If you are trying to manage change, navigate chaos, re-invent, ready yourself or your business for what is next and new writing can prove to be a powerful way to accelerate results.

Since that applies to just about anyone and everyone in today’s time of transformation I’ll offer a few ideas related to why and how to write.

Why?

Writing helps you organize thinking.  Identify outcome objectives.  Drive accountability.   Improve focus and concentration. Prepare for success.

Writing publicly vs privately is a personal/professional choice to be made based on the objectives.  Not writing at all is often a missed opportunity.

This Forbes article, 9 Reasons You Should Blog, offers some nice summary insight on the advantages of writing publicly for professional growth. I can assure you that if part of your role and responsibility is business growth (Executive, Entrepreneur, Sales, Marketing), writing is a significant, potential competitive advantage.

Writing publicly can move your ideas to others, differentiate your position, elevate interest, accelerate credibility, expedite important relationships and immediately garner respect and attention from people you want to impact and influence.

Writing connects you to people and opportunity.  I am writing this morning from Caracas, Venezuela. I had the good fortune of having breakfast with leading Argentine business strategist Walter Torre (a professional speaker and author) and Alejandro Eira, our event partner from Uruguay and Alta Gerencia.  Writing was our bridge.  Our shared point of interest and intersection and we all acknowledged, the impetus for bringing us together.  Walter and I will both be speaking tomorrow but in truth, had it not been for writing it is quite likely we wouldn’t be here and now well positioned to evolve these relationships in a more meaningful way going forward.

How?

I’ll preface this by stating first I am not a professional writer.  I don’t make a living writing. I have been writing for myself for some time. I write a blog that has become a part of my business (sales; marketing; strategy).  I know and have the very good fortune of spending time with people that do write professionally (ie. people that get paid to write books).  I listen closely to their advice. My breakfast companion Walter is on his fifth book.  I can assure you from our conversation that writing is hard for him.  It is incredibly hard for me.  It is likely going to be hard but well worth it for you.

For starters, write like you talk. Most people rarely suffer from talkers block but stop and stare cold at the blank screen. Simply start writing and let go.  It will come to you. Over time you might get better.  Eventually, you may want to share your writing with others.

Write like nobody is watching.  Don’t fear judgement or potential criticism.  So what?  Write for you.  Eventually, you could be writing for people that care about what you have to say.  The rest doesn’t matter that much.

Write down what you want to do, be and become. Write down the difference you want to make.  Write down the things that matter most.  Write down your big ideas and dreams.

If it is important, write for other people.  Write down what you want to read.  Your experience set is unique.  Your expertise is valuable. Your ideas and insights are special, worthwhile and can most certainly have an impact.  If you let them go.

Writing has changed my business.  In many ways, writing has changed my relationships and my life.

Also, did I mention that writing is free?

If you want to write I would also suggest reading the book:  If You Want To Write:  A Book About Art, Independence and Spirit by Brenda Euland.  Her writing will help you find your authentic voice.

Still not convinced?  Don’t take my word (or writing) for it.  Have a listen to what Seth and Tom have to say:

Posted in Brand, Communications, Sales, Uncategorized

Tags: Blogging, Brenda Euland, If You Want To Write, Seth Godin, Tom Peters, Walter Torre, Writing

“In this new world of business, companies and leaders will have to show authenticity, fairness, transparency and good faith. If they don’t, customers and employees may come to distrust them, to potentially disastrous effect. Customers who don’t like a product can quickly broadcast their disapproval. Prospective employees don’t have to take your word for what life is like at your company—they can find out from people who already work there. And long time loyal employees now have more options to launch their own, more fleet-footed start ups, which could become your fiercest competitors in the future.” {Forbes Magazine, September, 2011}

Welcome to Social Power & The Corporate Revolution according to the recent cover story in Forbes Magazine.

The resistance is still powerful.  Legacy leaders struggle with the loss of control.  Fear a shift in the balance of power. Underestimate the impact and influence of the revolution.  Discount a new breed of competition. Resist the notion that the way we connect, communicate, collaborate and choose has changed.

Shift.

The days of command and control communication, leadership and operational strategy are over.  Welcome to an era where collaboration and connectedness flourish.  We are just getting started.

This isn’t a marketing conversation.  This is a business performance conversation where the outcome is about the impact on results.

What you do is increasingly a commodity.  What you do is easily replicated.   What you do is readily available elsewhere. What you do isn’t that special.

How you do it is the ever increasing opportunity to differentiate in the people economy.

A question worth considering:

What are you willing to do for people that the competition simply isn’t?

The onus is on companies to care more.  About customers.  About employees.

I illustrated this notion in the enclosed video excerpt during my keynote last week referencing my relationship with Delta Airlines.  This is one example of a company that embraced change, evolved communication and turned challenges into a real opportunity to care and connect customers to a better brand experience.

 

Posted in Brand, Communications, Leadership, Social Media, Uncategorized

Tags: Brand, Delta Airlines, Forbes, Revolution, Sales 2.0, Social Media

I remember it like yesterday.  A crisp winter day that would easily pass for fall in Minnesota.  College Basketball season.  I was in Raleigh-Durham walking on the campus of Duke University toward Cameron Indoor Stadium with the two men who had the most significant impact on my life.  My father.  My brother.

We put together what would be our first and only Father-Son’s weekend retreat as a gift to our Dad for his 70^th birthday.  It was the perfect gift built around the thing our father loved the most.  College Basketball.  Specifically ACC Basketball.  He was a player.  He was a coach.  He was back on Tobacco Road with his two boys.

We were about to take in the first game of a double header. A Saturday matinee featuring Duke and Georgia Tech followed by a Sunday showdown between North Carolina and North Carolina State (where he first attended school on a basketball scholarship).  It was a special weekend.

That weekend was about so much more than two basketball games.  It was about history.  Tradition.  Rivalry.  Competition.  Camaraderie. Respect.  Passion.  Love.  Lessons.  The kind of lessons that may not be so abrupt.  That you may not recognize until later.   It was about a walk down memory lane and sharing story, after story, after story, after story.  Our father had more than a few and on that weekend we just let him go.  This was his place.  His moment.  His memories.

It was a weekend we wouldn’t soon forget.

I am actually back in Raleigh, North Carolina for the first time since that Father-Son weekend.  The memory of my last visit is certainly on my mind.  So are those lessons.

I am reminded how important it is to take the time to make those meaningful memories happen.  They are the treasures you get to take with you, wherever life takes you.

I am reminded to see the teacher in all things.  Losing someone reminds you not to take people for granted.

I am reminded that our time here is short and to spend it wisely and in worthwhile pursuits.

I am reminded to always do my best.  I intend to do that today.

I actually feel quite inspired to be back in North Carolina.

I am grateful for the opportunity to share my ideas and inspiration with this wonderful community.

I hope it becomes a new memory.  One we won’t soon forget.

Posted in Performance, Uncategorized

Tags: ACC, Tobacco Road

I have.

This weekend I was fortunate to deliver the closing keynote for the global leadership community of Meeting Professionals International.

This community of committed leaders professionally plan meetings and events.  They know how to make meetings matter.

Meetings are meant to inspire action.  They serve as a catalyst for change.

Truly great meetings change lives.

A great meeting changed mine.  I was young.  I was broke.  I was lost.  I went to a meeting (almost by accident).

3 hours with Jim Rohn changed my life.  Forever.

He gave me permission and ignited my passion and purpose.  He also provided the tools.

I still have those meeting notes from 19 years ago.  I still have my 3 BIG goals.  I fondly recall implementing my post meeting action plan. I still use Jim’s core principles today.

Jim shared some truly transformational information that night.  He was also realistic in acknowledging that for every 100 people in the room only 3 or 4 would take his suggestions for success and actually take action.  We are all creatures of habit.  Change is hard work.

The most important part of any meeting is what happens next.

Here are a few meeting metrics to assist with post meeting assessment:

What did you do differently as a result?  The next day?  100 days later?  The rest of your life?

Who did you meet that matters?

How did your world change?  Your world at work? How do you intend to change the world?  The world at work?

Why did this meeting produce such a powerful result?

The What – Who – How – Why test is a pretty good assessment.

Inspiration helps.  An action plan holds you accountable.  If you’ve heard me speak live you know that I refer to the post meeting action plan as the TAN Plan.  TAN is simply an acronym for TAKE ACTION NOW.

The assignment:  Write down 3 things you will take action on in the next 100 days that will have high impact post meeting.  Write down 3 people you will reach out to as part of your network to offer support in the next 100 days (working with a sponsor who is going to call you in 100 days to check on your TAN Plan progress is GOLD).

Content is critical to meeting success and I know people covet information that can keep them on the cutting edge.  However, the reality is that for most people new information simply isn’t enough.  The ability to execute on the information is the key.  The plan to turn big ideas into action and results is the difference maker.

Have you been to any good meetings lately?

Put a TAN Plan together.  See what happens next.

Posted in Leadership, Performance, Uncategorized

Tags: Leadership, Meetings, MPI, TAN Plan

Increasingly, when a client partner has a meaningful, high impact experience they feel compelled to share.  They want the world to know. Smart sales leaders recognize this opportunity and invite their best customers to share their experience with the world. For example:

Simply stated your own customers are your best brand ambassadors.  If your customers aren’t telling your story, evangelizing the experience and sharing the outcome perhaps you need to consider:

1.  Are you delivering enough value?  Value your customers simply cannot live without?

2.  Are you developing real, meaningful relationships?

3. Are your customers invested in your success?  Are you invested in their success (or just making sales)?

4.  Are you really listening to your best customers?

5.  Are you Social Selling?  Do you have the platforms and requisite participation to create an impetus for your customers to socialize your brand experience?

Writing and sharing takes time.  It is hard work.  It is also the work that makes sales easy. It sure beats the hell out of cold calling.

For example:

As a seller your own opinion of the value, differentiation and impact of your solution is increasingly insufficient. Invite your best customers to share their experience with the world.  Make it easy for them.  Flip the sale.

You might soon find yourself spending a lot less time time doing the thing that sellers dread the most (cold calling) and more time in business development meetings that matter.

Posted in Sales, Social Media, Uncategorized

Tags: Sales, Sales 2.0, Sales Training, Social Selling

A few months ago I had the opportunity to coffee shop with an executive who, ironically, had decided to resign from her job the very same morning of our meeting (see my post about her decision: Resignation Day) . It was bold decision and beginning of an entirely new chapter in her professional journey. I didn’t know her then. I do now. I am proud to call Teresa my friend.

When I first wrote about Teresa I referenced a “transformational event in her personal life” serving as a catalyst to move her toward meaningful change. Teresa isn’t just a careerist. She is a whole person. Devoted wife. Mother of two. When her husband suffered a life threatening injury in a near tragic accident she shifted her perspective. Through that experience she handled more than most while managing to prepare to walk away from work that provided her with all of the comfort one might seemingly covet during such a challenging time. She describes her process as finally “finding the courage to listen to her inner voice and align with her purpose.” She wanted to feel alive at the office again. Work on work that matters. She was intent on taking her shot.

I had the opportunity to visit with her again this week to catch up on how she was progressing a few months into the new chapter. As we settled into the coffee shop conversation she indicated that she was about to experience another, unplanned and fairly significant life altering event. I pressed and she replied:

“We are expecting twins.”

Life is an unpredictable story. This is her version. Let the magnitude of that sink in for a moment.

I was prompted to inquire about her career trajectory in the midst of so much significant personal change. Did she regret leaving her big, stable corporate job? Did she go beg for it back? What was she going to do?

I don’t know that she has it all figured out. I don’t know that any of us do. I do know that she embraces change and is emotionally invested and excited for what is next and new. That includes the new chapter in her work life which I believe is appropriately called Life Meets Work.

I couldn’t quite do the story of her career choice, confidence and courage justice. So in her own words:

Life Meets Work by Teresa

“I’m the one that gave up the office with a view. That walked away from the six figure salary. That left ten years of earned respect and professional equity sitting on the table. And for what? All because I felt like I was missing my mojo?

Foolish? Maybe. Courageous? Certainly. Worth it? Absolutely!

A former colleague just reviewed some of my new work and validated what I’ve been feeling since resignation day. She said “You absolutely made the right decision. Your passion for this topic is so clear. You can tell this is work you love”. It got me thinking. How long had it been since I’ve done work I love?

Over the past couple years I started to realize I had lost the passion for my job. But instead of taking action, I settled for the comforts that came along with the role and ease of doing work where I could perform exceptionally well.   The familiarity of the same company & co-workers. The safety of not having to put myself “out there”. What I didn’t immediately see setting in was the unhappiness. The stress. The lack of enthusiasm. The loss of vitality. The impact of those feelings on my whole life.

I finally generated the courage to listen to my inner voice and and get aligned again with my purpose. It is amazing how different I feel. I feel healthier. I have more energy. I wake up each day eager to get started on the work I love. I I have more to give to the important people in my life. The effects on my life have been profound.

I am truly a happy person.

While getting to resignation day wasn’t easy and came with hard work and a ton of risk, I can say it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. My only regret? Not reawakening the idle passion inside of me sooner. Some say that it is irresponsible to leave stability in pursuit of passion. That is fine for them. For me? There is simply nothing better than feeling alive again. Then being happy.”

NOTE: If you would like to meet Teresa we will both be speaking at the 2011 Work/Life & Flexibility Expo on October 11 in Minneapolis. Join us!

Posted in Employee Engagement, Leadership, Uncategorized

Tags: Career, Change, Flexibility, Job, Work

If you invest enough time cultivating real relationships with clients they will often tell you what they want.  They will tell you how to earn their business.  They will tell you how to keep their business.  They will tell you the difference makers that determine satisfaction or elevate them to loyalty.  If you ask the right questions, the right way and really listen you’ll learn the secrets to accelerating growth.

I have a client who defines success in our partnership with what she describes as the WOW metric.  What does she want?

She wants to be blown away.  She wants to be fall on the floor excited.  She wants to feel an overwhelming sense of pride.  She wants to feel inspired.   She wants the experience of working together to make a huge impact (which is defined by yet another set of metrics).

But make no mistake, she is clear in her conviction that the work needs to make everyone around her say, WOW!

We talk about what it takes to get to WOW.  Investment.  Resources.  Collaboration.  Risk.  Trust.  Teamwork.  Time.  We define the road map to WOW success in our project planning.  We build in contingencies.  We benchmark along the way.  All so we can have a direct hit on WOW when we cross the finish line, together.

Too subjective?  Impossible?  Unfair?  I suppose some vendors would think so.  I don’t.  Although most customers might not articulate it this way, I don’t think what they want is all that different.  Building in more WOW Factor is good for business.

What does success look like for you today?  When 5 pm arrives will your clients, colleagues and co-worker say WOW!

Part of the WOW experience isn’t just WHAT you deliver but HOW you do it.  You can put more WOW around the HOW right now.

WOW wins business.  WOW keeps business.  WOW builds evangelism.  WOW is tough to beat. WOW is work worth doing.

Posted in Brand, Leadership, Sales, Uncategorized

Tags: customer service, Experiecne, How, Service

How can you create change in the organization, C suite, leadership, the boss, colleagues, co-workers?
Even when the common belief is “they” would never go for the big, new idea/initiative/innovation/investment.

Have an idea? Want to have an impact? Ready to be a Change Agent?

You need influence.

Influence can serve as a catalyst for a meaningful change movement. To get a big idea over the line consider these 7 keys:

Tell the story:  Make it compelling.  Have an adversary.  Create a vision of the new experience.  Articulate the alternative. Earn emotional commitment for the cause.
Do your homework:  Present compelling evidence:  Prove the concept.  Show examples. Deliver a data set.  Cite case studies.  Leverage competitive intelligence.
Sell the future state:  Speak to the current and future state. Demonstrate cause and effect.  Predict the outcome.  Detail the realized vision.
Build buy in:  This is where your network counts.  Who cares as much as you?  Why should they? What is in it for them?  Why does it matter?  Build authentic relationships.  Invest the time.  Earn respect.  Introduce the worthwhile idea into the agenda.
Challenge the status quo -  Generate interest and ideas that spark innovation and improvement.  Disrupt the death grip on the way  things get done with new, collective thinking.  Performance earns the Change Agent an opportunity to push the business forward.
Have consistent conviction – Take a stand.  Don’t waver without a reason. Be firm in the face of resistance.
Go all in: It is worth it? If you are right. If you believe. If it matters. If it is the difference maker. Then you have to be willing to take some calculated risks and go all the way in. Stopping short doesn’t serve as a catalyst for change.  A real leader puts it on the line.  In or out?

Influence can take time.  It demands credibility.  It mandates preparedness.  It requires trust.  It needs to be earned.

The good news?

You don’t need permission to have influence.

Posted in Leadership, Recruiting, Sales, Social Media, Uncategorized

Tags: Change, Change Agent, Influence

We did the HR Happy Hour radio show last week on Passion on Purpose . I’ve had several very interesting, engaging conversations about passion and work over the last few days with smart thinkers, writers and doers in the human capital/leadership space. We didn’t always agree but the debate and dialogue was very interesting and spirited (ok, passionate) discussion.

I really never imagined the word passion would evoke so much….well, passion.

The word certainly generates it’s fair share of criticism. It sounds lofty. Idealistic. To some even a bit frivolous and largely unattainable. Without question for many it quite simply may not be a core driver for showing up at work. I get that. The “average person” just wants to pay their bills (so I have been told). Take care of their family. Work is a means to the end and there is nothing wrong with trading a day of good work for fair pay. You don’t have to love it. You can actually feel quite indifferent about it I suppose. If it serves a larger purpose (or the things you are truly passionate about – family, security, health insurance, a vacation home or whatever that looks like for you).

Further, the notion that we should simply follow our dreams, do what we love and money will somehow show up is a bit naive and from my perspective, rather bad career advice. I have been passionately playing basketball for 30 some odd years and I can verify this surely isn’t the case. I’ve also watched The Secret.  While I believe in the incredible power of the human mind and spirit, I also think manifesting a Maserati is more about hard work than mastering hidden laws of the universe.

However, I can assure you that the organization and leader capable of elevating engagement, enthusiasm and emotional commitment (passion) from their employee and customer universe  has an enormous advantage beyond the bottom line (it will show up there).  As part our consulting work I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to interview literally hundreds of employees at a rather diverse group of employers over the last year.  We’ve talked to employees at small companies in the Midwest you wouldn’t recognize.  We’ve interviewed high potentials at category leading brands and Fortune Best Places to Work employers like Microsoft and Mayo Clinic.  We asked questions about engagement, leadership, career path, work style design, performance, money, mission and meaning.  We listened. We learned.

We learned that people consistently emphasized a meaningful experience over money. Many people we interviewed were willing to take risks, embrace change and accept new challenges to more closely align with meaningful work and a larger sense of purpose.  That didn’t always translate into changing the world.  Sometimes it did.  Sometimes it simply meant a better world at work. The word passion made it’s way into more than a few of those conversations.  Perhaps it is no surprise that high potentials make the correlation between their own performance and engagement, enthusiasm and emotional commitment.  Perhaps it is no surprise that progressive, category leading organizations continue to invest purposefully in their people strategy and help employees stretch and grow to achieve their full potential.

Steve Jobs once famously remarked, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” {Tip:  If you haven’t seen this speech it is worth watching.  CLICK HERE}.

I suppose it begs the question, can you be successful without being passionate about your work? About work you don’t love?  I believe you can. I suppose I would have been considered such for a brief stretch in my own career.  I found it just isn’t nearly as much fun or fulfilling.  I also increasingly find that kind of fulfillment can carry over and impact the whole person.

I have been rather fortunate to spend a fair amount of time working with colleagues and clients who aspire to be anything but average.  Those organizations and individuals aspire to elevate the work experience and cultivate a “whole person career”.  I think that is work worth doing.

Posted in Employee Engagement, Leadership, Uncategorized

Tags: Best Place to Work, Career, Engagement, Passion, Purpose

Who doesn’t love a good happy hour conversation?  That is the plan for tonight as employee engagement and leadership expert Don MacPherson and I join host Steve Boese on his weekly radio show, HR Happy Hour.  The show covers topics in Human Resources, Talent Management, Leadership, HR Technology, HR Conferences and Events, Social Media in the Workplace, Recruiting – essentially anything and everything having to do with people in the workforce. Finding them, hiring them, managing them, leading them, giving them the right tools and technologies to succeed and everything in between.  Don an I are excited for the conversation this evening!

Join us tonight and follow the fun on the Twitter backchannel, the hashtag is #HRHappyHour.

You may recall Don and I are colleagues and collaborators sharing a like minded perspective on leadership, engagement, culture, career and the future of work.  Enclosed is our Engage. Inspire. Empower. leadership webinar delivered earlier this year.  We look forward to continuing the conversation tonight related to passion, purpose and the leadership agenda necessary to navigate these uncertain times.

Should be fun!

Posted in Employee Engagement, Leadership, Uncategorized

Tags: Don MacPherson, Employee Engagement, Engagement, HR Happy Hour, Leadershp, Passion, Purpose, Steve Boese