One of these projects will come to life tomorrow night, Thrusday May 14th. If you will be in the Oklahoma City area or are within driving distance, I hope that you will attend a blowout tweetup that will that will be hosted at the Iguana Mexican Grill from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM.

There will be two great speakers and tons of great prizes to give away. Currently we have right at 200 people registered for the event so you can be sure to meet lots of new and interesting people. Register to attend and find out more information at OKCtweetup.com

If I haven’t sold you yet, maybe my friend and weblebrity Ronald Jenkees can persuade you.

I’m a fan of TOMS. It’s no secret.

I’ve talked about the company misssion, product design, awards won, and even given my analysis of the company’s continuing journey toward a lifetime of relevance.

A few days back I received a small package containing the scarf pictured above along with a letter from the company’s founder, Blake Mycoskie. The letter told a micro-version of the TOMS story and thanked me for being one of their best customers. The letter then went on to explain the enclosed scarf, which Blake was sending as an early holiday present (my first this year), which was “handcrafted in Ethiopia.”

Uncoincidentally, Ethiopia are the location for the next big shoe drop. TOMS has made it their holiday goal to give “30,000 pairs of shoes in Ethiopian villages where” my scarf was made.

A day later I received one of the coolest catalogs I’ve seen in a while, from TOMS. The whole thing was filled with stories about who they are, who they help, how they began and what they’re planning.

About that same time I came across this circulating YouTube video:

And then a post by Blake on The Huffington Post, further promoting the holiday goal to help Ethiopia.

Wow.

The timed roll out of these interactions was clearly strategically implemented, but I’m in awe of the lack of complexity to the whole thing. And yet, each touchpoint brought me one step closer to contributing to the cause.

There is a clear focus on the issue at hand and that’s it. No bells and whistles or futuristic pipe dreams about what could happen when all the stars align. The message is simple,

For every pair of shoes you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of shoes to a child in need. One for one.

Focus on what matters.

It’s time to execute the plan that’s been in the works for weeks.

We are launching The Age of Conversation up the Amazon charts. The book “brings together over 100 of the world’s leading marketers, writers, thinkers and creative innovators in a ground-breaking and unusual publication.” All of the proceeds generated from book sales and referrals will be donated to Variety, The Children’s Charity.

Buy, Starting Saturday March 29th

Click Here to buy your copy!

Please purchase 1 copy at a time, using the link above, for maximum impact, and because all referral fees will be donated to charity as well.

—–

Don’t go too far because starting Saturday I will making continual updates to this post, reporting the books movement up the Amazon charts. This will be your go to post to find out how the plan is being carried out.

You can also follow the conversation on Twitter. Gavin (@servantofchaos), Drew (@DrewMcLellan) and I (@freshpeel) will be giving a play-by-play throughout the day. Join in the fun!

—–

Since this is a global effort, I thought I would post the ranking as of 2pm CST on March 28th as a beginning marker. The ranking has already gone up in the last couple of hours because of sales from the other side of the world.

March 28th @ 2pm -  #102,282

I will start a regular stream of reporting when March 29th gets to this part of the world!

March 29th @ 1:30am – #16,879

March 29th @ 8:00am – #3,559

Nice surprise to wake up to. We made a huge leap while I was sleeping! Things should start to pick up even more in the next few hours.

March 29th @ 9:15am – #1,562



We’ve overtaken almost 2000 more spots! I’ve gotten a lot of verbal confirmations of people buying the book.

March 29th @ 10:15am – #1,562



We are still sitting at #1,562. Join the rush and buy your copy if you haven’t already!

March 29th @ 11:30am – #1,161



I guess updates don’t happen right on the hour afterall. Ranking jumps up 401 spots!

March 29th @ 12:00pm – #917



We’ve broken the top 1,000! Lets send this baby to the top!

March 29th @ 1:15pm – #368



Wow! We’re at #368 in books and I guess Amazon finally added the book to the Business category, which we are sitting at #53. I’m seeing #1 in Business! Lets go!

March 29th @ 3:15pm – #368



It’s been 2 solid hours suspended at #368. There’s still a lot of conversation around swimming around Twitter and the blogosphere, so I have my doubts that we’re finished here. Let’s break the top 100!

March 29th @ 5:00pm – #368



Still no change since 1:15pm. I’d still like to see the book make it into the top 50 Business books.

March 29th @ 5:15pm – #293



I spoke too soon. We just busted into the top 50 business books at #39 and ranked overall at #293! Join the rush!

March 29th @ 6:45pm – #293



We’re still holding on to the 39th spot in business bestsellers and ranked #293 on Amazon overall. Gather up any and everyone you know. We need one last push! Let’s break top 100!

March 29th @ 9:00pm – #293



It looks like things are slowing down a bit. Lets give it one more hour to see if we can give it one last jolt! If you haven’t gotten a copy yet, better do it fast.

March 29th @ 10:00pm – #262



We made one last push up the charts that came in just under the wire!

What an amazing day! I along with the 103 authors of The Age of Conversation thank everyone that bought a copy (or more) of the book and helped generate buzz. Our combined efforts created a wave of conversation, blowing up on blogs, Twitter and other social media outlets, ultimately propelling the book from being ranked at 102,282 all the way to #36 on the Business Bestsellers list and #262 overall. Thanks for joining the rush!

I can’t wait to see what The Age of Conversation 2 has up it’s sleeve.

And you thought it was never going to happen!

It’s what we’ve all been preparing for and waiting on….and preparing for…. and waiting on and then the announcement of AOC2 was made. But as I promised, the Bum Rush must go on!

The book has finally made it into Amazon’s system and everything is in order for today’s announcement of the Age of Conversation Social Media Bum Rush, which will happen on March 29th.

So what exactly am I proposing?

I’m calling for a bum rush of all the social media you can get your hands on, ultimately directing people to Amazon to buy the book. Despite all of the past delays, I think now is the perfect time to launch this endeavor.  With the buzz about Age of Conversation 1 slowly dying down, and plans for Age of Conversation 2 in the works, this is the perfect opportunity to breathe new life into the old Age of Conversation project. If we do it right we might even be able to transfer some of the momentum of the AOC 1 into AOC2.

Plan of Action (for March 29th)

With the infinite amount of social sites and connections on the web, this is a huge undertaking. That is why I came up with this plan of action list with the highest priority items at the top. The idea is to generate as many touch points around the web as possible so that it will be hard not to spot the Age of Conversation activity.

1. Buy the Book & send others to buy the book. This is the number 1 call to action, because this is where we want to see the most impact. NOTE: Please buy 1 copy at a time because Amazon counts bulk orders once, and please use this affiliate link, which will help us in tracking sales. Remember, all the proceeds from the book sales and referrals will go to charity.  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1847992994?ie=UTF8&tag= drewmclellan-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325& creativeASIN=1847992994
2. Blog About It - Make sure you have a prominent link to the Amazon listing so that readers can easily purchase the book. (Remember to use the affiliate link above. All of these earnings will go to charity as well.)
   
3. Twitter Commentary - Join Drew and I as we give a Bum Rush play-by-play on Twitter. (Follow us: @Freshpeel, @DrewMcLellan, @Servantofchaos) We also ask that everyone saying anything about the Bum Rush to use the code #AOC so that it can be picked up by Twemes.com
   
4. Trackback or Comment on the post that I will leave here on March 29th at 12am CST, so that everyone can follow the conversation and help promote exposure on social sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, etc.) 
   
5. Digg the posts listed here & send emails and shouts to friends requesting Diggs.
   
6. Stumble the posts listed & tell friends to do the same. 
   
7. Bookmark your posts on Del.icio.us
   
8. Add your post to other social media outlets ( Technorati, Ma.gnolia, Furl, BlinkList, Newsvine, Facebook, etc.)
   
9. Send an Old Fashioned email to your friends about the Bum Rush for AoC.
10. Keep talking – Get on ooVoo, iChat, Aim, or where ever you like to talk, and start talking.
    

We need all hands on deck for this one. I’ve used this quote before but I think it fits nicely. Ryunosuke Satoro once said,

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.

The same is true with all of the actions on this list. By ourselves they will do very little, but together we can make waves.

Age of Conversation Bum Rush Badge

For anyone who wants to add some Bum Rush flair to their blog or website, have I got something for you. I’ve designed a badge and provided the HTML code that can be easily copied and pasted. Right now the badge links to this post, but feel free to change it to a post that you’ve written about the Bum Rush event.

If you need any help with the code or have any problems just let me know and I will do my help you get the Bum Rush “bling bling” added to your site.

Just copy and paste the code below:

What You Can Do Right Now

1. Spread the word - Surely you are connected to people outside of your marketing cronies. Start talking hence the word  conversation in the title of the book.
2. Add the Join the Rush Badge to your Blog or Web page. (Just copy and paste the HTML code above.)
   
3. Blog about It - Make sure everyone gets the word that the Bum Rush will be rescheduled.
4. Create a podcast or video and upload to Youtube or other streaming video site (Maybe David Brazeal or Anna Farmery can do a special edition?).
   
5. Add your Reviews and tags on Amazon – Right now the Amazon page looks a little naked. Help fill it up!
   
6. Join the Facebook Group - This is a great way to connect with all of the AOC writers and fans. You can join the group here.
   
7. Become an AOC Fan on Facebook – Show your love for AOC. Yet another awesome way to connect with AOC writers and fans. Join AOC fan page here.
8. Add AOC to Wikipedia - Any experts on Wikipedia guidlines? Made to Stick is a good example of what can be included.

—

Got anything to add? Let us know in the comments.

For everyone in the Oklahoma City area, I will be speaking at the March 18th edition of Refresh.

I will be presenting The Brand Box, which started as a simple post and has been developed into an full presentation on branding.

There is no charge and all are invited to attend. For more details go to Refreshokc.org.

Break out the party hats, simple sugar foods and of course some fresh juicy oranges. It’s time to celebrate! Not only is it Friday, but today also officially marks the 1 year anniversary of when I first started peeling fresh marketing posts for all to read.

I can’t believe that I’ve been blogging a whole year. That is, minus a little hiatus, while I was hacking my way through customizing my own WordPress theme, but lets just chalk that up as part of the whole blogging experience.

A lot of great things have happened in a years time.

• got to meet a rock star author
• interviewed the lead singer of The Format, my favorite band (which sadly is no more)
• had a little semi-productive rant
  
• found that sometimes short and simple is all you need
• organized an online revolution that has yet to happen (The rush must go on! Someday, I promise! )
• jumped on the bandwagon for book 2
  
• hosted the first Fresh Peel contest (with some sweet prizes)
  
• read a book from the Netherlands and loved it
• given lessons in how to talk like a human
  
• and I’ve come into contact with some of the most awesome people from all over the world
  

So peel a fresh orange and lets drink the juices to another great year of peeling back the old ideas and traditions of marketing.

And I just want to say thanks to the Fresh Peel readers. Your comments, emails, phone callls, and even your subscriptions have played a big part in the Fresh Peel’s evolution.

Now I leave you with the Top 5 Favorites from year 1 (most views):

The Post2Post Virtual Book Tour starts on Monday.

I will dig into the topics of creativity, idea generation, innovation and much more with Ramon Vullings, co-author of Creativity Today.

In one  of my question and answer with Ramon, I plan on zeroing in on these subjects and how they can be applied to branding & marketing. This is something you won’t want to miss.

Below is the schedule for the week:

Round 1 of Age of Conversation was a knock out!

The book came together in what the publishing industry would consider breakneck speeds. The fact that it was a collaborative effort, with over 100 contributing authors that were literally from all over the globe, makes the books’ publication even more mystifying.

The authors came together with a common purpose. They wanted to bring their conversations to the rest of the world, and to give back while they did it.

Here are The Age of Conversation stats, to date:

• Over $10,000 raised for Variety, The Children’s Charity
  
• Press from AdAge and other prominent publications (including Fast Company, PSFK, and BusinessWeek)
  
• 103 different contributing authors
  
• Contributing authors came from 10 different countries
  

Now it’s time for AOC Round 2

Drew’s call for authors kicks off preparations for the next Age of Conversation, and in the spirit of democracy and collaboration, this time around topic was put to a vote. The choices are:

• Marketing Manifesto
• Why Don’t People Get It?
• My Marketing Tragedy (and what I learned)
  

If you would like to jump in and become an author of this legacy in the making, email Drew while there’s still room in the ring. I’ve already put my name in the bucket.

—– 

Some of you may be thinking (or at least I hope you are thinking), “what about the Bum Rush?” I only have one thing to say to that. The Age of Conversation Bum Rush will happen, so start planning now and stay tuned.

Get ready for traffic jams, paparazzi flashes, brute security, screaming fans, and excessive news coverage that will rival the presidential race.

The Post2Post Virtual Book Tour, along with Ramon Vullings, co-author of Creativity Today, will be making a stop here on Thursday, February 14th.

Ramon is an advocate of innovative thinking and has a spark for initiating change. He is a part of the New Shoes Today organization, which specializes in helping businesses drive creativity, innovation and change.

Currently the book is only available from Amazon UK and 800CEORead.

More details to come.

—–

You can find out more information on the Post2Post Tour at Idea Sandbox.

Be sure to check the schedule of what’s happening next week on the tour. Seth Godin will be making the rounds to an awesome blog lineup talking about his newest book, Meatball Sundae.

I’m starting to feel like a politician, making a load of promises that I can’t seem to keep (very fitting for ’08).

The Age of Conversation Bum Rush, which was scheduled for Saturday the Jan. 5th, has been delayed yet again and due to the holiday pileup at Amazon, we don’t have an ETA on exactly when the book will be arriving on the site.

Instead of making more promises that I can’t keep (and looking like a fool doing it), I’m not going to set a new date for the bum rush until we know exactly when the book will hit Amazon shelfs. So please stay tuned!

The rush must go on!

(For any one not familiar with the bum rush event, you can get the rundown and a badge for your site at Age of Conversation Bum Rush: Update & Starter Kit)

Update: The Age of Conversation has been rescheduled for March 29th. More details here.

It’s been almost a full month since I first proposed the idea of a “Bum Rush all of the social media you can get your hands on.” Since then, we’ve learned that the book will be moving to Amazon and the initial date of the bum rush had to be rescheduled.

With all of that going on I thought it would be a good idea to recap our plans.

So, I’ve (1) updated the plan of action list, (2) created some Bum Rush “bling bling,” and (3) provided a couple of new ideas for things you can start doing right now.

Plan of Action List (for Jan. 5th)

1. If you have a blog write a post about AoC and/or the Bum Rush. Make sure you have a prominent link to the Amazon listing so that readers can easily purchase the book. (We will have an affiliates link to the book, which I will post before the Bum Rush. All of the earnings will go to charity as well.)
   
2. Throw in some Twitter posts about AoC and/or the Bum Rush.
   
3. Trackback or Comment on the post that I will leave here on Jan 5th at 8:00pm CST, so that everyone can follow the conversation and help promote exposure on social sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, etc.) 
   
4. Digg the posts listed & send emails and shouts to friends requesting Diggs.
   
5. Stumble the posts listed & tell friends to do the same. 
   
6. Bookmark your post on Del.icio.us
   
7. Add your post to other social media outlets ( Technorati, Ma.gnolia, Furl, BlinkList, Newsvine, Facebook, etc.)
   
8. Send an Old Fashioned email to your friends about the Bum Rush for AoC.
   
9. Create a podcast or video and upload to Youtube or other streaming video site (Maybe David Brazeal can do a special edition). Again be sure to share the link so everyone can give the video views and mark it with a high rating 
   

Ryunosuke Satoro once said,

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.

The same is true with all of the actions on this list. By ourselves they will do very little, but together we can make waves.

Age of Conversation Bum Rush Badge

For anyone who wants to add some Bum Rush flair to their blog or website, have I got something for you. I’ve designed a badge and provided the HTML code that can be easily copied and pasted. Right now the badge links to this post, but feel free to change it to a post that you’ve written about the Bum Rush event.

If you need any help with the code or have any problems just let me know and I will do my help you get the Bum Rush “bling bling” added to your site.

Just copy and past the code below:

What You Can Do Right Now

1. Spread the word - Surely you are connected to people outside of your marketing cronies. Start talking, hence the word conversation in the title.
2. Add the Join the Rush Badge to your Blog or Web page. (Just copy and paste the HTML code above.)
   
3. Blog about It - Make sure everyone gets the word that the Bum Rush will be rescheduled.
4. Play – Hopefully you will have some time off over the holidays. Take some time to play with social media sites. Make connections.
   
5. Join the Facebook Group - This is a great way to connect with all of the AOC writers and fans. You can join the group here.
   
6. Become an AOC Fan on Facebook – Show your love for AOC. Yet another awesome way to connect with AOC writers and fans. Join AOC fan page here.
7. Add AOC to Wikipedia - Any experts on Wikipedia guidlines? Made to Stick is a good example of what can be included.

—

I would love to hear any ideas or additions you can make to this list.

Calm your itchy little mouse-clicking fingers and hold off on the blog posts. We are going to have to reschedule the Age of Conversation Bum Rush.

I know. I know. You have been anticipating this for weeks now. I was rearing to go myself. In fact, I and was about to post an update preparing everyone for the big day when I received an email from Drew McLellan explaining that he and Gavin Heaton have been “scrambling to jump through Amazon’s hoops” and that the book has finally been accepted. The only problem is that it looks as though the book won’t be making the site before December 14th.

So we are going to have to push the bum rush back, and with the holidays nearing it may be hard for some to participate if we reschedule any later in the month.

Here’s what I’m thinking. Instead of having a year end push for the book, lets start 2008 off with a blowout! Let’s bring back the buzz that once was (this time bigger than ever).

Saturday January 5th will be our new date for the Age of Conversation Social Media Bum Rush.

And when the day comes, don’t think we are going to just sit and watch the ranking of a book on Amazon. We are going to start a conversation.

What You Can Do Right Now

1. Spread the word - Surely you are connected to people outside of your marketing cronies. Start talking…hence the word “conversation” in the title.
   
2. Blog about It - Make sure everyone gets the word that the Bum Rush will be rescheduled.
3. Play – Hopefully you will have some time off over the holidays. Take some time to play with social media sites. Make connections.
   
4. Join the Facebook Group - This is a great way to connect with all of the AOC writers and fans. You can join the group here.
   
5. Become an AOC Fan on Facebook – Show your love for AOC. Yet another awesome way to connect with AOC writers and fans. Join AOC fan page here.
6. Add AOC to Wikipedia - Any experts on Wikipedia guidlines? Made to Stick is a good example of what can be included.
   

Lets Bum Rush the Social Media World!

Over 4 months ago The Age of Conversation, a collaboration of 103 authors from 10 different countries from around the globe was launched, with all of the proceeds going to Variety, The Children’s Charity. In a little over 90+ days, the goal of $10,000 in charity money was raised.

But now, as Drew points out, sales are slowing. It’s time to hit high with a serious spike in social media activity. I’m talking about bringing even more clout than we saw with the initial launch of the book. I know we can do it!

The idea is one that I am borrowing from Joseph Jaffe, who used this technique to send his book skyrocketing up the bestseller’s list at Amazon. I won’t feel bad about taking the idea from Jaffe though, because he borrowed the idea from the band Black Lab, which held an iTunes bum rush launching their single Mine Again up the charts. Both were very successful efforts.

So what exactly am I proposing?

I’m calling for a “bum rush” all of the social media you can get your hands on. Since The Age of Conversation isn’t listed on Amazon we will have to “bum rush” another outlet, and with most of the AoC authors (if not all) being bloggers, mini launch pads are sitting and waiting to give the book the push it needs.

With the infinite amount of social sites and connections on the web, this is a huge undertaking. That is why I came up with this plan of action list with the highest priority items at the top. The idea is to generate as many touch points around the web as possible so that it will be hard not to the Age of Conversation activity.

Just start at the top and work your way down the list as far as you can:

1. If you have a blog write a post about AoC and/or this Bum Rush. Make sure you have a prominent link to http://stores.lulu.com/ageofconversation so that readers can easily purchase the book.
   
2. Trackback or Comment on the post that I will leave here on Dec 13th at 6:00pm CST, so that everyone can follow the conversation and help promote exposure on social sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, etc.)
   
3. Digg your post & send emails and shouts to friends requesting Diggs on your post.
   
4. Stumble your post & tell friends to do the same.
   
5. Bookmark your post on Del.icio.us
   
6. Join the Facebook AoC Contributors and Friends Group
   
7. Become a Facebook Fan of AoC
   
8. Add your post to other social media outlets ( Technorati, Ma.gnolia, Furl, BlinkList, Newsvine, Facebook, etc.)
   
9. Send an Old Fashioned email to your friends about the Bum Rush for AoC.
   
10. Create a podcast or video and upload to Youtube or other streaming video site (Maybe David Brazeal can do a special edition). Again be sure to share the link so everyone can give the video views and mark it with a high rating.

(I will re-post this plan of action again with the trackback/comment post on Dec. 13th.)

What Should We Expect?

It’s like a human pyramid. If we can get everyone carrying their weight then it should be easy to reach new heights!

Here’s what Greg Verdino had to say after Joseph Jaffe’s Amazon Bum Rush:

There’s nothing to stop pretty much any marketer from applying these techniques to garner attention for their own new product launches and spur on-demand sales. Nothing, that is, if that marketer takes the time to build their own community, fosters meaningful relationships with the members and then makes a coordinated effort across a variety of conversational channels to connect with the community at just the right time to move the needle. None of these things happens overnight. They take quite a bit of effort and long term commitment.

—

Did I leave anything out? Second Life? You fill in the blank ________.

The bands are aiming “to educate, inspire, and activate students, and above all leave a positive impact on each community and college/university that the tour reaches.” I’m excited to see both of the bands tonight, no matter what their reasons are for going on tour. Guster has been on my music radar for about 5 years now, and I am a huge fan of The Format, as many of you know from an earlier embarrassing post.

Within the last year however I’ve been impressed by The Format, not only because they released Dog Problems, a stellar follow up to Interventions + Lullabies, but because they have created a model for how a band can survive and market itself, and without the support of a major record label.

In 2005, The Format was dropped from Atlantic Records. They formed their own label for the release of Dog Problems, sarcastically named Vanity Label, and are using a company called Nettwerk for the distribution of their albums. This has given them the push of a major music label, in getting their albums into all of the major outlets, such as the Best Buy’s, Wal-Mart’s around the world, without getting pushed around themselves.

They also get a much larger percentage of royalties. This may seem like a dream scenario that every band should wish for, but one important part of the equation appears to be missing. Who is left to do the publicity and marketing for band? The answer is, The Format, and they do it very well. They may not have BA’s in marketing and public relations, but the band is resourceful. They exhibit some of the best examples of how relationship marketing and networking should be done. A true connection with fans goes along way.

If a band is loyal to its fans, the fans loyalty will extend twice as far. The same is true for businesses and customers. If a business is loyal to its customers, the customer’s loyalty will extend twice as far. Format, thanks for the lesson.

For 2 months during my last semester of college I was immersed in the mind of Dr. Ken Blanchard. I quickly read his latest book at the time titled, Lead Like Jesus, and was in the habit of doing daily research on Dr. Blanchard. I was trying to absorb as much as I could about his life and his thinking. I read of his other bestselling books and explored the inner workings of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, which he established in 1979. I was enthralled with his take on the subjects of ethics, management and leadership. He is truly a guru on these topics. What led me to this study of Dr. Blanchard’s work was a competition being held by the W Publishing Group, which is the publisher of Lead Like Jesus.

The competition was opened to universities and colleges around the country in which students were to create and implement a marketing plan for Dr. Blanchard’s book, Lead Like Jesus. The prize for winning the competition was a $5,000 scholarship for the School of Business, and a speaking engagement by Blanchard. I along with two other students, Garret Gronberg and Jay Lunceford, was selected by marketing professor, Dr. Kerianne Roper, to compete in the competition. After two full months of a research, planning, promoting, and working with businesses such as Mardels, Waldenbooks, and Amazon, we submitted our plan. Almost a month later we received word that we had won.

I hoped that I would be able to attend Dr. Blanchard’s speaking engagement with the school, whenever it might be, and a few months ago I received a personal invitation to the OC Associates Dinner, in which Dr. Blanchard was to be the keynote speaker. Thursday night, before leaving my house for the OC Associates Dinner, I started wondering what it would be like to hear Dr. Blanchard speak and to meet him personally. Would he demonstrate the passion for his work, that is so evident in his writings? Would he be, “insightful, and powerful,” as his friends, colleagues, and clients have characterized him? I can truthfully say that Ken Blanchard met and exceeded my expectations. Because of the night’s order of formal presentation, I didn’t get a chance to meet with Dr. Blanchard until the end of the evening, while he was signing books. As soon as he found out that I was one of the students who won the competition, I was greeted with open arms. I didn’t have a book for him to sign, but I told him the story of how during the competition I gave my copy of his book away to a newspaper journalist from one of the local papers so that she would do a writeup on the book and the competition. He quickly motioned for one the people selling books to hand him a copy from the table. (They were out of Lead Like Jesus, so I was given The One Minute Manager instead.) He signed the book and we took some photos together; Dr. Blanchard was looking like a management rock star to me more than ever!

• Don’t Quack like a duck…soar like an eagle.
• In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people.. they no longer can lead solely based on positional power.
• Too many leaders act as if the sheep.. their people.. are there for the benefit of the shepherd, not that the shepherd has responsibility for the sheep.

Study them, not so that you can mimic their actions, but to have a better understanding of how an innovative mind works. It’s not very often that we come into contact with truly innovative people.

That’s why one of my favorite resources has become the TED Talks videos. The speakers at the TED conferences have been described as, “some of the world’s most fascinating people: trusted voices and convention-breaking mavericks, icons and geniuses.” I would also classify every TED speaker as on innovator of sorts because of they come from all walks of life, each bringing something very original and new to the conference.

I’m still working my way through all videos, but so far each one that I have watched has left my head swirling with information and ideas. I’m not the only one who seems to have found value in TED Talks, Guy Kawasaki has found them beneficial enough that they have become a recurring topic on his blog. Some day I hope to attend one of the TED conferences in person but for now I have decided to keep my both of my kidneys (In contrast to one of my recent posts titled, Take My Kidney and Give Me Ted) and enjoy TED Talks instead.

One of my favorites is Malcolm Gladwell’s presentation as he explains what every business can learn from spaghetti sauce.

In between the club routines they feature performances from the “hosts” of the show. The hosts audition for their parts in the production, so this is where you usually see, or rather hear, the true talent of the evening. Their job is to keep the tempo of the show up and the atmosphere light and enjoyable. They usually sing songs that are upbeat and people know the words to. This is a great lead in to the club performances which never fail to exhibit what a group of highly caffeinated students mixed with a zany theme, and their own lyrics can produce.

I quickly realized, however, that the hosts of last night’s show were trying something a little different this year. They were acting out a sort of mini drama in between the club acts and it was depressing. Instead of maintaining the energetic atmosphere that the clubs were exhibiting, the hosts’ performances were a quick downer in between acts.

This made me think about how important it is to keep messages consistent at all times. Hit the same selling point every time you communicate to your consumers. Bill Schley and Carl Nichols Jr., in their book, Why Johnny Can’t Brand, reinforce the importance of picking a “Dominant Selling Idea” and pushing that one idea and only that idea. Figure out the one thing you do best and tell people about it. Leave all the other benefits alone and people will remember you better.

It might be true that all of the hosts at last night’s show might be great at putting on a serious drama, but it wasn’t the time or place for them to demonstrate this talent. The whole show would have been overall better if the hosts had reinforced Spring Sing’s history of upbeat and eccentric performances. In this case the selling point is a crazy, quirky, goofy student show. It’s what people expect. Give it to them!

Forget the old kidney harvesting urban legend; I would gladly give one of my kidneys away if it would ensure me a seat at this event. The TED conferences are historical for joining together some of the world’s most creative and exciting people from all sorts of fields. The conference is so widely popular that it is already booked into 2008, and rest assured once registration is opened for 2009, it will be booked within a few days, if not hours.

The good news is that every presentation from the conference is recorded, and you can watch or listen to any or all of appearances you miss from the comfort of your own home.

Just to give you an idea, past guests have included names such as: Malcolm Gladwell, Tony Robbins, web designer Joshua Davis, U2′s Bono, and pianist Jennifer Lin.

One of the members of the TED team posted yesterday (BusinessWeek on being “booked up for TED) about last minute preparations and linked to a BusinessWeek article featuring the conference, all of which makes me that much more envious of those who get to see TED2007 in person.

Check out TED2007′s program lineup!