tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-101192402024-03-13T06:29:20.880-07:00Point of Contact - A Communications Skills BlogComments from communications skills author and trainer Rich Gallagher.Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-34682823856755272332019-03-29T09:44:00.001-07:002019-04-01T22:39:37.744-07:00Should you use a ghostwriter?<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Yesterday
someone posted a question to the National Speakers Association’s Facebook group
about using a ghostwriter. She had been quoted $25K and six months’ time to
write her book, and wondered if this was (a) normal and (b) worth it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">This
question lit up this normally staid group, with over 100 responses and
counting within 24 hours – with enough diverse opinions that the original
poster claimed to be even more confused. Since I was a professional ghostwriter
for many years – and more important, am now retired
and am not selling anything – I wanted to add my two cents. Bear in mind these
are my opinions alone.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">First, here
are my answers to her questions: (a) yes, if this person has good credentials,
and (b) not necessarily. Here’s more detail on both answers:</span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<br />
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">What ghostwriters cost</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">. My fees for the first draft of a
full-length book were normally around $25K as well, with a time frame of 4-6
months. However, I was at the high end of the spectrum, generally writing for "A-list" people whose books were released by major publishers. Others may charge less, and in some cases much less.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Here is how
that breaks down. Writing and researching, say, a 50,000 word book will involve
hundreds of hours of the ghost’s time, at professional rates. (I always charged
clients by the hour, for as many or as few hours as they wanted – making it easier
for them to do as much of the writing as they wished.) Think of what it might
cost to hire a plumber or have someone mow your lawn for two months straight, and you get the
idea.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Part of the
reason I commanded those fees was that I had a strong publication track record
of my own with major royalty publishers, and knew my stuff about creating a
published book - including analyzing the market, knowing what styles and genres
were selling, and deconstructing a client's style into a writing voice. Part of
what you are paying for with a high-end ghost is expertise, not just labor.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">BUT not everyone needs this, as we will discuss below. There are less expensive options – in some cases far less – that might be perfect for your book. If you are hiring someone at the high end, you should be paying for their experience in <i>publishing </i>as well as writing. Which is
why, as my good friend and colleague Lois Creamer posted in yesterday’s post,
checking credentials and previous publications is extremely important.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<br />
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Is it worth it?</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> Opinions vary widely here. Here’s mine: we are worth it if our work adds sufficient value to your business, through book sales or increased exposure. Which means the level and pedigree of writer you hire should ideally depend on YOUR platform. Here is some data from my own experience:</span></span></div>
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</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">•</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span>First, for
most of my clients, money was no object. They were CEOs of multi-billion dollar
corporations, television personalities, or academics with funding sources.
Ironically, most of them were very good writers. But they were busy doing much
more important things than me, traded their money for my time, and everyone was
happy.</span></span></div>
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</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">•</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span>Second,
they all had good platforms to begin with, and often had a publisher lined up.
Platform is incredibly important. How important? Most of my ghostwriting
clients had much better publishers and larger advances than I did with my own
books (and in some cases, the advance paid for my services).</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">(As an aside,
this is why I never feel a ghostwriting project is “my” book – its success always revolves around the client’s ideas and platform, not my
turgid prose. I’m just a service provider, like a good plumber.)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">•</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span>Finally,
most books sell in frightfully small quantities. Even bestsellers. If you check
industry sales figures, it is not unusual for even the top business book to be selling only 100-200 copies a month on Amazon. And far more than you think sell a few copies here and there.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">There are exceptions, of
course, and I realize J.K. Rowling is worth half a billion dollars as of this
writing. But if you are a mere mortal like me, I would be cautious if people tell you that
you will probably make back your $25K in book sales. And even more cautious if they claim that paying them $$$ to write your book will make you a star.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">(Incidentally,
this is also why you should never offer a ghost a share of your royalties to write
your book - usually this arrangement will make both of you very unhappy.)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">So for the right people, yes we are worth it. But personally I never felt comfortable marketing my services to individuals, because too often it would have been a situation where I made money and they didn’t.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<br />
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">So what should you do?</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> If you are a good
speaker - but not particularly a writer - and want help getting a book to market, here are some questions I would ask first:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">•</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span>First,
start with your platform. If you have channels for selling a large number of
books, even if you self-publish – or have a publisher lined up – a full-fare
ghost may be a good option.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">•</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span>Next, look
at why you want a book. Which, by the way, I feel is important for a speaker –
the vast majority of them do have one or more books out. But for a typical
speaker, I feel an inexpensive self-published book will do just fine. Because
what you are selling is still mainly YOU and your PLATFORM, and the book is a
calling card.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">•</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span>Finally,
decide if you are a writer who speaks, or a speaker who writes.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">I personally
was in the first category. Writing a bestselling book over a decade ago was
like winning a game show, and launched a successful speaking career that I might
never have had by just trying to speak. But that was because my main talent was
as a writer, and speaking came along for the ride.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Conversely,
check out the NSA’s million dollar roundtable of very top speakers sometime.
Last I checked, most of them were NOT bestselling authors. But they are all incredible
speakers. They don’t necessarily need to have bestselling books like I did.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">In
my humble opinion, a writer who speaks - i.e. someone who wants to brand themselves around a bestselling book from a major publisher - would normally benefit more from a
full-fare ghostwriter than a speaker who writes, and just needs a book for back-of-room sales and a calling card. Your mileage may vary, of course.</span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">What other options do you have?</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> There are many ways to get a book
out there, with a wide range of costs. Here are just a few:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">•</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span>Write it
yourself, and hire a good editor.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">•</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span>Consider
less expensive options. These include ghosts who don’t work at the high end of
the market, all the way to offshore and low-cost providers on freelance web sites.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Be aware that quality can vary widely, with potential pitfalls ranging from bad grammar to plagiarism. I wouldn't scrimp on quality, because a book is an important part of your brand. But lower-cost writers are not always a bad option IF you vet their past work carefully, and are
willing to have the finished product carefully edited by yourself or others.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">•</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"> </span>If you have
a really good platform (increasingly a must for landing a royalty publishing
contract), consider the traditional route of agents and publishers, where they
pay you.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Be aware that going for a publishing contract does NOT involve writing
the book first – books are sold to agents and publishers on the basis of a
30-40 page proposal, with a table of contents, competitive analysis and sample
chapters. In this case, consider hiring a ghost to just write the proposal,
THEN worry about hiring a ghost for the book AFTER you land a contract.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">(On the last
point, oh all right, I guess I am selling something – for three bucks on Kindle.
My recent book <i>The Million Dollar Write</i>r goes into lugubrious detail about
becoming a royalty published author, as well as a successful freelancer. And
yes, I have sold over a million dollars' worth of my own books. Here’s the link if you are interested:
<a href="https://amzn.to/2WueMkc"><span style="color: #0563c1;">https://amzn.to/2WueMkc</span></a>)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<br />
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; margin: 0px;">Hope this
helps the original person posting, and others. Good luck!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-76992792579949750452018-07-15T14:00:00.000-07:002018-07-15T20:02:40.502-07:00I found my niche! (Lots of them, in fact)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KVAqx3DVGnY/W0u1vwhRjaI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/PfX2c3kbCdUte0W2viOQIEYWXzY1mh7oACLcBGAs/s1600/arrow-destination-direction-52526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1075" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KVAqx3DVGnY/W0u1vwhRjaI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/PfX2c3kbCdUte0W2viOQIEYWXzY1mh7oACLcBGAs/s320/arrow-destination-direction-52526.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
"How many different careers have you had, Rich?"<br />
<br />
I get asked this question more often than you might think - because I am, in fact, a mutt who has worn many different hats in my life. People have known me over the years as a computer programmer, a corporate manager, a freelance writer, a book author, a public speaker, and a psychotherapist. And that doesn't count youthful indiscretions like being a pizza delivery man, golf caddy, short-order cook or radio announcer.<br />
<br />
Which brings up something I've always noticed: we tend to look down our noses at people who don't follow one path in life. Children are asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?," while adults are greeted with, "What do you do?" Most of us know better than to be racist, sexist or even ableist nowadays, but we are still thoughtlessly single-path-ist. We use terms like "dilletante" or the euphemistic "Rennaisance man" as a synonym for "lost and confused" - but never, in my experience, in a good light.<br />
<br />
My diverse career actually makes more sense than people might think. Some paths were borne of neccessity - like when layoffs, technical obsolescence and burnout made my original 20-year software career impractical, and I started writing full time. Others were happy accidents, like when I wrote a book that unexpectedly became an international bestseller and I suddenly found myself speaking 40-50 times a year all over North America (a pace that continued until I retired last year).<br />
<br />
Finally, some things made no particular career sense, except that I really wanted to do them. I secretly always wanted to be a psychotherapist all my life, but after decades of brushing it aside for more practical pursuits, a novel distance learning program in the 2000s put that within reach. After which I happily juggled writing, speaking and therapy for many years - often with people who knew me from one field scratching their heads about the others.<br />
<br />
Which brings up a larger point. Why should any of us HAVE to have a single "brand"? What is wrong with wearing different hats as we go through life? If we can walk and chew gum at the same time, why can't we have more than one profession?<br />
<br />
I actually think being a mutt is great. It always gave me multiple ways to make a living, any of which could be scaled up if needed. And it doesn't equate to "unsuccessful": personally I have never been fired or laid off, had to borrow money from people, or even been late paying a bill. I can truthfully say that I've done well at just about everything I've tried, and now I am happily retired (and still doing lots of different things). As far as I'm concerned, it's all good.<br />
<br />
Far too many people feel trapped in someone else's idea of a good life. Others discover that their chosen career becomes obsolete or intolerable. And many suffer a horrible loss of self-esteem when what they do, for whatever reason, doesn't work out. But society is often far richer when people escape their career ruts: for example, I'm glad Walt Disney moved on from being a failed newspaper editor, and Andrea Bocelli gave up being a defense attorney to sing.<br />
<br />
So my closing thought is to stop asking your children questions like "What do you want to do when you grow up?" Instead, ask them what they like. What they enjoy. What makes their heart sing. And as they get older, how they might get to do more of the things they love. And perhaps, with a little luck, lots of them!<br />
<br />
(P.S. My favorite job of all? Hands down, being a stock clerk at a department store when I was eighteen - because the cute girl I met working there has been my partner ever since.)<br />
<br />Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-74156706539166213432016-09-29T19:09:00.013-07:002022-06-28T09:41:42.908-07:00On Tooting Your Horn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l4_ydjwLNos/V-3JM8wkWRI/AAAAAAAAAqI/yX65wpqmgnY_UKpwIq9aO5TCfu-QtFWNwCLcB/s1600/AdobeStock_10248590.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l4_ydjwLNos/V-3JM8wkWRI/AAAAAAAAAqI/yX65wpqmgnY_UKpwIq9aO5TCfu-QtFWNwCLcB/w159-h212/AdobeStock_10248590.jpeg" width="159" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A little while ago, I ran into an old colleague who noted that I tended to toot my own horn on Facebook – in
other words, that I often post about my speaking gigs, my books, or the good
times I am having.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">She is completely
accurate about all of this. But it raises a deeper issue that rarely gets explored: the
differences between tooters and non-tooters. So I would like to take you inside
the mind of a lifelong tooter, to put it in its proper perspective.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You see, for many people, this issue takes on moral
overtones. Non-tooters often grow up believing that it is shallow and pretentious to brag about
yourself; as one recent meme put it, “May
your life be half as good as it seems on Facebook.” At the other end of the spectrum, tooters are at risk of
seeing non-tooters as dullards who celebrate nothing and share nothing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Neither of these stereotypes is completely accurate. So here is my
attempt at brokering a truce between these two worldviews. First, here are
some of the reasons why I tend to toot my horn:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1) To me, tooting isn’t egotistical – it is epidemiological.
Since the dawn of history, people were often hunters and gatherers who took care
of their families. And when they stopped being able to do so, they died. This
is how hunting trophies and harvest celebrations came about: they celebrated
the successful pursuit of food and survival. So for thousands of years, tooting
has been a celebration of life, and of still being in the hunt. Same thing when
I celebrate my goals and pleasures – it isn’t about winning or being better
than others, but rather about taking pride in the happy pursuit of a good life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2) For me personally, there is almost a spiritual dimension
to celebrating yourself. During the toughest times of my life, non-tooters usually had
nothing to say to me. It was always other tooters who encouraged me, cheered me on, and gave me hope. So I've always wanted to be like them - someone who likes themselves and loves others.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3) We tend to be attracted to our own species as friends. I
really like the company of other tooters. For example, I have always delighted
in seeing other people’s books, cheering on their launch campaigns, watching
their videos, and hearing their stories. It is life-affirming for me to be in
the company of other people who take joy in their own pursuits, and see
possibilities for themselves and others.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4) Tooters make good tutors. Yesterday at a speaking
engagement in Pittsburgh, one woman told me how much she enjoyed my talk
(always a good thing to say to a tooter), and then confided that someday she would like to be a
public speaker herself. I gladly sat down with her at lunch and opened my
playbook about getting started in the business. More broadly, I love seeing
other people learn, grow, and succeed. If you want to learn to become a writer,
speaker, musician, or whatever, your best bet is to find a good tooter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5) Finally, we are all the product of our own family histories. I come from a large family
of high achievers, including a very professionally successful father, and a funny
and often brash mother with a very healthy ego. For someone who grew up as I did,
taping my mouth shut about my life would feel like a dull grey existence.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Non-tooters often mistakenly believe that tooting is a
reaction to covering up some deeper emptiness in your life. Not in my case. If
you were to crack my head open, you would find a pretty happy guy inside most
of the time. And if I am sharing good things publicly, this is a very good sign
that I am in my normal happy place. When things are tough for me, I am much
more likely to withdraw then blather on.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I should also add that having a healthy ego has nothing to do with being vain or competitive. I am very proud of my own successes. But if you came along and did the same things twice as successfully, I would honestly be extremely happy for you. I enjoy the company of other tooters precisely because we delight in each other's joys and accomplishments.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, a word to you non-tooters: you’re OK too. You have
perfectly valid reasons for being the way you are, based on who you
are and what you have learned in your life. And there are healthy and unhealthy
extremes to both your personalities and mine. Tooters can be friendly and
engaging, or egotistical boors. Non-tooters can be kind and modest, or wet
blankets. It goes without saying that we should always try to be our very best
selves, and respect each other.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But above all, we all have to be true to who we are. We all have our own unique personalities and gifts. And living someone else’s life is never a prescription for happiness. So if you are like me, toot away!</div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-46109313823913601812016-07-30T15:15:00.004-07:002016-07-31T01:43:57.647-07:00The only political blog I will write all year – 2016 edition<div class="MsoNormal">
In this most unusual of election years, we have a
communications skills expert’s nightmare: one of the most divisive races in modern history, fueled by non-stop partisan
talk radio, cable TV and social media.<br />
<br />
I am pretty apolitical on the best of
days, but this year in particular, the electoral process makes
me feel the same way most women would probably feel if <i>Bikini Babes of NASCAR</i> was blaring on their TV 24/7. But people still do ask me to weigh in about politics, and while I wouldn't dream of telling you how to vote, I do have some thoughts about how to best approach this election. Here they are:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Use the outrage test</b>.
I have a simple rule for whether an issue should concern me: is the outrage
bipartisan? If not, then it isn’t allowed to take up valuable space in my head.
This simple rule automatically exempts me from Benghazi, Melenia Trump’s
speech, Hilary’s emails, Trump steaks, and a whole host of other issues.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is particularly true when (only) one side is going, “Oh,
OH! Let’s investigate! Let's litigate! Let's prosecute!” When I
hear people talk about jailing Hilary or blocking Trump from candidate security
briefings, all I can do is roll my eyes and mutter to myself, “Holy <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton">1998
impeachment</a>, Batman.” Because these faux issues won’t give anyone a good
job, improve our well-being or stop violence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Real issues like the economy, health care, racial justice
and the police, and terrorism raise strong opinions from both sides – and even
if they disagree, it’s game on. But if one side is outraged and you are hearing
crickets from the other side, move along.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Choose your sources</b>.
Do you form your political opinions – or worse, express them – through Facebook
memes or partisan sources? Let me make a gentle suggestion. See what a more
neutral source has to say first before you contribute to the political
discourse. You might be surprised to learn that people actually do exaggerate
things and distort facts – even in politics.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you can’t do that, and reject the mainstream media the
way many good zealots do, fine. At least do me this favor: check out the memes and
articles that the other side is posting first. Then imagine that all of you
were locked in a room, and couldn’t emerge until you reached consensus. What do
you think the consensus might be? At least let that inform your posts and
opinions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Tune out the pundits</b>.
Political talk hosts on opposing sides are probably best friends off-camera.
Why? Because they all engage in the same strategies: emotionally-charged
language, fatuous arguments, one-sided facts, straw man arguments and ad hominin
attacks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Everyone criticizes commentators on the other side for doing it – but when I
notice the same things with pundits on their side, people look at me
like I have three heads. Yet they too are polarizing people and spreading
half-truths. My gentle suggestion: don’t listen to
jerks just because they are “our” jerk.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Listen to the other
side</b>. This is the most important advice one could give for this or any
election – learn how the other side thinks. Listen to their candidates. Read
their articles. Visit their social media pages. Because real problems are solved
through dialogue and consensus. And that can only happen when both sides “get”
each other first.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you can’t frame the other person’s position as that of a
totally reasonable person, you aren’t yet capable of advocating <i>effectively</i> for your side – you are
limited to preaching to your own choir. Which, in my humble opinion, never changes anything.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is especially true in this unusual election, where it
seems like the more we vilify the opposition candidate, the more their poll
numbers go up. I hope that when the dust settles on the 2016 campaign, its
legacy is that we finally learn to listen to each other and solve problems
together.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-19243528160380339912015-05-06T20:52:00.000-07:002015-05-06T20:55:11.845-07:00Becoming a book millionaire, revisitedA little over a year ago, I shared my thoughts about reaching the milestone of selling a million dollars worth of books in <a href="http://point-of-contact.blogspot.com/2014/03/thoughts-from-book-millionaire.html">this blog post</a>. More recently, I created a blog post for my good friend (and New York Times bestselling author) <a href="http://www.carolroth.com/">Carol Roth</a> about what I feel is the larger issue: how to consistently get published by major royalty publishers, and write books that are regularly featured in bookstores.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Aside from the obvious advice (create outstanding content, and work your way up to the big leagues by writing a lot), it discusses what I truly feel is the hidden secret of every published nonfiction author: become a student of (1) how successful nonfiction books are structured and titled, and (2) the mechanics of good, tight queries and proposals. Here is a link to my post:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.carolroth.com/blog/book-publishing-how-to-make-the-big-leagues/">http://www.carolroth.com/blog/book-publishing-how-to-make-the-big-leagues/</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Enjoy, and best of success with your own writing!</div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-27214820239798858742014-11-30T21:16:00.002-08:002016-05-11T21:41:19.567-07:00Sixty years on<div class="MsoNormal">
Today I turn sixty
years of age.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So how does it feel to be 60? Mostly thankful and
thoughtful. I am happy, healthy, and enjoy my life. But any major life
transition is a complex mosaic of emotions, and at the risk of TMI, here is my
best effort to capture them:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1) I can’t believe that I am still married to, and madly in
love with, the same woman I met when I was 18 years old - and that she is still
as beautiful as the day I met her. Our relationship remains my greatest joy and
probably always will be.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2) I do not feel the least bit old. My eyesight and my
waistline beg to differ sometimes, but at least in the latter case I hope to do
something about it this coming year. Still, I honestly feel that 60 is the new
30.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3) I will probably never stop working. Nor do I ever plan to
sit, beer in hand, in front of a television for days (or even hours) on end. The
thought of a permanent vacation sounds like anathema to me. But I do find
myself using the “R” word (retirement) a lot more often now.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whenever it happens, my idea of retirement will probably be
crazier than other people’s. There are things I hope to always do as long as I
am vertical, like my psychotherapy practice, my annual teaching gig at Cornell,
or writing for my favorite clients. And I will still speak when it is
interesting and fun. At times, I will still be extremely busy. But I will
consciously start winding down things I do just to make a living.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4) I haven’t punched in at a job for many years now, and am
reaching the happy conclusion that I hopefully never will. There are few things
I am more proud of than having supported my household entirely through
self-employment for much of the past two decades. God has been very kind to me
in providing wonderful clients and great opportunities every year, and I am
extremely thankful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So finally, what about the whole question of, you know,
getting older?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I probably felt more mortal – and worried more about it –
when I was in my 20s and 30s than I do now. I enjoy life more now, one day at a
time, than I did then. And I am not alone: studies show, for example, that 85
year olds are among the happiest people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I am<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a> more aware than ever of our
own mortality. For example, my father and his only sibling – two of the most
successful people I’ve ever known – did not survive the
decade I am now entering. So I value time like I never have before.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, I hope to fare better than they did. I often
tell my wife our old parish priest’s joke that I have an “un-dying” love for
her. But my departed family members have given me a gift: an urgency to not
trade precious time for things that aren’t important. For example, I am sure all
those articles telling us to keep working and delay Social Security are technically
correct – but after watching too many people I love never get to retire at all,
I am probably unwilling to trade more sunsets with Colleen for much of their
advice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So overall, what is it like turning 60? I hope it is a way
station on a path, and many years from now I hope to be a bit like the late <a href="http://www.today.com/id/45287411/ns/today-today_news/t/age-therapist-still-psyched/#.VCTSVPldWSp">Hedda
Bolger</a> – a psychotherapist who, at age 102, was still seeing clients and teaching
online training programs. In the meantime, I am very glad to reach this great
age.</div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-81626203110140253072014-07-02T21:47:00.003-07:002014-07-03T07:04:42.403-07:00Online Marketing: How to Make a Pain in the Ass of Yourself<div class="MsoNormal">
The world is full of online marketing experts. Some of them
are brilliant and have taught me a lot (I’m looking at you, <a href="http://www.doitmarketing.com/">David Newman</a>). But others teach and use
tactics that annoy the heck out of me, and probably many others. Here are three
examples of “worst practices” I still see a lot of:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Squeezing people on
your squeeze page</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are offering me a free copy of <i>10 Tips for Better Tweets</i> or whatever – and aiming it at solopreneurs
like me, not businesses – where did you get the brilliant idea of *requiring* my
phone number on your signup page?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You obviously don’t know how busy I am. Or how much I love
getting interrupted by cold calls from people trying to sell me something. My phone already
rings too often from people who feel I have nothing better to do all day than
switch phone companies or whatever. And clearly you don’t grasp that I’ll call <i>you</i> when I want more information. Except
I probably won’t call you.<br />
<br />
I do need to point out that it is common practice for businesses in the B-to-B market to gather phone numbers and call - that's how they roll. But trust me on this one: if your product or service is designed to help individuals succeed, we really, really, really don't want you calling us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(By the way, guess what is on my squeeze pages? NOTHING. I
never make people sign up for my content. I figure that if people like it, they’ll
call me. After years of capturing low-quality leads, I have personally found
that simply putting great stuff out there is actually more profitable for me.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Too much of a good
thing</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I completely get giving you my email address in return for
some kind of perk. And yes, this does give you the right to send me
information. But not Every Single Freaking Day. Or even every few days. I don’t
care how fantabulous your product is, it doesn’t mean you get to clog my in-box
like an infestation of lice. This is the marketing equivalent of someone giving
your kids a snare drum for the holidays.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Copping an attitude</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the worst failing is when people treat me like I am
stupid and need to be “pushed.” Act now Rich! Don’t miss this Rich! Did you
read this Rich? Last chance Rich! Honestly, many marketing emails sound like
they are trying to call a dog or yell at a teenager, rather than connect with a
friend.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>It isn't rocket
science</b><br />
<br />
Ironically, marketing has always been a big part of my
success as a writer and speaker. But I’ve never bought in to the idea that good
marketing is about bugging people, over-promoting yourself, inundating them
with information they don’t want, or breathlessly rushing them to action. To
me, it all circles back to things my mother taught me: build a good reputation,
help other people succeed, and don’t be a jerk. What do you think?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-40285016533269704132014-05-22T20:31:00.000-07:002014-05-22T20:40:44.006-07:00The LinkedIn Code: An interview with author Melonie Dodaro<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/images/MelonieDodaro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/images/MelonieDodaro.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MELONIE DODARO</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> is the founder of Top Dog Social Media, a social media agency that
helps brands, businesses, professionals and sales teams use social media
marketing and social selling to boost their visibility, attract new customers
and increase their revenue. Dubbed by the media as Canada’s <b>#1 LinkedIn
expert</b> and social media strategist, Melonie provides LinkedIn training to
corporate sales teams and speaks worldwide at both industry and corporate
events and conferences.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Yesterday, Melonie visited
Ton De Graaf's<b><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>'</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Worldwide
Coaching magazine' blog</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> at </span><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://worldwidecoachingmagazine.com/">http://worldwidecoachingmagazine.com</a>,</span></u><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">where he asked about <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">LinkedIn Ads and how to create a 'virtual presence' in </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">order to stand out from the crowd. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today, I'd like to share
with you a recent interview I had with Melonie where I asked her about LinkedIn
premium accounts, positive posting and activity levels in LinkedIn groups.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Papyrus; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Papyrus; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">RICH: </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You put a lot of emphasis -
rightfully - on branding yourself with a strong LinkedIn profile. But what if
you are a "mutt"? For example, I am a freelance writer, a public
speaker on communications skills, and a psychotherapist - and all three are
important parts of my livelihood. Or, to use a bigger example, Bill Gates was
both a software CEO and a philanthropist. What is your advice to people whose
career descriptions use the word "and" a lot?</span></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;">
<span style="color: #1d376c; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #1d376c; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MELONIE: </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Like
you, I also offer more than one set of services to a variety of different ideal
clients. The first thing you need to do if you are in this position is determine
if your ideal clients for each product or service use LinkedIn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Once you have determined
which products or services are the best fit for LinkedIn, you need to pick the
best two or three of these. More than this will make it difficult to ensure
that your profile is optimized well for search and it also becomes too much
information for your ideal clients to read through when they land on your
profile. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">After you have your top two
or three, then you need to make sure that you address each appropriately, in your
<i>Headline</i>, <i>Summary</i>, <i>Experience</i> and <i>Skills</i> sections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Papyrus; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">RICH: </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">How active should you be in
a LinkedIn group? Of course you shouldn't spam or post self-serving messages.
But is there a point past which you are "too" present in an affinity
group, even posting appropriate messages?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;">
<span style="color: #1d376c; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MELONIE:</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Often
one post a week is sufficient for each group, with most of your time being
dedicated to either replying to people who have commented on your posts or
reading and commenting on others posts and comments. The engagement and
interaction is often just as, if not more important than the act of posting
itself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As long as you are making
positive and helpful comments that make sense, it is unlikely that you could be
too active.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Papyrus; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">RICH: </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You do a good job laying
out the features of LinkedIn Premium accounts. Should most small business
owners get one?</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;">
<span style="color: #1d376c; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-font-kerning: .5pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MELONIE: </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Not at
all. Most small business owners will only ever need to use the free version of
LinkedIn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Situations where you might
consider upgrading would be:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If
you are sending semi frequent InMails, which are costly if you are
purchasing them individually<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If
you have a lot of people viewing your profile everyday and you want to use
the Who’s viewed your profile page to see everyone who has viewed it or to
better understand the general demographics of those viewing it.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">If
you would like to increase your ability to narrow your searches with the
premium search fields as well as to increase the number of saved searches
you are allowed and the number of results displayed from each search. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">I
hope you enjoyed this brief interview with </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: justify;">award-winning social
media expert Melonie Dodaro. You can find out some of Melonie's TOP SOCIAL
MEDIA STRATEGIES – along with those of 10 other TOP world-class social media
experts – on her FREE 3-Day Telesummit:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1"
o:spid="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/images/vip-banner.jpg"
href="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/telesummit.php" style='width:451.5pt;
height:48pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square' o:button="t">
<v:fill o:detectmouseclick="t"/>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\RICHGA~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"
o:title="vip-banner"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/telesummit.php"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2"
o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/images/banner-lic-telesummit.jpg"
href="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/telesummit.php" style='width:451.5pt;
height:146.25pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square' o:button="t">
<v:fill o:detectmouseclick="t"/>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\RICHGA~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.jpg"
o:title="banner-lic-telesummit"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cracking the Social Media
Code:<br />
The Masters Speak! <br />
Register FREE at <br />
</span></b><a href="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/telesummit.php"><u><span style="color: #5b9bd5; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent1;">http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/telesummit.php</span></u></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/images/vip-banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/images/vip-banner.jpg" height="41" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/images/banner-lic-telesummit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/images/banner-lic-telesummit.jpg" height="127" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Here's Melonie's stellar
guest line up (in order of appearance):<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MELONIE DODARO</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - Founder Top Dog Social Media, LinkedIn and social selling
expert, author of <i>The LinkedIn Code</i><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">LYNN SERAFINN
(co-host)</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Founder 7 Graces Project CIC, marketer, coach,
author of <i>The</i> <i>7 Graces of Marketing</i>, <i>Tweep-e-licious</i></span><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JASON MILLER</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, corporate marketing manager for
many companies <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JOEL COMM</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - Entrepreneur, NY Times bestselling author, new media innovator<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">EKATERINA WALTER</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - CMO of Branderati, speaker, author of <i>Think Like Zuck</i>,
co-author of <i>The Power of Visual Storytelling</i><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">MICHAEL STELZNER</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - Founder/CEO of Social Media Examiner, host Social Media
Marketing podcast, author of <i>Launch, Writing White Papers</i> and
others<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JOHN JANTSCH</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - Marketing consultant, business strategist, Founder Duct Tape
Marketing, author of <i>Duct Tape Marketing</i> and others<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">PATTY FARMER</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - Marketing and social media strategist, speaker, trainer, radio
host and author<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">KIM GARST</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - CEO of 'Boom! Social', social media marketing strategist,
entrepreneur, speaker, author<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">ALLISON MASLAN</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - CEO of "Blast Off", business mentor, entrepreneur,
author of <i>Blast Off!</i><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">JILL ROWLEY</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> - Marketing expert, social selling 'evangelist', entrepreneur<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Over those 3 days, Melonie
and her guests will share their top tips on:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 38.9pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Building Your Personal
Brand<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 38.9pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Building Your Online
Community<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 38.9pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Monetizing Social Media<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Again, you can register
FREE at <br />
</span></b><a href="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/telesummit.php"><b><u><span style="color: #5b9bd5; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent1;">http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/telesummit.php</span></u></b></a><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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you cannot make the live broadcast, register anyway so you can listen to audio
replays. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/images/LinkedInCode-Book-Cover-250px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/images/LinkedInCode-Book-Cover-250px.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">THEN,
when you buy <i>The LinkedIn Code</i> during
its official Amazon launch, you’ll receive <b>dozens
of valuable free gifts</b> from Melonie and her friends and colleagues. <u><span style="color: #5b9bd5; mso-themecolor: accent1;">You can </span></u></span><a href="http://topdogsocialmedia.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.php"><u><span style="color: #5b9bd5; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-themecolor: accent1;">CLICK HERE to find out more</span></u></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
about the book, and these free gifts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Be sure to follow Melonie tomorrow
on the next stop of her Virtual Blog Tour, when she’ll be visiting Wendy
McClelland's blog at </span><a href="http://wendymcclelland.com/blog-2/"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">http://wendymcclelland.com/blog-2/</span></u></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">,</span></u></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
where they'll be talking about sponsored updates and the 'relationships' tab.</span></div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-28295903976766747042014-04-14T18:42:00.000-07:002014-07-10T18:08:37.419-07:00Who are you calling old?<div class="MsoNormal">
A video has been making the rounds recently about two “grannies” taking their first-ever flight, one of whom was 71 years old. Later the same night, a
newscaster described a gunman in his early 70s as “elderly.” Soon afterwards I was reading an article about health guidelines for “older people over 60.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What is wrong with this picture? People are rushing us into
old age far too soon. I don’t mean from a standpoint of chronological age. Rather,
I mean the indescribable social chasm beyond which we become sexless, out of
touch, or looked upon with patronizing cuteness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The video of this 71 year old particularly struck me, because my still youthful, drop-dead gorgeous spouse turns 66 this year. Does she
turn into an old biddy in just five years? The surviving Doobie Brothers are around
70 now, and they are still rocking down the highway – in fact, they had a new
album on the charts recently. And when I’m 71 and getting on an airplane, it
will hopefully be to keynote a major conference, like I often do now, not to
gawk out the window about these amazing flying contraptions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This isn’t the first generation to put up an arbitrary wall
around people who are still rather viable. In 1970 a then-23 year old Elton
John spun a grim tale of being “Sixty Years On”: your dog died ten years ago,
people sympathetically help you shuffle down to church, and he concludes that
he has no wish to still be living then. Never mind that he is now 67 years old and touring Europe. I will be “sixty years
on” this year, and I can at least tell you what it is like for me: I had a
major book release a year ago, am busier than ever, and recently finished
graduate school and started a new career. When I look in the mirror, I don’t
see an old person looking back.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The reality is that the Baby Boomer generation is much more
than an age group – we are a cultural force, and we aren’t giving up our grip
on life anytime soon. Try to push us toward the shuffleboard court, and we are
likely to push back and write bestsellers. And star in films. And start successful companies. And in the process, make everyone reconsider what age really
means in society. We don’t plan to ever go away quietly.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A couple of years ago, people were wondering why Paul
McCartney was in tears at the opening of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. I
think I know why – it is because he realized that his own song “When I’m 64”
took place six years earlier. (Sir Paul turns 72 this year.) But seriously, I
would like to propose reserving the term “elderly” for people who are at least
80 from now on. And 20 years from now, God willing, I reserve the right to
change my mind again. Deal?</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-3015022102806654682014-03-28T21:19:00.000-07:002014-03-29T13:33:37.018-07:00Thoughts from a "book millionaire"<div class="MsoNormal">
One statistic I have always tracked for fun is the gross
sales of my books. (I take actual unit sales figures when I have them, add
reasonable estimates for things like foreign rights sales, and multiply them by
the list price of my books.) Nowadays, my lifetime gross sales are approaching
a million dollars.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now don't break out the champagne quite yet - or ask me for
a loan. I've been writing pretty steadily for over 20 years and have published
a lot of books. If you take my average book royalty (less than 10% of net
price), and divide it over the number of years I've been at this, I am not
about to start the Rich Gallagher Foundation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But still, wouldn't you agree this is a pretty cool number?
I don't know many people whose hobbies turn into a million dollar industry. And
it is a nice validation of a craft that now feels comfortable and
familiar. Put another way, when I wake up and look in the mirror, I
generally see (on my better days) a fairly legitimate writer looking back at
me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So now that I've reached a milestone of sorts, what would I
tell other writers? Here are a few things:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Writing is a <i>skill</i>, not an art</b>. I am frankly not the world's greatest muse. But I am a quick study. And far and away, the single biggest reason
I succeed is studying what sells, deconstructing other good
writers, and learning how to smell like a published author. I've written about
this extensively in other blogs. Successful writers are, first and foremost,
students of other successful writers. 'Nuff said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Hard work isn't the
point</b>. You might expect me to talk about how much work I put in to become a
good writer, and eventually a publishable one. And you would be wrong. Yes, I
have done a lot of writing and still do. And I will always put a lot of effort
into getting even better. But frankly that isn't the point.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here *is* the point: <i>I
love to write</i>. When you love doing something you keep doing it, keep
learning, and keep improving. Even when I write about public health tax policy for
clients, I am having fun. I love bookstores and get excited about other
people's book projects and book launches. And those rare times when I have a
moment to spare, the first thing I start thinking about is my next project.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So my advice isn't to work harder at writing. That sounds
miserable. It is to do what you love, and let it pull you where it wants you to
go. And if you love to write anywhere near as much as I do, don't ever let
anything stop you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Follow the money</b>.
If you want to sell a million dollars’ worth of books – in my case, an average
of 3000-5000 copies of most books I’ve written, plus a couple of higher-gross sellers
– you need to examine who sells books in these kinds of numbers. My biggest
grossing book, for example, is a 1990s computer graphics textbook you’ve
probably never heard of – it sells for over $200 a pop, has been in print for
20 years, and had a lot of course adoptions in its day. Conversely, my highest unit
sales are for a bargain-book edition of <i>How
to Tell Anyone Anything</i> available in every Barnes & Noble in America.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you haven’t published before, it is a dirty secret that
most books sell in frightfully small numbers, once you get past the hottest
bestsellers. So while I respect the debate between self-publishing and royalty
publishing, if you want to move thousands of books you must either (a) have
really good sales channels or (b) become good enough to go the royalty route. I’ve
always chosen the latter.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Know who you are</b>.
I appreciate the “you can do anything” crowd. But if I listened to them, I’d
probably be writing a lot of books that have no chance of ever landing a
publishing contract. Your writing style, your platform, and your skills all
have their place in the world. Socially, most of us do best in neighborhoods
where there are a lot of people like us, and I feel the same is true in
publishing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have a great literary agent, and one of the best things
she does for me is give me feedback about what markets I can’t compete
effectively in – because their best selling authors have bigger platforms, the
genre is fading, or whatever. And conversely, she lets me know where I *am*
competitive, and helps me be successful in those markets. If you can get the
same kind of feedback, you are very fortunate.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To sum all this up in one neat package: Love writing, be
serious and professional, and become a student of the publishing business, as
well as feeding your muse. Do these things, and I feel you have a surprisingly
good chance of joining me in the “millionaire’s club.” Good luck!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-10718033893248120622014-03-19T10:27:00.000-07:002014-03-19T10:27:05.005-07:00Eight lousy sentences: a new way to finish your book<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">Do you have a great book in you that has been unfinished for ages? Perhaps a novel, or a non-fiction book proposal? You know it's good, but somehow you can never make time for it. Or when you sit down to write, you just can't seem to get the words out.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">You may even look at this unfinished book as a moral failing. If only somehow you could discipline yourself to work harder, and write more, then you could be the author you know you really are.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">After a few years of dealing with people's fears and phobias as a therapist, I actually see a strong parallel between these issues and wannabe writers. And in the end, it all boils down to this belief that you aren't writing enough.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">In fact, your problem has exactly the opposite cause: you are writing too much.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">Let me explain. Suppose you are afraid of heights. So one day you suck up your courage and force yourself to go to the 40th floor of a building – because you view your problem as a lack of bravery. In reality, however, you are sensitizing yourself to something I want you to </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">de</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">-sensitize to. This is why over and over, I watch people finally get well once they stop being brave and start taking tiny baby steps. By staying in their comfort zone, and gradually expanding it in a way that lets them be fully present in the situation, they get over their fears.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">The same thing is true about your writing. You sit down and think, "Ugh! I should work harder on this. So I am going to force myself to write another thousand words, even if it kills me! And it had better be good!" The end result? You start to associate writing with failure, and eventually your subconscious throws up a big red flag when you even think about doing more writing. It starts telling you, "You're not good enough. You never finish anything. And you're always getting stuck."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">If this sounds like you, here is what I want you to do. Sit down tonight and write 200 words – about eight lousy sentences. Even if they are complete tripe. </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">Then stop writing</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">. You are done for the night.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">If you can comfortably write eight sentences every night, you will accomplish two important things. First, do this for a year and you will complete a 60,000 word book. Second, and more important, you will be feeding your subconscious lots and lots of success. You are only supposed to write eight sentences, and by golly, you are doing it – so this gets chalked up in your memory banks as a win. Your subconscious loves success, by the way.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">Best of all, keep doing it and eventually these eight sentences will seem like nothing, and you will write more. This is exactly the same mechanism by which people get over their fears. Clinically, the act of practicing is much more important than how </span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">much</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;"> you practice, so taking small steps eventually leads to breakthroughs. In time, you start look at writing – or things you used to fear – with the warm glow of success and mastery, one easy step at a time.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">Now, some of you are saying to yourselves, "Gosh – I can't even write eight sentences. Now what?" No problem. Just lower the bar to wherever you are comfortable, and start there. The goal is to have success every day, long enough for the thought of being a writer to start ringing your "success" chime. Then, trust me, things will expand from there.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">I practice what I preach here. I've cranked out a published book, for myself or for ghostwriting clients, every year for close to 15 years now. And as much as I hate to admit this, I don't just write with passion, style, or heart. I write with a calculator. I set a wordcount goal for myself, on comes the word processor, and out come the words.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16.899999618530273px;">The same approach can completely change your success as a writer. This is why I am prescribing eight sentences, or the equivalent of talking to someone for a minute or so, every night. Stop straining, start winning, and watch what happens to your writing!</span>Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-27136492702015869382014-02-17T08:48:00.000-08:002014-02-17T13:12:13.318-08:00The secret to getting published: study the genre<div class="MsoNormal">
A couple of years ago I installed a new bookshelf along the wall of our
family room - a beautiful, glass-enclosed space that overlooks the hills of
upstate New York - and for the first time ever, devoted an entire shelf to copies
of each book I've ever written, ghostwritten, or contributed to. And it is
quite a big shelf! Including things like foreign editions, second printings,
and the like, there are over 40 books there. (The blanked-out ones are ghostwriting projects I cannot disclose under pain of death.) On average, I have cranked
out one nationally published book every year or so since the mid-1990s.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9NKi8pe4QV0/UwJDaT918JI/AAAAAAAAARg/UiejQR8oRtw/s1600/RSG_books1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9NKi8pe4QV0/UwJDaT918JI/AAAAAAAAARg/UiejQR8oRtw/s1600/RSG_books1.JPG" height="130" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So how do you get to be a "repeat offender" like
me? Hard work? I wouldn't call it that - I really enjoy writing and it has never felt like work. Born with a
silver-tounged pen? Nope, I was a C student in writing at Cornell decades ago.
The right connections? Sorry, I live in the middle of nowhere, and was a humble
lay middle manager with no agent when I first hit the bookshelves.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But there is one thing I do differently than almost any
wannabe writer I know, and it is the single biggest reason I am successful: <i>I study the genre I am writing in</i>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Go to a bookstore sometime, and you will see most people
browsing through books. Watch me and you'll see me pulling one book after
another off the shelf, running my finger along the pages, muttering to myself,
and occasionally even pulling out a calculator. (Did I tell you I have an
engineering degree?) While others read books, I deconstruct them. And when I finally sit down to write, it is a thoughtfully composed
performance informed by the style of what sells.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Studying the genre is NOT the same as copying another
person's style. I have my own style, thank you. In fact, I have lots of them,
having published in genres that include popular business books, social science,
and even fictional stories. Rather, I have a good, general sense of the
audience I am writing for. Here are some examples of what I look for:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Titles</b>: Your title is at least twice as important as your content. Really. Think about it - what made
you pull a book off the shelf or on Amazon? More important, if you had a choice
between titling the same book <i>Finding
Good Business Partners and Suppliers</i> or <i>The
Four-Hour Work Week</i>, which one would sell better? Tim Ferriss certainly
figured that one out! Sweat the title first, and make it "smell" like
other successful books in your genre.</div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Opening hook</b>:
Open any unsuccessful self-published book at random, and I'll bet it just
starts right in talking about the topic of the book. By comparison, the book <i>Just Listen</i> by psychiatrist and hostage
negotiation trainer Mark Goulston starts off walking you step-by-step through
what he says to the suicidal guy with the gun at his head in the parking lot.
Pow! No wonder his book is a bestseller.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are a small number of very specific types of opening
hooks for popular non-fiction business books, for example. There
are personal narratives, credentialing examples, and emotional connections.
Study them all and then think of them as clubs in your golf bag, ready to thoughtfully choose to fit your project.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Word count</b>: Take
business fables, one of my most successful genres. These projects never top
25,000 words, use short paragraphs, and are built around simple ideas. If I
write a thick book with lots of jargon, no matter how funny or well-written I
make it, I can't play in this market. Similarly, my business
self-help books generally tip the scales at 60-70,000 words, have clear reader
benefits in each chapter, are written in third person, and use lots of "eye
candy" such as sidebars and examples to break up a wall of prose.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Paragraph length and
style</b>: Lots of choices here. Do you want to write a weighty tome like James
Surowiecki's <i>The Wisdom of Crowds</i>, a
thought leadership book like Malcolm Gladwell's <i>The Tipping Point</i>, or a quick read like Seth Godin's <i>Tribes</i>? Surowiecki runs out his
anecdotes over several pages, Gladwell hooks your attention with
"aha" moments at the beginning of each chapter, and Godin uses tons
of micro-examples written in second person ("You need to be using Twitter.
Now."). Each of them "smell" the way they do because of
reproducible points of style.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So go out there and break down your favorite books. Study
their opening hooks, their paragraph lengths, their chapter structures, and the
way they keep your interest flowing. Think of how these things might affect
your own unique writing voice, and how you want your own books to be seen. Then
get writing. Have fun!</div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-33126619937715456042014-02-10T12:24:00.000-08:002014-02-10T12:49:21.634-08:00Success, Failure, Society ... and Moose<div class="MsoNormal">
This is a challenging subject to write about, and one that can stir
up a lot of emotion in people. But it is important enough in my view that I'm
going to plow ahead anyway - here goes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I just read another of many articles whose narrative goes
something like this: "I used to do pretty well. I had an education and a
career. But because of the 2008 crash/these evil, greedy corporations/age
discrimination/etcetera, I am now poor and stuck. And it's all society's
fault."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First of all, I empathize. I've been there. I would agree
that Corporate America is not a kind place to be as we age - perhaps as much
because of globalization and competition as greed or evil. And bad things
certainly do happen to good people. Add to this the emotional devastation of
losing a career, struggling financially, and getting older, and I totally
understand the worldview of these articles.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So now I would like you to hold that viewpoint out in one
hand, while I gently place another view in your other hand.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a dynamic that I have consistently seen over and
over, for many years, in any community
of people who are trying to change their lives - job seekers, entrepreneurs,
freelancers, small businesses, or whatever. Let's say, to use an analogy from 80s
televangelist Robert Schuller, that they are all hunting a moose.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some people will learn from other successful moose hunters. With
practice, they will eventually go where moose go, show up when moose tend to
show up, and learn to sound like a moose. Others will say - <i>correctly</i> - that moose hunting is really
hard, that lots of people fail at it, and that it is unfair that society has
reduced them to needing to hunt moose in the first place. They are both right.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my own experience, the first group generally succeeds. Whatever
they do. Because of who they fundamentally are, not just circumstances. With a
consistency over the years that has come to amaze me. And the second group
never succeeds.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have always chosen to be in the first group. Which means
that people from the second group often ask me for advice, which I gladly give.
It is rarely acted upon. And if I were to be totally honest with them, their
anger, bitterness, and self-imposed constraints often set up a framework where
they are probably doomed to setting their sights too low and continuing to fail.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, they don't see it that way. "But I've sent
out hundreds of resumes, and no one gets back to me!" "There is too
much competition!" "No one pays good rates anymore!" And listen
carefully - they are absolutely right. I would also fail if I had their
worldview and limited my options to theirs. But understand that in the same
moment, the things that <i>do</i> work for me - like exploring nontraditional
high-value markets for my skills, having successful people as models, doing
lots of homework, networking, and above all blowing people away with great
service - often get dismissed as lame or unrealistic in the actual one-on-one
conversations I have with people who feel stuck. So we are both right, but I
would much rather be me than them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So in closing, I respect the people who write these articles.
There but for the grace of God, I could be one health crisis or economic
collapse away from joining them. But once bad things happen, I have learned
that people always, always, always divide themselves neatly into one of two
groups. I always want you to choose the first group. I want you to succeed.</div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-60708168163913585412013-12-26T13:23:00.004-08:002013-12-26T13:23:52.592-08:00My new year's resolution: Listen to the mirror(<b>Note</b>: I first published this as a "note" on my Facebook page in late 2011. Somehow, it never made it to my blog - and two years later it still rings as true as ever. Enjoy!)<br />
<br />
This is the time when people start thinking about their resolutions for the coming year. They decide to do things like lose weight (always a good one in my case), save more money, or be nicer to people.<br />
<br />
Here's mine: I am going to spend more time in front of the mirror.<br />
<br />
No, this isn't about my looks (especially at my age :). Standing in front of the mirror actually has a much more personal and spiritual meaning for me. Allow me to explain:<br />
<br />
Many years ago, when I was 28 years old, I stood in front of my mirror one day and said to myself, "OK, Rich. Right now you're an overworked software engineer in suburban Los Angeles. But what do you really, really want to be in another 28 years?" I was surprised at the answer that popped out, almost without thinking. "I want to write, teach, and work with people."<br />
<br />
This answer bothered me. I had spent all this time earning an engineering degree, like everyone else in my family, and my career was humming along nicely. And, I quickly reminded myself, how many people get to program supercomputers, create computer graphics, and have lunch in Newport Beach whenever they want? So I pushed this thought back into the "pipe dream" corner of my mind and went back to shaving.<br />
<br />
A few years later, now living in New England, I was still restless, changing jobs, and not what I would call particularly happy. So I asked myself the same question. This time the answer was a little more detailed, but it didn't bother me any less. "I would really like to be one of those author-speaker-psychotherapist types that I see on television. Not that I want to be famous. I don't, really. But I bet I would have a lot of fun, and help others in the process."<br />
<br />
Once again, I quickly summoned the forces of reality: Don't be ridiculous. You have a wife, a car payment, and a mortgage. You have reached the leadership level of your profession. You serve on government advisory committees, and chair conference sessions. Everyone will think you are nuts if you ditch all of this and "follow your bliss." So forget about it already.<br />
<br />
Except this time, I didn't forget about it. I started brainstorming about what life could look like, even if I still wasn't quite sure how to make it happen. I thought of all things that excited me when I was younger: writing and acting in my fourth-grade play; wanting to become a Catholic priest and help people when I grew up; my inexplicable dual major of psychology in engineering school. And it struck me that somewhere along the way I had traded all of it for someone else's idea of success.<br />
<br />
Soon, after another job change and a move to Pittsburgh, I started consciously shifting gears away from my technological world. I read about Carl Rogers and spirituality. I started writing seriously, sketching out book projects, and even getting published. And then when rumors started to swirl about layoffs at my large company, I did the unthinkable – I went to my management and said, "Me, me, please pick me!" and left with a modest consulting retainer.<br />
<br />
So here I was at age 40, moving back to my native Ithaca and starting my life completely over as a freelance technical writer. And you know what? It felt surprisingly good. Instead of fear, there was a delicious sense that life went on, there were always doors to knock on and temp agencies to work for, and that I was still waking up with a beautiful woman every morning. And ironically, as I slowly started building a platform as a writer, a speaker, and later a therapist, the biggest surprise of all started to dawn on me – I was much more successful than I ever was as an engineer.<br />
<br />
Recently it struck me: nowadays, in my 60th year, I am finally living the life I described in the mirror to myself at age 28, more than half my life ago. And if I had simply done a better job of listening to myself back then – or for that matter, in fourth grade – I probably would have been living this life a very long time ago. But better late than never. I frankly felt old back then, and feel much younger now. And I still have a lot more to learn.<br />
<br />
God speaks to people in many ways, and in my case He sometimes uses a mirror. So what is your mirror telling you?Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-83612432393205423612013-12-20T16:46:00.001-08:002014-01-01T14:11:25.987-08:00An open letter to a frustrated wannabe author<div class="MsoNormal">
I just got an e-mail today from a self-published author, announcing that he is quitting his newsletter, and railing about how real people have almost no chance of getting published. He points to everything from the growth of electronic self-publishing, to the number of "charlatans" out there who sell services to wannabe writers, to people not showing up at his book events. His conclusion seems to be that most people have no chance of ever succeeding as writers, and that they may as well give up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hear things like this all the time, and it saddens me because most of it simply isn't true. I am not going to respond personally, because I don't want to call him out - or get involved in a back-and-forth exchange I really don't have time for. But if I were to respond, I might say something like this:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Dear Wannabe Author,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I hear your frustration with the publishing industry. And I wanted to share my thoughts with you, as someone who does write a fair number of royalty-published books.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Personally I have seen a lot of fiction and non-fiction writers get published over the years - usually mere mortals like me. I have also seen a lot of people struggle to become authors and eventually self-publish or give up. I do NOT believe that the deck is stacked against them. But I do, however, see a huge difference between the two groups.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first group almost always works backwards from the market. They study what sells, first. Then they adapt their style around what sells. They write tight queries, good "hooks," and intelligent competitive analyses. And they keep at it until they smell like published authors. I was always the guy standing in the bookstore deconstructing top-selling business books to see how they tick. I don't copy other people, but my writing has always been informed by what people are buying right now.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By comparison, the second group is usually focused on themselves. They don't vet either their ideas or their writing against what sells. They aren't necessarily bad writers, but their end product is almost always out of step with what people are currently buying. Inevitably they rail about what a poor chance anyone has of ever getting published. Except it isn't true.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A good litmus test is to read other self-published books in your genre, then pick up some popular royalty-published books. For those who see a difference, there is hope. For those who don't, less so.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had an interesting discussion about this with my literary agent a couple of years ago. You are probably aware a typical query has about a 5% chance of getting accepted by a given agent. What you don't know is that more than half the queries these poor agents receive are *horrible* - completely out of step with the market and/or any sense of good, readable writing. Get rid of those queries, multiply these odds by the number of agents open to submission out there, and my experience is that a serious, professional writer who studies the marketplace is looking at a much more realistic 50/50 chance.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trust me, I've had more than my share of no-show book signings, and even though I coach non-fiction writers myself, I share your disdain of most paid services. But when I hear people say that normal people can't get published, I have to politely disagree. I know way too many who do. But they do act differently.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I completely respect whatever you decide to do with your own writing. But if you try again, I hope you decide to think like an agent or an editor, and become a student of the marketplace. Good luck!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Your friend, Rich Gallagher"</div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-33262664289653747842013-08-26T10:42:00.002-07:002013-08-26T10:45:26.158-07:00Operationalizing a Customer Service Culture - guest blog by Shep Hyken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5wA-McXlKtE/UhuTZrZvhpI/AAAAAAAAAPg/NstEMDyRn9Y/s1600/Shep-Hyken-Photo-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5wA-McXlKtE/UhuTZrZvhpI/AAAAAAAAAPg/NstEMDyRn9Y/s200/Shep-Hyken-Photo-1.jpg" width="156" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><b>Note from Rich:</b> Shep Hyken is the dean of customer service speakers, and a New York Times bestseller with multiple #1 customer service books. And a prince of a guy. Few people are as on-target about how to succeed through excellent service as Shep. This guest blog shares a taste of his brand-new book <a href="http://www.amazeeverycustomer.com/order-now/">Amaze Every Customer Every Time</a> - check it out, and buy a copy today for some great free gifts!</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Building the ideal corporate culture
doesn’t happen by chance. If you are a leader of a company or organization and
you want to instill a customer service culture, how do you make it happen? To
become a customer-centric company requires first building an employee-centric
workplace.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">If you want your customers to be
amazed – and loyal, and refer their family and friends to you, etc. – what you
need to do first is </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">amaze the employees</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">If you want a real-life example that
proves this concept, look no further than Ace Hardware. If I asked you to think
of a word that describes the Ace chain of retail hardware stores, chances are
your response would be “helpful.” And there’s good reason for that. Ace stores
are billed as </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Helpful Place</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and
they work hard to truly operationalize the word helpful into their culture.
That is their version of customer service and what gives them a competitive
edge, even when faced with competition from much larger hardware and home
improvement stores such as Lowe’s and Home Depot. They attract customers by
living up to the promise of being </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">the
most helpful hardware stores on the planet</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Not just nice, not just
friendly – </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">helpful</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">By delivering
that level of service, they are able to win in a very competitive industry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">And, as I mentioned earlier, the
secret – for Ace and other successful companies – is that they don’t begin by
focusing on the customer. To truly become a customer-focused company, they
first focus on their employees.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is not a new concept at Ace. It
isn’t a temporary customer service theme. It has always been part of the Ace
philosophy. Ever since the first Ace Hardware store opened in 1924, it has held
to this belief that serving the customer begins by first serving the employee.
They hire the right people and train them not only in the technical details of
the job, but also to deliver the Ace brand of helpful service. As management
and employees treat each other with respect and dignity, they have a model for
how to treat the customers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Other companies understand and live
by this philosophy as well. I have always been a big fan of Southwest Airlines
Chairman Emeritus Herb Kelleher, and one reason why is that he believed in
putting employees first. By doing so, he said, the employees will in turn treat
the customers (or passengers) well. And what happens when customers are well
taken care of? They are happy, and they reward the company with repeat
business. And who else is happy? The shareholders! And it all goes back to the
idea of focusing on employees first.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">You want to aim for </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">alignment</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> in your company. Ever been in
a car whose front end is out of alignment? It causes the entire car to shake.
In business, if the employees don’t experience the same treatment, promise and
value that you want for the customer, then the customer experience can be shaky
and the entire company can suffer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Shep Hyken is a
customer experience expert and the Chief Amazement Officer of Shepard
Presentations. He is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling
author and has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Hall of
Fame for lifetime achievement in the speaking profession. Shep works with
companies and organizations who want to build loyal relationships with their
customers and employees. For more articles on customer service and business go
to </i><a href="http://www.hyken.com/" title="http://www.hyken.com"><i>http://www.hyken.com</i></a><i>. Shep’s new book is </i><i><a href="http://www.amazeeverycustomer.com/order-now/">Amaze Every Customer Every Time</a>.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Copyright ©MMXIII <o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-39491213182483345432013-08-12T17:59:00.001-07:002013-08-12T18:08:08.507-07:00Investing in yourself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B7irqDRsUwY/UgmElidlg7I/AAAAAAAAAPM/YlgKK5qUt7U/s1600/2013Mustang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B7irqDRsUwY/UgmElidlg7I/AAAAAAAAAPM/YlgKK5qUt7U/s320/2013Mustang.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many years ago, after purchasing a vehicle, one of my
co-workers sourly observed, "You'll never get rich buying new cars."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But actually, he was wrong. Years later, when I was starting
my consulting business, getting a new car - at a time when I had no income
whatsoever - turned out to be one of the smartest financial moves I ever made.
And perhaps one of the smartest moves YOU could make too. Allow me to explain.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here's the backstory. In 1996, after a pretty good first
year as a consultant, everything came to a very hard stop. All of my projects
and clients turned into a pumpkin at nearly the same time, and my income came
to a screeching halt. From there, I couldn't get myself arrested. Three months
later, adding insult to injury, my wheezy old car with six figures on the
odometer needed major repairs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With my tail between my legs, I went to my local dealer to try
and trade for a passable used car while I got back on my feet again. Instead,
the salesperson wheeled out one of the most gorgeous vehicles I'd ever seen - a brand-new, full size car with metallic paint, a sunroof, and a premium stereo
system. And explained how leasing it for two years would only put a small
amount of my assets at risk.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
His numbers actually made sense. And so I will never forget the
feeling of having had no income in three months, no idea when I would ever work
again, and driving off the lot in the nicest car I had ever owned.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is why it actually made good financial sense. Every
time I got behind the wheel of this beautiful car, I FELT like a successful
person. And ACTED like a successful person. Which made a real, tangible
difference as I started knocking on doors, lining up gigs and clients, and
planning my future. Soon I was back in business again, and I proudly paid that
car off early and kept it for seven years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Think about it. If you are selling your ideas or services to
someone, what would give you your best chance of succeeding: feeling hot,
sweaty, and dirty, or feeling freshly showered and clean in a nice suit? Either
feeling transmits itself to other people, and the same thing is true for the
rest of your self-image. And what they perceive, in turn, ultimately governs
your success.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I am not suggesting that you start taking stupid risks,
or drive your cash flow into the ground. But I do want you to rethink what the
hair-shirt types often tell you about scrimping and sacrificing in the early
stages of your business. What works for them frankly wouldn't have worked for
me - and I feel strongly that you should do whatever will make YOU most successful.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nearly two decades later, I still drive around in a nice car, because I firmly believe that how you FEEL and how you ACT are major determinants of success. (My current ride is pictured above.) So whatever it takes to make you feel awesome - and then share that awesomeness with the world - seriously consider it as part of your business plan. Invest in yourself and your self-image, and I believe the rewards will often come back to you many times over.</div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-91974002699477726662013-05-22T11:02:00.000-07:002013-05-22T11:02:13.884-07:00Guest post: Announcing the paperback release of Who's Your Gladys!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iQbjAF_6BAg/UZ0GrsnlDhI/AAAAAAAAANk/OY1Cr8tzMMI/s1600/MarilynLoriGlady2-300x225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iQbjAF_6BAg/UZ0GrsnlDhI/AAAAAAAAANk/OY1Cr8tzMMI/s1600/MarilynLoriGlady2-300x225.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="NormalWeb1" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span class="Strong1"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Bold Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">Note from Rich: Today’s g<a href="" name="GoBack"></a>uest post is an
excerpt from the #1 customer service bestseller by my good friends and colleagues Marilyn Suttle and Lori Jo Vest,</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Bold Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;"> </span></span><span class="Strong1"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Bold Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;">“Who’s
Your Gladys? How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest
Fan” To celebrate the release of the paperback version, the authors are giving
away free gifts with purchase here: </span></span><a href="http://www.whosyourgladys.com/paperbacklaunch"><span class="Strong1"><span style="color: #000099; font-family: "Times New Roman Bold Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">www.whosyourgladys.com/paperbacklaunch</span></span></a><span class="Strong1"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Italic"; font-size: 11.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="NormalWeb1" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="NormalWeb1" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">This excerpt from chapter 1 is
based on interviews with Professional Movers, a world-class moving company
located in Walled Lake, Michigan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="NormalWeb1" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Goudy;">Eighty-seven-year-old
Gladys has a reputation among her fellow retirement community members. She’s
known as a cranky complainer who is impossible to please. But to her surprise,
when she called Andrew Androff’s company, Professional Movers, to move her into
her new apartment, she was treated with warmth and respect. When her sales rep,
Chris, visited her home to quote the job, he noticed her prickly personality
and made a conscious decision to focus on her spunk and tenacity. By the end of
his visit, Gladys had bonded with Chris and booked the move.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Goudy;">On
moving day, there was a mishap. One of the movers accidentally cracked Gladys’s
marble tabletop. Andrew knew that she would be furious. Determined to set
things right, he prepared himself to let her vent before she could even think
about possible solutions. As predicted, Gladys had steam shooting out her ears.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Goudy;">Andrew
felt compassion for her while she vented and assured her that his company would
have the table repaired, and that if she wasn’t satisfied with the results, he
would replace it. Although he continued to reassure her that things would be
set right, she was still spitting mad. Gladys wanted to talk to Chris, who had
sold her on the company in the first place, and Andrew promised to have Chris
call her as soon as he came into the office. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Goudy;">Chris
arrived dead tired after a long day filled with meetings with potential new
customers. When Andrew told him about Gladys and asked if he’d be willing to
call her, Chris responded, ‘‘No way. She’s going to need more than a phone
call. I’ll stop by her house on my way home.’’ Chris arrived at Gladys’s house
ready to comfort her through her anger and outrage. Then he assured her that he
would personally oversee the repair of her table. This calmed her down, and she
thanked him for coming over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Goudy;">Unfortunately,
the repair was less than perfect. Andrew knew that he had to set things right,
even though doing so would be expensive. He called Gladys and promised that she
could meet Chris at the marble store and personally pick out her new marble
tabletop. Since Chris knew that Gladys didn’t drive, he called and arranged to
pick her up and take her to the store himself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Goudy;">Gladys
is now living at one of metropolitan Detroit’s premier retirement communities
with her new marble table. While it cost Andrew and his employee Chris extra
time and extra money to make things right, the payoff was outstanding. Gladys
tells everyone moving into or out of her assisted living complex that they have
to hire Professional Movers if they want to work with the best movers in town.
High and persistent praise from such a hard-to-please person attracts
attention. As a result, Andrew’s company is now the number one choice of movers
for Gladys’s retirement complex. By creating a culture that values
compassionate connection with his customers, Andrew has built a referral base
that has helped his sales grow by over 40 percent in two years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Goudy;">This
culture of connection has been particularly effective in building a strong
business with senior citizens. Seniors often move from their homes to be nearer
to their children or to retire to a senior community. Professional Movers has
found this population to be a good fit for its particular style of customer
service, so it put a great deal of effort into developing the market segment.
Everyone at Professional Movers makes a practice of creating a human connection
with her clients. The staff members show respect for their clients’ wisdom,
experience, and opinions. They also know how moving affects their
clients, both physically and emotionally. It isn’t easy leaving behind the
security of their homes, their friendships with neighbors, and the familiarity
of their routines. Andrew’s employees are trained to be sensitive to the unique
issues of downsizing. They are sensitive to the emotional connection to their
precious family heirlooms that senior citizens feel as they leave behind the
past. Professional Movers strives to give seniors the sort of service they
would receive if their own family were doing the job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Goudy;">‘‘It’s
like we’re their sons,’’ Andrew said with a laugh. ‘‘We get very close with
their families. We interview their caregivers and their social workers. It
really helps us develop a customized process to address their concerns.’’ This
needs-based approach to both customer service and sales has helped the company
become the top provider of moving services in metropolitan Detroit’s retirement
market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="NormalWeb1" style="background: white; line-height: 15.75pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman Bold Italic";">Enjoy
“Who’s Your Gladys? How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest
Fan” - available at most online booksellers, or purchase it from Amazon.com <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Whos-Your-Gladys-Difficult-Customer/dp/148400941X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369245681&sr=1-2&keywords=who%27s+your+gladys">here</a>.</span></div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-25022401401413699022013-04-29T11:33:00.001-07:002013-11-27T01:07:41.077-08:00Rich Gallagher, LMFT<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some people's midlife crises involve sports cars or
beautiful women. Mine involved deciding, in my 50s, to become a practicing psychotherapist.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today I am proud to announce getting my New York State clinical
license in marriage and family therapy. As
long as I behave myself and pay my renewal fees, I am now officially a
therapist for the rest of my life. (Until now, I have been practicing under a
supervised "learner's permit" that expires for good this year.) This marks the
end of a long journey, and I couldn't be happier.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For me, this was always the path not taken, and one that
called to me even as I pursued a seemingly more practical career (and my
family's tradition) in technology. I even had a dual major in psychology as a
Cornell engineering student in the 1970s, and was genuinely torn whether to become
an engineer or a therapist. It was a heady time when people started to explore
human potential and inner space, when I thought psychotherapists were the
coolest people in the world. And I still do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I first started down this road in 2005, volunteering as
a crisisline counselor, this was my dirty little secret - a Walter Mitty life I
didn't tell most people about. When I started graduate school in 2007, videotaping my
first counseling assignment, I
felt like a rookie football player walking into an NFL locker room for the
first time. And by the time I started my clinical practicum in 2009 - by which
time I was seeing clients two days a week, as I do now - my secret was finally
out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So how do I feel after finishing graduate school and close
to four years of supervised practice? First of all, I enjoy doing this as much
as I thought I would. Ever since I was a young child wanting to become a
Catholic priest when I grew up, my real goal in life was to help people be
happier - not just write software and feed the cats and pay the mortgage. So
for me this is an affirmation of life, as I transition to retirement in a few
short years.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People often tell me,
"I couldn't do counseling. Who wants to listen to other people's problems
all day?" While it does have its moments, my experience is generally the
opposite. Good therapy is a process of happymaking, and most people leave
feeling better than when they came in. At least with me, a surprising amount of
laughter takes place in session, even in some very serious situations. Even
though this is very secular work, it often feels like we are creating a sacred
space for people to be heard and understood, learn new skills, and make
positive and fundamental life changes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This work helps me too. It has introduced me to a larger
community of therapists that has been incredibly generous of spirit with me, including
three clinical supervisors (for my practicum in NY, my internship in PA, and my
postgraduate clinical work) who have been the best and kindest mentors I could
ever ask for. It dovetails nicely with my "day job" writing and
speaking about communications skills. It opens up a whole new world of fascinating
conferences and workshops. And yes, the things I have learned working with
others benefit my own mental health and wellness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From here, I hope to keep learning and growing. I already
have a bucket list of things to explore further, ranging from my current
specialty of treating anxiety disorders (my colleagues joke that I've become
the "anxiety guy" at my current clinic) to going on retreat and exploring
the nexus between psychotherapy and spirituality (another interest from my
wannabe-priest days). Above all, I hope to keep doing well by my current and
future clients, because that is what this is really all about. My sincere thanks to
everyone who has supported me on this journey.</div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-80794784626234932292013-03-29T22:30:00.002-07:002013-03-30T17:18:30.551-07:00We're number 1 (again)!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6D6UJ1muWGs/UVZoQbzpZfI/AAAAAAAAANA/nJs5pd4ZfaA/s1600/cover_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6D6UJ1muWGs/UVZoQbzpZfI/AAAAAAAAANA/nJs5pd4ZfaA/s320/cover_small.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
When you release a new book on how to handle your very worst customer situations - and it becomes the #1 customer service book in America on the very first day it launches - that tells you this is a hot-button topic for people all over the country. (Even when it has a great launch campaign.) I couldn't be happier and more proud to be part of the dialogue on it.<br />
<br />
Wednesday we kicked off the launch campaign for my new book <a href="http://www.customerservicesurvivalkit.com/"><i>The Customer Service Survival Kit</i></a> with a webinar sponsored by <a href="http://www.citrix.com/products/gotoassist/overview.html">Citrix GoToAssist</a> and industry portal site (and longtime partner-in-crime) <a href="http://supportindustry.com/">SupportIndustry.com</a>. The energy level was incredible: we had over 1700 people signed up, almost 800 attending live, and enough questions to keep us running well past the top of the hour. And a truly amazing number of them went out and purchased the book afterward.<br />
<br />
All of this tells me that people have a real hunger to learn how to handle their most difficult customers - especially today. Life is more stressful and fast-paced than ever, customers are more demanding, and sadly many people live in fear of being on the receiving end of a meltdown. But the good news is that by learning the same kinds of skills used by hostage negotiators, crisis counselors, and others, people can learn to completely blow away this fear and walk confidently into any customer situation. I wrote this book to take what I've learned as a former customer support executive - and practicing psychotherapist - and create an actionable game plan for mastering your very worst situations.<br />
<br />
Some of you may know that this is actually my second #1 customer service book on Amazon.com, the first being my 2008 book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Say-Porcupine-Humorous-Customer/dp/0814416799/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364618296&sr=1-1&keywords=what+to+say+to+a+porcupine">What to Say to a Porcupine</a></i>. (And I will never forget that taste of electricity in my mouth when it first hit #1.) But this new book had a very different vibe. First, <i>Porcupine</i> hit number 1 several months after its release, and its webinars drew barely half the audience of this new one. Second, it benefited from a good run in the bookstores and excellent press coverage, including being a finalist for 800-CEO-READ's business book of the year. By comparison, <i>The Customer Service Survival Kit</i> shot to the top right out of the starting gate, on the strength of a very timely topic.<br />
<br />
This book also succeeded on the wings of a truly generous community of fellow authors, speakers, and thought leaders who helped me out in ways too numerous to mention. New York Times bestselling author and CNBC host <a href="http://www.carolroth.com/">Carol Roth</a>, for whom I am a contributing blogger, not only wrote a great foreword but even offered up her cousin, an airline manager whose touching story of grief counseling after the 9/11 tragedy helped lead off the book. (Check out a great interview we just did on her midday show on Chicago superstation WGN, right <a href="http://wgnradio.com/2013/03/29/customer-service-tips/">here</a>.) Countless others posted, tweeted, wrote reviews, offered launch gifts or cheered me on in ways I will always appreciate and cherish.<br />
<br />
Above all, I want to thank <i>you</i>! The rave reviews and support I have received this week from the public has been overwhelming. If you haven't checked the book and its free gifts out yet, visit us <a href="http://www.customerservicesurvivalkit.com/">here</a>. Together, we are making the world a little nicer and a little safer from our very worst customer situations.Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-8695205620185081552013-02-23T15:05:00.004-08:002013-02-23T22:53:06.027-08:00Too Big to Listen: A "Brief" Course in Corporate Communications<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
One thing never ceases to amaze me: big
companies whose responses to customers sound like they were written by robots.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is a recent example. At the risk of TMI, I recently
wrote to one of my favorite big-box department stores about their men's
underwear - or lack thereof. Here is what I wrote:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I'll be brief - no pun intended.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Check out the men's
underwear department at (my local store) sometime. You will find rows and rows
and rows and rows of boxer briefs. And maybe two forlorn packages of briefs, of
any brand - none in my size and colors, of course.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
According to
AskMen.com, 57% of men wear briefs, and 18% wear boxer briefs. Someone oughta
clue in your underwear buyer. Thanks!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Best, Rich"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My note was short, to the point, well researched, and even a
little humorous. It was not the least bit impolite. I even avoided the
technically accurate groaner of signing off with my work address of Brief
Therapy Associates (where I do actually practice as a therapist).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So here is the gist of their response -- with my thoughts in bold:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Dear Richard,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thank you for your comments regarding the current selection
at your local store. At (insert name of big box store), our goal is to offer
our customers a wide assortment of merchandise. In most cases, we offer a broad
selection in our merchandise.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>(Why, oh why, do most
of these letters start by saying "Our goal is to do exactly the opposite
of what we actually do"?)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are continually looking for ways to best meet the needs
of all customers and in turn, improve customer convenience.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>(I am writing about
something you do poorly -- and often -- and you respond by telling me
how you are always busy improving? Methinks you've been looking under the wrong
rock.)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Therefore, your feedback is very important and will be taken
under consideration for any of our future buying decisions. We apologize for
any inconvenience our current selection may have caused. We appreciate the time
you took to contact us and look forward to serving you again at (insert name of
big box store again).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>(So my request has
been put on the suggestion pile. Whoop-de-doo. I am thrilled, I tell you,
thrilled.)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sincerely, (whomever)"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So how should people react to this? Well, picture this. A
mother catches her son with his hand in the cookie jar. He responds, "My
goal is to only eat cookies at the appropriate times. I am always looking for
ways to improve our supply of cookies as well as my dental health. Therefore
your feedback is very important, and I will take it under consideration."
Think this would work?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is why the average six year old is smarter -- in fact,
much smarter -- than the average big-box retailer. Meanwhile some corporate
weenie is actually drawing a paycheck for penning words like these, for
their customer service departments to cut-and-paste, thinking they will
actually help.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is the response I was really thinking about: "Hey
Rich. Sorry about that. We really should do a better job of stocking men's
underwear. It's a hassle going all the way to a store and not finding something
that basic in stock. We'll let you know when we fix this. Meanwhile, here's a
five buck discount for your trouble. Thanks!" Now, would that be so hard?</div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-72912962415209789252013-01-25T18:57:00.004-08:002013-01-25T19:06:40.766-08:00The power of positive grumbling<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I've been grumbling all day today. And for good reason:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->First, I'm grumbling because I am busy. Really
busy. Late-nighters and all-nighters all week busy. And I'm going to be busy
for a while yet.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Second, I'm grumbling because I a<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">m in the middle
of a 10-day-long course of antibiotics. One of its listed side effects is
irritability. No fun.</span><br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Third, I'm grumbling because it's cold outside,
and the walls seem to be shrinking in by about a foot a day.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what's wrong with this picture? Here's what's wrong:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First, there are people out there who would give their right
arm for the great workload I usually take for granted. To have a regular income
coming in. To have the world validate their talents. To be self-employed and
happy. I should be jumping for joy to watch the clock turn 2 AM. After all, I'm
home, I'm safe, and I love what I am doing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For some people, their days stretch sadly and endlessly
ahead of them. But for me, I look ahead and see guest lectures to give, therapy
sessions to hold, lunches with cool people, client projects to finish, even a
new book to launch soon. Busy is way cool.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Second, what about the antibiotics? They are the greatest
news in the world. At the risk of TMI, I had a health scare this fall when my PSA started climbing after a routine physical. Last week I just learned that I don't have prostate
cancer - I have prostatitis. Prostatitis is awesome. It's fantastic. It's
fixable. My doctor doesn't even want to see me for another six months. (And my
PSA is returning to normal levels.) So I should be wolfing down these antibiotics
with glee, irritability and all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Third, about the cold: I am in a warm house with a beautiful
woman, good food, great music, and a picture window that looks out over acres
of rolling hills. I live in a great town. I am happy, healthy (prostatitis
notwithstanding), and in love. And March is only five weeks away.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What I have just used here is a powerful technique from
psychotherapy known as <i>reframing</i>. It is not the same as positive thinking.
Rather, it takes reality - keeps it completely real - but frames it in terms
that are much less scary. You can use it to describe life events, other people,
or the way you are thinking. You could think of it as positive grumbling.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Reframing is very powerful. I've watched it change
relationships and lift depressions. Today, it even made me stop grumbling. Try
it yourself, and see what it can do for you!<br />
<br />
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Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-63451197600328958242012-12-15T03:55:00.000-08:002012-12-15T16:51:27.305-08:00Dr. Richard H. Gallagher: A tribute<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TY5K3mq3S1w/UMximCeDyXI/AAAAAAAAALk/1B1v03QEBMg/s1600/Richard_Gallagher.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TY5K3mq3S1w/UMximCeDyXI/AAAAAAAAALk/1B1v03QEBMg/s320/Richard_Gallagher.jpg" width="223" /></a></div>
<em>(Note: </em><i>My late father would have been 85 years old this year. Sadly his life was cut short just before his 70th birthday, on September 30, 1997, after bravely battling a rare form of cancer while at the peak of his career as President of Clarkson University. He was one of the pioneers of modern engineering design analysis.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>This tribute was originally written by me just before his passing, and sent to his professional colleagues after he died. I recently discovered that its original web host is now defunct, and wanted to preserve this online for posterity on my own blog.</i><em>)</em>
<br />
<br />
My father was, on the surface, one of the most improbable people one could
imagine as a pioneer of modern engineering analysis. He was a kid from the Bronx who left home at age 16 to try and join the military, and describes his entry into
engineering school as being almost an afterthought following the end of World
War II and his Navy enlistment. He later graduated from an engineering program in New
York that no longer exists, and was nearly in his forties, supporting a wife
and five children, when he earned his doctorate in night school at an institution that had never granted them in his field before.
<br />
<br />
His accomplishments since then could easily fill the successful careers of
several people, and many people who know him from one field are unaware of his
accomplishments in others. He progressed from being a practicing engineer, to an
industry pioneer of the finite element analysis method, to a distinguished Ivy
League teaching career, to becoming a highly successful academic official and
university president. In each of these diverse activities, he not only
succeeded, but received the highest honors of each field in turn.
<br />
<br />
Behind the official accolades, however, was a very modest and private person
whose personal integrity was absolute. During his retirement from the presidency
of Clarkson University, the one comment we heard the most from his colleagues
was "Dick is the most solid person I've ever known", and this was as true in his
personal life as it was in his career. He never boasted of his achievements
off-camera - his work itself gave him pleasure, and it sustained him day and
night throughout his entire working life.
<br />
<br />
He felt that technology was an important means of improving everyone's
success in life, and was a tireless proponent of both bringing more women and
minorities into the engineering field, as well as helping practicing engineers
to become lifelong learners. And even as a young engineer, he saw his field in
very global terms. I will never forget, as a young boy, seeing how excited he
was about presenting one of his first papers in Stuttgart, Germany -- he put
aside finite elements for weeks in a crash effort to learn German, and gave a
successful lecture.<br />
<br />
From there, our family quickly became used to seeing him
travel to Asian universities, behind Iron Curtains, and to every continent on
earth as an active member of the FEA fraternity, while he and his wife Terry
increasingly became host to a steady stream of international visitors. Early in
his life, he developed a habit of purchasing a ceramic mug from each institution
he would lecture at, and this massive international collection of beer steins
remains a testament to his globetrotting support of the field.
<br />
<br />
It is a well-known "secret" among Dick's colleagues that all five of his
children became engineering graduates, and pursued successful technology careers
of their own. What is less known is that this was never his wish. I don't
believe that he ever expressed a career preference to any of his children as
they grew up, and was in fact a strong proponent of the classic liberal arts
education; indeed, he married a cum laude graduate in English who was a
published poet and a promising advertising copywriter. At home, he would light
up as much talking about world history and popular culture as he ever did about
engineering analysis, and we all remember road trips which would stop at every
historical site, castle or bridge within range of our route. The fact that each
of his offspring chose to pursue technology instead is a testament to how
brightly his enthusiasm glowed for his own work, and his wish for at least one
of us to become a person of arts and letters stands as one of few goals that he
ever failed at.
<br />
<br />
Sharing the same name as my father, I experience constant reminders of his
impact on the engineering field. At times, people mistaking me for him laud the
impact of "my" books and papers on their careers; more often, they go out of
their way to share what an influence the man and his work has been to them. His
efforts literally paved the way for a multi-billion dollar industry, thousands of
careers, and millions of lives improved.<br />
<br />
In his last commencement speech at Clarkson, which he gave shortly after
learning of his illness, he spoke in a strong, clear voice of how we must all
have a sense of urgency in our lives, how quickly his own 45 year career had
passed, and how the decisions we make early on affect us for the rest of our
lives. The decisions that he made in his own life benefited all of us.Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-63720804097558504462012-12-05T12:32:00.000-08:002012-12-05T18:12:16.795-08:00Me ... live ... inexpensively ... at your company!<br />
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For more information, e-mail me at <a href="mailto:chealey@supportindustry.com" style="color: #666666;" title="mailto:chealey@supportindustry.com">chealey@supportindustry.com</a> or give me a call at 805.569.5761.</div>
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Carolyn Healey<br />
Publisher<br />
http://www.SupportIndustry.com<br />
http://www.CRMindustry.com<br />
http://www.RecognizeServiceExcellence.com</div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10119240.post-83423019019042705362012-12-01T20:45:00.001-08:002012-12-01T20:46:56.883-08:00The view from this far<br />
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This week I enter my 59th year. So what does it feel like to
be approaching my 60s? The real answer is a little complex, but I'll give it a
try.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first answer is that I feel this is an ideal age. I wish
I could stay here for a while. I wake up feeling pretty good every morning, with
someone I am still madly in love with, but with the advantage of a lot more
experience, wisdom, and resources versus when I was younger.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In some ways this age is liberating. Take career issues, for
example. I remember all too well how painful it was to be struggling with
making a living in my 30s and 40s. When you are that age, career problems loom
extremely large, because you have to worry about supporting yourself for another
quarter-century or more. Nowadays I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aging also liberates you from people's expectations. In my
20s and 30s, with an engineering degree and a hot technical career, any
suggestion of trying another path was met with alarm by my friends, my
relatives, and my mortgage. Now no one cares anymore, so I get to do whatever I
want. And ironically I am busier and more successful than ever - although if
you ask me what I do for a living, allow enough time for a lengthy answer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the same time, there is a twinge of sadness that time
marches on. You notice it when you scan your iTunes playlist and see how many of
the artists you grew up with have passed on. You look through your Facebook
friends list and see that a lot of your colleagues are retired. Or you call
your mother and she doesn't remember your wife's name anymore. I had a bit of a
shock last month when we got tickets to see Chicago and the Doobie Brothers -
groups that formed the soundtrack to our dating years - and realized that their
original members are all roughly 70 years old now. So as much fun as it is to
be here now, I still have to wrap my head around the fact that it doesn't end
there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Which leads to another conundrum. I am still very much in
the arena these days. I write, I speak, I travel, and I have a new book coming
out next year from a major publisher. Thankfully I am busy enough to be working
far too many hours, and have been for a long time. Do I plan to shut all this
down and start playing shuffleboard in a few years? No. So what does retirement
look like for someone like me?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I frankly haven't figured that one out yet. To be as busy as
I am now into, say, my 70s sounds kind of stupid, especially when I could be
sharing a lot more sunsets with Colleen. But when you are a go-getter like I
am, simply watching the sun set every night would be a recipe for boredom and
depression. I never intend to retire in the traditional sense of the word, but
the challenge will be striking a balance with the many things I truly enjoy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps my latest venture is a good metaphor for where my
life seems to be heading. Years ago I quietly went back to graduate school to
pursue a longstanding pipe dream: becoming a psychotherapist as I
transitioned into retirement. Nowadays I am in practice a couple of days a
week, on top of all the other crazy things I do, and Colleen gets to chuckle at
me when my schedule is full or I have to rush out for a crisis intervention. (One
of my brothers put it even more succinctly, saying you couldn't force him to do
this at gunpoint.) But I enjoy it, and did this intentionally to stay relevant
as I age and the phone stops ringing in my consulting practice. Except that it
hasn't stopped ringing yet. So that may be what my retirement looks like after
all: reasonably well planned, focused on things I love, and perhaps busier than
I expected. Stay tuned!</div>
Rich Gallagher, LMFThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14070819187873592934noreply@blogger.com0