To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question for business leaders.
I've heard some people say that Twitter is a waste of time. On the other side of the table, the opinion is vastly different. I will not go into the details of using Twitter as a strategy for online social networking to create business solutions. In my opinion, it is a simple decision. If you want to be a part of the conversation about your company or organizaiton, you should be using Twitter.
As the leader of a global business services firm, I tweet for a couple of reasons. First, I want to share my thoughts on topics related to our clients. As a result, I receive feedback that could be helpful to our clients. Second, I follow people who are actively involved in running businesses. Yes, you can learn from your peers. Overall, Twitter is a useful tool to achieve our goals at S4X. By the way, you can follow us at S4X on Twitter.
Are you using Twitter? How has is impacted your organization?
"...if you get the culture right, then most of the other stuff follows." - Tony Hsieh, Zappos.com CEO
I just finished reading The Zappos Way of Managing on Inc.com. Most of the article talked about the culture of Zappos. What struck me was the focus on happiness by Tony Hsieh. Too often, happiness is given lip service with regard to business. I agree with Tony (and not just because we share a similar name) with regard to happiness.
If you are not happy in your current position, will you be productive in your role? From an ownership and management level, if your staff is not happy, how will that impact customer service and your bottom line? It may not be high on your priority list. Business solutions built on a culture of happiness will ultimately make a positive impact on your company.
Great example of happiness and business is Action Wipes and Martha Van Inwegen. Recently, she had an issue with the production of a new line of products. Due to Martha's culture of happiness, she addressed the problem. The solution combined with business social networking has resulted in lemonade for the troops (see "Let's Make Lemonade" post).
Happiness is a choice for your business. Are you going to make it?
“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine its successful outcome.” - William James
While your strategic plan implementation is important, your underlying attitude is the rate-limiting step for positive results.
These days, many of the conversations at business networking functions and across the business social networking sites convey an attitude of scarcity and fear. I think it should be just the opposite.
If your firm is still doing business and you have time to fear, you have time to focus on creating abundance. Instead of fearing a loss of clients, we have been focusing on increasing the depth of relationships with our current clients. After all, business is about relationships on some level.
By focusing on your current clients and how you can help them grow their business, your firm may also benefit.
Attitude is the key. How are you spending your time?
Currently, we are working on the completion of our planning session for 2009. I often remind our clients the lessons that can be learned from your peers in other industries. This especially can be true with regard to strategic planning.
1) a strategy for greatness 2) team alignment 3) a pragmatic
roadmap of how we are going to achieve our plans within a reasonable
budget.
As a virtual business, we have several partners with which we communicate to provide services for our clients. In addition to the roadmap, we focus heavily on team alignment. Our structure dictates that all the components of our team have a focus aligned with our overall strategy.
Whether the client equation involves emerging markets or social networking, the team has to provide solutions that are aligned from the front-end planning.
I look forward to completing our process and sharing our experiences in 2009.
During your planning sessions, what are your areas of focus?
The use of the correct words to convey your company's message is paramount. This is true whether you are crafting a blog post for online social networking or attending a meeting for one of your business networking groups.
We have started to use a new tool (thanks to my attorney - Dave Castor) to assist our clients with crafting a consistent message. Along with all the other tools on the market, we have found Wordle to be a simple tool for quick check up. Of course, we also utilize the Wordle program. In a world or exponential amounts of information, a consistent message is key. The image above is the most recent snapshot of our blog. We are happy to see that our focus areas are represented including clients, business consulting and international/global.
Have you used Wordle in the past? If not, you may be surprised by the results. What are you really saying to your clients and partners?
Shortly after I posted the post about our new division, I received an email from Twitter notifying me that "PlayPumps Intl (playpumps)" was now following me. I didn't know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. PlayPumps International is combining one of the joy's of being a child with the benefits of physics and good marketing.
According to their website, PlayPumps International’s mission is help improve the lives of children
and their families by providing easy access to clean drinking water,
enhancing public health, and offering play equipment to millions across
Africa.
This organization combines global education and business to solve one of the most serious global issues (not to discount the capital market issue). If you still don't think that online social networking can benefit your organization (for-profit or NGO), you are missing the proverbial boat.
Lately, I have noticed the line between business and social becoming more blurred. In the past, business networking groups were the pure-play. Now, I am observing and participating in more business social networking events. Is this the result of the realization of the importance of solid well-rounded relationships?
I received an email yesterday from a client. The first half of the email was an update on a project. The second half was an invite to my client’s housewarming party. I will definitely be attending.
Dave Castor at Alerding Castor LLP and I met under social circumstances. Since that time, we have forged a strong friendship. Our friendship has enhanced our business relationship on multiple levels.
Of course, you will not be able to close friends with all of your clients. But if there is a choice, I will always choose to do business with people I know on a personal level.
"With the world in turmoil and doubt, the American people, faithful to the values that have always defined America's identity, have expressed with force their faith in progress and the future. At a time when we must face huge challenges together, your election has raised enormous hope in France, in Europe and beyond." - Nicolas Sarkozy, French President (Reuters)
As President-Elect, Barack Obama will become the first African-American President of the United States. With that being said, the focus should not be on his ethnicity. The focus should be on the goals of the campaign and how those goals will shape the future of the United States and with President-Elect Obama's global peers, our world.
The strategic implementation of President Elect Obama's campaign plan was the key to his campaign victory. His campaign stayed focused and did not stray when competitors tried to steer the focus away from the real issues. They utilized online social networking, virtual teams and other online communities to enable people from different ethnicties, religious beliefs and social-economic backgrounds to collaborate for a common cause.
In politics as in business, the great leaders surround themselves with solid advisors. As a leader, President-Elect Obama shifted paradigms by working with and being supported by Republicans including Senator Richard Lugar and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
The future holds many unknowns for the United States. If President-Elect Barack Obama and his team operate during his term as they during his campaign, the United States will move in a positive direction. Additionally, we must remember that the actions of thousands of people contributed to the success of his campaign. Change will not happen just because Barack Obama is the President-Elect. Every American must continue to take action to make our country a better place.
What are you doing to impact your present and our future?
Making a virtual company work takes careful planning. The major components are relatively simple. Those being attorneys, accountants, C-Level executives and understanding your product.
What if you are an Indiana life science company looking to working with a South Africa life science company? Not only due you have cultural issues, you will also have different regulatory issues to manage. Additionally, how will you ensure the communications are seamless and real-time?
With regard to the communications, we are working with a client to utilize the online social networking infrastructure in a business social networking environment. The goal is to create a collaborative culture and decrease communication cost.
For the regulatory component, our client and partner, Safis Solutions provides excellent advice for ensuring compliance. Gretchen Bowker, Director of Regulatory Affairs and Compliance Services has a great article relating to virtual companies in the October 2008 Safis Solutions Newsletter.
How do you manage the components of your virtual business?
Much as been said about the economy and its issues. The major news outlets provide the high-level interviews and articles. I read those articles but rely on something more sensible - my peers, colleagues and close friends. How do we communicate? Online social networking sites and text messages.
I prefer Twitter and Facebook. For instance, I recently received an article about Citigroup divesting one of its divisions in India. The acquirer was Tata. The twist of the deal was a 9.5-year outsourcing contract for Tata from Citigroup. Definitely, a great win for Tata.
Via our online social networking, we have advised our clients and have gained several business formation projects in the last two weeks.
Have you learned to leverage the available technology at your fingertips?
I'm in the middle of reading Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough and John Helyar. Unlike many business books out there, this book is a history lesson as well as a great story on the work that goes into making a deal happen.
One of the more interesting themes in the book is the value of strong social networks and how they relate to strategic plan implementation. In the book, F. Ross Johnson leverages his relationships to accomplish most of the deals he completes.
Another theme is exemplified by this description, "After dominating the cigarette business for so long, the Reynolds line executives had grown complacent." This line was describing arrogance of the Reynolds folks towards Philip Morris. In many ways, this attitude is what has hurt many companies in the United States. By growing complacent, companies have fallen behind the curve. Now, they are fighting for new business development opportunities or going out of business.
If you have read the book, I would love to hear about the theme that resonated with you.
We have all heard about the K.I.S.S. method of making decisions. If you haven't, "K.I.S.S.", stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. The question is, how many people actually practice K.I.S.S.? Are you the person with a 1,000 people on your social networking site or the entrepreneur focused on the minutiae working of the strategic implementation of your latest business venture? If you are in this group of people, you may want to consider simplifying.
Bruce Lee said, "True refinement seeks simplicity." In his book The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss describes two ways of living your life. The "Deferrers" live life to have more at the end of their life. The "New Rich" live life to have more quality and less clutter throughout their entire life. Both focus on simplification.
Simplicty is not just creating less steps in a process. It includes recognizing that you may be over-thinking a process and thus cluttering it up. As a result, you are wasting time. Simplifying can occur almost anywhere in your buiness including business formation or your interactions within your business social network.
As a business consulting firm, we use practical connections for creating solutions. Last night I volunteered for the Drum Corps International World Championships in Bloomington, Indiana.
From the press box, I watched the collection of individuals in each of the drum corps execute on the movements and musical notes. They moved onto the field, performed and moved off the field as one unit. Each individual doing his or her part to make the system work. The drum corps have been working on these performances for several months.
A business could learn from the focused efforts of these corps. In the off-season, they have their strategic sessions. In the spring, the strategic implementation begins. In the summer, the execution and refinement begins. Behind the scenes, the business social networking occurs amongst the executives of the corps and the typical social networking occurs between the corps members. All of this occurs in a highly competitive landscape. For example, each year, more than 8,000 students audition for the fewer than 3,500 positions available in top-tier DCI member corps.
If you have never attended an event, I highly recommend you check it out. In the meantime, they have a promo video that helps to showcase the event.
Lessons can be learned in the most unlikely places. Are you keeping your eyes open for learning opportunities?
In the City of Indianapolis, there is a major decision about to happen related to the funding of art programs and organizations. According to a recent article in the Indianapolis Business Journal, due to budget deficits (not unlike many other cities in the United States), the funding for the arts could potentially be phased out over the next three years.
Multiple online communities and social networking sites including one by the Arts Council of Indianapolis have been create a dialogue and to post comments and concerns.
From a business perspective, I understand why cuts need to happen in the short term. However, expenses can be decreased without sacrificing an often overlooked business development and employee attraction/retention.
In today's market, the "quality of life" quotient is a key reason why people live, work and play in a given location. As an entrepreneur trying to attract the best talent for your team, you need all the help you can get. This includes the arts and cultural aspects of your community.
What do you, your employees, friends and family members do when they are not working? I'd guess that the arts are involved in more ways than you think.
In a recent article in the NY Times titled As Travel Costs Rise, More Meetings Go Virtual, Steve Lohr talks about the increasing use of videoconferencing by global firms. The rise in travel costs was discussed as a reason for this increase.
In part, I agree with Mr. Lohr. Yes, the travel costs are increasing. Additionally, I think leveraging technology in order to increase the ROI per employee should be considered. As a business consulting firm, we view the refinement of the technology as an internal and external benefit. Internally, we are able to decrease our costs and increase business development opportunities by the use of webinars, business blogging, social networking sites and videoconferencing. Externally, we are able to work more efficiently with our clients by using similar technologies.
For start-up firms, the use of telepresence technologies can help to increase your efficiencies and set you apart from your competition. The adoption and acceptance of these technologies will only increase.
Are you positioning your organization to benefit or will you be left on the sidelines while your competitors be the market leaders?
Stay healthy. Help the environment. Save money. Business Development?
Yes, I did say business development. In a world of online communities for social networking like Facebook or LinkedIn, a simple yet complex sport can lead to a healthy business and a healthy you.
While purchasing two of the company vehicles for S4X, I had the opportunity to have a great conversation with Brian Gootee, the owner of Gray Goat Sports. We discussed how cycling can help your personal life and your business. Brian mentioned his experience of observing the business cycling culture of California while on a trip for his other endeavor M4 Sciences. Instead of the golf course, the deals were being done on 2 wheels. There are even organizations including, CEO Challenges, combine business and cycling.
My advice to a client considering the acquisition of several "Cruiser" bicycles for his employees. A healthy and happy employee is a productive employee.
At S4X, being eco-friendly and physically active are a part of our core principles. We are commuting to work via bicycle, walking a few minutes to lunch rather than driving and competing in organized sporting events. For my part, I am planning on running a Half-Ironman in October. I'll let you know how it impacts our quadruple bottom line.
When was the last time you thought about bicycles being a part of your fleet of company vehicles? On a smaller scale, have you tried commuting to work via bicycle? Once you make it a part of your culture, you know what they say..."It's like riding a bike, you never forget."
In the past week, I have read several articles and participated in discussions with our clients on the topic of the "generational gap" in the business environment. The standard demographic trends related to the global workforce have been repeated time and again. It's time to be proactive in communicating the benefits of the differences and how finding ways to leverage them can benefit the individual and the company.
In a recent BusinessWeek article by Peter Cheese entitled Netting the Net Generation, he states "Word of mouth is still the strongest recruiting tool,...". I absolutely agree with Mr. Cheese's statements. Before the prevalence of technology in the business environment, word of mouth was an important method of deciding which were the "good" businesses. Today, online communities and online social networks are the new "word of mouth". Our clients find that working with the Gen Y's of the world help them to better understand how to leverage social networking word of mouth for the benefit of internal and external business development. Something simple like a podcast as a recruiting tool or having your team participate in a Corporate Blogging strategy similar to the folks at Compendium Blogware.
Before you are preparing to turn your strategic plan into strategic implementation, consider the following...have you accounted for the perceptions of the plan across all the generations represented in your team? What are the possible outcomes if you don't?
Remember, just because you tried something a few years ago and it didn't work, doesn't mean it will not work when it's attempted by the next generation with a different perspective and set of tools.
You never know what will happen when you connect a client, business partner or friend to something you think they may find helpful. Social networks can connect people in unexpected ways...
A few months ago, I sent an email to my clients and my personal network. The email included a link to a YouTube clip for the trailer for Two Million Minutes, a documentary on global education.
One of my clients from Indiana sent me a surprising reply. She mentioned that she had a passion for global education on a local level. This particular client is in the Indiana Life Science industry and does not have activites in the edcuation sector at the present time. From this reply, my client and I have had further discussions on global education and other opportunities to work together beyond our current endeavors.
If you haven't seen the movie, check it out or read the blog from Executive Producer, Robert Compton at http://www.2mm.typepad.com/. It may start a dialogue with a client or friend which could lead to potential collaborations. The current state of education is something for which everyone has an opinion.
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To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question for business leaders.
"...if you get the culture right, then most of the other stuff follows." 
“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult undertaking which, more than anything else, will determine its successful outcome.” - William James
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