Yesterday I attended the Crystal Classic Show Choir contest in Fairfield, Ohio.  (I had a great time, but that is another post). It was a 90 minute drive each way which allowed me time to listen to a few presentations from TED.   One that hit the mark for me was a recent presentation by James Cameron. It was excellent and had me scrambling to take notes:). Before I share a couple of my thoughts on this, I recommend you listen to this one:

- Far too many people do not accomplish their dreams. Perhaps the most significant barriers are self-imposed. Yes, society and those around you may tell you that ‘you can’t', but the reality is that we usually limit ourselves. Mr. Cameron’s curiosity lead him to live his dreams. He asked questions, then followed the path that ensued to live his passion.

This reminds me of Gary Vaynerchuk’s comments about ‘listen to your gut’ and that you ‘don’t have to settle.’ See his book: Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion (affiliate link).

- Speaking about not putting limits on yourself, he said that you should, “take risk”.  He spoke of NASA’s “Failure is not an option” philosophy and said that, “failure has to be an option” if we are going to take a “leap of faith”.  He said, “failure is an option, but fear is not.”

Failure is a great teacher; pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move on. Taking the approach that failure is not an option kills innovation. More on that in a future post.   

- Mr. Cameron talked about trying to ‘understand the world and the limits of possibilities’. Instead of looking for why you can’t, ask what you want to achieve and how you go about it. 

- I enjoyed his comments about creating technology to make his dream happen. He was speaking about the need for new technology to make his dream happen when exploring ‘the deep’.  Listen, you may not create ‘new technology’, but you may need to innovate and re-engineer how you go about your life and your business. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the walls of your current life in your effort to live your dream.

- He said, “Curiosity it he most powerful thing you own; imagination is a force that can actually manifest a reality. I love how he did this … you can too.

Perhaps technology has robbed us of ‘creativity’ and ‘dream’ time. Turn off the TV and find time to dream and consider goals and possibilities.

- On leadership, Mr Cameron said that he learned the importance of respecting your team. He said that this respect is more important than all of the laurels of the world. 

What did you take from his presentation? 

Rick

Wow, what a story. I first heard about this on “Today In Social Media“, hosted by Clayton Morris.  Picture this as part of your business model: Charge businesses to remove negative word of mouth from your high traffic web site. According to allegations, this actually happened!  

Let me back up and fill in the blanks. Have you heard of Yelp.com. The site allows average people like you and me to provide reviews for restaurants, spas, bars, stores and other retail storefronts. I have personally provided reviews of restaurants. It is a great tool for locating places of interest. I love Monocle. It allows the user of an iPhone (or BlackBerry and other smartphones) to visually locate site of interest. I have the site to locate specific stores, restaurants, and other entertainment. It is great to read what others share about places of interest, especially people in my network.

Now back to those ugly allegations: Reports are that Yelp has offered to remove (or modify?) negative reviews in exchange for a fee. Yahoo reported that Yelp would remove ‘bad’ reviews in return for money. “Advertise with Yelp and your star rating goes up.”  If this is true, it is sad! The truth will certainly come out in the court system, but this is disturbing. Can you trust the feedback on Yelp if it is being ‘adjusted’ based on a fee? What do you think? I am hopeful that this is somehow a mistake. 

Rick
Image via CrunchBase

Over the weekend, I listened to the latest ecorner podcast (Standford University Entrepreneurship Center). The speaker was Steve Case, the founder, former CEO and Chairman of America Online (AOL). He is currently the CEO of Revolution, a holding company that helps build companies. Mr. Case’s spoke about three keys to be a successful entrepreneur: People, Passion and Perseverance. I believe these are not only key to entrepreneurs, but to businesses of all sizes. Here are a few of my thoughts:

People: In the book, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t (affiliate link), Jim Collins points out that “leaders of companies that go from good to great start not with “where” but with “who”. They start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.” (You can read more here).

I remember the 1st time I read Mr. Collins ‘bus’ analogy. It hit me between the eyes. I was in the middle of a management, pursuing an MBA. A few years earlier, in one of my first management assignments, I feel into the trap of thinking that I could ‘fix’ a problem employee. I tried, but was not successful. In the end, I had to let him go. He did not belong on the bus. As is often the case, he found a job that was prefect for him.

By the time I was in this class, I had managed for a few years, but was facing a similar situation with an employee that was not meeting expectations. I am a big believer in coaching employees, but there are times where you need to face reality and recognize those that do not belong on the bus, as well as those that are in the wrong seat. It is not fair to ignore the problem: it is not fair for the organization as a whole, other team members and the employee. Deal with it. 

We often say that the most important asset for any company is people. The reality is the most important asset is ‘the right people‘. People will make or break your team and your company.  Get the right people in the right seats: that can make a big difference. It can be the difference between success and failure for your venture.

Passion:  While I was in the gym today, I listed to a another ecorner podcast (I am a little behind). The speaker was William Hagstrom, CEO of Cresendo Bioscience. He spoke of an experience that occurred when he was working for a large corporation where he ran a large $1B division of a $6B company.  He was attending a meeting with a group of sales executives. As part of the discussion, Mr. Hagstrom expended a great deal of energy trying to persuade the leadership team that they need to move in a different direction. During the next break, one of the participants commented to Mr Hagstrom, “It’s just a job, it’s not a crusade.” This turned out to be an important moment for Mr Hagstrom. It changed the direction of is life and career.

How do you feel about your ‘work’? Is it just a ‘job’?  I can recognize passionate in a few minutes. Passionate people are infectious. They tend to energize a team. They care, but more than care, they are energized and engaged. To them it is not a job, it is a crusade. 

If you want to be successful, do the stuff that you are passionate about and hire passionate people. Start a crusade.

Perseverance: Newt Gingrich was reported to have said, “Perseverance is the hard work you do have you get tired of doing the work you already did.” Starting a new venture, running a business, being a parent … it all takes effort. If you want to generate long-term results, you will have to persevere. You have to endure.

Note: Had I written this a few years ago, I would have said that you should ‘never give up’. There is a difference between ‘giving up’ and ‘moving on’. I recommend reading Chris Brogan comments: Never Give UP- No, Give Up. Even better, after your read his blog post on this, read Seth Godin’s book,  The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) (affiliate link). Both offer some excellent advice. 

In conclusion, if you want to be successful in your endeavors, remember these keys: People, passion and perseverance. 

Your comments welcome!

Rick

Remember when oil prices peaked out in 2008? Check out this chart:

Just looking at the prices in 2008 brings back all the angst of that summer. Today, prices seem to have stabilized. Credit a combination of reduced demands, driven down by the economic crisis, and a glut in supply. While I am not a global warming zealot, I think there are many strategic reasons to develop alternative energy sources. 

A good friend sent me a link to the following video. I wanted to share it because I think we are just begining to see the leading edge to significant innovation that will change the game.

If you want to get a better understand of this technology, check out this Fast Company article: “Bloom Energy Unveils Its Ultra-Secretive Bloom Box Fuel Cell.” It includes a clip from 60 minutes that is worth checking out.

This is only one area of technological wonder. Bill Gates spoke at TED 2010 about the world’s energy future. He talked about the need for a miracle technology (or technologies).  Check out his remarks, especially his comments about nuclear power: 

I have gone on a bit long here …. but the point is this: The world is about to see significant advances in alternative energy technology. This is a good time to be an entrepreneur. Keep watching the news – should be a great ride.

Rick
 

I am traveling internationally this week. For the most part the trip has been great except for some difficulty in connecting to the internet.  For some, that is not a big deal, but I have a serious ‘connection’ dependency. I feel this need to be connected most of the time. I wish it was easier to connect when traveling internationally. In the U.S., it is so easy to connect. If I cannot find a WIFI hotspot, or when hotel cost are excessive, I connect using a Verizon USB modem. Unfortunately, that device only works in the U.S.

Last month, while on a similar trip, I purchased a subscription to Boingo Mobile WIFI.  I figured that at least I would be able to connect with my iPhone. I like the service, but was surprised to learn that the mobile service does not work at that location. When I called, I was told that the full ‘Global’ service works at that location, but the mobile service is not supported.  Of course, there is a big price difference – $59 / month vs $7.95.

Given the limited options, I decided to try the Global service. The results: It was spotty. I could not login for hours at a time. Very frustrating. I don’t think the service is that bad everywhere, but I really don’t know. I am not sure I will ever know asi I will likely close my account. I will be looking at other options before my next trip – which is very soon!

I still get my connection fix — I connect at the office and at restaurants and other businesses.  
 
Rick

I have always been a bit of a trekkie. One of my favorite Star Trek phrases is Captain Kirk’s, “Engage”. I prefer it to Captain Piccard’s “Make it so”. Engaging customers is on the mind of most everyone in business. One of the key differentiators between new media, especially social media,  and more traditional ‘paid media’ is that the former offers a greater ability to engage. Most brands have a real desire to engage the customer, but fail make the investment required to create more than a one way conversation.

Traditional mass media has always been a one way conversation. I love Seth Godin’s first law of mass media: “Organizations will work tirelessly to de-personalize every communication medium they encounter.” Last June, Chris Brogan blogged that, “the difference between audience and community is which direction the chairs point.”  Many organizations understand the benefits of social interaction but few used the tools available to built a community.

This is not an exhaustive list, but here are three keys to building community through social media:

Produce consistent, regular content: I have observed that many brands have jumped on the social media bandwagon, but fail to generate consistent, regular content. They may ‘drop’ a blog post or a tweet here and there, much like a bird flying over on a summer day. You never know where it will drop (they quality may be about the same as the bird dropping too). No follow-up, no discussion, and very inconsistent. Folks, if you are serious about building community, generate consistent, regular content.

Authentic content: Is your message self-serving? “We want you to buy x” or “Join us at x to see y”.  Post like these to any social media portal will not build community. Engage the audience and build trust. The audience can see through a non-authentic content. (Check out Important Steps in Building Authentic Social Media by Graeme Newell).

Relevant content: Liz Strauss wrote in November 2005 that “Content without “relevant” is less than content.” She was specifically talking about SEO techniques, but this is a profound statement. SEO is important if you want to build a community (they have to find you). Ultimately your content will engage the audience only if it is relevant to their interest and values. I frequent several blogs and blogs. By frequent, I mean daily. Why? I am part of the community and those communities are focused on content that interest me. Be relevant!

If you want your social media strategy to be successful and if you want to build an enduring community: be consistent,  be authentic and be relevant. Transform your audience into a community.

Rick

Yes, Google has launched a new social media platform called Buzz:). I know, you have heard all about it. In fact, maybe you are tried of hearing about it. Well, have you heard the legal buzz about Buzz?

Let’s back up a bit. Two days after the launch of Buzz, Todd Jackson, Product Manger for Gmail and Buzz wrote this in the gmail blog:

We’ve had plenty of feature requests, and some direct feedback. In particular there’s been concern from some people who thought their contacts were being made public without their knowledge (in particular the lists of people they follow, and the people following them). In addition, others felt they had too little control over who could follow them and were upset that they lacked the ability to block people who didn’t yet have public profiles from following them.  {The italics were added by me for editorial purposes}

I am sure many people were caught by surprise when their contact were made public. That would be a bit upsetting. How could this happen?

Part of Google’s development process is to launch new products and then tweak the product based on user feedback. It is a crowdsourcing strategy that has generally served them well. Frankly, I like it, but not at the sacrifice of the consumer privacy.

Google now faces potential legal action. On Tuesday, the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.  A couple days ago I listened to Clayton Morris interview Daliah Saper (Today in Social Media #88). She is an Attorney that handles cases involving social media. Listen to the interview. It is very.

So, what do you think? Careless or just an oversight?

Rick

It’s gadget time. Yes, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) is in full swing in Barcelona. Smartphones are certainly a product category to watch, and HTC is making news with the announcement of two new Android based phones: The HTC Legend and the HTC Desire. According to the press release, these “two new smartphones take Android to the next level …”.  Both devices incorporate “HTC Sense” to make the phones work in a more “simple and natural way”. Well, you can read the rest in the press release.

What is more interesting to me is another announcement from HTC: They will soon deliver a portfolio of Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Series phones.  CEO Peter Chou was quoted in the press release:

“Windows Phone 7 Series is a significant milestone for Microsoft, the industry and ultimately people looking to do more on their phones.  HTC is working closely with Microsoft to bring the unique HTC experience that customers love, [...] Microsoft has clearly listened to feedback from people and brought a new, fresh approach to the smartphone experience that is beautiful, powerful and compelling.”

I am not going to dive into the specifications, you can read them in these press releases or for a bit more, check out this Fast Company article. What interest me is most is the future of Microsofts mobile OS. Can this mobile operating system survive? Will Windows phone 7 make a difference? 

Before making any comments, take a look at the feature overview in this video .. not bad: 

A look at market data reveals some depressing results. In November, ZDNet reported that Windows Mobile lost 28 percent of it’s smartphone market share between the third quarter of 2008 (11%) and the the third quarter of 2009 (7.9%). Neither number is impressive, but that slide is significant. It would seem that this new version is very important if Microsoft is going to continue to play in this market. 

I have not tried a device with this operating systems. I don’t know where, but I read at least one report that did not give it high marks – but it’s early. Personally, I do not see this taking share from Apple or Android based phones. I think it’s a slow downhill slide for Microsoft.

What do you think?

Rick

Have you been watching the Olympics? I have not watched as much as I would like, but that has not stopped me from keeping up with events. I just follow along on Twitter.

Check out some of the stats: It is 7:30 PM EST on February 18, 2010. In the last 10 minutes, there was some 900 tweets on the Olympics. Now, this was NOT during a peek time. Followers of @Olympics is just one measure of the traffic surrounding events in Vancouver. My personal favorite tool is NBC’s Olympic Pulse.  Perhaps as interesting following the athletes themselves. You may want to read their latest tweets:).

Social Media has forever changed how we learn about news. Think about any major world event – Social Media was there well before the major news outlets. It’s amazing – it is now and it is the future. The tool(s) may change, but I we are witnessing a lasting shift. 

Rick

I was fortunate to attend the New Media Dayton 2nd Saturday meet-up on Saturday, February 13, 2010. The guest host was Gina Kay Landis. The speaker this month was Brad Ditzell, store manager of MacTown in Dayton. I would be remiss if I did not thank the sponsor of the event, 252West Salon. And of course, a very special ‘thank you’ to Carole Hicks .. these events would not happen without her passion for social media. Thank you! 

Brad’s topic was “The Art of Listening.”  He did an excellent job of relating this topic to real life. My favorite ‘exercise’ was when we shared some of our most frustrating customer service experiences. It is interesting how long many of us remember a bad experience. There was a lot of passion too. One of the experiences went back almost 25 years. My personal experience occurred about 7 years ago and I still remember if vividly.  With the emotion surrounding these experiences comes one more bad thing … these stories have legs! When we have a bad customer service experience, we tell all of our friends. 

Brad made a comment that stuck for me. He said, “Customer service is dead”.  What? I am passionate about the customer experience, but what does this have to do with the ‘Art of Listening’? He went on to point out that it is not longer about customer service, it is about customer satisfaction.

What does this have to do with the ‘Art of Listening’? Far to often we hear what the customer says, but we don’t understand. One of my favorite books is “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey. Habit #5 is: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. Seeking to understand is not a passive activity. Listening to UNDERSTAND requires you to be proactive. What is the customer really saying? What is behind the words. Do you really understand what she needs?

I had a bad experience with an airline a few years ago. My flight was delayed. It was obvious that it was going to be several hours before the flight would actually depart. There was a problem with the mechanics in the wing and parts were scattered all over the ground. I could easily see the mechanics scratching their heads. The flurry of activity was all there for me to see out the window. Despite the obvious complexity and seriousness of the situation, the gate agent continued to insist that the flight was going to depart in 30 minutes. We were asked ‘not to leave the gate area’.  Several hours later, we boarded the plane. I wrote the airline and shared my story and frustration. All I really wanted was for them to understand the need for honesty. I can deal with weather or mechanical delays, just tell me the facts.  They send me a ’standard form letter’ and a voucher toward a flight. I was not happy. They did not respond to my concern. How difficult would it be to personalize the response – to be remarkable? (Note: for a great blog post on being remarkable, read the comments by one of my favorite authors and blogger Seth Godin: How to be remarkable)

So, if you want to set your business apart, go beyond customer service and listen to understand and then generate customer satisfaction.

Rick