Data Are Worthless

If you own a company, manage a business, run a department or contribute to a team, you are intimately aware of the time constraints you face every day. You have deadlines and meetings, emails and projects as well as constant reminders of the bottom line. And what should you do about all this online stuff?

There are close to two billion of us online reading, digesting, publishing, sharing, tweeting and conversing. The amount of content published in a day is unrelenting and new spaces are being built constantly.

Our Insatiable Appetite

The choices can overwhelm you, the so-called experts can hound you and the decision remains how to improve the organization. And unless your company is called “campaign”, you need a strategy and long term solutions.

It’s not difficult to find someone who will lay claim to their vast knowledge of all things digital through blog webinars, Facebook symposiums and how-to LinkedIn seminars. Yet with a click of your mouse, you will be falling over self-proclaimed experts who can give you link bait and search juice for a handsome fee.

Under The Hood

Perhaps the not so sexy but valuable aspect of the social web that few talk about is research. Over and above any activity you partake through the myriad digital spaces, you can unearth rich useful information about your company, what people are saying about you, topics that are important to you and what your competitors are doing through regular digital audits.

With over 600 million daily search inquires on Twitter, someone seems to be digging around for information. And over a third of us online have presence on Facebook where we share more than 30 billion pieces of content every month.

And There's More

YouTube is the second largest search engine, next to parent company Google and fifth most visited website on the planet. It served more than 75 billion video streams to over 375 million unique visitors last year. And if you're looking for even more research, you can check out SlideShare which features hundreds of presentations in your industry. And there are hundreds of other spaces available.

The data are only worth something if you do something with it. The information needs to be gathered, analyzed and implemented. And constant research on the web can positively effect the bottom line. The decision is whether you want to do the work and put in the time.

Kneale Mann

image credit: cloudcentrics
original posted Feb 2011

How Do We Provide Value?

Try the value menu. Take a value home today. Your friendship is valuable to me. We value your opinion. Your local choice for value. We stand for real value.

We hear and see the word value used all day.

Every offering, every product, every company offers us value. The word is used like it's some magically field leveler. Yet it feels like a discarded gum wrapper.

The exchange of money or goods or services that is considered to be a fair equivalent for something else.

We marketing strategists often try and find clients’ value proposition. It looks great when you write it up in a proposal or internal collateral. But is value not similar to branding where the decision is up to the customer?

An ideal accepted by some individual or group.
Homemade, all natural, locally grown, owned and operated, quality assured,
new and improved, limited time offer.

These are extraneous words we all may be guilty in using to not necessary fool people but rather to enhance the offer.

One way to differentiate is to remember the core of our unique selling proposition is our abilities that no one else can offer.

Kneale Mann

image credit: istock
original post: December 2010

The Web in Sixty Seconds

Lovin' Every Minute of It


A fun infographic that has been making the rounds is one that shows the multitude of things that happen online every minute. It was developed by the web design company Go-Globe and when I first saw it, like most, I was impressed. But then it reminded me how overwhelmed business owners and managers feel on a daily basis. How do you keep up? What channels do you choose? Where do you focus your efforts? How can you digest the never ending amount of content?

Some highlights of what happens on the Internet every minute along with some additional items you may experience today.

• There are almost 700,000 Google search inquiries
• Flickr receives more than 6,000 photo uploads
• You surfed that car site instead of making another sales call
• Over 70 new domains are registered
• Twitter gains 320 new members and almost a hundred thousand tweets are sent
• More than 22 million meetings ended with no definitive decisions
• In excess of 168 million emails are sent
• iPhone customers download 13,000 applications
• You read this post
• Over 350,000 minutes of voice calls are done by Skype users
• LinkedIn gains another 100 members
• You started another game of Angry Birds at your desk
• Over 25 hours of videos are uploaded onto YouTube
• 700,000 status updates, 80,000 wall posts and 500,000 comments on Facebook
• More than a hundred questions are asked on answers.com
• Scribd receives another 1,600 reads
• You checked your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter profiles
• Over 1,200 new ads are created on Craigslist
• Pandora streams more than 13,000 hours of music to users

How will you spend the next sixty seconds?

Kneale Mann

image credit: goglobe

ROI: Are We Focused on the Wrong Letter?

Anytime After Now

You run a business, you have expenses, you have revenue and you want profits. You want to see measurable growth in your overall business this fiscal.

Your time is tighter than ever, you are distracted by all of the outbound marketing choices and there doesn’t seem to be one clear cut way to go.

You know you should examine your current business development and perhaps dump some stuff and incorporate some new stuff and that’s about as far as the conversation has gone. In this case, your business is anything from a part-time interest to a publically traded multi-national in the Fortune 500.

Of course the “you” in this story is a composite of any business owner and manager because these are issues faced every day in companies small, medium and large. We all struggle with striking a balance between working in the business while trying to work on the business and ultimately find our why business.

Busy Busy

You could freshen up the website, add another Twitter stream, begin blogging, put out a direct mail piece, create a Facebook group, buy some radio advertising, develop a mobile application, slap up some billboards, create a YouTube channel and take out full page ads in the daily newspaper.

All this activity will take time, resources and cash. There will be creative meetings with your agency or internal team. You will need to decide on the content and artwork. And then there is production and upkeep. You’re in business every single day so these activities certainly can’t be haphazard.

Proof Meet Pudding

If traction isn’t realized in quick order you may be concerned it didn’t work. There hasn’t been an increase in blog readers, the radio campaign hasn’t garnered enough sales leads and all that Facebook stuff seems a waste of time. You may claim you don't need more marketing, you need more sales. Egg meets chicken.

Have a close look at you investment and effort. Are you committed to it? Are you aware of the expected results of each tactic? Or are you hoping to throw money at an eternal solution then get back to work so all those new sales leads will pour in? Traditional, digital and mobile media are no longer places to buy but rather channels to engage. We have to look at the return of our social investment.

Before we measure our return, perhaps we have to be honest and clear about our actual investment?

Kneale Mann

image credit: abcnetau

From Vancouver to The World

Welcome to our Instant Life

Business owners and managers who have yet gone deep with a digital presence often worry about the time commitment, the ability to manage the content, the sheer volume of information and the return on their investment.

This week we watched in disgust as thousands of people went on a rampage in downtown Vancouver moments after the Canucks lost their second bid at a Stanley Cup. Over a hundred people have been arrested so far, clearly a tiny fraction of those who should be brought to justice, and a couple of hundred people were injured which in itself is a miracle. There have been incidents like this in the past where lives were lost.

Good Versus Bad

The actions are inexcusable. If you are upset that your team lost a hockey game, go home and smash your own house and car. But the very tools that were used to broadcast the Vancouver events to the world in an instant this week will slowly turn positive in two distinct ways.

There is video evidence of the actual people who did the damage and hurt others. It astounds me how anyone can destroy property, hurt others and happily film themselves doing it. There are thousands of Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and YouTube accounts littered with the names and images for authorities to sift through but the bigger question is one I’m not sure we can answer – why did this happen and if the Canucks had won, would it have happened anyway? It’s easy to say a small group of thugs started it – time will tell – but that doesn’t excuse thousands – yes, thousands – of others joining in.

Bad Turns Good

But the other positive result is that in mere hours, hundreds of Vancouverites were on the streets cleaning up their city and tens of thousands of supporters were spreading the news through various Facebook groups. Vancouver is one of the most beautiful, clean, fun, engaging cities on earth. If you have never been, I implore you to do so. If you have been, go again and let’s not let the bad ones prove what some are suspecting is a long hill to climb to improve the city’s reputation.

The digital age gives us reasonably inexpensive tools to spread ideas quickly. The social web has opened up avenues to people who share our interests all over the world. But the events of Wednesday night in Vancouver remind us the responsibility we have with our web presence and content.

Let’s remember our responsibility as human beings.

Kneale Mann

image credit: thescore

Creating Urgency and Need

This Weekend Only Until Next Weekend

If you work in the automotive industry, we need to talk. There is no car shortage. Your manager is not out of town. You don’t have just five left on the lot. The balloons, inflatable gorilla and hot dogs for the kids are not enough of an incentive to check the deals this weekend. There is goods news. Some companies discard all that and talk about the experience and don’t need to bark about their tent sale.

Half a Billion Apps for That

We’ve seen the explosion of mobile devices in the last decade. This one’s smaller, this one can fry an egg, this one will send documents to Japan and this one is available in vermillion. We are losing the ability to make eye contact, sit quiet and do nothing. We have to check the mobile device, someone may need us.

You don't text and drive, of course. But look to the car next to you at the next stop light and see if they’re checking their mobile device because something may be urgent. Of course, after you check yours. We are available 24/7 which means if they haven’t returned the email within 48 hours they are either actually busy, the Internet is broken or they are ignoring you.

Smaller Faster Thinner

The processor on this laptop is eighteen thousand times faster than the previous one that was forty-two hundred times faster than the one before that. And we still can’t get the wi-fi to work properly in the restaurant when the client is waiting to see the first draft of the presentation.

They promised that their digital service was lightning fast which lets you update your Facebook status and send a tweet in an instant. Well, except when they’re doing work on the lines which is every second month plus they’re getting a larger number of customers on the system please hold the line sir, can I get your account number and fourteen digit security code.

Please Fasten Your Seat Belt

Flights are delayed because it’s Monday and this exact number of passengers – give or take a few hundred – fly out of La Guardia every week so you can understand why the airlines haven’t accommodated for this usual occurrence. They are just reminding passengers for the 568th time in the last hour to not leave bags unattended. And by the time you snake your way through five security checks. make your way to 11B, the pilot announces the plane is 14th in line for take-off.

To say the world is a busier place today than it was even few years ago in some ways may be a safe assessment but are getting any more done? The social web has created discussions and opinions, naysayers and evangelists, pontificators and spammers. And if you own a business you may be more confused than ever. You want ROI.

How do you balance your impatience for revenue with their impatience quick service?

Kneale Mann

image credit: deltaoptimist

The Anatomy of Social Business

Last week, my colleague Mark Schaefer was kind to ask several of his community members to guest on his blog while he was on vacation. Mark knows now to build a community and knew darn well that each of us who guested would end up forming new relationships with each other.

This is the post that ran last week on The Anatomy of Social Business. Other guest contributers were: Steven Parker, Eica Allison, Jon Buscall, Margie Clayman, Caroline Di Diego, Leo Widrich and Natasha Gabriel. Thanks Mark!
_______________________________________________

There is increasing discussion these days about developing a “social business.” The vital word to remember in this name is business — real work tied to a bottom line.

The social business doesn’t start or end in the digital space but rather in the human universe. It includes the creation of a true collaborative, two-way exchange that embraces internal and external customer connection and service.

Labels such as social media, social networking, and social marketing are often misused. Social media are a collection of channels. Social networking is interaction between people through myriad digital and human channels. And social marketing embraces many channels to achieve social good. Channels are simply options.

So How Can You Make Your Company Social?

First it requires superior products or services. Creating an environment where it’s fun to work that has nothing to offer clients is a not a business. We can get distracted by the temptations of the social web and allow emotion to rule the day when we use words such as media and social. But without business, it’s a hobby shrouded in theory.

Our customers don’t care how many blog subscribers we have or who visits our YouTube channel. They may ‘like’ our Facebook group but that does not constitute a relationship, yet. They bought our stuff and they expect it to do what we said it would do. So we need an actual business that has customers or the potential of customers before we can build a social business.

Communications and marketing in a social business are not necessarily departments; they are tied to every function everyone does every day. Teamwork in a social business does not consist of butt covering, “good enough,” or that isn’t my job declarations. It embraces an understanding of the strengths of each and every person and how they complement the rest of the team. Building a social business is hard work but can be the single most important tactic you can employ to increase profits.

People Buy Into People

The construction of a social business requires the realization that human beings build the bottom line, not websites or slick messaging. It is also an environment where stakeholders understand we are all suppliers and we are all customers. We all live on both sides of the counter.

Have you ever been to a restaurant where the person serving you seems to have the best job in the world? Think about the last time you met a convenience store clerk who smiled, made eye contact and meant it when they wished you a good day. The little things are often the biggest things that can make your company social.

Different Things Different Results

It begins with the desire to look they do business inside and outside of their organization. It means they may feel uncomfortable for a while but they’ll be in good hands because the goal is to improve, not point fingers or increase workload simply to keep busy.

The clear focus is to create an environment where both stakeholders and customers want to be great and that is how sustained growth is achieved. Building a social business goes well beyond channels and websites.

How do you build a social business?

Kneale Mann

image credit: tutor2u

19 Business Ideas

• Focus on your strengths
• Know what you know
• Don't get distracted by naysayers
• Take digital time off
• Be known for something
• Surround yourself with smart people
• Do one thing really well
• Have a flexible strategy
• Refine your offer
• Be clear on your beliefs
• Walk away at least once a day
• Commit to it
• Believe in yourself
• Read and seek daily knowledge
• Build a mastermind group
• Work smarter
• Know what you don't know
• Do great stuff
• Stop comparing yourself to others

What would you add?

Kneale Mann

image credit: lovemylife

Best Laid Business Plans

You Need a Plan

With few exceptions, no one ever becomes wildly successful without some sort of - albeit flexible - business plan. You need to set realistic actionable objectives or you will get lost in tactics. Crashing and burning are often the next step waiting for you.

I've always prescribed to the "strategy before tactics" mantra. You need to set 2-3 objectives for the next year and then build out necessary activities to ensure they are accomplished. Simon Sinek changed that when he reminds us that we need to know why we're doing any of it in the first place.

A Plan is Not Enough

Business plans don't have to be verbose literary masterpieces which no one will read, never mind execute. They should be clear and the content should point to what the company actually wants to carry out. But like mission statements, they are often created with the best of intentions in a controlled environment known as a boardroom.

Business objectives should include realistic market perspective, company financial realities and unbiased summation of stakeholder talent. Anyone can say "make more money this year" but can you really pull it off when you take into consideration your products or services, competitive situations and appropriate cash flow.

How can you ensure your business plan doesn't go sideways as soon as the reality of life hits it in the face?

Kneale Mann

image credit: youintegrate

What Makes a Great Leader?

Hint: It's Not on Your Business Card

You and I can think of those precious few people who have influenced our lives. They may be current or past direct reports, family members, friends or colleagues. Their contribution has been significant and has helped shape how we navigate the world.

We often say the person who is highest in the company’s organizational chart is the leader. But is that accurate in all cases? According to Wikipedia, leadership is the process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Well doesn’t that sound warm and fuzzy.

Is that how we describe those people who have touched our lives and made us better?
Is that what we aspire to be and do as we drive business and personal growth?

#Leadershipchat

Last fall, Steve Woodruff and Lisa Petrilli began a one-hour session on Twitter which happens Tuesdays at 8pm Eastern called Leadershipchat. Each week, they pick a topic or a guest co-host and anyone can contribute to the conversation. Feel free to join in.

There are hundreds of microblogging chats each week but leadershipchat is one I try not to miss. There are smart, insightful and helpful people and the hour goes by like it’s been ten minutes. If you are not on Twitter, simply go to search.twitter.com, type in “leadershipchat” or visit leadershipchat.net for transcripts.

This week’s topic was Leadership and Social Media.
Here are a few of the many highlights.

@LouImbriano If a leader hides from social media or any other method to communicate their message, then he/she is not a leader at all.

@ldiomede those who don't embrace change finish last.

@reginaconsults You need to know how to follow to lead. Otherwise how can you appreciate and empathize with your followers when leading

@tmustacchio 1% - most claim no time! RT @pegsta1: Anyone had any success getting their sales staff on board with Social Media?

@GailZahtz Poor leaders do want to be surrounded by yes men!

@ronenns SM is a great tool for employees to affect change. Pull the reluctant org or CEO into the conversation.

@Chris_Eh_Young If you think you're a leader but nobody is following you,you're just going for a walk. John C. Maxwell

@chieflemonhead SM is a platform - what it stands for a philosophy: open, honest, authentic. Those are key traits of today's leaders.

@thehealthmaven Good leaders charge ahead, no matter what arrows their critics are throwing

@swoodruff Face-to-face is crucial - SM is not a replacement.
Should be an enhancement.

@knealemann - @MatthewLiberty - Any outbound channel.Improved internal customer service creates improved external customer service.

@Starbucker SM just another form of communication. Good leader can communicate effectively. Why shouldn't leaders use SM?

@Grit08 SM helps leaders to connect to a multitude of conversations at a pace never experienced before and filter noise

@samfiorella: Best way for corp leaders to lead in SM is to step back, listen.

@gdahlby I agree that larger organizations have a more difficult time in keeping a narrow forcus on the SM message and methods.

@efrainm RT @knealemann: No one enjoys feeling lost or stupid, so never assume they don't “get it”. Help them.

@GailZahtz Influence in SM is about relationships and what value you BRING
to those relationships.

@ddcronkh For HR managers, social media has to be the greatest gift.It's self-made pre-screening.

@johnmbernard People want to know their leaders and SM gives them a chance to connect, to talk, to exchange ideas.

Kneale Mann

image credit: mimifoto

Finding Inspiration

It was the end of a long day. Anyone who owns their own business knows the feeling. You’re being torn in a hundred different directions and half of them are created by you. So I was looking for some inspiration.

I found some.

Brad Koepenick is an actor, director and producer. He along with a group of very special people created Kids with Cameras which came out a few years ago. The work continues. Find a few minutes and watch this video.

Then go inspire someone.



Kneale Mann

video credit: Kids with Cameras

Follow Us. Like Us. Connect Us. Now What?

It Begins With a Click

There is non-stop noise and chatter online from people, companies and computer generated bots asking for our attention, time, money and business. Follow us on Twitter. Like my Facebook group. Visit our YouTube channel. Download my e-book. Attend our webinar. Buy my stuff. Read our blog.

If It Was Only That Easy

I’m often in conversations with business owners and managers about improving their digital footprint and web presence. We want business and revenue to move quickly so there is often little patience to give the process the time it needs to develop. Within the digital landscape, here are five types of people that often reside inside an organization.

All Over it

These are early adopters who have immersed themselves in online social networks. They use their mobile device for both business and pleasure. And they don’t understand why the entire organization hasn’t jumped in with both feet. They may be viewed as renegades void of business acumen who don’t recognize the importance of company privacy. They can be the scary ones with the new ideas.

Don’t Understand it

They don’t usually articulate it this clearly, it is manifested by their behavior. The quick subject change or dismissive claim it’s just a big waste of time is rarely too far away. Status quo is their friend. They don't realize their own use of digital is often a reflection of customers' activity.

Think They're On it

Most companies today are somewhat involved in digital content. They have a website, they may have created a few additional online profiles but haven't begun participating in any conversations with customers. But they do have a "Follow Us on Twitter" button, so they think they're covered.

Unsure About it

This can be a tough place to be because you know you should know this stuff, you know your organization would benefit from all this stuff but you are not clear on how and where to start. The good news is the social web gives us a plethora of information about our customers, our industry and our competitors. It just takes a leap and some time. And like a good work out regime, it then takes consistency.

Actually Doing it

These are the trail blazers who are simply doing what they need to do to find customers where customers are and they don’t make a big deal about it. They grasp that the time needs to be invested and that there is a tremendous amount of business intelligence to be found if patience and research is a priority. They aren't boasting about it, they're getting on with it.

And since most organizations have a mix of all these types of people, understanding each other is the key to moving ideas along. Working in idea cubicles will only continue to separate instead of integrate.

Where are you and your company on this list?

Kneale Mann

image credit: wgalnightkids

Business Strategy | We Can't Do That

Conform (verb / kənˈfôrm)
Comply with rules, standards, or laws. Behave according to socially acceptable conventions or standards. Be similar in form or type. Agree.

You don’t have to go too far before you hear some mutation of the phrase “we can't do that here”. At first, it almost seems believable but with some thought it's more of an auto-response. It becomes part of the fabric of the organization. No new ideas is often next in line.

One phrase I hear almost daily is; “we don’t need marketing, we need sales" and it reminds me of what a colleague once said to me. He often boasted that "employees are overhead, customers are profit". Yes, dinosaurs walk among us.

Underspend To Success

Sales training is not a simple process and it's not free. The process to master the art of sales usually takes a few years and a lot of expense. If short-cuts are made, a company can be decimated. There are few quicker steps to failure than an inexperienced sales team on the street with a product or service that isn't ready for customers who have never heard of it.

So before you feel compelled to say “we can’t do that”, one suggestion is to put the company on the hoist to expose waste before you make cuts on essential items such as people and letting customers know you exist. Companies often bemoan decreasing results but think they can cut themselves into the black. Or worse, do nothing.

What are your thoughts?

Kneale Mann

The Lost Art of Customer Service

The Foundation of Business

Recently, I was chatting with some friends about their recent road trip. All went well but they did share a couple of interesting stories. One was from a bad experience while trying to grab a quick bite to eat. It was one of those experiences where you feel you're more of an annoyance than a customer. “Someone deserved a four cent tip”, my friend exclaimed. The rest of the group nodded and began sharing bad service stories. Bad service ruins your experience and you wonder why you are the victim of their bad day.

Bad Service is Everywhere

We all want great service. But we are still surprised when we get it. If “four cent tip” guy got the service my friends received, he would be incensed. But he’s having a bad day, a rough shift, his boss is a tyrant, his feet hurt or a wide range of possible explanations that don’t and shouldn’t concern customers. Companies miss an opportunity when they ask us to follow them on Twitter only to find out there is nothing in it for us. Or they request we "like" them on Facebook only to find the same.

Now flip this around and look at your internal stakeholders. We all have a bad day, we all make mistakes but imagine for a moment that whiny waiter dude was your communications department and don’t wannabe there coffee shop woman was running your sales department while get it done faster cheaper guy was your boss.

Good Service: Tell a Friend. 
Bad Service: Tell All Your Friends.

One bad customer experience can dismantle thousands, even millions of dollars in marketing investment. To my friends, the grumpy server is now attached to the name of the restaurant. They had a bad brand experience.

Envision spending the next three months simply working on improving service inside your organization. That’s the stuff that happens between each person in your building. Any one of your stakeholders may be the only person a customer may ever meet. And this is true in all industries.

The creation of strong internal and external customer service is far more valuable than a well crafted advertising campaign. 

Kneale Mann

image credit: shoply

What's In It For You

How Can I Help?

I have spent 27 privileged years working in marketing and media. The people I’ve met and learned from, the projects I’ve overseen and worked on along with the invaluable experience I’ve gained has certainly not felt like work. It is my passion.

CMO for Hire

In short, I help business do business better. I work closely with business owners and managers and stakeholders on the improvement of marketing efforts and results.

My first task is to simply get a sense of the current situation. Then together we work on solutions. There are no preconceived or prepackaged solutions. Everything is customized to each situation.

Strategist. Writer. Speaker. Consultant.

We all want our companies to grow. The common shared wish is for the process to be painless and swift but we know that is not reality. Growing your business takes work, time and patience along with precious resources. And that’s where I can help.

From the highest level, I am a business consultant who specializes in marketing with a finer focus on digital media. Through careful analysis, I can outline affordable options for you to see more results from your outbound marketing.

Analyze. Plan. Implement.

It may include overseeing the redesign of your website or training your team to navigate the social web. It may be taking a closer look at your current marketing efforts to suggest a more effective way to reach your targets. It is up to your situation, not my past experience that will determine how we will work together.

I can create workshops for your team to ensure they are equipped with the necessary tools to embrace these additional activities.

The result is that you and your team will have a repeatable process you can integrate with your current and future activities. Your return on investment is the implementation of a refreshed plan focused solely on your revenue goals.

I’m always happy to talk about how I can help. Let’s do that.

Kneale Mann

image credit: demitrineyt

Yell and Sell

Do As I Say

No one likes to be told what to do. As children, our parents may remind us who sets the rules and cake before dinner is not permitted. In school, it was frowned upon to not show up or fail to complete homework.

In the workplace, there are few employers who allow for poor attendance or spotty output. They all expect so much of us throughout our lives. Deadlines and rules, dress codes and protocol, stated or implied, we have to follow the constraints of others.

Cross Media Assault

We are hammered constantly from radio, television, print, outdoor, email blasts, social, like, tweet, blog, podcast, did you see our deal, it’s all about relationships, numbers don’t count, for a limited time only.

It has gotten the point where we actually see none of it. The mad dash to create a false sense of urgency continues and we have become masters at blocking, deleting, ignoring and dismissing.

How about we stop telling each other, selling each other, interrupting each other and start helping each other?

Kneale Mann

image credit: usaimage

Business with Cans and a String

It Starts with an Idea

There is endless chatter about gizmos and gadgets, channels and websites, mobile and digital. Many are consumed with the self-publishing world and the ability to lead our own tribe and be linchpins. Seth Godin has always been ahead of his time in his ability to cut through the layers of clutter to see the essence of life, business and marketing. Technology may accelerate our ideas but it does not create them.

In 1439, Johannes Gutenberg introduced the printing press. He did not invent writers. In 2006, three guys named Biz, Evan and Jack introduced a new microblogging website based on text messaging called Twitter.
They did not invent text messaging.

Thinkin' About Thinkin' About It

Right now, you have an idea for something that has been rolling around in your head for a while. It may be money, time, confidence or the endorsement of others that may be constraining you but for some reason you have not acted on this idea.

Make a list of the roadblocks. Make it as long as you need. Then look at each of the issues separately and add the word “how”. So for instance, if one of yours is ‘time’ then turn it around to say: “How can I find more time to develop this?” Open your mind to possibilities and look at your vast network. There will be someone who can help you.

Budget Zero

In 2004, I had just overseen my first of two new radio station launches. I was working on the extensive multi-platform cross media marketing plan when my cell rang. It was my General Manager who informed me that head office was cutting our budget. I inquired by how much and he said – all of it. The budget went from several hundred thousand dollars to zero. Zero!

I didn't own the radio station and it wasn't my money so there wasn’t much I could do but take a breath and think about how we were going to accomplish this necessary task.

Now What

The next morning, I gathered my team and we hashed out ideas. Sure it was tough at first, there was some anger but I kept reminding them of three things – it is what it is, we’re a smart bunch and we will find a solution. Out of that meeting came five ideas that we rolled out over the next twelve months. Each of which required some help from our kind sponsors and buy-in from the entire staff. It made us stronger.

We were no longer resting on corporate money or fancy artwork. We were relying on each other. And a conversation I've had to recall quite a bit lately was with one of my announcers. He said: "We will make this happen if they take away our transmitter and we have to broadcast with two cans and a string".

We all have to clear those excuses. What's stopping you?

Kneale Mann

image credits: stcule | wikipedia

Collaborative Business Growth

Let's Have a Meeting

You don't need to spend much time in the social web before you see someone mention the importance of collaboration. It is the essence of networks and groups. It is why we form teams and clubs. It is the reason we live in cities and towns. It is the driving force behind commerce. It is why most iPhone owners prominently display the device rather than leave it in their pocket. It is our need to connect, be accepted and belong.

Imagine working where ideas are shared and appreciated, each and every person in the organization is valued and progress is measured not by empty promises and well crafted corporate speak but by the accomplishments of everyone involved. For real!


Boss Breaks Tie

When you have a roomful of opinions all fighting for a voice in a decision making process, the result is often a lot of indecision. Each of us is entitled to our thesis but this is where the water gets murky.

Some people get special treatment, some rank higher on the organizational chart and others don't care. So if a team environment is the goal, optics certainly won't be enough to carry it off. No one is buying "our people are important" if they're not.

The View from Here

Each of us brings our own set of sensibilities for collaboration. In my case, I like being in a creative environment where people can back up their stuff. I don't want them to feel cornered if they are proven wrong or shown something they don't know. I want to be in a room where everyone in the room wants to be there. Life is a lesson so why on earth do we try and give the impression we know it all?

When I meet with a business owner who wants to improve the bottom line, it's often much more than a revenue issue. I like to examine how digital opportunities can enhance - not necessarily, replace - what they're doing. But it begins with internal customer service. How are they collaborate to give great customer service is essential.

Less Talk More Action

The average person is working 1,800 hours each year and that number is growing. One way to improve your work environment would be to have less meetings and pamphlets about teamwork and prove it through action.

What steps can you take within your organization right now that can improve collaboration and in turn increase revenue?

Kneale Mann

image credit: inetgiant

The Powerful Social Web

Will It Work?

I'm often asked if diving into the deep end of social media will work. It's akin to hoping the dusty treadmill will get you into shape by looking at it. Participation is essential or all the tools in the world are irrelevant.

Just yesterday, I had a moment between meetings and checked for messages. There was one from a colleague who inquired whether I might be available for something on short notice - like, in a few hours. I quickly scanned my to-be-done list and felt confident things could be moved around.

Can You Help?

I contacted the person who needed the hand and I quickly found out yet another colleague had been involved and suggested me as well. I have spent time with both colleagues but our original contact was online. Two hours later I was ready to go. It turned out the emergency was averted but it got me thinking about all those conversations I have about the power behind the social web and that is the people.

We have gadgets and channels, blogs and podcasts, websites and technology all to choose from when deciding how to enhance our business. Many will claim that if your website is well written, with all the right search words, you will get more juice when potential customers are looking for your solution. Others will claim that their big shiny solution will help you despite paying much attention to your potential needs. And all the while, no amount of lipstick will pretty up an ugly business.

Do You Know?

My colleagues Mark Blevis and Bob LeDrew were conspiring on my behalf. We have those people in our lives - no matter how we may have met them - who want us to win, who want us to do well and who understand the value we bring to a situation. Those people could be friends, colleagues, customers, suppliers or all of the above.

There is a lot of chatter on the social web about the slow shift toward social business and I strongly agree we need to move there. But many individuals and companies are still grappling with how to engage. If you step back and look at things from your customers' perspective, you may get a better handle on how you want to proceed. If you look at things from a stance of helping rather than selling, you may gain more insight into the process as well.

Did You Win?

No matter where you are in your evolution, the digital landscape should be looked at as a compliment to your current business strategy. It will not save bad internal and external customer service nor will grow the revenue line if there is no commitment to solid business practices. Social media are not lottery tickets.

Print, outdoor, radio, television, mobile, digital or social all can be utilized to help you grow your business. But without people, they are just channels. I met two guys over the last few years who became friends, who shared business ideas with me and while going about their busy day mentioned my name to someone who needed a hand. There is no channel that will create that for you without connecting on a human level.

Who are you conspiring to help?

Kneale Mann

image credit: iwritealot

Digital Time Off

Spill in Aisle 5

Friday began with a review of a packed but exciting schedule. Meetings, calls, clients, prospects and even an hour off to think. My kinda day. At around 9:35am, the phone rang and something happened that hasn't happened in probably a decade. My freshly brewed coffee was on the left side of my laptop, instead of its usual right. The land line, which was ringing, was on the the left as well.

I wasn't aware that my cat-like reflexes were still so sharp but as steaming hot coffee (with milk and sugar) nipped the edge of the laptop and continued to flood my desk, the computer was unplugged and in my hands. I chose not to bow to what was probably my fate until I mopped, wiped and vacuumed the laptop. Desk was cleaned after that.

@knealemann: Coffee meets laptop. How's your day?

I don't usually share such silly things on Twitter but chose to on Friday and a wonderful flood of great advice and help came through. Never underestimate your friends and colleagues' ability to help out.

After returning from an afternoon of meetings, I saw an email that suggested putting the laptop in a bag of dry rice. It was 8-hour old (now dried) coffee so my hopes weren't high but what was the downside. So off to the store to buy two large boxes of rice.

Give it some time

I let the laptop sit in the dry rice until Saturday afternoon when I took it out, dusted it off, vacuumed the excess and hit the power button. No such luck. It would turn on but the keyboard was gone. There was a moment of silence. All data is backed up twice a day so nothing was lost. Well, except a laptop that will eventually hit the recycle bin.

One of my client's computer guy sent suggested replacements while a colleague offered me their backup laptop and a client offered to help with data transfer.

Lessons Learned

Keep everything far away from electronics.
Remember you have great friends who want to help.
Back up your data daily.
Always keep rice in the pantry.

Kneale Mann

image credit: istock