Here's a message from the owners of two independent book shops.
We run the Warwick and Kenilworth bookshops, independent retailers which have been a proud part of our local high streets for many years.
As we run into the busy Christmas period, we face unrelenting pressure from huge online retailers, like Amazon, undercutting prices -- and it's pushing businesses like ours to the brink.
But what’s even worse is that Amazon, despite making sales of £2.9 billion in the UK last year, does not pay any UK corporation tax on the profits from those sales.
In our book, that is not a level playing field and leaves independent retailers like us struggling to compete just because we do the right thing.
All Amazon UK book and toy sales are routed through its Luxembourg subsidiary. So when the British public buy goods from Amazon, they are in fact paying a Luxembourg company.
This means Amazon can avoid paying British corporation tax on the profits it makes. Tax experts say if Amazon's total UK sales profits were not funnelled to Luxembourg, it could be paying as much as £100m a year in British corporation tax.
As Independent booksellers, we are happy with competition in the market but believe it should be on level terms and by dodging corporation tax in this way, Amazon start with an unfair advantage.
As they grow bigger it’s inevitable that shops like ours will be under even more pressure. That’s bad for customers, bad for the high street and bad for the UK.
Amazon may be obeying the letter of the law - but they’re certainly not being fair. Recently Starbucks announced that they had caved to public pressure and would look at their tax affairs in the UK. It’s time that Amazon did the same.
PS - The Independent has already picked up on our campaign. Please share this campaign with your friends by forwarding this email or sharing this link: www.change.org/amazon
Michael Heath has been busy promoting his new book, 40 Interview Icebergs and How to Sail Around Them, and he's just released a new promotional video for it.
Take a look on YouTube and also on Michael's website, www.mhconsult.com
The new book, Genius at Work, is featured, along with the Business Model Canvas toolkit that is getting more and more attention in the consultancy marketplace.
The authors of the upcoming book Revelation have asked us to let you know that their new survey into the business impact of office politics is now up and running.
www.askrevelation.com/survey.htm
Please take part and help us to build an even better picture of the business impact of corporate politics, and share this with all your colleagues and friends too.
Peter Freeth was again interviewed on BBC Radio earlier this week as part of the BBC's Children in Need annual charity fundraising event.
Mike Zeller wanted to know how they could make more money in an Apprentice-style cake selling competition.
Peter drew on all of the best performance that he could think of, across the various industry sectors he has worked with as well as The Apprentice itself, to give Mike and Sara a head start and of course raise a lot of money for a great cause.
"It seems that the public are becoming more resistant to 'pushy' sales techniques, and that could be one reason why many people are choosing to shop online", he says. "Of course, declining footfall in stores means that if any sales assistant has pushy tendencies, they'll become more pushy out of desperation. When people have their backs to the wall, that's when you see their true nature."
But is sales training helping or hindering?
"All too often, sales training focuses on the mechanics of the interaction and how to get someone to buy. It's nonsensical actually. You're standing in a shop because you know that it's a place to spend money! You don't need to be persuaded to buy, that's why you're there - if the product and price are right. The problem with the majority of sales training, especially retail sales, is that the focus is on the sale as the objective, and that shouldn't be the case. Whenever I use the modelling process described in Genius at Work, I almost always discover that the really high performers in any field have an aim that is counter-intuitive, and seems contrary to the results that they achieve."
"The Genius at Work process is effective because it looks not only at the person's innate qualities and behaviours, but also the cultural context that they're working within. The highest performers innately know that a customer walks into the shop in order to buy something, and their job is to make that as easy as possible. Therefore, their primary focus isn't on the sale but on the service. What constitutes good service differs from one shop to another, of course, but the underlying common trait is an understanding that they're in a sales environment, and when a customer walks through the door, they implicitly accept that. The people who don't aren't going to walk through the door anyway."
In true 'quick fix' fashion, Peter was asked for his top three tips for retail sales people:
1. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes. How would you want to be approached? Would you want to be hounded? Would you want recommendations? Would you want advice? What works for you will work for your customers too, otherwise you’re not being true to yourself and your customers are unlikely to believe what you say anyway.
2. Don’t pretend that you’re not selling. After all, that’s why the customer came into the store or accepted the meeting! They know it’s a sales transaction, so there’s no need to be heavy handed and no need to ‘convince’ them to buy. They’re already there to buy, but the product and price have to be right.
3. Be honest. If, in your heart, you know that your product isn’t right for the customer, say so instead of seeing ‘Pound signs’ and going for the short term sale. You will win far more respect from the customer, and you’ll see them – and their friends – again.
One of the oldest British publishers is to be lost to the Americans, as Penguin, on our shelves since 1935, merges with Random House to become 'Penguin Random House'.
This is just another sign of the top-heavy nature of traditional publishing houses, blamed on e-books but actually it's caused by ageing businesses too tied into their old commercial models and unwilling to turn their sails into the winds of change.
We're sorry to say that the traditional publishers have had their heads in the sand for too long. How many wake-up-calls do they need?
Business author Peter Freeth has released two new books which are due in print by the end of October 2012.
But why two books at the same time?
"About four years ago, I started writing a book on the process of modelling excellence, that's where you uncover the hidden, innate talents of your highest performers and create a template that will allow you to reproduce that excellence across your business, in everything from the way that you recruit high performers to the way that you coach and train them. You would use it in building competency frameworks and talent management programs, and the most important feature is that it preserves the best aspects of your organisation's culture."
"But as I did more and more research for the book and incorporated more examples from my own work, I found it harder to keep the book focused on a coherent theme. One audience for the book is anyone who has trained in NLP and wants to really get to grips with the modelling process which underpins it, because that's something sadly lacking from almost all NLP Master Practitioner training. The second audience is anyone working in corporate Human Resources or Learning & Development. So the problem I had was how to address both of these audiences in the same book."
"Then, as the book neared completion I realised that it really wasn't that difficult to split the book into two, so now there are two books, Genius at Work and The NLP Master Practitioner Manual. So the end result is two books based on the same basic process for modelling excellence but aimed at the needs of two very different readers."
The Pitch Doctor's annual survey is online, find out how good you are at presenting and pitching, and when the results are published, compare yourself to other professionals across the world.
Michael Heath has launched his new blog, in which he'll be sharing his expertise and experience in mentoring, assessment centres, interviewing and subjects connected with developing your people.
You can also see one of Michael's excellent videos at YouTube, where he talks about some of the key concepts covered in his book, The Fit Mentor.
Elite Business Magazine has published a feature article by Paul Boross, author of The Pitching Bible and The Pocket Pitching Bible.
You can read the magazine online, and Paul's article is on pages 48/49.
One of the most daunting things that any professional has to
do is deliver a pitch. Not only does it involve speaking in front of people,
which is nerve-wracking enough, it also puts you under personal and
professional scrutiny. And of course, if it doesn't work out then you've lost
business to a competitor. So it's no wonder that so many people worry about
pitching, yet it can just as easily be an engaging, collaborative and fun way
to win business and build that all important network of professional contacts.
Trudie and Lloyd Thomson have launched their new website to raise awareness and of course money for St Mary's hospital so that other families can benefit from the important IVF treatments that so many couples struggle to access.
Corporate Godfathers is still in the running for the Chartered Management Institute's Book of the Year, in the 'Commuter's Read' category.
Why not visit the page and Tweet, Like, Plus or otherwise show your support for it?
Paul Boross is applying his considerable experience in pitching to write his new book "Pitch Up!" which focuses on the personal pitch as a means to succeed in the ever more challenging recruitment market.
Pitch Up! will be published in January 2013 so you'll be able to get it just in time for your New Year job search.
The Chartered Management Institute are holding their annual Management Book of the Year awards and Corporate Godfathers by Segreto Uno is being considered in the category of 'Commuter's Read'.
Your career is your future - are you going to let your competitors climb over you to get to the top?
Or are you prepared to take a leaf out of the Mafia’s book and use their career guide to get to the position that you want, and deserve?
Corporate Godfathers is the Mafia’s secret career guide, issued to the new recruits that are being placed into corporations everywhere. You can either stand back and let them take those promotions from right under your nose, or you can learn their methods and play them at their own game.
The Mob is infiltrating its bright, ambitious and loyal young men and women into top corporations, their goal being to do whatever is necessary to advance their careers until they're occupying the top positions.
You might think that, in reading this book, you can use these methods yourself to gain an unfair career advantage. But look over your shoulder; the newcomer in your company may be an undercover gangster. Whatever you do, don't cross that person. Not if you value your career... or even your life.
It's going to take twenty - maybe thirty - years to complete the takeover. But leaders of The Mob are patient. Corporate Godfathers is the Mob's future.
You might think that, in reading this book, you can use these methods yourself to gain an unfair career advantage. But look over your shoulder; the newcomer in your company may be an undercover gangster. Whatever you do, don't cross that person. Not if you value your career... or even your life.
It's going to take twenty - maybe thirty - years to complete the takeover. But leaders of The Mob are patient. They predict that operations such as gambling, prostitution and drugs will be taken over by legal businesses or governmental bodies.
40 Interview Icebergs and How to Sail Around Them, the new book by Michael Heath, is released today.
Michael's latest book takes advice from recruiters, experts and business owners and condenses it into 40 common mistakes that job candidates make, and which prevent them from getting the jobs that they dream of.
With this book, we've introduced a brand new feature on the CGW Publishing website - you can download a sample chapter. The first chapter of 40 Icebergs can be downloaded here, and it contains all of the icebergs or common mistakes associated with writing a CV.
If you want to be inspired and uplifted then READ THIS BOOK
If you have fertility problems then READ THIS BOOK
If you have relationship problems then READ THIS BOOK
If you want to laugh a lot then READ THIS BOOK
If you want to feel true emotion then READ THIS BOOK
If you want to feel as though you have done something truly amazing then READ THIS BOOK as the proceeds are to help others.
I laughed and cried but most of all I felt human and I felt as though I belonged, this book gave me back my sanity and my true belief in myself.
What a brilliant book ! ;-), 17 July 2012
Well what can i say but this book is absolutely brilliant it had me smiling to all most crying its the best book I've read in my life and is something close to my own heart. Trudie & Lloyd have put there hearts & souls in to this book really brought it home that how much one couple wanted a special little person in their life as much as the next person. Ive gotta say it had me welling up from the first chapter. You've just gotta read it to understand i can assure you once you start this book you'll not be able to put it down its the case of you want to know what happened next. Best thing is they got Jaja in the end and the book is to raise money for a brilliant cause please share the link and book with everyone you know.
Good luck Trudie & Lloyd and Jaja raising the money i wish you all the best in the journey to raising the 1 million pound lots of love from us xxxxxxxx ;-)
Loved it., 8 July 2012
By juliemo61 - See all my reviews
A really great read. I smiled, I laughed and I cried my way through this book. I admire the down to earth, honest descriptive writing. Very refreshing. It's amazing how two people have survived all the trauma they have gone through, and still seem to be very much in love. Well done for such an inspirational book. The very best of luck in achieving your goal.
Dreaams Do Come True/ The Proof is in the reading., 13 Jun 2012
By J M Swarbrick (Leyland) - See all my reviews
Couldn't put this book down. Well worth reading , Funny, witty, full of emotion, an experience to treasure. One can learn so much from this book, that a family's love and perseverance can conquer that which seems insurmountable. Many thanks to the Authors.
Dreams Do Come True, 12 Jun 2012
By Julia, Lancs - See all my reviews
A great read. Very personal and heart warming; tells how a couple can overcome the odds, keeping their marriage intact and taking the blows with determination to fulfill their lifelong dream of having a family. Very inspiring for those out there still hoping to make a baby.
Amazing - what a read, 11 Jun 2012
By Mrs N - Lancashire - See all my reviews
Never written a review about a book before but had to write one about this one.
A truly amazing, heart wrenching story of a true life experience of one fantastic couple.
You can't put it down once you start reading it, it's so enjoyable - a very easy read but very touching, obviously written from the heart.
an excellent read, 1 Jun 2012
By Mrs C (Lancs) - See all my reviews
Just loved this book, what a wonderful story really found it hard to put down. You have to admire this couple for determination and strength to overcome the the heartache of what life sometimes throws at you. Its one of those books you could read over and over again. excellent and inspirational.Must also add that I found it a lot more enjoyable than fifty shades of Grey.
A Book of love, life and laughs... Just couldn't put it Down..., 24 April 2012
By LisaMarie - See all my reviews
I bought this book as i am about to start the IVF journey myself and have a very dear friend who's first round of IVF very upsettingly failed (I have bought her the book and hope she finds it as great a read as me)
This book shows how Trudy and Lloyd have battled when the world was against them, yet at the end they have the most beautiful young man there is. It tells a story that keeps you wanting more and more (my husband had to literally take the kindle off me one night as it was gone 1am and I was chuckling away)
I cried a tear and also laughed so hard (whilst having my car MOT'd, in a full car showroom can I add) and found it so hard to put down.
This book is a joy to read, and is written so very well that you feel the authors are actually reading it to you,
About to start IVF? Or know someone who is? Then this is the book for you.... It helps you understand.
Excellent read and would definitely endorse. I was recommended this book by a friend and it was the first I downloaded on my Kindle. I don't usually read non-fiction and I have never reviewed a book before, but I found Trudie and Lloyd's story made me laugh out loud, sometimes brought me near to tears and as a mother it made me realise how lucky I am - I don't think I've ever discussed a book so much. I hope that the Thompsons achieve their goal in raising the funds through their book to help others become parents.
The Power Of Positive Thinking, 10 Mar 2012
By M. Goulding (Crete, Greece) - See all my reviews
If I wanted to read a book that would help me triumph over adversity, this would be it. So often this type of book can be maudling, but this one tells you in simple terms that if you set your mind to something you CAN do it (my capitals, not those of the authors). It reminded me of Jeffrey Archer's first book - the story of his own determination to triumph over bankruptcy - "Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less". I say that, not because the authors' own experiences were in any way similar to his. But because in their own way, in their very different social situation, they did it too. Well done to them - and thanks for the read!
FANTASTIC READ, 17 Dec 2011
By Miss G. Sage "Gilly" (Lancashire UK) - See all my reviews
What a lovely book, so touching, amazing, informative, heartwarming and with a touch of sadness, but what a wonderful outcome, and also a brilliant read very well written by the Thompsons,I loved the way it gives his and hers points of view I couldn't put it down will recommend it to all my friends. A Wonderful read. Can't wait for the sequel!!
Excellent read, 2 Dec 2011
By Penman - See all my reviews
A story written from the heart about an ordinary couple who have gone through so much together yet continued to remain strong and positive. This book is an excellent read and once you have it in your hand you just cannot put it down. It's a fantastic story that reaches all your emotions and shows how you can achieve anything with the right attitude. We should all buy this book especially if we need uplifting but buy it anyway because it's an amazing story that will send you on a very heart warming, humorous and positive journey. A must buy for both women and men. We can all learn from this human story so simply click and purchase. You won't be disappointed and its money well spent. Truly inspirational. Well done Trudie and Lloyd.
"Paul Boross, author of The Pocket Pitching Bible, gives tips for delivering engaging, collaborative and fun pitches to win business and build a network of contacts."
Paul Boross’ new book, The Pocket Pitching Bible, has already hit the number one position in its sales category, just a few weeks after its launch.
The book builds on the success of Boross' first book, The Pitching Bible, and the new book has been created as a pocket companion guide to it.
Paul Boross said, "I am very happy to see that so many people have wanted to get The Pocket Pitching Bible in addition to The Pitching Bible. My new book is the perfect aide memoir to the original and people are already reporting that they are The Pocket Pitching Bible just before they go into pitches so that they can make sure that they remember all the key ingredients of a perfect pitch"
The new book is much smaller than the original at 210 pages versus 350, and it packs all of the author's 25 years of experience in pitching into a handy format that readers can take with them on any business trip.
Not only is the new book a condensed version of the original with just the key points, checklists and practice exercises, it also features all new content in several key areas, all with the aim of making it as easy as possible for the reader to prepare quickly for an important presentation.
"I'm very excited at this news about The Pocket Pitching Bible's Amazon sales rank”, concludes Boross, "and I feel very grateful to all of the readers of my books who have given me such valuable feedback on how they are using them. I know that a lot of people are still worried about the state of the economy and feel that any edge in a pitch situation can make the difference between failure and the survival of a business. I've spent 25 years developing these skills with clients all around the world, and the one thing that stands out above all else is that making a real and genuine connection with your audience is what makes that difference, every time. I’ve really worked hard at creating two books which capture the essence of how to do that, and my readers tell me it works, so that works for me!"
The Pocket Pitching Bible is available from all good book stores. Published by CGW Publishing and priced at £7.99 ISBN 978-1-9082931-2-1.
The Chartered Management Institute's annual book competition features entries in five categories, and Corporate Godfathers by Segreto Uno is a contender in the category of 'The Commuter's Read'.
It's a great testament to what is an immensely readable and enjoyable book, whilst also carrying a very powerful message about managing your career. You can interpret the book as a 'what not to do' or as a 'how to' guide, depending on how brave you feel!
We will of course keep you posted on the progress of the competition.
Dreams Do Come True by Trudie and Lloyd Thompson has been entered for the 2012 Portico prize, dedicated to showcasing literary talent in the North of England.
We will of course keep you updated on their progress.
In compliance with the new UK government legislation, we have to tell you about the use cookies on our website, www.cgwpublishing.com
Cookies are files that are used to track visitors and enough people have concerns about their privacy that the government wants all websites to display information about the use of cookies and also obtain the visitor's consent before creating or altering them.
We don't use any, so you have nothing to worry about.
It perhaps won’t surprise you to learn that 95% of respondents agreed that politics, manipulation and hidden agendas in the workplace had affected them directly and personally. But the cases that get bad enough to hit the headlines really are the tip of the iceberg.
The victims of bullying and manipulation mostly won’t speak out, so we have attempted to quantify the affects of corporate politics through three of their symptoms; under-performance, absenteeism and staff turnover.
1. Staff turnover
Some 70% of respondents said that they had left a job directly as a result of corporate politics, with around three quarters of those saying that their leaving salary was anything between £20,000 and £50,000 and more than 10% of them saying that they left a job paying over £70,000 per year.
The average salary, taken across all respondents affected in this way was £40,000. (Click here to view the pie chart in a new window.)
2. Absenteeism
The average number of days that the respondents missed work during one year due to bullying and manipulation was exactly in line with the figure of 4.5 days per year published recently by the Office of National Statistics, perhaps hinting that coughs, colds and bad backs aren’t the real reason that many people stay at home for the day.
However, it’s no wonder that the problem is under-reported: 85% of respondents said that managers actively covered up the situation. In our 2012 survey, we’ll be digging deeper into this, asking why individuals don’t speak up when they suffer from the effects of workplace politics.
3. Underperformance
This is another key area where business costs can spiral out of control, with more than half of respondents saying that either their manager or multiple managers openly knew about underperformance and failed to tackle it.
The impact on team effectiveness was estimated by respondents as a percentage of their team’s maximum potential performance, and is shown in the next chart: (Click here to view the bar chart in a new window).
Whilst the data used in this chart is necessarily subjective, it gives an indication that the individual respondents knew that their team’s performance was suffering from corporate politics, and therefore we can determine that business performance and shareholder value are impacted as a result.
One aspect of corporate politics that many people are familiar with is the activity of ‘empire building’, where a person builds a political empire by promoting allies and sidelining ‘enemies’. This practice was seen firsthand by 82% of our respondents and the promotions resulted in individuals being paid on average £50,000 and with responsibility for 14 staff.
Of the respondents who had observed this taking place, roughly half said that more suitable candidates were turned down, with the other half noting that the position was never advertised. Of the respondents who said that a better candidate was turned down, half said that that candidate then either moved out of the business unit or left the business altogether.
The cost of the problem exists on many levels. A potentially good employee was lost, a replacement had to be hired with the associated recruitment costs and a potentially ineffective manager now has a significant influence over many other staff.
Manipulation at work is never isolated; its effects grow and multiply over time, affecting more staff and increasing the cost to the business with every day that it isn’t tackled.
Separating perception from reality
As a final comment, we should point out that we have made an attempt to place some quantifiable measures on what is inherently a very subjective experience. One respondent asked how it would be possible to separate individual perceptions from any objective reality, and the truth is that this is very difficult.
Manipulative people will very often play the victim, making them hard to spot by anyone who is taken in by their tales of woe. When challenged, the manipulator will have a ready excuse; it was someone else’s fault, they were just trying to be helpful or it’s them that is the real victim in all of this.
And when they run out of excuses, their next line of defence is to run for the door, sometimes in floods of tears, or to counter-attack with a torrent of abuse and ridicule. These are all diversionary tactics, and the acid test must always be, “why would someone do that if they had nothing to hide?”
If you would like to complete the 2012 survey, please feel free to do so here.
Hot on the heels of his first Amazon number one ranking
book, The Pitching Bible, The Pitch Doctor aka Paul Boross has released a
unique companion guide.
Pitching is becoming more and more well known and widely
accepted as a vital way of securing new business, and even in ensuring success
in job interviews. TV series such as The Apprentice and Dragon’s Den have made
pitching part of our everyday language, and everyone from graduates to seasoned
entrepreneurs can benefit from improving their skills and winning more pitches.
Boross’ original book, The Pitching Bible, is a well
regarded and comprehensive work, but it’s not so easy to dip into when you just
need a quick reminder before you walk into a meeting with an investor. With
critical acclaim from experts such as Tom Ziglar, son of the great Zig Ziglar,
and Gavin Duffy, star of the Irish Dragon’s Den, The Pitching Bible was a big
hit with sales and media professionals all over the world.
The Pocket Pitching Bible is a streamlined version of the
original with all of the exercises, check lists and reminders plus all new
content and a valuable new diagnostic section that helps you get to what you uniquely
need to create the perfect pitch.
The Pocket Pitching Bible is available now from all good
book stores, priced at £7.99.
Paul Boross' new book, The Pocket Pitching Bible, will be released on Monday.
It's the companion guide to The Pitching Bible which has hovered around the number one slot on Amazon in its category and is a handy pocket sized guide to delivering perfect pitches that you can carry with you everywhere you go.
Professor David Clutterbuck, one of the best known figures in the world of coaching and mentoring, has written a foreword to Michael Heath's new book, 'The Fit Mentor'.
Professor Clutterbuck says, "Mentoring delivers consistently high returns on investment. I welcome this book as a valuable contribution to this consolidation of good practice."
We're working hard to get Michael's book into print as soon as possible, and it should be available in the next couple of weeks. Michael is one of the co-authors of the Dragon's Den book, 'Grow Your Business', so we're very pleased to have him on board.
The ISBN number is 978-1-9082931-5-2 and you can place advance orders on Amazon
"Trudie and Lloyd Thompson spent more than £30,000 on fertility treatment and faced bankruptcy after having 130 embryos implanted. Their son Jaja, now 13, was born after 12 agonising years and they’ve now written a book charting their heartbreaking journey with a miracle ending."
Trudie and Lloyd Thompsonare appearing on Fern Britton's daytime talk show on Channel 5 on Monday 30th April.
Trudie writes, "We are looking forward to Monday and Fern Britton is taking control of us, she was one of the first celebs we wrote to in order to spearhead the book but she was unable to help because of all the work she does for Genesis, Professor Winston's charity, but she wrote a handwritten letter to us explaining her situation and wishing us all the luck for our quest stating that she would be watching our progress from the side lines"
The programme is on Monday 30th April on Channel 5 from 11.10 to 12:00.
Paul Boross' new book, The Pocket Pitching Bible, is now in its final stages of production and will be available very soon.
Paul says "I'm very excited because I've been getting such good feedback on the
original, 'The Pitching Bible'. I wanted to release a pocket version of the book which you can carry
easily in your pocket or briefcase for those all important last minute
preparations. It's packed full of checklists and exercises and it
doesn't have all the depth of The Pitching Bible, so it really is what
it says, a companion guide."
The Pocket Pitching Bible will be available, as always, in all good book stores priced at £7.99.
Q: I’ve recently started my own consultancy business. A customer has asked me to put a pitch together for their board. I'm terrified! How can I make sure I wow them?
A: Firstly, congratulations. It’s an interesting time to start a service business.
Currently your focus is on yourself – how you feel and what you think of your experience. But focusing on yourself won’t get you anywhere. In a crowded marketplace, you need to focus on how your client can benefit from tapping into your expertise.
Trudie and Lloyd Thompson will be appearing on BBC North West Tonight and Granada Reports on ITV, and we've also had a call from another daytime talk show on Channel 5 asking them to appear.
This is all excellent news for the Thompsons, as it will help them to raise awareness of the need to support IVF units, not just at St Marys but across the UK.
It's wonderful that their story has now received mass media coverage, helping them to sell more books and raise more money for the Hospital that helped their dream come true.
And even more exciting is the fact that this morning, we received an email from the producer of a daytime ITV talk show, asking if the Thompsons would like to appear to tell their story.
Tom Ziglar, son of the great Zig Ziglar, recently gave us a lovely review of The Pitching Bible by Paul Boross:
"If you are in sales or if your business or personal life depends on great communication, then you need the Pitching Bible by Paul Boross. You need to fully armored to be successful!"
Tom Ziglar, CEO, Ziglar Inc.
Paul met up with Tom and his daughter, Alexandra, in London recently. As you can see, after an afternoon sightseeing, she was ready to call it a knight!
Trudie, Lloyd and Jaja Thompson were all at Waterstones in Preston, Lancashire on Saturday to launch their book, Dreams Do Come True.
We understand that Waterstones are keen to have them back because of the popularity of the event, so if you missed them on Saturday, don't worry, we'll let you know when they're due to return.
We have been entered into the 2012 Bookseller Industry Awards in the category of Best Independent Publisher.
We're obviously very excited about this, and our entry reflects the unique way in which we support our authors, helping them not only to sell books but to grow their businesses.
The shortlist will be announced at an event at the London Book Fair in April and the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in London on May 14th.
In his blog on The Bookseller, John Pateman talks about a new operational model for libraries that is being trialled in Suffolk - handing over library management to volunteers.
Well, for some time now, I've been watching what's been going on in the High Street; major chains disappearing and more and more charity shops replacing them, with 'superstores' and also niche stores specialising in furniture, white goods, even designer labels. I think this is the next retail revolution, driven in part by the likes of Freecycle, Gumtree and Ebay that make second hand culturally acceptable. Tatty furniture is rebranded as 'shabby chic' and old T shirts with holes in are 'retro'.
So why shouldn't more services go the same way? I think libraries are an excellent example. The hub of the community, libraries offer free access to literature for all, so why shouldn't they be managed and run on the same basis? The population is ageing rapidly and we have a growing group of people who want a third career, would often be happy to volunteer and have a lifetime of management and operational experience to bring.
I guess the trendy phrase is 'social enterprise', but it amounts to the same thing; of the people, by the people, for the people, as Number 6 would say.
Paul Boross, aka The Pitch Doctor and author of The Pitching Bible, now has a regular column in Real Business magazine, where he'll be answering readers' questions about presentations, pitches and other public speaking problems.
In the first column, Paul answers a question about how to approach speed networking events, which will be invaluable to anyone hoping to develop their business through networking in these tough times.
We've heard that they are also talking to a national newspaper about their remarkable story, so expect to see a lot more of them over the coming months.
Ronna Smithrim and Christopher Oliphant, authors of
Accepting the Radical: You Can Not Be Fixed, have chosen CGW Publishing to get
their first book into print.
“I was thrilled that a publisher was interested in my work
and have not been disappointed”, says Oliphant, who had previously been
considering self publishing as an alternative to every author’s worst
nightmare; endless rejection from the traditional, risk averse publishing
houses. However CGW’s Christopher Greenaway recognised the quality of writing
in the book and the potential of the subject as fitting with the existing range
of books and addressing an important niche in the market.
“There’s no doubt that the self-help book market is saturated,
with everyone from Donald Trump, Jack Canfield and Paul Mckenna through a range
of minor celebrities and business gurus, down to every street corner life coach
publishing a book or ebook.”, says Amelia Hartley, CGW’s co-founder and
Director. “The proliferation of ebook readers such as the Kindle, iPad or Kobo
have also lowered the barriers to producing a book, and that has definitely
impacted on the quality of what’s out there. So when we see a book that is
genuinely well written, with clarity, passion and strong case studies, we know
that it will stand head and shoulders above the rest of the books out there.”
CGW Publishing specialise in working with authors whose
books are written to support their service businesses, by packaging their
intellectual property, providing additional revenue and demonstrating
credibility.
“We launched and ran a successful management consultancy for
ten years, and the books that we published in that time played a huge part in
our success”, says Christopher Greenaway, CGW Publishing’s Managing Director. “The
publishing imprint that we launched back in 2002 has evolved over the last ten
years to become CGW, and we’re now very proud of the authors we’ve attracted
and pleased to apply our expertise in this area to helping them grow their
businesses”
For the authors of Accepting the Radical, the primary push
behind writing the book came from their clients. According to Smithrim, “Their
push came from two questions. The first being, “This teaching is really
powerful, why haven’t you written a book?” The second was, “Are there any books
that teach acceptance?” The answer to the second question was a sad, “I know of
only one other author and she who wrote from a Buddhist point of view.” Any
other books that talk about acceptance apply conditions to acceptance or
support it in one sentence and then contradict that support in the next
sentence.”
Like many expert authors, Smithrim and Oliphant found it
relatively easy to get their ideas down on paper, but less easy to organise those
ideas into the structure required for a book. Oliphant says, “The writing was
easy. I have taught the material often and the words just flew from my mind on
to the page. The editing process was another matter. I worked with a wonderful
editor who helped my structure my ideas and wouldn’t stop until the text made
each concept clear to her. This process with my editor also gave me some
insight into just how difficult these ideas are to understand: how they run
contrary to much of the popular thinking of today.”
Oliphant summarises the publishing experience by saying, “CGW
Publishing have been professional and thorough. They delivered a quality
product quickly and efficiently, saving us months of work in text formatting,
cover design and the many mysteries around getting a book ready for print.
Christopher went above and beyond in the graphics work, proofing editing and both
text and eBook formatting and we remain very grateful to everyone at CGW
Publishing for all their hard work.
Accepting the Radical by Ronna Smithrim and Christopher
Oliphant, published by CGW Publishing, is available now from all good book
stores, ISBN 978-1-9082931-0-7.
Trudie and Lloyd Thompson have made their first donation to the IVF fund at St Mary's Hospital, the IVF facility that made their own dream come true.
'Dreams Do Come True' documents their
unconventional love story as they deal with a 12 year course of IVF
that sees them lose two businesses and eventually file for bankruptcy
before finally realising their dream of becoming parents.
Lloyd, who is now a proud
father to 12-year-old Jaja commented; "Writing the book was a great
way for us to reflect on the whole journey that really made our world
complete - even though we do talk about it nearly everyday. For me
writing this book was a great way to show other men that it is ok to
talk about IVF, you don't need to keep it locked in."
Trudie added: "I
started writing my feelings down as over the years I came to realise
that until I had my beautiful boy I was addicted to getting pregnant
as it was all I wanted in the world. Throughout our IVF I experienced
a range of emotions, so I really wanted this book to help others who
might be experiencing the same. It is also very important to us as a
family that with this book we are be able to give something back to
the hospital that set us off on our journey – Saint Mary’s
Hospital."
Accepting the Radical is the new book from experts Ronna Smithrim and
Christopher Oliphant, and it contains surprising advice for anyone
seeking support with their success in life. Rather than looking for a
problem and trying to ‘fix’ it, the authors advocate accepting yourself
fully as you are, as a route to achieving the life you want. If this
approach seems radical, then it is – Radical Acceptance.
Oliphant
explains, "Our journey began when we started out using the various
‘fix’ therapies – but soon found them to be limited. The more we
explored, the more the idea of acceptance emerged. This led us to
develop the Wheel, a tool we explore throughout the book. We carried on,
developing the idea of acceptance until it emerged in its current
form."
Oliphant and Smithrim continued to develop their new
approach, continuing to achieve outstanding results with their clients
until, one day, someone asked them what they did, what was this way of
thinking and teaching called? Smithrim replied, "Acceptance, I suppose:
Radical Acceptance." And so it was born.
The authors
explain the principle of Radical Acceptance; "The basic premise of
Radical Acceptance - what makes it so different - is that your ‘fixer’
is powerless: no matter how hard you try, you can never fix yourself.
What’s so paradoxical about acceptance is that the more you accept a
part of who you are, the less you need to act on it. Radical Acceptance
has the power to give you a degree of control over your life that
endless years of ‘fix’ therapy couldn’t touch. Its subversive teachings
can help you to recognise and accept the powerlessness of the ‘fixer’
within you. From there, you can accept all of who you are."
Since
the creation of Radical Acceptance, the authors have taught the simple
yet powerful principles and techniques to groups around the world – and
under constant pressure from the students in these groups have finally
produced this book. What it contains won’t be for everyone: Radical
Acceptance is a multi-faceted approach to personal growth work which can
be both demanding and painful, opening up doors in readers’ lives that
can be highly challenging yet ultimately liberating.
With the
tools, exercises and case studies shared by Smithrim and Oliphant,
readers will discover a new way of seeing life’s problems, both for
themselves and for their clients, quickly discovering that the path to
happiness, success and fulfilment really does lie in Accepting the
Radical.
"Accepting the Radical: You Can Not Be Fixed", ISBN 978-1-9082931-0-7, is published by CGW Publishing and available now from all good book stores, priced at £15 or $25.
