Thought Talk

Thought Talk

By Karen Tiber LelandBusinessEntrepreneurship
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Thought Talk episodes

  • Why CEO Branding is a Necessity With Karen Tiber Leland

    I often get called by CEOs who are interested in the added value of having a CEO brand that is separate from – but connected to – their businesses. In today's Thought Talk podcast,, I'll be discussing the three biggest mistakes I see when it comes to CEO branding as well as the three thought leadership categories CEOs sort into when it comes to their personal brands.

    Tips for better CEO branding

    • CEO branding can't be done as a transactional relationship. You can't delegate the crafting of it to a marketing director. It requires your direct participation and engagement.

    • CEO branding isn't just PR — It requires not only reputation management, but also thought leadership, content marketing strategy, and last but not at all least, executive presence.

    • It takes work and effort, but not necessarily a great deal of time. Don't underestimate its value, and don't let your CEO brand be decided by default.

    About Karen Tiber Leland

    Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

    She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

    Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

    Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

    Resources

    Has this podcast inspired you to get your CEO brand in better shape? Fill out the contact form at KarenLeland.com and I will be happy to provide a complimentary consultation and discuss ways we might work together.

    14 min
  • 6 Ways to Measure Your Brand Reputation

    My guest today is Eddie Hull, the Associate Strategy Director of FutureBrand and he is here to help us understand the biggest takeaways from this year's FutureBrand Index for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

    To gain insight on how strong brand reputations are perceived and managed, listen for the six dimensions that are used for the study, as well as how the pandemic has changed how brands are seen.

    Tips For A Brand With Staying Power

    • Thought leadership — Move your thought leadership outside closed doors; companies highly placed in the index highlight their leaders.

    • Authenticity — Connect with your customers and build trust. People are starting to challenge the legitimacy of institutions and brands are no exception.

    • Trust — Building trust requires consistency and a clear purpose.

    • Adopt and integrate tech — You will need it to walk into the fourth industrial revolution.

    About Karen Tiber Leland

    Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

    She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

    Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

    Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

    About Our Guest

    Eddie Hull is the Associate Strategy Director of FutureBrand where he develops brand and communication strategies for companies such as Ford Motor Company, Allstate, Fidelity, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

    You can learn more about Eddie Hull on his LinkedIn.

    Mentioned

    FutureBrand Index

    Resources

    Are you interested in firmly establishing your CEO or executive brand, expanding your influence, or becoming more of a thought leader in your field?

    Consider my personal brand mapping strategy process. For more information on how we can work together to design and implement your personal CEO or Executive brand, give me a call for an initial consultation at no charge at 415-260-4615 or you can reach out to me at Sterling Marketing Group.

    36 min
  • The Seven Myths of Personal Branding With Karen Tiber Leland

    With COVID-19, more and more eyeballs are on us online, and our business and personal brands need to be sharp and effective. In today's solo episode I will be busting the seven most common myths surrounding personal brands.

    About Karen Tiber Leland

    Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

    She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

    Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

    Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

    Mentioned

    "The Brand Called You," by Tom Peters — Fast Company Magazine

    Resources

    Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one branding and marketing consulting? If so, you might want to consider booking a Rent My Brain session.

    During this one-hour, no-holds-barred consulting call, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question.

    The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions.

    For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at [email protected] or visit Sterling Marketing Group.

    10 min
  • Consistent Video Content Can Grow Your Business With Nina Froriep

    Video marketing has the capacity to create a connection and tell a multifaceted story that just words or audio can't always accomplish.

    I'm joined today by Nina Froriep from Clock Wise Productions to discuss what it takes to drive a successful video marketing campaign for a small business, why you need to be creating video and the biggest mistakes to avoid.

    Tips For Successful Video Marketing Online

    • Shorter is better — 90 seconds is ideal for a marketing video.

    • Choosing a platform — First, find out where your potential audience goes for their information, then show up there.

    • Biggest video marketing mistakes — Inconsistency, investing in too much equipment, and being too high-concept.

    • People like real people — be authentic, talk about what you know, be consistent, and give potential customers a feel for what it might be like to work with you.

    About Karen Tiber Leland

    Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

    She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

    Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

    Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

    About Our Guest

    Nina has seen it all from the early days on independent features, to big national TV commercials, corporate mega-shows, and many documentary films, including one she wrote, directed, and produced about Muslim kids in New York, called Abraham's Children. In short, there's no film- or video-production scenario she hasn't taken care of.

    Along the journey, she's met many, many awesomely wonderful people and a few bad-asses. She's worked with stars like Sophia Loren, John Malkovich, and Wynton Marsalis, she's interviewed Fortune 500 CEOs, she's worked on Emmy award-winning and Emmy-nominated documentaries, and produced hundreds of videos for uber-corporate shows.

    She's negotiated with teamsters, clients (big and small), actors, crew, children, police officers, a few dogs, and one snake.

    You can learn more about Nina on her website.

    Mentioned

    Clock Wise Productions

    Adobe Premiere

    iMovie

    InShot

    Resources

    Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one branding and marketing consulting? If so, you might want to consider booking a Rent My Brain session.

    During this one-hour, no-holds-barred consulting call, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question.

    The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions.

    For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at [email protected] or visit Sterling Marketing Group.

    29 min
  • Navigating the Gig Economy With Moves' CEO, Matthew Spoke

    Most people who choose independent work in the gig economy do so because they are pursuing career fulfillment, independence, and flexibility. But the trade-off is that you need to fend for yourself: withholding and remitting taxes, putting money aside for health insurance, retirement or paid sick leave, etc.

    This can be overwhelming, but today I welcome Matthew Spoke, CEO of Moves Financial, to the show. Moves is a startup dedicated to helping independent workers achieve their financial goals.

    We discuss what the gig economy is exactly, how it was expected to grow, and how COVID-19 impacted the timeline. We also touch on the increased demand for interim C-level executives and what the biggest pitfalls are for gig workers and the people who hire them.

    Get to know the gig economy

    • Growing labor force trends:
      • Economic and industry instability — More people will choose independent work as a primary choice or to diversify income in the coming decades.
      • Increasing selection — More skills are being brought into the online marketplace every day.

    • Tips for Gig workers:
      • Diversify — Make sure you have profiles on every platform to avoid your reputation being held hostage.
      • Financial hygiene — Understand your income and live below your means so you can put money aside.

    • Tips for hiring gig workers:
      • Do your due diligence — Investigate reviews to avoid the most common pain points.

    About Karen Tiber Leland

    Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

    She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

    Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

    Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

    About Our Guest

    Matthew Spoke is the Founder and CEO of Moves, a fintech company for the gig economy, and the Open Foundation, a not-for-profit designed to steward the Open Application Network (The OAN). For many years, Matthew has been a leading advocate for the potential social benefits of decentralized technologies in the world. Matthew has been an entrepreneur for five years, through which he's had the opportunity to serve as a founding board member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance and a founding director of the Blockchain Technology Coalition of Canada. He's also served as an advisor to governments on the regulatory implications of new technologies like blockchain on the future world of finance.

    You can learn more about Matthew Spoke on Twitter and LinkedIn

    Mentioned

    Moves Financial

    TaskRabbit

    Thumbtack

    Resources

    Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one branding and marketing consulting? If so, you might want to consider booking a Rent My Brain session.

    During this one-hour, no-holds-barred consulting call, I promise to get to the heart of your marketing, social media, PR branding, business development, or content marketing question.

    The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions.

    For more information or to book a session, contact me directly at [email protected] or visit Sterling Marketing Group.

    37 min
  • Reinventing In-Person Events for a Sustainable Future With Plamen Russev

    My guest today is Plamen Russev, Founder of Webit, author of Power to the People — the New Marketing and the man who successfully rebranded a whole city — not a small feat in any capacity.

    I've had the privilege to be both a panelist and a moderator at Webit's events and I am always quite impressed by the quality and level of the people that agree to participate.

    I'm very excited to finally have a chance to talk to Dr. Russev about how he came to be so well connected, what it took to shift a 20K attendee event to virtual in a matter of days, what it really takes to run successful events as well as the need to be more responsible to ensure a sustainable future for humanity.

    Tips

    • Having a strong team can make or break a launch — keep the right people around you and rely on their expertise.

    • Community, team, and platform are the three most important aspects of a successful virtual event.

    • Growing a network is hard work — Giving back, forgetting your ego, and trying to make a difference play a large part.

    • Don't put your reputation and health at risk for an in-person event.

    • When it comes to social media, it's all about authenticity and being yourself.

    About Karen Tiber Leland

    Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

    She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

    Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

    Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

    About Our Guest

    Dr. Plamen Russev is a Bulgarian serial entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist with over 25 years of experience in tech and innovation and founder of one of the world's largest and impactful communities of innovators, digerati, and world leaders — Webit.

    He currently serves as the executive chairman of the Webit.Foundation — the organization behind the fastest growing tech events, Webit.Festivals. With the power of Webit and his personal global network, Dr. Russev is changing narratives about cities and entire countries, building one of the most powerful marketing and rebranding campaigns.

    Plamen Russev was featured in hundreds of international and local media and blogs including The Economist, Entrepreneur.com, Bloomberg, CNBCe, Forbes, Venture Beat, CNN to name a few.

    His diverse background in education and investments includes digital health, AI, blockchain, exponential technologies, building global brands, empowering women in business and politics, creating and developing self-sustainable and growing entrepreneurial ecosystems, and establishing cities and countries as innovation hubs, talent magnets, and investment destinations.

    You can learn more about Plamen Russev on Twitter|LinkedIn|Facebook|Website

    Book: Power to the People — the New Marketing, by Plamen Russev

    Mentioned

    Webit

    Webit Conference

    Resources

    Are you looking to firmly establish your CEO or executive brand, expand your influence, or become more of a thought leader in your field? Consider my personal brand strategy mapping process and book a 30-minute complimentary phone consultation.

    For more information on designing and implementing your personal CEO or executive brand, contact me at Sterling Marketing Group.

    52 min
  • Tweeting Your Way To The Top With Karen Tiber Leland

    Today Karen talks about tweeting your way to the top — how you can use Twitter to build your business, your book, or your brand online.

    When you consider that 44% of Twitter users are between 18 and 34, that 69% are moms, and that 72% who follow a brand are likely to buy, it's an opportunity you might not want to pass over. But like all social media, effectiveness boils down to a few factors that Karen breaks down in a comprehensive way for this short, informative episode.

    Tips for Tweets

    • Relationships — Connect, expand, and maintain.

    • Generate leads and get attention — Twitter can give you access to people in your field, otherwise impossible to reach.

    • Branding and image building — Use Twitter to gain perspective on your own image.

    • Buzz and promo — It's a great place to build some excitement over a new product.

    • Consistency is key — Posting should be done 2 to 4 times a day, 5 days a week.

    Using Twitter strategically can be a real boon for marketing a book, business, product, or brand. If you find that it's a good fit for you but you'd like more information after listening in to this podcast, feel free to reach out to [email protected] for a great little 30-minute audio workbook called Tweet Your Way to the Top.

    About Karen Tiber Leland

    Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

    She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

    Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

    Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

    Mentioned

    Miracle Foundation

    United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

    10 min
  • The Importance of Philanthropy During COVID-19 With Miracle Foundation's Caroline Boudreaux

    Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Caroline Boudreaux, a social entrepreneur and the Founder of the Miracle Foundation. The Foundation is committed to a family for every child in our lifetime.

    Caroline and I take some time to talk about philanthropy and charity in trying times, the three Ts of philanthropy as well as the challenges nonprofits face compared to for profit businesses.

    Tips

    • In 1989, the U.N. ratified the Rights of the Child — 12 measurable things kids need to reach their full potential and the life skills training the Miracle Foundation provides for children to activate their rights.

    • The three "Ts" of philanthropy — Caroline details the ways you can help even in times of financial instability.

    • The little girl on the wooden bed — Sheebani is the child that began it all 20 years ago, she is now in nursing school.

    • The double standards faced by nonprofits — paying for marketing and talent is called overhead.

    About Karen Tiber Leland

    Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

    She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

    Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

    Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

    About Our Guest

    Caroline Boudreaux is a social entrepreneur and Founder of the Miracle Foundation.

    In May 2000, on Mother's Day, Caroline's life changed forever as she visited India for the first time and met a group of more than 100 orphaned children. The children were bald and filthy with empty-looking eyes — yet she saw their incredible potential. Since that day, she has committed her life to help orphaned children realize that potential.

    Caroline is a firecracker Cajun who was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana and attended Louisiana State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Prior to her nonprofit work, she had a successful career in media advertising.

    For her achievements with Miracle Foundation, Caroline was presented with the Hope Award in 2005, the Impact Award in 2008, and the United Nations Humanitarian Award in 2017. Caroline is a Young Global Leader with the World Economic Forum and has completed executive programs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Yale's Jackson Institute for Diplomacy, and the India School of Business.

    Caroline often speaks to heads of states, the press, and companies around the world.

    Find out more and get in touch with Caroline on her Website|Twitter|LinkedIn|Instagram|Facebook|Youtube

    Mentioned

    Miracle Foundation

    United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

    26 min
  • Holistic Financial Planning — Finding Your Financial Quarterback With Joanna Burish

    Joanna Burish joins the show today to share her expertise as a licensed holistic financial planner with Northwestern Mutual. Her family office focuses on three ways for her clients to have more power and control over their finances.

    We discuss the importance of listening to your financial advisor, the difference between good debt and bad debt, the three things you absolutely need to have a handle on during this COVID pandemic, and how having a financial quarterback can really help keep you on track.

    Tips

    • Holistic VS siloed planning — The difference between having a quarterback or not for your team.

    • Finding the right holistic financial planner — Joanna explains what the right feeling should be between too safe and not safe enough to identify your holistic financial planner.

    • Short- and long-term plans — in times of COVID, make sure your fight-or-flight response is mitigated and you keep making decisions that align with your long term plan.

    • The three things you need to have a handle on right now — 1. Keyman insurance, 2. tax-free, tax-deferred, and whole life insurance and 3. portfolio allocation and diversification.

    About Karen Tiber Leland

    Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

    She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

    Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

    Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

    About Our Guest

    In 1997 Joanna Burish and her business partner launched a family business office delivering financial, legacy planning, and liability protection planning services to professional athletes and those in the Hollywood industry.

    Joanna joined Fleming Development, working on a $350 million golf course community project in 2002 as Vice President and managed land planning and development, financing, marketing, and team building. In 2008, she joined Welton Enterprises Inc., a $130 million real estate company as Director of Finance and Development and became CEO in 2011.

    Joanna was introduced to Karl Dettmann of Northwestern Mutual in 2015 and the two merged their practices into the family business office they have today. This full-service team offers business owners, artists, entrepreneurs, family businesses, and individuals a holistic and sustainable strategic planning process for business and personal family life and legacy goals.

    Joanna is passionate about giving back to her community. In 2011, she founded The Brauds, a non-profit organization of female leaders mentoring and empowering each other. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin — Madison with a Major in Accounting, with a focus on Finance and Real Estate and in 2011 earned her MBA in Executive Business Management from here as well.

    Find out more and get in touch with Joanna on her Website|Twitter|LinkedIn or call her direct line 608-662-3919.

    Mentioned

    Northwestern Mutual

    The Power of Zero, Revised and Updated: How to Get to the 0% Tax Bracket and Transform Your Retirement, by David McKnight

    Resources

    Today's most successful CEOs, executives, and enterprises set their sights on developing a long-term rather than a short-term strategy for building their personal and business brands.

    Do you think you might benefit from one-on-one CEO branding, marketing, and consulting? If so, you might want to consider renting my brain for a session.

    During this one hour, no-holds-barred consulting call, I'll get to the heart of your CEO brand marketing, social media, PR, and business development questions.

    The feedback I give is to the point and precise: you will walk away with actions and solutions.

    To schedule a CEO brand Rent My Brain session go to Sterling Marketing Group or email me directly at [email protected].

    30 min
  • Surprising Solutions to Magical Thinking Messing up Our Productivity

    Surprising Solutions to The Magical Thinking Messing up Our Productivity

    Today's episode is a little different. Instead of interviewing a guest, I'm going to share about something I've recently encountered with clients and that I'm dealing with myself.

    After a call with a CEO client, I realized that many overachievers suffer from the same productivity issue: magical thinking.

    Like many of us, my high-performing CEO client expected herself to be at her maximum amount of productivity all the time, no matter the circumstances.

    I invite you to take a moment to consider how to overcome this common issue during a short episode that gets to the source of the problem and that also provides concrete actions you can start taking, as of today, to inject a dose of reality into your daily to-do list.

    Tips

    • Be aware of the impact of circumstances on focus and productivity — top of mind are upcoming elections, COVID-19, unemployment, economic uncertainty, working from home, and social unrest.

    • Keep in mind that tasks are never singular — Most seemingly two-step tasks are in reality four to eight-step ones.

    • Inject some reality into your daily routine by lowering your productivity bar.

    About Karen Tiber Leland

    Karen Tiber Leland is the founder of Sterling Marketing Group, a branding, marketing, and color strategy and implementation firm helping CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs develop stronger personal, business, and team brands. Her clients include Cisco, American Express, Marriott Hotels, Apple Computer, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

    She is also the best-selling author of nine traditionally-published business books that have sold over 400,000 copies and been translated into 10 languages. Her most recent book is The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand. She regularly writes for Inc.com and Entrepreneur.com and has had articles published in Self, The Los Angeles Times, American Way, The Boston Globe, and many others.

    Karen has spoken for Harvard, The AMA, Direct Marketing Association, and Stanford, among others. She has been interviewed on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, and Oprah.

    Get in touch with Karen on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook

    Resources

    Karen's new book No Nonsense Time Management: 50 Tips to Hack Your Time and Get Everything Done will be coming out in paperback and Kindle on December 1st, 2020, but it is available for preorder right now.

    This book will help you fight distraction and find your focus, go for your goals, and master online life.

    Take a moment to check it out here.

    8 min

About Thought Talk

From the publisher's feed

Best-selling author, and branding and marketing strategist Karen Tiber Leland, has engaging conversations with today's thought leaders from the worlds of business, art, technology, science and…