Tag: branding

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Seth Godin Returns to Orange County

Seth Godin is coming to Orange County! Godin’s twelve books — all of them bestsellers — deal with the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership and most of all, changing everything. His blog is considered the most popular marketing blog in the world. And he’s coming to Orange County and you can hear him speak.

On March 2, Seth will be speaking at Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. The event — organized by Bryan Elliot as part of Linked Orange County — is a great opportunity to hear from the innovative thought leader who usually is only seen at exclusive events like TED. Tickets are available now, and this is likely to sell out.

I’ve read several of his books, including The Big Moo, Small is the New Big, and Linchpin. He has a way of cutting through the crap and addressing your customer (be they internal or external) in a whole new way. Check out all of Seth Godin’s books (affiliate link).

What’s your take on Seth Godin? Let me know if you going on March 2, and I’ll make a point to say hello.

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My 50-Word Bio

I’m submitting an abstract to speak at the APQC knowledge management conference in May 2011. As part of the submittal process, I had to write a 50-word bio.

Here’s what I came up with:

Jeff Hester is passionate about communities, working with leaders, employees and developers to help them deliver business value through KM. Co-author of three books and frequent speaker, the combination of engineering background and dot-com experience give him a unique ability to bridge the gap between practice and theory in plain English.

Whatever you think about my bio, I had a few observations about the process that anyone can benefit from.

  1. Telling someone who you are in 50 words or less is challenging. There’s a lot that goes unspoken in that bio.
  2. This bio was clearly  tailored to the audience (the knowledge management crowd). If I were speaking on WordPress or backpacking the JMT, the bio would look decidedly different. This doesn’t change who I am; it simply acknowledges that I am multi-faceted. They key point? Know your audience.
  3. It was fun! You may not plan to speak at a conference anytime soon, but having a clear statement about who you are and what distinguishes you from the rest of the pack is an exercise worth doing. Think of it as an elevator pitch for YOU!

Oh, and in case you counted, I came  in one word under fifty (not counting my name). Better to come in under budget.