Review: We-Commerce: How to Create, Collaborate, and Succeed in the Sharing Economy

We-Commerce: How to Create, Collaborate, and Succeed in the Sharing Economy by Billee Howard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If you've ever wondered why some companies inspire loyalty and others do not, or why some messages just go viral, then read Billee Howard's We-Commerce: How to Create, Collaborate, and Succeed in the Sharing Economy.

Billee, an executive brand and communications consultant, noticed that commerce had shifted from a "me" focus (which was brought on by the industrial revolution) to a "we" focus. She gives us ten areas of how to apply this, with many rules, examples, and summaries to bring her points home. And unlike most business books that only bring you examples from other companies in one or two segments, Billee's examples are across industries, with companies of different sizes, and sometimes from nature and other religions.

A very informative and useful read with lots of entertaining examples.

New Occasional Feature: Resource Tips

As you may have deduced from some of my writing, I love all things to do with productivity, efficiency, and streamlining. It's one of the reasons my side business, Your Resource Coach, is about optimizing your three most important resources: people, processes, and time.

It's also why I love finding new useful apps and other resource hacks, so going forward I'll occasionally share a resource tip or productivity app. After all, making the most of your limited resources is business common sense, isn't it?

I'll start this feature by sharing a list of apps I compiled for an event I ran for AUTHORS.me and that was co-sponsored by The Women's Media Group.

You can access that list via Dropbox at https://db.tt/bEPfLA8F.

And if I've missed your favorite app, please share it in the comment section or by sending me a message.

Review: Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business

Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business by Nancy Lublin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nancy Lublin's book is one of the best business books I've read in a while. Not only was it very readable (and even funny at times), but you learn so much: it's practically a mini-MBA in itself!

The premise of the book is that that for-profit companies could learn a thing or two from not-for-profits who make do with "zilch" budget, resources, etc, yet are able to motivate staff, innovate, achieve goals, and really make a difference despite these inherent limitations.

Nancy likes the number 11 (which correlates with aiming for 110%), so she touches on 11 key areas and ends each with 11 questions to help for-profits apply them. Although all the sections were super-informative and practical, I really enjoyed the ones on staff, storytelling, and finance. The last one touched on how you can use creative bartering of inventory, services, and even staff when budgets are tight, something, as Nancy points out, for-profits probably have never thought of.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who needs to succeed in business, whether it's a for-profit or not-for-profit, since Nancy and the other not-for-profit CEOs she interviewed will show you how.

Review: Getting There: A Book of Mentors

Getting There: A Book of Mentors by Gillian Zoe Segal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you've ever wished that you could speak to some of the "greats" in your industry, then your wish has been answered.

Gillian Zoe Segal, in Getting There: A Book of Mentors has pulled together successful people from across industries and had them share—in their own words—how they came to be a success. Mentors include business greats such as Warren Buffet, Ian Schrager, and Sara Blakely; to nonprofit greats such as Wendy Kopp, Helen Gayle, and Nitin Nohria; to creative greats such as Matthew Weiner, Jeff Kinney, and Jeff Koons.

And it is inspiring to read how many of them came to success later in life: they too had to figure out their place in this world and weren't always right in their first—or second—attempt. But with perseverance, hard work, learning from their missteps, and sometimes with the help of others they were able to achieve success.

So it's not too late or impossible for us either.