Ten days ago, I launched my 2011 Reader Survey. This is the third consecutive year I have done this exercise. I have benefited enormously each time. Ultimately, I think it also benefits you, because it helps me improve my blog and my writing.

In my original post, I promised to summarize my results. I also want to share the conclusions I have come to as a result of the data. As a point of reference, more than 1,200 people have completed the survey so far.

Following my own advice on “How to Keep Your Blog Posts from Dying in Your Archives”, I am listing my top ten posts for August 2010. Interestingly, although I wrote three of these posts more than a year ago, they continue to be topic traffic generators.

In case you missed them, here are my top 10 posts for August 2010 in order of descending page views:

So you’ve spent more time than you should designing and tweaking your blog. (Don’t ask me how I know this.) You’ve got it just like you want it. For now. But what about your Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube pages? Are you content to upload your photo and be done with it? Or do you want a more consistent brand image, one that ties it all together?

A few weeks ago, I uploaded a new profile photo to Twitter. However, that didn’t change my profile background. It still included my old headshot and a design done a few years ago by Matt Clark at TweetPages.com. I decided to visit his page again, and see what his company had to offer. Boy, was I surprised.

Following my own advice from yesterday’s post on How to Keep Your Blog Posts from Dying in Your Archives, I decided to post a list of my top posts for July 2010. Interestingly, although I wrote three of these posts more than a year ago, they continue to be topic traffic generators.

In case you missed them, here are my top 10 posts for July 2010 in order of descending page views:

I often hear authors complain about how “frontlist driven” the book publishing business has become. Frontlist is the term used to describe new book releases—those in the last twelve months or even the current season. In contrast, backlist is the term used to refer to books that are older than that—basically, anything that is not new.

While backlist sales account for 50–60 percent of all the books sold, they typically don’t get a lot of attention. The reading public and the book-selling industry tend to focus on what is “new and notable,” rather than what is “tried and true.”

This morning as I was running, I listened to Episode 99 of the Catalyst Podcast. It was an interview that Brad Lomenick did with Charlene Li, author of the new book, Open Leadership.

One thing in particular grabbed my attention. Brad asked her what has changed in the last two to three years in terms of social media. She said,

There comes a point in every story when you are ready to quit. It could be a relationship, a project, or your job. Regardless, you’ve had enough, and you are ready to “throw in the towel.”

My friend, Donald Miller, discusses the temptation to quit in his book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. In a chapter called “The Thing About a Crossing,” he describes something called a “story arc” or trajectory. This is the dramatic outline that nearly every great story—including yours—follows.

I am not a big fan of computer mice. Every time I have to take my hand off the keyboard, it costs me a few seconds. This may not sound like much, but it adds up over the course of a day.

You don’t have to go far to hear someone criticize BP for the catastrophic impact of their oil spoil. The news media have chronicled every misstep. Psychologists, environmentalists, and social media experts have all weighed in on what BP should have done or should be doing.

About three weeks ago, my blog was dropped from Google’s search index. It had a significant negative impact on my site’s traffic and on my Google PageRank. I thought it might be helpful to document what I have learned so far in case this ever happens to you.

If you speak, write books, or blog, you will get criticism. It is inevitable. I have certainly had my share. I’d like to say that my skin has gotten thicker with age, but it hasn’t. Criticism still stings.

If you have a gnawing suspicion that work sucks, but aren’t quite sure what to do about it, this book is for you. In their recent book, Rework, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hanson challenge conventional business wisdom and show a better way to make work more fulfilling and less frustrating.

Several months ago, I spoke to a large group of military officers and contractors. My topic was “How to Shave Ten Hours Off Your Work Week.” In my speech, I provided seven tools for achieving greater productivity and restoring work-life balance.

When it comes to your success, your advisors can make you or break you. In the 1990s, I made a terrible financial mistake. As a result of my success as a writer and a speaker, I made some significant extra income. I was also holding down a full-time job. I could barely keep up with it all.

It’s inevitable. If you are successful as a blogger, people are going to steal your content. You’ll wake up one morning to a Google Alert, notifying you that your name was mentioned on another blog.

Great, you’ll think, I love free publicity. I also know that “inbound links” help increase my search engine rankings.

About ten months ago, my pastor asked me to chair the Evangelism Committee at my church. He also appointed several committee members to serve with me. We started by asking what was the single most important thing we could do to raise the visibility of our church in our local community.

Perhaps you may have heard the adage, “what gets measured gets improved.” I would propose a parallel principal: “what gets tracked, gets done.” This is especially true when it comes to delegation.

Even though my company officially uses Microsoft Exchange, including the calendar function, I use Google Calendar. I do this because a few people outside the company need access to my calendar. Google Calendar allows me to give access to anyone I want, provided they have a Google account.

The principle of forgiveness has been ingrained in our spiritual life, but as an everyday tool, it seems to have been discarded by leaders as a sign of weakness.

Several years have now gone by since the publication of The Traveler’s Gift. Because of the seven principles revealed in that story, I have increasingly found myself in quiet corners, talking intimately with some of society’s best-known leaders. Yet when they draw me aside, I do not pretend to have the answers some of them seek. (I am woefully ignorant about the details of business and politics!)