Everything I need to know in business I learned from Howard Stern

I've been listening to Howard since I was 12 and I would drive to my dad's work with him. Every once in a while he'd listen to Howard after getting bored with NPR or some other AM station. My dad owned his own printing plant, so he definitely was a fairly savvy businessman and someone who I still to this day view as being on a pedestal that no other can touch. I would imagine even the mere mention of a female admiring Howard will turn a few folks off - some may even decide to stop 'following' me; and I'm OK with that. I suppose this is my coming out party.

I'm 40 now, so that means that Howard has been some sort of influence on me over the past 28 years. Wow. I've never really waivered from my loyalty ~ when he went through his divorce I think I had a little bit of trouble with him because I felt that he confirmed for me what I thought he wasn't. But he's brought himself back to superhero status in my eyes and here's why...

1. Howard is exceptionally loyal. He has had the same core folks with him for years upon years; Fred, Robin & Gary (some know him as bababooey) have been his trusted inner circle for well beyond my years. Even the folks who have only been with him for 20 or less years he stands behind, perhaps even to a fault - but I don't think so. It really is hard to find true leaders that are loyal to their subjects.

2. Howard is strategic & methodical. He could have easily jumped the shark (a John Hine reference) much earlier in his career opting for the quick payout. But he has taken his time - set his sites on the ultimate goal and been very calculating in his approach. I think of the Rolling Stones, who I love by the way, but who have so sold their soul to the merchandising devil they will never get it back. I will always love the Stones' music, but they're a different band to me now than they were before. Howard never sold his soul - if anything he demonstrates the opposite...

3. Howard has integrity. I'm sure this one will provoke the most angst for some. How could I possibly say that Howard has integrity. The joke is actually on those who don't know this. Howard stands for what he believes is right - no matter what. So, when he has a member of the KKK on; he does it because he believes unequivocally in freedom of speech and far be it from him to NOT allow a KKK member to speak because Howard disagrees with their viewpoint (and I know that he does indeed disagree). I believe that it's hard to be certain your position is the correct one if you don't actually hear the other sides point of view. I would imagine there are very few opposing points of view, if any, that Howard wouldn't at least listen to.

4. Howard is shrewd. He is a shrewd businessman. Who else would role the dice on their own career and leave a pretty lucrative gig for some unknown "satellite radio" idea? Howard bet his brand on that idea and I think it paid off. Sirius may not be the cash cow that Howard envisioned (what is nowadays); but it has offered him the freedom to be exactly who he truly is. I'm sure the persona he represents on the air is very different from his normal life. He's married; he has 3 daughters; and he's self conscious to the point of being recluse - all very different from who he is on the air.

Howard has always inspired me to aim for the stars but even more so, to identify what it is I stand for and never waiver. That approach has always served me well and for that I'm very thankful. Knowing him, he'll see this at some point and I sincerely hope he knows that I mean everything I say. Thank you, Howard. No matter what people say, there are so many of us who have been influenced by you in a truly profound way.

Building a Cloudsourced Business

As I continue to expound on the cloudsource concept, I was thinking of demonstrating how to build a completely cloudsourced business. First, you have to determine all the different roles you would need for the business. Legal, accounting, technology, sales, operations, business development, marketing, creative, administrative. Those are the essential business roles that pop to my mind - I welcome other department recos as well as other virtual communities.

What I'd love to see is a site that allows you to consolidate all of these virtual components into one so you can run your entire business off of it. I could see a business management version of TweetDeck that lets you oversee your entire business without having to log in and out of each of the sites mentioned below.

This is a work in progress... Here goes:

All roles -
Guru.com - Web Design;Graphic Design / Presentations / Multimedia; Illustration / Cartooning / Painting / Sculpting; Marketing / Advertising / Sales / PR; Engineering / CAD / Architecture; Networking / Hardware / Telephone Systems; Legal; Fashion / Interior / Landscape / Set Design; ERP / CRM Implementation; Programming / Software / Database Development; Writing / Editing / Translation; Admin Support (Legal, Medical, & Accounting); Sales / Telemarketing (Front-end); Business Consulting; Photography / Videography; Finance and Accounting; Broadcasting.
Elance.com - Creative design/Multimedia; Web/Programming; Writing/Translation; Admin; Sales/Marketing; Finance/Mgmt; Legal; Engineering/Manufacturing.
oDesk.com - Outsourcing services from India, Russia, USA, etc.

Legal -
Legalzoom - Who wouldn't trust Robert Shapiro for legal representation ;-).
Gerson Lehrman Group - Intelligently connecting institutions with expertise.
HG.org - Worldwide legal directory.
ExpertLaw - Legal help, directories, articles & forums.

Accounting -
MyBizHomepage - an integrated series of online business tools includes a financial dashboard that works with QuickBooks.
Quickbooks - Small business accounting software.
Quicken - Personal accounting software.
Mint.com - Online accounting website.
Accountants Online Directory - Directory of Accountants, CPA's & bookkeepers.

Sales -
Amazon affiliate - sell your wares yourself online.
Ebay - another example of virtual storefronts.
Salesforce.com - CRM SaaS solutions.

Advertising -
AdReady - do it yourself advertising.
Adwords - Advertise via Google.

Creative -
Crowdspring - Global marketplace for creative services.
99Designs - Leading designer marketplace.

Web Design -
Dream Template - 4,000 web design templates to choose from.
Stock Icons - Stock web icons.

Marketing/Promotion -
Twitter.com - promote your business and develop leads.
Facebook.com - create a fan page for folks who support your business.

Consulting -
Expert Magnet - Expert freelance consulting.

Event Coordination -
Event Brite - Online event registration service.
Evite - Online invitations.

Administrative -
Tasks Everyday - Business & personal virtual assistants starting at $6.98/hr.
Hire Virtual Assistants - Virtual assistants starting at $4.03/hr.

The Future of the Knowledge Worker Economy

So here's something that's been floating around in my head for the past few days. What if we didn't work for a company or a business any more? What if the vast majority of people were independent knowledge workers (Centers of Excellence) and our knowledge was tapped into by any organization that needed our specific expertise at that time?

I know what you're thinking -- that's not anything new, that's a consultant. But I'm taking it a bit further than that. What if we were all our own business (consulting firms just jack up our hourly rates, anyway) and we marketed and managed ourselves in order to provide service to a wide spectrum of businesses and industries as they needed it. Within this complex business ecosystem, COE's would seamlessly travel and provide value to those who need it. Sometimes that could include a number of assignments at once; other times it could be a solo assignment that lasts indefinitely.

Sounds like a cluster, right. But I actually think that as things evolve, the cluster could get alot easier to navigate and manage and it might help people find roles that are incredibly fulfilling to them without being tied to that role for an extended period of time. Obviously this idea isn't for everyone, but this transition is already taking place to a certain extent as a result of the recession. More and more people are turning into consultants these days - the key is finding the exact organization that needs your knowledge.

The other great thing this enables is the ability for people to pick and choose assignments - some which are paying and some that could potentially be more philanthropic or more risky. It's kind of like an agency that takes on some business that is intended to bring in the revenue and some business that is more a labor of love or a labor of publicity. So a Gen Y'er could find herself doing work to make money for a certain period of time and then find herself working for her favorite cause for a period of time. That favorite cause could also give her the chance to broaden their skillset.

I'll be working more on this idea in the future. I feel there's something to it; but it's definitely pretty rough right now.

PS - if you're interested in reading more about knowledge workers go straight to the source - Drucker, Peter F.. Management Challenges of the 21st Century. New York: Harper Business, 1999