Archive for October, 2009
you can use a hammer, but can you build a house?
for some reason, people think that because they know how to set up an account on twitter and facebook that they can use social media. but just because you can use a hammer, does that mean you can build a house?
social media isn’t just the tool. blogs, microblogs, wikis, forums, are all just the hammer. you can’t build a foundation, much less an entire house with just a hammer. there ought to be a plan, or a blueprint before you start using social media. understand what it is, and what it’s about before setting out on this journey of ‘modernizing’ your organization.
don’t set up a blog because you want comments (first!1!!! lolz!), and don’t set up a twitter or facebook account because you want the most followers [seth's blog]. you should be setting up a blog and twitter account to communicate with your readers and followers. remember that the whole premise behind social media is the social aspect of it.
before you start building, you should have an overall communications plan or strategy (your foundation), and know what your end state is (the blueprints). what are you trying to accomplish? an increase of 10% in your sales? an increase of 20% in brand loyalty? to increase your workforce by 5% in each region?.. to decrease your workforce by 5% in each region?
just like any good construction firm, you better have inspections along the way. identify the metrics you want to follow, and measure them throughout the process so you can tell if things are actually working or not. not getting the results you expected? is the third bathroom costing too much money? it could be time to change your approach (or at least lower your expectations).
you can’t show up to the job site with nothing but a hammer — and you can’t integrate social media into your organization just because you ‘know twitter’. a lot goes into building a house, just like a lot should go into your social media and enterprise 2.0 plans.
do it, and let them see you do it
image from Crashmaster007, flickr artist
it’s easy to tell people what to do or what’s expected of them, but leading by example says a lot about who you are as a person, not just as a leader.
when you’re a leader, one thing you expect from your team or organization is accountability. you expect your people to embrace their roles, take ownership of their tasks, and ensure that their work is done when it needs to be, at a level of quality that will positively represent your organization. if you expect that from your people — shouldn’t you expect that from yourself as well?
everything that you expect from your people, you should be willing to do yourself. work hard, and let people see you working hard. be prepared for different situations, and let people see you prepare. you should do what you expect the people following you to do, and you should let them see you do it. it’s inspirational, it forges trust, it sets a good example.
you can’t tell your people, “stop working so hard and take time for yourself,” and send emails at 1:00a on a weekday or 9:30p on a weekend. it seems more like a challenge to work harder than a sincere concern about work-life balance.
so as a leader — when you make a promise, or institute new rules, or try to change habits — it’s best if you start with yourself.
leading by example says a lot about who you are. what are your actions saying about you?
ordinary is not unordinary
you want my business, right? you want me to choose you over your competitors, yeah?
let me give you a hint: ordinary is not unordinary.
as i’m currently in the new car market, i’m taking a look at just about every car maker under the sun right now (except dodge/chrysler/jeep). this new car has to be the car i keep for a good while because i plan on saving up for a house or condo; i just want to upgrade my car while my trade-in is still a good value. the one thing i’ve seen — from everyone! — has been really incredible: auto makers and dealers trying to sell me on things that are truly pedestrian…
AM/FM radio? ordinary.
CD player? ordinary.
power windows? ordinary.
floor mats? ordinary.
rear window defogger? ordinary.
air conditioning? ordinary.
cup holders?! ordinary!
if you’re selling cars, boats, motorcycle sidecars, televisions, mobile phones.. yourself to a potential employer (or your organization to a potential employee!) .. whatever it is if you expect to sell, you have to remove the ordinary from your sales pitch. you won’t earn new business by selling what everyone else has. you need to differentiate yourself. you need to identify where your product, services, or skills are different from the next closest competitor. first, identify those areas, then sell that.
if you’re looking for a job, to hire a new employee, or to sell more cars, you have to make yourself special.
ordinary is not unordinary.
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