Wired Presentations

2009 was a great year reading-wise. Here are some of my favorite 2009 reads. The links below don’t make me any cash; North Carolina doesn’t feel that it would be good for me to participate in an affiliate program.

My Favorite Books of 2009 (in no particular order)

Collapse of distinction by Scott McKain – The theme of this book is that you can’t compete on price. There has to be something compelling about your offerings in order to survive. In short, you can’t out McDonalds McDonalds. Scott is also a great person to follow on Twitter.

Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity by Hugh MacLeod – Hugh’s main message is simple, and compelling, “Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.” I like this book so much that I have given a copy to a friend. I happen to see a copy sitting on a co-worker’s desk and it made me smile. This is a great book, you owe it to yourself to read it. You can follow Hugh on Twitter.

The Backchannel: How Audiences are Using Twitter and Social Media and Changing Presentations Forever by Cliff Atkinson – Cliff is just a super nice guy who happens to know a great deal about presentations using technology. If you deliver presentations you must read this book. If you have never heard of the backchannel you must read this book. If you don’t know what the backchannel is you must read this book. You don’t want to find out about the backchannel after it has given you a healthy smack-down. Follow Cliff on Twitter.

Who’s Got Your Back: The Breakthrough Program to Build Deep, Trusting Relationships That Create Success–and Won’t Let You Fail by Keith Ferrazzi - The message here is simple — good, honest, feedback is vital if you plan to reach your potential. You need to build trusting relationships in order to thrive. Keith explains how you can do this by creating accountability groups. You owe it to yourself to read this book and put the ideas into practice. Follow Keith on Twitter.

Trust Agents Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation and Earn Trust by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. If you are reading this blog, you need to read Trust Agents. The book can change your life. It’s that simple. Follow Chris on Twitter. Follow Julien on Twitter.

And finally…

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall. This book is excellent. Even if you don’t run you will enjoy this book. Find out how the modern running shoe industry has effected the health of runners. You will also meet characters who you will swear were made up. They weren’t. Find out how people can run a 100 mile, or more, race and be smiling as they cross the finish line. Amazing. Just writing this makes me want to read it again, and again.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 31st, 2009 at 3:49 pm and is filed under Books, Reading. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.