Dec
28

Six things I’m doing this week to hit the ground running in 2012

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I'm working on ways to simplify my day-to-day approach to work and be more effective.

It’s a slow week at work, the rest of the family is either doing other things or sleeping late, and I’ve been feeling lately like I’m not in control of things to the degree I have been in the past.  So I’m focusing on six things to get myself ready for next year — so I can be even better at executing on my goals…

  • Cleaning out my e-mail.  Yes, I’m one of those people who have 1,000+ items in my work e-mail and a somewhat smaller number in my home e-mail.  Our work system doesn’t let us keep more than three months in our Inbox so that tells you how bad things have gotten there.  But I’ve been saving important attachments to my laptop and printing out key messages and putting them in project folders.  I’m down to 680 and plan to be under 100 by the end of the week.
  • Eliminating piles.  Continuing the “I’m a packrat” theme, I finally confronted the three ugly piles (representing nearly three feet of paper) of completed projects, PowerPoint decks, and other “stuff” from the past year that needed attention (and a similar pile at home that includes ideas for blog posts and other things).  I got rid of two feet yesterday — most of that going into the shredder — and added a few important things to current project folders that will eliminate a frenzied search early in the New Year.
  • Blocking out time to get things done.  I listened to one of those “painfully obvious” podcasts (kudos to the guys at Career Tools) on the way home yesterday and immediately went into my laptop to block “me time” during the work day to ensure I could focus without distractions on MY key deliverables.  I recognize that there will be some unavoidable meetings that will be booked into that time, but now I’ll be able to consciously think about whether I really need to attend that meeting and/or will consider moving that Me Time into another open slot.
  • Taking a hard look at my project list.  One page that includes the project, key deliverables, and key partners.  There are too many items on the current list (which is arguably a good thing in the current environment), but I’m finding I need to reprioritize.  I’ve attached my project list template as one approach.  I include barriers in the Short-Term Deliverables column as needed, and put deadlines there.  Separate columns just got clunky.  I really think the Big Rocks section at the top helps me focus on the really important stuff.  My version is in Word, but I previously built it in Excel to help with sorting.  I know there are applications and other online tools for this.  For me, this works because I can store it on my desktop and easily update for 1-on-1s with my manager.
  • Identifying my Three Words for 2012.   Chris Brogan may not be the first to do this, but he’s certainly raised the visibility of this annual exercise.  These are words that will guide my (and your) efforts for the coming year.  It requires you to think through your biggest goals, your biggest rocks, and then think about how you’re going to achieve them in a simple, structured manner.  I’m still working on mine — and that will be the subject of a post later this week — by at least one will be Story focusing on the importance of narrative in what I do.
  • Better organize my Evernote files and start using a small notebook.  I downloaded Evernote about eight months ago but only recently started thinking through how to best use it — particularly since my company blocks it at work.  It’s a great way to capture ideas in one place from your phone, your desktop, or your web browser.  I need to spend some time this week searching out best practices and get into the habit of using it more than I have been.  I’ve also been carrying around a notebook for blog ideas and other thoughts that increasingly go through my mind without sticking long-term.  I think these two small things are a missed opportunity in 2011 that I need to focus on in 2012.

Are you cruising into the New Year by recharging your batteries and finishing a few projects or are you preparing to hit the ground running and execute on your key deliverables in 2012?  What are you doing to get ready?

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Oct
10

Why are you expanding your LinkedIn network?

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If the unthinkable happens, are you really ready?

I’ve seen a big uptick in the number of people inviting me to Connect with them on LinkedIn — and a lot of my current connections are also adding people left and right.  That’s not a particularly huge surprise since most of them work for the same company I do — one that recently said it anticipates cutting tens of thousands of jobs over the next few years.

I think most people who receive these Invitations just hit Accept and move on (or they go into their profiles periodically and do a Mass Accept).  But I tend to take a quick look before accepting.

Here’s the problem I’m seeing.  Very few of them seem to have considered WHY they’re doing all this Linking In.  One presumes their goal is to “start networking” in case the unthinkable happens.  I think I’d be focusing on Connecting with people who work OUTSIDE the same four walls I do.  Those people probably won’t help much since they’re likely to be worried about the same problem, even if they survive the first set of cuts.  There’s something to be said for both either expanding your network for pain empathy and/or gaining access to that other person’s network (i.e., people with 500+ Connections are likely targets).

But many of these profiles don’t have Summaries (either expressing what makes them unique or saying what they’re looking for).  They just list their past employers — with no detail on accomplishments or even responsibilities.  Nothing that shows personality.  Nothing that shows what they could offer another employer.  Not even a recent Update that would show the kinds of things they’re working on.  Their headlines say what they do rather than who they are.  And no picture that will either create a visual connection with a prospective employer or client (or one that will help a new Connection remember who the heck they are).

It’s like they’re viewing LinkedIn as a check mark on a To Do list, rather than a strategic imperative.   They see it as a security blanket or fishing net, rather than a tool for reinforcing their brand identity to companies that may be looking for someone who fits their unique skills.  Because let’s face it — if the unthinkable happens in the current environment, you’re going to need all the help you can get to get someone’s attention.

I’m fine with hitting Accept to these invitations.  It’s clear from my Profile that I can help if you need some advice on strengthening your profile.  I’m happy — in most cases — to introduce you to my Connections.  But the truth is that Connecting also makes me more visible to a larger number of people and I know that I’ve optimized my Profile for searches and make it clear what differentiates me from others — particularly those who are Connecting without a plan or strategy.

Have you?

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Aug
29

A quick way to customize your LinkedIn profile

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I’ve offered some tips in this space for beefing up your LinkedIn profile.   Here’s a quick way to customize your profile and generate additional clicks to your website and/or blog.

You don’t have to use the LinkedIn default for Website pages; you can provide visitors to your page the actual name of your site or blog.  Just go into Edit Profile.  Odds are that many of you just used Company Website, Personal Website, or Blog.  Instead, go to Other and type in the actual name (e.g., Bulldog Simplicity) and make sure you have your full URL (including http://).

Voila!  Personalization…and most likely, more eyes on your website or blog.  And that’s the way to really drive home your personal brand to prospective employers or clients, who might otherwise have passed it by.

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Jul
05

Simple ways to build your social media presence

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If you're new to LinkedIn or Twitter, start slowly.

 I recently helped someone set up his LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. He was new to the whole social-media thing and just wanted to dip his toe in the water — basically the same place I was a few years ago – so I put together a few tips for LinkedIn and Twitter to try to help him.  My broad advice was to Think Reciprocity:  The more you help and give to others, the more they will want to help you in return.  I also advised him to schedule time each week (on a weekend or early in the AM) to do some of these things.  I hope these suggestions help some of you who are just getting started.  If you have loads of experience, please consider adding your suggestions.

For LinkedIn:

1.  Update your Status once or twice per week to show regular professional activity and to stay in front of your connections.  When people log in, their home pages pop up and show Status Updates from their connections.  Updating regularly will keep you visible to connections.  Avoid personal stuff.

2.  Regularly monitor other people’s Status Updates and send quick notes of congratulations (personal or on LinkedIn) where appropriate.

3.  Look for opportunties to Connect (clients, friends, fellow group members).  The key to LinkedIn success is 2nd and 3rd generation connections.  I prefer to personalize my Invites (and avoid the default), but others don’t worry as much about it.  It irritates me a bit, but I tend to Accept either way.

4.    Ask for Recommendations that use your keywords (it’s OK to provide guidance) and create unsolicited Recommendations for former associates or clients.  Once you get 5+ Recommendations, copy/paste them into Word and post the sheet through the Box.net application available through your profile.

5.  Join Groups along three paths: (1) potential clients; (2) people in your line of business; and (3) personal connections (e.g., alumni groups or sports affiliations through your children — those people you meet on the sidelines).  Spend some time in each one replying to Discussion Topics and building your network (which will likely lead to Invitations to Connect).  Don’t go crazy.  Set aside some time each week to do it. 

6.  Consider starting a Private Group, a by-invitation-only group to establish dialogue with and among influencers.  Consider using this as a place to bring together local businesses or clients.

7.  Use the Advanced Search function to generate prospect leads or prepare for calls and appointments.  Use 2nd Degree connections in your search rather than the default “All LinkedIn members” to see your best referral avenues/information sources for new relationships.

8.  Look for opportunities to introduce Connections in your network to each other.

9.  Set aside 30 minutes per week to Answer (and Ask) questions.  It builds your credibility and leads to new connections.  Asking questions can also be a quick way to get new product ideas or feedback.  But don’t go overboard.  I think a lot of LinkedIn members wonder about their connections that are answering triple-digit questions every week (and that shows up on the daily and weekly Status Updates).

10.  Periodically scroll through the LinkedIn applications and see if any will help “personalize” your profile.

And for Twitter:

1.  Clarify your goals and stay focused.  Those goals may be as simple as Build Relationships and Drive Awareness (and that could be drive awareness of other people’s interesting projects.  Lots of people just use Twitter to promote other people’s things, interesting posts, and useful causes and charities.

2.  Promote other people on a (more or less) 10:1 ratio of promoting yourself.  Retweet often but ALWAYS give credit to the person who found it first (i.e., use via @XXXX).

3.  Leave room for retweets on your original tweet (i.e., keep your Tweets below 100-120 characters). If you’re Retweeting, add a comment (you’ll need a service like TweetDeck to do that).  Edit the original Tweet if necessary.

4.  Participate in professional chats (check your stream or search for hashtags (or use the word “chat” in a search).

5.  Respond to Mentions.  Thank people for Retwteeting you.  Use Direct Messages for 1-to-1 conversations.

6.  Take 10 mintues every few days to use Twitter Search to look for references to you and your company and to identify people to Follow who share similar interests or discuss interesting subjects.

7.  Use Twitter to ask your customers questions and good good answers.

8.  Spend a few minutes each week looking at your Followers lists to remove spammers and to identify people who look interesting and Follow them.

9.  Be conversational in your Tweets, even if it’s a collective “person” representing the company.

10.  No matter what anyone tells you, don’t set up an Auto DM (automatic Direct Message) to send to new Followers.  It doesn’t feel like relationship-building.

 

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Jul
04

As the economy improves, it’s time to refocus your LinkedIn profile

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I’ve received a number of LinkedIn invitations recently.  Some are from people who have been consulting out of necessity but for various reasons are now seeking full-time work.  Others are from people who seem to have just thrown a profile up on the LinkedIn, in hopes something good will fall into their laps.  Those have their current title as a headline and the rest of the Profile — Summary included — is basically a resume.

I just helped my son, a sophomore film student in Washington, D.C., create his LinkedIn profile as he starts looking for internships and freelance video- and audio-production work.  I’d like to share the document we used to create his profile and the one I use to help clients think through what they want and, perhaps more important, what they have to offer a prospective employer or client.

LinkedIn has a far simpler search engine than Google.  That’s why I spend a lot of time asking the people I work with to think through what their “keywords” would be if a recruiter or prospect would use to find someone like them.  We then focus on those words when creating the Profile, balancing the flow of the narrative with the recognition that the more time your keyword appears, the higher you’ll end up in the rankings. 

There’s a lot of advice on the Internet relative to writing your LinkedIn profiles.  I created this document for clients, Beefing Up Your LinkedIn Profile and am posting it here as free advice from someone who smiles when he gets an Invitation to Connect from someone who has clearly thought through hat they want to say about themselves and their personal brand.  I hope it helps!

If it gets you thinking, but you still need some help with the writing, feel free to let me know.

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Apr
01

Do you pass the “Hello” test?

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Hello…Hello…Hello.

Good morning…good morning…hello…good morning…

I was walking to an early-morning meeting in a different building yesterday and I heard a voice behind me repeating the same two phrases over and over.  Probably 20 in all.

I finally turned around, thinking maybe he was trying to get my attention.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning.  How are you?,” I replied with a smile and a quizzical look, realizing he had been talking to the people passing us going in the other direction.

“Great.  I was conducting a test and you’re the only one who passed,” he said with a look that mixed sadness and a bit of relief and happiness that someone had actually responded.

Would you have passed?

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Mar
26

When was the last time you said “thank you?”

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The other day, a smiley face suddenly popped up on my IM at work.

What’s up, I asked the sender, the assistant for one of our most senior executives.

“You said thank you,” she pinged back.  “Very few people do.”

That surprised me, since I work for an organization that places at least an equal emphasis on your How as your What.

It’s something I always try to do (or say) — and not with the perfunctory tone that a lot of people use.  I think there’s a difference between Thanks and Thank you in an e-mail or conversation.  And I try to say “you’re welcome” when I receive what feels like a heartfelt thank you (or even a thanks). 

I’ve done it for years (thank you to both of my parents, who stressed such things when I was younger).  But I never realized it made a difference until the other day.

Thank you, Denise.

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Mar
21

How Foot Locker almost lost a sale to Zappos

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My wife took my 13-year-old shopping for basketball shoes this afternoon at the Foot Locker at a large Delaware mall.

My son left his other pair at a tournament this past weekend and needed new ones quickly (to be fair, the old one’s were due for replacement).  He thought he knew which ones he wanted (Syracuse orange Max Airs, despite last night’s NCAA results), but if you know my wife, you know he wasn’t getting out of the store without trying on some other pairs.

The clerk saw how much he liked the first pair, but my wife suggested he look at a few others.  That’s when the lady pointed out that she was off work in 15 minutes so it would be nice if they’d hurry up a bit.

Alrighty then.

Surprisingly, my wife didn’t lose her temper.  Then the lady pointed out the time a few more times.  Mentioned loudly to co-workers that my wife and son were taking a long time to decide.  Told my wife that it was clear her son liked the first pair best.  I suspect the saleslady got “the look.”  When she mentioned it was 3:27, my wife informed her that they were buying a $100+ pair of baskeball shoes and she wasn’t going to be hurried.  Saleslady decided to take another bite of the apple and let my wife that she was working on commission and would lose the sale if she clocked out before we paid for the shoes.

Gang, I couldn’t make this stuff up.

At this point, the Bulldog would have packed up my stuff, left the store, and gone home to call Zappo’s, which would have had the shoes to me tomorrow for free.  Or I’d have left the store and come back in about 20 minutes and given some other salesperson his or her easiest sale of the day   My wife stuck it out and so, apparently, did the clerk, who was about four minutes late going home, based on the time my wife called to tell me the story, but got her sale.

I know the saleslady is at fault here, but I’m also wondering about Foot Locker’s policies and whether the store manager had the ability to give this clerk the sale she so desperately coveted.   I also wonder about Foot Locker’s hiring policies, given the number of people out there desperately looking for work, and whether the store manager realizes he or she has an employee whose complete lack of service focus nearly cost Foot Locker a $110 sale and will result in my wife telling this story to many of her fellow sneaker-shopping friends (and giving me a blog topic that a few hundred potential customers will read).

Sad.

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Jan
30

Do you ever TOTALLY disconnect from work?

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A ball and a patch of dirt is all Moroccan kids need to keep things simple.

As you can see from the date of my last post, It’s been awhile since I’ve shared a few thoughts here.  I’ve been a bit better about Twitter, but when someone sends a Retweet that says they’re glad to see you back in their stream, it’s time to take stock.

I went back to a full-time communications at the bank that laid me off before my 22-month joint job search/foray into consulting.  I learned a lot about myself during that hiatus, but one thing I apparently didn’t learn was how to ratchet back my productivity while trying to balance my work and family life.  I’ve actually been fairly good about making sure I get to family activities (and then working after hours to catch up) but the fact remains I’m spending more time on my laptop than I probably should be if I want to stay healthy and avoid burnout.

The thing is, I really enjoyed the part of my social-media life over the past two years that involved building some online relationships, writing blog posts, and beefing up my LinkedIn presence.  But I’ve let that slide in the past 2+ months.  I’ve had post ideas that would have been great, but never seemed to stop and write.  I haven’t read as many posts by other people, or forwarded their tweets, as I used to.  I’m embarrassed to say I had to request my WordPress user name beford I could write this post — it’s been that long.

But I’m back today because of a Harvard Business Review post by Gill Corkindale called Detach Yourself From Your Work that stopped me short.  It’s worth a read.

Perhaps more important, I’ve done something the past two Friday evenings that has made a serious difference in my attitude.  I was coming off two very challenging weeks in the new job but had to get my seventh-grade son to travel-basketball practice.  I’m the team’s assistant coach, but I’ve been working from the sidelines lately.  Over the past two weeks, I’ve actually put on my shorts and a T-shirt and run with the team in pickup games where we coach on the fly as they play. I’m old, slow, and well past in-shape but it was great and I actually surprised my son (and his teammates) with my ability to run full court without more breaks than anyone else was taking (and I also knocked down a few shots, got some great assists, and played passable defense).

I realized afterward that I hadn’t thought about work for two consecutive hours.  Best thing I did all week.   While I didn’t avoid the work stuff for the rest of the weekend, it didn’t get the weekend off to the right start.

How about you?  What do you do to totally disconnect?  I’m not talking about watching TV and hanging out with friends, where talk inevitably turns to work.  I’m talking about doing something — alone or with friends or loved ones — that requires a single-minded focus that distracts you from all the other crap.

If you don’t have something like that on a regular basis, come up with something.  Soon.

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Nov
26

Lola Gonzalez: Thoughtful boss or quitter?

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Was quitting the easy way out for Lola Gonzalez?

There’s an article in today’s USA Today romanticizing a woman who decided to fire herself rather than lay off one of her nine employees.

I think the whole thing is a load of crap.

So here’s what happened, according to the reporter Paul Davidson:  About six months ago, Lola Gonzalez , the owner of Accurate Background Check in Ocala, Florida, looks at the books and realizes that her struggling company needs to lay someone off.  She feels bad about that, so she fires herself (saving a six-figure salary) and gets a job for less than half her pay as a social worker.  Her family has to cut way back (her husband has been out of work for three years) and she now has decided to pay her nine employees a Christmas bonus.

Here’s what I think:  She gave up on her employees and her company.  She could have given herself a pay cut equal to what she would have saved by laying someone else off and let everyone know that while she appreciated their efforts, there wasn’t going to be a Christmas bonus this year — just like most companies.

Instead, Lola is focusing 40 hours of her weekly attention on her other job instead of trying to save (or grow) her company by finding new clients and handling the day-to-day operations.  She checks in twice a day and does a few background checks for no pay (but she’s apparently not putting in a lot of time at her own company).  What’s probably happening is that her remaining employees have had to pick up her workload and constantly wonder whether there will still be a company next week, next month, or next year.  Lola gets a lovely Page 1 spread in USA Today, which will probably lead to a big uptick in business that will enable her to go back to her job in a few weeks.

While the reporter gets praised by his peers for how unique this story was and moves on to other stories and forgets about Lola (that’s not a criticism, by the way, just a recognition of how the news business works).

Look, it’s a nice post-Thanksgiving Day story that sounds like a selfless action by a warm-hearted boss.  A representative of the National Federation of Independent Businesses says she’s never heard of someone giving up day-to-day control of their company to take another job but she has heard of some owners not paying themselves.

Well…That’s because it wouldn’t make any sense to real entrepreneurs.  Staying to fight would have been the courageous thing to do.  Now, I could understand if Lola did what she did because she felt she was holding her company back from success, that she wasn’t particularly good at the tasks a CEO does, or she didn’t like managing other people.  Quitting under those circumstances might make sense.  Maybe Lola thought the company was in danger of shutting its doors and really needed to fire more than one person.  Maybe a crafty PR person convinced her that doing this for a few months could pay off in great press coverage and a flood of new business.

I know I’ll be called a Scrooge or a cynic (or much worse) for taking this position, but I know how painful it was to walk away from a consulting company I was trying to build to go back to a full-time position because I needed to take care of my family with something more stable.  But I didn’t have nine employees depending on me and there’s no indication in the story that Lola pursued any other alternatives — like creating new lines of business, networking for new clients, cutting expenses, merging with another company, or rethinking her value proposition or the way she was marketing her services.

This was not a heartwarming holiday tale.  It was a sad story about someone who lost her belief in her company and her dream…and pretty much walked out on her team.

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