Daily Thoughts 11/17/2010 (The Referral Engine)

Harper's February 1895

Daily Thoughts 11/17/2010

I have started reading The Referral Engine Teach Your Business to Market Itself by John Jantsch.  It is a mix of sales guru type writing like you might see in Og Mandino's The Greatest Salesman in the World or The Go-Giver: A Little Story About A Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg and John David Mann and social media evangelism you might see in one of Chris Brogan's or Seth Godin's books.  At points it can be a little too sticky and sweet and almost unbrearable.  At other points, it gives some decent ideas.

Today, I spent some time going over my orders and checking the purchase alerts list.  We had our order meeting today.  It went well and I put in my orders today.  I also talked a little bit about the streaming service for music from Naxos and Alexander Street.

I also spent some time checking on the displays to make sure they were in and adding a few finishing touches to the monthly report.

The book Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris came in for me to read.  It should be entertaining.

I also put the book, The Wonderful Future That Never Was by Bruce Sterling on hold to read later.  I like imagining how the future could have been very different based on turning points in history.

I like the feel of new books and checking on them when they come in.  It is very different than reading about them in the review magazines.

I read some more of The Referral Engine this evening on the train.  The author is writing about the convergence between the digital and the physical world.  He is describing how it is possible to mix high technology with high quality customer service in both the online world and the physical world.  I can see how this works with companies like http://www.meetup.com and  http://www.linkedin.com where people often meet for events in person.