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Image by Colin Craig, The Big Orange Slide

In Adweek (@Adweek), Tim Nudd (@nudd) reports on a panel of advertisers who said only 7 types of stories exist and the “challenge becomes finding which one best suits your brand, and then telling it skillfully, believably, and — if you're going to invite consumers to join in the story — extremely carefully.”

The discussion was based around author Christopher Booker's contention, in his book Seven Basic Plots, that 7 archetypal themes recur in every kind of storytelling

1. Overcoming the Monster. The classic underdog story.

2. Rebirth. A story of renewal.

3. Quest. A mission from point A to point B.

4. Journey and Return. About transformation through travel and homecoming.

5. Rags to Riches. From obscurity to prominence.

6. Tragedy. The barren human experience

7. Comedy. Emotionally elevating.

At the core of every brand, said one marketer, is a good story waiting to happen.

Read this in full.

Social media marketing speaker Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan) encourages his followers to “Tell Big Stories.”

In a post on the HBR Blog Network (@HarvardBiz), Rosabeth Moss Kanter (@RosabethKanter) says people remember stories more easily than numbers, and if told in the right way and with the right message, they can motivate action. She says, if you want to transform your organization (brand), start by challenging the stories you tell about the company and how it operates.

Read this in full.

And MarketingProfs (@MarketingProfs) has a brief slideshow on “How to Tell Your Company’s Story:”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you tell your brand's story.

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Louis McBride, author of the blog Baker Book House Church Connection, writes, ”If you’re like me, the elections can be exhausting; so I welcome [UPWORD 2012] to offer something to help us keep things in perspective. Give a visit to the site and sign up today.”

UPWORD 2012 (http://SeeGodsWordinAction.com/UPWORD2012) (#UPWORD2012) is a campaign during the US presidential election season that reminds us God is in control. Get a Bible verse paired with stunning, original nature photographs delivered to your email inbox. Also get free downloads of the New Testament, screensavers and wallpaper, a blogger badge, a YouTube video of the verses, and a mobile app when you visit http://SeeGodsWordinAction.com/UPWORD2012. This ends Nov. 9, so sign up today. Tell your friends and share on your social sites. See the announcing news release.

The above (humorous) Infographic by WritersMarket is in the Nov/Dec 2012 issue of Writer’s Digest (@WritersDigest).

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you publish and market your digital and print content.

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And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Louis McBride, author of the blog Baker Book House Church Connection,writes, ”If you’re like me, the elections can be exhausting; so I welcome [UPWORD 2012] to offer something to help us keep things in perspective. Give a visit to the site and sign up today.”

UPWORD 2012 (http://SeeGodsWordinAction.com/UPWORD2012) (#UPWORD2012) is a campaign during the US presidential election season that reminds us God is in control. Get a Bible verse paired with stunning, original nature photographs delivered to your email inbox. Also get free downloads of the New Testament, screensavers and wallpaper, a blogger badge, a YouTube video of the verses, and a mobile app when you visithttp://SeeGodsWordinAction.com/UPWORD2012. This ends Nov. 9, so sign up today. Tell your friends and share on your social sites. See the announcing news release.

Thanks to HarperCollinsPublishers (@HarperCollins), below is the original contract between Herman Melville and Harper and Brothers for the 1851 publication of Moby-Dick; or, The Whale.

Notice: Hand written. No advance. 50% of net. 

Here’s the transcription of the above images.

Agreement made between Harper and Brothers of the city of New York, Publishers of the onepart and Herman Melville of Pittsfield, Massachusetts of the other part [?]. That the said Harper and Brothers have agreed to publish and sell and keep for sale a certain work entitled “The Whale” whereof the said Herman Melville is the author upon the following terms ____
First. The copyright of the said work is to be the sole property of the said Herman Melville (subject to this contract) and shall be entered and stand in his name as author and proprietor.
Second. The said Harper and Brothers are to be the sole publishers of the said work in the United States of America during the continuance of this agreement. Third. In consideration of the sole right to publish said work hereby granted to them, the said Harper and Brothers hereby agree, to publish said work from the stereotype plates now in the possession of R. Craighead, at their own cost and expense paying said Craighead for the cost of said plates, and to pay to said Herman Melville one half of the net profits accruing from the publication and sale of said work. Provided that at any time after the cost of the stereotype plates shall have been liquidated the said payment shall is the said Herman Melville demand it be commuted for a [?] certain per copy for all copies sold. Fourth. Harper and Brothers agree to make [?] annual settlements with said Herman Melville on the first days of February and August in each year, so long as this agreement remains in force and the balance due said Herman Melville shale be paid by the notes of the said Harper and Brothers at three months from those dates, or in cash interest off. Fifth. This agreement shall continue for seven years from the day of publication by said Harper and Brothers; at the expiration of which time the said Herman Melville shall have the right to possession and complete ownership of the stereotype plates of the said work on paying to the said Harper and Brothers one half of their original cost deducting a fair valuation for the wear and tear they may have sustained in their use or injury from other causes, upon which payment which may be made at any time after the expiration of the said seven years, the said stereotype shall belong to the said Herman Melville as his sole property. Sixth. The said Harper and Brothers are to have the right to dispose of all copies of said work remaining on hand at the expiration of this agreement: they accounting upon the sale of said copies as herein provided. Seventh. It is distinctly understood that this agreement refers solely to the publication of said work in the United States of America. In [?] whereof the parties hereto have hereunto subscribed their names this twelfth day of September one thousand eight-hundred and fifty-one.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you publish and market your digital and print content.

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

UPWORD 2012 (http://SeeGodsWordinAction.com/UPWORD2012) (#UPWORD2012) is a campaign during the US presidential election season that reminds us God is in control. Get a Bible verse paired with stunning, original nature photographs delivered to your email inbox. Also get free downloads of the New Testament, screensavers and wallpaper, a blogger badge, a YouTube video of the verses, and a mobile app when you visithttp://SeeGodsWordinAction.com/UPWORD2012. This ends Nov. 9, so sign up today. Tell your friends and share on your social sites. See the announcing news release.

Since we’re only human and we all make mistakes, it’s important to know when and how to effectively apologize. This practice is especially important for business leaders who seek to maintain positive public relations (reputation management) for their companies among their constituents.

Tom Peters (@tom_peters), author of In Search of Excellence, encourages business leaders to become students of apology. In this video he says, "Learning how to apologize effectively is the real essence of strategic strength."

In their Forbes (@Forbes) article Creative Leadership: Humility and Being Wrong, Doug Guthrie and Sudhir Venkatesh say:

We are frequently taught that leaders, especially aspiring leaders, should hide weaknesses and mistakes. This view is flawed. It is not only good to admit you are wrong when you are; but also it can also be a powerful tool for leaders—actually increasing legitimacy and, when practiced regularly, can help to build a culture that actually increases solidarity, innovation, openness to change and many other positive features of organizational life.

Read this in full.

In another Forbes article, Courageous Leaders Don't Make Excuses...They Apologize, Erika Andersen offers an “apology primer”:

·         I’m sorry: this is the core of a genuine apology. Communicate that you truly regret your behavior.

·         Stay in the first person: don’t say “I’m sorry...you didn’t understand me.” A true apology sounds like, “I’m sorry I....”

·         Don’t equivocate: don’t water it down with excuses.

·         Say how you’ll fix it: if you genuinely regret your words or actions, you’ll commit to changing.

·         Do it: when you don’t follow through, people question not only your courage, but also your trustworthiness.

Read this in full.

In her article for the Ivey Business Journal (@iveybusiness) titled: Should Business Leaders Apologize? Why, When, and How an Apology Matters, Linda Stamato writes:

Questions of timing are critical. The longer it takes a business leader or a section manager, for example, to acknowledge his or her mistake, the more likely the undecided folks will turn against him or her. Business leaders need to understand that if, in the end, it is going to be disclosed that they have erred, it's better to own up as quickly as possible in order to have a hand in making repairs.

To acknowledge a mistake is to assert secure leadership; to take responsibility and prescribe a corrective course of action is wise management. Taking responsibility for an error earns the privilege of being forgiven, and thus granted a second chance.

Read this in full.

And for CNN (@CNN), Marsha Sampson Johnson decries the slippery new term “double-down’ that politicians are using in place of “apologize.”

Read this in full.

On a related note, pastor and author Max Lucado (@MaxLucado) writes in the article Coming Clean for Leadership Journal (@Leadership_Jnl) (from personal experience of enjoying beer too much but not admitting it) on just how honest and open confession is the right thing to do.

Read this in full.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you authentically and strategically manage your brand’s reputation.

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

UPWORD 2012 (http://SeeGodsWordinAction.com/UPWORD2012) (#UPWORD2012) is a campaign during the US presidential election season that reminds us God is in control. Get a Bible verse paired with stunning, original nature photographs delivered to your email inbox. Also get free downloads of the New Testament, screensavers and wallpaper, a blogger badge, a YouTube video of the verses, and a mobile app when you visithttp://SeeGodsWordinAction.com/UPWORD2012. This ends Nov. 9, so sign up today. Tell your friends and share on your social sites. See the announcing news release.

Leonard Sweet (@lensweet) and Frank Viola (@FrankViola) have co-authored the new book, Jesus: A Theography. It “reclaims the entire Bible as a gripping narrative about Jesus Christ.”

Virtually every other “Jesus biography” begins with the nativity account in Bethlehem. In this groundbreaking book, Sweet and Viola begin before time, in the Triune God, and tell the complete interconnected story of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation.

Jesus: A Theography is the first book ever written to combine historical Jesus studies with biblical theology, crafting together one breath-taking saga that tells the Jesus story in both Old and New Testaments. This flagship book demonstrates clearly that every bit of Scripture is part of the same stunning drama, what the authors refer to as the theography of Jesus Christ.

Read about it in full.

Read the Introduction (pdf).

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you publish and market your content.

Get our blogposts delivered into your email inbox.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Presented by: OnlineDegrees.org