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9 Business Links · HALTON HILLS · Tuesday,April 17, 2012 Book Review Courtesy of Halton Hills Library Influencer: The Power to Change Anything By Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler ISBN: 9780071484992 Review by Beverley King, Halton Hills Public Libraries EARTH WEEK CELEBRATION 2012 Friday, April 20, 2012 · Businesses, Institutions and Schools ­ Please send your employees and students out for a quick 22-Minute Clean-Up around your place of business. magine an organization where the "employees" are hardened criminals: drug addicts, thieves and murders. The average employee is an ex-con with 18 felony charges. They live by the street code: worry about yourself and don't rat on anyone. How is it possible to help over 14,000 violent criminals turn their lives around and make a positive contribution in an environment with no guards, no locks and no restraints? This is just one example where the authors of Influencer show you how you can exert influence instead of coping with the status quo. Dr. Mimi Silbert is the founder of the Delancy Street Foundation in San Francisco that is part residential therapy and part business. It consists of dozens of different businesses, but the employee population is unique. Silbert says, "They're nasty, racist, violent, and greedy." Within hours of joining Delancy, criminals and drug addicts are working in a restaurant, moving company, car repair shop or one of the many other companies. Silbert's method demonstrates what the authors refer to as principle number two. It's about discovering a few vital behaviours and focusing on just those. The hardest thing that they do at Delancy is reverse the two behaviours that stem from the code of the street. I To do this they put each resident in charge of someone else in the very first week. The result is that people start asking how your crew is doing instead of asking how you're doing. This is a vital behaviour that begins to change attitudes right from the beginning. Chapter 4 explains how residents are told to challenge everyone and report violations. Although originally viewed as ratting out a buddy, Silbert reframes the behaviour with words like "This is our family and this is our home. And in our home here's what we believe. If you turn others in, it helps them. We do it because we must help each other if we want to succeed." There's plenty of proof that the principles in the book work. Delancy has no guards, no professional therapists, no donations, and no grants, but "90 per cent of those who join Delancy never go back to drugs or crime." The Delancy story is just one of many detailed examples of real-world master influencers outlined in the book. You probably won't come face-to-face with hardened criminals, but chances are you have your own challenges with employees, colleagues, or maybe a teenage son or daughter. Instead of just coping, try using some of the key principles in this book to help you exert more influence and make changes. Community Clean-Up Day Saturday, April 21, 2012 · Individuals, Families, Services Clubs, Youth Groups, Community Groups, and Churches. · Litter pick up in ravines, parks and roadsides. · Find a group on-line or form your own. Free gloves and bags will be available at the Robert C. Austin Operations Centre or from any Halton Hills McDonald's Restaurants. Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers for pitching in to make Halton Hills beautiful and clean. Participants are encouraged to contact the Town of Halton Hills to register. Contact: Public Works Division Robert C. Austin Operations Centre 11620 Trafalgar Road Halton Hills, ON L7G 4S4 Tel.:905-873-2601 ext.2603 www.haltonhills.ca/earthday inf@haltonhills.ca 1 Halton Hills Dr., Halton Hills ON L7G 5G2 Tel.: 905-873-2601 · Fax: 905-873-2347 "Slow" Marketing at the Slow Time (or New Years "marketing" resolutions) By Peter and Tizi www.studiofourteen.ca n the aftermath of the holiday flurry, businesses, as well as individuals, often need to make an effort to get going again. If your business tends to slow down in the new year, those sluggish few days, weeks or even months are a perfect time for "slow" marketing. Resolve, Renew, Refresh You may have heard that successful companies are the ones who maintain, or increase, their marketing activities during slow times. It would make sense that this would apply in seasonal downturns as well as more extended periods. These times are perfect for assessing successes and identifying areas that need improvement. You know, all the things you normally have no time for when busy. Identify marketing tools that need updating. Take a good look at your web site and make those updates you've been putting off. Perhaps your branding is getting I dated and you've been meaning to freshen that up as well ­ now's the time! And once your branding and identity has been attended to... Sowing Time for Increased Sales Turn your attention to coming up with fresh sales strategies. Quiet times lend themselves to reflection; great for coming up with new ad campaigns, promotional ideas and exciting ways to regenerate your business. Take advantage of the lull to stir up some buzz prior to spring. That way, when everything gets going again, your business is ahead of the game and top of mind for your customers. Invest in Success Whatever you do should reflect positively on your business and consistently reinforce your brand. The goal is to strengthen the awareness of your product or service in your target market. Consult with your marketing/ design professional if you need some help solidifying your ideas. 39