LESS EGO, MORE SOUL: Search Your Soul and Make Changes in 21 Days

/in , /by

LESS EGO, MORE SOUL, by Janet Ioli, is a modern reinvention guide for women to search their soul make changes in 21 Days. It was released in July 2020, published by JI International, and is available for sale on Amazon. Genre: Women in Business / Self-Improvement / Motivational

As a Women’s Leadership Expert & Executive Coach, Janet Ioli has been helping people and organizations make changes and maximize their impact for over 25 years. 

In her new book LESS EGO, MORE SOUL, Janet helps women make changes to reinvent themselves in just 21 days.

“With what is going on right now (with Covid-19), what better time than now to reflect and reinvent yourself,” says Janet Ioli.

Janet Ioli was recently featured by Women to Watch Media. In her interview with Sue Rocco, Janet shared that after the death of her Father, she was prompted to ask herself this question – “Am I living my life in alignment with what is important to me?” This is a question Janet poses to readers in her book LESS EGO, MORE SOUL. Through 3 weeks of exercises, Janet encourages readers to – Embrace Yourself (Week 1), Find Your Inner Wise Woman (Week 2), and Create Your Personal Manifesto (Week 3). Search your soul and make changes in 21 Days.

LESS EGO, MORE SOUL is written for women who have achieved success in their careers— but are questioning if that is all there is.

“Ioli presents a different model for approaching life, focused on intentionality, exuberance, curiosity, and, above all, self-care. Interweaving autobiography with practical advice, she provides a functional toolkit for implementing real change in her readers’ lives through practices like writing, visualization, and creating a personal manifesto… Ioli has years of experience in leadership and executive coaching, and her background is evident in the clarity and compelling nature of the writing in this volume. Her advice is valuable because it is concrete. Rather than abstract concepts and ideas, Ioli offers step-by-step instructions that literally walk readers along the path to self-transformation. In addition to providing a clear road map for initiating change, this volume also uses personal narrative to both engage readers and illustrate the ideas being discussed. The result is a text that is enjoyable as well as transformative. There are so few self-help texts that give women permission to put themselves first and trust their instincts about who they want to be. Ioli not only grants that permission but shows how it can lead to real and meaningful change for the better. ” -Reviewed by The US Review

Synopsis:

When you feel stuck or fixed in your ways, reinvention seems unimaginable, even unattainable. But what if you could define your life to be more fluid, curious, and exuberant?

What if you were gently led through activities of introspection and empowerment in the setting of your choice, without an audience or need for any preparation?

Deep, impactful change toward the breath of new life.

Ultimate alignment of heart, mind, soul.

It sounds breathtaking, doesn’t it?

Your guided journey in this book will prompt you to let go of incessant pleasing, proving, and polishing. You will integrate the voice of your inner wise woman into a declaration of who you are, what you believe, and what you are committed to. The personal manifesto you will create here is a decision-making and alignment tool for the actions of not the person you are now—but of the person you are becoming. 

You will commit to live and lead with LESS EGO and MORE SOUL.

Excerpt:

Chapter 11

A Disorienting Place for All of Us  

As of this writing, in the Spring of 2020, you and I have been hit with a gargantuan thunderbolt impacting everyone around the world. We are experiencing a global health crisis, a pandemic that came out of nowhere and is impacting everyone. Most of the world is in some sort of stay-at-home quarantine period due to this crisis. We cannot comfortably and freely leave our houses due to the high risk of getting sick or spreading the illness, except to get food or medicine or attend to absolutely essential business. We wear masks when we do venture out for essentials, or if we are still going to a workplace that is considered “essential” during these times. Many of us are sick with this unfamiliar virus that is spreading. Some of us are hospitalized; some are even in critical condition. An unexpected number of us are eventually dying from this threatening organism.

Who could have predicted that the year of 2020 would bring this sudden, cataclysmic upset to our daily lives?

Everything “non-essential” has halted as we are ordered to stay inside the safety of our own homes to avoid continued spread of this invisible virus moving stealthily and steadily among us all.

Millions are filing for unemployment as their financial livelihoods have been severely impacted by the shutdowns.

I had no idea that this notion of a thunderbolt experience and subsequent soul searching I was writing about (in LESS EGO, MORE SOUL) would become so relevant. I never thought that we would be hit by a massive, global thunderbolt of unprecedented proportions.  That it would strike so suddenly and shake us to the very core of our beings.

You may be now sitting back during this thunderbolt experience and facing questions that are bubbling up in the midst and resulting aftermath. You may be having an identity crisis of some sorts as you are brought face to face with your own fragility as a human—and the fragility of those around you. You may be wondering if what you thought was important before all of this is really that important. You may also be questioning your own choices and behaviors.

Your wise self may have been thrust forward and your ego identity mask has been cracked. Your wise self may be speaking much more loudly now than that muffled whisper when your mask was securely in place.

Those designer handbags you covet and display as status symbols may feel pretty unimportant to you. Being impressed by people’s titles and their social status may seem superficial and unaligned to your deeper sense of values. You watch people show sides of themselves that involve compassion, empathy, and kindness. None of these attributes you admire and resonate with in these moments have anything to do with material wealth, social status, goal achievement, fame, or other measures of success you may have become accustomed to using as metrics to judge yourself and others over the years. You may be embarrassed when you are faced with what might appear to you to be the shallowness your own surface identity. Yes, yours. That superficiality that you could perhaps spot in others but didn’t see in your own self.  The things that impressed you that really were meaningless but were prescribed to you as important from those around you or from the conventional thinking you were socialized with—and had become your own.

This self-evaluation can be a scary, disorienting place to be. It makes you challenge and question what felt neatly normal and in order throughout your life. Yet it is also a time of renewal. An opportunity to discard the stories that no longer resonate with you or make sense.  Maybe they never made sense, but you didn’t stop to question. You didn’t stop to go deeper and listen.

Maybe the aftermath of an event like a pandemic isn’t a strong enough jolt to cause you to do this sort of complete reset and re-evaluation. Perhaps a different thunderbolt like the ones I mentioned earlier have shaken you to the core instead. Perhaps you have lost your job. Maybe you have lost a loved one or ended a relationship. Whatever the case, regardless of what kind of thunderbolt you have been hit with, I believe it is time for us all to wake us up to our deeper, wiser selves. That yearning for something more that you feel deep down from your core has always been trying to get your attention. It has been calling you. The thunderbolt experience just serves to knock your ego identity upside down and aside so that you have no choice but to listen. You are no longer immune to change.

Simple questions may be coming up for you as you’ve experienced this total loss of control and a staunch recognition of the commonality and fragility of all of humanity. Now is the time to reconnect to that neglected place and learn to listen to the deeper, wiser self that resides inside of you, that knows exactly what you need. It is time to find your wise self and come back full circle. It is time to become whole.

Thunderbolt Wake-up Call: Self-Reflection

Upon your last thunderbolt, whether the pandemic or something else, did you take time to reflect on the situation and dig around for your feelings?

Is the person you are being on a daily basis really the person you are or want to be at a deeper level?

What actions do you take on a regular basis that are not consistent with what you truly value?

Do you love, admire, respect the same things as before?

Are you focused on the right things for your wellbeing?

About the Author:

Janet Ioli has been helping people and organizations make changes and maximize their impact for over 25 years. As a former leader inside four Fortune 200 companies, she understands first-hand the complexities and realities leaders face leading their organizations.

Grounded in real experience working with thousands of leaders in different industries and countries and having provided over 10,000 hours of coaching, Janet has earned a reputation as an extraordinarily talented, highly results-oriented and sought-after leadership coach, change strategist, speaker, and organizational advisor. Forbes has recognized Janet as one of the country’s leading business coaches with membership in the Forbes Coaches Council.

Janet’s wealth of practical experience is backed by continuous and robust educational substance and focus, in addition to thousands of hours of self-study in psychology, leadership, change, neuroscience, and human development. She has master’s degrees in both Public Administration and Business, an undergraduate degree in Business, and has extensively studied Human Development and Adult Learning at the Doctoral academic level. Janet also holds a certification from the National Board of Medical Examiners as a health and wellness professional. Janet is certified as a Professional Certified Coach by the International Coach Federation and has an Advanced Executive Coaching Certificate from the Smith School of Business and a Certificate in Positive Psychology and Well-being Coaching.

Janet partners with major universities as an industry expert in women’s leadership— she is on the faculty of American University’s Key Executive Leadership Program for government leaders and is a designer and speaker for the University of California at Irvine’s Women in Leadership Certificate Program. As a recognized thought leader on leadership, self-development, and change, Janet is a contributor to Forbes and Thrive Global. She is the author of The Cure, Power Presence for Women, and Less Ego, More Soul.

Readers can connect with Janet on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Goodreads. To learn more, go to https://www.janetioli.com/

To request an interview with Janet Ioli or a copy of her book LESS EGO, MORE SOUL to review, please contact Kelsey Butts at Book Publicity Services at Kelsey@BookPublicityServices.com or (805) 807-9027.

Operation Clusterpuck, a B.S., Incorporated Novel

/in , , /by
Operation Clusterpuck is a sequel to B.S., Incorporated. It was released in November 2018, published by Wise Ink Publishing.
Operation Clusterpuck tells the funny, cynical but heartfelt story of Business Solutions, Inc. (BSI) — a U.S. corporation whose leaders have set in motion a series of disastrous projects that threaten to take the company down. BSI’s ragtag communications team once again gets pressed into action, juggling around-the-clock workloads, battling ruthless execs, and struggling to find meaning in their lives outside of work. 
“We wanted to tell the story of those unsung corporate heroes — the ones who are barely keeping their heads above water, but still do the right thing for their work ‘family,’ even when it’s not easy,” says coauthor Jennifer Rock. 
“Readers often tell us they recognize themselves and their co-workers in our novels,” adds coauthor Michael Voss. “We’re thrilled to reflect their work lives and experiences. Even if our stories might feel like a fun-house mirror.”
Praise for Operation Clusterpuck:
“Five stars. A rollicking ride that melds corporate intrigue, romance, and humor to create a spellbinding narrative … plunging readers into the soul of corporate life with its challenges and perils. Fast-paced and a hugely satisfying read, it’s first-rate entertainment.” – Readers’ Favorite
“Full of biting business jokes, workplace camaraderie and plenty of cheeky pop culture references. Impossible to put down.” – US Review
“A fine business novel. Operation Clusterpuck weaves intrigue and conundrums into a volatile story.” – Midwest Book Review
“Five stars … you’re in for a treat. By revealing the cobwebby crevices of corporate life, Rock and Voss show how even something as seemingly mundane as another day at the office can quickly turn into a scenario you’re more likely to see in a disaster movie.” – Red City Review
Synopsis:
Fresh off the brink of an all-American corporate disaster, Business Solutions, Inc., is launching a new, ill-advised venture, north of the border. As BSI executives pin their hopes and bonuses on a hastily planned Canada partnership, a shocking shakeup at the top threatens not only BSI’s expansion, but its legacy and future.
Just as Will Evans begins hitting his groove as BSI communications director and potential love interest for coworker Anna Reed, he’s booted out of his comfort zone. Thrown into a high-stakes international expansion, he’s forced to navigate a bumbling tech startup, worldly new colleagues, and Anna’s underhanded ex.
Back in Minneapolis, Anna is losing her sense of purpose – and maybe her mind – as she juggles an exploding workload, a complicated office romance, and new anxieties about her long-buried past. She also might be the only thing left standing between exec Lyle Kirkland and his most devious plot yet.
As BSIers get distracted with slapdash plans, technology fiascos, and pirate seminars, Will and Anna must race against the clock to save the company – and themselves. But is there time to change the course of people and companies so set in their ways? Or are some greedy schemes so deep and deceitful they can’t be stopped?
About the Authors:
Jennifer Rock and Michael Voss spent two decades careening through corporate America and barely lived to write about it. As company journalists, speechwriters, and C-suite advisors, they stockpiled insider stories and cautionary tales. Both live near Minneapolis where they own a communications agency, speak to groups of all sizes, and share their perspectives in publications like the Washington Post. Operation Clusterpuck is their second novel.
To learn more, go to http://www.rockandvossbooks.com/

B.S., Incorporated – St. Cloud Book Signing

/in , , /by
B.S., IncorporatedJennifer Rock and Michael Voss announced today that they will be doing a reading and signing event at the Barnes & Noble in St. Cloud on Friday, April 28th at 6:00PM for their new novel B.S., Incorporated. Michael is particularly excited about this event because St. Cloud is his hometown.
Michael is a graduate of St. Cloud Tech High School and the St. Cloud Technical and Community College. He began his career working for local companies such as Viking Coca-Cola and Marco Business Products – experiences that helped shape the story lines and characters found in B.S., Incorporated. He went on to become senior director of worldwide internal communications for Best Buy Co., Inc., before partnering with Jennifer to launch their own communications agency and complete their debut novel.
Funny, insightful, and heartfelt, B.S., Incorporated is a feel-good story about people finding themselves and coming into their own while simultaneously skewering every aspect of life in Corporate America. It’s a book that anyone in the business world will get a huge kick out of… After all, every job contains a certain amount of B.S.
“We like to think of our book events as part entertainment, part workplace support group,” says Michael. “We will read a little from our book, share some of the back stories that went into writing it, and encourage attendees to share their own hilarious and heartbreaking tales.” 

 

Synopsis:
Business Solutions, Inc. is in a state of chaos. While the employees spend their time rendezvousing in the stairwells, the CEOs are running their business into the ground through the use of shady consultants.  Will Evans, warehouse-worker-turned-white-collar-employee, is put in charge of implementing the consultants’ plans. Here he finds himself thrust into a muddle of absurdity and responsibility that he never expected.
When the plans push BSI to the brink of bankruptcy, Will teams up with Anna Reed, a corporate mercenary with heels as high as her ambition.  He needs her cunning and courage to pull off his covert plan to save the company.  Can Anna, the consummate job jumper, find a reason to go all-in on BSI? Or is she better off bailing and letting the company go down in flames?

 

Praise:
“One of the 10 Best Business Books of 2016 — B.S., Incorporated offers a colonoscopy of the contemporary corporate world.” – Wealth Management 
“Anyone who has sat through a mind-numbing business meeting (and haven’t we all?) will laugh out loud.” – St. Paul Pioneer Press
“B.S. Incorporated stands with some of the best business novels in its genre.” – Midwest Book Review
“One rollicking, irreverent, ‘I worked with these people’ kind of read.” – Business View North America Magazine
“Jennifer Rock and Michael Voss have written an incredibly engaging read that will have their readers laughing uproariously and turning the pages just as quickly as they can in order to find out what happens next.” – 5 Stars, Readers’ Favorite
“Funny as hell, with sharp observations and cunning insights. It reads like the best happy-hour story you’ve ever heard.” – Matt Kramer, CEO, Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce

 

About the Authors:
Jennifer and Michael have a shared passion for storytelling that goes back – way back – to when Jennifer published haikus in her first-grade newsletter, and Mike entertained other kids on the school bus with his creative fiction.
Not surprisingly, their jones for crafting a tale fueled their individual career paths, where each held roles in journalism, advertising, public relations, marketing and corporate communications. Jennifer and Michael had the good fortune to work for and with companies that spanned industries and impact – from privately held start-ups to Fortune 50 powerhouses to, now, their own communications agency.
Both authors live near Minneapolis where they work as speakers and consultants. They share their best stories during happy hour. B.S., Incorporated is their debut novel.
To learn more, go to www.RockAndVossBooks.com

Minneapolis Authors Jennifer Rock and Michael Voss Announce Several Upcoming Local Events

/in , , /by
B.S., IncorporatedAuthors Jennifer Rock and Michael Voss announced today that they will be holding several upcoming signing and discussion events in the Minneapolis area for their new book, B.S., Incorporated.
B.S., Incorporated is a funny, insightful, and heartfelt story that captures the humor and humanity of the 9-to-5 grind. It has been compared to The Office, The Devil Wears Prada, and Office Space.
Although it is a work of fiction, B.S., Incorporated draws from the authors’ real-life experiences. Jennifer Rock and Michael Voss have had the good fortune to work for and with companies that spanned industries and impact – from privately held start-ups to Fortune 50 powerhouses. One day, after yet another mind-numbing, daylong meeting about a project, they fled to a bar patio in the shadow of their company’s office building.  There, they drank to excess and swapped hilarious and heartbreaking tales about life in corporate America. At that point they realized they had a story—actually, many stories—worth telling, and they pinky swore that after sobering up, they’d write a book about their experiences.  In 2013, the Minneapolis-area natives struck out on their own to form the communication agency ROCKdotVOSS and write their debut novel B.S., Incorporated.
“Funny as hell, with sharp observations and cunning insights. It reads like the best happy-hour story you’ve ever heard.” – Matt Kramer, CEO, Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce
Jennifer and Michael will be at Eat My Words Bookstore on July 14, 2016 at 7:00pm. At 7:00pm on July 20, 2016, they will be at SubText Books.  Finally, they will be hosting an interactive event at Magers & Quinn Booksellers on August 4, 2016 at 7:00pm.  For more information and the locations of each of these stores, please visit their websites.
“Stop by any or all of these events, especially if you’ve had a long day at the office! We will read a little from our book, share some of the back stories that went into writing it, and encourage attendees to share their own hilarious and heartbreaking tales,” said Michael Voss. “We like to think of our book events as part entertainment, part workplace support group.”
For media inquiries, please contact Kelsey McBride at Book Publicity Services at (805) 807-9027 or kelsey@bookpublicityservices.com.
###

New Work of Fiction ‘B. S., Incorporated’ Hilariously Exposes Life in Corporate America

/in , /by
B. S., Incorporated
B.S., Incorporated, by Jennifer Rock and Michael Voss, is recommended for fans of The Office and Office Space.
Funny, insightful, and heartfelt, B.S., Incorporated is a feel-good story about people finding themselves and coming into their own while simultaneously skewering every aspect of life in Corporate America. It’s a book that anyone in the business world will get a huge kick out of… After all, every job contains a certain amount of B.S.  
“Funny as hell, with sharp observations and cunning insights. It reads like the best happy-hour story you’ve ever heard.” – Matt Kramer, CEO, Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce
“Anyone who has sat through a mind-numbing business meeting (and haven’t we all?) will laugh out loud.” – St. Paul Pioneer Press
“B.S. Incorporated stands with some of the best business novels in its genre.” – Midwest Book Review
“One rollicking, irreverent, ‘I worked with these people’ kind of read.” – Business View North America Magazine
“Jennifer Rock and Michael Voss have written an incredibly engaging read that will have their readers laughing uproariously and turning the pages just as quickly as they can in order to find out what happens next.” – 5 Stars, Readers’ Favorite
“One of the 10 Best Business Books of 2016 — B.S., Incorporated offers a colonoscopy of the contemporary corporate world.” – Wealth Management
Although it is a work of fiction, B.S., Incorporated draws from the authors’ real-life experiences as corporate journalists and executive speechwriters, which gave them all-access passes from the warehouse to the penthouse. It is a feel-good story about people finding themselves and coming into their own while simultaneously skewering every aspect of life in corporate America.
“After yet another mind-numbing, daylong meeting, we fled to a bar patio in the shadow of our company’s office building,” says Jennifer on the origin of the novel. “There, we drank to excess and swapped hilarious and heartbreaking tales about life in corporate America. At that point we realized we had a story—actually, many stories—worth telling, and we pinky swore that after sobering up, we’d write a book that captures the humor and humanity of the 9-to-5 grind.”
Synopsis:
Business Solutions, Inc. is in a state of chaos. While the employees spend their time rendezvousing in the stairwells, the CEOs are running their business into the ground through the use of shady consultants.  Will Evans, warehouse-worker-turned-white-collar-employee, is put in charge of implementing the consultants’ plans. Here he finds himself thrust into a muddle of absurdity and responsibility that he never expected.
When the plans push BSI to the brink of bankruptcy, Will teams up with Anna Reed, a corporate mercenary with heels as high as her ambition. He needs her cunning and courage to pull off his covert plan to save the company. Can Anna, the consummate job jumper, find a reason to go all-in on BSI? Or is she better off bailing and letting the company go down in flames? 
Excerpt:
Chapter 2
“Great shoes!” the coffee barista called to Anna as he balanced a tray of mocha samples. e morning skyway crowd surfed around him.
Anna smiled as she glided toward LaSalle Plaza in her red leather heels. They looked ridiculously ashy and stood too high to be practical, especially on this long walk from the car. But they served an important purpose. Anna’s first boss always talked about his “Superman Suit”—his most expensive, tailored three-piece he wore when he needed to feel invincible. These shoes did the same for Anna. They also boosted her to a shade under six feet—tall enough to loom over most female colleagues and stand eye-to-eye with the men.
She sped up to keep pace with the other professionals teeming in the second-story skyway. The eight-mile network of glass walkways connected Minneapolis’s office buildings, restaurants, and theaters, shielding pedestrians from extreme summers and brutal winters. Anna appreciated the protection on this chilly February morning.
She slipped past a line of people at the muffin shop and then slowed to admire her destination. Straight ahead, the twenty-two-story tower with blue-tinted windows acted like a divining rod. She nodded at the shoeshine guy in the doorway and stepped into the BSI lobby. Morning light poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows as Anna’s authoritative heels echoed on the marble floor. She took a deep breath to calm her exuberance. First day on the job.
Rumored to receive 5,000 résumés per month, BSI had its pick of prospective employees. Landing an interview was tough—getting a job, damn near impossible. But Anna didn’t base her professional plan on impossibilities. She built her goals on determination, persistence, and Alissa—Anna’s freshman-year roommate and one of the metro’s top headhunters. Alissa called Anna a dear friend. Anna called Alissa when she needed to move on. According to the carefully mapped, patent-pending Anna Reed Career Trajectory, this occurred every 3.2 years.
Approximately.
“May I help you?” the receptionist asked.
The lobby looked fresh and well funded. Anna could smell the lilies in the enormous vase on the table nearby. A far cry from her previous employer, a once-promising tech startup that lacked an actual business model, BSI had called her up to the majors.
“I’m Anna Reed. For Kari Fisher, please.”
The receptionist smiled, despite juggling a headset call, three flashing phone lines, and an open laptop. “One moment, please.”
Anna strolled to the windows, feeling the caffeine from her latte kicking in. This job is going to rock. Carole can go to hell.
Carole—a hot mess with a chronic antacid habit—had hired Anna at the tech startup. When Anna submitted her two weeks’ notice, Carole shook a few Rolaids straight from the bottle into her mouth. “Why become a small fish in a big pond?” she asked while crunching the chalky tablets. “There’s so much opportunity here.”
But Anna saw through the underhanded tactic to get her to stay. The company had just agreed to an ill-advised buyout, and layoffs would surely follow. Anna prided herself on reading the chessboard and staying one step ahead of the fray. Any time things got complicated—bad bosses, restructures, layoffs—she found a way to make a clean exit.
Kari Fisher—who did double-duty in HR and as a change manager for the senior VP of Operations—burst through the glass double doors and tripped as she crossed the lobby.
“Great to see you again. So great.” She tugged on her crooked hair barrette, attempting to right her falling brown curls.
Hard to fathom how someone so disheveled and distracted could be the direct line to Lyle Kirkland, Anna’s new boss. Still, if he could put up with her, so could Anna.
“Thanks for skipping orientation and jumping in. It’s been crazy,” Kari panted.
Anna grinned, noting Kari had missed a button on her blouse, causing a gap that revealed her gray sports bra.
“Your parking pass worked okay?”
Anna started to respond, but Kari had already spun around and trekked back toward the employee entrance. Anna clicked after her, taking care to land every step. Her kick-ass heels functioned well on modular carpet or hardwood but created one hell of a risk on marble tile. She didn’t want to pull another Bambi. Last month, her stilettos had disagreed with a restaurant’s slick floor, turning Anna into a flailing baby deer on ice—limbs splayed, skirt up, Spanx exposed.
“You’ll get your workspace and laptop later.” Kari nudged Anna to turn le at a hallway intersection. “Our schedule today is packed! So packed. We’re already late for PMO.”
Anna weaved around employees, trying to stay alongside this tiny sandstorm.
“Oh, and don’t forget to TEPIL your time today.”
“TEPIL?” Anna asked. “I’m not familiar with—”
“Silly me. It’s our Technology-Enabled Productivity Increment Log. Great system Synerpoint built for us. You know them? One of the ‘big six’ consultancies.” Kari’s short legs continued churning, and she tapped Anna’s shoulder to turn le again. “Anyhoo, we got rid of timecards—thank God! Now we use TEPIL to bucketize our work and track productivity in fifteen-minute increments. Just choose one of the fifty-six sanctioned workplace activities from the drop-down menu.”
Anna couldn’t help but smirk. “Sanctioned workplace activities?”
“So great, right? For today, you can TEPIL your time under code 249: Training, Learning, and Self-Advocacy.”
Kari stepped onto a waiting elevator and punched the button. “Cafeteria is on the fifth floor. Company store, too. Great place to pick up a BSI T-shirt or umbrella.” She put a hand on Anna’s arm, her eyes wide. “Ooh, and be sure to check out the store’s new spa services. Today is Massage Monday. TEPIL that as 298: Employee Wellness. Last week was Wax-It Wednesday! Got a Brazilian. Not gonna lie: I’m still tender. So tender.”
Anna wrinkled her nose at the unusual employee perks. What ever happened to gym passes and free pizza? “So how did you TEPIL that, if you don’t mind me asking.” She chuckled. “Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance?”
Kari continued ticking o today’s to-do list. “Gotta get your security badge, too. Can’t get back in the tower without it.” She tugged on the laminated card clipped to her waist, flashing the image at Anna. The ID photo featured the same striped shirt, the same I-just-woke-up hair. The plastic card snapped back on a retractable cord.
“The most important meeting you have today is in Loni Anderson.”
Anna chuckled. “With Loni Anderson?”
“In,” Kari corrected, lowering her voice to a raspy whisper as they stepped onto their destination floor. “It’s a conference room. For a meeting about Optelligence.”
“Optelligence?”
Kari nodded. “Top-secret strategy. Total game changer. It’s why you were hired. Kirkland’s the exec sponsor, and he needed a comm pro.”
Anna straightened her shoulders and smiled. She wanted to inquire further, but Kari threw open the door to a room full of people, mid-discussion.
Authors Jennifer Rock & Michael VossAbout the Authors:
Jennifer Rock and Michael Voss have had the good fortune to work for and with companies that spanned industries and impact – from privately held start-ups to Fortune 50 powerhouses to, now, their own communications agency. Both authors live near Minneapolis where they work as speakers and consultants. Their debut novel B. S., Incorporated was published in May 2016 by Wise Ink Creative Publishing. To learn more, go to http://www.rockandvossbooks.com/
For further information, to request a review copy, or to set up an interview or appearance by Jennifer Rock and Michael Voss, please contact Kelsey at Book Publicity Services at Kelsey@BookPublicityServices.com or 805.807.9027.

Discover the Secrets for Profitable and Lasting Innovation in Dana A. Oliver’s Latest Business Guide Book

/in , /by
Mantra Design Book CoverDana A. Oliver is the Senior Director of Research & Development at Medtronic. He has helped grow Medtronic’s Surgical Technologies ENT / NT division from $100 million to approximately $2 billion in annual revenues over fourteen years. With 30 years of experience and an impressive track record of revenue generation, Dana’s latest book Mantra Design is a must-read for every new product development professional aspiring to introduce premium priced, patent protected, market share leading products.
In Mantra Design, Dana reveals the secrets for profitable and lasting innovation, including how to identify your customer’s unmet needs and how to expedite new product development. He provides an easy to understand methodology in the form of 14 quick, digestible mantras that highlight the power of true innovation.
“Innovation is the lifeblood of any company’s continued growth and future survival,” says Dana A. Oliver. “To this day, I continue to read, learn, and evolve my leadership and innovation philosophies; and I hope that this book is beneficial to the next generation of innovation professionals.”
Mantra Design emphasizes the importance of continued innovation to keep sales teams and customers excited about the products and loyal to the business where they invest their time and money, creating the cash flow vital to a company’s success.
Mantra Design was published in October 2015 and is available for sale on Amazon.
To learn more, please visit MantraLeadership.com

 

Excerpt from Mantra Design: 
INNOVATION IS LITERALLY the lifeblood of any company’s continued growth and future survival. Innovation is the purposeful and continual reinvention of the company’s product portfolio by investing into one or all three strategic segments known as expansion, core, and adjacency. Expansion can be thought of as simply expanding your market share. Market share expansion can be accomplished through a variety of strategies including taking a share from your competitors by improved customer account penetration achieved by the offering of a more exhaustive portfolio of products or by offering your customers improved efficiencies through synergistic solutions such as lessening the number of steps or time to perform their job. Core is the deliberate focus and continual improvement of your primary products through the incremental betterment of your company’s platform features to their planned obsolescence and replacement by a new and next generation of the company’s essential platforms. Adjacency is the acquisition into or the modification of your primary products to be redesigned to be useful in similar marketplaces such as initially offering artificial knees and then expanding into the hip replacement market.
Innovation provides the sales team with new and differentiated products, which, of course, drive revenue growth by keeping the portfolio fresh. It keeps customers excited about your products and maintains their loyalty, it keeps employees engaged, and most importantly it provides the essential ingredient to maintain the company’s life force that is also known as cash flow. Pro table innovation fuels cash flow, which in turn can be used for reinvestment back into the research and development pipeline. It provides for infrastructure improvements, business expanding acquisitions, strategic minority investments, and shareholder returns in the form of stock buybacks and cash dividends. Moreover, cash flow is needed to provide company employees with bonuses, merit raises, promotions, training, and overarching business expansion. A lack of innovation, on the other hand, slowly starves the business of the oxygen-rich green dollars necessary to ensure growth. If your products and services are not regularly refreshed, it will be difficult to keep your customer’s loyalty because your competitors will convert your accounts by offering them improved products, services, and efficiencies. If innovation is missing from any company, then the result is that the business is being milked; and over time, the products will become old and antiquated, which in return results in declining revenues, which more often than not transforms the once-pro table company into a mere product line for another business.
So the question arises: why would any business stop investing into its future pipeline? The answer can be found by the intentions of the individuals running the business. For instance, it’s not uncommon for some large institutions to buy pro table and successful companies and thereafter begin to minimize or even stop all new product development and only make modest investments into sustaining engineering in attempts to maintain the existing portfolio. This strategy immediately drives down fixed and discretionary spending by lowering the research and development headcount and its associated project expenses, including future infrastructure investments, in return for higher operating margins and increased cash flows. This new net windfall in cash is purposely bankrolled with the intention of buying yet another pro table business. Simply put, you can invest in the existing business, or you can suck every possible dollar out of the business and use those monies for future acquisitions. One approach offers continued sustainability for the company being acquired while the other offers continued sustainability for the parent company. Regardless of the business philosophy, the result is the same for the company entity that is not reinvesting in innovation, and that is certain death in due time.
At the end of the day, working for any given business, you are likely to find yourself in one of three places. Part of a company strategy with heavy investments into organic development in attempts to grow and establish the company’s brands and name recognition. Second and more commonly are the large institutions who are making modest investments into research and development but are more committed to ensuring the company’s stock price continues to grow and regular dividends are paid out. These typical publicly traded companies are taking a percentage of their revenues and making prudent investments back into their organic pipelines with a more applied-research focus or what can be otherwise thought of as safe product development efforts that offer lessened risk and budget consumption in return for more predictable revenue generation while ensuring earnings are being returned in one of three of ways—stock buybacks, dividend payouts and cash reserves—for future company investments such as acquisitions. The last strategy was mentioned previously, and that is to only maintain your existing portfolio of products without any significant innovation efforts for the goal to maximize leverage, which is a nice word to secure as many profits as possible to build cash reserves for future acquisition targets.
A sad and more troubling variation of leverage is the cost containment CEO who is trying to bolster their résumé by showing improved business results at the sacrifice of pipeline investments. The decision is made to either stop or minimize innovation for immediate short-term higher profits and earnings that are portrayed by executive leadership as cost control measures, leading to an improved balance sheet in return for favorable investor community reviews. These dubious CEOs in two or three years’ time are off to another opportunity touting their leadership abilities by showing increased shareholder earnings while leaving their predecessor a lackluster and aging portfolio requiring massive investments for its correction. This latter scenario is frankly grotesque and shows a true lack of integrity and character, yet it’s alive and well today, and it’s found when companies pander to short-term earnings reports. This is the very reason why it’s so important to not reward executives on short-term results but on sustained long-term growth, profitability, and overall company health. This is also why I prescribe to the mantra “Market Share Is Your Company’s GPS!” In short, this means that all business decisions should be thoroughly vetted to ensure that long-term customer focus is maintained by the measure of sustained or growing market share.

 

Author DANA A. OLIVERAbout the Author:
Dana is a graduate of Northeastern University and ITT Technical Institute. He has approximately 30 years of experience in the field of medical devices, working for such companies as Medtronic, Genzyme, SIMS Level 1, Kirwan Surgical, and Strichman Medical. He has applied for over 30 patent applications and has been granted over 20 US patents to date.
Dana published his first business guide book “Mantra Leadership – Don’t Become the Emperor with No Clothes!” in January 2015. His second book Mantra Design – Innovate, Buy or Die! was published in October 2015.
Dana plans to become an independent Consultant and Educator in calendar year 2016 offering expertise in Innovation Leadership. He lives in Jacksonville, FL with his wife Linda and daughter “Lexi” Alexandra.
To learn more about the author or inquire about his services, please visit MantraLeadership.com
Readers can connect with Dana on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.
For further information concerning Mantra Design, to request a review copy, or to set up an interview or appearance by Dana A. Oliver, please contact Kelsey McBride at Book Publicity Services at Kelsey@BookPublicityServices.com or 805.807.9027.