As I head into my 79th episode of the Thought Talk podcast, I’ve decided to take a break, step back, and do a bit of reworking.  The Thought Talk podcast will be back by the end of March and better than ever.      So for this episode I wanted to share with you four tips I learned decades ago that can help you ensure that your brand stays crazy ahead of your competition.  In all honesty, they are so simple, it’s easy to toss them off. But don’t - they can truly transform your career and business.    These four simple things almost certainly ensure your personal, CEO, business, or executive brand will be successful. Tune in today and see you again at the end of March.    4 ways how you show up that matter most    #1. Show up — whether it be on social media, a webinar, a conference, or even just being where you say you will- showing up makes the difference between your brand shining or you being forgotten.   #2. Show up on-time — whether it means getting on a webinar when it starts, delivering something when you promise, or just plain old being on time for an appointment- showing up when you say you will can elevate your brand.     #3. Show up prepared — Taking the time to understand the people, situation, context, and objectives of the situation you are talking to says you have a brand that cares.    #4. Do what you say you will. Ultimately, brands are built on trust, trust is built on credibility, and credibility is built on promises kept.  The brand bottom line - do what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it.  Sounds simple doesn’t it? Think how many people you interact with who don’t do this and how it makes you feel about them.  About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Resources   Looking for more tips? Karen’s latest book, No-Nonsense: Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done, offers a practical approach to tackling the kinds of productivity issues we face in today’s technological world.   You’ll find practical ways of assessing your relationship with time, avoiding interruptions and distractions by goal-setting, multi-purposing versus multitasking, delegating, managing online and offline meetings, maximizing to-do lists and minimizing unfinished business, embracing personal productivity habits, and right-sizing your social media and email, as well as many more readily actionable tips and tricks to hack your time. Tweetables and Quotes to Share   If you just show up for something, you will be more successful than 90% of the people out there. If you want your brand to shine, you have to be visible; you have to show up. PODCAST: bit.ly/3rM17FQ @KarenFLeland   Think about the people around you that are never on time or arrive unprepared… how much credibility do they have with you? PODCAST: bit.ly/3rM17FQ @KarenFLeland   Brands are built on trust, trust is built on credibility, credibility is built on kept promises: always do what you say you’re going to do. PODCAST: bit.ly/3rM17FQ @KarenFLeland   

Thought Talk

Four Foolproof Ways to Stay Crazy Ahead of your Competition

Today’s guest, Lynette Sheppard is also known as the iPhone Diva. Lynette joins the show from the highly photographic island of Molokai in Hawaii to give us some insight on how we can best use our phones to practice creativity through photography.    Lynette Sheppard has taught iPhoneography throughout Europe, Canada, and the United-States. She is known for her out-of-the-box imaginative uses of taking photographs and making images with an iPhone.    When you take a photograph, is the app doing all the work? Does it still count as art? Our discussion covers what makes art, how art can help you know yourself better, and some of the best apps for making great images with your phone.      Tips for better photos   Taking a better picture with your phone: Train your eye, look at tons of pictures to find out what you like Use the native camera: on the iPhone it’s great; take tons of pictures Learn about composition What’s in the frame When do you push the button Editing — use the right tools   Managing your photo collection — sort through your pictures quickly after having taken them, for multiples, pick one and delete the rest. If you want to show photos to people, pick your 10 or 15 best.   Creativity — We are all creative, even if we don’t believe it. The iPhone allows us to play and all art starts as play.   Feeling intimidated? Try Snapseed   Printing — certain apps save at high resolution (Snapseed) but some others cut down on resolution (Diana Photo). The Big Photo app can let you know what kind of resolution you may have lost after editing.   Unsure about intellectual property rights? Begin with found objects. Lynette touches on how she will use details of a painting to use as an overlay in a way that makes it unrecognizable. If it is recognizable and modern, she says that artists are generous, and often asking for permission is enough. About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   About our guest   Writer, artist, and blogger, Lynette’s first published work was a terrible little poem. She was ten years old. She didn’t publish again until she became a registered nurse, but she never stopped wanting to tell stories. Now she makes up stuff all the time and occasionally tells the unvarnished truth.   Lynetteshepperd@me.com Get in touch with Lynette through her website|Facebook|Steller   Mentioned Foolproof Diana photo Distressed Fx Touchretouch Photo Manager pro Snapseed Color Thief Big Photo Anne Lamott — Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life   Resources Karen’s book The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand was just produced and released on Amazon’s Audible as an audiobook. You can now get an audio version of the book read in its entirety by Karen.   The Brand Mapping Strategy, Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand 

The Art of a Better Photograph with the iPhone Diva

Today’s guest is Theresa Souers, managing broker at Corcoran Global Living. Theresa has been in the real estate business for the past 25 years. On this episode of Thought Talk we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the broader real estate market and the implications for buyers, sellers, and investors alike.   You will want to take notes as Theresa shares her impressions on this seller’s market, the trends that are here to stay, as well as the things we can expect to see in the future. Theresa also shares a treasure trove of tips for investing smart and buying right. Tips on making sure buying or selling is for you   Prioritize — sit with your family and make sure everyone’s needs are met; do you need to be near organized activities (sports, dance, music); what about educational needs?   Test — visit the communities that interest you and stay there a while; you can find out by living there for a while if the location is right for you.     Don’t get caught up in the real estate frenzy — look at your budget, your projected income, your lifestyle and desired amenities.    Avoiding buying mistakes — do your homework, look at the value of the property you’re buying, look into the neighborhood, into potential resale, how long will it take to recuperate your investment; are you paying above market? Ask the right questions.   Avoiding selling mistakes — ask yourself why you’re selling, and if you do sell, where are you going to go?   Get the most out of the sale of your home.    Most people shop online, you have one chance to make that first impression. Invest in a professional photographer and a 3D video walkthrough. Stage your house, empty rooms don’t do well in photographs. Give each place in the home a purpose. Make sure the REALTOR® you work with has an extensive marketing program.   About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   About our guest   Theresa Souers has more than 25 years of experience in the real estate industry and is currently partners with Corcoran Global Living based in South Lake Tahoe, California. Founded on the principle of putting people first, the Souers Team and Corcoran Global Living serve the California and Nevada markets with 25 strategically located offices.   Consistently in the top 1% of REALTORS® in the South Lake Tahoe area for more than two decades, Theresa and her team have received a number of professional recognitions including:   REALTOR® of the Year — South Tahoe Association of REALTORS® Distinguished Service — South Tahoe Association of REALTORS® Presidential Award — South Tahoe Association of REALTORS®   Get in touch with Teresa through the website Home in Tahoe   Resources   Karen’s book The Brand Mapping Strategy was just produced and released on Amazon’s Audible as an audiobook. You can now get an audio version of the book read in its entirety by Karen.   The Brand Mapping Strategy, Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand 

COVID-19 has Changed Real Estate, maybe forever...

Karen’s latest book, No Nonsense: Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done is now available for order, and today she tackles one of the topics addressed in the book, a problem all of us face: multitasking madness.   Studies have found that when people switch back and forth between tasks, they experience substantial losses in efficiency and accuracy — in some cases as much as 50%. Overcoming multitasking is a critical part of learning to work from home efficiently in today’s non-stop technological work environment.   Tips   Turn off your tech — the frequent bells and whistles coming from your devices can easily lead you to stray from the job at hand, stop it before it even starts. Try airline mode or even software that prevents access for certain time frames.   Create task times — set aside specific time windows to do one task, or one type of task i.e. your phone calls, your emails, etc.   Make the most of mornings — spend your first hour doing a task that requires focus, and don’t check your email before then.   Track your to-dos — build a capture system to write down all your to-dos instead of trying to do them now.   Desktop inbox — create a space on your desk where you can temporarily place items that need attention so you can easily find them.   Plan open space — Give yourself space and time to catch up on new things that have come in or process late to-dos. Leave 15 minutes between each Zoom call.   Don’t multitask, multi-purpose — listen to a business book while driving, catch up on reading while on the treadmill, do some paperwork in your various appointment waiting rooms, etc.   About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   Resources   Karen’s tenth book, No Nonsense: Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done, was written with her former business partner Keith Bailey. The book offers a practical approach to tackling the kinds of productivity issues we face in today’s technological world.   You’ll find practical ways of assessing your relationship with time, avoiding interruptions and distractions by goal-setting, multi-purposing versus multitasking, delegating, managing online and offline meetings, maximizing to-do lists and minimizing unfinished business, embracing personal productivity habits, and right-sizing your social media and email, as well as many more readily actionable tips and tricks to hack your time.   Find it in print on Amazon and other online retailers.   Mentioned “Executive Control of Cognitive Processes in Task Switching”, by Rubinstein, Meyer, and Evans Never Check Email In The Morning: And Other Unexpected Strategies for Making Your Work Life Work, by  Julie Morgenstern 

Overcoming Multitasking Madness For a More Efficient Work Flow

On my most recent Peloton bike ride, the gentleman leading the ride said something that I found applies to so many aspects of our professional lives: “Less excuses, more adjustments.” In today's short episode, I will share five ways for you to fine-tune your business by doing just that.   Oftentimes, when we work on our time management, CEO brand, marketing plan, or business development plan, if for whatever reason, things don’t go as we’d hoped, we tend to give up.   The message for today is that it’s about making small adjustments as we go and not trying to tackle it all at once.   Fine-tuning tips   One small thing at a time — when something isn’t working, don’t try to fix everything at once; try changing just one element at a time.   Brick by brick — you’re not building the whole wall at once; you’re making a brick. Every small action you take towards your goal helps get you there.   Be less critical — don’t judge things you did wrong in the past; focus on the small changes that can take you forward.   Find the holes — find the little things that may be missing in your overall plan.   What can you do that will bring the most value for the least amount of effort (check my 80/20 rule podcast for tips on identifying those areas of improvement: Bit.ly/3q8k2c4).   About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   Resources   If you’re looking to optimize your time, be more productive, and fine-tune your routine, I invite you to pre-order my latest book No Nonsense Time Management: 50 Smart Solutions, Powerful Habits & Proven Time Hacks To Make The Most of Your Day. 

Less Excuses, More Adjustments is the Key to Fine Tuning Your Business

Even as we sit on the verge of bringing an end to COVID-19 with the new vaccines, the trend towards a decentralized workforce seems likely to be an integral part of the new normal. With that in mind, in this episode I talk about going beyond team building to team branding.    Team branding is essentially about defining a given team’s brand and then translating that brand into a strategy, a code of conduct, and a series of actions. If you do it right, it can have a powerful impact on a team’s alignment, effectiveness, and engagement.    Pre-COVID I always did team branding work in person - usually on off-sites.  However, I’ve found a variety of interactive ways to get a group engaged on video conferencing.  Do you need a team brand?   Does your team need a deeper alignment or commitment to their current project or overall strategic direction?   Does your team want a closer relationship with their team members and a clearly defined code of conduct? This is especially important if you’ve found that working remotely has broken team cohesiveness.   Does your team need a renewed engagement with the team or renewed inspiration for a project or departmental purpose, as we move into 2021?   Does your team struggle with the resolution of ongoing issues or disagreements you want to see solved?   Are you having difficulty getting your team members to embrace change - either personally or as a group?   Do you have an upcoming project, new team member, or have you recently had major changes in your team players?   Have you recently gone through organizational, market, or team changes that would make a revision of your current team brand important?    If you find yourself having answered any of these affirmatively, there is a good chance a team branding might be your best bet in 2021.    Take a look at my book The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build And Accelerate Your Brand or contact me directly at Karen@Karenleland.com for a free consultation.    About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   Resources   If you think a team brand might be something that would be good for your organization or your department, then I invite you to reach out to me at Karen@Karenleland.com and set up a free consultation call where we can discuss your team needs and the possibility of generating a team brand.   The other thing you can do is look at my book The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build And Accelerate Your Brand, available on Amazon which has a whole chapter on team branding. 

Why Creating A Team Brand Might Be Your Best Bet In 2021 With Karen Tiber Leland

Today I am talking about a great principle you should be applying to your business for the coming year. I’ve been using the 80/20 rule for years and regularly suggest it to my clients, and although most of you may already know of the 80/20 rule, very few know where it comes from and how broadly it applies.   In 1897, an Italian economist, Vilfredo Pareto identified that 80% of the wealth was owned by 20% of the population. This may seem too broad, but listen in for a breakdown and actionable tips on how this rule applies to different aspects of your business and how you can put it to use for the new year.   All of the 80/20 rules are mentioned in Karen’s book.   Tips   80% of your goals are driven by 20% of your tasks — identity which items on your to-do will take you closest to those goals.   20% of your efforts produce 80% of your results — learning which of your labors make the most effective use of your time is important.   80% of the value you receive from your business reading comes from 20% of the material that you read — carefully select the publications that consistently produce the most value for your time.   20% of your business relationships give you 80% of the support you need — identify who has your back and return the favor in kind: make it a priority to maintain your relationships with the people that make your life easier.   80% of the value your clients receive is a direct result of 20% of what your company does — make sure to know what that 20% is and improve it at every opportunity.   Find more information on this last tip in my new book: 20% of your time management habits cause 80% of your productivity problems — most of your productivity issues can be boiled down to a few bad habits, identify the worst of them and make a commitment to work on those in the coming year. About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   Resources All of the tips mentioned above are available in my 10th book — No Nonsense: Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done — which will be out on December 31st through Career Press. It’s a practical book about being more productive and achieving better time management in an age where many of us are working from home. 

Applying The 80/20 Rule for a Winning 2021 With Karen Tiber Leland

I recently renewed my long time passion for horseback riding and met today’s guest — Barbra Schulte — at the C Lazy U dude ranch in Granby, Colorado where she was teaching peak performance on and off a horse.  Barbra is a Professional Cutting Horse Trainer, personal peak performance coach, and Equine Consultant. She is a Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee and, this January, Barbra will be awarded the prestigious Women of the West Award given by Western Horseman Magazine. Barbra joins me on the podcast to discuss how she became interested in optimal human performance and to share some of her tips on finding your path to peak performance.  Listen in to learn the connection between positive and negative emotions and their impact on performance and to gain some serious tips on how to move past your hurdles and get yourself to your highest peak performance level.   The 3 biggest hurdles to peak performance and how to move past them   Blame — even self-blame — is a way to trick your mind into taking the pressure off of yourself in a situation — “who cares, I’m not putting any more energy into this”. It is the most difficult emotion to get past to achieve high performance.   Anger — unlike blame, anger has some measure of energy and so you can propel yourself towards peak performance with it; make sure to watch the direction of this energy, steer it away from blame.   Nerves/anxiety/fear — nerves are the closest emotion to shifting into that positive emotional mindset and peak performance.    How to shift away from negative emotions and find your calmness: Recognize your current state and name it Get calm — conscious breathing (inhale for four, exhale for four) — take the time you need to lower your heart rate; it takes practice. Direct your energy and move forward. Over time, you can work to condition the calmness by adding a physical trigger.   About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   About Our Guest   Barbra Schulte is a Professional Cutting Horse Trainer, Personal Performance Coach, Author, Clinician, and Equine Consultant. Barbra has been involved with horses her entire life. Beginning in early childhood and continuing through college, she helped market and show many of her family’s 500 head of horses. She competed in western pleasure, reining, horsemanship, and cutting.   After high school, Barbra went on to gain a Master’s degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology. In a few short years, she became an administrator at the Arizona State School for the Deaf and taught at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.   In 1983, Barbra’s love of horses led her back to the competitive arena where she embarked on a career as a Professional Horse Trainer. In 1986, after reading Mental Toughness for Sports, by Dr. James Loehr of LGE Sports Science, Inc., she began to incorporate his training techniques into her regimen.   You can learn more about Barbra Schulte on her Website   Mentioned Dr. Jim Loehr Human Performance Institute Cowgirl Hall of Fame and Museum Women of the West Award   Resources   We are almost at the end of 2020 and one of the things you want to think about is the kind of brand you want to be building for 2021. Because of COVID-19 and where we are technologically, there are more eyeballs than ever looking at people online. How you look and how your brand looks online really makes a difference in how you get and convert clients.   If you feel like you might want some help planning your 2021 personal or business brand, you should consider a Rent My Brain session. That's a one-hour session I do with you to take a look at where you are with your brand, where you want to be, and how to get there.   If you’re interested, just reach out to me at karen@karenleland.com. 

To Reach Peak Performance Find Your Inner Calm with Barbra Schulte

A lot of us are still spending quite a bit of time on Zoom and other video conferencing platforms— a trend that does not look like it will go away any time soon. As a virtual facilitator and webinar leader I’ve found several things that help foster audience engagement so that participants are attentive and interactive while on video conferences.  In today's podcast, I’ll share some tips and tools you can use to immediately start engaging your audience more interactively on video conferencing. While we all know that the foundation of a great video conference or webinar is content, other things such as keeping all channels open and getting audience feedback make the difference.  Tips   Keep all communication channels open — different people like to work on different platforms, and building flexibility into your communication channels will enable this for them and ensure optimal attendance and participation.   Keep your audience engaged — keeping people’s attention for long periods on video isn’t easy, but one good way is to keep them interacting with you on your virtual activity. Every five minutes or so, try asking them to answer a question verbally or put up something in chat, raise their hands, or to do a thumbs up/down virtually.   Encourage feedback — one really important thing in virtual facilitation is to use information from the participants. You can use a poll right before or after the event (mentee.com is a good tool) and I like to ask people to put comments and questions in chat. People like feeling heard and useful, it will keep them coming back.   Make it personal — use people's names. I know that sounds incredibly simple, but just saying the person's name in a session is important because it makes them feel like they're recognized as individuals, rather than you're speaking into this sea of meaningless people.   Content is queen; it always was — if your content is strong and designed engagingly, it will transcend any technological issues you or others may have. About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   Resources   If you are interested in a complimentary consultation on either your CEO brand or your business brand, please feel free to contact me at Karen@Karenleland.com or go to KarenLeland.com.   I will be delighted to schedule an appointment with you to take a look at how and what you’re doing and give you some advice on how you can convert your social following to customers a bit better. 

Creating Audience Engagement On Video Conferencing With Karen Tiber Leland

Today on Thought Talk, I welcome Mark Herschberg, author of The Career Toolkit: Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You. Mark has spent his career identifying and studying the skill gap that exists for what he calls firm skills, including networking, negotiating, communicating, leading, and career planning. We tend to think of many of these as situational skills, but Herschberg says they are really life skills — none of which are formally taught in school.     Join me for an interesting discussion on how leveling up your firm skills can lead to higher ROI than you ever expected and how a little bit of training goes a long way to creating a killer career.     Getting Your Skills Up to Par   Networking is about building relationships and not just exchanging business cards.    Negotiation is all around us everyday — not just with vendors and employees.    Leadership isn’t just a title — it’s about influencing others, having a vision, and convincing others to go along. You can lead from whatever chair you sit in.  About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   About Our Guest   Mark Herschberg is the author of The Career Toolkit: Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You. From tracking criminals and terrorists on the dark web to creating marketplaces and new authentication systems, Mark has spent his career launching and developing new ventures at startups and Fortune 500s and in academia. He helped to start the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program, dubbed MIT’s “career success accelerator,” where he teaches annually. At MIT, he received a B.S. in physics, a B.S. in electrical engineering & computer science, and an M.Eng. in electrical engineering & computer science, focusing on cryptography. At Harvard Business School, Mark helped create a platform used to teach finance at prominent business schools.   You can learn more about Mark Herschberg on his LinkedIn|Website   Mentioned The Career Toolkit: Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You, by Mark A. Herschberg Negotiation Masterclass with Chris Voss   Resources   Do you need a LinkedIn or online presence upgrade? One of the easiest ways to do that is to book a Rent My Brain session.    During this one-hour, high-impact consulting call we get to the heart of your social media and LinkedIn issues and you’ll come away with very specific recommendations for how you can upgrade and improve your online presence.   For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit KarenLeland.com.   Tweetables and Quotes to Share   "If you have a company of very good negotiators, you’re going to do better with your vendors, with your customers, with your partners and even intra-team dynamics in your company." — Mark A. Herschberg PODCAST: bit.ly/39o0yer @KarenFLeland We think of these [negotiation, networking, leadership, communications] as situational skills, but they’re really life skills, and that’s a really interesting way to think about it. — PODCAST: bit.ly/39o0yer @KarenFLeland "You can lead every day from whatever chair you’re in." — Mark A. Herschberg  PODCAST: bit.ly/39o0yer @KarenFLeland "Most people have never had any formal training on how to interview others. But if you talk to a manager they will tell you that people are the hardest part of the job, hiring the right people is a key part of the job and your primary tool for hiring is interviewing." — Mark A. Herschberg PODCAST: bit.ly/39o0yer @KarenFLeland 

The Career Skills You Need To Succeed Post-Pandemic with Mark Herschberg

Video content has exploded in recent years and shows no signs of slowing down as a major marketing medium. But making watchable, engaging videos that are on-brand requires training and practice.    I’m pleased to be joined today by Michael Dutcher, CEO and co-founder of bspoketv — a streaming TV channel that creates 30-minute episodes from proven YouTube influencer content.    With Michael’s help, we’ll explore watchability. What it is, why it’s important, and how to increase it on your own videos. We’ll also discuss why you need outside eyes to give you feedback on your videos, how to stay consistent in your video brand, and which platforms will best suit your video needs.   Video can be daunting in the beginning, but Dutcher believes that you don’t need to be newscaster-perfect and that no one is great right out of the box.    Tips to produce better videos   Consistency is key — create a recognizable style and keep it. Publish at the same time every time, even if you only make videos at two-week or one month intervals.   Start small — bite-sized content works fine and allows you to practice.   For longer videos, have a script — no one can speak extemporaneously for 10, 20, or 30 minutes.   The frame is two-thirds empty and one-third you — don’t center yourself in the frame and be intentional about your background.   Watch yourself — or have a friend watch you and work on reducing your ticks (tugging your shirt, fixing your hair); they can become distracting for viewers.   Subtitle your videos — it might make the difference between someone watching or not.    Understand your objective — What do you want people to do after watching your video? About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   About Our Guest   Michael Dutcher is CEO and co-founder of bspoketv, a streaming television channel that creates 30-minute episodes from proven YouTube influencer content. Prior to bspoketv, Mr. Dutcher was the Executive VP in charge of content acquisitions at WhereverTV where he is still a Strategic Advisor.   You can learn more about Michael Dutcher on his LinkedIn|Twitter   Find bspoketv on Twitter|Facebook|Instagram|YouTube   Mentioned Crowdfunding bspoketv Resources   Do you feel you need some help figuring out your CEO or business brand for 2021? Are you thinking about writing a book or redoing your website for 2021? Basically if you want to take a serious look at your branding and marketing in the coming year, you might want to consider booking a Rent My Brain session.   During this one-hour, jam-packed, and intense consulting call, we get to the heart of your branding and marketing questions.   For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group. 

The Secret To Making Your Videos More Watchable with Michael Dutcher

On today’s Thought Talk, I speak with my good friend Dewitt Jones about the power of virtual presentations.  Jones is an international Keynote speaker, former National Geographic photographer, and the founder of Celebrate What’s Right With the World.    Dewitt went from speaking at dozens of in-person events with thousands of attendees pre-COVID to pivoting  to virtual keynotes. He is currently gearing up for his first 130,000 person talk.   We will discuss the keys to a great virtual presentation, what type of backgrounds work (and don’t), how to address the camera in a way that feels like you are speaking to an audience, and how best to keep your audience’s attention.      Tips for a better virtual presentation:    Mind your space — there is such a thing as too far and too close on the camera. Find your ideal space for connection.   The camera picks up on the smallest facial expressions so it’s critical to train and practice your presentation.    Keep your talking portion below 30 minutes and add visual support to remain engaging — images get to the heart and gut of the audience in a way that words can’t.   There is more than one right answer — look for solutions, and remember that the key to creativity is embracing change.  About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   About Our Guest   Dewitt Jones is one of America’s top professional photographers. Twenty years with National Geographic photographing stories around the globe has earned him the reputation as a world-class photojournalist. As a motion picture director, he had two documentary films nominated for Academy Awards before he was thirty.   Speaking to audiences across the country, Dewitt is recognized as a renowned lecturer. His genuine style and ability to communicate with audiences make his presentations truly outstanding. Dewitt’s inspirational messages are further discussed in his best-selling training programs.   In the business community, Dewitt’s work is also well known. He has produced seven best-selling video training programs, distributed by Star Thrower Distribution. These films are used every day by corporations, schools, churches, hospitals, and consultants — inspiring thousands to find their “next right answer” and to “celebrate what’s right with the world”!   Dewitt has published nine books including California! and John Muir’s High Sierra. His most recent book, The Nature of Leadership, was created in collaboration with Stephen R. Covey.   Dewitt graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in drama and holds a Master’s Degree in filmmaking from the University of California at Los Angeles.   You can learn more about Dewitt Jones on his LinkedIn|Facebook|Twitter To book him for a keynote visit his Website   Mentioned Celebrate What’s Right With The World Resources   Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one personal, CEO of business branding and marketing consulting? If so, you might want to consider booking a Rent My Brain session.   During this one-hour, high-impact consulting call we get to the heart of your branding and marketing questions.   For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group.   Tweetables and Quotes to Share   In my experience, background appearance does make a difference.  If you’ve got all these boxes behind you and you’re talking about serious issues, those boxes are going to be a distraction. @KarenFLeland PODCAST: https://bit.ly/36t9LyW   “I’m okay with the occasional cat that walks through the frame, but some of the backgrounds people have chosen are just awful: so distracting you can’t even watch the person.” - Dewitt Jones PODCAST: https://bit.ly/36t9LyW   “My basic message about seeing things differently hasn’t changed [since COVID-19], it’s just that people need it more.” - Dewitt Jones PODCAST: https://bit.ly/36t9LyW   “I want to give people four to five things they can hang onto, to switch their lens just enough to start celebrating what’s right. As we come back to a new workplace environment, people need that.” - Dewitt Jones PODCAST: https://bit.ly/36t9LyW 

How To Take Your Virtual Presentations From Good To Great with Dewitt Jones

Dr. Ellen Reed is the co-author of Relentless Solution Focus; she’s worked side-by-side with Dr. Jason Selk for 15 years and has extensive experience in mental training for consistency, accountability, and execution in business, athletics, academics, and the performing arts.   She joins the show today for an in-depth discussion on achievement and how to stay consistent. We touch on how heart rate affects performance and how our brains are wired for seeing problems (problem-centric thought), and share tips on how to cultivate mental toughness, which is abnormal. Tips   Interrupt problem-centric thought patterns with the 60-second technique — give yourself 60 seconds before moving on from a problem to a potential solution (use the RSF tool described below).   Use the Relentless Solution Focus (RSF) tool — a ‘living’ question to ask yourself in the face of any problem: what is one thing I can do that could help make this better?   Build mental toughness — follow the three-step process:   Recognize when your mind is focused on a problem — anytime you experience a negative emotion is a clue that you are focusing on a problem. Replace — use the RSF tool to find one thing you can do to make it better. Retrain — use the two following tools every day:   The centering breath, breathe in for six, hold for two and out for seven. The daily success log, write down: Three things you did well in the last 24 hours One thing you want to improve in the next 24 hours One thing you can do to help make that improvement About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   About Our Guest   Dr. Ellen Reed has worked side by side with Dr. Jason Selk for over 10 years, and she has extensive experience in mental training for consistency, accountability, and execution in business, athletics, academics, and the performing arts. Dr. Reed helps numerous athletes, students, and business leaders reach their peak performance through developing the mental toughness necessary for success.   Dr. Reed utilizes her in-depth knowledge and experience in athletics and the performing arts to help athletes and teams from the student to the professional level overcome obstacles and outperform the competition. Dr. Reed also has substantial teaching experience in the University setting, and her background in both academia and the performing arts allows her to apply mental training techniques to success in business and academics.   You can learn more about Dr. Ellen Reed on her Website|LinkedIn|Facebook   Mentioned Relentless Solution Focus   Resources   Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one branding and marketing consulting? If so, you might want to consider booking a Rent My Brain session.   During this one-hour, no-holds-barred consulting call you can bring up any marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing issue you have that you might want some insight on.   You will walk away with actionable items and very specific information about your branding or marketing issue. For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group. 

Is It Time For You To Embrace Mental Toughness? with Dr. Ellen Reed

On this episode of Thought Talk I am joined by Helen Lee Bouygues the Founder of the Reboot Foundation an organization that funds and publishes research on improving critical thinking.   Helen is joining us from Paris where she lives for a conversation on the importance of critical thinking in a world where search algorithms and social media are designed to feed us more of the same of what we already believe to be true.    Tune in for a fascinating discussion on why critical thinking has become one of the top three traits employers look for as well as how you can practice and hone this important tool for success and how scenario planning can and will make you a better leader for the future.   Tips to improve your critical thinking Overcoming online misinformation — these are tips to make sure your information and opinions are well-researched: Keep your sources varied, combat the algorithms. Triangulate your information by finding it at multiple sources. Verify who the authors are and what institution the information originates from so you are aware of the interests they serve.   Follow the S.H.A.R.P. scenario planning method — be more aware and better prepared for the future. S — slow down, give yourself time to think. H — hone and practice your critical thinking skills. A — accumulate information. R — reason and cross-check. P — ‘perspectivise’, try to see things through to their logical conclusions.   Tips to improve critical thinking in your children   Critical thinking can become second nature when we start it young — find the critical thinking guide for parents on the Reboot Foundation website. Foster free expression and open-mindedness. Encourage children to think out loud. Ask why — a lot — probe their thoughts. Teach emotional management — the part of the brain responsible for emotional management is the same as that for critical thinking, give it room. Teach your kids the right way to do internet searches. About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   About Our Guest   Helen Lee Bouygues is one of the most successful women in business transformation. She has served as interim CEO, CFO, or COO for more than a dozen companies. She is the founder of the Reboot Foundation, a columnist at Forbes, and working on a book on critical thinking.   A former partner at McKinsey & Company, Bouygues has helped transform more than 25 firms. Over the course of a twenty-year career, she has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in capital, renegotiated billions of dollars in debt, and brought dozens of companies into the black.   Bouygues has lectured around the world. She sits on multiple boards, including those of companies in the retail, manufacturing, oil and gas, renewable energy, and automotive-parts sectors. She graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School.   You can learn more about Helen Lee Bouygues on her Twitter|Website   Mentioned Reboot Foundation The Social Dilemma   Resources   My 10th book — No Nonsense: Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done — will be out on December 31st through Career Press.   This book contains the results of decades of studies I’ve done on time management and applies it to today’s environment: working from home, video conferencing, and time, productivity, and energy management.   Pre-order a copy on Amazon right now. 

How Critical Thinking Can Change Your Life with Helen Lee Bouygues

“I have a big social media following but it does not seem to be translating into new customers/clients.”  I hear this comment all the time from potential clients who call me up wondering how to make their social media a more effective business development tool.    The first step in gaining a greater conversion from your social media is understanding that social media is just one out of a necessary six to eight touchpoints to convert a potential customer, and so expecting social media alone to close a client is not reliable.   To increase the chances of you converting someone who likes your social media into a paying customer or client, there are four things you need to ensure are happening as part of your sales funnel: Tips on improving your conversion rate   Have a direct call to action — put up a direct link in the social post that leads to a dedicated landing page, white page, or download (special offers, promo codes and limited time offers work well).   Show, don’t tell, your trustworthiness — too many businesses speak generally about why they’re trustworthy. For example:    Saying “we are professionals with a great deal of experience” is a general “tell” description. Instead say “we have worked with more than a hundred companies in 20 countries around the world including American Express, AT&T, Apple, and more”, as it is a lot more tangible and “show” oriented.    Focus on thought leadership and high-quality content. Social media will get people interested in you but it’s the quality of your content that will close the deal. Blog posts, LinkedIn articles, white papers, podcasts, ebooks, etc.: these all provide additional touchpoints for potential customers and help make you the provider of choice.    Put a lead-nurturing campaign in place. A prospect who clicks through your social media or dedicated landing page enters into your sales funnel but they’re not necessarily ready to make the purchase yet so keep them engaged, interested, and on the path to being a customer. Try setting up what’s called “gated content”: this is free, high-value content the visitor to your website gets in exchange for providing their contact information. About Karen Tiber Leland   Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.   She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.   Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.   Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook   Resources   If you are interested in a complimentary consultation on either your CEO brand or your business brand, please feel free to contact me at Karen@Karenleland.com or go to KarenLeland.com.   I will be delighted to schedule an appointment with you to take a look at how and what you’re doing and give you some advice on how you can convert your social following to customers a bit better. Sharing (Tweetables and Quotes)   In today’s crowded market, credibility and trust are the core of converting visitors to your social media into customers. @KarenFLeland   You have to start thinking of social media as one touchpoint, not the only touchpoint. @KarenFLeland   The bottom line is that trust comes from social proof such as links to testimonials, media mentions, influencers and endorsements. @KarenFLeland   The more you can quantify that you are a trustworthy choice for your customer, the better. @KarenFLeland   Studies show that it takes an average of six to eight touchpoints to create a viable sales lead. @KarenFLeland   Don’t spam people with offers. I think we all know that less is more and value is what’s key. @KarenFLeland 

Converting Followers into Customers With Karen Tiber Leland

Best-selling author, and branding and marketing strategist Karen Tiber Leland, has engaging conversations with today’s thought leaders from the worlds of business, art, technology, science and entertainment.

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Thought Talk

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