Remember junior high school? The first week was full of stress and anxiety, not because of classes or homework, but because of lunch. The table to which you would find yourself relegated had the potential of changing the face of your entire socio-academic career. It was never a decision you could make for yourself, at least, that was the case for most of us. Our peers, those who had come before us, they chose our table. It was all a matter of waiting, wondering what would happen, what would THEY think of us?
The social media phenomenon feels a lot like a junior high school lunch room, especially for those who are getting on board at this relatively late stage in the game. There is so much to learn, to process, to formulate and make a decision on, it seems just a little simpler to let someone else decide for us at which table we should sit. After all, we don't have time to spend worrying about all of this do we? There is too much else going on. Isn't there?
The question you ought to be asking yourself is whether or not you truly understand what is happening. If you don't, you have to be up front and honest about that. And then you have to educate yourself. The difference between this new media landscape and those smelly lunchrooms is that nobody here wants to be your friend. They want the money that your consumers would otherwise spend with you. And they will pick your table for you. They will relegate you to that table in the corner where people who don't meet the acceptable standard sit.
You have an opportunity, much like you had when you were much younger, to pick, not which table you sit at, but which sandbox you play in. As a child, you simply brought what tools you had to the sandbox and built your own castle. Social politics aside, he who could build the biggest castle was king. So bring your tools to the sandbox and start building. Learn, educate, discover, and adapt. Make yourself organic, growing with your surroundings, and changing as is necessary.
Social media provides the single greatest opportunity to date for effective communication with your consumer audience. They crave interaction from you, and will gladly spend their money with you when you meet that social need. The old rule to live by was "Pay to Play." You're not effective anymore unless you are willing to actually play. No more arm chair quarterbacks with fat marketing budgets. Now you've got to put on the pads and make it happen.
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The wonderful thing about this shift socio-economic dynamics is that it puts you in control of your own destiny. You finally get to pick your own table. And guess what? You get to bring your sand castle.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Improvement
Personal. Organizational. Social.
How do you define it?
The smartest people in the world focus on improving themselves, then make a genuine effort to tell other people about how it worked.
How do you define it?
The smartest people in the world focus on improving themselves, then make a genuine effort to tell other people about how it worked.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Personal Motivation
Motivation has been a big theme on my linkedin.com profile this week. I've been asking people how they motivate themselves and other people? How they stay motivated? How they keep others motivated? It's a big question. Motivation is the impetus of accomplishment.
Isn't it?
I think motivation-personal, social, organizational-really boils down to purpose. I've talked about this before, but it everything we do, whether it be in our personal lives or in our professional lives, is guided and directed by the underlying purpose, or lack thereof, we have for what we are doing.
I motivate myself by keeping my purpose clear and recognizable, and by keeping myself reminded of it. I carry 3x5 cards that have several purposes written on them: my purpose for loving my wife, my purpose for serving my clients, my purpose for keeping my faith. As I continue to remind myself of these things, I am motivated to accomplish my purpose. I am reminded of my goal, and urged on to achieve it.
So how do you motivate yourself? How do you keep yourself, and those around you, pressing toward the mark?
Isn't it?
I think motivation-personal, social, organizational-really boils down to purpose. I've talked about this before, but it everything we do, whether it be in our personal lives or in our professional lives, is guided and directed by the underlying purpose, or lack thereof, we have for what we are doing.
I motivate myself by keeping my purpose clear and recognizable, and by keeping myself reminded of it. I carry 3x5 cards that have several purposes written on them: my purpose for loving my wife, my purpose for serving my clients, my purpose for keeping my faith. As I continue to remind myself of these things, I am motivated to accomplish my purpose. I am reminded of my goal, and urged on to achieve it.
So how do you motivate yourself? How do you keep yourself, and those around you, pressing toward the mark?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Dynamics
I love this word. It comes from the Greek word dynamos which means "power" or "massive energy". It's an extremely descriptive word, especially when applied to unorthodox contexts. Most of the time we associate the word "Dynamics" with personality or character of an entity. Seldom do we actually consider it a viable quality to be learned and applied.
We all function within the framework of and structure of organizations, which, for the most part, are three-dimensional, working models of the business plan. The plan was crafted and created with the intent that those who actually provided the manpower and resources necessary to bring it to life would understand and embrace the values upon which it was founded. This is all well and good, except that, in most cases, those working within this framework are not empowered to see beyond its limitations and stagnation results. This problem does not stem from unconcerned or indifferent employees, it stems from their inability to create a better environment.
Too often, managers are afraid to facilitate the betterment of their subordinates. When we take off those limitations, however, good, intelligent people are free to create, to suggest, to experiment with their environment and requirements, and they begin to evolve their organization from the inside out. Those companies and organizations that are truly successful, are truly leading their industries understand this principle of inner dynamics, and they encourage, even promote, critical insights from within in order to improve the outward performance. This requires a measure of trust on behalf of the facilitating tier, but more so, it requires an organization to give the people involved a vested interest in the organization itself. People are ready and willing to invest themselves and their ideas into an organization that will benefit them as it gets better.
For example, Starbucks offers stock options to every single employee. They essentially become partners in the company for which they work. The organization even goes so far as to refer to every single one of its employees as "Starbucks Partners".
This kind of an organizational investment into the people who involve themselves with it is exactly the kind of dynamic promotion that sets some organizations apart from others. When a coffee-making barista approaches her work with the mindset that her success as an employee affects the success of the company, which in turn affects her success as a person, she is personally motivated to find ways to make her environment better and more productive. This is dynamic motivation.
How are you motivating your people? Have you modeled inner dynamics in your organization? If so, how? and what were the results? How is your organization dynamically promoting effectiveness within a given environment? are those environments friendly to effective change and outward evolution? And lastly, what is your organization doing to dynamically motivate your people? how are you enabling your people to invest themselves into the organization?
We all function within the framework of and structure of organizations, which, for the most part, are three-dimensional, working models of the business plan. The plan was crafted and created with the intent that those who actually provided the manpower and resources necessary to bring it to life would understand and embrace the values upon which it was founded. This is all well and good, except that, in most cases, those working within this framework are not empowered to see beyond its limitations and stagnation results. This problem does not stem from unconcerned or indifferent employees, it stems from their inability to create a better environment.
Too often, managers are afraid to facilitate the betterment of their subordinates. When we take off those limitations, however, good, intelligent people are free to create, to suggest, to experiment with their environment and requirements, and they begin to evolve their organization from the inside out. Those companies and organizations that are truly successful, are truly leading their industries understand this principle of inner dynamics, and they encourage, even promote, critical insights from within in order to improve the outward performance. This requires a measure of trust on behalf of the facilitating tier, but more so, it requires an organization to give the people involved a vested interest in the organization itself. People are ready and willing to invest themselves and their ideas into an organization that will benefit them as it gets better.
For example, Starbucks offers stock options to every single employee. They essentially become partners in the company for which they work. The organization even goes so far as to refer to every single one of its employees as "Starbucks Partners".
This kind of an organizational investment into the people who involve themselves with it is exactly the kind of dynamic promotion that sets some organizations apart from others. When a coffee-making barista approaches her work with the mindset that her success as an employee affects the success of the company, which in turn affects her success as a person, she is personally motivated to find ways to make her environment better and more productive. This is dynamic motivation.
How are you motivating your people? Have you modeled inner dynamics in your organization? If so, how? and what were the results? How is your organization dynamically promoting effectiveness within a given environment? are those environments friendly to effective change and outward evolution? And lastly, what is your organization doing to dynamically motivate your people? how are you enabling your people to invest themselves into the organization?
Friday, November 6, 2009
Friday Blogwatch
I know it's been a while. My wife and I found out we're pregnant and it's been a little bit of a whirlwind these last couple of weeks! It's an exciting time for us and we're just thrilled about starting a family.
But, life keeps moving and there is so much happening. This issue of Friday Blogwatch is dedicated the new and improved that is out on the market now. You should be checking these things out!
http://bit.ly/2dwEtV
Have you tried Windows 7?
The new Microsoft product is on the market, and, at least at the outset, people seem to be excited about it. Sales were 234% better than Vista at it's debut. Those are significant numbers. Microsoft needs the good press, too. With Apple really stepping up the Apple/PC advertising, there is certainly a point to be made in the Microsoft camp. We'll see if W7 is the product to make it.
http://bit.ly/3Bvh7K
Google helping out with Twitter Lists
Twitter's new List functionality is helpful, efficient, and smart. And Google, true to form, has stepped up to make it easier to use and manage. Google will alert you about activity in your TwitLists, allowing you to keep doing whatever it is your doing instead of constantly surveying your tweets in fear of missing something important. Good job, Google.
http://bit.ly/2hHOv8
Finally, Dislike in Facebook
How many times have we watched a stupid video, listened to a terrible song, or put up with our friend's annoying status, yearning for the opportunity to tell them what we really think. Well, if you're a Firefox browser, now you can. There is a new plug-in for Firefox that allows you to Dislike any item on the News Feed. One major drawback is that other users must also have the plug-in in order to see your unfavorable opinions, but the plug-in does work within Facebook and not a separate party program, which many FF plug-ins have been known to do.
Have a great week-end everybody!
But, life keeps moving and there is so much happening. This issue of Friday Blogwatch is dedicated the new and improved that is out on the market now. You should be checking these things out!
http://bit.ly/2dwEtV
Have you tried Windows 7?
The new Microsoft product is on the market, and, at least at the outset, people seem to be excited about it. Sales were 234% better than Vista at it's debut. Those are significant numbers. Microsoft needs the good press, too. With Apple really stepping up the Apple/PC advertising, there is certainly a point to be made in the Microsoft camp. We'll see if W7 is the product to make it.
http://bit.ly/3Bvh7K
Google helping out with Twitter Lists
Twitter's new List functionality is helpful, efficient, and smart. And Google, true to form, has stepped up to make it easier to use and manage. Google will alert you about activity in your TwitLists, allowing you to keep doing whatever it is your doing instead of constantly surveying your tweets in fear of missing something important. Good job, Google.
http://bit.ly/2hHOv8
Finally, Dislike in Facebook
How many times have we watched a stupid video, listened to a terrible song, or put up with our friend's annoying status, yearning for the opportunity to tell them what we really think. Well, if you're a Firefox browser, now you can. There is a new plug-in for Firefox that allows you to Dislike any item on the News Feed. One major drawback is that other users must also have the plug-in in order to see your unfavorable opinions, but the plug-in does work within Facebook and not a separate party program, which many FF plug-ins have been known to do.
Have a great week-end everybody!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Getting Back What You Have In
Remember the days of books and pencils and graphing calculators and stressful group projects that was business school? Remember the endless lectures and charts and situational problems that gave us nightmares and made us wonder why we hadn't just chosen an art major instead? It was there amidst the dark halls and windowless classrooms and dreams of power suits and corner offices that we were instructed, nay indoctrinated, with the search for the grail of ROI.
The catalyst of success. The denominator of power. The fascinating and elusive factor that would make or break our fragile careers.
But the game has changed, has it not? The rules are different now. Somehow, the world of structure and order that gave us so much security while we dreamed of it in our dorms and studio apartments has been over-run by a society that relies on word-of-blog advertising and social networks for news. People don't care as much about the ads we spend millions to create as they do about what their favorite blogger has to say. They figure that if Mashup! isn't talking about it, it must be passe'.
So we changed out game. We built our Facebook pages and started our Twitters and launched our blogs and it was all exciting and fun and new and wonderful.
But then...silently and ruthlessly, a thought crept into our minds. We ignored it for a moment, tried not think about it for another. But we could not shut out the voice, the nagging fear in our minds. In a world where communication is the agent of marketing, where we build and cultivate fluid, non-contractual relationships, how will we track our ROI? How will we know if this, this juggernaut of change, is working? Where are the numbers? How do you put Twitter into a spreadsheet?
Quiet your worried minds and silence your irrational, community college-driven fears. I believe that we are looking at the problem from the wrong angle. It is not investment that we are gaining a return on. Much of the new media is free. The investment made is time. And time, like furniture and telephones and carpeting, is not an item we expect an ROI figure from.
The calculable factor is relationship. We have to start finding our Return on Engagement. As we invest time into building relationships with our consumers and their networks, as we build our brand and create an atmosphere and an expectation around that brand, as we make it easy and productive for people to engage us, we begin to see profit, we begin to see a return.
Ask the right questions. Has my social media straetgy over the last six months grown my virtual networks? Has user-generated contribution risen since my latest addition? Has my brand awareness grown in the extended networks of my consumers?
Change your glasses, open the windows, and leave the halls of lower learning for the open fields of the New Social Market.
Return on Investment.
The catalyst of success. The denominator of power. The fascinating and elusive factor that would make or break our fragile careers.
But the game has changed, has it not? The rules are different now. Somehow, the world of structure and order that gave us so much security while we dreamed of it in our dorms and studio apartments has been over-run by a society that relies on word-of-blog advertising and social networks for news. People don't care as much about the ads we spend millions to create as they do about what their favorite blogger has to say. They figure that if Mashup! isn't talking about it, it must be passe'.
So we changed out game. We built our Facebook pages and started our Twitters and launched our blogs and it was all exciting and fun and new and wonderful.
But then...silently and ruthlessly, a thought crept into our minds. We ignored it for a moment, tried not think about it for another. But we could not shut out the voice, the nagging fear in our minds. In a world where communication is the agent of marketing, where we build and cultivate fluid, non-contractual relationships, how will we track our ROI? How will we know if this, this juggernaut of change, is working? Where are the numbers? How do you put Twitter into a spreadsheet?
Quiet your worried minds and silence your irrational, community college-driven fears. I believe that we are looking at the problem from the wrong angle. It is not investment that we are gaining a return on. Much of the new media is free. The investment made is time. And time, like furniture and telephones and carpeting, is not an item we expect an ROI figure from.
The calculable factor is relationship. We have to start finding our Return on Engagement. As we invest time into building relationships with our consumers and their networks, as we build our brand and create an atmosphere and an expectation around that brand, as we make it easy and productive for people to engage us, we begin to see profit, we begin to see a return.
Ask the right questions. Has my social media straetgy over the last six months grown my virtual networks? Has user-generated contribution risen since my latest addition? Has my brand awareness grown in the extended networks of my consumers?
Change your glasses, open the windows, and leave the halls of lower learning for the open fields of the New Social Market.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Friday Blogwatch
Here's a new staple for The Socialosophy. These are the things I think you should be reading this week! Enjoy!
http://bit.ly/U366t
Digital Tonto
- Great article on why companies fail. Worth checking out. We all need these kind of reminders now and then. Tonto has good information on a variety of subjects.
http://bit.ly/13zBVy
Elainegantzwright
- Elaine explores how non-profits and charity organizations are using social networking to promote social change. In this article, she explores Seth Godin's condemantion of non-profit's resistance to social media and the new methods of communication we see springing up all around us. A very introspective article. Kuddo's, Elaine.
http://bit.ly/2zv4CB
NuReach Global
- Good article on "social media netiquette". Do's and don'ts for the noobs.
http://bit.ly/hCrvs
Jennifer Van Grove on Mashable!
- Really practical article on social media policies. Having problems with your employees and their Facebook? Read what she has to say, and see what you can steal! ;)
http://bit.ly/6uuOp
Michael Brito
- Michael talks about new search engine LeapFish. Apparently, he likes it...
http://bit.ly/U366t
Digital Tonto
- Great article on why companies fail. Worth checking out. We all need these kind of reminders now and then. Tonto has good information on a variety of subjects.
http://bit.ly/13zBVy
Elainegantzwright
- Elaine explores how non-profits and charity organizations are using social networking to promote social change. In this article, she explores Seth Godin's condemantion of non-profit's resistance to social media and the new methods of communication we see springing up all around us. A very introspective article. Kuddo's, Elaine.
http://bit.ly/2zv4CB
NuReach Global
- Good article on "social media netiquette". Do's and don'ts for the noobs.
http://bit.ly/hCrvs
Jennifer Van Grove on Mashable!
- Really practical article on social media policies. Having problems with your employees and their Facebook? Read what she has to say, and see what you can steal! ;)
http://bit.ly/6uuOp
Michael Brito
- Michael talks about new search engine LeapFish. Apparently, he likes it...
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