Podcast appearances and mentions of jess ostroff

If you're a solopreneur struggling to get everything on your to-do list done, working with a virtual assistant may be your solution.

Jess Ostroff Tyson talks to Dr. Justin Trosclair DC on A Doctor's Perspective Podcast What can a doctor use a virtual assistant services for: podcast editing, social media management, backend video posting, blog writing and more. Jess Ostroff Tyson of Don't Panic Mgmt agency discusses how she hires and trains VA's, and why stay in USA. Proactive, neighborly assistants who turn chaos into contentment, frustration into focus, and panic into productivity. I love this tagline and we mention Donald Miller's Story Brand for a minute. Pomodoro Time Management Method: do u really use it and does your staff have to as well? A perk of working at her agency as 1099 compared to just by yourself is the training that she offers. Launch a podcast, edit and post that podcast episode, edit blogs, content curation, bookkeeping, travel plans, scheduling yourself for meetings, research, event planning … How and why would a Doctor use a VA? What Is content curation? Maybe you are going to do videos, but you don't want to do any of the editing, posting etc… Don't Panic Mgmt can do that for you.  (episodes 68, 69, 70 are all about video creation and ideas on what to do with those videos) I want to do an open house, can you make all the contacts scheduling and setting up vendors and the time lines?                 We have 3 options with a Virtual Assistant: Fast, Cheap, Done Well: but you can only pick 2. Webinars are all the rage?  What is it you do to help me if I just want to talk and no time to promote and build the site What should I look out for and what are better tasks that can be outsourced to another country? She discusses her application and hiring process  including sample tasks on the episode. It's thorough and I think you could tweak it for your own office. Can you ask for sample work or try out several different blog writers to see which fits your clinic style best? What's your biggest struggle… I read that you need to quit doing the tasks and just focus on biz cCEO type stuff.  I also hear that the VA is some kind of robot computer AI? How are you marketing your services that gets results? How does Jess counteract turnover? How do you get continuity of services when your usually VA quits the agency? How was she able to take 4 weeks off in a row and her business not collapse? She has had to learn to put constraints on her work time, since she can work anywhere and anytime. Boomerang on google email Book: Clockwork- Mike Michaelowicz , The One Thing – Gary Keller,   Story Brand – Donald Miller, Panic Proof  - Jess Tyson, Trevor Noah, Micelle Obama panicproofbook.com Her books site. dontpanicmgmt.com Her VA business site. Jess Tyson has a degree in marketing and international business and always wanted to make money and travel. Tune in to learn how she pivoted from corporate and nonprofit jobs to creating a successful virtual assistant company called Don't Panic Mgmt. Show notes can be found at https://adoctorsperspective.net/116 here you can also find links to things mentioned and the full transcript. Full Transcript of the Interview (probably has some grammatical errors). Just Click to expand Justin Trosclair 0:05 Episode 116 hiring a virtual assistant manager. I'm your host, Dr. Justin trust Clara and today we're just Ostroff Tyson's perspective, joined 2017 and 2018 podcast Awards Nominated host as we get behind the curtain look at all types of doctors and guests specialties. Let's hear a doctor's perspective. Thanks for tuning in again. Today show as usual, I think it's a good one. One thing that I'm curious about but don't know much about was the virtual assistance, especially doing something in America versus using somebody overseas. So obviously talk about like, why you would use one versus the other. Her hiring process? You know, what happens if you have someone for a while and then they quit? Oh, man, now will you? Do?

Visit friedmansocialmedia.com for complete show notes of every podcast episode.   Jess Ostroff Tyson is a global entrepreneur, author, speaker, owner of Don't Panic Management as well as Director of Calm. Don't Panic Management sets the bar as a virtual assistant agency with its people-first approach to success in the virtual assistant arena.    Jess wrote the book, “Panic Proof: How the Right Virtual Assistant Can Save Your Sanity and Grow Your Business” available online at the bookstore of your choosing.

Jess Ostroff-Tyson is the Digital Marketing & Executive Virtual Assistant at Don't Panic Management and author of Panic Proof: How the Right Virtual Assistant Can Save Your Sanity and Grow Your Business. Since 2011, she's been making matches between chaotic, overworked entrepreneurs and focused, calm virtual assistants. Don't Panic's services include social media marketing, content management, scheduling and booking appointments, travel arrangements, research, data entry, Mailchimp email marketing, WordPress management, editorial management, invoicing and bookkeeping, project management, event planning, and much more.   Quotes To Remember: “You want to be able to look at your budget and be realistic on what you can afford.” “For me, it was more important to not be working 15 hour-days and to get some of my life back than it was to spend a little bit of money.” “Your time is worth more than a virtual assistant’s time.” “Everything you do should be connected to a goal.” “You have to be comfortable with the idea that you don't have to do everything and that somebody might be able to do it just as well for you.” “The amount that you are willing to let go is the amount that you will be able to grow.”   What You’ll Learn: Finding the Right Virtual Assistant Measuring The ROI of Having an Virtual Assistant Are You Ready to Hire a Virtual Assistant?   Key Links From The Show: Jess’ Site Don’t Panic Management Virtual Staff Finder Upwork Fiverr--Note From Me: check out Dorella Perlas’ Fiverr profile. She writes the show notes for Breakthrough Success and has helped me book guests on the show. See how she can help you on her Fiverr page.   Recommended Books: Content Marketing Secrets by Marc Guberti Podcast Domination by Marc Guberti Panic Proof by Jess Ostroff Body of Work by Pamela Slim Virtual Freedom by Chris Ducker

This week’s guest is Jess Ostroff, founder and Director of Calm at Don’t Panic Management, a people-first virtual assistant agency founded in 2011. In addition to running the Don’t Panic team, she’s also a speaker and author of Panic Proof: How the Right Virtual Assistant Can Save Your Sanity and Grow Your Business. The post EP 140: Paying Attention To The Red Flags With Don’t Panic Management Founder Jess Ostroff appeared first on What Works.

Nowadays, business owners face a relentless workload of pressing tasks and impossible deadlines. More often than not, it can feel like a cascading avalanche is about to come crashing down on you. A lot of people in a situation like this one, find themselves asking “How can I manage all of this on my own?” In this episode, my good friend Jess Ostroff joins the show to talk about her growth as a personal brand entrepreneur, building her business ‘ (http://www.dontpanicmgmt.com/) ’ and how virtual assistants are making a HUGE difference. This is a first for Youpreneur FM and for me personally, having been known as the ‘go to’ person for all things virtual team building and virtual assistants for a long time I’ve never interviewed someone on one of my specialist subjects! Jess identifies herself as an ‘anti-rule follower’ and has always strived to help people get out of their own way so that they can discover their true potential. She launched ‘Don’t Panic Management’ in 2011 and it has quickly become one of the most successful virtual assistant businesses online today. Essential Learning Points From This Episode: Think of a virtual assistant as a ‘thoughtful partner’ and someone who you can trust and rely on to help grow your business Even self-proclaimed ‘workaholics’ need to find the balance between work and family life because working 24/7 is not sustainable We are only as good as our bodies, so put your health FIRST and your business SECOND If you aren’t doing a certain task yourself that doesn’t make you a failure Spend time creating systems and processes that other people can follow Writing a book is the easiest way to position yourself as a thought leader Half of the US workforce will be virtual by 2020 Hiring somebody regardless of their location is one of the biggest barriers employers have to overcome if they want to grow their business without restrictions You don’t have to be located in the ‘big cities’ to make a difference Much, much more! Important Links & Mentions From this Episode: (http://www.dontpanicmgmt.com/) (http://jessostroff.com/panic-proof/) (http://www.virtualfreedombook.com/) (http://www.youpreneursummit.com/) (http://riseoftheyoupreneur.com/) Personal Branding Roadmap Sign-up for the FREE Youpreneur Launchpad Training Course (https://www.youpreneur.com/) Thank You for Tuning In!  There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose mine, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the top and bottom of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to  (http://www.chrisducker.com/itunes) , they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally! Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live! To find out more about this episode with Jess, click here.

Jess Ostroff is a writer, speaker, and proud Director of Calm. Her company, Don’t Panic Management, is the agency that embodies a people-first approach to virtual assistant success. Since 2011, she’s been making the best possible matches between chaotic, overworking entrepreneurs and focused, calm virtual assistants. Her new book is ‘Panic Proof: How the Right Virtual Assistant Can Save Your Sanity and Grow Your Business’. In this conversation, Jess talks with Erik about relegating, automating and delegating with Virtual Assistants. She also shares what expectations you should have a virtual assistant, and what expectations they should have of you. Mentioned in this Episode: Ziprecruiter Don’t Panic Management Panic Proof: How the Right Virtual Assistant Can Save Your Sanity and Grow Your Business Please connect with me Subscribe, rate, and review in iTunes Follow @ErikJFisher Check out more Noodle.mx Network showsThe Audacity to Podcast: "How-to" podcast about podcastingBeyond the To-Do List: Personal and professional productivityThe Productive Woman: Productivity for busy womenONCE: Once Upon a Time podcastWelcome to Level Seven: Agents of SHIELD and Marvel’s cinematic universe podcastAre You Just Watching?: Movie reviews with Christian critical thinkingthe Ramen Noodle: Family-friendly clean comedy

When you’re starting out with your business you’re doing it all; making phone calls, fulfilling orders, handling social media, accounting, making travel arrangements, and everything else in between. But one of the main reasons we take the leap into entrepreneurship is to have more time, not less. One way to achieve that without bringing on a full-time employee is to utilize the benefits of a virtual assistant.  Think of a virtual assistant as an extra set of hands that works remotely to handle whichever tasks you assign them. Achieving success with this plan is going to depend on the work you put in on the front end with finding and training them to be an extension of yourself. https://www.theagentsofchange.com/238

Jess knew she wanted to work on her own terms. What she didn't know, was what a virtual assistant was. And yet when an opportunity came up to be one, to work remotely and become freelance... she jumped at it. As years went by the amount of work started to overwhelm her. So she hired her own virtual assistants to help out... and her company Don't Panic Management was born. Everything 'virtual' had gradually become very real. Jess' story is one of going with the flow, swep along by hard work, consideration and seizing opportunities. Learning the ropes of managing people, managing the finances and managing not to panic. Instead, for the first time, to properly plan a future... Love learning from other freelancers like this? Check out the website beingfreelance.com, subscribe to the podcast and to the newsletter. You'll also find useful links for this episode. That's beingfreelance.com Like VIDEO? - Check out the Being Freelance vlog - YouTube.com/SteveFolland Who the hell is Steve Folland? You know how everyone bangs on about how powerful video and audio content can be? Yeah, well Steve helps businesses make it and make the most of it. Find out more at www.stevefolland.com Track him down on Twitter @sfolland or lay a trail of cake and he'll eventually catch you up.

Launching Business of Story two years ago at the young age of 55, I realized that I was the proverbial middle-aged-one-arm-paperhanger finding clients, serving their needs, marketing my wares and paying the bills. Personally, not a pretty story. Then I decided to add this podcast. Why not? I already wasn't sleeping at night. May as well use that time for something productive. Plus, it took my attention away from my churning belly. Do you know the feeling? If you're a purpose-driven solopreneur, a startup founder or leader of a young growing enterprise, you know how quickly important but worthless (at least to your growth) tasks can define you.  With the weight of the world on our shoulders, it often seems impossible to find someone able to do what you do. But there is a solution. With the right help, you can take back your life and focus what is most important. Jess Ostroff is our special guest this week. She is one of the first virtual team members to help start the Business of Story Podcast. Her invaluable help made our show a reality. And me a helluva a lot saner. As founder of Don’t Panic Management and author of the new book, Panic Proof: How the Right Virtual Assistant Can Save Your Sanity and Grow Your Business, Jess is a business veteran who started her business to help coordinate business leaders with the right virtual assistant. Don't Panic Managment helps overworked leaders minimize stress, and create a better flow for the company. Today she’s bringing her set of values and storytelling techniques to help you build a better brand and jumpstart your new, focused life. BTW, her book is one of the best examples of storytelling in business and branding that I've seen since reading Phil Knight's memoir, Shoe Dog. Only Jess' is funnier and much more endearing as she strolls the shoals of mayhem and mastery. Become a Master Storyteller Grab your free copy of The 5 Stages of Grief in Telling YOUR Business Story, check out: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/vn00zi042y Keynote Speaker | Brand Strategy & Workshops | Story Raconteur Park Howell is an international keynote speaker who teaches people and organizations across the world the applied science and bewitchery of story. He makes brand stories crystal clear through his proven Story Cycle system that works every single time that's helped companies grow as much as 400 percent.  International brands Park's worked with include Hilton, Coca-Cola, Beyer Pharmaceutical, Cummins Diesel, American Express, American Marketing Association, Arizona State University, United States Air Force and dozens more. Learn more about working with Park to get your brand story straight.  

Jess Ostroff is the proud Director of Calm at Don’t Panic Management, the first virtual assistant agency to embody a people-first approach to virtual assistant success. Since 2011, she’s been making matches between chaotic, overworked entrepreneurs and focused, calm virtual assistants. Offering services that span from administrative assistance to marketing support, she finds deep joy in making a difference through service. When she’s not speaking, writing, or researching productivity hacks, you can find Jess trying new recipes, tasting wine, searching for the next great music festival to attend, or playing with her labradoodle, Hummus. To find out more and get access to more content click here More ways to get involved If you have found anything useful in this episode, then please leave a comment and rate the show.  If you would like to ask Geoff a question or suggest a topic to cover on the show, please email him at podcast@geoffnicholson.co.uk Get all the latest information about the show at the shows (http://facebook.com/successiqpodcast) and join in on some of the Facebook Lives, it would be lovely to see you there 

Jess Ostroff, Director of Calm at Don't Panic Management, joins the Content Experience Show to discuss finding your specialization and her new book, Panic Proof.   Special thanks to our sponsors: Vidyard Uberflip Convince & Convert: Four Ways to Fix Your Broken Content Marketing   In This Episode Why it's better to find your specialization rather than trying to be a “Jack or Jill of all trades” How to find someone's specialization How to structure your or your employee's time to utilize specializations while preventing burnout How to strategically plan out and prioritize your ideas   Resources Panic Proof Don't Panic Management Agile Sherpas Visit ContentProsPodcast.com for more insights from your favorite content marketers.

How a Virtual Assistant Can Save Your Sanity and Grow Your Business written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing Marketing Podcast with Jess Ostroff Podcast Transcript My guest for this week’s episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is Jess Ostroff. She is the Founder and Director of Calm at Don’t Panic Management, the first virtual assistant agency to embody a people-first approach to virtual assistant success. She and I discuss her new book, […]

Planning and operations are just as important as the content you're creating - nothing beats a well-oiled content machine! In this episode, Kerel and Keisha talk to Jess Ostroff, managing editor at Convince & Convert about auditing to improve your content marketing process in 2018, and common mistakes and misconceptions about content creation. Jess is also the CEO & Director of Calm at Don't Panic Management, a personalized virtual assistant agency.

Jess Ostroff, Managing Editor at Convince & Convert, takes listeners on the road to überflip's Content Experience to hear from content pros such as Ann Handley, Andy Crestodina, and Jay Baer on what's broken with content marketing today and how to fix it. Special thanks to our sponsors: Vidyard Uberflip Convince & Convert: Four Ways to Fix Your Broken Content Marketing In This Episode How collaborating and networking leads to more successful content and a flourishing career Why getting your audience to read your content means speaking to them as a peer instead of a brand How relevant content leads to a busy audience finding the time to listen and read it Why execution of good ideas is more important than generation of great ideas Resources Lee Odden on Twitter: @leeodden Ann Handley on Twitter: @annhandley DJ Waldow on Twitter: @djwaldow Andy Crestodina on Twitter: @crestodina Matt Heinz on Twitter: @HeinzMarketing Jay Baer on Twitter: @jaybaer Uberflip The Content Experience: 2018 Registration (Super Early Bird) Convince & Convert: Four Ways to Fix Your Broken Content Marketing Visit ContentProsPodcast.com for more insights from your favorite content marketers.

I was struck by one theme that kept appearing in the past 100 Business of Story episodes – How stories transport us. A true story well told connects emotionally and inspires. It moves people. Aligns teams. Connects with customers. Grows revenue. And will amplify your impact. [caption id="attachment_23298" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Image from a favorite Photoshop artists, James Popsys, who explored visual storytelling on the Business of Story podcast.[/caption] Thank you for listening to the Business of Story. I've enjoyed all of your wonderful notes about the impact the show and our guests have had on you. And how you have grown as storytellers to literally nudge the world in any direction you choose. You rock! Now, I want to up the ante, to go all in by refining, clarifying and focusing my own Business of Story story. To help you do the same in your business.  From episodes 102 and beyond, nothing in the Business of Story will make sense except in the light of connection: helping purpose-driven leaders like you clarify your story to grow revenue and amplify your impact in the world by connecting you with your audiences, and moving them to action, through the power of true business stories well told. This is my singular focus for the Business of Story, and it has taken me 100 episodes to finally arrive at this focus. Plus, a great deal of help from my good friend, Greg Head. More on that, and him, in a bit. What you’ll get out of this show: How to find and articulate the unique purpose that drives you and your organization. How to clarify that story with lots of examples and resources for you. How to use the impact you’ll make as the launching point for the epic growth of your organization. You see, after 100 amazing guests – story artists from around the world who have been on our show helping you craft and tell compelling stories that sell – this theme of igniting the growth of purpose-driven leaders through the power of story has expressed itself. I realized that some of my favorite episodes were with people whose personal stories were much larger than their brand story, and in fact, influenced the direction of their organizations. Like Vincent Stanley, for instance. He’s the Director of Philosophy for the outdoor retailer, Patagonia. He was one of my first guests back in July of 2015. And he talked about how Patagonia essentially invented story marketing in their first product catalogs when they opened in 1973. Their mission is to turn customers into activists to help protect our wilderness. A pretty important purpose, especially for an outdoor company. Another episode I refer to often is the one I did with Hollywood story consultant, Jen Grisanti. She wrote an amazing book called Change Your Story, Change Your Life. Jen not only teaches and coaches movie and TV screenwriters how to perfect their craft but also how to live into a bigger story. This episode explores the important question: “What is your personal dilemma connected to your professional pursuit?” What’s the conflict in your story and how does your brand help your customers overcome that conflict to get what they want? No conflict no story. How about the conflict around the stuff cramming your home? Michele and I are in the process of a move, and mucking out 30 years of stuff is a major pain in the ass. Brian Scudamore, the founder of 1-800-GOT-JUNK, joined to talk about how he grew the brand to become worth in the neighborhood of a quarter-billion dollars all on the premise that he is not in the junk business, but the leadership business that happens to haul junk. Now that’s a focused, purpose-driven business. I’ve learned that if you truly want to live into a bigger story for your personal and professional brand, then you must find a purpose greater than yourself to serve. The purpose of the Business of Story has always been to help people live into and prosper from their most powerful story. But that line is too vague for some people.  It ultimately comes down to helping leaders of purpose-driven organizations clarify their story of growing their revenue and amplifying their impact. I know I’m repeating myself from the top of the show, but I want to be crystal clear with you what this is all about. And, I want to underscore that it is critically important for you, too, to be “crystal clear” with your personal or professional brand story. Because if you’re not, you will drown in the sea of sameness that we all compete in. And I’ve found that when you get your brand story straight, everything else comes into alignment.  Everything else gets easier. You say “no” to more things and “yes” to the fewer, but the most important, things. My Origin Story Two years ago I was a total story geek. Ok, I still am. My goal for the first 100 episodes was to help you understand and appreciate the power of storytelling in your business and in your life so that you would become more intentional about it; connect with people at a deeper level; and advance your visions and mission further faster. I had the help of my friend Jay Baer at Convince & Convert who helped me produce and distribute my first year-and-a-half worth of shows with great people like Jess Ostroff of Don’t Panic Management. The past 20 or so shows have been produced by Brian Adoff of Riveting FM out of Philadelphia. He has brought a musician’s ear to the quality of the production and some terrific marketing insight as well. Thanks for that, Brian. Lisa Loeffler of Genuine Media has assisted me in the distribution and advertising for the show, as well as my speaking engagements: an invaluable part of my team. I can’t recommend these two enough if you need to build a virtual team. My focus has been on sharing how stories work, the architecture of epic stories, and how to use them in your business. If you’re an avid listener, then you probably know my story by now. So here’re the cliff notes… I’ve been in advertising for more than 30 years, ran my own agency for 20 years, and for the past 15 years, I have been steeped in business storytelling. My deep dive into brand storytelling began around 2004 when I noticed that our traditional advertising work wasn’t nearly as effective as it used to be. As I often say in my speaking engagements and workshops; “Brands used to own the influence of mass media, but now the masses are the media, and they are your brand storytellers. You and your brand must become the story maker.” One of my favorite examples of a brand doing this very thing is AirBnB. They do a heroic job of placing their customers – both their homeowners and guests – at the center of their brand story. Then they make it easy for them to share their stories. I love their tagline, Belong Anywhere. AirBnB is selling inclusion and freedom: two pretty dynamic concepts, and an especially powerful purpose, given this moment – and let’s hope it’s just a moment – in Trump time. By the way, have you seen Sweden’s latest story marketing campaign? The country just listed itself on AirBnB and its purpose is plain to see: "Explore the Freedom to Roam.”  Sure, they’re ultimately going after tourists, but they do it with such a beautiful purpose that plays to the sensibilities of reasonable and fun loving people. Take a listen, and then go to our show notes to see the video. Ok, so I digressed a bit. I get so excited when I come across smart story marketing. I was telling you my story about how I realized the impact you can have when you become an intentional storyteller: Telling stories on purpose. I learned that storytelling held the key to reconnecting with audiences, so I started studying everything I could find on the subject. It really started in 2006. Our middle son Parker went to film school at Chapman University in Orange, CA. I asked him to send me his textbooks when he was finished with them – after all, we were paying for them – so I could learn what Hollywood knew about captivating audiences through story. Plus, I suppose I wanted to vet this college education to see how Chapman prepared eager filmmakers to be competitive in the most competitive storytelling market in the world: Hollywood. I realize now that this was my creative right brain diving into storytelling. At the same time, our youngest son Caed had to undergo brain surgery to reduce swelling in his ventricles. During the run up to survey, Caed went through a battery of tests, and Michele and I read everything we could absorb about the brain and how it functions under the significant stress of encephalitis. One of the books I found, which has become my favorite on storytelling, is The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make us Human, by Jonathan Gottschall. In it, he explores the intersection of story structure with brain structure and how our minds yield helplessly to the suction of story. Jonathan became a long-distance friend of mine, has been kind enough to lecture twice to my students at Arizona State University, and he was also one of my first guests on the Business of Story podcast. In hindsight, I realized that I, too, was living at the intersection of right brain Hollywood storytelling and left brain story mechanics as I was learning from the journeys both of our sons were on. This is when I was introduced to Joseph Campbell and his universal story structure of The Hero’s Journey, and why it connects so powerfully with the deep reaches of our mind: the subconscious where our intuitive decisions are made that shape our beliefs and behaviors. Note: The creator of What makes a her0?, Matthew Winkler, joined us on the Business of Story podcast. Hear how he created one of the most watched videos in the TEDEd library. During this time between 2006 and 2010, I found myself at the crossroads of the neuroscience of storytelling – how we’re pre-wired from birth to make meaning through stories – with the architecture of stories – how to use them to connect with people on a very primal level and move them to action. Since then, our two boys are doing great. Caed is a healthy 23-year-old composer and producer of EDM, or Electronic Dance Music, and a DJ, and Parker is pursuing his dream of becoming a filmmaker in downtown Hollywood. He pays the bills as a sought after motion designer, and you can see his work in the new CBS game show, Candy Crush. Now that I was armed with the why and how of business storytelling, I created the Story Cycle system that is inspired by Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. Instead of his 17 steps, I’ve mapped it to 10 steps that any business can use for high-level brand story strategy development right down to tactical creative elements including TV spots, web user experience design, blog posts, print ads, sales presentations… you name it. [caption id="attachment_23305" align="alignright" width="300"] Download your DIY Brand Story workbook.[/caption] I was so excited to share with the world what I had learned, and the success we were having with our clients, that I began pursuing all of the brightest minds in storytelling to share their brilliance with you. To be totally honest, I was being self-serving, too, Because I get to learn right along with you with every episode. That alone makes all of the cost and effort of a podcast worth it. One of my early successes was having legendary screenwriting coach, Robert McKee, on the show. We had such a wonderful conversation, he returned for an encore performance. By the way, you will find links to each of the episodes I mention in our show notes. I first met McKee when I attended his four-day Story Seminar in the LAX Sheraton in 2010. Parker joined me. He was there to advance his filmmaking screenwriting chops, along with about 200 of his competitors, and I was there to learn what a marketer like me could learn about Hollywood storytelling to make our creative more impactful.   After the seminar, McKee invited me to his Connecticut home to interview him for my podcast. Now, this was not for the Business of Story, but for my very first flailing attempt at podcasting. I had never done one before and I showed up in his living room with my little Zoom recorder and my wits. I placed the recorder between me and him on the sofa, and away we went. For three friggin’ hours. He was so kind and generous with his knowledge on screenwriting and how we can use it in our businesses, and I was making it up and learning as I went. This remarkable experience underscores a fundamental premise that Joseph Campbell talks about when you follow your bliss, and by bliss, he means the authentic story you have the courage to live into. “When you follow your bliss, doors will open where there were only walls before.” – Joseph Campbell Robert McKee and his lovely wife Mia, open their home and their world to me. And for that, I will be forever grateful. You can still listen to that session, edited into ten 10-minutes segments on Soundcloud. If you don’t know the man and his work, all you have to do is watch this scene in the Spike Jonze’ movie, Adaptation, starring Nicholas Cage as struggling screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman. Actor Brian Cox portrays McKee as he responds to Kaufman’s question during, presumably, his famous Story seminar. Any questions? Ok, take a deep breath. Another one of my favorites was a guy who epitomizes the intersection of science and story, and that is Dr. Randy Olson. He is a Harvard Ph.D. Biologist who also graduated from the USC film school. Randy has produced three documentaries on the environment and climate change and has written three books to help scientist become better communicators through the power of storytelling. His latest book, Houston, We Have a Narrative: Why Science Needs Story, is my favorite scientific look at storytelling.  The book focuses on the And, But and Therefore construct to creating stories. It’s so simple and yet so powerful. I call it the DNA of story. I’m honored to say that Randy has become a good friend, and he’s been on my show twice. The first time talking about the ABT. And his most recent appearance was the day after the election. He dissected Trump’s narrative intuition and why he won the election because he out-storied the Democrats. “America used to be great. America is no longer great. I’ll make America great again.” Three acts. Set up, problem, resolution. One that may become the most successful use of the ABT of all time. Olson’s Trump episode is one of my most listened to from around the world. I even had some friends reach out to me in disgust suggesting that I was capitalizing on Trump’s victory for my own Business of Story gain by highlighting his narrative intuition. My response to them, and you if you feel the same way, is that you must understand the magic to combat the spell. Listen to all of Trump’s ramblings through the lens of the basal ABT structure, and you’ll get a whole new appreciation for how he hoodwinks his base, goes against reason and demolishes the Democrats. The Dems simply don’t know how to connect with America through a story. Olson’s purpose is to advance science by helping big thinkers connect with the rest of us. His vehicle happens to be the ABT, the DNA of story. Another of my favorite authors is Lisa Cron, who wrote Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence. Lisa came on the show to explore the art and science of storytelling to help you with your brand narratives. While Lisa’s book is about guiding fiction writers in writing the next epic novel, Lee Gutkind, the founder of Creative Nonfiction and author of several books including, You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: The Complete Guide to Writing Creative Nonfiction from Memoir to Literary Journalism, is the foremost authority on the art of sharing true stories well-told. These two approaches are important to brand storytelling because you want to tell true stories about how your product or service have empowered and leveled up your customers while using brain science to understand and appreciate how to craft and tell your stories.    Clarify your story, amplify your impact and simplify your life We’ve used the 10-step Story Cycle system to help Clinica Adelante reframe its brand story from a 30-year-old community health center to a national leader in sustainable healthcare, and they have grown by 300 percent in the past five years. Goodwill of Central Arizona has used or Story Cycle system to grow from 17 stories doing $24 million in annual sales in 2003 to nearly 100 stores doing north of $140 million in sales today, with the proceeds going to workforce development programs that help put a record number of Arizonans back to work. Their purpose? Good stuff, good work, Goodwill. Coca-Cola used our storytelling to launch an eco-driving program with its 60,000 fleet drivers and their staff in 2010. They double their expected gains in fuel efficiency in the first three months of the initiative. What do these three clients have in common? They all pursued a purpose greater than just selling products and services and making money. And they used intentional storytelling – telling stories on purpose – to achieve epic growth. That is the power of a purpose-driven organization over its traditional, status-quo competitor who focuses on the bottom line, short-term gains and investor returns over empowering the people and the communities it serves. Tell your stories on purpose That’s why now, as we move into our third year of producing the Business of Story podcast, our sole focus is to help leaders of purpose-driven organizations like yours clarify your story to grow revenue and amplify your impact. What we make is the proven Story Cycle system with tools and techniques to help you become an intentional storyteller. But what we make happen is helping you become a more powerful communicator, connect with audiences like you never have before, motivate and inspire people to action, and advance your mission, initiative or cause further, faster than you ever imagined. What we make happen is what drives our purpose: to help people live into and prosper from their most powerful stories. Learning moment: Are you telling brand stories about what you make, or what you make happen? Stories about the human impact you are having; how you are leveling them up. Stories about how you deliver on your ultimate brand purpose. You see, when you tell stories about what you make, your are immediately commoditizing yourself and your offering. You start to drown in the sea of sameness. But when you tell stories about what you make happen, then you will rise above the noise and be heard. Red Bull doesn’t sell you a highly addictive concoction of caffeine, taurine, and sugar. Their story Gives You Wings. Actually, the higher brand purpose was defined by its founder, Dietrich Mateschitz, when he started his company: “Red Bull gives wings to people and ideas.” Now isn’t that a bit more compelling than selling just an energy drink? It must be because Red Bull not only invented the category. They still own nearly half of the worldwide market for energy drinks. Let’s face it, without a good story that connects on a primal, visceral level with your audiences – making them truly feel something – then you’re just more noise in the cacophony of communication we all swim  – and drown – in. Without a focused story that clarifies the uniqueness, relevance, and urgency of your brand offering you will be marooned in the sea of sameness that we all encounter in this age of abundance. Your customers – just like my customers – simply have too many choices to choose from. What’s going to make you rise to the top of your food chain? Without a defined point to your story – a supreme focus on what you do better than anyone else buttressed by a compelling purpose – you will languish in the land of commoditization. In fact, declaring your number one position in the marketplace, what you do better than anyone else in terms of features and benefits, is your first step out of the primordial muck of commoditization. And your defined purpose is your lifeline. So I’m taking my own advice. As I mentioned, my friend Greg Head, who was the head of marketing for Infusionsoft and helped them become a $100 million dollar company in 10 years because of their extreme focus on sales and marketing software for small business, helped me define my brand focus of working with purpose-driven leaders. It’s important, too, because I am competing in an increasingly crowded industry of business storytelling.    Some of my competitors I admire most – some friends, some acquaintances, and some strangers – include Donald Miller and his StoryBrand process. I’ve done his program myself for my Business of Story brand. StoryBrand’s focus is to help small business grow their sales by clarifying their story on their websites. My interesting connection to Don, even though I’ve never met him, is that his best-selling book. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, and it’s overall theme of “What makes a great story also makes a great life,” had a profound impact on me as I was creating the Story Cycle system. In fact, I went to Don’s very first seminar in Portland in 2010, long before he created his StoryBrand process, to guide my thinking on how to help people live into their most powerful stories. In fact, I went to Don’s very first seminar in Portland in 2010, long before he created his StoryBrand process, to guide my thinking on how to help people live into their most powerful stories. Another terrific professional in the storytelling game, and a guy I count as a friend is Michael Margolis of GetStoried. When I think of Michael and the international work he does, I think of storytelling around innovation. He works with large, global brands, including the likes of Google, Deloitte, and NASA, to help them further innovation within their organizations. Michael is definitely the innovation story guy in my book. If you’re looking for business storytelling in the tech world with a twist, then I’d definitely send you to Kathy Klotz-Guest. If you’ve ever seen HBO’s Silicon Valley, Mike Judge’s hysterical TV series about, well, Silicon Valley, then you’ll get a sense of Kathy. She is a technology veteran, stand up comic and marketer extraordinaire who uses storytelling to help her clients curb what she calls, “jargon-monoxide,” you know, that curse-of-the-expert malady that puts audiences to sleep, or worse, with their inane use of jargon. She coined one of my favorite terms in Business Storytelling, Jargon-monoxide. These are just three of many fellow storytellers, each with a focused brand position: Don Miller’s StoryBrand for small businesses. Michael Margolis’ Get Storied for large organization innovation, and Kathy Klotz-Guest for the tech world.   By the way, you can hear both Michael and Kathy on my Business of Story show – again, see the show notes for links. And Don, consider this an open invitation to come on my show. Like Michael and Kathy, I admire your work and what you stand for. Hey, I even invested in your Blue Like Jazz movie. That was a brilliant crowd-sourced move, by the way, to raise your final quarter million to get the movie finished. Michele and I loved the movie, and it was great fun seeing our names among the thousands of executive producers. I help leaders tell their brand stories on purpose And me? My purpose is to help leaders of purpose-driven organizations like you clarify your story to drive revenue and amplify your success. And I deliver on my purpose in three different ways… I help you clarify your brand story through our proven Story Cycle system. In fact, if you tuned into my show two weeks ago, you heard me take Jonathan Barney through the Story Cycle system to clarify his brand story around his restaurant service training platform and focus his purpose of helping people live a tastier life. In addition to clarifying your brand story, I also offer the Storytelling for Leaders and Storytelling for Sales 6-month deliberate practice training programs. Once your brand story is crystal clear, these programs help you find and tell the stories that shape the behaviors that create the culture that drives epic performance. Around your purpose. Essentially, we help you find the true stories within your brand and show you how to tell them well in your advertising, marketing and sales to connect with your audiences. True stories well told. The Storytelling for Leaders and Storytelling for Sales deliberate practice programs come from another amazing story outfit, this time in Melbourne, Australia. Shawn Callahan and Mark Schenk created these programs 13 years ago and have worked with brands around the world to build storytelling cultures. This offering is the ideal extension to the Business of Story, and I have become a certified partner delivering these proven programs. Why do purpose-driven organizations need to practice business storytelling now, more than ever, to amplify your impact? Because business is more complex than ever.  How do you describe your place in the world to your staff, employees, customers, shareholders and other stakeholders when so much external chaos impacts you?   Chaos like growing competition in this time of abundance A widening economic divide between the haves and have-nots The significant environmental and social impacts of climate change Social injustice and unrest A White House and its cronies that appear hell bent on alienating America from the rest of the world In fact, I spent 12 days in The Netherlands a couple of weeks ago working with our ASU students. Guess what the prevailing sentiment is towards our president? I heard this from business leaders, bureaucrats, and bartenders. They ask all in their own way: “How did you Americans let this happen and what are you going to do about it?” You don’t think this president is going to impact your business, think again. And what stories are you telling your employees to keep them all focused on your purpose to grow your sales and amplify your impact: the three things you actually have control over? I’m afraid power points, infographics, snapchats and tweets aren’t going to do it for you anymore. By the way, I reminded our students in Amsterdam that power points don’t kill audiences. Presenters using bullets in power points do. Don’t believe me? Just listen to Janine Kurnoff of the Presentation Company on Business of Story to learn how to bring storytelling to all of your communications so you can cut through the clutter and connect.   Or tune into Nick Gray of Museum Hack on how to bring adventure to your brand through storytelling. And on that note, take in my conversation with the ultimate conspirator to business success, Robert Rose on why you must turn your adjectives and adverbs into adventures in your story marketing. Stories connect in our disconnected world Another reason why story is more important now than ever is that our uberly connected world has created a massive malady. Attention Deficit Disorder is now a communicable disease, and we’re all the viruses. Our connected world has ironically made us all less connected in human terms. I had a fascinating guest on about a month ago. His name is Jordan Bower, a Transformational Storytelling Consultant, and Corporate Intimacy Expert. Ahhh, see his unique positioning… his fine point… his focused purpose: Transformational Storytelling Consultant and Corporate Intimacy Expert? On my show, Jordan told me about his girlfriend breaking up with him in the summer of 2010. Devastated, he did what we would ALL do in this circumstance: he walked from Seattle to Mexico along the Pacific Ocean.  Right? During his four-month odyssey to find himself, Jordan came across thousands of people. He shared coffee, meals, campfires, and beers with folks from all walks of life: from hobos and hillbillies to surfer dudes, to housewives, tech titans and I’m sure there was a social media guru or two in there as well. I asked him what the common theme was among these disparate people. What do you think he said? I asked him what the common theme was among these disparate people. What do you think he said? Jordan told me that to a person, the common sentiment was alienation and loneliness. He learned on his trek that these dopamine pumps we call iPhones and Androids, that promise to connect us with the world, actually create greater isolation. One intense symptom is FOMO, or the fear of missing out. What we’re missing in our over-communicated world is authentic, person-to-person interaction. If Gottschall said, “Our minds yield helplessly to the suction of story,” then I believe our hearts crave bonding with real people. Jordan’s point of people feeling alienated and lonely is not the first time I’ve heard this theme. But it struck me hard on this show. I even created a manifesto of sorts just to help me get my head around this phenomenon. I call it: The Virtual Connection Myth. "Our digital dopamine pumps artificially reward us for superficial online interactions masking an epidemic of alienation and loneliness people suffer as their storytelling skills atrophy in the absence of authentic human connection in the real world." OMG, am I suffering from jargon-monoxide? My point is this: The most powerful story will ever tell is in-person. If you can’t be in front of the water cooler with your audience, then the second most powerful story you can tell is first person, online. Tell me a story with a time stamp, when did it happen, a location stamp, where did it happen, real people as the characters. Give me action and adventure, surprise me, and then deliver your business point! And believe it or not, you can do this in 60 seconds or less.   On Thursday, June 26, I was giving a storytelling workshop for a bunch of  Dutch professionals who specialize in sustainability and the circular economy in Haarlemmermeer, Holland.  A young man named Max is an intern for one of the organizations and is about to graduate with his business degree in sustainability. I asked the gathering who their toughest audience was so we could work on stories to connect with them on their terms. Max told me it was his granddad. You see, his grandpa didn’t understand sustainability, didn’t believe in man-made global warming and told Max he was wasting his time with his foolish degree. I could tell he was crestfallen by not having his grandfather’s approval. So I instructed Max to use the Story Cycle to craft a story from his grandpa’s point-of-view and then challenged him to share his story over the weekend. I ran into Max four days later when our ASU cohort returned to Haarlemmermeer for another session. He had the widest smile on his face. I asked him “What’s up, dude?” He told me about having the conversation with his grandpa about climate change and how he used a hockey stick to demonstrate to the old man how carbon in our atmosphere has remained relatively balanced for millennia and then pointed to the curve end of the stick to demonstrate the man-made carbon we have pumped into the system over a short amount of time. “This was the first time my granddad ever understood what I was talking about,” Max proclaimed through his smile. “And I told him that fixing this problem is important to me and that’s why I’m doing what I’m doing.” I asked Max if his granddad likes hockey. “Loves it,” he said, with his smiling growing even wider. Smart young man, that Max. Understanding his audience and having such empathy for their point-of-view that he found a way to use a story to connect, change his beliefs, and earn his approval. By the way, I learned this basic structure to story with time and location stamps, characters, action, a surprise and point from my friends at Anecdote. And we cover it in great detail in our 6-month deliberate practice programs. The most invaluable FREE advice you'll ever get Now I’d like to help you clarify your brand story strategy, focus your purpose of growing your revenue and amplifying your impact. When I told my producer, Brian, who you met earlier in the show, about what I’m about to do, he actually said it might not work because it sounds too good to be true. Well, maybe. You’ll have to be the judge of that. What I am offering to you, with no strings attached, is a complimentary 30-minute phone call to demonstrate how quickly you can get your brand story straight. I promise it will be the most invaluable free advice for you, your business and organization that you have ever received. Register for your FREE Impact Call. I’ll help you clarify your story in 30 minutes or less. You have nothing to lose. What’s in it for me? I get to connect with real people, in real time and learn about your real needs. Our conversation, while helping you clarify your story to grow revenue and amplify your impact, will also help me better understand exactly what the market needs. What’s in it for me? I get to connect with real people, in real time and learn about your real needs. Our conversation, while helping you clarify your story to grow revenue and amplify your impact, will also help me better understand exactly what the market needs. This is a total win/win consulting call. You will be doing me a huge favor by helping me dial in my purpose: To help you live into and prosper from your most powerful story. This is a limited time offer, and I can tell you that not everyone is going to get the free impact call. If you’re in business just to make money, then I’d recommend you reach out to some of the other storytelling consultants. But if you’re into to truly amplifying your impact and empowering the people around you to live into and prosper from your story, then I’m your guy. Register now at our new and improved website, businessofstory.com. And if you want to get the most of the call, download your DIY Brand Story Workbook first. Outline yourstory. Then let's chat. And thank you for listening to this special, one hundred first episode of the Business of Story podcast. Gag, you’re probably hoping that I don’t return solo for another hundred shows. And one last request. We have 74 reviews on iTunes, and I’d love to push that over the 100 mark in celebration of our one hundred and first episode. Would you do me a huge and be one of those listeners that pushes us over the top of the century mark in reviews. It only takes minutes and would mean the world to me. I appreciate it. Finally, I want to remind you that regardless of what you do with your business, leadership and sales storytelling, that... "The most potent story you will ever tell is the story you tell yourself. So make it a good one." Thanks for listening, and until next Sunday, have a wonderful life.

I’m sure you can relate: Between family ties, work obligations, and my passions and hobbies, I often find myself wishing there were more hours in the day to tackle everything I want and need to get done. Especially if you own your own business, the portion of your life devoted to work obligations sometimes rules the roost, taking away precious amounts of time you could spend with family and friends.   Enter Jess Ostroff and her team of virtual assistants at Don’t Panic Management. Jess started working as a virtual assistant in 2009 (and eventually incorporating her business in 2011) because she wanted to help other people become more efficient. With that goal in mind, she has spent the better part of a decade guiding fellow entrepreneurs on the path to outsourcing all the day-to-day tasks that prevent them from focusing on their passions.   If you’ve been feeling overworked and overwhelmed, you won’t want to miss this episode. Tune in as Jess shares how finding the perfect virtual assistant you trust can help you scale your business for growth, be more intentional about your business, and get you back to doing the things you love most.   In This Episode The signs an entrepreneur is ready to outsource some of their workload How a virtual assistant can fit into your business model Which tasks you can (and should) outsource Why there is an assistant out there for every entrepreneur The importance of listening to your instincts   Quotes in This Episode “When you find someone that you really trust and that you can train and get really ‘on’ your team, there’s nothing better. Because you get so much of your time back and you get so much of your brain space back.” —Jess Ostroff   “A lot of people start their own businesses because.... [they] have a passion for something… And when your business becomes successful, all of a sudden you don’t even have time to work on that thing that you started your business for because all of the tasks of running that business get in your way.” —Jess Ostroff   “The cool thing is that there are so many different kinds of assistants out there now and so many different people who want to work virtually and have this lifestyle. So you can really find an assistant for anything that you want.” —Jess Ostroff   “Sometimes taking a risk is great, and it can work out really well for your business. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned… it’s listening to my gut and learning when to say yes, and more importantly when to say no.” —Jess Ostroff   “When you can slow down a little bit and be more intentional about your decision-making process and say, ‘Is this right for me,’ you’ll end up making better decisions for the long run.” —Jess Ostroff   Resources Don’t Panic Mgmt Email Jess Connect with Jess on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram  

Jess Ostroff, Managing Editor and Executive Producer for Convince & Convert, joins the Content Pros Podcast to share her secret to building long-term brand recognition and credibility through content. Special thanks to our sponsors: Oracle Marketing Cloud Uberflip: Flip the Switch ClearVoice Convince & Convert: The Business of Story   In This Episode How the evolving world of marketing leads to learning on the fly Why producing in the modern media realm means doubling as IT support How podcasting leads to a more unique and personal connection with an audience that builds your credibility and brand Why maintaining credibility means keeping a healthy amount of skepticism for new developments How content atomization leads to wider reach and greater insight into what your audience wants Why building your brand up means drilling down in content   Resources Jess Ostroff on Twitter: @jessostroff Convince & Convert Social Pros Podcast Don't Panic Management Zencastr   Visit ContentProsPodcast.com for more insights from your favorite content marketers.

As the leader of a virtual company of over 65 people located around the world, I wouldn t have it any other way. Of course, I had a lot of help from my partners getting to this point over the last 6 years. Nowadays, you have publications like the Harvard Business Review talking about virtual teams... Listen to episode

Do you ever feel like you are completely maxed out? Where every second of your day is accounted for? You're putting in a minimum of 10 hours per day, but still feel like you only chipped away a fraction of your to-do list? You know you need help, but the thought of hiring an employee seems like more work than it's worth. Many of us feel this way. It's that growing pains before your realize how to successfully scale your business. In this episode I talk to Jess Ostroff, founder of Don't Panic Management, a virtual agency based in New York. She shares how she successfully implemented a virtual contractor model, grew her team to 15, and found more balance in her life. We also talk about how she has built and maintained company culture despite her team being spread throughout the country. Quote of the Week: “You don't build a business – you build people – and then people build the business.” ~Zig Ziglar For this week's Biz Hack and past episodes, head over to SuccessLab.fm. Next week I'm in the lab with Jenny Hill, founder and designer of J.Hill Artisan Felt. We talk about making 180-degree changes in your career. When to trust your inner voice and follow your deeper calling to success. Be sure to tune! Until then, have prosperous week!

The entrepreneurial path is inevitably paved with unexpected roadblocks and bumps, but it's also filled with opportunity should you choose to see it. That's exactly what Russ Perry, founder of Design Pickle chose to do. In this episode I talk with Russ about his entrepreneurial journey, which spans 10 years, how he overcame some tough decisions, such as shuttering his nine-year-old design and branding agency, and how he sort of reinvented himself and built a new business model that's kicking butt. Check out Russ's workshop EXPAND2016. It's on December 2, 2015...perfect timing for getting you set to do great things in 2016. Biz Hack: This one is not so much a tool, but a great read on productivity: "10 Lessons I Learned from a Year of Productivity Experiments". The author spent 12 months conducting various productivity experiments on himself and came up with the top 10 that suited him best. One key take away: Productivity isn't about how much you produce, it's how much you accomplish. For this week's Biz Hack and past episodes, head over to SuccessLab.fm. Next week I'm in the Lab with Jess Ostroff, founder of Don't Panic Management. We talk about how to build culture in a virtual agency, particularly when your team is divided by state lines. Jess is one of my favorite people in the world – and I only have two – I'm kidding, but this is a great episode so Be sure to tune! Until then, have prosperous week! Intro music in this episode: "They Just Don't Know" by Gyft. Outro music in this episode: "Magnolias" by Tapper.

Jess Ostroff is the Founder and Director of Calm at Don’t Panic Management, a virtual social media assistant agency which helps companies outsource administrative, bookkeeping, social media, and content marketing tasks so they can focus on growing their business. She is also the Managing Editor for Convince & Convert, a digital media and consulting company that provides high-impact counsel to many of the world's largest brands, and specializes in strategic planning for digital, content marketing, and social media.  

If you haven't seen your friends douse themselves in ice to support ALS research yet, you're probably living under a rock. The ALS Ice Bucket challenge has raised over $13.3 million (compared to $1.7 million last year) and has over 260,000 new donors.Why is the ice bucket challenge so effective? 2 reasons:1) It plays on the power of video, which is much more visceral and experiential than text or photo could ever be.2) It happened concurrently with the new Facebook update that now allows videos to autoplay in your news feed.The other important reason this challenge has succeeded is that it wasn't ALS who asked people to dump ice on their heads, it's friends. And while we may not all have a personal connection to ALS, we do have personal connections to our colleagues and friends so we want to support the cause in their honor.This is a lesson that all businesses, not just non-profits can learn from: Social media is about people, not logos, and it's the individual connectivity that makes campaigns successful.SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/jaybaer00SPROUT SOCIAL SHOUT OUTToday's Sprout Social shout out is a three-part challenge to Sally Hogshead (http://twitter.com/sallyhogshead), author of the new book, How the World Sees You (http://www.amazon.com/How-World-Sees-... Rory Vaden (http://twitter.com/rory_vaden), best-selling author of Take the Stairs (http://www.southwesternconsulting.com... and Jess Ostroff (http://twitter.com/jessostroff), Managing Editor at Convince & Convert and Director of Calm at Don't Panic Management (http://dontpanicmgmt.com). You have 24 hours to complete the ice bucket challenge and/or donate $100 to ALS research!OUR SPONSORSCandidio (http://candidio.com), a simple and affordable video production company. Follow @candidio on Twitter. Sprout Social (http://sproutsocial.com), a social media management and analytics company that Jay uses for much of his social media every day. Follow @sproutsocial on Twitter.ABOUT JAY TODAYJay Today is a video podcast with 3-minute lessons and commentary on business, social media and digital marketing from New York Times best-selling author and venture capitalist Jay Baer. Join Jay daily for insights on trends, quick tips, observations and inspiration at http://bit.ly/JayToday.

Delta recently sent me an email telling me that in order to keep the same frequent flyer rewards, I have to spend more money. They said, "If everyone is a frequent flyer, no one is a frequent flyer."   Really, Delta? You couldn't just tell me that your costs are going up and that you need to change the structure of your program? Instead you had to come up with some story about how frequent flyers and non-frequent flyers can't be in the same tier? This is bad form, and I think Delta is losing a lot of trust from its loyal customers by doing this.   When you wrap up your information in a load of crap, your customers will trust you less, not more, so don't underestimate them. They're smarter than you think.   SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/jaybaer00   SPROUT SOCIAL SHOUT OUT   Today's Sprout Social shout out goes to Jess Ostroff (http://twitter.com/jessostroff), founder of Don't Panic Management (http://dontpanicmgmt.com) and Managing Editor of Convince & Convert (http://convinceandconvert.com). Jess helps with much of the Convince & Convert content as well as with many of our other friends out there in the marketing and PR world.    OUR SPONSORS   Candidio (http://candidio.com), a simple and affordable video production company. Follow @candidio on Twitter.    Sprout Social (http://sproutsocial.com), a social media management and analytics company that Jay uses for much of his social media every day. Follow @sproutsocial on Twitter.   ABOUT JAY TODAY   Jay Today is a video podcast with 3-minute lessons and commentary on business, social media and digital marketing from New York Times best-selling author and venture capitalist Jay Baer. Join Jay daily for insights on trends, quick tips, observations and inspiration at http://bit.ly/JayToday.  

THE SHOW If you haven't seen your friends douse themselves in ice to support ALS research yet, you're probably living under a rock.  The ALS Ice Bucket challenge has raised over $13.3 million (compared to $1.7 million last year) and has over 260,000 new donors. Why is the ice bucket challenge so effective? 2 reasons: 1) It plays on the power of video, which is much more visceral and experiential than text or photo could ever be. 2) It happened concurrently with the new Facebook update that now allows videos to autoplay in your news feed. The other important reason this challenge has succeeded is that it wasn't ALS who asked people to dump ice on their heads, it's friends. And while we may not all have a personal connection to ALS, we do have personal connections to our colleagues and friends so we want to support the cause in their honor. This is a lesson that all businesses, not just non-profits can learn from: Social media is about people, not logos, and it's the individual connectivity that makes campaigns successful. SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/jaybaer00 SPROUT SOCIAL SHOUT OUT Today's Sprout Social shout out is a three-part challenge to Sally Hogshead (http://twitter.com/sallyhogshead), author of the new book, How the World Sees You (http://www.amazon.com/How-World-Sees-You-Fascination/dp/0062230697); Rory Vaden (http://twitter.com/rory_vaden), best-selling author of Take the Stairs (http://www.southwesternconsulting.com/takethestairsbook/); and Jess Ostroff (http://twitter.com/jessostroff), Managing Editor at Convince & Convert and Director of Calm at Don't Panic Management (http://dontpanicmgmt.com).  You have 24 hours to complete the ice bucket challenge and/or donate $100 to ALS research! OUR SPONSORS Candidio (http://candidio.com), a simple and affordable video production company. Follow @candidio on Twitter. Sprout Social (http://sproutsocial.com), a social media management and analytics company that Jay uses for much of his social media every day. Follow @sproutsocial on Twitter. ABOUT JAY TODAY Jay Today is a video podcast with 3-minute lessons and commentary on business, social media and digital marketing from New York Times best-selling author and venture capitalist Jay Baer. Join Jay daily for insights on trends, quick tips, observations and inspiration at http://bit.ly/JayToday.