This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink’s talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.

I was lucky to be chosen to receive an advanced copy of Tony Hsieh’s book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose.  I heard about the book from Tim Ferriss and Kevin Rose on their Random Show.

Simply put this is a mini autobiography of Tony Hsieh’s adventure with business, more specifically, Zappos. Tony goes through a lot of ups and downs and provides honest insights and gold nuggets throughout the book. It was nice to read about another immigrant Asian entrepreneur, because there were a lot of similarities on how we were raised in America.

The biggest thing I got out of the book is how important people are and how to treat them. I appreciate the out-of-the-box thinking that he provided and how to create a culture. Any company can be cloned in a matter of months and the ultimate competitive advantage is the people, both customers and employees.

Another major point that I appreciated was in the last couple of chapters where he discusses the “science” behind happiness. I think that’s all that life is all about.

After reading the book I ordered a copy of the well-known culture book and look forward to reading that as well. I only hope that I will be able to create companies that have such passionate and loyal people.

I highly recommend the book. It was a very quick read and was difficult to put down after I started reading. You can buy the book on Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose. If you know me and are close to me in Irvine, CA. I can give you my copy to read.

We need more amazing companies that truly make a positive difference in peoples lives and bring the overall happiness level up around the world. When I get the chance I plan on attending one of the free tours at Zappos’ Head Quarters in Las Vegas.

Disclaimer: Per FTC guidelines. I received an advanced review copy of the book and promise to provide an honest review.

Successful business leader passionate about raising kids to be entrepreneurs. For over 20 years, Cameron Herold has been coaching, speaking to, or helping entrepreneurs build companies on five continents. He launched BackPocket COO to coach & mentor young, fun, entrepreneurial, growth companies and help make their dreams happen. He is one of the countrys most innovative business leaders and was a leading force behind one of the most successful businesses of the decade, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?. For more information about this TEDxTalk or TEDxEdmonton, visit http://www.tedxedmonton.com.

Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother Israelite or an alien living in one of your towns. -Deuteronomy 24:14

To me it comes down to what “advantage” means to you. I don’t know where to draw the line, but if excessive use of your product or service kills your customers (even if it takes decades), I would say that is a poor business model.

For marketers, think about how you can package your products and services to tell a story. It’s really not that hard if you think a little about it.

You can find Seth’s post on what he learned from lousy teachers here: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/03/what-you-can-learn-from-a-lousy-teacher.html

I just hope, I wasn’t a lousy teacher and hope I will never be one either. However, its good to know you can even learn from lousy teachers.

Here is a quick summary of the book borrowed from: Influence Summary

An Influence Summary by Robert B. Cialdini, Ph. D.

“It is through the influence process that we generate and manage change. 

As such, it is important for those wishing to create and sustain practical change to understand fully the workings of the influence process. Fortunately, a vast body of scientific evidence now exists on how, when, and why people say yes to influence attempts. From this formidable body of work, I have extracted six universal principles of influence–those that are so powerful that they generate desirable change in the widest range of circumstances.

Dr Cialdini explained these principles in his book and gave numerous examples.

In summary, these principles are:

• Reciprocation. People are more willing to comply with requests (for favors, services, information, concessions, etc.) from those who have provided such things first. For example, according to the American Disabled Veterans organization, mailing out a simple appeal for donations produces an 18% success rate; but, enclosing a small gift–personalized address labels–boosts the success rate to 35%

• Commitment/Consistency. People are more willing to be moved in a particular direction if they see it as consistent with an existing or recent commitment. Consider how small that commitment can be and still motivate change forcefully: Gorden Sinclair, a Chicago restaurant owner, was beset by the problem of no-shows—people who made table reservations but failed to appear and failed to call to cancel. He reduced the problem by first getting a small commitment. He instructed his receptionists to stop saying, “Please call if you change your plans” and to start saying, Will you call us if you change your plans?” The no-show rate dropped from 30% to 10% immediately.

• Authority. People are more willing to follow the directions or recommendations of a communicator to whom they attribute relevant authority or expertise. One study showed that 3 times as many pedestrians were willing to follow a man into traffic against the red light when he was merely dressed as an authority in a business suit and tie.

• Social Validation. People are more willing to take a recommended action if they see evidence that many others, especially similar others, are taking it. One researcher went door to door collecting for charity and carrying a list of others in the area who had already contributed. The longer the list, the more contributions it produced.

• Scarcity. People find objects and opportunities more attractive to the degree that they are scarce, rare, or dwindling in availability. Even information that is scarce is more effective. A beef importer in the US informed his customers (honestly) that, because of weather conditions in Australia, there was likely to be a shortage of Australian beef. His orders more than doubled. However, when he added (also honestly) that this information came from his company’s exclusive contacts in the Australian National Weather Service, orders increased by 600%!

• Liking/Friendship. People prefer to say yes to those they know and like. For example, research done on Tupperware Home Demonstration parties shows that guests are 3 times more likely to purchase products because they like the party’s hostess than because they like the products.”

This is an influence summary of Dr Robert Cialdini’s work.

In his presentations, Professor Cialdini describes and emphasizes the ethical use of these principles. Only through its nonmanipulative use can the influence process be simultaneously effective, ethical, and enduring. And only in this fashion can it enhance a lasting sense of partnership between those involved in the exchange.

Robert B. Cialdini is Regents’ professor of Psychology at Arizona State University in the United States.

Whenever you are crafting an offer try to take into account as many factors as you can.

It’s a parable about how giving will give you a higher quality of life.

Here’s Amazon’s description:

This modern-day business parable, a quick read in the spirit of The Greatest Salesman in the World and The One Minute Manager, should do well with eager corporate-ladder climbers, who may at first be confused by its focus: on putting the other guy first-be it a colleague, competitor, customer, friend or family member. Told through the fictitious story of an ambitious young salesman named Joe, Burg and Mann communicate their points through the advice of an enigmatic (and highly likeable) mentor character known as Pindar. Rather than help Joe snag a fast sale, the consultant introduces him to series of “go-givers” who personify the “Five Laws of Stratospheric Success.” Over the course of five days, a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial advisor, a real-estate broker and the mysterious “Connector” teach Joe about the laws of value, compensation, influence, authenticity and receptivity-concepts that make more immediate sense in this fictional context than they would in a formal business book. Burg (Endless Referrals: Network Your Everyday Contacts Into Sales) and Mann (You Call the Shots) write with a simple, informal style that offers a working-person’s interpretation of the old adage “give, and you shall receive.”
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Here are the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success (which are restated at the back of the book):

1) The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.
2) The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
3) The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interests first.
4) The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
5) The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

Overall it was a quick read and a good book. Hard to actually apply the lessons in your life. I recommend this book for anyone interested in adding more value to the world and wanting to live a life that makes a difference. The businesses lessons overlap into your personal life. In fact, there shouldn’t be a line dividing the two.

I plan on borrowing/reading the second book, Go-Givers Sell More, which is filled with case studies.