Is Twitter good?

Minister without Portfolio?

I've often ended up in life 'minster without portfolio' – you know the guy that was on cabinet by didn't have anything 100% to do, but did special projects and created great stuff. You know he was needed, but…

For me it's happened to put me somewhere in the system, a system that I didn't fit into, and acknowledge I was there, and possibly useful. Its just 'we don't know what use to make of you'! 

I wonder if this is a good thing and to be enjoyed?

At school we had a cadet force. Lots of teenagers playing army, lots of marching, cleaning equipment and occasionally doing cool things like shooting targets and going to camps with 'Compo' rations. (Compo rations helpfully note on the outside of the case that there is enough lunch for '1 man for 7 days, or 7 men for 1 day' – got the picture!) Were did I end up? In the pioneer duty, along with other under-utilised and unstructured people who were very interesting but not useful, and we better put them away from the main guys as they don't really fit.

Going to church ended up somewhat the same. Being a leader there is only a couple of roles in a church. An elder or an administrator (cunningly called 'team or home group leaders'). I was neither, but passionately did my stuff and encouraged people, offering hope. Not being very mature I got upset that I couldn't just lead and on about the third time around found myself, finding myself (hallelujah).  Deciding that I could only be me, and if nothing else, I made up my own role – minster without portfolio. My pastor, being a wise man, allowed this room and I was allowed to play with all the sections and do my thing just reporting to him.

In business its been much the same! I am an entrepreneur. I make stuff happen, if I can't find things to happen I get upset.  I love to have a cause to tell you about, and you'll going to find value. I'm not very structured but I have learnt ways to structure my thoughts and I'm interesting and mostly useful!

Today I''m meeting people who are the same. They have competently got to the place they have by working hard and the only place left is 'the top job' – the CEO, the Pastor, the Head boy, the Commander. But they are not sure they want that, its too structured and its actually not that interesting! (to them and me anyway) My plea is don't try and become someone you are not. Excel in being you, and be happy. Tell you boss how excited you are about the business, show her that you can do new things, be relevant, create, and perhaps if you need it get some by in, some street cred, then ask to be a 'minister without portfolio' too.

Its the most difficult role to do as you have to be totally 'you' and totally 'present' to survive. And you don't have a choice because they need you, and you need to be 'it'.

Better Referrals?

Referrals are
the best way to gain business.

In today’s
market we don’t believe an advert, and we are quick to ‘spam’ anything that
doesn’t match our attention. And don’t even hint that you are trying to ‘sell
me’ because I’m allergic to being told. But if I see that my colleagues think
its good, or you link with ‘people who brought this also brought…’ when I’m
buying an item, then I’m likely to give you a few moments.

People telling
other people, works.

It works best
when they are excited talkers about you, when they are fans. It works best when
they can say it in a few words and you get it (simple ideas a child would get),
when it’s remarkable (worth remarking on!), its current and offers a marked
benefit to the hearer (what’s in it for
me is clear).

So how can you
make your stuff spreadable by your fans?

Here’s a few
suggestions gleaned from people like Seth Godin, Andy Sernovitz and others:

1.
Ask people to spread your word!
Be nice but give them a call to action.
So perhaps they can click on a link and send it to a friend, – you ask them to
blog you on your site, – you give them a voucher which they and a friend
can use etc. Make them look good by sharing.

2.
Emails are free. You can add
banners and your latest topic in them so every time you email, people see
something about you (good question is what do they then do?) But don’t be annoying with miles of fine
print – who reads that? And its got to be worth talking about!

3.
Are you taking part in networks
outside of your own? If you’re not part of their lives you’re not listening,
and why should I listen to you?

4.
Write a blog. Blogs are sticky
in Google searches.

5.
How easily can your stuff
travel? Emails that forward, tools make it fast. So make good-looking
newsletters, which are easy to forward, and make sense when they are. Be funny, be different, give stuff
away, and give value (holding onto everything doesn’t work anyway!)

6.
Respect privacy, and be
authentic and real. The number one ‘sin’ is to not do what you said, and to
show a lack of integrity. Do that and your will also get referrals! If you make
a mistake apologies! (Its amazing how you avoid people who can’t actually say
‘sorry’)

7.
Put in a ‘free prize’. When I
was a kid the cereal choice was all about
the toy in the package. It cost ‘zero’ but its value was the cereal pack. What
can you add that would hit the spot for your readers? It will be something
creative that you already have – ask your staff.

8.
Think about who your talkers
are. Where are they? Develop products that they want, as opposed to
demanding they buy what you have got. Often simple creative changes can
relaunch your existing IP.

9.
Tell stories. People like stories and remember them.
How can you re tell your success? Can you get your fans to talk with each other
– social media encourages groups to talk about issues – to form their own
interest groups. Have you anything interesting? (Don’t try and tell groups what
to talk about or join groups to advertise in them, that’s not authentic)

10. Be nice.

All Change- Social media power

Whether we are keen on Tweets, being on Facebook or Digg (- ing it) its not going away. There has been a sea change in the way we communicate, get information and share ideas. The question is not ‘how I feel about it’; rather ‘can I afford to ignore it?”

When the NZ Herald (actual paper version!) was the only thing to read at the auto shop this morning I couldn’t help but notice the irony that as a front page article its talking about its ‘tweet poll’ – so one of the causes of its demise is getting front page news!

Today I’m buying a couple of books (via a choice of price and offerings at Amazon, Fishpond and eBay) Researching a choice of laptop (cnet reviews to hear what 77 other people bothered to blog on it – they all hate the 90 day only telephone support – bet Apple change that soon) and thinking up new ways to market my house as the real estate industry, as we know it, continues to die. Even my agent said the only thing working for her is Trade Me.

Try Seth Godin’s blog. He speaks a lot on marketing and social media for which he’s the ‘most read’ in the world (real time, worldwide, netspace)

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/08/index.html

S

5 Books to ‘must read’ in the next 6 months.

There is information ‘out there’ that will tell you the way the world is going.

What’s going to be the new wave in the marketplace of business?

You don’t have to be psychic or even that clever to find out – you just have to pay attention.

I’m always watching.

Watching out for the new films, music, the covers of magazines and books.

And trying new things (like, this week, La Roux’s latest cd and The Word magazine – or twittering more)

Books for me tell you a lot about movement in thinking. If the authors have made it to the bookstand they have to be: 1. very good-usually, 2. current, 3. have a following, 4.someone has already seen its relevant for now.

So let me give you 5 books that you should look into. They are relevant ‘now’. They are part of the change in our thinking in business and so you will be able to really (and that’s excitingly practical) really use them to increase.

At worst it will make you more interesting to talk too!

‘Outliers’ by Malcolm Gladwell.

Watch out for this guy. I think his books are landmarks. This one is all about how success is actually achieved. And thank goodness it’s all about quality, dedication, time, upbringing and some luck. It makes sense and confirms all those that work really hard in their business to succeed.

‘FISH’ by Stephen Lundin.

It will take you an hour –max. Great for a Tasman flight. Read it to get the 4 simple rules to completely changing your office or group. I keep giving this one away!

‘Purple Cow’ by Seth Godin

More animals! This is the classic on how to grow your business by working on one thing – be remarkable! Defining stuff but also so encouraging for you to be YOU.

‘Jump Start your Brain’ by Doug Hall

My favourite creativity, and innovation book. And very important as Innovation is the currency now.

You’ll either love him or be driven nuts by him. And that’s just on the book level let alone hearing his podcasts. This is a big person. He’s the one that launched 9 new products at Proctor and Gamble in 12 months by himself before he left corporate. Get thinking and find out how to do it better now.

‘The Speed of Trust’ by Stephen MR Covey

It’s the son of the Covey you know and I think he does a better job on this subject than Dad. Totally relevant, vital understanding of the need for Trust, written mid 2008! Helps you understand why it’s the core of future currency in the marketplace.

Simon

Let’s do some thing new today!

‘Insanity: doing the same thing
over and over again and expecting different results’.

Albert Einstein

We spend most of
our days repeating previous ones, its Groundhog Day!

We are creatures
of habit and that’s OK in some ways – I don’t want to have to relearn how to
clean my teeth, make toast, dress etc. No that’s fine, but I don’t want to wake
up each day wondering ‘why’ – ‘what is going on……..is this it?”

Now we can’t
avoid doing lots of stuff, and that includes delivering a good days work for
our pay. Or if you don’t work it means using the structure you have set up to
move forward. But then lets look at this structure, is it just repeating?

Come on. We are
so slow to change, and so it’s most likely that you do things habitually that
don’t make for a better day.

Do you want to
make a change? If you do it’s going to
do some very good things.

Here’s a couple;
you’ll feel more energy in yourself, then people around you are going to enjoy
YOU (and they will). Then you are going to find new ideas for yourself. As ideas
usually come from more stimuli, and doing different things is stimuli, then ‘volia’
it’s going to happen and that’s great because you need new ideas to change.

So what are you
going to do? Take a different route to work, sit in another seat, read some new
information (online, book), take a 20 minute time out, listen to new music, try
a new communication method. You have to decide and you have to DO something. It
will challenge you as we don’t like to make new work for our brain but it will
create and it’s good!

My current favourite? I decide on what’s
the most important question in my mind today.

I write it down
to make it actual and then look down the street for 10 mins asking this
question an letting what I see give me thoughts – very surprising the new ideas
that come. But then one of the greatest minds already knew this and said

‘The
true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination’.

Albert Einstein

Wasting the day with meetings?

You’ll have to excuse me now. I might upset your corporate thinking, but I think 50% …no more like 75% of meeting are a waste of our time.

And what’s my most important resource – it’s my time.

I have a good friend who says it this way ‘let’s not just keep having coffee’s – it’s all very nice to have coffees but can we DO something?’

Doing something is not as easy as having meetings. There will always be the opportunity to have another meeting but ACTION… mmmh that’s another thing. And it’s a funny thing if you start to look at this then you’ll see how little is done each week. Take a note of each time you meet with your colleagues. Did you actually get some actions? Then did you actually see them achieve anything by the next time you meet? I bet you that out will come so many reasons why nothing happened.

Very few of us ‘do’ stuff.

Without ‘doing it’ nothing is created. I can have loads of ideas, and dreams but they’re going to stay in my brain without some actions.

Why don’t we do things?

I suggest the number one reason is fear. Fear of what the ‘others’ will think is always strong. OK, well we don’t live on islands, we do affect others, so it’s good to play together well, but as we go from childhood to teens we get pounded with conformity. With reasoned thinking that does little for us except to give us more ways to not do anything because……

The second is that we don’t actually think very hard. Most of our lives are semi automatic. We answer the emails, we process the paperwork, and we watch the TV. We cushion ourselves from the discomfort of actually thinking about new stuff because thinking does make our brain hurt – its exercise.

How about choosing a new way to work, going by bike instead of car, going to a new place to eat, researching 5 new sandwiches to make, and trying out Twitter! – Simple stuff but each time we start to think again. What’s all this about? It’s about new stimuli that our brains love, and as a result new connections.

Many times I’ve seen an executive stuck on a problem or just feeling like they don’t know why they don’t know why! The answer is not going to happen by sitting there, its going to happen by taking some actions to exercise you, and random and new is good!

Thirdly I think its all about making the right space to create.

This is in two parts. Firstly by making the right space when we meet, to create. Helping people understand why we are here, what is about, how we are going to process and where we want to go. It’s also about new language. So let’s even start by readdressing the issues in new words. (Language empowers much of our thinking, getting a clear question and using a variety of ways to ask this question can rapidly bring new perspectives). Lost of great info on this like ‘6 hats by De Bono’ making fearless space to create.

Secondly it’s giving us permission to have ‘space’. So you will set aside 1 hour a day to do something new, to read a new book to look at new magazines, to try out that website, to have a shower (! A recent study says people are 33% more effective at work if they shower during the day – no very pc that is it?)

‘Doing’ is linked to our own motivation and excitement and so that’s our responsibility to find ways to become motivated.

In the next years it’s going to be all about innovation.

Doing smarter, faster and better thinking.

Its time to do something about this NOW so that we are ready for the action.

Simon

My Top 10 Start Up Mistakes

Making mistakes is part of the DNA for an entrepreneur, they use them to learn and move forward. But the point is ‘learning’ isn’t it? We don’t need to make mistakes if we can gain from others. So here’s my list of ‘top 10 mistakes’ to avoid.

1. The Vision is unclear. You have an idea, it’s your idea, but you don’t live in isolation so this ‘idea’ is going to affect others, perhaps that ‘special other’. Have you talked it through, found out how this looks like to you both? What are the goals? Goals needs to be measurable, accurate (best with few words to describe them), be achievable but stretching and done in a time period. Very often this is not done and you find your partner was working in a different way to great cost.
2. Your Ego! Let’s be clear, you have got to own your vision and be its champion, no one else will. You’ll have to be persistent in your goals, and passionate, it is yours. But what personal reality check can you put in the system? The worst business ventures are started because of pride.
3. Lack of research. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it’s too late. There really is no excuse with the web. Find out about your product sector, competition, relevance, potential market size etc. Then add this information to make a business plan to give you a structure for the next period. This is done at the start, not when you have spent $1000’s and have the most wonderful ‘x’ – which of course you totally own – and find its not wanted. Sorry to sound trite but I could name several companies in NZ now who have something that will probably never reach the light of day because they didn’t find out if it was wanted.
4. You don’t stand out. Whatever you do you have to stand out for something. What solutions do you offer your clients? What makes you the person to call? Being clear on your values and purpose should show in your promotion and make you a ‘stand out’. People respond when they can trust you and see that you will work for their good. So personal referrals and positive networking are strong tools.
5. You don’t take (or can’t listen too) advice. Stunningly I got this from two brilliant leaders of charitable business groups. The top defect of their people was ‘they don’t listen’ and ‘I’ve spent hours trying to show them, but they want to do it their way’. These were genuine promoters of the people in their group, who had plenty of credibility. Also in a recent roundtable meeting of young business people I heard two members leaving making this comment about a man who had monopolised the previous 40 minutes – ‘he just can’t listen can he, he really needs to get the right staff’. (Perhaps some of this is back to point 2?)
6. Greed, sorry, but it’s the right word! When you own a vision and you’re passionate about it that’s great, but you’re unlikely to make it without others. Equity partners, investors and top staff around you need inclusion in the dream and the rewards. Again it’s so common for the owner to see it all as ‘his’ and offer minor shareholdings for large investments. If you can make an investment of ‘1’ become ‘4’ for 50% shareholdings are you not better off?
7. You don’t go with you gut! To start a business takes courage and often it’s a sense of what needs to be done, or what needs to be found, that drives the entrepreneur. That intuition cuts through complexity. Read Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Blink’ for a great insight into the commercial and social value of intuition.
8. You hire the wrong people. Probably my biggest mistake. They were friends or in my larger group. They got in without the full process, probably without my number two’s approval. They got hired without a clear idea of ‘what the company needs’ so we looked at a foreman when we just needed a loyal worker. A huge area well taught in Jim Collins’s book ‘Good to Great’. I’ll paraphrase his thoughts as getting the right people, in the right seats, on your bus.
9. You waste money on the peripherals. It’s easy at start up to want great logo’s, notepaper, and websites. My advice is to do it as cheaply as you can until you have profits. Companies are organic in any case and you’ll probably want it quite differently in 12 months. In this area I’d also consider a lot of advertising means. You have to be clear on what your customers need to see and how you get to them, many of the old means are dead.
10. You stop selling. You’re always selling who you are and what you have got! But it’s easy to give up because of setbacks. Your strategic plan might need a review but you need to keep moving. In early stages of a company my accountant took me aside and told me we couldn’t continue to advertise, or do shows, or really have a salesman, and if we could stop using the phone that would be great!!!!! He needed to tell me to watch the money but he was completely wrong for our future.

Bonus – 11. You spend too much time thinking!

Step up to Stand Out!

Step Up and Stand Out.

There is a famous children’s book called The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

It’s a series of cartoons with a little boy planting his carrot seed.

“His mother said ‘I’m afraid it won’t come up.’

His father said ‘I’m afraid it won’t come up.’

His big brother said ‘it won’t come up.’

Every day the little boy pulled up the weeds around the seed and sprinkled the ground with water.

But nothing came up.

And nothing came up.

Everyone kept saying it wouldn’t come up.

But he still pulled up the weeds around it every day and sprinkled the ground with water.

And then one day, a carrot came up,

Just as the little boy had known it would.”

How much of life is dogged by a selection of critics who tell you in effect ‘it won’t come up’. Many are well meaning. Often they are friends. Sometimes it’s professional advisors. Usually they are in your close group and it’s painful. But this story brings hope and perfectly expresses my cry for expressions of uniqueness, and hope for those that step up, with what they believe, to stand out.

I’m not ‘having a go’ at those that bring strength to ideas and ensure they develop. I’m not against good advice, or structure. Also let’s be clear that a persons’ quality, character, courage and persistence, along with savvy presentation and excellence can’t be compromised. All those strengths have to be there so creativity has a chance. (If you are an entrepreneur you’d better up skill and take on board some feedback here!) But I am saying that without that initial stepping up, and taking the room, not much ever gets developed. Lets also accept that sometimes they are right, but then (for me) its part of the process of finding out what will ‘come up’ and the process allows for evolutionary changes to occur.

One of the most memorable stories I heard last year was attributed to Karl Lagerfeld, the unique designer for Chanel. The story goes that he was asked to judge a photo competition promoted by another household name. When asked how he felt seeing the pictures he said that he found it very difficult to judge the entrants as he lived by a motto of not comparing and not competing. What strength! To be clearly yourself, to not be directed by the competition, and to be resolved to ‘stand out’, which is likely to be the only way to sanely live.

For most entrepreneurs, for creative’s, for those that are prophetic, it’s actually impossible to not stand out. And we need them. We need fresh ideas and thinking that will work to offer new hope and change in a world found sadly trying to hold onto a belief that change doesn’t occur.

So this is a plea for two things. Firstly, the need for us to trust our uniqueness, our instincts and intuition, and that of others (there is plenty of collateral information in scientific research to encourage us here). And secondly the ability of those that can add valuable structure, and proactive thought, to form genuine teams and bring these new ideas’s to market.

Success will come be for those dedicated, courageous and open enough to find out how to do this in their realm.

‘Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible’

Lord Kelvin, President of the British Royal Society, circa 1895

‘640K ought to be enough for anybody’

Bill Gates, 1981

New employee – Trust only required

‘Trust required’

As an employer over a variety of business ventures what did I want from my employee?

Sure I expected competence, and demanded a great work ethic, but more than that I was always looking for the ones I could trust.

My stand out people were ones I didn’t have to worry about, they had my heart, always gave to me and the business, they were trusted.

Being trusted is a two way situation and it’s not ‘soft stuff’. It has real financial and time impacts for both sides.

As I write this I remember two shopping incidents which show degrees of care, but in the end changed who I will trust. The first was last week when I was looking for a dress shop for my wife. It was a new shop and I couldn’t find it. So I popped into a jeans shop and asked the girl if she knew where the shop was. She said ‘no’ but 2 minutes later as I was 100m away I heard her behind me saying ‘excuse me I’ve found out where the shop is for you’.

My other incident (which is 15 years old but I still remember) was being in a so say posh department store in the UK and being served by a girl who barely could take her mobile from her ear while packing up my jeans and talked to me in gestures.

Guess which store I will be always shopping in? Guess which one I actually trust to give me great service and no problems. Which one gets my money?

Trust exists in a space that is genuine and respectful. It’s based on clarity of intent, keeping your agreement, and core personal values of integrity and competence.

For 15 years I imported from a German supplier on the basis of this trust. We had no written agreement. I didn’t need to consider they would go behind my back. Each side extended trust and commitment to each other and avoided endless legal and accounting procedures, which saved us both a lot of money. Naïve you say? Well I don’t think so as our trust was based on clear decisions between us, with regular contact and if necessary problem solving for our mutual benefit. We knew what each other needed and delivered these results. It was great and easy.

How different from other experiences were I have had to keep complex records and written files to ensure we can always say ‘well you said, we agreed…..’ to ensure we maintain business and get a good result. OK, but tiresome, costly, and in the end I would not do business again with this group because I can’t trust them.

Being ‘stand out and trusted’ isn’t a given. You have to earn it with historical results, respectful transparency, straight talking and unambiguous expectations. The great news is you can increase trust in many situations building on your personal qualities.

My belief is that in a world that has swung through massive distrust of political and financial systems what we are looking for now is this core quality. And we look for it in every contact and personally need to be alert to spending time on this ‘soft stuff’ for long term success.

Recommended book ‘The Speed of Trust’ by Stephen Covey