Andrew Ballard knows a thing or two about business success.

He does it. He teaches it. He wrote a book about it. He gives talks on it, including one at TEDxSnoIsleLibraries.

But it took near-death health issue for Ballard to realize – and then incorporate – the most important component of success and achieving breakthrough growth.

On this episode of Check It Out!, Ballard discusses how balancing family and business can make for healthier outcomes in both areas.

There were plenty of references to books, events and people; hope we got all of ’em here:

• Six Sigma reading list
• Your Opinion Doesn’t Matter
• Marketing Solutions website
• Andrew Ballard’s LinkedIn profile
• Blue Ocean Strategy
• Voice of the customer
• Business Pros events
• What is dyslexia?
• Brain tumors
• A to Z business databases and others
• Dave Lee Howard Band
• Hurricane Ridge band
• Teasing & bullying

Also …

In our Book Notes segment, Jackie Parker, Sno-Isle Libraries Lead Librarian for Readers’ Services, offers up three very different titles that she enjoyed. Her recommendations are:

• Vox, a novel by Christina Dalcher that Parker says is “clearly a descendant of The Handmaid’s Tale.” Dalcher imagines a society where the rights of women have been pared away until they are restricted to speaking just 100 words a day.
• The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman is about how gardening not only helps plants grow, but also helps the young widow and mother who takes on the unfamiliar task.
• Tougher in Texas is part of Kari Lynn Dell’s series set with Texas rodeo as the backdrop. The lead character, who has Asperger Syndrome, copes with the challenges of life and the rodeo circuit. The entire “Texas” series is available as an eBook and audiobook.

Proudly brought to you by Sno-Isle Libraries, serving residents of Snohomish and Island counties in the great state of Washington, and the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation.