Dan Negroni, author of Chasing Relevance: 6 Steps to Understand, Engage, and Maximize the Next Generation of Leaders in the Workplace, wants to close the gap that currently exists between millennials and other generations, particularly in the workplace. He argues that the first step in closing the gap is by referring to millennials as the “next generation of leaders” and for each generation to rid themselves of preconceived notions of each other. Currently, millennials make up 40% of the workforce and in ten years, they’ll make up 75% of the workforce. In the end, Negroni says, millennials and older generations are looking for the same things: capability, authenticity, and feedback.

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Randall Jones’s book, Show Me: Celebrities, Business Tycoons, Rock Stars, Journalists, Humanitarians, Attack Bunnies, and More, is a collection of interviews and real-life stories from a wide variety of people – from famous musicians like Pat Benatar, to Erin Brockovich, to soap star, Kassie DePaiva. Jones, a columnist for the Naples Daily News, wanted to know what made people successful, how they became successful and if they had any tips that anyone, regardless of industry, could apply to their daily lives. He tells the story of how he was able to interview famous people by being patient and polite. He wanted the interviews to focus on the ‘lesser’ known stories of their daily lives. The most important lesson he learned compiling all these stories was “when you fall, just get up,” but you’ll have to read the book to know about the “attack bunnies.”

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Mindy Gibbins-Klein is the author of The Thoughtful Leader: How to use your head and your heart to inspire others and says the book’s main message is that ‘thought leadership’ isn’t really ‘thoughtful’ unless the content being created is of value to readers. She defines thoughtful leadership as “the type of leadership that’s disruptive in content, stuff that makes heads turn.” Thoughtful leadership is something business leaders should aspire to, but also be aware that it requires coming up with ideas that will resonate with the market. Gibbins-Klein says her book is for anyone who wants to be a leader in their industry, or on their own, and that putting the time and effort up front will save you time later on.

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Author of Moving Mountains: Discover the Mountain in You, Julie Miles Lewis wants business leaders or people transitioning from one career to the next to change their perspective and find the ‘mountain within.’ By that, she means seeing obstacles, not as obstacles, but as opportunities to “reach higher perspectives and a new outlook on life.” Lewis recognizes that for people in transition this can be a difficult task, but states that gaining a new perspective is “a great way to get moving when you feel stuck.” She defines resilience as “the ability to bounce back from any setback” and the best way to overcome obstacles is by three core concepts: meditation, coming to your senses and affirmation.

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Doug Sandler, author of Nice Guys Finish First: Winning Customers for Life by Winning Relationships That Last, defines ‘nice’ as “genuine, trustworthy, upstanding with the answers you give, give to clients as much as you give in return. Basically, doing the right thing when nobody’s watching.” He also talks about how people need to go back to the basics of customer and employee service. With the anonymity of social media, people can forget how to engage directly with customers and employees. Sandler urges companies to revisit that personal, one-on-one engagement and remember the simpler things, such as returning phone calls and emails, being on time and overpromising and under delivering.

Sandler also argues that what drives the c-suite is the “bottom line;” therefore, going back to basics makes customers feel like they’re being listened to, employees feel engaged and that one-on-one engagement eventually increases the bottom line. Even on social media, Sandler says, the key to having a good relationship with your customers and be the ‘nice guy’ is engagement.

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Brigham Dickinson, author of Pattern for Excellence: Engage Your Team to WOW More Customers, talks about what the ‘pattern of excellence’ is all about: being the best, taking your job seriously and showing people how to provide a great service to someone else. Dickinson recalls that writing the book came as “an accident,” after losing his marketing software business in the downturn economy of 2008. He became a student of the industry and began keeping a journal about all the things he learned, gathering enough valuable insight to write a book applicable to anyone who wants to be a perfectionist. The goal, Dickinson says, is to “take every moment you have and go above and beyond” in order to find fulfillment in your work while serving others.

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Erika Andersen is the author of Be Bad First: Get Good at Things Fast to Stay Ready for the Future and talks about the key skill everyone should acquire: learn things quickly. She says, “In order to succeed at something, you’ll be bad at it first.” Andersen argues that people are normally bad at learning new things because learning new skills requires them to put themselves in a vulnerable position. She states the way to overcome this is by saying, ‘I’m going to be bad at this, I’m new at this,’ and give you some leeway because no one is perfect at a skill they haven’t mastered. In regards to the c-suite, Andersen says that leaders need to “set the tone” — if leaders do something that’s outside their comfort zone, the employees will follow their lead and feel emboldened to step out of their comfort zone.

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Jess Todtfeld, author of Media Secrets: A Media Training Crash Course, talks about the importance of having c-suite leaders properly media trained – not just for television, but for print, internet,and digital as well. In today’s media world where anyone can do a Facebook Live interview, the digital footprint is almost instantaneous and not having the right media skills, Todtfeld says, is a mistake. However, the biggest mistake c-suite executives make is winging it – being overconfident when talking about their company or product because they’ve done it before. Todtfeld argues that “winging it as a strategy is clunky and then they stumble.” The solution to this mistake is “thinking about the answers you wish you’d say, then work on those.” This practiced approach helps smooth out any bumps and keeps interviews authentic.

Todtfeld offers a few techniques to produce quotable soundbites: provide clear calls to action from your audience and leading with value. He also believes every question is a jumping off-point and an opportunity to garner a reaction from the audience. He encourages executives to find out what works for them in order to be authentic and to remember there’s no “one-size-fits-all” approach to being interviewed.

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Michael Solomon, author of, Marketers, Tear Down These Walls!: Liberating the Post-Modern Consumer, wrote the book because he is fascinated by the everyday activities of people when looking at how people are defining themselves as, who they are, how they interact with others – all relating to the consumption, and choices, they make. He says that the categories that marketers used to define and label consumers have become antiquated and obsolete. He adds, “You really can’t understand people without understanding the marketplace and who they interact with the marketplace.”

The book focuses on marketing and consumer behavior and expresses the idea that we are living in a very different marketing world. Consumers are no longer being ‘boxed in’ key categories or “walls.” For example, one wall that has been torn down is “male vs female.” While it continues to exist, it is now obsolete from a societal perspective, Solomon says.  As these walls continue to blend and mold to society’s standards, the fundamental way to understand people’s behaviors and how they make decisions is shifting, too. This is called the “post-modern consumer,” which Solomon defines are “consumers who no longer think in strict categories.”

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Diane DiResta, author of Knockout Presentations: How to Deliver Your Message with Power, Punch and Pizzazz lives by the “gifted speakers are born, but effective speakers are made” adage. DiResta believes that adding “speaker” to a business executive’s repertoire gives them a competitive advantage and a much needed skill in today’s business world. From entry-level to the c-suite, everyone should develop their speaking skills and one way to achieve that is by trying different techniques until we find the one that suits our personality and we’re comfortable with.

DiResta also talks about the biggest mistakes speakers make is coming across as nothing more than a talking head and lacking authenticity; which she stresses, is the key element in order to successfully build a relationship with the audience. Being someone you’re not creates an additional level of stress and people won’t be able to connect with the message. She stresses that, “Progress, not perfection” is what humanizes you and the audience can relate to that.

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