The Power of Agency: How Writing a Book Can Build Trust and Elevate Your Brand

Mark introduces the topic of agency. Jim thinks Mark is a great example of what an agent is He reads a definition and adds some context to what an agent is and how he may, in fact, be one The value of having an objective third party negotiating on your behalf Jim thinks AI will make being an agent much more valuable He discusses the agents he uses. His patent agent, for example. Agents are not as close as we are to our capabilities and competencies Agents can be particularly helpful negotiating your price. What you're worth He talks about his most recent projects to operate as an agent Jim shares his story about a meeting he had recently and how he's being told he should write a book The value of having your own book He shares his "Greenbuild" story. What it's like in the San Francisco Bay Area regarding diversity, women's groups and other woke topics Jim thinks it would be great if we just got back to building things. Diversity on it's own is a silly topic Jim shares his conversation with a grant writer…the importance of human interaction and how we are disconnecting from it She brought up the book writing topic Mark says he has also been told to write a book. He reflects on a couple of recent conversations. Both became about human interaction and the value of having an agent to move the professional ball forward. Objectivity alone can be very helpful. How powerful it is to have a 3rd party voice Mark talks about the value of authority/credibility that a book brings Jim asks Mark about how he works. He pokes at the details of how Mark chooses and helps people. He thinks we all underestimate our capability and willingness to help Our value goes well beyond our direct skill. Trust opens up those doors Mark shares how he has access to market data that might be worth even more than his coaching Jim cautions Mark that this knowledge is NOT FREE Second, he talks about IP and how valuable it is Jim puts on his agent cap and shares with Mark how he might be his agent Jim then goes into his opinion on AI and the creation content…podcasts, books, articles…everything Jim thinks AI create content "equality" Mark loves the contrarian approach to rules and ways of doing things Mark asks, "what am I worth?" Mark is convinced that Jim would ask for more than Mark would for himself Jim gives examples of agents we all work with Real estate agents, sports agents, career agents… He shares his pro baseball story about his friend the pro coach The $40 million dollar negotiation and the value of an agent in that negotiation Mark shares his perspective on the value of agency. He shares how helpful he can be to IT people who are mostly introverted Mark shares how candid and authentic approaches are so much more influential He shares his perspective on salespeople too Mark brings up helping friends and family and Jim cautions that they might be a little too close to help objectively Jim talks about being "unemployable" Mark shares the importance of messaging and how your "brand" fits in Jim gives us a bit more detail about his 3 recent requests for speaking/advice gigs Jim is wary of "big consulting firms" and Mark shares his perspective on this He talks about competing against big brands/logos/t-shits/reputations by being authentic and practical and trustworthy. Different ulterior motives Jim brings in the political agents who got it all wrong and are now wondering what to do next Mark shares his confusion about how these people/agents keep getting hired He also clarifies how powerful brand is and how clients without confidence hire brand simply to protect themselves. Momma duck and her ducklings Jim says the big ad agencies do the same thing Are the industries going away?  If you can't measure it, you can't determine efficacy. Jim says AI will change this Mark - why do they hire the big known brand? It's all changing