Actionable Books

Of all the coaching and productivity tools that exist out there, one that has had a lasting impact on me is Stephen Covey's Importance vs Urgency Matrix, first explained in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.  I like the model because it's simple, easy to remember and extremely powerful in managing your projects and time.  One of the challenges with the model is that, while it does an excellent job of helping you classify which activities are important, it's not particularly strong at helping you figure out how to do those activities. Which is why I was delighted to come across Michael Bungay Stanier's book Do More Great Work; an approachable, easy to digest guidebook for not only identifying what great work means to you, but also for helping you commit to and follow through on that great work. Golden Egg Do More Great Work "When I say 'Great Work,' I'm not talking about a standard of delivery. I'm talking about a standard of impact and meaning." Do More Great Work, page 13 This may be a first - having the book title as our Golden Egg. Rather than taking this as a sign of laziness on my part, I choose to explain it as this: Our goal with "Golden Eggs" is to highlight one particularly actionable point from each business book. Bungay Stanier's entire book is actionable.  Not only that, it has a singular, succinct point: we are happier - more fulfilled - when we are engaged in work that stretches us and makes a positive impact in the world. And yet. And yet, we spend so little of our time engaged in these types of activities. Instead, we spend most our time in the weeds, doing "bad work" or, most insidious of all, "good work". A few quick definitions: Bad Work: This is work that is pointless. It creates no value and it sucks our souls.  "Bureaucracy, interminable meetings, outdated processes that waste everyone's time, and other ways of doing things that squelch you rather than help you grow." (pg 4) Good Work:  This is the stuff you're paid to do; paid to deliver. It's thing things that need to get done, and you're fairly happy to do. It's efficiency focused and (most likely) takes up the vast majority of your day. The cost of doing bad work is, hopefully, fairly obvious. The challenge is in understanding the threat that good work poses. It's "productive", it's typically something you're good at, and you're never going to get into trouble for doing good work well. It's safe. And this is a trap. Doing good work never moves anything forward. It doesn't energize us, it doesn't challenge us, it doesn't allow us to make a dent in the world. It's important, and will always have a place in our professional lives, but - and here's the ultimate point - doing good work with excellence is not the same as going great work. For the sake of our sense of self, and for the good of our careers and our companies, we need to engage in more great work.  So how do we do that? GEM # 1 Slow Down "Because we're in a hurry, we often just grab the first half-decent idea that comes along, regardless of whether it's the best idea we could have.  I call this 'first-idea-itis'." Do More Great Work, page 112 One of the reasons we don't do as much great work as we could is due to the speed at which we're (apparently) trying to get through our lives.  We take pride in check marks, and moving through To-Do lists. Great work is hardly ever an item on a To-Do list.  Great work takes deliberate focus, energy and thought.  It requires carving time out of our To-Do schedule and slowing down long enough to actually think beyond the immediate problem or solution.  Do More Great Work comes complete with 15 "maps", or visual exercises you can work through to find, select and create action around your own great work projects.  The exercises guide you through the thought process of what's important to you, why, and how acting on it could/would have a positive impact on your life and career.

 “Like the Scouts, be prepared…to toot at any time.  That doesn’t mean, however, that you do it all the time or that you do it at inappropriate times or places.  You do it when it feels comfortable.  And learning how to make it feel more comfortable is...

 “Small changes can make a big different to your powers of persuasion” Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, book cover Yes! features 50 ways to be more persuasive, with examples and research to prove and demonstrate each point. The bo...

“[Blogging] gave me the freedom I spent most of my adult life searching for, the same freedom I believe we’re ALL searching for, in one way or another.” Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear, location 68* Blogs. We all know what they are, but few of us truly know how to harness the power of a blog to transform our lives. But as Hugh MacLeod argues in his recent book, Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear, the power isn’t monetary, it’s freedom. A decade before the publication of his book, MacLeod was a struggling cartoonist. He knew he was talented, and was smart enough to realize that sitting around waiting for his cartoons to be syndicated in newspapers was futile. So he established his blog, GapingVoid.com to showcase them. Through sharing his talent and passion with the world, he quickly gained a dedicated following and became one of the first visual artists to launch his career entirely online. It’s quite a feat, but you too can do the same... if you bring enough passion and dedication. Golden Egg Your Own Electronic Croft “Thanks to the Internet, we all have a little electronic “croft”—an electronic smallholding—to call our own: what is commonly referred to as our own digital identity, which we can cultivate, like a small farm, however we see fit.” Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear, location 161 I love the analogy that MacLeod uses for blogging because it’s so apt: “My grandfather was a Scottish highlands “crofter”—i.e., a small-time, mostly self-sufficient tenant farmer with his own little patch of land, who raised sheep and grew potatoes, turnips, and other stuff.” The internet allows us to have our own “croft,” a little plot of land to call our own and do what we want with it. So much of the freedom of blogging is that the potential of an internet audience is so vast that we can be as unique and specialized as we want (unlike a plot of land, we don’t have to worry about whether something will grow or not). If you want to blog horror movie reviews, you can. If you want to share gluten free recipes, you can do that too. Blogging offers us an “electronic identity”. But, as MacLeod warns, this isn’t an identity separate from your professional identity: they are all one. While certainly the internet gives us a great deal of anonymity, those who truly benefit from it know that it’s an extension of your professional life. When harnessed properly the two will work in concert with one another, and many new and exciting opportunities will reveal themselves. GEM # 1 Cheap. Easy. Global Media. “CheapEasyGlobal is the big story. And it’s here now. It has arrived. And it’s permanent. And there’s not a damn thing anyone can do about it, save for a nuclear holocaust. And yes, the changes will be vast. In fact, they already are.” Freedom Is Blogging In Your Underwear, location 229 Guess what? Your croft is free! Blogging allows us to get our “art” out there to an audience for next to nothing; your biggest investment is time. As MacLeod writes, “…I use the Internet to sell it [my art]. I don’t do galleries or get my stuff in newspapers. I just publish it on my blog, I post it in my online gallery, I send it along in my daily newsletter, and then people buy it. Yes, it’s easy. Compared to getting discovered by the New York Times, United Features Syndicate, or a blue-chip New York art gallery, it’s REALLY easy.” Blogging has truly levelled the playing field, and we all need to take advantage of it. In fact, as MacLeod so bluntly puts it, we’d be stupid not to. He quotes Clay Shirky as saying, “So forget about blogs and bloggers and blogging and focus on this—the cost and difficulty of publishing absolutely anything, by anyone, into a global medium, just got a whole lot lower. And the effects of that increased pool of potential producers is going to be vast.” The possibilities are endless, and the journey that cultivating our digital croft can take us on is completely unknown. In fact, while writing this piece,

“Much of this book is focused on how you can improve your business life and career. But the strategies also work in virtually any aspect of life where you need to persuade others to accept your position or ideas.” Getting Everything You Can Out of All...

I'm not going to lie, I struggled with this book a little at the beginning.  Not because it isn't well written (it is).  And not because the subject matter wasn't relevant or fascinating (it was).  I struggled because Bruce Schneier's Liars and Outlier...

“Energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance.” The Power of Full Engagement, page 4 The Power of Full Engagement by Tony Schwartz and Jim Loehr isn’t the first book on budgeting time and energy, and it won’t be the last. But it’...

"[B]ecause we finally understand what creativity is, we can begin to construct a taxonomy of it, outlining the conditions under which each particular mental strategy is ideal." Imagine, page XVIII How does creativity work? The very question is audacious. We see two types of problem-solving: inch by inch, gaining ground on a solution, or the flash of insight, unforeseen. All arts, all acts of human creation are prone to this division. Understanding that creativity is not centered in one portion of our brain, in a single specialized process, but a variety of sometimes unrelated processes,is vital to unlocking its keys. Golden Egg Every Creative Journey Begins with a Problem Hitting a Wall "When we tell one another stories about creativity, we tend to leave out this phase of the creative process. We neglect to mention those days when we wanted to quit, when we believed that our problems were impossible to solve." Imagine, page 6  As recently as 20 years ago, the right hemisphere of our brain was thought to be a pound and a half of wasted space. Researcher Mark Beeman, studying patients with damaged right hemispheres, saw widely varied cognitive problems which that view didn't explain. The immense variation in the kinds of challenges Beeman saw made it difficult to see a connection. Difficult to the extent that Beeman was at the point of giving up when he saw it: the right brain's purpose was exactly what he was trying to do―make connections; the subtle connections between seemingly unrelated things. When we hit a wall, our brain will shift from left to right hemisphere... if we allow it. When our structured logical brain gets out of the way, electric currents in the brain concentrate in the anterior superior temporal gyrus (aSTG) located just above the right ear. This shift leads to those "Aha!" moments we've all had. Our instinct as entrepreneurs is to push through the wall with logic; fact and reason. Persistence wins, after all. When that doesn't work, our other reaction is to give up. Knowing when to do which is powerful. Knowing there's a third option is invaluable. Which brings us to GEM #1. GEM # 1 The Compass to Choosing a Creative Method "What's impressive about such estimates is that people were able to assess their closeness to the solution without knowing what the solution was." Imagine, page 82 We've all done it: bumped into someone whose name we know, but can't remember. Think about that for a moment, though: we can know that the information is in our brain, even when we don't know what the information is right now. You know that you know, even though you don't know at the present moment. When it comes to problems which don't require that hemisphere-shifting-flash we call "insight", our brain is remarkably accurate at assessing whether or not a problem can be solved, and even how close we are to solving it. We can know whether this problem requires persistence, or insight. We don't always know how thick or hard a wall is. When you hit one, push. If persistence gains you some ground, if you feel yourself making progress, this is probably a wall you can break through with sheer determination. Bear in mind this doesn't have to be visible or measurable progress; "feelings of knowing" are hardly measurable with a yardstick or scale. If pushing harder brings feelings of frustration and hopelessness (okay, maybe we don't go that far) then a better method is to walk away for a while. Take a break. Work on another project, or a hobby, or nothing at all. If you can, just look out the window at the beautiful scenery or have a chat with a friend about something entirely different from the problem at hand. Sleep on it. Then try again. And watch for insight. GEM # 2 Embrace Critical Debate and Dissent Because Brainstorming Doesn't Work "[B]rainstorming didn't unleash the potential of the group. Instead, the technique suppressed it, making each individual less creative."

“Charisma gets people to like you, trust you, and want to be led by you. It can determine whether you’re seen as a follower or a leader, whether your ideas get adopted, and how effectively your projects are implemented.” The Charisma Myth, page 2 Charisma is usually thought of as some innate quality; something you're either born with or not.  The reality is, like most things, not that simple. According to Olivia Fox Cabane in her book entitled The Charisma Myth, charisma is something to be learned and practiced. The Charisma Mythoutlines solid advice on how to embrace and develop our charisma in order to achieve our goals and mission in leading and life. Golden Egg Employ Your Charisma Behaviors “Contrary to commonly held charisma myths, you don’t have to be naturally outgoing, you don’t have to be physically attractive, and you won’t have to change your personality. No matter where you’re starting from, you can significantly increase your personal charisma and reap the rewards both in business and in daily life.” The Charisma Myth, pages 9-10 Does charisma magically happen? The simple answer is “no.”  It takes effort, but is attainable by all, so long as we can understand and learn to focus on three key behaviors:  presence, power, and warmth. These three behaviors need to flow together in order to make the most of our charisma. It starts with presence. We need to be fully present with others for our charisma to really work. In the age of distraction, we can easily be listening while not really listening. Our mind begins to wander, and our attention dissipates. With imperfect presence, we lose the people around us as they feel our lack of care. People want to feel that they have our full attention when they speak with us. Helping them feel that way will draw them into us. In other words, when we are fully present, we create a memorable moment for those immediately around us. Power and warmth are added in and tightly bound together. Only both can enable our charisma. While warmth is our goodwill towards another, power is our ability to make things happen. Being powerful with no warmth will not translate into having charisma; it may be viewed as just arrogance. Power and warmth provide the balance to enable our charisma to appear with the right mix of behaviors. Our minds and bodies play key roles in our presence, power, and warmth. Our minds create the state in which we operate. With the right mindset, our body language aligns and works in concert with all our behaviors. It is about being in sync inside and out so that our charisma is felt and experienced. Charisma sounds simple then, right? Unfortunately, there are many things that get in the way and diminish it. Our presence, power, and warmth can easily be distracted and disjointed, and it is only through our awareness and practices that our charisma can be revealed and properly used. The Charisma Myth delivers important insights and lessons that open the door to our capabilities – eliminating the roadblocks and empowering our ability to lead more effectively and successfully. The following GEMs offer two examples of how to utilize your untapped charisma. GEM # 1 Engage Your Discomfort “Imagine strolling along the paths of your mind. Suddenly, you notice an unpleasant thought. See it as graffiti on the wall. That’s all it is, graffiti – not a verdict on what kind of person you are.” The Charisma Myth, page 49 What often gets in the way of using our charisma is discomfort and negativity. Some of this is self-inflicted, and some is inflicted upon us. In either case, there are ways to move beyond the discomfort. It takes effort and focus. Two examples of how to engage our discomfort are (1) re-writing reality and (2) writing letters. Example 1. Reality strikes. We get stuck in traffic. We encounter something that raises our anger or some other negative emotion, which impacts our presence, power, and warmth. In other words,

"Success is not delivering a feature; success is learning how to solve a customer's problem." Scott Cook, founder of Intuit as quoted in The Lean Startup, page 66 Without question, The Lean Startup is the most actionable and informative book I have ...

"Dream jobs are more often created than found, so they're rarely attainable through conventional searches. Creating one requires strong self-knowledge." Business Model You, page 84 People drifting from job to job may soon realize that they've visited the same crossroads too many times. Changing careers is tough, but some job seekers may be tired of compromises which would only lead to the same suboptimal choices they've experienced in the past. While others may seek to become just employable, these rare and brave souls seek to be remarkable and relevant. The truth is that they already are.  We all are, in fact.  And now, there's a way to tap into that greatness and bring it into the present. In the spirit of Alexander Osterwalder's successful book Business Model Generation (BMG), Tim Clark (who was also BMG's editor) has written Business Model You: A One Page Method for Reinventing Your Career. Clark shows that you can use the same business model thinking from BMG to unearth your greatest strengths, talents, and interests, and then paint them onto a powerful blueprint. Business Model You was co-created between 328 entrepreneurial minds spread out over 43 countries. The book is a beautiful designed and succinctly written journey replete with each contributor's diverse experiences and insight. The common theme is that everyone involved in producing the book struggled, but ultimately succeeded, in reinventing themselves. Their stories will help you paint your personal business model. What’s a business model? In short, it's “the logic by which any organization sustains itself financially.” Likewise, the Business Model "canvas" is a structured but simple visual technique which shows how the nine most important components of any business model fit and flow together. First, the original canvas is introduced for enterprises before being translated to the world of the individual. Business Model You is also an itinerary of thought experiments, anecdotes, and exercises to help align work with purpose. Some of the many experiments include the Lifeline Discovery and Holland's Six Tendencies. This journey of self-knowledge really counts, because aside from financial sustainability and survival, this is a book about thriving and doing the kind of work that resonates at your core. So why is business model thinking the best way to sharpen yourself in an ever-changing world? What's really required to develop our personalbusiness model to the fullest? Golden Egg Uncontrollable Environments "Because they can't change the environment they operate in, companies must change their business models (and sometimes create new ones) in order to remain competitive." Business Model You, page 21 Tim revives the classic example of Blockbuster declaring bankruptcy to prove a point. Redbox and Netflix had outmoded the old business model, proving that movies and games could be delivered better via the internet, postal mail, and vending kiosks than through the traditional retail environment. Even with a rough economic climate, technological trends and societal mores still shift fast beneath our feet. Whether for-profit, non-profit, or government entity, every organization has a business model. The striking parallel between companies and people is that they cannot control their environment. Just as organizations must evaluate and change their business models during unpredictable times, people must change theirs as well. You are your most important business model. Only those with strong self-knowledge and flexibility can truly grow personally and professionally. If you're already part of a great company or organization, can you spot how it has changed and innovated over time? Did it require you to change, too? "Employees who care about the success of the enterprise as a whole (and know how to achieve it) are the most valuable workers -- and candidates for better positions" (page 21). GEM # 1 Knowing the Real You

“The interaction between an employee and a customer – what we call the employee-customer encounter – is the new factory floor.” Human Sigma, page 16 We’ve all heard of Six Sigma and how it has revolutionized the manufacturing process. But how does it fit into an increasingly service-based economy that we have today? The simple answer is that it doesn’t. Six Sigma deals with inputs like metal or glass that have predictable and consistent qualities. The inputs in a service economy are (gasp) humans – customers and employees who are unpredictable, unique, and even irrational sometimes. This is where Human Sigma comes in. John H. Fleming and Jim Asplund are Principals at top research firm Gallup. They explore the need to effectively measure and manage the employee-customer interaction in order for organizations to survive in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Based on research from 10 million employees and 10 million customers around the globe, the authors use compelling case studies and scientific evidence to prove that intangible assets (people) have a measurably significant impact on a company’s bottom line. Golden Egg Pay Attention to the Vital Signs “Employee engagement does have a direct and measurable relationship to and impact on customer engagement." Human Sigma, page 201 Throughout the book, Fleming and Asplund compare organizations to the human body. A healthy body requires all parts to work in coordination with each other – the brain tells the heart to pump blood, the lungs to pump air, the stomach to process food, etc. Similarly, a healthy organization requires collaboration and commitment to shared goals across departments and business units. In today’s service based economies, the two vital signs are customer engagement and employee engagement. Human Sigmaprovides convincing research that shows business units with high customer engagement and high employee engagement are 3.4 times more financially effective than those which ranked low on both levels. Furthermore, business units that had high customer engagement and low employee engagement (or vice versa) were only 1.7 more effective than those that ranked low on both levels. GEM # 1 Measure Accurately and Act Accordingly “Far too many companies treat their customer and employee metrics as ends unto themselves rather than as a means to a higher end.” Human Sigma, page 224 In typical organizations, Operations measures customer satisfaction, while Human Resources measures employee engagement. Unfortunately, in most organizations, these metrics are not shared between departments. This means that solutions meant to increase either or both are ineffective because the two are inextricably linked. Measuring the customer-employee interaction is critical to determining an organization’s health. You need to define the current and ideal benchmarks for customer satisfaction and employee engagement. You need to ask the right questions and obtain feedback (usually through both random and regular surveys) to determine what appropriate actions need to be taken. Depending on the results, it is important to probe the interactions more deeply. For example, if customer satisfaction is low, yet employee engagement is high, then perhaps you need to investigate the feedback or direction that employees are given, and whether it matches up to what it takes to provide excellent service. GEM # 2 Think Globally, Measure and Act Locally “Within the same airlines, some flights are never on time; some always are. Within the same retailer, one store delivers exceptional service; another struggles to drag customers through the door. Within the bank, some branches are exceptional places to work; others are awful.”  Human Sigma, page 188 We’ve all experienced this. We have a friend who works for a company ranked as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers who hates it. We have a favourite dish at a restaurant chain that tastes differently at another location.

“ . . . there are patterns in you. And the most dominant – the most frequently recurring patterns – are the source of your strengths.”  StandOut, page 23 For many of us, learning more about how we interact well with others is key to operating success...

“This book is about success and what it really takes to earn it.” The Compound Effect, page 1 As the publisher of SUCCESS magazine, Darren Hardy sits at the centre of the personal development industry. All day, each and every day, he filters through an ocean of personal achievement wisdom. Wouldn’t it be great if he could just summarize all his lessons for us? Well that’s exactly what he did in The Compound Effect. And he did it in an engaging way that empowers us with more confidence and ideas to be more successful. Additionally, and importantly, he gives us the system and plan of action to make those changes happen. I had the pleasure of meeting Darren Hardy recently while in New York (who by the way is every bit as charming and sincere as he sounds in the book) so I asked him “What are the two things people talk about most from your book?” He said the two things that made the biggest difference for people were: 1)      The thank you book 2)      His perfect match list I’ll talk more about these below in GEM #1 and #2. But first let’s talk about the underlining message or Golden Egg of this book. Golden Egg The Tale of 3 Friends “If you were given the choice between taking $3 million in cash this very instant and a single penny that doubles in value every day for 31 days, which would you choose?” The Compound Effect, page 10 If you chose the penny, by day 31 you would have $10,737,418.24 (!) and your friend who chose the $3 million, would likely still have $3 million. It is these small compounding effects over time that make the huge differences in our lives. And this is the Golden Egg of the book. Hardy gives a great example of three friends. You might be able to picture them in fact. Here is the abridged version. Larry plods along doing as he has always done. Scott decides to make some small, seemingly inconsequential positive changes. He begins reading ten pages a day and listening to self-improvement audios, cuts 125 calories out of each day by trading a can of soda for water, starts walking an extra couple thousand steps a day. Brad makes a few poor choices. He invests in a big screen TV so he can enjoy more of his favourite shows. He starts eating dessert more often and puts a new bar in his family room which leads him to add about one more drink per week. Nothing crazy, Brad’s just looking for a little more fun. Ten months later – no perceivable difference is seen. But fast track to twenty-five months and we start seeing measurable, visible differences. At month twenty-seven, we see an expansive difference. And, by month thirty-one, the change is startling. Brad is now fat while Scott is trim. After investing in one thousand hours reading good books and listening to self-improvement audios, Scott earned a promotion at work and his marriage is thriving. Brad on the other hand, got sluggish from the weight gain, started feeling worse about himself and started retreating from his wife, which led to marital demise. Larry on the other hand, is exactly where he was two years ago but is now bitter about it. You get the picture. It is the small habits we create that lead to huge compounding effects. By the way, did you see yourself in the friends? Which one are you? GEM # 1 Gratitude Can Change Your Wife, I Mean Life “When I gave it to her the following Thanksgiving she cried, calling it the best gift she’d ever received. (Even better than the BMW I’d given her for her birthday!)” The Compound Effect, page 27 And would you believe that Darren said he was even more affected by this gift he gave his wife than she was! What was the gift, you ask? Each day for a year he secretly wrote one thing that he appreciated in her. In the end he’d filled an entire journal which showed her how much he appreciated her and maybe even more importantly, showed him! He said that by consciously looking for all the things she was doing “right” there was little room to find things to complain about.

We all have our favourite brands, whether it’s Sony BRAVIA flat screen TVs, Louis Vuitton hand bags, or Lexus vehicles. Even people are brands (think Walt Disney, Oprah Winfrey, or Martha Stewart, just to name a few). The term ‘brand’ is one that everyone knows—or at least think they know. But brands are more than merely a slick logo, a new name, or a sexy advertising campaign. It’s what’s under the flash and all that marketing that truly counts. If you don’t deliver on your promise of what your brand offers, it means nothing, and you’ll find yourself without a customer base. It’s as simple as that, says author Laurence Vincent in his new book, Brand Real. Vincent has worked with Coca-Cola, MasterCard, Microsoft, the NFL, Sony Playstation, The Four Seasons, and many more, and currently heads The Brand Studio at United Talent Agency. After many years of coming to the aid of globally recognized brands, this time he’s here to help you! Golden Egg Making It Stick “How well a brand is retrieved from memory is a critically important factor when you play the memory game. We forget about a lot of brands we encounter, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get stored in memory. It just means they aren’t top of mind. An effective brand is easy for us to store in memory and hard to forget.” Brand Real, page 30 Why do certain brands remain in the forefront of our minds, while other recede and are quickly forgotten? If you’re running a book store, how will you ensure that a potential consumer who wants a copy of The Hunger Games goes to you rather than order it online from Amazon? The answer is simple, if not easy… create a brand that won’t be forgotten! Our brain can’t possibility remember all of the data it’s exposed to on a daily basis. When we fail to connect it with something concrete, it’s easily forgotten into the abyss of our minds. So at the outset, Vincent requests that you consider the following questions: - “What is it about my brand that will allow me past the brain filter? -  What can I do to ensure my brand sticks in a consumer’s long-term memory? -  How do I encourage a consumer’s brain to recall my brand at relevant moments in time?” (page 30) The two following GEMs will help you answer those questions and create a brand that will be remembered. GEM # 1 Make It Concrete “Concrete ideas are specific. They connect to concepts we already know and understand. They are tangible, not abstract.” Brand Real, page 30 To ensure that your brand is not forgotten, associate it with a concrete idea. Vincent writes about working with a company who described their brand as being “all about wonder.” What? That’s so vague! Would you purchase a product that promised wonder? Laurence Vincent wouldn’t, and neither would I. It doesn’t tell us anything about the brand, and leads to even more confusion. Many believe that associating a brand with a concrete idea is restrictive. This isn’t true. Vincent offers Nike and Amazon as examples. Nike was originally all about shoes. But now they sell bags, workout wear, gear for skateboarding and snowboarding, and even women’s bras. But people still associate them with shoes, and chances are that’s the first thing you thought of when I mentioned the Nike brand. The same is true of Amazon. Originally they presented themselves to the world as an online book retailer, but since then have grown to include the following categories: movies, music and games; electronics and computers; home, garden and tools; grocery, health and beauty; toys, kids and baby; clothing, shoes and jewelry; sports and outdoors; automotive and industrial—and that’s just the beginning! Each category then expands further to reveal sub-categories. So, don’t be afraid to allow your brand to latch onto something concrete and expand from there. You’re not limiting yourself; rather you’re giving your brand the potential to expand by allowing it to be identified with something tangible in your consumer’s minds.