_Social media is the buzz word, everyone want's to get into it but unfortunately it can be daunting for many businesses who have never entered this area before.

The purists will contend that everybody should do their own social media because of the “authenticity” value. Certainly that is an ideal, but I’m also a realist. If people want to out-source their social media and there is a buck to made, it will certainly happen somewhere.   I also think there is some value to a consultant or agency helping people along for some period of time.  When you first got your driver’s license somebody still had to sit beside you and teach you how to drive, right?

In my job as a consultant, I see many approaches to social media management. In general, here are some broad trends in social media management:

Mega brands – I have had a chance to witness some AMAZING and sophisticated social media marketing programs. These companies are beginning to make correlations between “share of voice” and true marketshare, using listening platforms to track micro-trends and the “cool kids,” and taking location-based marketing to a whole new level.

These companies have the resources to hire the biggest agencies and best minds in the world to help them navigate social media labyrinths and determine a strategy, but generally, they are organizing and resourcing to respond to the new opportunities. One brand has renamed part of their marketing department “Customer Connections.”

Medium-sized companies. In my opinion, unless you are an elite brand, I believe at least 95 percent of the companies I see are desperately confused about what to do about social media.  I think they would just like for it to go away so they can return to having a trade booth and shop front.

They probably don’t have a corporate culture that can easily adapt to the transformation needed to “listen” instead of “broadcast” and they simply want to check a box to do SOMETHING. You, know … I actually think there is some value in that.  A company that is at least thinking through the platforms, attempting to listen on the new channels and dipping their toe into content marketing is taking a step in the right direction.  Most of these companies at least have the vision and budget to hire an agency to get them started on social media marketing.

Small businesses.  I think social media can provide an advantage to most small businesses, but that doesn’t mean it actually does unless they are working on it!   Why isn’t it happening?

1. They’re overwhelmed by the concept and don’t know where to start.
2. They started a Facebook page and nobody “liked” them so they quit.
3. They understand the concept but don’t have the time or resources to do anything consistent and meaningful.
4. Their marketing budget is tied up in local newspaper, Yellow Pages, Google and TV ads and they don’t have anything left for something new.
5. When you bring it up, they stare you down and tell you they “Don’t need the Facebox or the Tweeter."
   

Unless customer falls into Category 5, they are probably looking for help in managing their social media program.  I see the following business models emerging:

Local support.  The new category of social media gurus are trying to teach best practices and perhaps do some hands-on social media management.  My take is that most of these efforts eventually fail because you are communicating for somebody else, which is probably not sustainable, and the labor cost to actually do this stuff is so high –and the results so undefinable in the short-term — that customers lose interest. People with a limited budget need this to work NOW.

Cookie cutter.  I am seeing a ton of people and small agencies offering social media packages — “our gold package features two tweets per day, a Facebook update, and one blog post per week!”  This is handing your social media campaign to someone who has no idea about your business. This is fine to get you started but the company acting on your behalf needs to get to know your business as if they actually work with you each week. You should insist on weekly meetings (phone meetings are fine) where you get a chance to coach the person managing your campaign on what changing in your industry and guide them to the style of speak you want to see within your campaign. If you don't take a hands-on role in your social media campaign I feel that it will fail because at some point, you are going to wonder when all the new sales are going to start coming in from these two tweets per day you are paying for.

Overseas.  Kind of a hybrid. Let’s solve the labor cost problem by hiring low-cost virtual assistants in Vietnam or The Philippines to do the tweets and blogs for you.  There are a multitude of problems associated with this approach but it at least addresses the labor issue.

Coaching.  I think the only viable long-term solution for most small businesses is to get some coaching.  start out with the cookie cutter method but stay actively involved with the campaigns. Each week while you are coaching the Campaign manager on your business, take the time to better understand how the campaign is working, the objective of the campaign and the reasons for some of the posts. Buy additional time for further education and coaching each week. Methodically work on a step-by-step plan to eventually create a culture, an organization, and an actionable strategy appropriate for the company resources and budget.

It is not fast (and a lot of people hate that! ) but it does slowly integrate these practices into the fabric of the company, get real employees involved, and become a natural extension of their sales and marketing strategy.

Delivering feedback is one of business life’s most underrated art forms. When you give effective feedback, you’re offering either comfort (to good performers) or showing the path to improvement (for not-so-good ones). When you fail to deliver straightforward feedback or deliver it too infrequently, you institutionalize inadequacy. Chances are, you’re doing more of the second than the first.

That’s because of the way everyone is taught to give feedback. The usual advice is to serve it up like a cheese sandwich. Start by saying something encouraging (the bottom slice of bread), then move on to the behavior that needs to be improved (the cheese) and close with some heartening parting words (the top slice).

What happens? Naturally, the recipient only tastes the corrective cheese, and forgets all the positive reinforcement. That’s why I prefer to take the gluten-free approach: Cut the bread and get to the point, in order to leave room for more. I prefer to deliver positive and negative feedback as separate courses, while maintaining that everyone can stomach some extra dessert. In other words, if you acknowledge good performance as often as possible, the occasional constructive feedback you offer will go down easier and will more likely be acted on.

Remember, though, the quality of cheese affects how the message is digested. (Okay, I promise, this metaphor is reaching the end of its useful life.) When providing positive or negative advice, phrasing is crucial: Pronouns are the secret sauce. When you give a compliment, start the sentence with “You.” When you’re criticizing, it’s all about “I.” As in “I get the sense that your heart isn’t in this task, Grimsley.” Or “I didn’t understand the goal of your presentation, Smith.”  Grimsley and Smith can’t argue with your own perceptions, and you’ve given a constructive perspective on their performance without backing them into a corner.

Many years ago, as a fresh new supervisor, I was asked to improve the performance of the company’s weakest group of remote field engineers. I quickly learned that the team felt alienated by scattershot criticism and a lack of recognition from the Head Office. Something had to change. The team and I designed a review system to evaluate each project on a 10-point scale. That transformed the feedback from random critiques to consistent, objective assessments. After three months on the new system, 95% of the files from this team reached the highest standard of performance.  In no time, the ‘weakest’ group became the best engineering unit at the firm.

In my own business, I’ve noticed how my supervisors tend to say nothing about their team members’ good performance until they feel it’s time to correct a mistake. Then they serve the praise and criticism as a cheese sandwich that comes across as patronizing and insincere—with criticism that overwhelms the bland praise. The truth is, your employees (and suppliers) are hungry for feedback. You can’t give enough. And if you serve it right, you will inspire better performance and a taste for even more.

When was the last time you thought about how you influence others — how you change minds, shape opinions, move others to act?

The ability to influence is one of the essential skills for leaders at all levels. It’s more art than science, and it can be tough to get your arms around.  But the bottom line is that influence matters. And as we continue to morph (at breakneck speed) into an interconnected, interdependent, increasingly global workplace, it will matter more.

In traditional hierarchical organizations, power is typically based on position. The higher you are on the organization chart, the more power you wield. There are clear, top-down rules where the person at the top calls the shots. The person with the power has the influence.

Today, organizations are moving toward flatter, matrixed and team-based models. The theory is that with change and complexity comes the need to be more nimble, more inclusive of diverse thought, and more collaborative. In this model, power is more about one’s ability to influence and get things done outside of traditional reporting lines. In other words, the person with the influence has the power.

To be an effective influencer, you need both substance and style. Without a solid foundation of credibility, even the most interpersonally adept leaders will fall short. On the flip side, highly credible people can struggle with influence if they don’t understand the interpersonal dynamics at play.

Recent research to identify and measure influence styles created five categories:

• Asserting: you insist that your ideas are heard and you challenge the ideas of others
• Convincing: you put forward your ideas and offer logical, rational reasons to convince others of your point of view
• Negotiating: you look for compromises and make concessions to reach outcomes that satisfy your greater interest
• Bridging: you build relationships and connect with others through listening understanding and building coalitions
• Inspiring: you advocate your position and encourage others with a sense of shared purpose and exciting possibilities

Each of these styles can be effective, depending upon the situation and people involved.  A common mistake is to use a one-size-fits-all approach. Remember that influencing is highly situational.

Here are five steps to increase your influence.

1)      Understand your influencing style.  It all begins with self-awareness.  What’s your dominant style?  Do you assert, convince, negotiate, bridge or inspire?  Do you tend to apply the same approach to every situation and individual?  Understanding your natural inclination is a good place to start.  If you’re not sure, consider taking a quick assessment.  The DiSC profile is the most common used in today's business.

2)      Take stock of your situation.  Who are the critical stakeholders you need to win over to achieve an objective or overcome an obstacle?  What influencing style might be more effective as you interact with them?  For example, if you’re dealing with a hard-nosed CFO, consider using a convincing approach, which is based in logic, data and expertise. If you’re in a crisis situation where people are relying on you to be decisive and fast on your feet, an asserting style may be more effective.  If you’re working cross-functionally and need to win the support of a peer, a bridging or negotiating style may be the way to go.

3)      Identify your gaps.  Once you understand your natural orientation and the appropriate styles to influence those around you, figure out where you’re on solid ground and where you need to shift gears and use a different approach to be more effective.

4)      Develop.  After identifying your gaps, find ways to develop in those areas.  It might be a workshop, coach or internal role model who is particularly strong in the style you’re trying to develop.  For an added bonus, find a learning partner – someone with whom you can role-play to gain confidence.

5)      Practice.  Begin with small steps – low-stakes situations where you can test out your new influencing approaches.  Target a person or situation where you’d like to achieve a certain outcome, think through the influencing style that will work best in that situation, and give it a try.  See what works and what doesn’t.  As you build your capability and confidence, move on to higher-stakes scenarios.

Whether you are leading, following, and/or collaborating, chances are you need to influence others to be successful. Influence strategies can range from reliance on position to education, encouragement and collaboration.  The key is knowing which approach to use in a given situation.

_It’s almost New Year’s, and it’s time to get serious about investing in yourself, your career and your immediate future.  January is just around the corner – and that’s reason enough to take action – and hold yourself accountable for a fresh beginning.

As you reflect upon 2011 – here are a few questions to get you started:

1. Did you get better at your work?
2. Did you help advance those around you?  Are you a better leader?
3. Are you more influential?  Did you advance your organization’s goals?
4. Did you improve your skill set and your mindset?
5. Did your networking generate a positive ROI?
6. Did your perspectives change about what you should be doing for a living?
7. Did the industry you serve discover your unique talent?
8. Were you asked to give a keynote and/or contribute to a blog?
9. Did you “package yourself (your brand)” better for success?
10. Are you making more money?  Do you feel more successful and significant?

If you answered “yes” to 80% or more of these questions – your momentum is strong and your 2012 looks bright.   If not, hear are a few investments you must strongly consider to ensure that your 2012 gets started on the right track:

1.  Smaller Networks of Influential People

Invest in a smaller, more focused network of people that can add value to your career and help give you the insights you need to broaden your perspective.   Making the right choices in people will save you time, money and frustration.

Unlike the stock market, when people you invest in aren’t adding value, it is unlikely they will change.  Remember your time is your most precious resource.  Know that your network values your time and what you bring to the table.  Avoid spending time with leeches and loafers.

2.  Improve Your Speaking and Negotiation Skills

Speaking and writing represent two of the most important skills for career success.    Mastering the art of communication is more important than ever at a time when trust and relationship building is at a premium.

One of the wisest investments I’ve made is taking an improvisational course.  Whether you are shy or not, this class makes you think on your feet and keeps you on your toes.  Learning to talk about something you don’t know much about is a powerful skill.  This is a non-traditional approach of improving your speaking and negotiation abilities.  It’s also a great way to broaden your network.

3.  Develop Your Wealth in Resources

Entrepreneurship isn’t just a business term anymore; it’s a way of life.  You don’t need to be an entrepreneur to be entrepreneurial.  In fact, entrepreneurship isn’t just about making money but rather about creating the wealth in resources that authentic relationships can bring.

Resources can have just as much value as money if you know what you are looking for.

4. Play a more Active Role in the Industry You Serve

If you want to advance in your career, give back to your industry.  You may be a hero inside the corporate walls, but what do you mean to the industry that your company is serving?   Do people know who you are because of the company you represent or because your talent is extraordinary and could help to develop the future generation of industry leaders?

Make a mark and leave your legacy on your industry.   Be active, contribute and earn respect from your peers.  Down the road they may help your career.

Also, use this opportunity to connect with the leaders in your industry.  Know who they are, what they represent and get to know their back stories.  Learn how the industry allowed them to succeed.

5.  Evaluate Your Investment and Your Own Progress Each Month

Always work to improve yourself by evaluating your own performance.  Write your career goals down, and the steps needed to get there.   Evaluate the outcomes each month and course-correct as needed.    While getting feedback from your peers and your boss is extremely important, over time you must learn how to evaluate yourself.    If you believe that you need to improve your self-discipline – hire a coach.

In the end, you’ll always know if you are making progress and if your investments are paying off.  Others can have an opinion, but your gut will tell you if you are making the right investment decisions.   Too often people focus on what others want them to be rather than following their own passions.  2012 will be your year if you focus, invest, and stick to your plan!

_The ability to motivate employees is one of the greatest skills an manager can possess.

Here are nine things you can do to motivate your people:

1. Be generous with praise. Everyone wants it and it’s one of the easiest things to give. Plus, praise from a manager goes a lot farther than you might think. Praise every improvement that you see your team members make. Once you’re comfortable delivering praise one-on-one to an employee, try praising them in front of others.  
2. Get rid of the managers. Projects without project managers? That doesn’t seem right! Try it. Removing the project lead or supervisor and empowering your staff to work together as a team rather then everyone reporting to one individual can do wonders. Think about it. What’s worse than letting your supervisor down? Letting your team down! Allowing people to work together as a team, on an equal level with their co-workers, will often produce better projects faster. People will come in early, stay late, and devote more of their energy to solving problems.  
3. Make your ideas theirs. People hate being told what to do. Instead of telling people what you want done; ask them in a way that will make them feel like they came up with the idea. “I’d like you to do it this way” turns into “Do you think it’s a good idea if we do it this way?”  
4. Never criticize or correct. No one, and I mean no one, wants to hear that they did something wrong. If you’re looking for a de-motivator, this is it. Try an indirect approach to get people to improve, learn from their mistakes, and fix them. Ask, “Was that the best way to approach the problem? Why not? Have any ideas on what you could have done differently?” Then you’re having a conversation and talking through solutions, not pointing a finger.  
5. Make everyone a leader. Highlight your top performers’ strengths and let them know that because of their excellence, you want them to be the example for others. You’ll set the bar high and they’ll be motivated to live up to their reputation as a leader.  
6. Take an employee to lunch once a week. Surprise them. Don’t make an announcement that you’re establishing a new policy. Literally walk up to one of your employees, and invite them to lunch with you. It’s an easy way to remind them that you notice and appreciate their work.  
7. Give recognition and small rewards. These two things come in many forms: Give a shout out to someone in a company meeting for what she has accomplished. Run contests or internal games and keep track of the results on a whiteboard that everyone can see. Tangible awards that don’t break the bank can work too. Try things like dinner, trophies, spa services, and plaques. 
8. Throw company parties. Doing things as a group can go a long way. Have a company picnic. Organize birthday parties. Hold a happy hour. Don’t just wait until the holidays to do a company activity; organize events throughout the year to remind your staff that you’re all in it together. 
9. Share the rewards—and the pain. When your company does well, celebrate. This is the best time to let everyone know that you’re thankful for their hard work. Go out of your way to show how far you will go when people help your company succeed. If there are disappointments, share those too. If you expect high performance, your team deserves to know where the company stands. Be honest and transparent.

_Like many others, I have been devouring books and articles about Steve Jobs ever since he passed away. My fascination with his genius has less to do with technology than creativity. I have been involved in advertising most of my adult life. To my mind, in the past 25 years no other company, not even Nike or Disney, has been as brilliantly and consistently creative as Apple. And there’s never been a better advertising mind than Steve Jobs’.

Jobs was different from many other corporate leaders in that he always knew what he wanted. When he returned to Apple after his decade-long banishment starting in the mid-80′s, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. He actually wrote some of the better lines of the famous “Think Different”  manifesto ad that helped refocus the company and bring it back from the brink, and even got personally involved in the editing of the finished spot (see the rare Jobs-narrated tribute commercial, below). The bar was always raised very high for his team, almost preternaturally. This tyranny of unreasonableness in demanding of those around him to leap above and beyond  what they assumed was only just possible, was a reflection of his complete belief, almost a religious devotion, in explosive inspiration over process.

Jobs traveled around India in the mid-1970s for 7 months, and in the process discovered Zen. It influenced his thinking, and instilled in him a confidence to trust in his intuition when it comes to making decisions. He famously said, “You can’t ask customers what they want and then give it to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new”. Creative leadership is also about anticipating needs, and the confidence to rely on intuition to complement market and consumer understanding

Lastly, to Jobs, design was never for its own sake, but for something greater – the shaping of experiences. He thought as marketer but also as a consumer. And, from that vantage point, he understood how to simplify design and make devices part of our everyday experience, thereby enabling people more enjoyment of their complicated lives. He believed in simplicity as a means of engaging people and letting them feel close to something as overwhelming as technology. In an interview to Business Week in 1998 he said, “That’s been one of my mantras — simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

For Jobs creativity was about knowing what you want, applying intuition, and keeping it simple. And maybe his genius is in how deceptively uncomplicated it seems. Yet at the end his approach to creative leadership required raising the bar remarkably high, inspiring others to do the impossible, and an almost unwavering ability to focus.

_One of the most often overlooked aspects of leadership is the need for pursuit. Great leaders are never satisfied with traditional practice, static thinking, conventional wisdom, or common performance. In fact, the best leaders are simply uncomfortable with anything that embraces the status quo.

Leadership is pursuit – pursuit of excellence, of elegance, of truth, of what’s next, of what if, of change, of value, of results, of relationships, of service, of knowledge, and of something bigger than themselves. In the text that follows I’ll examine the value of being a pursuer… Here’s the thing – pursuit leads to attainment. What you pursue will determine the paths you travel, the people you associate with, the character you develop, and ultimately, what you do or don’t achieve. Having a mindset focused on pursuit is so critical to leadership that lacking this one quality can sentence you to mediocrity or even obsolescence. The manner, method, and motivation behind any pursuit is what sets truly great leaders apart from the masses. If you want to become a great leader, become a great pursuer.

A failure to embrace pursuit is to cede opportunity to others. A leader’s failure to pursue clarity leaves them amidst the fog. Their failure to pursue creativity relegates them to the routine and mundane. Their failure to pursue talent sentences them to a world of isolation.  Their failure to pursue change approves apathy. Their failure to pursue wisdom and discernment subjects them to distraction and folly. Their failure to pursue character leaves a question mark on their integrity. Let me put this as simply as I can – you cannot attain what you do not pursue.

Smart leaders understand it’s not just enough to pursue, but pursuit must be intentional, focused, consistent, aggressive, and unyielding. You must pursue the right things, for the right reasons, and at the right times. Perhaps most of all, the best forms of pursuit enlist others in the chase. Pursuit in its purest form is highly collaborative, very inclusive and easily transferable. Pursuit operates at greatest strength when it leverages velocity and scale.

I also want to caution you against trivial pursuits – don’t confuse pursuit with simple goal setting. Outcomes are clearly important, but as a leader, it’s what happens after the outcome that you need to be in pursuit of. Pursue discovery, seek dissenting opinions, develop your ability unlearn by embracing how much you don’t know, and find the kind of vision that truly does see around corners. Don’t use your pursuits to shift paradigms, pursue breaking them. Knowing what not to pursue is just as important as knowing what to pursue.

It’s important to keep in mind that nothing tells the world more about a leader than what or who they pursue – that which you pursue is that which you value. If you message to your organization you value talent, but don’t treat people well and don’t spend time developing the talent around you, then I would suggest you value rhetoric more than talent. Put simply, you can wax eloquent all you like, but your actions will ultimately reveal what you truly value.

Lastly, the best leaders pursue being better leaders. They know to fail in this pursuit is nothing short of a guarantee they’ll be replaced by those who don’t. All leaders would be well served to go back to school on what I refer to as the science of pursuitology.

Co: Forbes..com

_ I think it’s fair to say that most managers like to do good things for the people who work for them, to make them feel more appreciated, productive and fulfilled. Unfortunately, many of them don’t seem to know what their employees really want or need, and so they end up relying on the same traditional things: training classes, monetary bonuses, small office perks.

Now, employees aren’t going to turn down a bonus or a perk, and in many cases, they’ll be glad to attend a training class, but those things don’t have the transformational affect on people that managers would like. And because they cost real money, they’re not always available for managers to use, especially during difficult times.

I have an idea about how a manager can meaningfully impact an employee’s sense of esteem, enthusiasm and importance. It is completely free, and turns out to be almost as beneficial for managers as it is for the people who work for them. But it’s a little counter-intuitive. Let me explain.

Instead of doing something for the people who work for you, find a way to let them do something for you. I told you it was counter-intuitive. But it actually makes sense, and isn’t at all selfish.

The best way to endear yourself to someone is not to offer to do something for them, but rather to ask them to do something for you. The underlying logic is that people actually feel better about themselves and about someone else when they are in the position of being a helper, rather than a helpee.

That’s because helpers receive a sense of contribution and confidence, while helpees often feel dependent and in debt to someone. As a college wants said to me, if you want a girl to like you, don’t ask her if she wants help with her homework, ask her to help you with yours. Who would have thought?

I realize that this might sound manipulative, and indeed, if used insincerely, it can be. But with the right intentions, with a genuine interest in helping employees grow in confidence and self-esteem, it can be transformational.

Here’s how it might work. Sit down and think about each of the people who work for you. Identify something about them that you admire, that you genuinely believe they do better than you. That shouldn’t be hard, because every employee has skills or talents that exceed those of their bosses.

Once you’ve identified those skills or talents, take a moment to tell each employee why you admire them. If you mean it – and that is absolutely essential – it will blow them away. Be sure to be specific about what you admire about them and state the fact you would like to learn from them. It doesn’t have to be right then, and it doesn’t have to come in one fell swoop. Over time, you’d like them to coach you in that area.

This does not diminished your authority as their leader at work, but rather made it abundantly clear that they have as much to offer me as I do them, in spite of the hierarchy at work.

Now, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that this is sometimes difficult for me, and probably for any manager, to do this. There are times when I don’t want to acknowledge another person’s superiority, and I know that, in my weaker moments, I’ve downplayed the talents of others out of pride. But overcoming that pride, and allowing my staff members to shine, is something that is good and right and liberating, and it will probably have a more lasting impact than any bonus, perk or training class ever could.

During this Christmas season, as you remember that “it is better to give than to receive,’ think about letting your people give you something. What you’ll be giving them is the gift of admiration and importance. Of course, you might want to buy them something too so they don’t just think you’re being cheap.

Have a Merry Christmas.

_Each year at this time, I look forward and predict trends for the coming year. But first, I look back at my predictions from last year.

Social media continues to move forward toward business integration. Majority of businesses I talk to plan to increase social media spending, while many of CEO's and operations people label social as a high priority.

Part social network and part social search, Google Plus has people scratching their heads, wondering if Facebook will be given a run for their money or if the service evolves into something complimentary in a highly social Web.

Foursquare still enjoys a niche audience of highly active participants who enjoy telling the world where they are and post pictures to prove it. It is however worth noting that Facebook recently acquired location based network Gowalla, so continue to watch this space. With “Check in” and geo-location targeting now a feature of Yelp, will four square loose ground to this giant?

So what can we expect in 2012 in a world that seems to grow ever connected by the hour? Here are some predictions to ponder, in no particular order:

Convergence Emergence. For a glimpse into how social will further integrate with "real life," we can look at what Coca Cola experimented with all the way back in 2010. Coke created an amusement park where participants could "swipe" their RFID-equipped wristbands at kiosks, which posted to their Facebook account what they were doing and where. Also, as part of a marketing campaign, Domino's Pizza posted feedback — unfiltered feedback — on a large billboard in Times Square, bringing together real opinions from real people pulled from a digital source and displayed in the real world. These types of "trans-media" experiences are likely to define "social" in the year to come.

The Cult of Influence. In much the same way that Google has defined a system that rewards those who produce findable content, there is a race on to develop a system that will reward those who wield the most social influence. One particular player has emerged, Klout, determined to establish their platform as the authority of digital influence. Klout's attempt to convert digital influence into business value underscores a much bigger movement which we'll continue to see play out in the next year. To some degree everyone now has some digital influence (not just celebrities, academics, policy makers or those who sway public opinion). But for the next year, the cult of influence becomes less about consumer plays like Klout and more about the tools and techniques professionals use to "score" digital influence and actually harness, scale and measure the results of it.

Gamification Nation. No we're not taking about video games. Rather, game-like qualities are emerging within a number of social apps in your browser or mobile device. From levels, to leaderboards, to badges or points, rewards for participation abound. It's likely that the trend will have to evolve given how competition for our time and attention this gaming creates. Primarily, gamification has been used in consumer settings, but look for it in other areas from HR, to government, healthcare and even business management. Perhaps negotiating your next raise will be tied to your position on the company's digital leaderboard.

Social Sharing. Ideas, opinions, media, status updates are all part of what makes social media a powerful and often disruptive force. The media industry was one of the first to understand this, adding sharing options to content, which led to more page views and better status in search results. What comes next in social sharing is more closely aligned with e-commerce or web transactions. For example, Sears allows a user to share a product or review with their networks directly from the site. Sharing that vacation you just booked, or recommending a product, or service from any site to a social network is where sharing goes next. We probably don't know what we are willing to share until we see the option to do it.

Social Television. For many of us, watching television is already a social act, whether it's talking to the person next to you, or texting, tweeting, and calling friends about what you're watching. But television is about to become a social experience in a bigger and broader sense. The X Factor now allows voting via Twitter and highlights other social promotions, which encourages viewers to tap social networks while they watch. Another way media consumption is becoming social comes from a network called Get Glue which acts as something of a Foursquare for media. Participants can "check-in" to their favorite shows (or other forms of media) and collect stickers to tell the world what programs they love. Watch for more of this this year as ratings rise for socially integrated shows.

Wow. What a year ahead. One thing I do know is that we are evolving evermore and allowing digital media into a main stream lives everyday, we are now swayed by opinions and not just the biggest ads and companies. Traditional media advertising has changed and consumers are demanding more from the companies that they do business with.

Here are my favourite predictions for 2012:

"Right-time" multichannel marketing. Watch for new tools that will help business owners better analyse complex customer behaviour and comments on various social-media platforms. Then, you'll use that data to monetize your business's social-media presence with tailored marketing campaigns that reach the right customer at the right time with the right message.

More cheap online ads. Marketing will centre around a move to low-cost online tactics such as paid search.
Customers in charge. More businesses will involve customers directly in merchandise and marketing decisions. How? Here's a hint: If you aren't doing online customer polls yet: Facebook makes those insanely easy to set up.

Mobile purchasing grows. Those retailers not optimizing their website for mobile phones need to start as soon as possible. Research firm eMarketer adds that m-commerce more than doubled this year to $6.7 billion, and expects it to quadruple again by 2015.

Daily deals die down. Experts agree: The daily-deal space is oversaturated with competing offers. Also, many business owners lost money doing daily deals. Expect a shakeout, both in the number of deal companies and in the types of deals offered.

With the world economy shacking and consumer confidence low, many people no longer feel secure working for big companies & corporations. They are now looking to venture out and start their own businesses and become self reliant.

This is great for small business, the Australian economy and Media service but it leaves big gaps for these large corporations as they start to loose good talent and the talent pool starts to get smaller.

Big companies are going to have to change the game and start creating atmospherics like small companies where there is a lot of flexibility, its exciting and people don't have to wait around to be promoted their talent will get them promoted. They have authority to make decisions and make them quickly. They don't have to pay there due's and "play the game".

This is going to be a huge sea change for big corporations as confidence in the economy grows and good talent become entrepreneurs. Big companies are going to have to look deep inside and make some serious decisions to improve their culture.

Only brave new companies with a focus on delivering what there employees want & need will survive into the next growth phase.
 

_Never-before-seen film footage of Apple founder Steve Jobs and interviews with colleagues provide a detailed look at the technological innovator, revealing what influenced
him, how he dealt with being diagnosed with cancer and his achievements.

Release Date: 03 Nov 2011
Courtesy of PBS.

Mistakes, we all make them so grab what you need from the lessons that lie within them and get on with it.

_When taking to with a new client, I make it my business to understand theirs. As part of the brief, I have always asked, “When you think about sales people that have come and gone within your organisation, what is the most common reason why a sales person fails to meet expectation?”

Surprisingly, the single most common reason has very little to do with a person’s inability to sell. A large majority of the time, it’s a lack of discipline that brings sales people undone. What do I mean by discipline? An ability to follow and stick to a process when it comes to building and maintaining a sufficient pipeline of opportunities. It’s a simple case of; it doesn’t matter how greater sales person you are if you’re not selling to enough prospects.

We’ve all heard this from our sales managers and mentors in the past, especially early in our careers when we started in a more ‘transactional’ sales environment. Now that we are working in a strategic sales setting, with drawn out sales cycles, large deal sizes in a complex decision making process where multiple stakeholders need to be won over in order to get the deal across the line, how do you ensure you’re building enough volume in your pipeline whilst managing quality relationships throughout? I believe the answer is in time management and goal setting.

A few tips I’ve learnt from quizzing many sales directors on what they’ve seen from successful people:

1. Crunch your numbers when planning your territory.

• Work out how many deals it’s going to take to get to budget for the quarter?
• What’s your hit-rate of quality presentations, to deals won?
• How many new and / or existing client presentations does that mean you need to make in the quarter? Break it down to weekly targets. How much activity do you need to do in order to gain those appointments? It’s back to the things we learned early in our career on this one, and it’s what many senior sales people lose sight of.

2. Plan your time.

Set aside what I’ve known some sales people to call ‘Sacred BD Hours’. This time is set aside in your diary and nothing else should impede on this time. You’ve planned that this many hours will get you the result; if you don’t spend the time, the outcome is almost inevitable.

3. Don’t make excuses for not having the time.

You’re only making excuses for what will be your failure.

4. Don’t procrastinate; just do it.

This is why the ‘Sacred BD Hours’ should not be moved, rescheduled or put aside. Most of the time, it’s simple procrastination that will hold you back.

Obviously you could write a book as many have on what makes a successful sales person. This is just one thing that when good sales people don’t keep an eye on it, failure can sneak up on them. I’ve found that it’s often not the best sales person that is the ‘top performer’ in a team. It’s often a ‘good’ sales person who is motivated and disciplined with their time that tops the team.

I’m keen to hear from sales directors, and sales people alike; what do you do to stay on top of this in your role?

_

• For leaders to be effective, they need to connect with people. All great leaders recognize this truth and act on it almost instinctively. You can’t move people to action unless you first move them with emotion.
  
  
• “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” You develop credibility with people when you connect with them and show that you genuinely care and want to help them. And as a result, they usually respond in kind and want to help you.
  
  
•  How do you connect with people?
  
  
  1. Connect with Yourself – If you don’t believe in who you are and where you want to lead, work on that before doing anything else.
     
  2. Communicate with Openness and Sincerity – People can smell a phony a mile away. Authentic leaders connect.
     
  3. Know Your Audience – When you work with individuals, knowing your audience means learning people’s names, finding out their histories, asking about their dreams. When you communicate to an audience, you learn about the organization and its goals. You want to speak about what they care about.
     
  4. Live Your Message – Practice what you preach. That’s were credibility comes from.
     
  5. Go to Where They Are – Remove as many barriers to communication as possible. Try to be attuned to their culture, background, education, and so on. Adapt to others; don’t expect them to adapt to me.
  6. Focus on Them, Not Yourself – Focus on others, not yourself. That is the number one problem of inexperienced speakers and ineffective leaders.
     
  7. Believe in Them – It’s one thing to communicate to people because you believe you have something of value to say. It’s another to communicate with people because you believe they have value. People’s opinions of us have less to do with what they see in us than with what we can help them see in themselves.
     
  8. Give Them Hope – French general Napoleon Bonaparte said, “Leaders are dealers in hope.” When you give people hope, you give them a future.
  • Successful leaders who obey the Law of Connection are always initiators. They take the first step with others and then make the effort to continue building relationships. It’s not always easy, but it’s important to the success of the organization. A leader has to do it, no matter how many obstacles there might be. 
  • You connect with others when you learn their names, make yourself available to them, tell them how much you appreciate them, find out what they are doing, and most important, listen to them.
  • There’s an old saying: To lead yourself, use your head; to lead others, use your heart. That’s the nature of the Law of Connection. Always touch a person’s heart before you ask for a hand.

_

• People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves. That’s how the Law of Respect works.
  
• People don’t follow others by accident. People who are an 8 in leadership don’t look for a 6 to follow – they naturally follow a 9 or 10. The less skilled follow the more highly skilled and gifted.
  
• Occasionally, a strong leader may choose to follow someone weaker than himself. But when that happens, it’s for a reason. For example, the stronger leader my do it out of respect for the person’s office or past accomplishments. Or he may be following the chain of command. In general though, followers are attracted to people who are better leaders than themselves.
• When people get together for the first time in a group, take a look at what happens. As they start interacting, the leaders in the group immediately take charge. But after the people get to know one another, it doesn’t take long for them to recognize the strongest leaders and to start following them.
  
• In time, people in the group get on board and follow the strongest leaders. Either that or they leave the group to pursue their own agenda.
  
• Top Six Ways That Leaders Gain Others’ Respect
  

1. Natural Leadership Ability – if you possess it, people will want to follow you. They will become excited when you communicate vision.
2. Respect For Others – when leaders show respect for others – especially for people who have less power or a lower position than theirs – they gain respect from others. If you continually respect others and consistently lead them well, you will continue to have followers.
   
3. Courage – Good leaders do what’s right, even at the risk of failure, in the face of great danger and under the brunt of relentless criticism. Can you think of one great leader from history who was without courage? A leader’s courage gives his followers hope.
4. Success – When leaders succeed in leading the team to victory, then followers believe they can do it again. As a result, followers follow them because they want to be part of success in the future. 
5. Loyalty – When leaders stick with the team until the job is done and look out for their followers best interests even when it hurts them personally, followers will in turn learn to respect them. 
6. Value Added to Others – Followers value leaders who add value to them and their respect for them carries on long after the relationship has ended.
   

_

•  Leaders require seasoning to be effective. If you continually invest in your leadership development, the inevitable is growth over time.
  
  
•  The relationship between growth and leadership: It’s the capacity to develop and improve one’s skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers.
  
  
•  Successful leaders are learners. And the learning process is ongoing, a result of self-discipline and perseverance.
  
  
•  The Phases of Leadership Growth
  
  Phase 1: I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know – few think of themselves as leaders and as long as a person doesn’t know the importance of leadership he isn’t going to grow. D1
  
  Phase 2: I Know That I Need to Know – at some point we discover we need to learn how to lead. D2
  
  Phase 3: I Know What I Don’t Know – if we don’t get better at leadership, our careers will eventually get bogged down. In this phase you develop a plan for personal growth on areas you need improvement. D2
  
  Phase 4: I Know and Grow and It Starts to Show – when you recognize your lack of skill and begin the daily discipline of personal growth, exciting things start to happen. You start becoming an effective leader but you have to think about every move you make. D3
  
  Phase 5: I Simply Go Because of What I Know – your ability to lead becomes almost automatic. You develop great instincts which results in incredible payoffs. But the only way to get there is to obey the Law of Process and pay the price. D4
  
  
•  Benjamin Disraeli asserted, “The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his time when it comes.”
  
  
•  There is an old saying: champions don’t become champions in the ring – they are merely recognized there. That’s true. If you want to see where someone develops into a champion, look at his daily routine.
  
  

_ True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence, and that cannot be mandated. It must be earned.

Five Myths About Leadership

1. The Management Myth – that leading and managing are the same. Leadership is about influencing people to follow, while management focuses on maintaining systems and processes. Managers can maintain direction; to move people you need influence.
   
2. The Entrepreneur Myth – entrepreneurs are skilled at seeing opportunities and going after them. But not all of them are good with leading people in their vision.
   
3. The Knowledge Myth – neither IQ nor education necessarily equates to leadership.
   
4. The Pioneer Myth – being a trendsetter is not the same as being a leader. To be a leader, a person has to not only be out in front, but also has to have people following his lead.
   
5. The Position Myth – leadership is not based on rank or title. It’s not the position that makes the leader; it’s the leader that makes the position.
   
   

Several Factors That Make a Leader

1. Character – Who They Are – true leadership always begins with the inner person. People can sense the depth of a person’s character.
   
2. Relationships – Who They Know – with deep relationships with the right people you can become the real leader in an organization. This does not mean that you are always looking up for the right people, some of these people are the once who's shoulder you now stand on.
   
3. Knowledge – What They Know – information is vital. You need a grasp of the facts to develop an accurate vision for the future.
   
4. Intuition – What They Feel – leaders seek to recognize and influence intangibles such as energy, morale, timing and momentum.
5. Experience – Where They’ve Been – the greater your past challenges, the more likely followers will be willing to let you lead.
   
6. Ability – What They Can Do – the bottom line is followers want to know whether you can lead them to victory. As soon as they no longer believe you can deliver, they will stop following.