Why every business owner should fear fanaticism

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From: SmartBrief on Small Business <smallbusiness@smartbrief.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 14, 2012 at 11:12 PM
Subject: Why every business owner should fear fanaticism

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September 14, 2012 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF Share | Sign up | Archive | Advertise Problem. Solved.  Rediscover the joy of running your company Liene Stevens, who had lost the passion for her wedding business, solved her problem by hiring someone to handle sales and adjusting the focus of her company. If you feel similarly burned out, you can get back on track by getting a mentor, delegating unpleasant tasks and setting aside personal time. Entrepreneur online (9/11)       Marketing  Crowning content marketing as the lead-generation king Content in its many forms beyond the written word has become the engine of all inbound strategies, David Kirkpatrick writes. Create variety with content such as writing different variations on a whitepaper for different audiences and breaking up the information for different social media platforms, he recommends. Also, think like a publisher by establishing a content-generation calendar that maps the various pieces to the buying stage. MarketingSherpa (9/12)       7 ways to create a must-read blog Your blog content has to be interesting and informative to be successful, Amie Marse of Content Equals Money writes. You can strike the right balance in several ways such as by helping customers to resolve their issues and interviewing experts. "If you ask someone for permission to interview them for your blog, more often than not, they'll say yes," she writes. Small Business Trends (9/13)       Earn 3X rewards points when you fly with The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN. Designed to earn Membership Rewards® points faster: • 3X points on airfare • 2X points on advertising, gas, and shipping • 1X points on everything else • Limited Time Offer: 50K bonus points when you spend $5K in your first 3 months of Card membership† LEARN MORE AND APPLY                             †Terms & Restrictions Apply. Management  Why every business owner should fear fanaticism Fanatical employees, who obsess over a particular cause -- and it can be any cause: politics, religion, diets, etc. -- can be destructive for the companies where they work, writes Steve Tobak. No matter the subject of their fanaticism, these people "live in denial of logic and facts that conflict with their cause or worldview," he explains. "In time," he writes, "they will inevitably self-destruct. And if they're in a position of power and authority when they go off the deep end, they just may take an entire organization or company down with them, leaving you to wonder, 'How in the world did I not see that coming?' " CBS MoneyWatch (9/11)       Help your whole team to benefit from conferences Some of your employees are left behind in the office while their colleagues are away at trade shows, but they all can still benefit from the events, writes Linda Dulye, founder of Dulye & Co. She explains how one of her clients is going to keep office-bound employees in the loop by having conference attendees send e-mail updates about the event. If you are interested in this approach, you should give conference attendees some guidance about how to present content in an interesting manner, she advises. Fox Business Small Business Center (9/13)       Tackle privacy concerns with a Value-For-Data Exchange Despite online privacy concerns, research shows that consumers continue with online tasks and exchange their data if they perceive a benefit. Learn the details of consumer apprehension and how marketers can clearly state their value proposition to defuse these concerns. Read more in this FREE white paper. Money  How Romney's budget plans could affect the SBA Mitt Romney's plans to reduce government spending could inhibit the Small Business Administration's ability to back loans, Robb Mandelbaum writes. "[F]ederal law requires the government to set aside money to cover the cost of loans that it estimates will go bad, and the recession has driven those costs up by making small-business loans much riskier," he notes. Therefore, cutting the agency's budget could reduce the number of available SBA loans. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/You're The Boss blog (9/13)       Free Guide: Ten Steps to Email Success Are your email campaigns leaving cash on the table? Get more from your email marketing with iContact's Ten Rules for Successful Email Marketing. This free guide gives you ten ways to boost your email results, with real-life examples from businesses that are now winning more customers. Download now. Tips & Tools  Leave a strong impression without boring your listeners People tend to have short attention spans, so you have to be able to make an impression and explain what your business does quickly, Barry Moltz writes. To hone your skills, you should think about the issues that your company addresses and how it presents itself to customers. Duct Tape Marketing (9/13)       How to manage your team's mobile devices Even small businesses have to focus on managing the mobile devices their employees use. You can get started by creating written policies and using a spreadsheet to track all of the mobile devices at your company, Stephanie Faris writes. You should also protect your devices with encryption and antivirus software. SmallBizTechnology.com (9/12)       Maximize the value of conference calls Conference calls can be valuable opportunities to make sure everyone is on the same page, but you should follow certain procedures to make sure everyone benefits as much as possible, Lee Polevoi writes. Set up an agenda for the call and let everyone know how they can get connected. Then make sure the call begins at the scheduled time and start the conversation off strong. Intuit Small Business Blog (9/13)       Featured Content  Pen and Paper: Killer Productivity Apps Carle Natale 15 Free (or Cheap) Web Tools for Creative Entrepreneurs Arielle Scott Are Your Marketing E-Mails Illegal? James O'Brien 3 Surefire Tips for Better Blog Posts TJ McCue Just for Fun  15 quirky world records The latest edition of "Guinness World Records" includes some unusual entries. Among the record holders are Mostafa Ismail, who has the world's largest biceps, and Johanna Quaas, an 86-year-old who is recognized as the oldest gymnast. The Telegraph (London) (9/13)       SmartQuote  Fanatics are a real problem. They're not just quirky or eccentric. They have issues that, sooner or later, get in the way of their work performance." --Steve Tobak, managing partner of Invisor Consulting, writing at CBS MoneyWatch       SmartBrief delivers need-to-know news in over 100 targeted email newsletters to over 3 million readers. All our industry briefings are FREE and open to everyone—sign up today! Accounting Advertising Automotive Aviation & Aerospace Biotechnology Business Chemicals Construction & Real Estate Consumer Packaged Goods Distribution Education Energy Finance Food Service Health Care Insurance Legal Manufacturing Media & Entertainment Nonprofit Retail Technology Telecommunications Travel & Hospitality This SmartBrief was created for profjorge.entrep@gmail.com John Jantsch, Editor at Large John Jantsch is author of "Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide" and "The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself." John is a marketing and digital technology coach and creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small-business marketing system. 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