Jeff Korhan

Social Media Lessons from College Communities

One of the basic principles of the social media platform is its use for building community. 

This weekend our family traveled to The Ohio State University campus with our son Zak to take a second look at their business school.  There is one word I heard again and again: Community.

For me, this is both exciting and inspiring.

Community

For most students, college is a microcosm of the the real world they will soon join.  The college or university is its own community, with hundreds of other communities embedded within it.  Like the real world, the college experience presents many challenges and opportunities.  And it is all experienced within the many micro-communities.

Micro-Communities

At most of the colleges we have visited, there are "living-learning" communities that seek to aggregate incoming students into specific dorms according to their common academic interests.  While this could result in a narrow experience, you have to consider that these kids are being thrust into a completely new environment where they may need some help getting focused on their chosen academic discipline 

When I left the corporate world to launch my contracting business, one of my best decisions I made, on the counsel of one of my former customers, was to join a trade association.  This is a micro-community.  It proved to be instrumental in helping me learn my new industry by getting involved. 

Today, I only wish the the associations I am a member of used social media more to extend that experience by adding to its richness.  This is one reason I'm very involved with Engage365, an online community that works to encourage more use of social media to make association meetings and conventions more successful. 

The Community of Leadership

Most colleges have programs for student ambassadors, citizen leaders, and peer advisers.  My daughter Ali is a peer adviser at Indiana University.  I know my daughter, and I am confident she has gained every bit as much from this experience as those students she is assisting.

This is one of the secrets of leadership.  Leaders seem to do more of the work, yet they gain more as a result.  We need more leaders on the social networks. 

Social Communities

When you are in college, you look forward to graduating and having more freedom.  As hilarious as this may sound, it is nonetheless true!  Fortunately, there is an abundance of social communities on every college campus that give students the freedom to express themselves.

How about you?  Are you finding the social media communities that are just right for you?  While colleges create a nice little bundle of hundreds of clubs and dozens of fraternities and sororities, you and I have to go out and find our own.  It definitely takes some effort, but it's worth it.

I have been inspired from this weekend to do more of this.  As you know, that is the challenge with social media marketing.  You have to get involved so that you can exercise your talents.  And if you do that well, you will help others do more, and that in turn helps you in your business.

What Employers are Saying

What I found most interesting during our campus visit was the comment from a representative from Eli  Lilly and Company, who said that they prefer to hire students from Ohio State because the size of the institution virtually guarantees that they will have a great deal of experience working in teams.  They recognize that to prosper in a university of this size (50,000 students), you have to get involved in communities to get things done - it's unavoidable. 

And that is saying something about our business world in this emerging relationship economy.

Learning From This

I believe there is a temptation to use the social media networks to replicate your existing communities.  Unlike wide-eyed college students, we may resist this because we are set in our ways.  We have found what works, and that may be holding us back.  Instead of replicating your communities, you should be growing new ones that will enable you to grow, both personally, and as business owners.

What will help you most?  A  Ning group may help you work more closely with associates in your industry that share similar goals and objectives.  I'm planning to experiment with this to enhance learning with a group of speakers here in Chicago. 

A Facebook presence may help you to develop a better understanding of what's important in the lives of your friends and associates.  That what I hear most often.  Now I'm experimenting with how this can work better using some of the new technologies.

You have to work at this to make it work better for you, just as a college student is responsible for their own success.  Whatever you do, consider how community is becoming more relevant to our personal and business lives.

 

The Science of Viral Messaging

Microbiology is the study of viruses - the real ones.  It can provide some insights into creating a viral message on the social media networks.

Strength and Vitality

When you grow a virus in the laboratory, your first have to start with a healthy sample.  This seed virus has to be strong, just as your message has to be strong.  Much of the noise on the social networks is devoid of original content.  It has been repurposed so many times that the original value was lost long ago. 

The surest way to be relevant is to be good.  If you aren't sure, compare your work to those in your space that are building authority. 

As with anything else in this world, usefulness to a targeted audience is a measure of the strength of your content.  When you are creating any kind of content, whether it be written, video or audio, it has to be well crafted, and also serve a vital need of a specific community.  For tips on doing this well, check out the Best Of tab of this blog.

Proper Medium to Grow

A virus will only grow in an appropriate medium that has the proper nutrients to feed the virus.  Without this, everything stops.  For our purposes of social networking or marketing, this means choosing the right channels or networks - and tracking your results. 

If the source of your content is a blog, then this is easily accomplished.  Click on those links to see where they lead.  As for networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, consider the audience and how well they represent your targeted market.  If the response rate if low, you may have the wrong channel.

Ideal Environment

One of the standard procedures behind laboratory experiments is to control the variability of the environment to determine how it affects the results.  What's too hot and what's too cold?  You need to test to find out?  It is just like those Bud Light television commercials.  You don't want to be too heavy or too light.

What does environment translate to on the social networks?   Consider the time of day, day of the week, or even the concurrent buzz of other news.  Contrary to what others may suggest, I have found that posting at night can be very effective.  This is a global platform.  Late night in the US can be approaching prime time in the UK.  Which is exactly when this post is going to hit the Web.

A Catalyst

Even when the medium and environmental conditions are just right, the results may be only average.  A catalyst can make the difference.  A reTweet by an influential member of your community can do wonders to set your message on its viral journey.

Unfortunately, this is where many people start.  They are looking for the shortcut, the quick fix, the magic bullet.  It is highly unlikely that you will get a favorable nod from a top blogger in the form of a link, comment, or reTweet if your content isn't strong.  Focus on quality and the rest will happen on its own time.

While going viral seems to be a random occurrence, there really is a science behind it.

You just have to study it, work at it, and believe in what you are doing enough to do it well.

Photo Credit: PNNL

Game Changers

Tony Hawk

This morning I read this New York Times article about Tony Hawk, a man who transformed skateboarding into a legitimate sport.  After reading just a few paragraphs, you get the idea that success was merely the by-product of Tony's career path.  More important is that he followed the path he believed in.

Sean Payton

This evening I watched the Super Bowl and realized, once again, that if you believe in what you are doing, and you act on those instincts, you indeed can be game changer.  I doubt that it works all of the time, but it did this time for Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints. 

Here's what Coach Payton did:  

In the first half, instead of settling for a field goal on 4th down, he went for the touchdown.  And he failed.  But he sent a message to his team that he came to win.

He started the second half with a successful on-side kick,which led to a touchdown. This may have been THE game changer.

Then he went for two points after the next touchdown.  He succeeded again after the initial ruling was reversed.

And as we all know, the Saints won the game.  They are officially the Champions of the 44th Superbowl. 

You

What does this have to do with marketing a small business like yours?   Virtually every small business owner secretly has a dream about being a game changer, whether they admit it or not.  This is why fans like us are loyal.  We see ourselves in those that succeed.  

You may not succeed in being a game changer, but you still have to go for it.  At the very least, you will dramatically increase your odds of building a successful company that serves a loyal customer base - your fans.

I hope these two examples will inspire you as much as they did me.  But inspiration isn't enough.  That's what others do for you.  You still need aspirations.  And there's only one place you will find them. 

And that is exactly why they can make you a game changer.

Photo Credit:  Maitri

People and Business Systems

The right mix of these two ingredients is how you make social media work for your business.

People

People are arguably the main ingredient of any business.  This includes your customers, employees, vendors, and other partners that help you take care of those customers.  Without the right ones, it is tough to sustain a profitable business.  The right people are vital to the success of any business, and that naturally extends to the social media marketing of your business.

An Extension of Your Business

When you begin to think of social media as an extension of your business, it becomes easier to get the pieces into place to achieve the results you are seeking.   Anyone who has operated a small business for a period of time knows you always get more done with people you agree with in principle.  Talented superstars can make great contributions, but they often have a low tolerance for working with a team.

The Right People

While it may be beneficial to be friends with some of the social media celebrities, and thousands of people you hardly know, I will bet money that you will do more for your business if you focus on regular people like yourself that you can actually work with.  This is your team.

Business Systems

Your Team

While people are responsible for getting results, business systems help get those results consistently.  I love systems, but I learned the hard way that they need to be flexible if they are going to work well for the entire team.

Take an assessment of your most highly valued team members.  Are you running too fast or not leading strongly enough for others?  If your systems are counterproductive to the efforts of your social media network, you may wish to reconsider your approach.

A Social Media Viewpoint

We are still in uncharted waters with social media, a marketing medium that has turned the business world upside down in many ways.   There are many paradoxes associated with this platform.  For this reason, I'm going to suggest you consider looking at it from multiple perspectives before trying the next shiny new technology, as many are characterizing the latest 'gotta have (or do)' in social media.

Just as I would take at least two views of a putt I really needed to sink to win a golf match, I like to look at my social media marketing from a viewpoint that is both with the crowd - and without them.  It is then much easier to choose the best approach for me.

Here's an example.  When Twitter was young and many people thought the whole idea of communicating in short, rapid-fire bursts was bordering on the ridiculous, I was intrigued.  I wondered if they were missing something.  So I gave it a test drive that proved to be extremely productive.   The majority was only looking at it from one angle.

Now is Now

This brings us to today.   We are settling into social media.  We know what a blog is, and if you read my post from yesterday, you have more than enough reasons to blog.  The same goes for the social networks.

The Merge

What's next?  It's time to stop looking at social media like an alien, because it's nothing to be afraid of.  It's time to get up close and take a practical look at what it really is.

An extension of your business that should be treated like all of the other ingredients. 

Thanks to my green industry friend Steve Hoogenakker for the conversation today that inspired this post.

Photo Credit:  emeryc

Stitching Together Your Social Media Gaps

Disconnectedness

The challenge with social media is your communities can become disconnected.  Friends can seem to randomly come and go.  This leads to frustration and blaming everything from the technology to your lack of time for keeping it all together.

To be productive in any endeavor, you have to have your "head in one place."  Or if you have ever practiced yoga or meditation, you would say you need your mind and body connected.  And there is a cure for that.  If you have practiced meditation or yoga, then you are probably familiar with the term 'sutra.'

A sutra is a word or sound that links together aspects of the body and the mind.  In fact, the word sutra really means stitch.  It helps you acheive Yoga, which essentially means union - of the mind and body.

The Social Media Stitch

When you stitch together the energies of the mind and the body, everything works better.  When you stitch your social communities together, it stands to reason they will function better as well.  It may be more accurate to say you will function better.  You are the keeper of your communities. 

Twitter and Facebook both give us the capability to subdivide our friends into smaller groups.  This does make everything more manageable.  It's easier to focus on a smaller group.  Nevertheless, those friends are all still associated together under the umbrella of your respective Facebook or Twitter community.  So, there is cohesiveness among the subgroups.  Yet, what about the gaps between your social networks.

Friends Fill The Gaps

Wouldn't it make sense to introduce your "Twitter Friends" to your "Facebook Friends?"  This stitches together some of the inherent gaps.  And doesn't a great deal happen in those gaps between communities.  Aren't your best friends the ones that understand you at all levels - professionally, socially, and personally? 

Gaps can drive a person insane.  Your real friends fill the gaps between your communities, don't they?  They add a sense of continuity to your life.  It's interesting how much disconnectedness there can be on the social networks when everyone is working so hard at making connections.   

If you want a greater connection, consider the gaps.

Then once in a while bring together friends that might not otherwise connect.  It may surprise you.

Google calls it a Wave, I'm calling it a stitch that closes a gap.  It's nothing more than an opportunity to bring people together to create new perspectives - and better collaboration and friendships.

Photo Credit:  on2wheelz

Pushing the Limits of Late-Night Decorum

Late Night Broadcasting

The NBC late-night show shuffle may be giving us some signals of behavioral trends on the social Web.  Let's face it, the social networks are the late-night broadcasting medium of choice for most of us.  And if the comments by Jay Leno and Conan on their shows are any indication of what is to come, some companies may want to consider putting some guidelines in place.

This insight comes just one day after I discussed why it is easy for small business owners to be open and authentic on the social networks, and why it may not be a great idea for larger organizations.  While I stand by those comments, I'm wanting to elaborate to suggest we should all consider the larger picture as it pertains to our business communities.

Employers Take Notice

Conan and Jay have mostly thrown some friendly barbs at NBC that have not only livened up their shows,  but that NBC clearly deserved.  That's part of the shtick. Yet, as those comments have persisted, the tempo is now getting to be more divisive.  I'm specifically referring to Jay's comments about his hands being tied last year when the first switch was made. 

Imagine you had an employee, or a colleague, or even a customer making comments that are not entirely flattering to your business.  If they are truthful, you have to deal with it, at least with the customer and the colleague.  However, do you lay down future guidelines for the employee?  I'm just wondering. 

In Jay Leno's case, it is entirely possible this was planned. He may have told NBC this: "Do you want ratings or a yes man?  Because I have to come clean with my audience if I am going to be any good for you."  Fair enough, that I can understand.  Though keep in mind NBC is a faceless corporation, and not a "real" business brand with an owner that has a family.

The Real World

Blogging in the real world for people like you and me is more personal.  This is where we live. And for that reason, I believe it is necessary to have an element of decorum.  For the most part, that is what I see and what I love about the blogging community. You can have fun and still respect the next guy.

Bloggers are real people who aren't afraid to tell the truth, such as admitting they are taking their first shower of the day at 4:00 p.m. only because they are going out for dinner.  Yes, its alright to to make fun of your own quirky behaviors, and sometimes even those of your friends and colleagues.  This keeps this as real as it can get.

Just don't push those social limits too hard without considering the larger picture.

And keep it funny. 

That's the best way to preserve late-night decorum. :)

Photo Credit:  rmlowe

Got Time for Social Media

Or would you rather let the most revolutionary marketing opportunity you will ever witness pass you by?

Investing Your Time

Someday I should make a list of the certainties I have learned from 30+ years of business experience.  One of them is that a customer will adjust their budget upward to make a purchase when a trained sales professional takes the time to:

• Understand the objectives of the client or customer
• Make the best recommendation for them
• Educate them about the the cost basis for the price of that product or service

Then the customer will either find the money to get what know they now want, get it when they have the money, or somehow work out a phased in approach, if that is possible.

The problem with this it it takes time.  It takes time for the company to develop a valid sales process.  It takes time to find and train the right salesperson.  And most importantly, it takes them time to fully understand how to sell with that process so that they can make the best recommendations that lead to more sales.

If you are willing to invest time in learning how social media works, just as a company invests in a sales professional, you will have the time to enjoy the rewards of that investment - just as they enjoy the rewards of their training investment. This may be a good time for that.

This is The Time

I would imagine there are not too many companies too busy counting their money these days to take on new work.  This is the time to learn so that you can grow later.  It only takes an investment in your time.  Many companies are making this investment because they are willing to do just about anything to weather this economic storm, as they should. 

Learning social media marketing should involve more than just the skills for using it.  Before you get to that point, do some social media research to help answer questions like this:

• Is this a passing fad or something I can live without?
• How are other companies using it?
• Which networks or technologies are right for my company?
• Should I do this myself, build a team, or consider outsourcing?  Before you outsource, read my earlier post on building your business legacy.

Entrepreneurs, This is Your Time

In many respects, business is becoming more basic.  We are all doing more with less.  This is another way of saying we are working our butts off to remain a viable force in our markets. 

Entrepreneurs wrote the book on working hard.  Heck, even rock stars work hard.  You don't get good at anything without work.  Sure, you can enjoy a nice stretch after you put in the time to build an amazing quality product and a loyal customer base.  But if you take it for granted, it will soon become somebody else's.

Yes, social media takes time to get familiar with, to get results from it, and to sustain those results.

But time isn't usually a problem for small businesses that are committed to success.  They just need a commitment, a plan, and the dedication to work harder.  Is that a problem?

I didn't think so.

Photo Credit:  Saad.Akhtar

Social Media Ideas for Managing a Snowstorm

Here's how I would use social media if I were a snow plowing contractor.

This is a business where safety is paramount.  Phrases like "zero-tolerance" are used to establish the level of service customers expect to keep their facilities safe - and their legal teams idle. I should first note that I owned a snow and ice management business for over 15 years.  And I'm a lifetime member of the Snow and Ice Management Association (SIMA).  

Even the most experienced snow and ice contractor gets a bone-chilling shiver when he hears the words "slip and fall."  This means that despite their best efforts, someone has managed to accomplish the inevitable. This can result in a cascade of finger pointing that pulls everyone into a legal mess that can last well into the summer months.  It can also drain every dollar of profit that was earned by crews that tirelessly worked through the night in conditions that sometimes defy description.

Snow Response Plans (SRP's) are de-rigueur if you expect to minimize your liability while keeping your customer's properties safe.  The process for developing these plans, and the training that accompanies them, begins months before the first flake falls.  Above all else, these plans are structured to ensure optimum communications and actions, regardless of unpredictable circumstances.  Social media can augment those plans for the better. 

Crowdsourcing with Twitter

In the old days, a rotation of employees were scheduled for "snow watch."  They would trade phone calls to watch the weather to determine when to dispatch crews.  This is usually coordinated through a central dispatching system where the snow manager makes the call to mobilize for a storm, and continues the effort to relocate crews to new sites as conditions evolve.

Today you can create a hashtag to tap into the wisdom of clients who are also watching the storm.  These Tweets can provide instantaneous information on site conditions, previously unforeseen conditions and obstacles, and the comings and goings of employees and visitors.  This puts customers right where you want them - on your team!

Plus, you can quickly get information back to concerned clients who are wondering ...."where are you?"

Collaborating with Google Wave

Google Wave is still in Beta, but we know it will prove to be a phenomenal tool for collaboration when it is finally released.  

What is faster than a phone call - a cell phone call.  What's faster yet - a flurry of emails.  Still better?  A drift (instead of a wave) of real-time communications where I am watching your words as you type them.  That's speed.  And that speed can save time, property, and possibly even lives.  That's  the power of Google Wave.

The snow business is one where you can make a lot of money in a short period of time - when it snows.  During those critical hours is when I would consider adding a few computer savvy folks to the payroll with good observation skills.  Their use of these tools to enhance communications is a form of insurance that could save a lot of money that may otherwise be paid to that other insurance "man."

Real Time Location Data with Foursquare

Foursquare is an application that is being hailed as the next Twitter.  It allows people to check in and leave updates on their whereabouts.  While this location-based application is intended for social purposes, I can envision opportunities for using it between snow events to minimize mobilization time when that snowstorm does hit.

Foursquare could also prove valuable during extended storms when crews have an opportunity to grab a bite to eat with their co-workers.  Foursquare can efficiently establish the most opportune locations and times for a "huddle" - that welcomed, and sometimes necessary face-to-face time that keeps everyone together as a team.  Business is more than work.  It's work with a team of people who have personal needs too.

You may not be in the snow and ice management business, but you still have to manage two things:

1.  People

2.  An End Result - such as Safety

These ideas are specific to snow and ice professionals who are really in the safety business. That's what they are selling.

What are selling?

What is Collaboration?

To work together, cooperate, join forces, unite.

Yesterday I elaborated on collaboration, the second of three trends for small businesses for 2010 that are being encouraged by a variety of converging influences, with social media being one of them. 

I've been wondering if we can harness the power of these converging influences by uniting the talents of the people in the markets where we work by capitalizing on this increased collaboration.  Maybe you have considered the same.  Here's a perspective you may not have considered.

Yoga 

When I began practicing yoga about 15 years ago, it was still an anomaly here in the Midwest.  These days its as common as going to the gym to push some iron.  To each his own.  I prefer to do both, so in a way that is my yoga. 

The word yoga is derived from the word yoke - which means union.  Yoga is the union of the mind and body, and if you believe in spirit, that too.  It's really a way of saying that everything works best when it works well together.  That is collaboration.

Where the body stops and the mind or spirit begins is subject of some debate.  It's enough to understand they are inextricably joined together.  That is most true when you have a high level of awareness.  That's one thing that yoga does for you.  It brings your awareness back to your body, which means it brings your mind and body together.  That awareness is key to the art of building solid business relationships.

There are actually eight "limbs" of yoga, according to the traditional definition.  Those postures you know as yoga are just one limb.  Meditation, the management of the mind, is another limb, along with other practices that are beyond the scope of this article. Just know that they all seek to build more refined levels of awareness.  And that is something you understand in all areas of your life, including the business side.

Social Yoga

I'm going to take some liberties here with this self-created definition.  When you think of collaborating with your markets, your customers, your business and social communities, you should be considering a balance of mind and body. In other words, collaboration in mind, such as on the social networks, should be balanced with personal, face-to-face collaboration - in body, so to speak.

The yoga tradition teaches us that when you achieve higher states of yoga, the mind and the body both disappear, with nothing left but pure awareness. This is where you have a spiritual experience.  This of course is not going to happen on a practical business level.  However, what is possible, if not entirely likely, is that the right balance of collaboration with the people you care about will lead to a higher level of creativity and accomplishment.  That's collaboration.

Collaborative Communities

No worries; you don't need to have a group hug with your customers!  Although, it's a nice thing when it happens, isn't it?  In a business context it may be surprising at times, yet it is welcome.  You and your customers should care a great deal about the success of your joint venture.  Quite simply, you can enjoy your collaborative work with others who are like-minded.

My suggestion is to think about your collaborative efforts with your customers as not necessarily work, but as uniting together as one mind.  To say someone has a mind of their own usually indicates they have ideas that are different from the norm, or at least different from yours.  Why not take those leading edge ideas and collaborate to make them work for the larger community.  

That's what we'll talk about when we wrap up our series on small business trends. We are living and working in uncharted waters these days. We have to think of new ways to accomplish in these tough times what may have been easy when the economy was easier.

In other words it's time to stretch - yoga metaphor and pun intended!

I'm up for it.  How about you?

Photo Credit: Myyogaonline

Why Tiger Woods Will Save His Marriage

It's a competition.

And this is one contest he needs to win.  Tiger knows there is no way to easily regain his confidence on the golf course without rebuilding the foundation that supports it. 

The Tiger Woods brand was formed when his primary relationship was with golf and himself.  That has changed.  Clearly, he will be making some dramatic changes in his life.  When he does emerge in the public domain, you can bet it will not involve golf, but his relationship with his family.

What defines Tiger Woods is his relentless ability to succeed in competitive situations, despite the odds, and maybe even because of the odds.  The odds are against him on this one, and that will only intensify the focus he needs to succeed.  If he can win this one, it helps him immensely in every other endeavor.  And  unlike it, those other challenges will always be waiting for him.

Despite pressure from sponsors and the PGA Tour, he will not relent until he has this part of his game under control.  The sponsors and the Tour understand this.  And so they will wait to the extent that they can.  Life is messy, but it is interesting.  And this scenario proves to be all of that.

What This Means for the Rest of Us

If there is anything this episode teaches us, it is that business is about relationships -  all of them.  Today social media is connecting communities with lighting speed and great accuracy.   Search engines now use real-time search to index everything we do.  With the social networks eavesdropping on more of our conversations than we know, like Tiger, we need to get comfortable with what the social networks do very well.

If Abraham Maslow is correct in his famous theory of the hierarchy of needs and desires, Tiger will do what every business or brand should be doing in this or any other economy.  He will focus on what matters most - those core relationships that we depend on every single day, and that we may sometimes take for granted.

I am frequently asked about the ROI of social media.  There are a number of ways to measure the value social media brings to your business.  Yet, while you can fairly easily measure the value a key customer brings to the table, it is exceedingly difficult to quantify this thing we call reputation. 

This much we now know:  Whether you are a celebrity or not, reputation may be immeasurable, but it is represents a drive down the middle of the fairway.  

That's something any of us can build on.

Photo Credit:  MarkLarson

Getting Comfortable with Authenticity

Show me what you can do?

These words are typical of what you may hear from a coach, your boss, or a prospect and customer.  These words are intended to reveal what makes you worth being a member of a team, a community, or an organization. This is the  foundation that shapes your personal brand.  It is based upon your performance, your reputation, and sometimes a good dose of self-promotion or marketing, which these days is strongly influenced by social media marketing.

Yesterday I gave a presentation on business trends that are being shaped by social media.  Naturally, one of the topics that came up is the increasing visibility that social media is bringing to all of us, whether we pursue that visibility or not. 

The truth is we have very little control over our reputation, other than of course how we play the game.  What's the game? The game is not just your performance on the athletic field, or in your business if you are an entrepreneur, but everything you do in every community that you are a member of. 

Today social media is connecting communities with lighting speed and with great accuracy.  Search engines and recent innovations that include real-time search are indexing everything we do, including where, when, and how we connect with other people.  It's time to get comfortable with that.

You and I have to get comfortable with the fact that our society is evolving into an open book. And there is at least one championship golfer who is painfully aware of this.  What remains to be seen is what can be salvaged of his personal brand.  My belief is the best strategy is to go straight to that inevitable destination that seems to arrive more quickly, and with greater regularity than ever - authenticity.

This past weekend I discovered a discussion string from Facebook that occurred over two years ago.  It was a discussion among my daughter's friends while she was in high school.  Since we share the same last name, it was inevitable that I would discover this discourse involving dozens of students. While the information contained within that stream of comments was innocuous, it was indeed interesting.  Most interesting to me is that Google is cracking through the "great wall of Facebook," and indexing some of that content that gives us clues to character, capabilities, aspirations, and much more.

You may not be a celebrity, or even a Web celebrity, but you are a human being.  And the increasingly humanized Web is eavesdropping on your conversations more than you know.  This is a trend that is sure to gain momentum as the social media networks do what they do best.  Some people fear this, but fear never results in anything positive.  So, you have to get comfortable with this.

The good news is good news travels well.  Some may disagree, but when the day is done, we want to hear the good news. We want to know how you are  helping your communities.  We want to know how your product and service will solve our problems. Human beings naturally seek the high road.  The rest is just noise.

Getting comfortable with the authenticity of this Web is going to change your business and mine for the better. Here's why.

Your customers, your markets, and your communities only want to know one thing: What can you do?

Do that, and do it well, from tee to green, and the social Web will treat you like a champion.

That's the only score we really care about.

Photo Credit:  PocketWiley

Engaging with Communities

Many of us in the United States will be reengaging with our regular business communities after nearly a week of visiting or hosting family for the Thanksgiving holiday.  This ritual will again be repeated for a number of upcoming holidays, depending upon your faith, upbringing and background, and if you travel to warmer climates during the winter season, your geographic location.

Transportation methods, flexible work schedules and discretionary income have all contributed to the formation of more communities that we easily move in and out of.  The social media networks are increasingly taking this to another level, as communities of all kinds are now represented both on an offline.

How many different kinds of communities are there in your world?  More than you probably realize if you take the time to consider this.  These communities shape how you do everything in your life - how you work, how you enjoy your leisure, and how you make new friends.  So, this is my first challenge:  make a list of all of the communities that you engage with.  Think about work, play, education, clubs, activities, and associations and partnerships, and that list will quickly grow. 

Moving forward, you are going to become more aware of these communities and their value to your life and lifestyle.  You will start to measure that value.  Truth is you already do in some respects.  Why do many people join a health club when they can easily purchase the equipment to workout in their own home?  Why does anyone join a club?  As with most inquiries, the best answer is often that it depends.  Does it raise the quality of the experience?  If so, it  helps to answer the question:  "Why are you here?"

This past Thanksgiving week I engaged with dozens of communities that mostly involved family and friends.  This took me away from my usual business communities where I will be spending most of my time this week.  And I am looking forward to reengaging with those communities.  This variety is essential to leading a fulfilling life that grows and leads to new opportunities. However, it also makes me realize I need to start considering how I balance my participation, contribution, and engagement in every respective community.

It is interesting to notice how some communities overlap and others do not.  Most of my family members do not know a great deal about the type of work I do as a professional speaker.  They are mostly interested in how I am doing as a person - period.  Information in some communities seems to be transferred on a need to know basis?  This is just one aspect of how you can simplify your engagement with communities to maximize the value you receive and give to the other members.

How else can you  order your communities.  Please leave a comment below and share your ideas?  Here are some ideas that come to my mind that I am considering to balance out my online and offline community participation. 

Balance/Focus/Value

Boundaries/Rules/Exclusivity

Inclusiveness/Diversity

Trust/Acceptance/Friendship

Contribution/Participation/Integration

Education

Stability/Flexibility

Receptivity/Appreciation

Risk

Our time is valuable, and with the increased functionality of social media, it is possible to share nearly everything with everybody.  Anyone can do this, and it certainly encourages a great deal of discussion.  But will that discussion be as productive if  it were more ordered to encourage a desired result that is highly valued by the majority of the community? 

There is no wrong or right here.  You may believe there is no need at all to order your communities.  To that I will only suggest -  It all depends.

Photo Credit: Will Lion

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Trust Your Community - Start in the Middle

Occasionally I see comments on the social media networks that read something like this.  "Full disclosure - Bob is not just a good friend, but an investor in my company."   What are we supposed to make of that?

Affiliations and partnerships are a productive means for maximizing results with social media marketing, and are a regular practice in the general course of business.  So, why the apology? If you are indeed being authentic and forthright with your social media as we have discussed previously, everything should be cool.  You don't have to show us your financial statements; nobody is running for office here.  No apologies necessary.  We judge by your actions, which are already in full view.  Let's just play ball. 

As a professional speaker, I have been coached to start in the middle.  This is good advice for your social media networking.  The idea is to do the necessary preparation, which basically amounts to thinking before you speak - then jump right in to give your community what they came for - which is your best attempt at the real thing - who you are personally, that indescribable thing that connects with people.

Much of the pre-emptive chatter on full disclosure that precedes conversations on blogs undermines the writer's authority, just as it does when you speaking. People are wondering where you are going, if anywhere.  Imagine listening to a glowing introduction for a speaker - (they are glowing because we write them for ourselves!) - and then the speaker walks out to the audience members who are wide-eyed with anticipation, only to give these first scintillating words......"Um....before we get started, let me explain ......" Someone just died on stage.

Your social media community is like any other audience.  99% of them show up ready to trust you to take them where they want to go.   That's what you have to do.   Trust them because they are not stupid.  Be yourself and make NO APOLOGIES! 

If you are a wide-receiver on a football team, you have to trust the ball will be there when you make that leap.  Likewise, a golfer knows you have to trust your read of the putt if you expect to make it.  The more you stand over it, the more nervous you get, and the more nervous your playing partner gets.  And so it is in business.  Don't make us nervous.  Just trust your community without hesitation.  That's the only full disclosure you need. 

How do you show your community you trust them?  

Photo Credit:  Roger Smith

Why You Need A Social Media Ritual

Rituals have been used for centuries to for a variety of purposes.  They have been used to celebrate new beginnings, such as a marriage, to mark an auspicious occasion and bring good luck, such as a ribbon cutting that commemorates the grand opening of a new business, and also to remember a passing, such as a funeral.  It was while attending an event this week at Arlington National Cemetery, a place where there are far too many funerals, that I got to thinking about rituals and how they change our thinking for the better.

The event is called Renewal and Remembrance and is sponsored by PLANET - The Professional Landcare Network, an association of green industry professionals.   It is an honor to participate in this event, which is a convergence of a hundred or so people who have taken time away from their businesses and summer vacations to enhance the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery with with new plantings, while also caring for the existing trees and turf. By the way, you can learn more about the PLANET event from a post I made a couple days ago on the PLANET blog.

This PLANET event itself has become an annual ritual which is surrounded by other rituals such as wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  These rituals universally serve the purpose of capturing your attention.  As a result, you achieve greater clarity of thought, and that is followed by the capacity for executing an activity with precision.  Our fast-paced society has mostly done away with rituals, which may explain why some of us get stressed out in our effort to achieve higher quality results in our work.  Here are some considerations for using rituals in one aspect of your work -your social media efforts.  Yet, they can be used to boost your results in any number of disciplines. 

Step 1:  Take the Time to Take the Focus Off Yourself

Do you celebrate every day when you wake up?  You should - and while you are at it take the time to mentally thank one person for the contribution they make to your life.  This is a simple ritual that demonstrates the power of rituals lies in taking your focus off the person you spend most of your time thinking about - you!  When you do this, you free your mind of all those things that get in the way of ability to focus on what matters most - serving others with your talents and abilities.

Step 2:  Implement Your Intended Purpose with Authority

Golfers are known to have a pre-shot routine they follow with precision before every shot.  They execute this routine with authority and the precision of a drill sergeant to achieve a perfect result.  If anything distracts them from that routine, they simply start over at the beginning.  That routine is everything because it sets up the result.  It also sets up the body to achieve success when it is followed by a focused mind.

Step 3:  Engage with Liked Minded People

One of the secrets of getting things done well is to engage with people that believe in themselves, in you, and in your combined efforts.  Have you ever wondered why the most talented teams are not always the most successful?  Emotional feelings engage the minds and the bodies of the group so that they can cohesively achieve a desired result.  You can call this teamwork, camaraderie, or culture.  It doesn't matter what you call it, it works. 

When you engage in a positive routine or ritual it literally changes your thought patterns. Here's an example from the social media networks.  The #followfriday ritual on Twitter is one example of taking the time to take the focus off you to appreciate the contribution of just one member of your networks.  It takes a moment of thought and involves a few simple keystrokes of execution, which in turn engages with the networks to connect like-minded friends, fans, and customers.

Scientists have conclusively explained how this works.  There is something called brain-wave coherence that raises human potential to a new level.  First, there is coherence between your left and right brain hemispheres that allows you to function at your best.  The extension of that is the coherence between the brains of a group of people through those electromagnetic brain waves.   Pretty cool stuff when you think about it, and how it can help you in many aspects of your life, including your business.  And all you have to do is take a little extra time to get out of your own way, be clear of your intended purpose and execute it well, and whenever possible, do it in a spirit of cooperation with others.

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Planet in Peril? The Right Way is Green

It has been said that there are only two things people want out of life - they want to be happy and they want to be successful.  While this is a generalization, and with all due respect to Abraham Maslow,  we can agree this just about covers it.  Your definition of happiness and success are individually yours, as they should be.  If we all saw this the same way, there might not be enough of what we want to go around for all of us! Seriously, here's my simple definition:  I want money in my pocket, a smile on my face, and time to enjoy life with friends and family.  I find keeping it simple keeps it all in balance.

This leads me to explaining what happiness and success have to do with the planet  - with our environment?  Two things.  First, its difficult to be happy, and as a result - successful, if you are in a bad environment.  See my earlier post:   Environment Shapes Successful Behavior.  Second:  Success in one area tends to breed success in another.  Winners just seem to keep winning because they learn to apply lessons from one success to a challenge in a new area.  This is one reason why I was so pleased to hear Senator and now President-Elect Obama acknowledge our "planet in peril" as a pressing issue to address in his acceptance speech Tuesday night.   Why?  Because saving our planet is vital, not just for the sake of the planet, but for the lessons we'll take from the effort.  You don't have to be a tree-hugger to want to save the environment.  Just do it for the selfish reason that it contributes to your success and happiness, and because what we learn by working together on this global issue will help us in other areas.  That's the big payoff.  What we learn may even help our struggling economy!

If you go back and read my post from this summer on Environment Shapes Successful Behavior, you'll get a glimpse of how Bill Strickland used his understanding of how the environment shapes behavior to help inner-city kids.   He used this understanding to make these kids a success.  He solved a problem with a basic piece of information, and he solved an important problem  - the problem was education.  Now he's taking his model nationwide. Bill Strickland discovered that bright, quality light is key to learning.  So he built a school with that principle as a vital consideration.  Maybe he knew about the Hawthorne Effect, which essentially says that people respond not just to the light, but to the idea that someone cares about the light.

If you consider what makes you feel alive - invigorated, energetic, and motivated, you may wonder about the significance of other qualities of nature, and what their contribution may have for all of us.  I'm talking about fresh air (which breathes and circulates), clean water (which flows),  and most importantly, people (who do all kinds of crazy things)! That's right, people are part of nature.  We are integral to this planet, just as the basic elements of nature are.  It seems to reason then that learning about making our planet a healthier place will have a payoff for people.  And that means something for us business owners.  Where can we pick up from where Bill Strickland left off? 

Well, what challenges do you have in your business that involve people?  Do I really have to answer that one?  I bet most of them.  One example that many larger organizations are faced with, and one that I'm giving some thought to lately, is diversity.  The reason for this is next month I'll be speaking to several hundred parents and students on this very topic.  So why is Jeff, a green industry expert speaking on diversity?   Simple, diversity is obviously about people - and you can understand a lot about people when you understand the environment.  Also, it just so happens that my 20 years of work with the environment were with a diverse workforce.  We all learned to serve our customers and get what we wanted out of that work; and believe me, their were very different things we all wanted.  Besides, if you are serious about learning more about diversity, you certainly ought to be welcoming different perspectives.  So, I'm excited that they have the foresight to be doing exactly.  I'm looking forward to learning from our dialogue, and I'm sure I'll let you know how it works out. Planet in peril?  Only if we ignore it - and the people in it.

 

Be Cool in Your Business

These days I'm hearing a lot of discussion about the importance of being authentic in your business practices.  You'll hear different language, like being transparent, being real - but in short, it all means one thing --- Be Yourself.  In the 70's we called this being cool.  It means not trying too hard - having fun whenever possible - and generally just being someone that others want to associate with.  If you think about it, this is one of the keys in both life and business.  If people don't want to be around you, then you are going to have a tough time growing your business.

   

How can you be cool?  Well, cool is more than being a trend setter, although that's a nice quality to have.  Everyone appreciates originality.  In many ways, we are all originals - but we are practically trained to follow the herd in business - so our great ideas never see the light of day.   The people you associate with help bring out your best qualities - IF you give them a good look at who you are.  All you really have to do is show people who you really are.  These days, that's not tough to do.  You can start blogging - as I am now, or get on Facebook, or start Twittering, or put up some videos on YouTube.  The beauty of the social media marketing tools we have today is you can control the message that's out there.  Why do you think celebrities and politicians were among the first to embrace blogs and now Facebook and Twitter?  They put you in the driver's seat. 

Anybody can be cool these days.  Though I laugh when I recall a scene from the film Almost Famous, in which the lead singer of the rock band Stillwater, Jeff Bebe, who is played by Jason Lee, groans..."Is it that tough to make us look cool!" -- after he gets the word from Rolling Stone Magazine that they were about to print the stuff that really happened on that tour.  It was the truth, and when it was printed, nobody was any less cool.  So, there you go - just go out there and be yourself and have fun and don't worry so much and you will be cool.  In fact, when you get more active on Facebook and your blog, you'll discover your life has become a little less exciting and interesting than it used to be.  As a result, you'll start to make an effort to have fun again.  Sometimes we just need a reason to get off butts and get back in the game.   So, if that reason is growing your business, cool.  If it's making new friends, that's cool too.  No, Jeff Bebe, these days it's not hard to make anyone look cool - which is great news for you and me.

Environment Shapes Successful Behavior

This past week I had the privilege of hearing the remarkable story of Bill Strickland at the annual convention of The National Speakers Association in New York City.  Mr. Strickland has transformed the lives of thousands of inner city kids and their families by creating a center right in the heart of the poorest part of Pittsburgh where he grew up.  As he pointed out - "because that's exactly where it had to be."  Bill Strickland raised the funds to create a world class - and I do mean world class center that takes the natural abilities that we all have and nurtures them by training these kids to go on to successful careers, even as Ph'd's and physicians.  Mr. Strickland believes that environment shapes behavior.  I couldn't agree with him more.  As a landscape architect for the last twenty years, I'm always amazed at how peoples lives and lifestyles are transformed by enhancing their environments.

What exactly did Bill Strickland do?  Well, in this beautiful center he began to bring in original artwork.  The naysayers said that wasn't a good idea because it would might get harmed. In 24 years they've not had one incident.  So he has brought in more original art, which happens to be one of his passions.  He did the same with jazz music.  His center soon attracted the attention of gourmet chefs, who now help train the students in the culinary arts while also create amazing food that everyone enjoys.  There's more.  Every day they bring in fresh flowers - every day!  I don't know how he pulls it off, but now there are other centers like this being developed across the country with a goal to create 200 of them.  Organizations like Dell are donating computers. Steelcase donated furniture.  Paul Simon brought in his engineers to help develop the recording studio that attracted world class musicians like Herbie Hancock that have even recorded Grammy winning work there. I think you'll be hearing more about Bill Strickland's story now that he has put it into print.  Check out his book - Make the Impossible Possible.

Businesses people like you and me can learn from this.  Change the work environment and you will change productivity.   A beautiful environment supports high expectations that produce results -whether that means increased sales or better customer service.  But what if you are an employee working out of a cubicle and can't change your environment?   I'm sure you can always do something like bringing in a personal photo.  Yet, we all can change our attitude about our environment by accepting what can't be changed.  In one of my favorite movies, the Jericho Mile, Peter Strauss plays the lead character Rain Murphy who is a convicted felon and also a world class runner.  Running is Murphy's way of "doing his time."  The warden wanted to take Murphy outside the prison to train for the Olympics - good intentions - but not so good result.  Well, the movie ends with Murphy celebrating with his own olympics within the walls of the prison.  It says the a lot about the human spirit and the power of the mind.  And it showcases the Rolling Stones classic Sympathy for the Devil quite well.  Until next week, see what you can do to bring some beauty to your life and the people you work with.  Everyone deserves to learn and work in the right environment.

 

Grow Your Business - Stick to What Works

Today Sergio Garcia captured his first "major" golf tournament, the lucrative and prestigious TPC at Sawgrass.  How did he do it?  He went back to the putter that worked for him eight years ago.  It's a simple concept - stick to what works.  Or as I've said many times in one of my keynote presentations - Grow from What You Know!  We know what works for us but we are often encouraged to try the newest flavor of the month.  The truth is life is full of things we can't control.  Sergio and the other PGA players had their hands full this week with the windy conditions on the challenging TPC layout, but he was able to prevail.  Somehow that putter gave him the confidence when he needed it most - especially on his final putt of regulation play.

When you are in a business situation you need to know what works FOR YOU.  When you need to get the results you are seeking, isn't CONFIDENCE the best thing to have on your side?  Growing a small business requires the confidence that everything will work out today, despite...the competition...the current conditions of the marketplace.. or whatever you think may be holding you back.  Having the right mindset is vital.  That is everyone's challenge.  We all have to do what only we know will work for us. 

So, here's my question.  What gives you confidence when you are doing what you do best in your business?  Isn't it the knowing that you've been there before and succeeded - or you are working with a team that has mastered similar challenges - or you are serving up the product or service that is the best solution to your prospects needs?  Your mindset has to be fortified with confidence - anchored by what produced that confidence in the first place.   Think about what got you here.  I guarantee it will take you where you want to go!  Stick to what works in your business.  Life (and business) doesn't have to be complicated - just do what works and stick with it.

Relationship Selling - Plant the Right Seeds!

How often do you tell your colleagues what they do well?  This is probably one of their unique qualities that makes the relationship valuable.  When you recognize their unique contributions to your business relationship, you validate, reinforce, and most importantly, value what they bring to the relationship.

I recently had a client thank me for following up - as requested -  on our ongoing dialogue to bring a relationship selling program to his organization.  It was a simple, even off-hand comment that I appreciated.  It made me ask myself how often I recognize the contributions others make to my work.  How often do I plant those seeds that grow into sustainable relationships? When we do this it shows the right kind of leadership.

This past weekend I saw the film "Smart People."  I'm not sure if I got all of the subtle messages in this 'think piece,' but I'm fairly certain one of them was to make a connection with people in a personal way.  Get to know the people you are engaged with.  In my opinion, this is the Right Way to operate a business.  All of our intellectual knowledge is meaningless if there isn't a personal connection.  This is what  builds relationships!  So, thanks Jason for your kind words about what I do well in our business relationship.  I appreciate it, and will carry that with me in my work with other clients.

Teamwork - Play Well with Others!

Today I was reading about business school rankings in the Wall Street Journal.  I'm especially tuned in to this topic because my daughter Alison will be a freshman in college next year -- and her intent is to study - that's right -  business.  I think that was what Tom Cruise said in the film Risky Business, didn't he?  Anyway, we are considering most of the top Midwestern business schools such as those at Indiana University, Michigan, and Illinois, among others.  Having grown up in Columbus, Ohio, I'm pleased to see Ohio State moving up in the business school rankings.  Hey, I'm always going to root for the Buckeye football teams, so it's nice to know they are a winner on and off the field!

Back to that article.  It notes that the top ranked MBA program this year is Dartmouth.  It seems Michigan was No. 1 last year, but now they've taken a plunge to No. 7 - just as their football program recently plunged in the rankings by opening with two losses!  O.K., take it easy - please understand you have to be from Columbus or Ann Arbor to appreciate that it is acceptable to bash the other side in the Ohio State - Michigan rivalry.  It's all just in good (competitive) fun.  So how did Dartmouth's Tuck school achieve the top ranking?  Here's the quote:  "Tuck students live and breathe teamwork."  ..interesting.  Why did some schools drop in the rankings.  Predominantly because the students had an attitude - whether it was one of overconfidence, "what's in it for me," or to be more direct - pompousness!  Ouch!  These don't sound like team players to me.

As a small business owner who doesn't have a say in such matters, I'm pleased to hear the corporate recruiters honestly speaking their minds.  This is such a great segue to Ken Blanchard's comments in my previous post (paraphrasing) -- "that you just don't let people into your company that don't share your values."  I would hope Ken would agree that teamwork - while not necessarily a value - is one of the table stakes in operating a successful business, regardless of whether it's a corporation that can afford to hire these top MBA's - or just a noble venture like my own.  Once again, it looks like we just have to remember the basics.  Teamwork - or as they taught most of us when we were very young - "play well with others!" 

Values - Start Here and The Rest is Easy

Yesterday I had the pleasure of playing golf with Ken Blanchard and several members of his team from The Ken Blanchard Companies right here in Naperville at The White Eagle Golf Club.  In addition to being a great storyteller and an all-around good guy, Ken is also a darn good golfer.  He certainly humbled some of us youngsters!  I don't believe I've seen many players hit the ball straight down the middle - time after time - with such apparent ease.  I guess that's just his style; because he engages with people in the same way.

After dinner, Ken shared some thoughts on leadership, business, and relationships.  Here's the one comment that struck a chord with me -  "Why would you want to let someone in your company that doesn't share your value system?"  I shared this with a couple folks from my staff at Treemendous® today, as we've been enjoying some recent successes and obviously are being prudent in assessing the nature of that success.  How did we get here.  I really believe it is because we are learning more about each other and discovering we share similar values, which enables us to spend more time focusing on the technical stuff that needs to get done to take care of our customers and make a profit.

What's interesting is what works is not new - just good common sense principles that we sometimes forget in our search for business growth.   It's funny that just about a year after grad school when I joined the workforce there was new "must read" on the market called The One Minute Manager.  It's 25 years later and the principles still apply.  In a time when we seem to be moving to a higher level to find the secrets of life and business, we have to remind ourselves that the values that sustain us are the starting point - and presumably end point - in all of our endeavors. 

Customer Service - It's the Heart of Your Business

After speaking this past weekend at the Summer Symposium of The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET), I've been contemplating the fact that great customer service is nothing more than consistently performing  to the expectations of your clients.  Too often we stop doing what works to try the latest idea.  Companies need new ideas to grow, but not at the expense of what helped them develop their unique position in their marketplace.  As simple as it may seem, one of the greatest challenges in business is to perform consistently - every day - without exception.  It's a nice goal to consider.  Maybe this goal with a backup plan or two could enable you to transform your industry -- ? 

Leaders from green industry companies across the U.S. shared some of their secrets during our 90 minutes together - my favorite?  -- "its the little things that make a big difference."  There is no magic bullet.  A complimentary rose bush is remembered for as long as it continues to flourish - its fragrance and color reminding the client of a favorable experience.  Too often we try to be bigger and better, when all we need to be is different.  In our society of constant change, different is a little extra at the right time - combined with consistent service - friendly, cheerful, caring, appreciative....you name the descriptor, because it only matters to you and your customer.  Only you know why your customers favor you over your competitors.  Maybe they just like you better - and there is nothing at all difficult about being likable if you truly love your work and the people you serve.  I doubt customer service is secondary to you, or you wouldn't have read through this far.  No, I suspect customer service is the heart of your business. Its that one thing that means something to you and your customer - that thing that connects you and your customer in a way that changes both of you -- forever.  Great customer service is the right way to do business - which is why it works!

Can't Get No Balance at Work? - Measure It!

I was recently asked to write an article on work-life balance for Snow Business Magazine.  If you have any knowledge of the snow business, you know this is an unpredictable, high-intensity business.  It's a business where the best laid plans - well, they get buried under the relentless, ferocity of the next storm.  Yet, it is a highly profitable business if you can manage to keep your head, whether the storm is 'perfect' - or as Bob Dylan once said - 'outrageous!'

The snow business tends to attract those individuals who thrive on the adrenaline rush of doing battle with mother nature.  In some ways, it's like climbing a mountain.  If you are daring  - there just ain't no mountain high enough to keep you from your mission -- until you hit the wall from fatigue.  This fatigue reminds you that you are not in control of many things - your work, your free time, the needs of your family, and so much more.

How do you find balance between your work and personal life in any business?  The first step is knowing who you are and being sure you are doing what you love.  I'm reminded of The Rolling Stones tune Satisfaction.  You can get a lot of outside signals that .. 'tell you how white your shirts can be' (when you're) 'doing this and signing that' .... in short, you have to do the right work for you in a way that works for you and your family.  Only you know what is going to work in your individual situation - because these situations are as different as each one of us. 

Some of us love our work so much it can be a drug - it's an energizing rush!  But of course, any drug should  be taken in moderation.   You build up a tolerance to the drug until eventually the results just aren't there.  It's up to you to communicate your needs with everyone you work and play with to arrive at the best solution.  That's how you find balance - a balance that's different for each of us.  I suggest you write down what those things are and make sure you are mindful of them - even measuring them.  Measure how much time you devote to your children, your spouse, your health.. to whatever is important to you in achieving balance.  As they say in business, if you don't measure it, you are saying it's not important.   Most of us measure profits, but do we measure balance?      

When Something's Not Right its Wrong

It occurred to me today that when you work on fixing what is not rightfully your responsibility, you are doing the wrong thing.  Why?  Because your time and talent and energy should be focused on doing the right thing.  It reminded me of the verse from Bob Dylan's You're Gonna Make Lonesome When You Go - "when something is not right its wrong!"

So what's wrong?  It's wrong, for example, to expect others to clean up your mess.   While we can't possibly finish the job, we baby boomers have a responsibility to leave this planet in a better condition than it appears to be presently heading.  It would be wrong to expect our children to fix what's already broken.  We have to do the right thing for them.

This brings me to the genesis of my thought.  Today a customer asked me to fix a condition that pre-existed my company's work on a project.  I used to do this - and at no charge.  Why not, I reasoned, I'm already there and it's not worth debating.  This all saved me from confronting the reality that I was cleaning up someone else's mess in the name of "customer service."  It was a convenient lie I fed myself.  Unfortunately, I've come to realize this isn't how the universe works.  It only creates a low state of consciousness. It's not the proper resolution, unless you're in the charity business, which I'm not.  And even charities work for a specific purpose or reason.

When you take on responsibilities that aren't rightfully yours, you feel compromised.  You owe it to yourself, your company, and your customer to do the right thing.  When we all do this, responsibility and accountability all fall into the right places and then the whole system is lifted up because now we are all working for the right reasons - we're all being true to ourselves and not feeling that low state of making the wrong choice.  Right choices are grounded in the right reasons - which is why they deliver the right results!

Grow Your Business The Right Way

A few nights ago I was sitting in my screened porch enjoying the scents and sounds of the evening rain storm.  When I wandered inside to the pantry for a snack, I was struck with how many products today are labeled 'organic' - from chips to raisins to even wine and more!  I wondered if organic really means something or if it's the latest 'flavor' that is being marketed to us consumers. 

When I think of organic I think of things that happen naturally - almost without effort.  Organic growth, whether in nature - or in business, such as internet search engine optimization (SEO) - implies that organic is a better way because it's more sustainable in the long term.  I'm an educated consumer, so I know, for example, that wild salmon is better than salmon raised in farms where cholorinated products are used to control the undesirable growth of pathogens.  For some reason wild salmon doesn't even cost more.  At least that has been my experience.  I do know that organic SEO is cheaper and more effective than pay per click.  Organic is really taking a natural approach.  I suppose natural has connotations that don't work as well in commerce today and we need a descriptor that does.  Enter Organic.

What we are really after is results.  If you want to get the right results, you can achieve them in many ways.  But if your approach is the right one - the natural way - then you are most likely in harmony with what sustains that result.  This applies in nature as well as commerce.  Interesting, isn't it?  This takes me right back to my rainstorm.  You can't replicate that.  Something is lost when we don't follow the right or natural path for obtaining desired results.  I'm suggesting that organic is more about "the way" and less about the product."  If you want to acheive the right results in your business - sustainable sales, service and customers -  you need to think about "growing" your business organically - which simply means doing the right things in the right way.  Your value system will give you clues to the right way - then you just have to 'grow from what you know.'

One Team - Five Promises

I was very impressed with coach Pat Summit's simple formula that enabled her Lady Vols to easily prevail over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights for the Women's National Basketball Championship.  Coach Summit focused each player's attention on one thing - one quality that happened to be their unique contribution to the success of the team.  She didn't have them focus on the obvious - on scoring, or defense or the logical aspects of winning the game --  but on one subtle, yet uniquely valuable quality that each player brings to the mix.   While I cannot recall the complete list that was briefly flashed on ESPN last night, one player was  asked to be the 'voice' of the team during the competition.

Why is this concept so effective?  It honors the true nature of each player as a unique contributor first, and a team member second.  Each player is accountable first to themselves to express their talents to the the limit of their capabilities.  Then the result is a team that is almost certain of being a success.  You can't have a unified effort  - one in which everyone succeeds together, if the contributors aren't being congruent with who they are.  Pat Summit made her five starters aware of that.  The result was a uniquely and synergistically balanced effort that happened to result in a national championship.