Change of Address

Please note our new address is now Cholmondeley House, Dee Hills Park, Chester, CH3 5AR

Are you all a Twitter?

To Twitter or not to Twitter; that is very much becoming THE question.

Well one of the best ways of working this out for yourself is to dive in and do it.  As I recently described to one of my clients, discussing social media and the merits / distractions of without actually partaking, is rather like discussing whether steak and kidney in a pie works as a food combination without actually tasting it.

Let’s take 3 of the most common media sites – Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin.  All serve a different purpose but if you don’t get in there and interact, you’re never going to know which one suits you the most and brings the most rewards.

Here are 50 ideas on using Twitter for business. In a nutshell Twitter gives you 140 characters to say what you’re up to.  Yes you can promote your business directly, and the opportunities are so much more.  You can share what’s caught your eye.  You can ask for help, no there isn’t always a reply but because of the 140 limit people often do cos it’s quick.  You can help others, again it’s real quick.  You get to see what’s going viral, what’s really catching on, or bugging people.  It’s not just the traditional sources of media and their opinions and commentary, you’re seeing it at a grass roots level.  If these people are representative of your customer base, you really get to see what’s important for them right now.  Lastly you also have the opportunity to share what you are or have been up to.  In other words people get to connect with you at the level of ‘normal human being’ rather than face of the company.   You follow those who interest you, people follow you, and you start to make connections and relationships which otherwise may never have come about.  In the noise of the internet we love hooking up with people who share similar interests.  You’ll also find there are more and more guides on how to use things like Twitter being written and published, but even without them it’s very straightforward.

Facebook is a little different, whereas people can opt to follow you on Twitter (you can of course block them if you want), on Facebook you have to actively accept the invitation to connect.  Again it’s a great opportunity to show your whole self, rather than the corporate version.  For anyone other than Generation Y it’s probably a lot less intuitive to use Facebook.  Well OK speaking for myself it’s less intuitive, so for me Facebook is still work in progress.  Having said that it’s been great to hook up with old school friends.

Lastly LinkedIn – Your profile is there for all to see, but people have to connect with you (and you have to accept) before they can see who you’re connected to.  It’s always been about connection, this just happens to be one way of doing it.  I know of recruitment companies who use this to find suitable candidates – so if you’re not there, where else can they find out about you?

All of them to varying degrees work when you’re being authentic, rather than pretending to be something you’re not.  Yes follow some business leaders on Twitter for a while and you do wonder who’s writing their tweets, and if it’s them, have they had a personality bypass as it all seems too scripted, too…well just not quite right.

One of the challenges as a leader is to remain connected.  The above are new routes that are taking hold, no passing fancy anymore, and before long the learning curve on working out how to use them and how you want to use them will be very short indeed.  The recession calls for us to be more creative, and that means exploring options that maybe in the past you’ve ignored or shrugged off.

Here’s were you’ll find me

Twitter

Facebook- you’ll have to search for me, cos I can’t work out how to give you a link, yes like I said not intuitive, either that or I’m having a thick moment.

Linkedin

Got 6 minutes to increase your success?

Over the years I’ve worked with and used many of Bob Proctor’s products, both for myself and with my clients.  He’s just launched a new product, which takes 6 minutes of your time, Monday – Friday.  Within this time he’ll help you on your way to achieving your goals and increasing your success.  I’m loving how he’s making his material so accessible.  All the information you need is here . 

Think of it as breakfast for the mind.  Allow yourself 6 minutes at the beginning of your day and notice what a shift it makes in the results you get.

Is trust in your facial features?

Came across this interesting article in the Boston Globe where psychologists from Princeton found that certain face shapes / features are interpreted as more trustworthy than others.  So just by looking at someone we make unconscious decisions as to whether to trust them or not. 

 

What is excellent?

I was having lunch with a friend recently and, two mouthfuls in to the sandwich, she proclaimed it was excellent.  The excellent part apparently was the taste, texture and visual appeal.  Then another friend was talking about her views on the excellent and not so excellent garden centers around Cheshire.  So what is it that makes something or someone excellent?  Clearly it’s a subjective experience but is probably about being the best it or you can be against various criteria.   The criteria being the subjective part.  However I’ve noticed that we tend to find it easier to label sandwiches, plants, large entities and anonymous things as excellent rather than people.  I suspect this is because we can be idle and find it easier to identify criteria for excellence in these situations.  I also think it’s to do with the element of risk and reputation.  If you think a sandwich is excellent and next time it isn’t, so what.  If you say James is an excellent web designer and next time he isn’t, do we feel there is a part of our self and ability to judge that’s flawed?  Or is it by saying they’re excellent we put them on a pedestal and then feel hurt when they fall off, forgetting to realise we put them up there in the first place.  So then excellence is a standard, a clear specification of criteria which when fulfilled, is the best it can be.  Perhaps some of the problems come from unconsciously assuming that everyone else would come up with the same set of criteria you did, or that this criteria is even repeatable.

 

Fancy instant success in a bottle?

Out there in the garden called life we see success and greatness all the time.  What we don’t often see is what it takes to get there.  With programs like X Factor we could be seduced in to thinking that you show case your natural talent, get a lucky break, appear on TV and Bob’s suddenly your uncle – or in this case Simon.  There is less emphasis on the trials, errors, commitment and sacrifice the person has gone through to develop their passion.  

We meet someone who has achieved what we want, and they offer to help us.  They’ve distilled their knowledge, learnings and mistakes in to something we can participate in and get the benefits in a fraction of the time.  Yet still there are those who want it even quicker.  All of those I know who have achieved success did it from the inside out.  They worked on their character as well as their competence. 

So I wonder, are we building a culture / workplace that eludes to, or expects instant fame, fortune and success in a bottle and if so how do we help people cope with the disappointment and disillusionment?  And will all of this help to build a more resilient generation or bitter cynicism?

What do you think?

You are what you read

How many books do you get to read every month?  And are they the sort you should be reading. 

I’ve always been a bit of a bookworm and I appreciate not everyone finds it a pleasure to read.  The one thing I have noticed in my choices, is that over the years the ratio of fiction to work orientated books has changed.  Depending on the content of what I’m reading (i.e how much it makes me think) I’ll read between 3 and 6 books a month, (not including audio products, journals and articles).  When I’m doing research that could increase to being about 6 per week.  Now I don’t expect my clients to read that many (although it’s nice if they do), however often when I give them a book to read in a month they choke (not literally you’ll be pleased to know). ” I don’t have the time”, is a common cry, usually seeing reading this as been on top of their job.  Yet the book absolutely relates to their work and their desired future. 

Jim Rohn said “are you feeding your brain protein or candy every day?”  Candy being TV, radio, etc. It’s the nice stuff that distracts us and helps us unwind.  I love watching NCISon a Friday night, yet if someone said you can watch it every night I’d say no thanks.  Another 5 hours of NCIS isn’t going to take me closer to achieving my vision.  5 hours reading something from my book shelves is going to be more useful investment.

What stimulus and inputs are you feeding to your brain on a daily basis and when you know what they are and exactly how much, is this exactly what you’d pick from the menu – or would you choose different options or change the portion size?

Whatever you’re doing right now is contributing to your current results, if you’re happy with these, great and keep going.  If you want different results then maybe it’s time to revisit the menu.

 

Planting seeds

To fully appreciate the joys of my garden the acts of planting, pruning and weeding takes place.  Our minds are no different.  If our thoughts are seeds, what are you planting?  If our subsequent thoughts are nutrients how are things growing, and if it's not blooming as you'd expect then maybe it's time to check your beliefs.

When and How to Delegate

This comprehensive article is specifically aimed at new sales managers, however it's always good to ask ourselves if we're delegating enough / appropriately / well.

Plus it's worth remembering the relationship between trust and delegation  – what message is your delegation style giving out?

New Sales Managers : When and How to Delegate

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Aim High

Where you’re currently aiming for determines who you’ll become.

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