Our Collective Impatience

Let’s face it, we don’t want to wait and see. We have no interest in letting it formulate. We want it all to work out, in our favor, right now. We have the patience of a three year old and it’s getting worse.

Many self-appointed business, marketing and social media experts or gurus continue to claim that the conversation is how business leaders will gain what they need. All you need to do is make friends and your dreams will be delivered by diminutive characters wearing emerald apparel riding strange horned stallions.

How Can I Help You?

Your customers and clients don’t care about your influence score or how many people pinned your sale on Pinterest. They have zero interest in the fact that you’re the #1 volume dealer, have been in business for 3 generations or that your product is 13% better than your competition. Their need is their focus.

Business and human relationships require work. Hard work. Real work. As long as we use the return on investment crutch, we will forever focus on the return and not our investment. How much are we putting in before we can expect anything out.

ROI or ROE?

The bigger question is your return on expectation or return on intention. What do you want from this deal, event, friend, partnership, campaign, etc? If you don’t know, then throwing a tantrum when it doesn’t go your way, won’t help.

Business and relationships are not created by the click of a mouse. You wouldn't let a stranger take care of your child or visit your home for a meal, so why would you expect them to instantly love and embrace you?

Some connections start through technology, but if we expect more return, we need to invest more on a human level which will help curb our impatience.

Kneale Mann

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Nine Years

The day that changed the world.

Nine years ago, the bright crisp September morning was shattered by an event we will remember for the rest of our lives.

Nine years have passed. Ninety more wouldn't help us understand.

Nine years and we will not forget.

Nine years, it feels like yesterday.

Nine years later, we still remember where we were, what we were doing, who we were with, who we called first and what we did next.

Nine years ago, the world shook.

Nine years since, we still discuss it often.

Nine years later, what have we learned?

knealemann

Vancouver 2010 | Make Us Proud

The Games Are On

Last night’s opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games were not perfect but still did Canadian’s proud. The Twitterstream was buzzing with second by second accounts and opinions of every detail.

Ghost in the Machine

There were some technical glitches and you’d think that a team that worked on a production for years would be flawless, but that’s what you get when you have hundreds working on a project where mechanical malfunctions happen. Nothing is perfect – not even hydraulic torch extensions.


Tragic Event

The Vancouver Games are clouded by the tragic loss of Georgian Luger Nodar Kumaritashvili who was killed instantly going 90mph in an unprotected sled on ice. Tragedy has happened before at the Olympics but surprisingly not as often as you would think considering the often dangerous situations in which these world class athletes perform.

Paying Tribute

Billions watched the opening ceremonies last night and when paying tribute to Kumaritashvili it was as if billions of people in hundreds of countries around the world were silent giving respect to a young life cut short.

Head Held High

As a Canadian, I was proud to see numerous accomplished Canadians included in the event last night. The Canadian Olympic Team – from a country of only 33 million has 206 athletes at these Games. Our American friends have 215 athletes from a country of ten times the population.

Remember

Let's dedicate the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games to a 21 year old man from Borjomi, Georgia who did what selected few get to do – become an Olympian.

Controversy, tragedy, discussion over sponsorships and doping are all realities of this storied event.

Have your opinions, I’ll have mine but for the next couple of weeks I choose to be proud of my country as it hosts its third Olympics in thirty-four years.

@knealemann

photo credit: nlptechnologies

Appearing Tonight: Social Media

Sold-Out!

Tickets sold out weeks ago. The anticipation has been building to a feverish pitch. People are talking about it on the radio, on the Internet, on television, the newspaper did a pullout section and it’s on all the talk shows.

The Claims Are True

It helps your business grow and is the answer to all of your dreams. Some can get you instant meaningful relationships with other people in a matter of days. Nothing like this has hit the human race since the invention of individually wrapped cheese slices.

Also on the bill are; Twitter, Facebook, BackType, Bebo, Flickr, MySpace, Plaxo, Blip, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Digg and about 40 others. Scalpers are expected to fetch five times face value. Some are saying that blog and podcast may also make an appearance but unconfirmed reports say that webinar and chat room weren't able to make the trip.

Tonight's The Night

The parking lot is jammed; the line-up is around to the back of the venue, the throng shuffles quickly to their seats. The lights dim, the curtain rises, the excitement is palpable and then thousands stare at an empty stage. The sound of rustling popcorn bags, coughs and throat clearing echo throughout the venue.

Unrest begins to brew. Mumbles of refunds and claims of a rip off begin to circulate. How could they charge such an outrageous price for such a letdown?

After what seemed to be an entire full minute, the angry mob begins to walk out. Threats of lawsuits can be heard far and wide.

Clearly social media had not lived up to the hype like all the other liposuction, one-way conversation, get-rich-quick, what’s in it for me, have it now pay it never promises.

Social Media: Meet Human Networking

If all the world's a stage, perhaps we shouldn't wait for others to begin the performance? If social media is scary to you or your impatience as gotten the best of you after a handful of tweets, keep in mind how long it took to gain the trust of others and others to earn yours in real life.

Are you waiting?
Are you looking for the refund?
Are you participating?