Podcast appearances and mentions of sterling marketing group

Karen Tiber Leland, an author, coach, and Sterling Marketing Group's founder, emphasizes the importance of a strategic and thoughtful approach in personal and business branding. She notes the evolution of personal branding, highlighting its shift towards responsibly showcasing contributions rather than mere self-promotion. Karen provides expert strategies for attracting ideal clients and effectively creating branding, especially in business. She underlines the significance of CEOs actively participating in social media to foster consumer trust. Advising CEOs, she recommends focusing on practical experience and skills rather than just certifications, to better demonstrate expertise and attract suitable clients. Additionally, Karen underscores the lifelong significance of learning and the necessity of an open mindset, asserting that the capacity to learn is not limited to any age group.     Key Takeaways:   [03:06] Karen shares the importance of a strategic, thoughtful approach in personal and business branding, cautioning against one-size-fits-all methods. There is a caution against the tendency to confuse tactics with strategy, urging a clear understanding of brand definition, strategy, and tactics as distinct components. She mentions that defining a brand involves more than just a logo or tagline, with various facets to consider, and asserts that understanding the business and customer is the crucial first step in this process.   [07:38] She mentions that with technological advancements, especially in the realms of the internet and AI, executives, and entrepreneurs are compelled to build a robust personal brand. Karen notes the broad impact of a strong personal brand on investor relations, talent retention and recruitment, and customer trust. She stresses the CEO's need to be active on social media, as it is likely to build trust in the company among customers. Karen highlights proactive reputation management in the AI age, emphasizing the need to train platforms like Google about identity and values.   [10:35] Karen tackles the issue of false expertise claims in inaccessible fields like marketing, coaching, and sales, recognizing the challenge consumers encounter in discerning genuine experts from those making false claims. Even with tools like ChatGPT, Karen highlights the importance of maintaining a unique voice and perspective in content creation. She stresses educating consumers about valuing experience over certificates and short-term programs. She believes taking a stand for one's knowledge is crucial, attracting the right clients and deterring those who may not appreciate true expertise.   [15:33] She mentions the unrealistic expectation of completing an entire to-do list in a day, instead, prioritizing the two or three top tasks that will define a successful day, considering additional tasks as a bonus. She challenges the illusion of completing everything and advocates for realistic prioritization. Additionally, Karen notes a common issue among CEOs and entrepreneurs, where they engage in tasks that could be delegated, often driven by a need for control.   [19:50] Karen talks about the changing work expectations for Gen X and Gen Z individuals, emphasizing the importance for companies to adapt by redefining work to include remote options, stressing the need for leaders to acquire or refine skills for effective remote team management. Discussing remote work challenges and benefits enables global hiring but poses issues with time zones and cultures. With this, she suggests boosting online meeting interactivity, maintaining efficiency, and fostering connections through emails and calls.   [25:06] She shares her passion for trail riding and how engaging in such activities contributes to their happiness and overall well-being, highlighting that there are valuable lessons she had learned from horseback riding, theater, and art, which they integrate into their coaching sessions as analogies or metaphors. Karen emphasizes the importance of being a satisfied and healthy individual when coaching others. Her diverse experiences have contributed to her creativity and effectiveness in supporting individuals and companies in expressing their uniqueness through personal and business branding.   [29:56] Karen shares the significance of lifelong learning and having an open mindset, regardless of age, advocating for continuous learning for everyone. The significance of acquiring the skill of learning itself, noting that being a lifelong learner keeps individuals interested and growing. She also touches on the concept of a growth mindset and how it is easier to work with individuals possessing it, even if they lack specific technical skills, as opposed to those with a fixed mindset.   [34:51] Karen shares the '1% improvement' strategy, emphasizing that small enhancements, like refining a LinkedIn profile or acquiring new skills, can lead to cumulative personal and professional growth. Karen discusses the evolving landscape of personal branding, noting that it's no longer about bragging, but responsibly communicating one's contributions. She also explains that in a world driven by visibility and engagement, individuals must take responsibility for sharing achievements to make a meaningful impact.   [38:17] Closing Quote: Remember, you don't need a corporation or a marketing company to brand you now: you can do it yourself. You can establish who you are with a social media following. - Ray Allen Quotable Quotes: “When rebranding, clearly define the brand, its strategy, and tactics for a successful transformation.”   “A personal brand used to be a luxury, but is now a necessity.”   “Train Google across the Internet on who you are and what you stand for, or you're not going to be found.”   “It's not just about reactively managing your reputation, it's about managing your reputation proactively.”   “Having a distinct voice and a distinct point of view and distinct information will separate you.”   “Use AI as an assistant, don't use it as a replacement.”   "You have to thoroughly consider the correct strategic and tactical approach when doing a business branding.”   “Be willing to take a stand for who you are, what you've done, what you know, and back it up.”   “The key is to learn to prioritize what matters most.”   “Leaders should train themselves or get trained in skills for handling virtual teams.”   “You have to learn how to create interactivity so that people aren't just sitting there for hours just listening statically.”   “It's hard to be coaching people if you're not happy and healthy yourself.”   “Analogy makes a huge difference.”   “Oftentimes, the most powerful examples for people are things that are outside the business.”   “One strength of a CEO is the willingness to learn.”   “You have to learn how to learn.”   “The key is being open to learning. This is what creates movement and growth, creates value, whether it's in business or life.”   “1% improvement makes a big difference.”   This is the book mentioned in our discussion with Karen:     Resources Mentioned: The Leadership Podcast | Sponsored by | Rafti Advisors. LLC | Self-Reliant Leadership. LLC | Karen Tiber Leland LinkedIn | Sterling Marketing Group Website | Karen Tiber Leland Instagram |  

The online competition for attention and engagement has never been more intense. And the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence - AI - is exponentially increasing the challenge. To stand out from the crowd and compete, home business owners must get their business - and its brand - AI-ready. Nothing is going to shock up our home business world more than Artificial Intelligence. And who better than Karen Tiber Leland to help get us ready for AI? Karen is founder of Sterling Marketing Group (www.SterlingMarketingGroup.com) and best-selling author of The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. Karen has been interviewed by the Today Show, CNN, Fox News and Oprah. She has presented at TEDx and many well-known colleges. Subjects discussed in podcast include: • What should any home-based business owner understand about AI? • A first AI step is to teach Google who you are • Seven straightforward steps to prepare a business brand for AI • Taking a fresh look at your target audience • Creating an abundance of online, high-quality content; and making that process easier • Success tips to monitoring your online reputation • How to “flip the focus” of your social media • More success tips to prepare your brand for AI • What is one thing a listener can do tomorrow morning to get ready for Artificial Intelligence? Episode Sponsor: Lil' Bubba * https://Lilbubba.com Interview Guest [caption id="attachment_159070" align="alignleft" width="500"] Karen Tiber Leland, founder of Sterling Marketing Group[/caption]                         Your Host                     More Links Subscribe to Home Business TV YouTube Channel (Click)  Subscribe to the Home Business Podcast Home-Based Business Start-Up Guide

Bant Breen is the Founder and Executive Chairman for Qnary, an award-winning executive reputation management and talent branding company. As more people appear online, it's become clear that their name searches need to be cleaned up and more professional. Qnary's company grew dramatically during the pandemic because your online presence matters more than ever, and executives understand this.   In this episode, Bant talks about what executives should be thinking about when it comes to their online reputation, how to best reduce “bad” instances in your online presence, and why how you show up online really does matter more than you might think.   Tips on improving your online presence   Do an analysis on how you show up today in the search results. Are you happy with the results? Executives might not think it matters. It does. Future recruits are looking you up! How do you want future employees to see you? Reporters want to cite you as a source, but you need a strong and respectable presence to do that. Do you have your credentials? Do you look reliable? Are your articles/thoughts properly linked? Executives can take advantage of mini videos (which rank more quickly in Google) to improve trustability. These videos can be just 2-3 minutes long.   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   Bant Breen was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Achievement in 2010 and has a global marketing and communications background steeped in digital and innovation. Prior to launching Qnary, Bant served as CEO at IPG's Reprise Media. Bant had previously been President of Worldwide Digital Communications at IPG's Initiative.   Before joining Initiative, Bant served as the Executive Director of the IPG Emerging Media Lab, created Ansible (IPG's Mobile Marketing Agency), and led Universal McCann's global digital communications offering. Bant also led IPG's acquisition of Reprise Media in 2006 and managed IPG's investments in Facebook, Radian6, and several other digital enterprises.   Before joining IPG, Bant was the Founder and President of a strategic marketing and communications consultancy affiliated with Dentsu Inc. Prior to that, he worked at Leo Burnett Worldwide leading their European digital operations and then integrating the Leo Burnett global digital network now known as Arc Worldwide. Bant started his career as a WPP Fellow. Bant also serves as a board member, advisor, and strategic investor to publicly traded companies and startups. Bant has worked and lived in Asia Pacific, Europe, and the U.S. but now lives in New York City with his wife, Carmen, and two sons, Alejandro and Nico.   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   Tweetables and Quotes to Share   “In the beginning, Google was the first place and last place to look executives up, but it's not the most important channel now. LinkedIn is the most important.” PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland   “Companies jump to PR quickly. Now, it's really important to get that foundation set before you make a big PR investment.” PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland   “Writing is artistic, but it's also quite mathematical. AI systems can read that and be able to understand it and mimic it.” PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland   “The remote work, due to COVID-19, really accelerated social media's significance. Thirty percent of people viewed social media presence as more important during the pandemic.” PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland  

Patrick Llewellyn is the CEO of 99designs, the world's largest graphic design marketplace. Patrick joined the company in 2009 and the team has since grown to over 100+ staff members and has paid out more than $220 million to creators and creatives. In this episode of Thought Talk, Patrick talks about the freelance and gig economy, and where this booming global trend is headed in the upcoming years.   Creativity in its purest form is best represented when people are supporting each other. As the gig economy continues to grow, Patrick discusses some of the benefits a company like 99designs brings to communities all across the world and how designers and creatives are able to make a living on their own terms.   Tips on making the gig economy for you   A platform like 99Designs reaches communities far and wide and it has given people new opportunities that they otherwise wouldn't have had in their small town. People with disabilities have also found a new purpose. There's been a surge in design requests from the wellness sector, plant-based alternative foods, and mushrooms! Local businesses are taking opportunities to create merch (which means more need for creative designs!) to increase revenue in their business. Personalized designs that incorporate the brand's personality are on the rise. People want to see the “who” behind the brand.   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   Patrick Llewellyn joined 99designs, the world's largest graphic design marketplace, in 2009. He had previously spent a decade at Nextec Strategic Capital advising Australian technology and media companies with an expertise in growth and capital raising.   In 2010, Patrick moved to San Francisco to open the 99designs U.S. office and oversee U.S. and international expansion. He was officially appointed CEO in January 2011, and quickly guided 99designs to a $35 million first-round capital investment led by Accel Partners (Facebook, Dropbox, Etsy), followed by a $10 million Series B led by Recruit Holdings in 2015.   Llewellyn has since launched 99designs' European headquarters in Berlin as well as localized-language sites across Europe and Latin America. He has grown the company from a handful of staff to 125 with offices in Oakland, Melbourne, and Berlin. As of October 2017, 99designs has hosted more than 650,000 graphic design contests and paid out more than $200 million to its community of freelance graphic designers around the world.   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

Today's guest is Peter Winick, the Founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage and the podcast host of Leveraging Thought Leadership. In this episode of Thought Talk, Peter talks about, you guessed it, thought leadership! Since it's easy to have an opinion on social media, it's so hard to get something good and worthy of substance in today's fast-paced world. Intentional thought leadership changes that.   Thought leadership is a hot topic right now, but it can get a little cloudy on what it really is. Peter shares examples of what thought leadership is, what it is not, and how you can get the most out of it through authentic connections and putting your stake in the ground.   Tips on making thought leadership work for you   Thought leadership means you have the courage to say something meaningful, profound, and different from the norm. You know you're doing something right when 20% of the population disagrees with you. A classic mistake thought leaders make — They don't have a strategy. Thought leadership is a business, at the end of the day. Want to be consistent in your thought leadership? Create an editorial calendar. Collaborate with experts who are also serving similar client demographics. They're not really competitors! Consider writing a book. It is a great business card for your ideal client. The marketing strategies you do to put your work out there have to make sense for your ideal target market. Are your clients listening to radio? No? Then don't do radio.   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   Peter Winick is the founder and CEO of Thought Leadership Leverage. For the past two decades, he has helped individuals and organizations build and grow revenue streams through designing and growing their thought leadership platforms as well as acting as a guide and advisor for increasing business to business sales of thought leadership products.   His clients come from a diverse set of backgrounds and specialties. They include New York Times bestselling business book authors, members of the Speakers' Hall of Fame, recipients of the Thinkers50 award, CEOs of public and privately held companies, and academics at prestigious institutions such as Yale, Wharton, Dartmouth, and London School of Business.   Peter has built his career and Thought Leadership Leverage to serve the needs of these individuals and others like them. Get in touch with him through his website Thought Leadership Leverage.   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

Marketing can be a big monster to tackle all at once. Everyone knows it's importance, yet it seems no one really has enough time for it. Today’s guest shares how to get ahead of marketing so that you can lead it, direct it, and be intentional with it. Karen Tiber Leland is the Founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, and marketing strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and Entrepreneurs develop strong personal, business, and thought leadership brands. One of the biggest breakdowns people have is, how do they make time for marketing when they have ‘real’ business things to focus on? Believe it or not, even marketing firms struggle with this! They’re so busy helping other people’s marketing that they end up neglecting their own. Truth is, it’s hard to make time for your own thing. Everything going on in the background, the news, the pandemic, the economy; all these external things that you can’t control, it slows things down in your brain and they steal your focus. Don’t beat yourself up if you’re feeling not ‘as productive’ lately. Your brain is absorbing all the wrong things. Do you have magical thinking when it comes to your to-do list? Meaning, the moment you write it down, you know it’s ‘magically’ just going to happen? For the most part, the things that we write in our to-do list for that day, do not get done. How do you win at this? Pick ONLY 1-4 things that are critical for today’s success, and be okay with that result.   Interview Links: Sponsored by: Sweetprocess.com Sterlingmarketinggroup.com Karen on LinkedIn   Resources: Scaling Up Workshop: Interested in attending one of our workshops? We have a few $100 discounts for our loyal podcast listeners!Scaling Up for Business Growth Workshop: Take the first step to mastering the Rockefeller Habits by attending one of our workshops. Scaling Up Summits (Select Bill Gallagher as your coach during registration for a discount.) Bill on YouTube

Karen Tiber Leland, best-selling author, branding, and marketing strategist, and Founder and President of Sterling Marketing Group, shares her insight about the power of completion. Learn how to triage your to-do lists to create more energy and a sense of success every day.

In today’s episode of the As Told by Nomads Podcast, join me and my guest, Karen Tiber Leland, as we talk about being the most productive with your time. Karen is a freelance journalist, media expert, and founder of Sterling Marketing Group. Her company aims to help executives and entrepreneurs develop a stronger brand, whether personal or business. Along with Keith Bailey, She is also the co-author of Time Management In An Instant, which offers field-tested time habits that will help you better spend your time with more satisfaction and results. Feel free to check it out after the episode!The Power of DelegationWe often believe we have so little time already that we should not waste it on delegating a task to someone else. But delegation is not merely about giving someone something to do. It is about determining the things on your plate that you should not be doing either because it is not within your skill set or takes you more time to do it. Here, you have to keep in mind the “opportunity cost” where you could be spending your time doing more important tasks, such as business development, branding, and marketing. You have to take the time to train someone else or to set someone else, so they win at that delegated task. Most people think they do not have the time to entrust a job to someone else. But the truth is we have to look at the long-term effects of delegation. For instance, you might take an hour to teach someone else how to do a task now, but over the next few months, it would save you more hours than it would if you did the job yourself. In the end, delegation helps us manage our time and focus more efficiently, leading to more satisfaction and results.Outline of the episode:[04:21] Karen’s thoughts on how people can manage their time during the pandemic.[07:26] “Focus” management, competing priorities, and how to feel more productive.[12:46] How to save time in the long run with the power of delegation.[15:16] Harnessing the power of completion to cure today’s epidemic of incompletion.[19:12] Understanding the three types of social media and how to find a balance between them.[23:25] Promised Goals vs. Go-For-It Goals and why it is essential to distinguish them.[25:40] The value of having a to-do list or using a productivity app in developing the habit of completion.[27:54] How knowing your learning style can help you be most productive with your time.[29:58] The infamous email inbox, ways you can overcome it, and even use it to your advantage.[31:31] What time blocking is and how it can help you deal with interruptions and focus more.[33:51] Karen’s experience with co-authoring Time Managemen In An Instant with Keith Bailey.[35:55] How Karen Tiber Leland uses her difference to make a difference.Resources:LinkedInWebsiteBookUYD CollectiveConnect with Tayo Rockson and the As Told By Nomads Podcast on:LinkedinPodcast:Twitter: Personal Website See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In tonight’s Saturday Night Special I talk to Karen Tiber Leland about why you may be wasting your time marketing.  Karen shares with you the difference between drunk and sober marketing and why it matters.  I also ask Karen to share why brand management is more than marketing and why it should matter for people and businesses both.   Show Notes and Resources.

Today’s guest is Karen Leland, CEO at Sterling Marketing Group, the best-selling author of No Nonsense and The Brand Mapping Strategy, and live long artist. As an artist and musical theater before moving into thought leadership Karen shares how the skills learned in music, theater, and improv have given her the ability to handle rejection, think on her feet and be fearless in her knowledge that she can face any obstacle that might present itself. We continue our conversation by looking at the increased speed at which the industry was forced to move to digital events. Karen shares her thoughts on the hybrid world that she sees evolving from the COVID-19 pandemic and what the new normal might be once we are on the other side of it. Finally, Karen shares two passion projects she is looking at developing and how many professionals are seeking side businesses that support their passion more than their pocketbook. Three Key Takeaways: * Thought leaders with a background in the arts are often capable of thinking on their feet and being more agile. * With the world forcing thought leaders to change how they deliver content you have to be willing to figure out a way forward or face extinction. * Thought leaders should be seeking to find a way to apply their domain of thought leadership to the way the world has changed.

Karen Tiber Leland is president of Sterling Marketing Group, a boutique branding & marketing firm working on personal, business and CEO branding. Her clients include LinkedIn, Google, American Express, Marriott, among others. Karen is the best-selling author of ten traditionally published books, which have sold more than 450,000 copies including The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. Her latest is 'No Nonsense Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done'. Karen writes for Inc.com., Forbes.com, Entrepreneur & has spoken at Harvard, Stanford, and TedX. She is a frequent guest of the media and has been interviewed by CNN, Fortune, CNBC, Fast Company, Fox & Oprah.  Karen joins me today on Your Partner In Success™ Radio to share: Six specific, scientifically proven practices for productivity in a digital ageA simple, foolproof technique for increasing focus thresholdsOne daily ritual for accomplishing more in less time with a stronger sense of closureThe #1 time & money wasting problem with marketing and branding todayThe secret to overcoming social media overload and avoid the marketing time traps that lead to lost business, missed opportunities & unfulfilled potential. Website | Amazon | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook 

Hi everyone. HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR TIME AND ABILITY TO FOCUS? GETTING YOUR WORK DONE WELL AND EFFICIENTLY? HAVING MORE FREE TIME? If ANY of these ARE important to you, then don't miss my conversation with my guest expert, Karen Tiber Leland. Karen is a marketing, branding, and time management consultant, the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, and the author of 10 best-selling books, including two on time management. Hear Karen (1) provide great tips on handling e-mail and video calls; (2) relay practical, enduring, and effective time-saving strategies; (3) discuss the global impact COVID-19 has had on our time, (4) predict what time management TRENDS and challenges may lie ahead, and more! As always, please provide YOUR feedback and suggestions for topics, guests, and show sponsors at www.jeff-ostroff.com Thanks!

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  

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

Listen in as Karen Tiber Leland shares with us about the power of being tapped into your Spiritual Self. Karen went through a very rough time after doing the Process. Through this time, she realized that her connection to her Spiritual Self was "hardwired in." She realizes how this being so helped her to navigate such a hard time in her life. Karen also speaks about the power of being able to name your emotions in business. She tells us, "The Process isn't about indulging your feelings and dramatizing them. It's about the recognition and the clear expression of them. And the responsible expression of them." Karen Tiber Leland is the best-selling author of The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. Karen is also president of Sterling Marketing Group, a boutique branding & marketing firm working on personal, business, and CEO branding. Her clients include LinkedIn, Google, American Express, and Marriott, among others. Karen is a best-selling author of ten traditionally published books. Her books have sold more than 450,000 copies. Karen writes for Inc.com. and has spoken at Harvard, Stanford, and TedX. She's also a frequent guest of the media and has been interviewed by CNN, CNBC, Fox, and Oprah. Karen currently serves on the Advisory Council for the Hoffman Institute. She's a former board member and has facilitated board and staff retreats. Karen has also led leadership development programs and advised on Hoffman branding and marketing. Find out more about Karen, here. Subscribe on Apple/iTunes

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

Overcoming Multitasking Madness for a More Efficient Workflow   Karen’s latest book, No Nonsense: Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done is now available for order on Amazon. Today, Karen 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%. In today’s non-stop tech world overcoming multitasking is a critical part of learning to work from home efficiently.   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 a certain period of time.   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 right away.   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 to 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   Tweetables and Quotes to Share   The ding of the email, the ping of the text, I know those things can seem harmless but they can really tempt you to stray from the job at hand. PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland    Set aside a particular set of time to do all your phone calls, your emails, your errands, to work on your project. PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland   Capture your to-dos in writing, any system will work, but make sure you have one to keep that kind of track. PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland   Instead of booking every minute of every day, leave some time open where you can actually catch up on things that come in, or process items that have been hanging around. PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland   Multitasking is really defined by the switching back and forth, and it’s the switching of your attention back and forth that creates a problem. PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland  You don’t want to multitask, but you do want to multi-purpose. PODCAST: Thought Talk @KarenFLeland

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Karen Leland is president of Sterling Marketing Group, a boutique branding & marketing firm. Her clients include LinkedIn, Twitter, & Google. She is best-selling author of nine traditionally published books, which have sold more than 450,000 copies. Her latest is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She writes for Inc.com. and spoken at Harvard, Stanford, and TedX. Website : https://sterlingmarketinggroup.com/about/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/between-the-lines-network/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/between-the-lines-network/support

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

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.

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

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.

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.

“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

Today I want to talk about something that universally impacts our productivity: self-interruption.  If you work in an office, it’s obvious that other people are sources of interruption. While those may be less of a productivity problem when working from home – kids, friends, partners, and even pets can easily provide sources of distraction – interruptions by others are only a part of the story. A great deal of the interruptions we experience are self-interruptions.  Here are a few of the most common ways this happens.  You are working on a project and suddenly remember an item to add to your to-do list. You stop what you are doing to write it down - or worse, you stop to do it.  An idea pops into your head and you start exploring it on the Internet - stop what you were doing and shift your attention to the thoughts circling your brain.  You get a ping on your social media and go down the rabbit hole of reading recent posts - an immediate productivity killer.  According to one study, 40% of the time when we’re interrupted we don’t return to the original task and instead wander off in a new direction. For the sake of productivity in these challenging times, here are four easy tips to greater productivity and avoiding self-interruption. Four tips to enjoy greater productivity by staying focused and on task, and by avoiding Self-Interruption Block out your calendar to focus on a particular project — 20 to 45 minutes is optimal. Make a commitment to ONLY work on that project during that time. Time yourself — if your ability to focus has diminished, timer apps can help keep you focused on one thing at a time. I usually set mine for 15 minutes at a time and commit to doing nothing else but what I have planned for that period.  Keep pen and paper at the ready — this way when an idea pops in, you won’t have to remember it, but you can also steer clear of putting it into an electronic device, which can lead to more distractions. Do your hardest task later in the day — a recent study showed that contrary to popular belief, self-interruptions tend to diminish as the day progresses. Tweetables and Quotes on Productivity Self-interruption involves stopping a task before it’s finished because you’ve switched your focus to a different task or you’ve gotten distracted by something. @KarenFLeland According to a study by Gloria Mark, 40% of the time when we’re interrupted we don’t return to the original task and instead wander off in a new direction. @KarenFLeland To stop interrupting yourself, try blocking out a defined window of time on your planner to focus on a particular project. @KarenFLeland If your ability to focus has diminished in direct proportion to the way you use social media, timing apps can really help strengthen your attention span. @KarenFLeland My 10th book — No Nonsense: Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done — will be out on December 31st, pre-order it today. @KarenFLeland Always keep pen and paper at the ready, it’ll help you be quick about jotting down notes and it’ll keep you away from electronic distractions. @KarenFLeland 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 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. 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.

I lead a webinar called How to Look Better, Feel More Comfortable and Be More Productive When Video Conferencing and something that’s brought up by a lot of executives, salespeople, and entrepreneurs I’m talking to is Zoom fatigue.   Today I want to talk about why and how Zoom fatigue happens as well as five easy ways to nip it in the bud. 5 Tips to avoid video call fatigue   Stop staring at yourself — You look fine, you sound fine, use the app’s functionality to only see others in the call   Take a break between calls — schedule a 10-15-minute break between calls, get up, and walk around.   Go audio-only, try the Walk-N-Talk and really try to stick to the timing of the call. 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   Do you feel you or your team could benefit from some training to look better, feel more comfortable, and be more productive when video conferencing?   I have a great hour or hour-and-a-half video webinar to help you hack your video conferencing calls. In this webinar, we not only cover how to avoid Zoom fatigue but also lighting, camera placement, colors, and clothes to wear as well as how to create more engagement.   Feel free to reach out at Karen@KarenLeland.com or go to my website and fill out the contact form at KarenLeland.com.

I often get called by CEOs who are interested in the added value of having a CEO brand that is separate from – but connected to – their businesses. In today’s Thought Talk podcast,, I’ll be discussing the three biggest mistakes I see when it comes to CEO branding as well as the three thought leadership categories CEOs sort into when it comes to their personal brands.   Tips for better CEO branding    CEO branding can’t be done as a  transactional relationship. You can’t delegate the crafting of it to a marketing director. It requires your direct participation and engagement.    CEO branding isn’t just PR — It requires not only reputation management, but also thought leadership, content marketing strategy, and last but not at all least, executive presence.   It takes work and effort, but not necessarily a great deal of time. Don’t  underestimate its value, and don’t let your CEO brand be decided by default. 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 Has this podcast inspired you to get your CEO brand in better shape? Fill out the contact form at KarenLeland.com and I will be happy to provide a complimentary consultation and discuss ways we might work together.

My guest today is Eddie Hull, the Associate Strategy Director of FutureBrand and he is here to help us understand the biggest takeaways from this year’s FutureBrand Index for entrepreneurs and small businesses.   To gain insight on how strong brand reputations are perceived and managed, listen for the six dimensions that are used for the study, as well as how the pandemic has changed how brands are seen. Tips For A Brand With Staying Power   Thought leadership — Move your thought leadership outside closed doors; companies highly placed in the index highlight their leaders.   Authenticity — Connect with your customers and build trust. People are starting to challenge the legitimacy of institutions and brands are no exception.   Trust — Building trust requires consistency and a clear purpose.   Adopt and integrate tech — You will need it to walk into the fourth industrial revolution. 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   Eddie Hull is the Associate Strategy Director of FutureBrand where he develops brand and communication strategies for companies such as Ford Motor Company, Allstate, Fidelity, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.   You can learn more about Eddie Hull on his LinkedIn.   Mentioned FutureBrand Index   Resources   Are you interested in firmly establishing your CEO or executive brand, expanding your influence, or becoming more of a thought leader in your field?   Consider my personal brand mapping strategy process. For more information on how we can work together to design and implement your personal CEO or Executive brand, give me a call for an initial consultation at no charge at 415-260-4615 or you can reach out to me at Sterling Marketing Group.

With COVID-19, more and more eyeballs are on us online, and our business and personal brands need to be sharp and effective. In today’s solo episode I will be busting the seven most common myths surrounding personal brands.    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   Mentioned   “The Brand Called You,” by Tom Peters — Fast Company Magazine   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, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question.   The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions. For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group.

Video marketing has the capacity to create a connection and tell a multifaceted story that just words or audio can’t always accomplish.    I’m joined today by Nina Froriep from Clock Wise Productions to discuss what it takes to drive a successful video marketing campaign for a small business, why you need to be creating video and the biggest mistakes to avoid.    Tips For Successful Video Marketing Online   Shorter is better — 90 seconds is ideal for a marketing video.   Choosing a platform — First, find out where your potential audience goes for their information, then show up there.   Biggest video marketing mistakes — Inconsistency, investing in too much equipment, and being too high-concept.   People like real people — be authentic, talk about what you know, be consistent, and give potential customers a feel for what it might be like to work with you.  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   Nina has seen it all from the early days on independent features, to big national TV commercials, corporate mega-shows, and many documentary films, including one she wrote, directed, and produced about Muslim kids in New York, called Abraham's Children. In short, there’s no film- or video-production scenario she hasn't taken care of.   Along the journey, she’s met many, many awesomely wonderful people and a few bad-asses. She’s worked with stars like Sophia Loren, John Malkovich, and Wynton Marsalis, she’s interviewed Fortune 500 CEOs, she’s worked on Emmy award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentaries, and produced hundreds of videos for uber-corporate shows.   She’s negotiated with teamsters, clients (big and small), actors, crew, children, police officers, a few dogs, and one snake.   You can learn more about Nina on her website.   Mentioned Clock Wise Productions Adobe Premiere iMovie InShot   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, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question.   The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions.   For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group.

Most people who choose independent work in the gig economy do so because they are pursuing career fulfillment, independence, and flexibility. But the trade-off is that you need to fend for yourself: withholding and remitting taxes, putting money aside for health insurance, retirement or paid sick leave, etc.   This can be overwhelming, but today I welcome Matthew Spoke, CEO of Moves Financial, to the show. Moves is a startup dedicated to helping independent workers achieve their financial goals.   We discuss what the gig economy is exactly, how it was expected to grow, and how COVID-19 impacted the timeline. We also touch on the increased demand for interim C-level executives and what the biggest pitfalls are for gig workers and the people who hire them.   Get to know the gig economy   Growing labor force trends: Economic and industry instability — More people will choose independent work as a primary choice or to diversify income in the coming decades. Increasing selection — More skills are being brought into the online marketplace every day.   Tips for Gig workers: Diversify — Make sure you have profiles on every platform to avoid your reputation being held hostage. Financial hygiene — Understand your income and live below your means so you can put money aside.   Tips for hiring gig workers: Do your due diligence — Investigate reviews to avoid the most common pain points. 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   Matthew Spoke is the Founder and CEO of Moves, a fintech company for the gig economy, and the Open Foundation, a not-for-profit designed to steward the Open Application Network (The OAN). For many years, Matthew has been a leading advocate for the potential social benefits of decentralized technologies in the world. Matthew has been an entrepreneur for five years, through which he’s had the opportunity to serve as a founding board member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance and a founding director of the Blockchain Technology Coalition of Canada. He’s also served as an advisor to governments on the regulatory implications of new technologies like blockchain on the future world of finance.   You can learn more about Matthew Spoke on Twitter and LinkedIn   Mentioned Moves Financial TaskRabbit Thumbtack   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, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question.   The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions. For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group.

My guest today is Plamen Russev, Founder of Webit, author of Power to the People — the New Marketing and the man who successfully rebranded a whole city — not a small feat in any capacity.   I’ve had the privilege to be both a panelist and a moderator at Webit’s events and I am always quite impressed by the quality and level of the people that agree to participate.   I’m very excited to finally have a chance to talk to Dr. Russev about how he came to be so well connected, what it took to shift a 20K attendee event to virtual in a matter of days, what it really takes to run successful events as well as the need to be more responsible to ensure a sustainable future for humanity. Tips   Having a strong team can make or break a launch — keep the right people around you and rely on their expertise.   Community, team, and platform are the three most important aspects of a successful virtual event.   Growing a network is hard work — Giving back, forgetting your ego, and trying to make a difference play a large part.   Don’t put your reputation and health at risk for an in-person event.   When it comes to social media, it’s all about authenticity and being yourself. 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. Plamen Russev is a Bulgarian serial entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist with over 25 years of experience in tech and innovation and founder of one of the world's largest and impactful communities of innovators, digerati, and world leaders — Webit.   He currently serves as the executive chairman of the Webit.Foundation — the organization behind the fastest growing tech events, Webit.Festivals. With the power of Webit and his personal global network, Dr. Russev is changing narratives about cities and entire countries, building one of the most powerful marketing and rebranding campaigns.   Plamen Russev was featured in hundreds of international and local media and blogs including The Economist, Entrepreneur.com, Bloomberg, CNBCe, Forbes, Venture Beat, CNN to name a few.   His diverse background in education and investments includes digital health, AI, blockchain, exponential technologies, building global brands, empowering women in business and politics, creating and developing self-sustainable and growing entrepreneurial ecosystems, and establishing cities and countries as innovation hubs, talent magnets, and investment destinations.   You can learn more about Plamen Russev on Twitter|LinkedIn|Facebook|Website   Book: Power to the People — the New Marketing, by Plamen Russev   Mentioned Webit Webit Conference   Resources   Are you looking to firmly establish your CEO or executive brand, expand your influence, or become more of a thought leader in your field? Consider my personal brand strategy mapping process and book a 30-minute complimentary phone consultation. For more information on designing and implementing your personal CEO or executive brand, contact me at Sterling Marketing Group.

Today Karen talks about tweeting your way to the top — how you can use Twitter to build your business, your book, or your brand online.   When you consider that 44% of Twitter users are between 18 and 34, that 69% are moms, and that 72% who follow a brand are likely to buy, it’s an opportunity you might not want to pass over. But like all social media, effectiveness boils down to a few factors that Karen breaks down in a comprehensive way for this short, informative episode.   Tips for Tweets   Relationships — Connect, expand, and maintain.   Generate leads and get attention — Twitter can give you access to people in your field, otherwise impossible to reach.   Branding and image building — Use Twitter to gain perspective on your own image.   Buzz and promo — It’s a great place to build some excitement over a new product.   Consistency is key — Posting should be done 2 to 4 times a day, 5 days a week.   Using Twitter strategically can be a real boon for marketing a book, business, product, or brand. If you find that it’s a good fit for you but you’d like more information after listening in to this podcast, feel free to reach out to karen@karenleland.com for a great little 30-minute audio workbook called Tweet Your Way to the Top. 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   Mentioned Miracle Foundation United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Caroline Boudreaux, a social entrepreneur and the Founder of the Miracle Foundation. The Foundation is committed to a family for every child in our lifetime.   Caroline and I take some time to talk about philanthropy and charity in trying times, the three Ts of philanthropy as well as the challenges nonprofits face compared to for profit businesses.  Tips    In 1989, the U.N. ratified the Rights of the Child — 12 measurable things kids need to reach their full potential and the life skills training the Miracle Foundation provides for children to activate their rights.   The three “Ts” of philanthropy — Caroline details the ways you can help even in times of financial instability.   The little girl on the wooden bed — Sheebani is the child that began it all 20 years ago, she is now in nursing school.   The double standards faced by nonprofits — paying for marketing and talent is called overhead. 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   Caroline Boudreaux is a social entrepreneur and Founder of the Miracle Foundation.   In May 2000, on Mother’s Day, Caroline’s life changed forever as she visited India for the first time and met a group of more than 100 orphaned children. The children were bald and filthy with empty-looking eyes — yet she saw their incredible potential. Since that day, she has committed her life to help orphaned children realize that potential.   Caroline is a firecracker Cajun who was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana and attended Louisiana State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Prior to her nonprofit work, she had a successful career in media advertising.   For her achievements with Miracle Foundation, Caroline was presented with the Hope Award in 2005, the Impact Award in 2008, and the United Nations Humanitarian Award in 2017. Caroline is a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum and has completed executive programs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Yale’s Jackson Institute for Diplomacy, and the India School of Business.   Caroline often speaks to heads of states, the press, and companies around the world.   Find out more and get in touch with Caroline on her Website|Twitter|LinkedIn|Instagram|Facebook|Youtube   Mentioned Miracle Foundation United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Joanna Burish joins the show today to share her expertise as a licensed holistic financial planner with Northwestern Mutual. Her family office focuses on three ways for her clients to have more power and control over their finances.   We discuss the importance of listening to your financial advisor, the difference between good debt and bad debt, the three things you absolutely need to have a handle on during this COVID pandemic, and how having a financial quarterback can really help keep you on track. Tips    Holistic VS siloed planning — The difference between having a quarterback or not for your team.   Finding the right holistic financial planner — Joanna explains what the right feeling should be between too safe and not safe enough to identify your holistic financial planner.   Short- and long-term plans — in times of COVID, make sure your fight-or-flight response is mitigated and you keep making decisions that align with your long term plan.   The three things you need to have a handle on right now — 1. Keyman insurance, 2. tax-free, tax-deferred, and whole life insurance and 3. portfolio allocation and diversification. 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   In 1997 Joanna Burish and her business partner launched a family business office delivering financial, legacy planning, and liability protection planning services to professional athletes and those in the Hollywood industry.   Joanna joined Fleming Development, working on a $350 million golf course community project in 2002 as Vice President and managed land planning and development, financing, marketing, and team building. In 2008, she joined Welton Enterprises Inc., a $130 million real estate company as Director of Finance and Development and became CEO in 2011.   Joanna was introduced to Karl Dettmann of Northwestern Mutual in 2015 and the two merged their practices into the family business office they have today. This full-service team offers business owners, artists, entrepreneurs, family businesses, and individuals a holistic and sustainable strategic planning process for business and personal family life and legacy goals.   Joanna is passionate about giving back to her community. In 2011, she founded The Brauds, a non-profit organization of female leaders mentoring and empowering each other. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin — Madison with a Major in Accounting, with a focus on Finance and Real Estate and in 2011 earned her MBA in Executive Business Management from here as well.   Find out more and get in touch with Joanna on her Website|Twitter|LinkedIn or call her direct line 608-662-3919.   Mentioned Northwestern Mutual The Power of Zero, Revised and Updated: How to Get to the 0% Tax Bracket and Transform Your Retirement, by David McKnight Resources   Today’s most successful CEOs, executives, and enterprises set their sights on developing a long-term rather than a short-term strategy for building their personal and business brands.   Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one CEO branding, marketing, and consulting? If so, you might want to consider renting my brain for a session.   During this one hour, no-holds-barred consulting call, I’ll get to the heart of your CEO brand marketing, social media, PR, and business development questions.   The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions. To schedule a CEO brand Rent My Brain session go to Sterling Marketing Group or email me directly at karen@karenleland.com.

Surprising Solutions to The Magical Thinking Messing up Our Productivity   Today’s episode is a little different. Instead of interviewing a guest, I’m going to share about something I’ve recently encountered with clients and that I’m dealing with myself.    After a call with a CEO client, I realized that many overachievers suffer from the same productivity issue: magical thinking.   Like many of us, my high-performing CEO client expected herself to be at her maximum amount of productivity all the time, no matter the circumstances.   I invite you to take a moment to consider how to overcome this common issue during a short episode that gets to the source of the problem and that also provides concrete actions you can start taking, as of today, to inject a dose of reality into your daily to-do list.  Tips    Be aware of the impact of circumstances on focus and productivity — top of mind are upcoming elections, COVID-19, unemployment, economic uncertainty, working from home, and social unrest.   Keep in mind that tasks are never singular — Most seemingly two-step tasks are in reality four to eight-step ones.   Inject some reality into your daily routine by lowering your productivity bar.  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 new book No Nonsense Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done will be coming out in paperback and Kindle on December 1st, 2020, but it is available for preorder right now.   This book will help you fight distraction and find your focus, go for your goals, and master online life. Take a moment to check it out here.

Evan Horowitz is CEO and Co-Founder of the creative studio Movers+Shakers in Brooklyn New York and I am happy to have him on the podcast to help wrap my head around TikTok, a platform that is about more than just dog videos.   Tune in for an engaging chat about what brands the platform is best suited for, what not to do on TikTok, and how to best leverage user participation. Tips    TikTok is primarily a top-of-funnel campaign platform and is best suited for consumer products — multiply on-brand customer touchpoints in order to get the sale.   Leverage user participation in creative ways — Evan shares the story of his ELF Cosmetics viral campaign.   Be native to the platform, don’t copy-paste — show up in a way that makes sense with the conversations people are already having.   Music and casual esthetics are key to TikTok — don’t forget the tone either, this platform is a decidedly optimistic place. 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   Evan is on a quest to make every day more awesome than the one before, and to help others do the same. You’ll probably find him building a business, giving a talk on business growth, or perfecting his iced chai recipe.   In the pursuit of his passions, Evan continually pushes his limits. He has grown hundred-million-dollar business units in multiple industries, broken records in social justice campaigns, rapidly built multiple companies, and even invented a new theorem in mathematics.   To build the most meaningful life, Evan is always seeking methodologies that allow us to unlock more of our potential. He’s spent thousands of hours studying and practicing the intersection of personal growth and entrepreneurial leadership. He regularly speaks for large groups, and he trains successful entrepreneurs one-on-one. Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs recently tapped Evan to serve as Entrepreneur-in-Residence.   Evan’s newest venture is Movers+Shakers, a niche creative agency that’s shattering engagement records. They use original music and dance to tell brand stories, and delight viewers. Movers+Shakers’ work has been featured in Times Square, and many of their campaigns have passed 10 million views.   Evan earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.   You can learn more about Jeff on Twitter|LinkedIn|Instagram|Facebook|Website   Movers+Shakers   Mentioned TikTok   Resources   Most companies are so busy working on their day-to-day business that they often don’t have the time or the knowledge they need to do the branding and marketing required to build their business.   At Sterling Marketing Group, we provide you with the front end consulting and back end implementation you need to get your message out, and we’ll sit down and help you figure out a solid strategy so that your time and your money is well spent.   If you're interested in talking to us about how we might assist you in your branding and marketing, go to karenleland.com or give me a call at (415) 260-4615.

Jeff Wald is the co-Founder and President of WorkMarket, an ADP company, as well as the author of the book The End of Jobs: The Rise of on Demand Workers and Agile Corporations.   He comes on the show today to discuss the way COVID-19 has precipitated some of the changes forecasted for the future of work, as well as what you as a business owner or leader need to do to prepare for the future of the American workforce.   We touch on subjects ranging from the absence of retraining and its link to populism and nationalism, the advent of cobots and AI to democracy and technology being the way forward through the future of the American workforce. Tips and Thoughts for Making the Best of the 4th Industrial Revolution   A job that has more than 50% repetitive high-volume-component tasks is historically automated away. This should account for 10 to 15% of jobs in the U.S., over the next 10 years.   Have a retraining plan — revolutions are never smooth affairs; at the onset of a 4th industrial revolution (or the first services revolution as Jeff explains) the biggest challenge remains to retrain the workforce.   Organize employee management — systematizing your labor interactions may well be the most important thing you can do to prepare for the coming changes.   Prepare for an agile workforce — on-demand is not the future of work, the data points to fluid, team-based “work from anywhere” jobs being the future, this comes with its own set of remote working challenges. 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   Jeff Wald has a long track record as a successful entrepreneur across the technology and services landscape. He has successfully built and sold multiple tech companies, including SpinBack to Buddy Media, which was subsequently purchased by Salesforce.com for $800 million.   Jeff has a deep background and passion for talent management and is widely recognized as a thought leader on labor force evolution. He speaks regularly on the subject of modernizing workforces and the role of contingent labor and has been a contributing writer to Forbes on the topic. Jeff holds a B.S. and an M.S. from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.   You can learn more about Jeff on Twitter|LinkedIn   Book: The End of Jobs: The Rise of on Demand Workers and Agile Corporations, by Jeff Wald   The Birthday Rules: Critical Conversations to Have with Your Children (Ages 6-16), by Jeff Wald   The Future of Work Prize   Mentioned World Economic Forum : Preparing for the Future of Work   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, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question.   The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions. For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group.

Today I welcome Bob Roth to the podcast. He has been teaching transcendental meditation for the past 45 years, and currently serves as the CEO of the David Lynch Foundation. Bob is also the author of the 2018 New York Times Bestseller Strength in Stillness.   I used to be so-so about meditation and had actually tried several different types – but none of them seemed to stick.  When I found TM I loved how easy it was and how calm I felt when done mediatating.    Tune in for a science-packed episode on why and how TM works, what the genius lounge is, and new, compelling reasons to get 20 minutes of meditation in, every day.     Tips, and why TM makes a difference   There are three different kinds of meditation and they yield different results — Bob Roth explains focused attention (Gamma brain waves), open monitoring (Theta brain waves), and self-transcending (Alpha 1 brain waves).   Dropping the disorder from Post-Traumatic Stress. PTS leads to insomnia, hyperarousal, anxiety, and chronic depression. And it isn’t only generated through combat.   TM reboots your prefrontal cortex. When stress activates the fight-or-flight response, your amygdala shuts off your prefrontal cortex. This means you can no longer access executive functions (planning ahead, judgment, sense of self, etc.)   There are 1,440 minutes in a day — Try waking up 25 minutes early in the morning to get your mediation in.    Access your genius lounge — Creativity isn’t just art, it is the ability to come up with creative solutions to seemingly intractable problems and it is the product of three distinct networks in the brain: the executive control center, the default mode network, and the salient network.     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   Bob Roth is one of the most experienced and sought-after meditation teachers in the world. Over the past forty-five years, Bob has taught Transcendental Meditation to many thousands of people, including billionaire CEOs, Hollywood celebrities, combat-scarred veterans, and inner-city youth. He currently serves as the CEO of the David Lynch Foundation and also directs the Center for Leadership Performance. Bob is the host of the SiriusXM radio show, Success Without Stress, and speaks frequently about the science of meditation to industry leaders at such gatherings as Google Zeitgeist, Aspen Ideas Festival, Wisdom2.0, and Summit.   You can learn more about Bob Roth on Twitter|LinkedIn|Instagram|Facebook   TM.org   Book: Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation, by Bob Roth   Mentioned The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, by Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.   Resources   Are you looking to firmly establish your CEO or executive brand, expand your influence, or become more of a thought leader in your field? Consider my personal  brand strategy mapping process and book a 30-minute complimentary phone consultation.   For more information on designing and implementing your personal CEO or executive brand, contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group.        

Our guest today is Karen Tiber Leland, the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding & marketing strategy firm helping individuals and companies build stronger personal, team and business brands. Clients include Apple, AT&T, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google.  She is the best-selling author of nine books including The Brand Mapping [...] The post The Necessary Power of Business & Personal Branding appeared first on AuthorExpertWire Podcast.

I am happy to welcome my friend and colleague Susan Harrow on the show; she is a top media coach and author of the best-selling book Selling yourself Without Selling Your Soul.    Susan has written the guide to getting into O, The Oprah Magazine. Tune in for a quick-paced episode where you will learn what it takes to get your product, book or article  into O Magazine.    Tips On Getting Into O Magazine    Oprah is not a magic pill — Everything has to be in alignment for your offer to work, whether it’s for O, The Oprah Magazine or anything. It’s not just your website, your packaging, or your videos; your brand is YOU.   Find where you fit in — 500 to 700 books are submitted each week and they choose only 15–20 each month. Competition is steep.   Oprah always has the final word — Pitch, packaging, preparation, and perseverance. You really have to know your stuff and understand what they’re looking for.     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   For the past 30 years, I’ve been the brains + heart behind Harrow Communications Inc., a media coaching + marketing agency based in Northern California. I’m also the author of Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul® (HarperCollins) and a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and Psychology Today. My work is seen on the CNBC special, The Oprah Effect and across TV, radio, the web + more.   I help executives, entrepreneurs, authors, speakers, start-ups, CEOs, coaches, and consultants clarify their messages, set up their systems, craft their signature sound bites + get life-changing media exposure so that their media appearances result in business. If they don’t yet have a website, traffic, products, or a platform, I show them how to get those too. I also serve as a pitch deck coach for founders raising funds from Seed to Series C.   You can learn more about Susan Harrow on Twitter|LinkedIn|Instagram|Facebook|Website   Susan’s book: Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul: A Woman’s Guide to Promoting Herself, Her Business, Her Product, or Her Cause with Integrity and Spirit Free guide: How to be Featured in O Magazine   Mentioned O, The Oprah Magazine   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, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question.   The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions.   For more information on my service offer, contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group.  

This week's episode is called "Brand Management in Uncertain Times".  Our guest, Karen Leland, is the President at Sterling Marketing Group. Listen now for a lot of really great advice on brand framework, brand development, and even care and feeding of your brand, whether it's your personal brand, your team brand, your corporate brand. A lot of what we're talking about today is in her book, The Brand Mapping Strategy.  Check it out, for sure. We talk about building stronger personal, business, and team brands. I ask Karen to talk about those and how those are different and why it's important to differentiate between them. Everyone has a personal brand and in the world we're in today, I mean, think about it, there are eyeballs than ever looking at people online. I mean, especially, with where we are now. When we're working with teams to build better alignment between sales and marketing teams, we're very clear with people upfront that the cultural impact, the cultural requirements for change are critical.  We have to be able to clarify very articulately and in language, for ourselves and for other people, what exactly is our brand.  And my sense is, there's a level of regular disciplined, care and maintenance that goes along with this. I ask Karen, "What does that typically look like?" "What are the ways that people, day to day, week to week, need to think about managing their brand?" This and a lot more!  Read the full transcript on our blog starting Monday, 6/22/20 at 6am PST.  Sales Pipeline Radio is sponsored and produced by Heinz Marketing on the Funnel Radio Channel.  I interview the best and brightest minds in sales and Marketing.  If you would like to be a guest on Sales Pipeline Radio send an email to Sheena.

My guest, Rachael Robertson, led a team of 18 people through a 12-month research expedition in Antarctica. She was chosen to lead this expedition after a boot camp interview process measured her ability to lead with empathy.   I’m excited to talk to her about what it means to lead in extreme conditions, what we can learn from her experience as we progressively open up post-pandemic, and how we can all better our leadership practices in the face of a new world.   From the challenges of confinement in months of full darkness and full daylight, we talk about the importance of routine in keeping people’s mental health optimal, the necessity for facts over emotions, and how to build a team from strangers with diverse backgrounds in one of the toughest environments on the planet. Tune in for an in-depth discussion on what it means to lead in extreme environments. Tips For Leading in Tough Environments   Leading through a crisis — Rachael’s team’s plane crashed during her time in Antarctica — Be poised and calm, keep your head up and your shoulders down, and be careful with your choice of words (concern and worry are not the same).   Respect trumps harmony — Rachael explains how the “Bacon Wars” boiled down to respect. She also touches on the importance of challenging the idea, not the person, and only with facts.   No triangles — when you’re under stress and pressure, the last thing you need is someone complaining about you behind your back and absolute words are a no-no (everyone, no one always).   Honesty resonates with people — It is powerful for a leader to admit that they don’t know something with certainty, be open to admitting when you don’t know something and be quick with the information when you have it; it will build trust.   Keeping your head while on duty for 12 months, 24 hours a day — Journal, it is very cathartic and being a leader can be lonely; reach out to peers so you have someone to talk to. 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   After 15 years of leading diverse and remote teams and business units, I took the jump and lead the 58th annual expedition to the edge of the world: Antarctica. It was a tough, grueling and exhausting year, but ultimately extremely rewarding and fruitful.   The intensity of this leadership role, where the leader is on-duty all day, every day, for 12 months with no respite, gave me the opportunity to road-test my leadership ideas the hard way — without the luxury of peers, a desk, or high-speed broadband! It was a “leadership laboratory” in the most extreme, hostile environment on Earth.   You can learn more about Rachael Robertson on Twitter|LinkedIn|Instagram|Facebook|Website   Book: Respect Trumps Harmony: Why being liked is overrated and constructive conflict gets results, by Rachael Robertson   Mentioned Myers Briggs Australian Antarctic Division YPO Resources   Are you looking to firmly establish your CEO or executive brand, expand your influence, or become more of a thought leader in your field? Consider my personal brand strategy mapping process and book a 20-minute complimentary phone consultation. For more information on my service offer, contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group.

Guy Kawasaki is the Chief Evangelist of Canva and the creator of The  Remarkable People podcast.   In this episode of Thought Talk Guy shares his thoughts on how bad times make good companies and discussed ideas from his recently published Youtube video “The Art of Perseverance: Surviving the Pandemic.” In this episode, we talk about everything from taking the time to organize your inbox (and toolbox) to actionable ways to keep your business afloat while battling the feelings of failure that may arise from the current economic circumstances. Strap in, and get ready for a good laugh on top of a hearty dose of sound advice. Tips For Persevering Through This Pandemic   Run the right race —Entrepreneurship today isn’t a sprint or even a marathon, it’s more like a decathlon.   Focus on cash — right now, your marketing isn’t about being cool, it’s about staying afloat; there will be no white knights and silver bullets, you are the only one who can make or break your business; don’t count on help. (If you get it, it’ll be a boon!)   Cut deeper than you think — easy to say and hard to do but failure to cut spending deeply now, can create regret later.    Tap your customer base — they are the most reliable source of business you have and skip the middleman for any transaction; go direct.   Find your pivot for the future by asking the question: Therefore what? — this is probably my favorite of Guy’s tips from our interview.   “YOU CANNOT DO AN APPLES TO APPLES TRANSLATION OF WHAT YOU WOULD DO IN FRONT OF A ROOM IN A SPEECH, ON VIRTUAL, IT DOES NOT WORK.” — Karen Tiber Leland 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 I Instagram I Facebook   About Our Guest Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva and the creator of Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People podcast. He is a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz and an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley) and adjunct professor of the University of New South Wales. He was the chief evangelist of Apple and a trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation. He is also the author of Wise Guy, The Art of the Start 2.0, The Art of Social Media, Enchantment, and eleven other books. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University, an MBA from UCLA, and an honorary doctorate from Babson College.   You can learn more about Guy Kawasaki on his Twitter|LinkedIn|Instagram|Youtube|Website   Mentioned Canva The Art of Perseverance: Surviving the Pandemic”, by Guy Kawasaki Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People podcast Calendly Resources Today’s most successful CEOs, executives and enterprises set their sights on developing a long-term rather than a short-term strategy for building their personal and business brands.   My latest book The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand, really helps entrepreneurs, business owners, CEOs, and executives create their brands by design rather than by default. It also helps them gain greater influence in their industries and companies by becoming thought leaders in their field.   To find out more and order the book, go to Amazon.com   For more information on my service offer, contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group.

Instagram used to be all about the pretty pictures, but Gayneté Jones, CEO of G.A.M.E. Changing Industries says Millennials have altered the social media landscape.      In this episode we discuss the way Millennials approach Instagram, how the way they purchase is shaping the new world of business online and why digital products are the future.  Gaynete also shares her actionable tips for building a stronger Instagram audience.   Join us for an engaging and enjoyable conversation about how you can increase your social reach on Instagram.  Tips For Building an Instagram Audience The four audience-building must-haves — micro-posts; shareability, triggers and humor.   Who is your ideal customer? — Find who they are following, pick complementary businesses, and reach out to collaborate on content.    Ads are not enough — be of use to your audience: What do they want? Find a way to solve their problem.   Don’t fear the learning curve — there is no one-size-fits-all: you will have to iterate and fail before you find what works for your audience. 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 I Instagram I Facebook   About Our Guest Gayneté (Edwards) Jones is a leading Millennial mentor, keynote speaker, best-selling author, podcaster, founder of G.A.M.E. Changing Industries, and creator of Cubicle Ditch Academy.   Having studied the behaviors, fears, and desires of Millennials (and being a Millennial herself), she is the go-to Freedom Slayer to assist this often misinterpreted generation to shine brightly.   ​Gayneté’s mission to assist Millennial women to turn their passions into profit, creating a life of comfort, fulfillment, and freedom for themselves, has allowed her to be featured in the likes of Yahoo, MSN Money, Huffington Post, Medium, Refinery29, Thrive Global, Black Enterprise,  Success.com, and many others. She regularly serves thousands of ambitious women globally through her newsletter, membership, trainings, podcast, and programs.   You can learn more about Gayneté Jones on Twitter|LinkedIn|Instagram|Website   Lucky Code: A Guide For Winning at Life, by Gayneté Jones The Alchemist, by Paulo Coehlo   Mentioned G.A.M.E. Changing Industries Cubicle Ditch Academy 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, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question.   The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions.   For more information on renting my brain contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group.

Today’s episode is densely packed with information, tips, and incredible insights on the current COVID19 crisis.    My guest today, Dr. David L. Katz, is a preventative medicine specialist and a globally recognized authority on lifestyle medicine. He is a regular guest expert on CNN, Fox News, and Bill Maher and he has just co-authored How to Eat with New York Times columnist Mark Bittman.   Strap in for a deep dive on how to imagine the future even in this state of crisis, what you can do right now to balance your immune system, the COVID-19 risk factors you can influence, and how to find your bearings when information and opinions are so profoundly polarized. Tips For Better Health, Balance and Clarity   Manage your risk — Dr. Katz says that aside from age, many of the risk factors for a severe COVID-19 illness can be potentially mitigated right now, including: weight, hypertension, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and inflammation.   Find your balance — Good immune systems are balanced, adjust what Dr. Katz calls the 6-cylinder engine of your lifestyle: Feet, Fork, Fingers, Sleep, Stress, Love.   Invest in yourself — In this time of loss of structure, build a program for your health: take better care of yourself. That’s one less thing you will have to worry about.    Reduce your stress — Be proactive about managing your stress levels. In addition to exercise, there are a myriad of free meditation, relaxation, and mindfulness tools online.   Diet ID — Normally a B2B tool, Dr. Katz has opened up his DietID tool to the public during the Coronavirus crisis; follow this link, take the quiz, and start optimizing your immunity through diet.  https://www.dietid.com   Stay informed with the facts.  Dr. Katz offers a few ideas on how to find reliable sources of information: look at credentials, training, and temperament, and don’t only shop for people who agree with you.  You can also visit True Health Initiative Total Harm Minimization for information and resources. 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 which 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 I Instagram I Facebook    About Our Guest David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM is a Preventive Medicine specialist and globally recognized authority on lifestyle medicine. He is the founding director of Yale University’s Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (1998-2019). The recipient of numerous awards for teaching, writing, and contributions to public health, Katz was a 2019 nominee for a James Beard Foundation Award in health journalism and has received three honorary doctorates. He holds multiple U.S. patents; has over 200 peer-reviewed publications; has published many hundreds of on-line and newspaper columns; and has authored/co-authored 17 books to date, including multiple editions of leading textbooks in both nutrition and preventive medicine. Recognized by colleagues as the “poet laureate of health promotion,” Katz has given keynote addresses in all 50 United States and in countries on six continents. He has appeared on most major media outlets and reaches a social media following of nearly one million.   He is the co-author with Mark Bittman of the acclaimed book How to Eat: All Your Food and Diet Questions Answered.   You can learn more about Dr. David Katz on Twitter|LinkedIn|Website   Mentioned “The Last Conversation You’ll Ever Need to Have About Eating Right,” by Mark Bittman and Dr. David L. Katz “Is Our Fight Against Coronavirus Worse Than the Disease?” by Dr. David L. Katz True Health Initiative Diet ID Cuisinicity 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, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question.   The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions.   For more information on renting my brain contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group.

How can we keep giving during the COVID-19 crisis, when many of us have seen our livelihoods negatively impacted? In order to address this question and shed light on how giving can change our lives, I welcome Jennifer Rose Santi to the show! Jenny founded the philanthropy services firm Saint Partners and has been a charity advisor to some of the wealthiest people on earth for the past 13 years. She is the author of the acclaimed book The Giving Way to Happiness: Stories & Science Behind the Life-Changing Power of Giving. She joins me in a discussion that ranges from keeping your gifts from becoming a burden, what wealthy and normal donors can learn from each other to the effects of giving on the brain! Tips For Giving Your Way To Happiness Charity isn’t only about money — you can give time (reaching out to a neighbor in times of crisis is a good example). The five ways giving will change you — find your purpose, find your calling, recover from trauma, build relationships, and feel significant. Align your philanthropy to your passion — Going beyond passive giving may be the key to finding joy in charity. The importance of others in your own growth — before passing, Maslow revised his pyramid of needs: beyond self-actualization lies self-transcendence. Experiment! If the charity doesn’t fit, don’t give up on giving; find a cause that suits you better.   “A CURRENT EXAMPLE OF SELF-TRANSCENDENCE IS BILL GATES AND THE WAY HE’S REALLY BEEN STEPPING UP AS A LEADER DURING COVID-19.” — Karen Tiber Leland, Sterling Marketing Group   “THE REALITY IS THAT EVEN FOR PHILANTHROPY, BRANDING MATTERS.” — Karen Tiber Leland, Sterling Marketing Group 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 which 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 About Our Guest Jenny Santi is a philanthropy advisor to some of the world’s most generous philanthropists and celebrity activists. In 2013 she founded Saint Partners, a philanthropy services firm founded upon the vision that great wealth should lead to great philanthropy. For five years beginning at only 28, she served as Head of UBS’s award-winning Philanthropy Services department based in Southeast Asia. She holds an MBA from INSEAD, attended the Wharton School of Business and New York University’s Center for Philanthropy & Fundraising, and is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy. She serves on the board of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation (USA).   She is the author of the acclaimed book The Giving Way to Happiness: Stories & Science Behind the Life-Changing Power of Giving.   You can learn more about Saint Partners or about Jenny on Twitter|Facebook|LinkedIn Resources Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one branding and marketing and consulting? If so, you might want to consider booking a Rent My Brain session. During this one hour, no-holds-barred consulting session, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question. The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions. For more information on renting my brain contact me directly at karen@karenleland.com or visit Sterling Marketing Group.

Welcome to the first Thought Talk chat Tuesday, a weekly informal discussion with some of my close friends and colleagues. I am so very happy to welcome my guest Michelle Young — a great, great friend, enough so that we have had to promise not to swear! Tune in for a fun chat about why I said Michelle couldn’t call herself a life coach, how this COVID-19 quarantine is an introvert’s heaven, and what Michelle and I plan to do with this time that has been given to us.   Chat Tuesday Tidbits! My quarantine time well spent: Avoid COVID-19. Improve your business. Broaden your horizons through art or culture.   Michelle’s quarantine time well spent: Put your back-burner projects back in front. Honor who you are and what you want; it matters.   “I DON’T CARE IF YOU’RE RIGHT OR LEFT, GOVERNOR CUOMO IS A SHINING LIGHT OF LEADERSHIP RIGHT NOW.” Karen Tiber Leland, Sterling Marketing Group 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 which 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 About Michelle Young Michelle Young is a speaker, teacher, coach. She is a wife, a mother, an artist, a writer. She is a traveler. She is excited to listen to you, quick to laugh with you; find out more by getting in touch with her through her Website |Facebook |Instagram |Twitter |Pinterest |LinkedIn or email her at MichelleAtPlay@gmail.com   Resources Shoutout for Noom — the eating like a normal human program. For more information about Karen Tiber Leland and Sterling Marketing Group please contact karen@karenleland.com.

When one of my colleagues first suggested that I should interview the CEO and President of Hollman Lockers — I wondered how much is there really to say about lockers? Turns out quite a bit. Join me today for a chat with serial entrepreneur and innovator Travis Hollman. We discuss his leadership style, business as a force for good, and the future of privacy in public spaces.  We will also discuss the mind-boggling use of data and technology in lockers today and ways that leading-edge materials and manufacturing may prove to be useful in preventing or containing the future spread of viruses.    Tips On Business as a Force for Good Find a niche that suits you and learn the success mechanisms of your business. Build a company culture that gives back — Travis shares his own company’s initiatives: Hollman HELPs. Take care of your employees; they are family — Travis shares his approach to employment during COVID-19.   Be a leader, do the right thing and support small businesses around you in any way you can.   “WE HAVE TO LOOK AT BUSINESS AS A FORCE FOR GOOD AND LEADERSHIP.” Karen Tiber Leland, Sterling Marketing Group   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 which 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 About Travis Hollman Travis Hollman has been a serial “funpreneur,” businessman, innovator, and philanthropist for more than 20 years. Currently, Travis serves as President and CEO of Hollman Inc., the world’s largest manufacturer of sports, fitness, and office lockers. Hollman’s leading-edge locker and workspace solutions can be found in the locker rooms of the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, the Dallas Mavericks, The New York Times, and the J.P. Morgan Chase Park Avenue offices. Long before taking over the family business in 2011, Travis’s products and projects earned recognition on national television and in publications such as Good Morning America, The Today Show, ABC News, USA Today, and Fortune magazine. Travis has always put purpose over profit, showing the world that you can have fun in business and be a source of greater good for the local community. Find out more about Travis and Hollman. Resources Are you looking to firmly establish your CEO or executive brand, expand your influence or become more of a thought leader in your field? Consider my personal brand strategy mapping process and book a 20-minute complimentary phone consultation. For more information about Karen Tiber Leland and Sterling Marketing Group please contact karen@karenleland.com.

Today’s Thought Talk show is about overturning adversity in the workplace. I’m happy to welcome Laura Huang — Associate Professor at Harvard, the author of the new book From Adversity to Advantage. The book is based on her research on interpersonal relationships and implicit bias in entrepreneurship and in the workplace. Tune in for insight on topics ranging from the biases that women should be on the lookout for when pitching projects — and what to do with them, what “Hard work, Plus” and E.D.G.E. could mean for your career, tips and tricks to get a clearer picture of people’s perceptions of you, and why doing business as usual right now might mean the end of some of your longest vendor relationships. In addition, will explore the ramifications of the current coronavirus pandemic crisis as new constraints force adaptation.    Tips For Building Your Edge   When it comes to working in times of adversity, go back to the basics — Determine what your core role is?   Have a clear understanding of how you are perceived and work at flipping those perceptions to your advantage — try the 10 No’s exercise.   Don’t allow first impressions to dominate — be proactive when meeting new people.   Don’t wait for the system to change to take advantage of the opportunities in front of you.   “CREATE YOUR BRAND BY DESIGN RATHER THAN BY DEFAULT” Karen Tiber Leland, Sterling Marketing Group.  About Karen Tiber Leland    Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEO’s, 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 which 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 About Laura Huang Laura Huang is a professor at Harvard Business School and has spent her academic career studying interpersonal relationships and implicit bias in entrepreneurship and in the workplace as well as in the investment decisions of financiers such as angel investors and VCs. Her research has been featured in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, and Nature, and she was named one of the 40 Best Business School Professors Under the Age of 40 by Poets & Quants. She previously held positions in investment banking, consulting, and management for organizations such as Standard Chartered Bank, IBM Global Services, and Johnson & Johnson. Laura received an MS and BSE in electrical engineering, both from Duke University, an MBA from INSEAD, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine. Support your local bookstores and find your copy of Edge: Turning Adversity into Advantage, by Laura Huang.   Resources Are you concerned about keeping your business on the upswing in these difficult times? Give us a call at Sterling Marketing Group.   For a limited time, we’re offering a 50% discount on Rent My Brain sessions to talk about how bootstrap branding and micro-marketing can be used  to keep your business moving through tough times. For more information about Karen Tiber Leland and Sterling Marketing Group please contact karen@karenleland.com

If you’re a first-time entrepreneur, you might think of company branding as a logo, website, or product packaging. Others think of branding as a slogan or mantra, and while all of these are important marketing tools, they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Here to give us a comprehensive look inside building your business’s brand strategy is Karen Leland, president of Sterling Marketing Group, branding expert, and best-selling author of nine business books. Karen has worked in over 50 countries with clients like Apple, Google, and AT&T and has been featured on CNN, Bloomberg, and Oprah. https://www.myasbn.com/small-business/marketing/brand-mapping-strategies-seven-core-elements-powerful-business-karen-leland-sterling-marketing-group/

Karen LeLand is the Founder and President of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding and marketing strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business and team brands. She is the bestselling author of eight books which have sold over 350,000 copies. Quotes To Remember: “The more specific you can be, the more chances you are going to have on getting that audiences looking for you.” “If you want to go really serious on Pinterest, then you should be going out and taking an iPhone photography class and learning to shoot.” “The best camera is the one you have with you.” “You have to really curate what you are putting up.”   What You’ll Learn: How Pinterest Stands Out from Other Social Media Platforms Using Pinterest to Generate Traffic Using Pinterest to Grow Email List Importance of Having Quality Images   Key Links From The Show: Karen’s Site Email Karen Canva   Recommended Books: Content Marketing Secrets by Marc Guberti Podcast Domination by Marc Guberti Ultimate Guide to Pinterest for Business by Karen Leland Pinterest for Business by Karen Leland The Brand Mapping Strategy by Karen Leland Ego Free Leadership by Brandon Black and Shayne Hughes

A lot of people think of branding as either the visuals or what we call the brand identity – the logo, the website, the colors, or the fonts. Some think of branding as an elevator pitch, their one or two-sentence thing they say about their brand. Karen Leland, founder of the branding and marketing strategy firm, Sterling Marketing Group, says both are an important part of your brand, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. In her book, The Brand Mapping Strategy, Karen gives people all the under-parts of the iceberg and the ocean around it that is equally important for people to know about their brand in order to effectively design a strategy to start to put that into motion. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here’s How » Join the Promote, Profit, Publish Community today: superbrandpublishing.com Promote, Profit, Publish on Facebook Promote, Profit, Publish on YouTube Follow Juliet on Twitter Follow Juliet on LinkedIn Take the Quiz!

During this hour with Marnie and guest, Karen Leland, you’ll discover: The 5 Functions of Brand Alignment How to Walk the Branding Talk How to Line Up All Your P’s & Q’s: 3 Ways Customers Judge Your Company Brand Why Brand Is Everyone’s Business: All Employees as Brand Ambassadors How to Let Brand Energy Drive Brand Design How to Utilize the Power of Teams to Drive Continuous Brand Improvement How to Create Narrative-Driven Standards Over the past 25 years, Karen Leland has successfully worked as a management and marketing consultant, has written 8 books, spoken and been interviewed around the world and is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group. www.SterlingMarketingGroup.com.  

Today We Tackle the Question: What’s the Difference Between Branding, Marketing and Networking? Karen Leland is the president of Sterling Marketing Group specializing in branding and marketing strategy and implementation. Her clients include: Apple, American Express, Twitter, LinkedIn, Marriott Hotels, and others. She is the bestselling author of eight business books and writes a marketing […]

Karen founded Sterling Marketing Group and helps Google, Twitter and others build stronger brands. She's the author of The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. Top 3 Value Bombs: 1. You don’t need to do everything and be everywhere to build your brand — just pick, at most, 3 strategies and go deep there. 2. When in doubt, go back to your basic principles. 3. Everything comes in systems. Visit Karen’s website Sponsors: TransferWise: A multi-currency account that makes it cheaper to pay - and get paid - in foreign currencies. Join the 2m people who are already saving on international transaction fees! Head to TransferWise.com/fire to try it for free! Go To Webinar: My BEST marketing strategy? Hosting LIVE WEBINARS. And Go To Webinar has the reliability and the features you need to deliver webinars your audience will love. For more information, visit GoToWebinar.com/fire!

Today on the podcast, I welcome to the show Karen Tiber Leland president of the Sterling Marketing Group.  At Sterling, Karen helps, CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs build stronger personal, team and business brands.   Karen is the bestselling author of multiple books, including the one that will be the topic of today's podcast, The Brand Mapping Strategy, she is a sought-after keynote speaker and has even been an actress with experiences in voiceover as well. The Marketing Mastery Pyramid In addition to the Brand Mapping Strategy, Karen has also developed a 3 step marketing mastery pyramid to help you understand at a high level the path you need to take as you begin to brand yourself.  The three steps listed below are discussed in detail on today's show. 1 - Platform Development 2 - Brand and Buzz Building 3 - Thought /Industry Leadership   The Brand Mapping Process During her work with individuals, Karen discovered that many of her clients were trying to define their brand using the classic elevator pitch.  Karen realized that your brand is much deeper than an elevator pitch which is why she developed the Brand Mapping Strategy after several years of working with her clients.  The Brand Mapping Process focuses on 7 core elements all of which we discuss in details. Do you need to boost your CareerKred? Pick up the book CareerKred and learn the 4-simple steps you can take to build your digital brand and boost credibility in your career. Do you know what your online profile says about you?  Find out by taking my Digital Brand Quiz. Once completed, you'll receive a score between 0 and 100.  Discover your score and the ways you can start to improve your score today! Take the Digital Brand Quiz CONNECT WITH RYAN LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook

Which emerging trends in CEO branding could impact you in the New Year? Listen- on-the-go to Episode 98. We speak with Karen Tiber Leland, President of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding and marketing strategy and implementation firm. Clients include AT&T, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, Twitter and others. Karen is the best-selling author of tenRead More The post Emerging Trends in CEO Branding appeared first on Business Advancement.

Often when we think about branding, we think about image most of all. Branding is so much more than that. Excellent branding is a system of consciously delivered strategies. It's practically your business model, representing who you are, who you want to attract and the direction of your business. So much more than the image! Today we're discussing a Brand Mapping Strategy with 7-specific elements you want in your business and personal brand. Karen is president of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, and marketing firm helping CEO's, executives and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business and team brands. She also expresses herself as an author, speaker, painter, photographer, and actor. Karen has been interviewed for her advice on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC and Oprah. A few of her clients include AT&T, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, Twitter, and she has spoken at a wide variety of groups including the Young Presidents' Organization, American Management Association, and Direct Marketing Association. Karen is most inspired by people, businesses, and organizations that are doing something because it's their gift or way to make a contribution. Highlights - 7-elements of brand mapping Key to Marketing Success today Branding system defined Embracing your challenges and gifts   Resources Grammarly Getting your point across in business can be tricky. Grammarly uses a browser extension to check your text for spelling and grammatical errors anytime you write something online to help you avoid mistakes in comments, tweets, and status updates. Get access to your own personal editor 24/7!  Regain time and transform your commute, workout or chores into fun, productive ME TIME! Audible books are offering a free audio book, try it, like it and stay or cancel and keep your free Audible book.  Free Webinar: I'll be sharing how to leverage your creative side and use it as an advantage in business. Join me for my free webinar, How To Succeed In Business Marketing Yourself and Your Talent. Register go to cwwebinar.com or text warrior to number 33444 to unleash your creative thinking to propel your business forward. Guest Contact - Website  Twitter  Facebook Books The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand  Mentions - “Where there is no margin, there is no mission.” The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories Christopher Booker Gary Vaynerchuk Elizabeth Gilbert How Business is Like Dating Jordan Harbinger  Gift:Propel your business forward and register for Week of The Warrior for free. A 7-day mini-course to learn how to leverage your creative powers.   

And how about getting your work done well and efficiently, or having more free time? If ANY of these ARE important to you, then you won't want to miss my conversation with my guest expert, Karen Tiber Leland. Karen is a marketing, branding, and time management consultant, the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, and the author of 10 best-selling books, including two on time management.Hear Karen (1) provide great tips on handling e-mail and video calls; (2) relay practical, enduring, and effective time-saving strategies; (3) discuss the global impact COVID-19 has had on our dealing with time, (4) predict what time management TRENDS and challenges may lie ahead, and more! Looking Forward is THE podcast about global TRENDS, OPPORTUNITIES, and the FUTURE, and how YOU might capitalize on those: THINK.. jobs, careers, business start-ups, ventures, investments, life enrichment. Guests are experts in their field, and many are senior executives, household names, authors, and/or from prestigious universities or similar organizations.Looking Forward offers a smart and affordable way for advertisers to promote their products or services, especially given its positive spin and informative, entertaining, and wholesome content. It's also great source for media outlets, publishers, etc. to include as part of their content. We can customize our content for YOUR target audience. Some, such as TAPinto.net, are already doing that!For more information or to comment on any Looking Forward episode, please contact www.jeff-ostroff.com