First, an update on donations for Guatemala: Last week we asked you to help us raise $3200 so that we could fund every child from our trip. The balance as of Jan. 13, the day I'm writing this: $3367! I couldn't be more grateful.
Ready for this month's myGreenlight master's mission? John Hagel and John Seely Brown wrote this week's tip to help you diversify your network to expose you to the broadest range of ideas and opportunities. These simple tips will strengthen your safety net – try it! -KF
It is no surprise that we instinctively seek out those who share our interests. This is especially true in times of increasing pressure and uncertainty. We have an understandable tendency in such times to seek out the familiar and comfortable as a buffer against the unforeseen changes around us. In so doing we can inadvertently put ourselves in a cage of similarity that narrows our peripheral vision of the world and our options. The result? We may be even more vulnerable to being blindsided by events and trends coming at us from new and unusual directions.
The Internet compounds this narrowing by invisibly removing subjects and people from our online searches and even our casual exploration of websites, explains Eli Pariser in his new book, The Filter Bubble. Worse yet, we tend to become more extreme and entrenched in our beliefs when we become involved in a tight-knit group that shares them.
The bottom line: the choices we make and the technology we use can progressively narrow the range of experiences we have. To counteract the potential stultifying effects of the filter bubble we will have to overcome our natural instinct to seek out the comfort of those who are most like us. Here are some suggestions:
1. Audit and re-shape your social network. With the advent of online social network platforms we have an increasing visibility into the make-up of our personal social network. Whom do we interact with most frequently? How similar are they to us?
Scan the periphery of your social network and explore those "weak ties", the people you may have met briefly and who come from very different environments. Who are some of the most diverse people on the periphery of your network that you might benefit from getting to know better? How could you use online social networks to reach out to people you have never even met but who are engaged in arenas adjacent to your own interests? Each week, resolve to introduce yourself to a friend of a friend on an online network who seems to be the most interesting and most different from you. Read more →
My short piece for the January-February HBR is available online already, about promoting workplace candor – a blurb:
…in our research at more than 50 large companies over the past three years, we identified “observable candor” as the behavior that best predicts high-performing teams. But asking people to be candid in the absence of a supportive organizational culture is a challenge. We believe that forthrightness should not just be encouraged but required. We’ve developed three techniques to help coworkers at all levels interact more directly…
The great Harvey Mackay's new book is out – The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real Word. Covering everything from how to find the right mentor to earning the loyalty of your customers to overcoming rejection, Mackay delivers road-tested, real-world selling advice that has stood the test of time.
As today's post, I give you a taste of the new book with Harvey's ABCs of Selling – I encourage you to tweet one of these, or make it today's mantra!
A - Availability for your customers is essential, so they can reach you with questions, concerns or reorders.
B - Believe in yourself and your company, or find something else to sell.
C - Customers aren't always right, but if you want to keep them as your customers, find a way to make them right.
D - Deliver more than you promise.
E - Educations is for life - never stop learning.
F - Follow up and follow through. Never leave a customer hanging.
G - Goals give you a reason to go to work every day. When you reach your goals, set higher ones!
H - Humanize your selling strategy by learning everything you can about your customers.
I - I is the least important letter in selling.
J - Join trade organizations and community groups that will help you both professionally and personally, such as Toastmasters, Chamber of Commerce or Junior Achievement.
K - Know your competitors and their products as well as you know your own. Read more →
Hello from Sara Grace, RMA's program director. There are so many new apps and ideas swirling around to help professionals leverage technology and social media to build better networks that I've decided to use Fridays (schedule permitting) to highlight new stuff, and review when I can.
Today's quick hits:
Sales Intel: InsideView, a service that mashes up social data for enterprises to increase sales productivity, just raised a whole bunch of money, according to TechCrunch. This seems to be a tool to "Do your homework" on prospects, trawling online and social media for info.
From the company web site: InsideView’s award-winning sales intelligence application, InsideView for Sales, discovers sales opportunities across both traditional editorial sources and social media and can present them directly within CRM applications for optimum impact. Leveraging Sales 2.0 technology where traditional data providers have toiled with editorial staff, InsideView for Sales continuously aggregates and analyzes the ever-growing personal, executive, and corporate information available in social networks, websites, and subscription-based sources to uncover new customer engagement opportunities.
Curious to how it's different/similar to Gist. Built to interface with CRM instead of Outlook, for one. What else? Anyone, anyone? Also, as someone who primarily works in editorial, I am amused at the disdain for "editorial staff," who apparently create a lot of toil. So true.
Never Eat Dinner Alone: Here's a fun new way to meet new people, and try new food. For a great price, you sign up for a group dinner at a local restaurant. In theory, it's brilliant, because you can read the profiles of people and see if you think they'll be interesting to eat with. So... If you sign up, fill out your profile! I'm definitely going to do one of these, but I've stopped just short of signing up so far because the profiles are still mostly empty, so you have no idea who you'd be eating with. Should I sign up for one anyway? I do like a wild card.
Become an Expert: I think I'm a little late on the bandwagon, but Bloomfire is incredible. All the tools you need to create a living, breathing learning community. Except expertise, of course. You'll need to supply at least a little of that. (D'oh!)
Has anyone used any of the above? Your comment in the comments, please.
Email me if you own/use/hear about any cool new apps or products geared toward better relationships and management thereof so I can feature them here. sgrace at relationshipmastersacademy.com.
In today’s changing world one thing has remained constant – the power of connecting with influential people.
This online event is going to be a must attend for any business professional!
Join us on Wednesday March 16th as thought leaders Keith Ferrazzi, T.A. McCann & Craig Elias share insights on how to build your network to learn of the hidden opportunities that can take your career or your business to its highest level.
During the 60 minute webinar you will learn:
How to connect with those you want
Who you want to connect with and why
How to leverage the technology to make it happen
You don’t want to miss this FREE Online Event at 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM PDT on Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Click the link below to sign up now!
If you've seen me live, you may know I often give audiences a “mission” during my talk: I ask them to send a generous ping right there in the room – that is, an email to someone offering appreciation or gratitude. Sometimes they get responses back before the talk is even over.
But often, people say, “Great – but how am I going to get myself to do this every day?”
The answer: Build missions into your schedule! On Facebook, I’ve started posting Monday Missions to get you thinking. Here’s a few recent ones; these are adapted from more challenging missions that are part of Relationship Masters Academy. Pick one to do today. Overachievers: Do all five!
1. The Good Samaritan: Scroll through your Facebook or LinkedIn wall and find two people you can help. Remember, it doesn’t have to be something big. Even a cheerful “hello” can be helpful some days. But you might be surprised how easy it is to find more specific opportunities to help when you go looking.
2. The Resume Builder I: Go to LinkedIn and write a recommendation for someone whose work you admire.
3. The Resume Builder II: Ask a former boss whom you know appreciated your work to write a recommendation for you. Let them know one great sentence is really all you need! (I guarantee you that nine times out of ten you’ll get more than just a sentence.)
4. The Positively Postal: Make list of people with birthdays and anniversaries in Feb. Buy cards, sign, stamp, and send. A month of goodwill created in less time than it would take to watch Law and Order!
5. The Conversation Starter: Leave a comment – or better yet, a question – on a blog post or status update that doesn’t yet have any comments. Or… why not…. Share your favorite relationship-building “mission” with the community here.
Strategy is important – but sometimes, action trumps all. Get connected today.
I compiled links to my favorite content on the web (some mine, some from other great experts) to help you get primed and ready to navigate this time of year. No month is as rich with opportunities and permission to deepen the relationships around you – hope these links help you take advantage of it. Enjoy!
as of Jan. 13, the day I'm writing this: $3367! I couldn't be more grateful.
the loyalty of your customers to overcoming rejection, Mackay delivers road-tested, real-world selling advice that has stood the test of time.
