http://jeffreykrames.com The Dean of Leadership Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:44:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en People ask me if there is a lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas in the publishing industry. Do we finally get a chance to lower the volume from a loud and hectic beat of the drum to something lower and more restful? The answer is a definitive no...well, lets say mostly no. ... http://jeffreykrames.com/2008/12/01/how-business-books-are-sold/  One of my last posts, It's all about Fit," garnered a very compelling response by a curious reader named Adam Giovane.  Adam said that as a young person he had a dream of "soaking up knowledge and being paid to dispense it." What a wonderful way of looking at the life of ... http://jeffreykrames.com/2008/11/26/giving-thanks-for-the-best-job-on-the-planet/ A recent reader of this blog asked a terrific question: can a great title alone attached to a proposal attract a publisher? The answer is a definite yes---which belies a famous passage from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: "What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell ... http://jeffreykrames.com/2008/11/24/a-rose-by-any-other-name/ Most people would be shocked by the number of book proposals and manuscripts publishers are bombarded with each year. It is safe to say that all large publishers receive hundreds, perhaps thousands of business book proposals each year. Many are rejected for reasons that are different than what most people think.  One of the chief reasons ... http://jeffreykrames.com/2008/11/21/its-all-about-fit/ One of the things that  publishers spend a significant portion of their time on is titles. Titling books is an art form, and the significance of it is usually underestimated by authors. Perhaps the most surprising part of the titling process is coming to grips with just how difficult it is to come up ... http://jeffreykrames.com/2008/11/17/the-titling-process-unlocking-some-of-the-mystery/ With the Dow losing hundreds of points a day (yesterday's 550 point gain notwithstanding), I have been doing some soul searching. It is difficult to watch this happen, to see great companies turn into hobbled organizations at the mercy of a panicky global market and the whims of Washington. The saying "What's ... http://jeffreykrames.com/2008/11/14/a-nation-of-scorekeepers-and-depressed-ones-to-boot/ Today I heard an interesting number: some 67 percent of Americans are optimistic that our incoming president will be able to fix our flailing economy. I haven't heard the numbers on other important issues, such as national security and the wars, healthcare, education, etc. I would bet the numbers are similar. ... http://jeffreykrames.com/2008/11/12/the-expectations-game-in-the-age-of-crisis/   On Friday Barack Obama had his first press conference (not pictured) following his historic victory (pictured) and stuck to the Drucker playbook. It is Drucker who has said that an executive can only focus on one or two priorities at a time. On Friday, President Elect Obama had only one priority---the flailing economy that ... http://jeffreykrames.com/2008/11/10/the-burden-of-leadership/   Drucker spent much time talking about "naturals"---those gifted people who are viewed as "born" managers. Naturals set the right priorities, spark others to perform, and know how to make the "life and death" decisions (who to hire, fire, and promote). Naturals do not micro-manage people to death. They understand intuitively that autocratic, bully-like ... http://jeffreykrames.com/2008/11/07/obama-the-natural/ If Peter Drucker---the inventor of management and the chronicler of great leaders--- was still alive, he would not have been surprised by the outcome of the presidential election. He would have known that the Obama strategy and execution of its campaign was superior to Senator McCain's weeks before Election Day. Peter Drucker ... http://jeffreykrames.com/2008/11/05/if-peter-drucker-rated-the-2008-presidential-election/