Well, you may have noticed one or two threads where folks were asking about preferred books and quotes, whether motivational, management or related more specifically to the field of social media. Seems like as much as we are busy business people, we try to find time to broaden our horizons, and that’s where literature comes in handy

In fact, a couple of interesting books were already suggested in this thread: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/clubs/small-business/forum/topic/book-recommendation/

A suggestion was made to start a book club, where perhaps we could share personal favorites, discover little known gems, or rant & review on a best-seller. So here it is!

How it could work:
This is open for discussion. I would suggest we choose (or nominate) a book to read per month, knowing at least one month ahead of time. For example, if we chose to discuss the biography of Steve Jobs during the month of February (by Walter Isaacson), it gives some lead time to read in order to exchange with more in-depth interest.
By February 1st, ideally, we would nominate what the book for March would be, and so on throughout the year.

Does that sound like a plan? Anyone has a better approach to doing this? (it’s how we used to do it with a book club I was a part of a couple of years ago)

Who’s in?

@fredericgonzalo @russellallert — Hey, Frederic, you sure move fast!!

Good idea to get the ball rolling; let’s see if there’re takers and then we can chat about the logistics of book nomination and selection and how to conduct the review session.

Meanwhile, I’m in too.

@fredericgonzalo good move

@russellallert @rachelagheyisi @fernandocortes @roryramsden @dongrandy OK, folks, here is what I suggest: Reply on this thread by suggesting 3 books you wish to read in 2012.

You probably already have a few in mind, but you can also use this list for inspiration (it dates back to November 2008, but holds many classics).

Once we have a critical mass of answers, we will see if there are titles that come up more than once, and decide which book is selected based on most popular suggestions from SBBC members – that’s you, Small Business Book Club members

So, I shall fire away with my top 3:
1. “Mavericks at work: Why the most original minds in business win”, by William Taylor
2. “The Ultimate Question 2.0″, by Fred Reichheld
3. “How to win friends and influence people”, by Dale Carnegie

Next steps:
- Respond to this thread with your top 3. Books you wish to read, or have already read in the past and wish to discuss & exchange views about.
- Click on the “Follow this topic” at top right of this box, so you don’t miss anything from this thread

Let’s give ourselves a few days to gather feedback and suggestions. On Monday, January 23rd, I will take a look at feedback provided and advise you all of the selected book. I think it will make more sense to start a new thread per book, so I will do that next week. In the meantime, this thread will remain as the go-to place to discuss future books to read, suggestions and comments on how to improve this SBBC concept.

How does that sound? I am open to suggestions and ways to do better, so fire away…

  @fredericgonzalo — Hey, Frederic, I like the emoticons in your posts. How do you insert them? I don’t seem to have that option on my toolbar. Do, share!

1. Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business by Ann Handley & CC Chapman

2. UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging by Scott Stratten

3. Mavericks at Work by William Taylor & Polly LaBarre

Cheers!
Russell

1. Content Rules: by Ann Handley & CC Chapman
2. Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (And Other Social Networks) by Dave Kerpen
3. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. by Robert B. Cialdini

@russellallert @rachelagheyisi @fernandocortes @roryramsden @dongrandy  @charlottewood

OK folks, so far this is what it looks like, in the order it was posted (not necessarily by priority):

1. “Mavericks at work: Why the most original minds in business win”, by William Taylor (2 votes)
2. Launch by @michaelstelzner (2 votes)
3. Content Rules: by Ann Handley & CC Chapman (2 votes)

4. “The Ultimate Question 2.0″, by Fred Reichheld
5. “How to win friends and influence people”, by Dale Carnegie
6. Sun Tzu For Success: How to Use the Art of War to Master and Accomplish the Important Goals in Your Life by Gerald Michaelson
7. The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
8. Customer Satisfaction is Worthless: Customer Loyalty is Priceless by Jeffrey Gitomer
9. Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff
10. Breakthrough Advertising by Eugen Schwartz
11. UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging by Scott Stratten
12. Networking to Win by Steve Bookbinder
13. Hard Goals by Mark Murphy
14. Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (And Other Social Networks) by Dave Kerpen
15. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. by Robert B. Cialdini
16. What the Worlds Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham
17. The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey
18. Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin

You will notice we have a three-way tie with two votes, while all other books got one mention each. Let’s give ourselves the weekend to have more friends come over here and give their top 3 and we can take a decision on Monday as to which will be the first book we read, discuss and share over the next month.

Comments? Suggestions? Fire away…

@fredericgonzalo That is a great list! 

I have already read 1 & 3 and number 2 looks good. I am happy with any of those.  

@snouraini Good idea, Sherry. Not sure how many people here have Twitter, but I am up for it (although I know the time difference will kill me – I am in Australia).  

I am so IN!
@fredericgonzalo

My books:

1. Content Rules (already mentioned)

2. Launch (already mentioned)

3. Business Networking: How to Use the Power of Online and Offline Networking for Business Success, by Heather Townsend

Thanks for starting this!

Cheers,
Stef

@fredericgonzalo @russellallert — Good point about the potential difficulty of finding a time that will be convenient for everyone to simultaneously gather and comment on the book-of-the-month.

However, the same can be said for any other online event.  For instance, webinar attendees from all over the world somehow manage to make it to the live event.  I guess if it is important enough, people make the needed adjustments.  We should also bear in mind that this is a once in a month session, which would probably not last longer than 90 minutes.

I’m afraid that if we leave it as a forum where people drop by randomly and leave their reviews, we might lose the benefits of “live” interactions among members.  In my opinion, those interactions are as important as maintaining a repository of threads.

Members, please weigh in. Thanks

I like the hybrid idea — fully agree and support the new dimension that would be there with an in person meeting.

Doing a live kickstart for the first book would show what the interest level and commitment is to a live meeting format.

I like the idea of both, but I think maybe we can start it off as a thread for each book – I do like that idea. And people can catch up at their leisure. 

@stefaniefrank @russellallert @snouraini @dongrandy@fernandocortes @charlottewood @roryramsden

I’d love to see where this goes. Awesome idea and of course being a Google Plus Evangelist I like the idea of using hangouts to kickstart each month. While the hangout limit is 10 people it can be LiveStreamed and others can participate through the chat feature on livestream. You could even simultaneously do a hangout and a twitter chat as long as there were 2 moderators. I agree that a hybrid version is the best option because those who are unable to make it to the live event can still catch up and contribute through the thread right here in the SME club. 

Frederic Gonzalo  A friend told me that MeetingBurner.com is giving away free accounts with upto 50 webinar attendees.  They are in their final private beta stage.  We might want to use that platform for the discussions. 

OK, gang, democracy has spoken! First book to make it into our new SBBC – Small Business Book Club… (drum roll)…

Content Rules, by Ann Handley & CC Chapman.

This was the easy part. Now, we have to figure out how and when we’ll do our first book review. I think we pretty much nailed down the need to have a thread for each book, right here on SME clubs (Small Business). What we haven’t figured out yet, is how and when we can do a live chat to meet (virtually) to kickstart the discussion. Options suggested so far:
- Skype
- G+ Hangout
- Livestreaming
- Webinar style (MeetingBurner.com)

Right now, there are 10 of us on this thread. It’s likely that this number will increase somewhat, yet not everybody will be able to make it on the date and time that will be chosen. I therefore would recommend we start off with a G+ hangout, and see if the 10-person limitation is a barrier or not. (Must admit I also like the MeetingBurner option, even though we can’t see each other)

Speaking of timing, I would suggest doing this on Thursday PM, say 5pm Eastern time. Works well for folks in North America, is still accessible for Europeans (11pm) and will be morning time over coffee for Russell down under

The first suggested date would therefore be February 9th, 5pm EST. This allows for a little under 3 weeks to go and purchase the book for those (like me) who have not read it, or to refresh your memory for those who already have.

If you feel this is too close, and would prefer to delay by another week, we can make it to Feb 16th. I just think we need to close in on a date and format, so that we can move on and arrange agendas accordingly. It will we difficult to always have everybody on board, but let’s give it a try.

Is this good? Feedback, please.

@russellallert @rachelagheyisi @roryramsden @fernandocortes @dongrandy @moinshaikh @snouraini @fierce_living @stefaniefrank

@fredericgonzalo – Content Rules is a good selection to begin the SBBC with.

Thursday at 5 pm works for me. But Feb 16 will be better for me than Feb 9.  But if the majority of members opt for the 9th, I’ll try and adjust my schedule accordingly.

As I indicated in an earlier post, I don’t know anything about Google+ hangout, but I will make time sometime this week to familiarize myself with the platform. I will post any questions I may have.

Hi All

Great book to start with! Just wondering if you have thought about having it the weekend instead though. Would this suit others or just me better? If it’s just me then I am happy to try and do the weekday times – just cannot guarantee it.

Any date is good for me as I have already read the book.

Cheers!
Russell

@rachelagheyisi @roryramsden @fernandocortes @dongrandy @moinshaikh @fierce_living @stefaniefrank @snouraini

Like Skype idea. Have a cheat sheet for creating content. Think Ann Hadley created it from her book on another site which I might be able to share if I can find it. Maybe we could start an LI small business book group? I may be work on setting it up, if others interested.

@fredericgonzalo I think this is a great idea for a book club!  I would really be interested in joining in as well.  The meeting time is great but I agree with @rachelagheyisi about moving the day to the 16th if possible.  Also, the Linkedin group that @karenolenick proposed is a great idea too.   

I’m in!

I can also moderate the Launch discussion in March.

Cheers,Stef

@fredericgonzalo Unfortunately, I cannot come as I will be attending SME success summit that day.  Sorry to miss it.

How in the world did I overlook this awesome thread? What a great idea, Frederick. Kudos to all of you for jumping on board. I definitely want in on this, for sure. Hope there’s room for me on the big day.

And BTW, Content Rules and Launch are great choices. I can’t wait to talk with yall about them and also to go along for this new ride of discovery, as I’ve not yet used Google+ or some of the other techno tools you’re talking about using here. This should be both fun and a great learning experience.

Thanks, Frederick, so much for your leadership role in this. How exciting!

Robin Carlisle

@clararobin @karenolenick @dongrandy @russellallert @snouraini @rachelagheyisi @stefaniefrank @moinshaikh @fierce_living @fernandocortes @roryramsden @charlottewood @fredericgonzalo

I am in the same position as @deairby.  The next two months are terrible for me but I want to read the book and am interested in your discussion notes.
I have read Launch and am now following it word by word to launch my new blog.  It is a great book and very worth while.
Part of my blog is to read business books/articles on org issues, team, leadership, HR issues, culture, and strategy etc.
Are you guys interested in other topics besides Social Media and marketing?
I would love to be included in the cliff notes version for now and join you in a few months.

I am going to try to be on the call on 2/16 and hope it gets recorded to re-listen to. @fredericgonzalo Thanks for getting this together.

@fredericgonzalo – Hmm. The hybrid idea of SBBC member interaction that started out so well seems to be more complicated than we’d anticipated.  Perhaps we should focus on keeping the threads alive (which are already up and running) while we find a way to interact live. I’d hate for this initial frustration to stall the good progress we’ve had getting people interested in the book club.  I’m sure with a bit of thot and time, we’ll find a workable chat platform.

I have a free phone conference line we can use. Don’t believe it has a number limit but I’ll check.

It’s not video but it’s super easy and sound quality is good.

@fredericgonzalo

Checked with Andrea V leader in Fb club and here is her recommendation:

I think Freeconferencecall.com is a better solution since you really don’t have to share your screen to have a chat about it. Or even do a Google Hangout – that would be really fun.
@stefaniefrank @fredericgonzalo

thanks for being on top of this, Frederic@fredericgonzalo

@fredericgonzalo – Hi Frederic. I’m so sorry I missed the first “live” club meeting — an unexpected errand that I couldn’t reschedule came up.

I hope the attendance was encouraging and the discussion stimulating. Thanks for all your effort on this project

@fredericgonzalo — Geez; I’m surprised. What happened to all of those enthusiast comments and folks volunteering to moderate chat sessions??? I guess it’s a case of easier said than done or words are cheap. Sad.

However, I still believe the SBBC is a worthwhile endeavor especially when compared to some of the other threads I’ve seen in this and the other 2 clubs. So, please hold on to the towel – for now

It would be great if you could consider the time that you schedule the next event to include people in other time zones than found in the USA… Thanks

@fredericgonzalo Now that’s an initiative to my liking. Unfortunately I learned about it just some couple of minutes ago. Since my timezone is utc+1 I will probably not attend some G+ hangout at 5pm EST, making it 11pm for me. However I will look out for the discussion threads since I am definetely interersted in sharing thoughts about some of the great books out there. Maybe starting with a discussion thread before jumping into the live video chat could be more of a promising start? I guess a lot of us around here are terribly busy – yet we all seem to have the time to get back here and post some lines

Read all the posts with great interest. Very informative and fruitful discussions. The choice of books are great. I will definitely join in the March discussions. 

My time zone is GMT+5.5….Can’t help! Incidentally the free offer of Meeting Burner is for 15 participants. not bad to begin with.

Janardhan

@fredricgonzalo

Thanks. However, I would not like to inconvenience the majority just for self!

Lets begin with a book Whatever the time, I will be there!!

Janardhan

@fredericgonzalo, please include me in your bookclub.  I am two chapters into “Launch” so hopefully I am not far behind you all.

My best,Anita

I have ordered a copy of “Launch” and hope to finish long before months end. Count me IN!

Eileen

Hi There Cynthia! A good friend is that friend who sticks closer to his or her friend.Understands her feelings and stood by her always both when she is not in a good mood and when in a good frame of mind .This friend is better than a brother far away.Small Business Book Club Is A Friend Indeed!