tour of Zappos HQ last fall is that Delivering Happiness is an Inside/Outside Job. And Tony lives it every day.

Inside:

First, even before the idea of Zappos entered his head, Tony understood that he had to be happy on the inside with whatever he created in the world. Having is turn a profit came second. He had to “deliver happiness” to himself before he could deliver it to others.

Second, he had to “deliver happiness” to his team before they could deliver it to anyone else. Even amid a difficult season of layoffs, Tony rose to the challenge of transparent giving and sharing that carried everyone through to the other side.

Third, his team had to “deliver happiness” to each other before they could deliver it to customers. The internal support, community and joie de vivre that exists inside Zappo’s is unlike anything I have ever seen. It makes me want to quit what I do and answer customer service phone call for them. Seriously.

Bonus: Reading the chapter on Zappo’s Culture Book should be mandatory reading for all CEO’s. #justsayin

Outside:

First, his front line call center team is totally focused on creating an extraordinary customer service experience. Did you know that there is no time limit on how long a rep can stay on the phone with a customer? This completely bucks the norm of running a stopwatch on customer service calls. And reps are encouraged to write handwritten notes to people they talk to. Sometimes they even send flowers. Think that approach “delivers happiness” to the person spending the money?

Second, his vendor relations team treats prospective vendors like top clients. Zappos pays to ship in product they are considering and takes the time to set up an attractive display for the vendor’s presentation. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know of any other company who forms vendor relationships like that.

Third “If you just focus on making sure that your product or service continually WOWs people, eventually the press will find out about it..” Beats the heck out of traditional PR strategy, don’t you think?

Of course there is much much more to creating a Delivering Happiness kind of culture – but these are among my favorites.

If you want to begin your Inside/Outside job of Delivering Happiness, I highly recommend getting your mitts on the book, get a notebook and a pen so you can jot down notes and start taking happy action without delay.

Here’s where you can get yours: http://www.deliveringhappinessbook.com

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One of the fun things that happens to me every now and then is that I get to read advanced copies of books that are going to be hot Hot HOT! And lucky me just received not one but TWO copies of Delivering Happiness by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh.

I’ll just give you a peek at the table of contents so you can see that this book is ALL about Escaping Mediocrity.

Section I: Profits

1. In Search of Profits

2. You Win Some, You Lose Some

3. Diversify

Section II: Profits and Passion

4. Concentrate Your Position

5.  Platform for Growth: Brand, Culture, Pipeline

Section III: Profits, Passion and Purpose

6. Taking It to the Next Level

7. End Game

Once I finish reading it, I plan to do a full video review. But like I said, I got TWO copies – one for me and one to share and I don’t want to wait to share.

I would like to give my extra copy, along with a few more of my favorite books, to someone in The Tribe.

Sooo….with the help of Maddy Dychtwald (@GoInfluence), I’ve thought of a way to combine 1) shoes 2) getting rid of stuff and 3) doing good in the world. Here’s how it’s going to work:

1) Go through your currents shoes and the shoes of anyone who lives in your house. Find the ones that in great shape but that aren’t being worn. Put them all in a row.

2) Choose a charity who needs your shoes.

2) Snap a picture of your shoes.

3. Upload the picture to Flickr or another online photo hosting site.

4. Leave a comment below and share 1) How many pairs of shoes you gathered 2) What charity you are donating them to and 3) a link to the photo.

5) BONUS POINTS (meaning your name goes in the hat twice): for an additional photo of you making the shoe delivery.

***Amended Rule: If you have given away shoes to a charity in the past 6 weeks and can tell me about it in the comments, your name goes in the hat to win the book too. ***

Everyone who enters will get their name put in the hat and The Young Turk will draw the winner!

Deadline: Sunday, May 2, Midnight EST.

I know, I’m asking a lot. But I have an exceptional tribe who will rise to the challenge.  And remember, you will get an advanced copy of Delivering Happiness, plus copies of some of my very favorite books (I already know of three – and will be adding more).

Can’t wait to see how YOU deliver happiness!!

P.S. If you have a blog and want to apply for your own advanced copies, here is the link for that:
http://www.deliveringhappinessbook.com/contact/apply-for-an-advance-copy/

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(Sometimes, I start writing a blog post thinking it is going in one direction, and then it hijacks my idea and goes somewhere else entirely. This post is a perfect example of what I mean.)

I’ve been thinking a lot about my tribe lately. Mainly because I’ve realized that I simply could not do what I do everyday without them. Oh – I suppose I could for a little while, but my tribe makes it so much more fun, so much more worthwhile and so much LESS scary.

Seth Godin, in his book Tribes, defines a tribe this way:

“A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For million of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate. . . Tribes need leadership. Sometimes one person leads, sometimes more. People want connection and growth and something new. They want change.” (Pages 1-2)

When I first shifted the focus of this blog to “escaping mediocrity on adventure at a time”, I knew that this undertaking was WAY bigger than anything I could do alone. And I knew I needed a tribe around me if I was going to be able to sustain the vision.  What I didn’t know, was exactly how to get one. And truth be told, I still don’t.

As I’ve said many times here – and on Twitter – I am very very blessed to have somehow connected with other like-minded people who are as tired of the status quo as I am. And I’ve actually had people ask me what “formula” I used to build such an amazing group.

Formula? Really?

Can you put “publicly saying things that scare you out of your wits and hoping someone else understands” into a formula? Or “creating meaningful conversation with and between others” ? Or “telling others they made you laugh so hard Coke came out your nose” ?

If you can, you are much better mathematician than I am. Cuz I simply don’t know how to plug that into an A + B=C kind of equation. And even if there were such an equation, I wouldn’t want it.

Why?

Because this tribe is made up of real, live human beings who are dazzlingly individual and intricate. Why on earth would I want to trivialize you by trying to wrap you up into some neat kind of package?

And anyway, if I tried to describe to someone else how the tribe here is developing, it would sound something like this:

Well, first, you put up a blog thinking you know what you are going to talk about. Then about six months into it, you realize that that isn’t what you are going to talk about – you’re going to talk about this other thing. And no – you can’t get any market research ahead of time on the audience or the demand because there isn’t any. So then you start writing blog posts that scare the sh*t out of you. And you tell a few of the friends you’ve made on Twitter about them, hoping that they will feel enough pity that they will show up and at least READ what you wrote. And when they do read and take the time to comment, you replybecause their comments are so much MORE intelligent and witty than what you wrote in the first place.  Oh – and in between writing these posts and hoping someone will read them and replying to the comments they leave, you get on Twitter and laugh a lot and introduce people to each other and try to help where you can.

So for those of you wondering about my magic formula – there it is. Good luck trying to duplicate it. Even I can’t duplicate it (if you DO figure it out and make some money on it – send me a percentage, ok?).

Now – because I ALWAYS want this blog to be useful and, as I’ve said, you are all WAY smarter, savvier, and funnier than I am – I want to ask  you a question. If you were trying to tell someone how to build and maintain a tribe that you wanted to be a part of, what is the #1 thing you would share with them?

As always, I can’t wait to read your comments!!

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I’ve decided to bite the bullet and add more video to my blog!

In today’s video, I talk about my new favorite book, Trust Agents, by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. Yes, it is as good as you keep hearing it is (that is, IF you haven’t read it. If you have read it, you already know that.)

It’s my most recent pick for the Escaping Mediocrity Bookshelf. Watch my video below to find out why.

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So if you’ve been following along recently on my business and my life, you are up to speed on the fact that I am “walking the grid”, recovering from a major setback. (If you haven’t been following along, you can quickly catch up by reading Failing Sucks and Cake.)

One major part of my Grid is reading  things that inspire me and make me feel better – smart, capable, hopeful, etc. So when I was watching my tweetstream the other day, I lunged at Jonathan Fields’  link to his newly released F2 Firefly Manifesto: Remixed. I read Jonathan’s blog, Awake At The Wheel,  regularly so I knew whatever he had written would be fantastic.  I just wasn’t prepared for HOW fantastic.

If you are desperate to escape professional (and personal for that matter) mediocrity and think it is impossible in today’s economy, sprint HERE and download this manifesto NOW (and don’t bother continuing your reading here – you can come back).

Still here? Ok – I’ll tell you why I like it so much and why it is Oh-So-UN-Mediocre.

1) It’s not full of links selling stuff. Nothing irritates me more than reading free documents that HINT at solutions – but to actually get them, you have to buy this ebook or that coaching program. The ideas and solutions Jonathan offers are right there, in the manifesto. And if you want further reading you can go to his blog or read his book.

2)It is practical and actionable. Sometimes I see manifestos that are long on theory and short on action steps I can take right now. Jonathan’s manifesto gives readers TONS of ideas and “Nine Renegade Actions To Take Today.”  My favorite is “Choose Your Renegade Path” where he says “With rare exception, making a great living doing what you love isn’t a matter of ‘if’ anymore, it’s a matter of ‘how’. Yes, even in this economy. “

3) It doesn’t ignore the reality of our current economic climate. I have grown so weary of the words “recession proof” and of hearing some gurus say that our mindset is all it takes to steer clear of the impact of today’s unstable marketplace. Jonathan does not pussyfoot around about what is REALLY happening – businesses are closing, people are losing jobs and new jobs just aren’t plentiful. And then —- he offers hope in the face of this reality.

Here is the definition of success Jonathan invites all of us to try on for size:

Will this career choice allow me to:

-Spend the greatest amount of time

-Absorbed in activities and relationships that fill me up

-While surrounding myself with people I cannot get enough of, and

-Earning enough to live comfortably in the world.

Jonathan not only believes that this is possible – he knows HOW to make it possible.  So, if you haven’t yet, go HERE and download your free copy of F2 The Firefly Manifesto: REMIXED. And, as always, I really want to know what you think about it, so comeback and tell me, ok?!!

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I am a voracious reader. Comes with the territory when your mother is an English teacher and an annual family tradition is swapping reading lists. (And yes, we try to impress each other with our lists!).

Books influence me. They stick with me. And I re-read good ones over and over again until the spines break and pages start to fall out. My family will tell you that when I am engrossed in a book, Armageddon could be happening all around me and I would be oblivious to it. That’s how much I put into reading!

I am often asked for reading suggestions or about what books inflenced me the most. So I thought I would share my list of the books that have fundamentally shaped the person I am today:

1) The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.
Doesn’t matter whether you think you are creative or not. We all have a creative spark and Julia (whom I’ve met in person) does an amazing job at helping everyone uncover their unique creativity. I’ve had to replace this book twice because I wore my copies out.

2) The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Don’t let the short length of this book mislead you on it’s power. It is a masterfully crafted parable about finding one’s Personal Legend, facing adversity, having the universe conspire on your behalf and the power of perseverance. I even have the CD version and Jeremy Irons reads the beautiful language to me when I need extra TLC for my dreams.

3) Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
The only novel I know of where entrepreneurs are the heroes. I know it’s long. But I’ve read it at least ten times and the whole thing is practically one big underline because the writing is so powerful.

4) Tie: Finding Your Own North Star & Steering By Starlight by
Martha Beck.
At one time in my life, I was a self-help book junkie. I owned a ton of them. Read them all. And they all left me lacking (well except for The Artist’s Way). UNTIL I read Finding Your Own North Star. This book lead to my meeting and working with Martha Beck (she writes a column for Oprah magazine) and eventually being personally trained by her as a coach. 

Her follow up, Steering By Starlight is just as powerful – if not more so. These are the first books I recommend to clients who are struggling to discover what they want and who they want to be.

So, there you have it. The five books I return to over and over again. When I feel unclear or a little shaky or just need to get myself regrounded, the words contained in these books always deliver the boost I need.

What books would you add?

Original art uploaded on November 5, 2006
by Faeryan

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Gotta tell ya – I can remember sitting at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans 3 1/2 years ago munching on beignets (powdered sugar is STILL in the pages) as I devoured the pages of this book.  Jotting notes all in the margins, formulating execution plans – it literally changed the course of my business.  As one of my coaching friends said, “It’s like the Rosetta Stone to building a PROFITABLE coaching practice.” 

Since then, I’ve had the good fortune of meeting Andrea and adding her to my list of mentors.  She is on my short list of very very VERY favorite people in the whole wide world (and I hope she reads that!).

She’s put her book, Multiple Streams of Coaching Income, up on her site for FREE until December 9. 

In it you will learn how to master the art of creating revenue streams for your business that 1) do not require lots and lots of blood sweat and tears and 2) eliminate trading time for $$$.  Sound good?  Thought so!

So, dash on over to http://www.andreajlee.com/blog/freebook/ and grab your copy while you can!

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