Must Reads
There is so much to read, so much to know, so many sources to follow. And the volume of news and information just keeps growing exponentially. How to keep up? Even more, how to rediscover the serendipity of learning something new and interesting for its own sake?
Here, for your enjoyment and interest, are the articles Temin and Company considers “must reads.” They are primarily on the topics of reputation and crisis management, the media, leadership and strategy, perception and psychology, self-presentation, science, girls and women, organizational behavior and other articles of interest.
They are listed below with the most recent articles first, and to the side, by category.
We hope you enjoy them and would appreciate your comments. And whenever you have any favorite articles for us to add, please let us know so that we might include them for other readers to enjoy.
There is so much to read, so much to know, so many sources to follow. And the volume of news and information just keeps growing exponentially. How to keep up? Even more, how to rediscover the serendipity of learning something new and interesting for its own sake?
Here, for your enjoyment and interest, are the articles Temin and Company considers “must reads.” They are primarily on the topics of reputation and crisis management, the media, leadership and strategy, perception and psychology, self-presentation, science, girls and women, organizational behavior and other articles of interest.
They are listed below with the most recent articles first, and to the side, by category.
We hope you enjoy them and would appreciate your comments. And whenever you have any favorite articles for us to add, please let us know so that we might include them for other readers to enjoy.
The doofus factor: How can you tell a good board of directors from a bad one?
The Economist, September 17, 2011
“…It is hard to tell from the outside whether a board is any good. New guidelines requiring directors to be independent of the chief executive and to have at least some relevant qualifications have largely ended absurdities such as the octogenarian actress (as seen in “Caddyshack 2″) who sat on the board of Lehman Brothers….” […read more]
Compassion and Resilience for a Troubled World: 9-11-11 A Personal Story
Reputation Matters, Forbes, September 11, 2011
Davia speaks about 9-11, cruelty, the path to happiness, regaining compassion, and resilience in the face of great tragedy. […read more]
Trust the Evidence, Not Your Instincts
Jeffrey Pfeffer and Rober Sutton, The New York Times, September 3, 2011
Emphasis is placed on evidence and statistics over trusting instinct. While this is accurate it is also important to trust instinct sometimes – if you have good ones, of course. […read more]
Steve Jobs’ Ultimate Lesson for Entrepreneurs
Reputation Matters, Forbes, September 1, 2011
Steve Jobs, the genius full of contradictions: artist and engineer; Buddhist and hard-nosed businessman; visionary entrepreneur who has built large and resilient companies; optimist and pessimist; the ultimate opaque manager who has guarded his privacy and secrecy, even while providing the world with the tools of transparency. Steve Jobs had the remarkable ability to hold completely disparate ideas and values in his mind at the same time, synthesize and then act upon them. […read more]
Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue?
John Tierney, The New York Times, August 17, 2011
“…No matter how rational and high-minded you try to be, you can’t make decision after decision without paying a biological price. It’s different from ordinary physical fatigue – you’re not consciously aware of being tired – but you’re low on mental energy. The more choices you make throughout the day, the harder each one becomes for your brain, and eventually it looks for shortcuts, usually in either of two very different ways….” […read more]
Strategy, The One “Do” Amidst the Don’ts — Wrapping Up “The 10 Don’ts of Corporate Social Media” Series
Reputation Matters, Forbes, August 17, 2011
#11: “Strategy, The One ‘Do’ Amidst the Don’ts — Wrapping Up ‘The 10 Don’ts of Corporate Social Media’ Series”
Strategy, Strategy, Strategy – that is our prescription for corporations looking to enter or exist in the world of social media.
It is so very easy to enmesh your brand in the frantic social media activity of the moment; and it is so very easy to get off track, off-message, and, well, just plain off.
Whereas Boards, CEOs, CMOs and corporate marketers are fairly adept at judging and managing the value, efficacy and quality of conventional marketing and media strategies, because they are essentially uncertain about what is going on in social media they can be easily led astray. When you don’t know where you need to go, all roads will take you there.
When all bets are off, you do not know where to lay your money down.
And this is where strategy must come into play. […read more]
Don’t Forget to Leverage Your Community #10 out of “The 10 Don’ts of Corporate Social Media”
Reputation Matters, Forbes, August 15, 2011
In every community, there are some members who are more powerful than others. Trend-setters, opinion leaders and “tipping point people” all wield disproportionate influence within their communities…and it is no different in the social media space.
All those who want to raise their profiles and prominence in social media need to do is leverage their supporters in a way to gain exponentially more supporters. Once you get on the radar screen of a few real gurus, it is amazing how quickly your numbers and influence can mount.
Therefore, for our final “don’t” of this series, The 10 “Dont’s” of Corporate Social Media we would like to concentrate on the perils of forgetting to leverage your community. […read more]
Don’t Forget to Use Your Brand’s Network to Create Love from “Like” #9 of The 10 “Don’ts” of Corporate Social Media
Reputation Matters, Forbes, August 12, 2011
“Return on investment” is the mantra of those businesses and organizations that are making it in this topsy turvy world in which we find ourselves.
As the stock market gyrates, the US is downgraded, and we do not know whether we are in a double-dip recession, or somewhere along a road to recovery, cash flow management and lowering expenses are key. So, every organization must be asking itself what is the payback on each expenditure. Is it worth it, or can I put off the expense?
This is especially true for social media investments. We are still not completely sure what the payoff will be, across a wide variety of organizations. So, in this, our 9th article in our series, The 10 “Don’ts” of Corporate Social Media, Ian and I are turning to how to Use Your Brand’s Network to Create Love from ‘Like,’ and how to increase your ROI in the process. […read more]
Don’t Be Afraid to Admit Mistakes — #8 of The 10 “Don’ts” of Corporate Social Media
Reputation Matters, Forbes, August 11, 2011
There is nothing more disarming than owning up to your mistakes, fixing them and truly apologizing.
While stonewalling or making a weak, insincere apology that isn’t really an apology seem to be the standard these days (why do you think there are so many “fill in the name of the company sucks” websites and postings out there?), acknowledging and fixing a problem, and then proffering an authentic apology are secret weapons for success. They are also the right thing to do, in your personal life, professional life, and social media life.
So, for our 8th installment of “The 10 “Dont’s” of Corporate Social Media,” we are tackling social media mistakes, and how to own up and recover from them. […read more]
Don’t Be Indiscreet or Illegal — #7 of The 10 “Don’ts” of Corporate Social Media
Reputation Matters, Forbes, August 10, 2011
The real-time nature of social media is a double-edged sword.
On one hand, the immediacy makes social media continually relevant, powerful, and of-the-moment. Just look at how it is being used this week to create flashmobs in the London riots. It is redefining politics, and life — not only life on the web, but life off the web as well.
On the other hand, social media’s combination of immediacy and indelibility can allow some tremendous gaffes – that could haunt you, your company and your brand for a long time to come. If you can write it the moment you think it, you can write some pretty dumb or hurtful things. Ready, fire, aim has never been a particularly good strategy for building organizations’ reputations!
So, for today’s “Don’t” – the 7th in our series of The 10 “Dont’s” of Corporate Social Media – Ian and I have tackled the issue of indiscretion, and legal boundaries. But, these boundaries are being redefined nanosecond by nanosecond around the globe, and that is what makes it all so fascinating… […read more]