Books

The Authority Advantage

Endorsed by retired Ford & Boeing CEO, Alan Mulally, Forbes Chairman Steve Forbes, bestselling author Sally Hogshead and EO founder Verne Harnish, The Authority Advantage challenges assumptions from leaders about personal branding & thought leadership…

To serve is to live. The Authority Advantage provides a simple and effective framework for modern day leaders to follow when communicating and sharing their message with others. This book is a must read for CEOs that believe in servant leadership.

Alan Mulally
Retired CEO of Ford Motor Company and Boeing Commercial Airlines

I was honored to write the foreword for Adam and Rusty’s previous book, Authority Marketing. They’ve done it again with The Authority Advantage. This book is required reading for any leader who wants to make a lasting mark in his or her field.

Steve Forbes
Steve Forbes, Editor-in-Chief, Forbes

Having an important message means nothing, if nobody notices or cares. It’s not enough to be the best, if no one trusts your authority. Yet once you achieve authority, you win. You win bigger budgets, better relationships, and greater admiration. You build stronger loyalty, broader networks, higher prices, and (ding! ding! ding!) you earn TRUST. For over a decade, Adam Witty and Rusty Shelton have been my trusted advisors in creating authoritative messages that change the world.

Sally Hogshead
Bestselling author of Different is Better than Better

I’ve always told CEOs they must ‘own the ink’ in their industry. Being THE thought leader and expert that your clients and prospects turn to is essential. The Authority Advantage provides a modern-day blueprint CEOs must follow to build mind-share and market-share for their business.

Verne Harnish
Founder of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and bestselling author of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0)

Employees, customers, and communities look to CEOs and leaders for guidance. Trust me, I know! The Authority Advantage is a refreshing new book that will inspire executives to leverage their leadership position to create more good for all stakeholders.

Greg Brenneman
former CEO of Burger King and Quizno’s Subs, former President & COO of Continental Airlines, author of Right Away & All At Once

As the author of 100 books, you can imagine I get lots of inquiries from leaders asking how they too can share their stories, passion, and knowledge with the world. My first piece of advice is always “Call Adam Witty and Rusty Shelton.” My second piece of advice will now be “read The Authority Advantage!

Pat Williams
NBA Hall-of-Famer, Co-Founder of Orlando Magic, author of Who Coached the Coaches

When I first met Adam Witty in 2011 I was a successful professional speaker with more bookings than I could handle. Adam convinced me that Forbes Books would easily create and publish a Best Seller, which happened exactly with Hyper Sales Growth. The rest is history! Three more Best Sellers and innumerable referrals later, The Authority Advantage puts all I’ve learned from Adam and Rusty into an easy-to-read playbook all CEO’s and entrepreneurs should follow.

Jack Daly
Bestselling author of Hyper Sales Growth

Nothing is more significant for a leader than the ability to make an impact on others. In The Authority Advantage, Rusty and Adam will show you how to make an impact on others at scale and – special bonus – have a lot of fun along the way.

Claire Shipman
Journalist & New York Times Bestselling Author

Authority Marketing

My newest book, Authority Marketing: How to Leverage 7 Pillars of Thought Leadership to Make Competition Irrelevant (ForbesBooks, 2019), was written alongside my friend Adam Witty, Founder & CEO…

Bold and transformational.”

Steve Forbes
Chairman & Editor-in-Chief, Forbes Media

Rusty’s insight into thought leadership and Authority Marketing was such a great addition to our symposium. His energy kept attendees captivated and his tips provided practical takeaways for marketing practitioners. Attendees have immediately put his ideas into practice and been rewarded with demonstrable results. He would be a tremendous value add to any speaking lineup!”

Laura Shields
Associate Director, Oregon State University

Mastering the New Media Landscape

The world of mass media, in which a few, prime national outlets controlled the messages we all see and hear, has largely vanished. The giant boulders you once had to move to get coverage…

In a fast-changing media milieu, this book [Mastering the New Media Landscape] provides a sure-footed blueprint for success.”

Julie Silver, MD
Award-winning author, successful entrepreneur and the Associated Chair for Strategic Initiatives, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School

As a business practitioner, and having led an integrated communication company, I found the allocation of media budgets a major key to achieving success. The force of PR has been growing and growing. Now, PR skills play beautifully on the new media front. Social media, the new emerging micromedia have now changed the communication landscape forever. I have seen Barbara Cave Henricks become a PR standout. Barbara and Rusty Shelton light up the complex, multi-faceted, but oh so critical new media world. It’s not just about being interesting – it’s about the new way to get results.”

Peter Georgescu
Chairman Emeritus, Young & Rubicam

The world of media is constantly changing and Rusty and Barbara are on the forefront of it all. This book will help you stay relevant and knowledgeable about the future. It may help you stay in business.

Rory Vaden
Cofounder of Southwestern Consulting and New York Times bestselling author of Take the Stairs

The challenge facing us all is this: how do we stand out and stay relevant in the mostly disruptive and massively distracting world of micromedia? Mastering the New Media Landscape gives you the answers.

Matthew E. May
Author of The Laws of Subtraction

Barbara and Rusty have written a treasure map to a best seller. Study it. Follow it. Then watch your book soar!

Jill Griffin
Author of Harvard's Working Knowledge and author of Earn Your Seat on a Corporate Board

Two of the best media minds today have created a simple, elegant model for the new micromedia world.  Beyond concept, Barbara and Rusty show us how to utilize tested strategies for building and strengthening our own media platforms rather than depending on the elusive dictates of the traditional gatekeepers.

Ray Bard
Publisher, Bard Press, publisher of The One Thing

Anyone wanting to get a message out into the world will benefit enormously from reading Barbara and Rusty’s book.  Fast-moving and engaging, it provides tons of insight into what’s happening today in publicity and marketing and how to take best advantage of all the possibilities available in this new media world.

Erika Andersen
Founder of Proteus, business thinker and author of the book Be Bad First

This book is a vitamin-packed feast for anyone who’s serious about building a brand or promoting a cause. You want to be discoverable? This book shows you how. You want to create an army of engaged followers? This is your guide. You want to get maximum impact from earned media, rented media, and owned media? This is your instruction manual. Mastering the New Media Landscape is not just a book title. It’s what people who want to make a difference must be busy about doing.

Rodger Dean Duncan
Bestselling author of CHANGE-friendly LEADERSHIP

How to create the magnetic pull that builds your business! Put this book on TOP of your business reading list to learn how to show up humanly and authentically as the value-added thought leader.  The way you communicate in the media world today is part of what compels people to want to be in touch and do business with you.

Jeanne Bliss
Author of I Love You More than My Dog and Cofounder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association

The emergence of Micromedia has changed the game for anyone promoting their company, products or brand. With this brilliant new book, Barbara Cave Henricks and Rusty Shelton expertly explain how to navigate the new media rules and grow your audience from the ground up.

Jackie Huba
Author of three books on customer loyalty, including Monster Loyalty: How Lady Gaga Turns Followers into Fanatics

This book provides an excellent, easy to understand, framework for building your brand using fast-changing new media platforms.

Jill Totenberg
CEO, The Totenberg Group

If you want to grow your platform in today’s media environment, this book is a must-read. Rusty and Barbara are truly two of the world’s best when it comes to marketing and PR. Thankfully, they’ve created a go-to guide that walks you through each step of the process. Highly recommended!

Robert D. Smith
Artist Manager and author of 20,000 Days and Counting

These authors explain PR and media strategies to get attention you own rather than rent. It’s a futureproof, long term view on how to master new media views.

Ryan Holiday
Author of Trust Me, I'm Lying and Growth Hacker Marketing

The best way for businesses and individuals to learn how to successfully promote their products and ideas is to be educated by pragmatists who are engaged in the process every day.  Barbara and Rusty have written a wonderful and extremely useful book on how to deal with the three dimensions of micromedia—earned, rented, and owned. They explain how to leverage each dimension to gain the best return.”

Bill Davidow
Silicon Valley pioneer and author of Overconnected: The Promise and Threat of the Internet

Read this book. It holds the precious gift of both context and clarity in an ever re-interpreted world of media.

Charlotte Beers
Former Chairman and CEO, Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide, Former Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy & Public Affairs

Rusty and Barbara offer compelling, clear advice for approaching what seems to be an increasingly complicated media world. Mastering the New Media Landscape is an indispensable tool for anyone with a story to tell.”

Andy Andrews
New York Times bestselling author of The Noticer and The Traveler’s Gift

Mastering the New Media Landscape is an incredibly smart and informative work. If you are aiming to broaden your influence, start here – it will change the way you influence others for years to come!

Tom Rath
#1 New York Times bestselling author of StrengthsFinder

In the old days, the only viable ways to generate attention for you or your business was to buy it (advertising) or beg for it (traditional public relations). Today, this is how most organizations still attempt to get noticed. Barbara and Rusty show you a better way – understanding the world of micromedia where everyone is a publisher.”

David Meerman Scott
Bestselling author of 10 books including: The New Rules of Marketing & PR, now in 25 languages from Arabic to Vietnamese

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