Posted on Sun, Dec 13, 2009
I finally took the time this week to get my left hip replaced. I had been putting the inevitable off for the last several years, always finding an excuse to delay it. So why now? There are the standard answers for this time of the year. Business slows down and I will not be missing much. I will be home during recovery, alowing me to spend more time with my family, especially, my 10-year old daughter during the holidays. However, there is a bigger reason that gets to the core of who I am as a professional, a mom, a daughter, a sister and a friend. As a professional, I advise businesses that they need to get their house in order to take their business to the next level. As a mom, I emphasize with my daughter the need to focus on the things that will make her a better, healthier and wiser young woman. I felt I couldn’t continue to perform those key roles in my life without taking a bit of my own advice! Getting in s”hip” shape for 2010 meant getting the hip replaced.
As I began the rehab journey from my hospital room at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC [an amazing facility, I might add], I saw parallels between my physical rehab and businesses entering into the social media arena:
Search: Initially when I made the decision to get my hip replaced, I scheduled it with an amazing surgeon through a referral. I used the web to research him and felt I had the right guy. Then I met him and he was even more convinced. Unfortunately, my insurance company was not going to give me much credit if I were to use him [so much for Preferred Provider Plans enabling you to choose your own doctor.] Regardless of this hiccup, I leveraged the doctor’s office to get a recommendation on a surgeon that he would recommend. Then I researched the doctor online and found out that he was very accomplished in replacing hips for younger people like myself. He also has given talks and written papers, which further interested me in his services. Then I met the doctor and I knew I was in the right hands!
PARALLEL TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS IN 2010: The web provides us with so many resources to research potential business partners and relationships. We can check out someone’s LinkedIn profile, their Twitter presence, their website and blog if they have one. We can also find the common points of connection that can help us in our decision process. Also, while we may initially go down one path, we realize as I did that we need to go another path. The web and its resources are there to help you adapt and change course quickly and effectively. As you move into 2010:
- establish a Google Reader account where you can custom create your syndication list of blogs and articles relevant to your business
- use Tweetdeck or Seesmic applications which will help you track real time tweets on topics you need to be up on as well people mentioning your own business
- take advantage of Google’s new real time search capabilities announced this past week. For more information on this development, I recommend reading this post from Hubspot, an internet marketing software company on “What Google’s Launch of Real Time Streaming Means for Marketers”
- check out curated search services relevant to your business that will help you find the information you need
Giving: As a recovering patient, you really need to rely on others – nurses, nurse assistants, physician’s assistants, physical therapists, amongst others to help you. It is somewhat overwhelming to be in a position where everyone is helping you. In order to deal with the overwhelm factor, I have focused on talking with the great support team and getting to know them. It has been fun and more importantly terrific to see how they respond when they feel my genuine appreciation. They work very hard, long hours and deal with humanity at all of its best and worst. Honoring them and their contributions gives them a rush and makes the whole process of being helped all that much easier.
PARALLEL TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS IN 2010: The best way to develop relationships in the social media world is to honor the people participating and their contributions. Inside most of us, we want our lives to matter. Acknowledging others’ contributions help validate that meaning. It can also help us forge business relationships that can be helpful to our own longer-term journey. Yet these are just by-products of being a good social media citizen. They are not the calculated goals, rather they are recognition that everything goes better when we celebrate each other’s humanity. So as you go into 2010, here are a few pointers:
- make a daily effort to genuinely recognize the people in your networks. Let them know you care and validate their efforts. And don’t be surprised by some unexpected returns!
- utilize your participation in social networks to get to know other business professionals better whose thoughts and insights you express.
- subscribe to some great blogs like Dan Zarella’s and Chris Brogan’s and get regular updates and insights as to how to improve your interaction in the social media universe.
Listening: Listening is critical to recovery. What do I mean by listening? Of course, it is listening carefully to all the health care providers I interact with. They have worked with thousands of patients through the years and know what they are talking about. Yet, there is another type of listening that is critical – listening to your own body. Last night, I was very determined to get this blog post done. I did everything I could do to stay awake to finish it. My body was not agreeing with me. It was telling me that I had had a lot of visitors that day and had done rigorous therapy and it was now time to sleep. As a Type A personality, this is a challenge for me, but I know that if I don’t listen to my body, I will not recover in the way I need to.
PARALLEL TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS IN 2010: A lot of colleagues and friends like to tell me that they have no time for Twitter, podcasts, facebook, audible downloads or reading books. Then I ask them how much time do they spend traveling into the city every day, how much time do they typically spend in a week
Business success with social media is very different than traditional marketing where businesses broadcast messages to consumers. Social media requires engaging with customers, here are some pointers for 2010:
- start listening to what people are saying about your products in blogs, ratings services, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter
- access tools from companies like Radian6 that allow you to monitor these conversations.
- don’t foget your gut. There is a measure of intuition that to bring to social media to get a real sense of what your customers are thinking.
Use Downtime: In the hospital, there is a lot of downtime in between seeing healthcare specialists and waiting for visitors. Also some time you don’t have the energy to read a book. My ipod has been downtime companion. I am a long time subscriber to Audible and have used much of my time here to listen to Trust Agents, co-written by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith and regarded as one of the top ten business books of 2009. i had already read much of the book before coming here, but was able to continue reading it through great listening on audible! Plus it is read by both Chris and Julien which makes it even more compelling. I have also used the time to catch up on tweets from my friends and colleagues. It has also been fun to receive tweet wishes for my speedy recovery.
PARALLEL TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS IN 2010: A lot of friends and colleagues tell me they don’t have time to tweet, read and comment on blogs, download podcasts or Audble books, or use Facebook regularly. I ask them if they own PDA devices that enable them to do all these things not tied to a desktop. Most of the time, they own an enabled device. Then I ask them how much time do they spend traveling into the city every day, how much time do they spend driving, how much time during the week do they typically find themselves waiting for someone before a meeting starts, how much time do they spend in the subway or taxis. When they cumulate the time, there is a lot more time for them to do the things they have “no time” to do! So as you get in ship shape for 2010, learn to leverage your time. Here are some ideas:
- subscribe to some great podcasts on topics relevant to your business. They can be very helpful to providing insights on how you can do your business better.
- get an Audible account. Try out a few audio books. I even like to give Audible as a business gift. Once people start using Audible, they find themselves so much “better read” and informed.
- set up a Twitter or Facebook interface on your iPhone, blackberry or other mobile device and use it
- make sure Google Reader is working on your devices.
- read this recent post from Chris Brogan on what to do “if you have an extra half hour“. It was very helpful and the comments add more thoughts about how you can leverage this time.
No Overnite Success: I have a restless attitude. I got the hip replaced and I am ready to go. I sometimes even go to the bathroom on my own here, which is a no-no. I keep asking people how many weeks it will take before I am back to normal? Will I be able to ski this winter? When can I dance again? Mark Cuban was on Dancing with the Stars within three months of his hip replacement a few years ago. So I am ready to go . . . yet, it is still one day at a time. I got up early this morning to finish this post, but my body wasn’t ready. I did one last walk around the hall here and I am in better shape to get it done. Getting my self back to normal is going to take time, patience and hard work.
PARALLEL TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS IN 2010: Build a program to step your engagement in social media. It can’t happen overnight and once you get involved in it, your progress will be evolutionary. But it is not enough to just know about social media, you really need to do it so you can understand it better. So my advice for 2010 boils down to that great Nike phrase: “Just do it!”.
Posted on Fri, Oct 23, 2009
Today’s Daily Bytes starts off with some highlights from Friday morning’s Trust Summit at the Harvard Club in New York City. It also includes the collaborated thoughts from Charlene Li and Jeremiah Owyang of the Altimeter Group on the developments in social search this week. Finally, as it is the end of the week, there is an overview of HubSpot’s Top 5 Inbound Marketing Stories of the Week.
The Trust Summit
On Friday morning at the Harvard Club in New York City, thought leaders on trust in business came together in a panel discussion attended by 300 people. The panel moderated ably by Robin Fray Carey, Co-Founder of Social Media Today, included the newer and more mature voices on the subject of “trust”.
Chris Brogan and Julien Smith, co-authors of the newly published Trust Agents represented the new voices while Charles Green and David Maister, co-authors with Robert M. Galford of The Trusted Advisor represented the more mature voices.
Together they were a symphony. And while they represented different generations, they brought everyone back to the values of what it means to be human beings engaged in business – it is delivering products and services of value to our customers. If you figure out what matters for your customer, the profits will follow.
There were a number of great sound bites that came from the breakfast meeting – many of them captured in the Tweet stream as many tweeted insights and memorable quotes in the august Harvard Hall. Here are some of the tweet-bytes:
@benjaminstrong: “what if you put your most disgruntled employee as CMO?” @chrisbrogan #trustsummit
@megwheel: Doctrine of competition, over commerce, is killing our economy. look at Detriot-treated customers&suppliers as competetiors. #trustsummit
@fredabramson: Purpose of companies is to serve society. #trustsummit
@D_Elms: Julien Smith “The reasons we trust people have always been the same ,…That’s why trust is a system.” #trustsummit
@mattingsley: If people don’t *like* working with you, you’re going to have to do all that other marketing rubbish -David Maister
@suigenerisnyc: Be willing to make mistakes in social media. Risk is worth it for the reward. @Julien #trustsummit
@sparklingruby: How interested are you in other people? “The world is filled with people-you have to develop relationship skills” #trustsummit David Maister
@michaeljoel: #TrustSummit Metrics v relationships? @chrisbrogan: Relationships provide yield over time. We need more productive numbers not more number
@DonVanDuren: #TrustSummit Metrics v relationships? @chrisbrogan: Relationships provide yield over time. We need more productive numbers not more number
@iamparris: Charlie Green: we under rate the risk of not doing the right thing. #trustsummit
@PinkIncDesign: #trustsummit success = good idea stick with it through thick & thin. Build trust. Care. Be Genuine.
@mattsnod: Charles Green: Doing the wrong is less risky than not doing the right thing. #trustsummit
@DonVanDuren: #trustsummit. Green: Doctrine of competitive advantage is anti-ethical. It’s only about ourselves. Must connect with customers/partners.
@CatherinVentura: Moneyback guarantee: You don’t have to convince your clients you’re perfect, just that you’re really trying. Maister @ #trustsummit
@missmotorcade: In advisory businesses (design, accounting, PR, etc…), providers should always give unconditional guarantees (David Meister) #trustsummit
@markb: Oh my god. @chrisbrogan just quoted Vanilla Ice. “Stop. Collaborate. And listen.” Brilliant. #trustsummit
@amandarykoff: hat about advertising? As Andy Sernovitz said: “If you have to do advertising, you’ve got a sh*$%y” product.” #trustsummit
@burnspatterson: can you be both trusted and trusting? How interested in other people are you genuinely?
@14str8: ust identified the trait that I admire most about @chrisbrogan – he is always quick to acknowledge others. #trustsummit
@DrewCM: A diversity of measures is important. A measurement is a basis for discussion. Get the dialogue going. David Maister #trustsummit
@sparklingruby: “Buddhist capitalism”- Serve others without demand for immediate gratification. Higher ROI will result. #trustsummit
@Kona_Luseni: #trustsummit; gems from Julien Smith – I urge you to be skeptical of drinking the SM koolaid. It’s an experiment. It it fails wipe it clean.
@laureni: “customer service is more marketing than marketing is marketing.” @chrisbrogan at #trustsummit
@fredabramson: RT @chrisbrogan: @fredabramson – be the priest, build the church See Trust Agents: Agent Zero). #trustsummit (re service professionals)
And one final note, one of the most striking points of this morning’s discussion was Charles Green pointing out that the competitive advantage model propagated at Harvard Business School for the last 50 years is anti-ethical as it views people as a means to an end. As an MBA student at Harvard in the mid-80’s, I was swept up in the competitive strategy movement pioneered by Michael Porter. It made sense from a purely analytical point of view. However, through the years, the analytical prism always rubbed against my undergraduate education at Georgetown University, a Jesuit university, which always emphasized the “cura personalis” – the care of each person in a community. Today at the Trust Summit, I experienced a moment of reconciliation in my educational foundations and I fully embrace the trust economy.
Top 5 Inbound Marketing Stories of the Week: Educate, Enlighten, Entertain
This week’s treasure trove of articles includes a profile of an attorney who has grown his business through a blog that educates, enlightens and entertains, 50 blogging lessons, the 3 realities of social media (covered here in Daily Bytes on Monday), SMB lessons from the Blog World Expo last week and insights on how little Google is paying attention to bad links.
Social Search: Customers Influence Search Results Over Brands
In yesterday’s Daily Bytes, I focused on Marissa Mayer, VP of Product Develop and Consumer Experiences for Google, at the Web 2.0 Summit talking about Google’s social search pact with Twitter. This was a week of social search news, with Bing and Twitter also forging a similar pact. Charlene Li and Jeremiah Owyang of the Altimeter Group collaborated on this post to discuss the implications of these pacts and what it can mean for businesses. It is a lot to take in, but it certainly points out that if your business has been avoiding Twitter, it is time to start paying attention as it will soon become an important component of search results on your business.
Posted on Tue, Aug 18, 2009
The Five Biggest Mistakes in Measuring Social Media
ClickZ provides good overview of mistakes that can be made, such as not focusing on the clicks to your site through social media and not using social media search functionality to better understand what is being said.
How to Reduce Waste in Your Marketing Spend
I might have retitled this post, “How to Reallocate Your Marketing Budget as You Prepare for the Recovery”. That is the underlying point of this piece by Gayle Guzzardo in iMediaConnection. The article includes some good information on the effectiveness of online lead generation.
Read Chris Brogan’s Book – And Study Its Launch
This Hubspot blog post discusses the new book Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. Chris Brogan, leading social media advisor to businesses ad well known blogger walks his talk. I am looking forward to reading this book.
A Case Study: Unsing Contests to Build Links
I wish I knew who the client was, but the process Debra Mastaler outlines in Search Engine Land provides a helpful playbook for others looking at ways to build links and customers creatively and cost effectively.