Check out a few of the great posts on the myGreenlight blog this week:

• The Wisdom of Worst-Practices - the worst sales practices of 2011.
• Don't be that Person - Avoid Etiquette Goof-Ups - don't let social media ruin your personal brand.
• The Greenlight Highlight: How a Marketing Development Manager's Mastery of the Relationship Mindsets Boosts His Business and Career Opportunities

Enjoy!

0 comments // In Site News and Happenings

Check out some of the posts that have been on the myGreenlight blog this week:

• Strategic Selling: You Don't Earn Trust with a Powerpoint from myGreenlight's VP of Sales, Will Petruski.
• A transcript excerpt from Tahl Raz's interview with Dr. Jeffrey Pfeffer.
• Social Media Today: Is Your CEO Listening to What You Have to Say? from myGreenlight's Member Coordinator, Ritu Walia.
• Oh Netflix, Why?  Kristen Bassick's, myGreenlight Director of Customer Experience, take on the recent Netflix PR debacle.

0 comments // In Site News and Happenings

Recently I asked the following question on Twitter and Facebook:

If someone gave you $100,000 and told you to go do something generous with it - what would you do?

I loved reading through the variety of answers that came back.  There are clearly so many ways to show generosity and so many needs in the world.  I wanted to share some of my favorites (and trust me, it was hard to leave any of them out!)

Some of you wanted to keep it local:

• Invest in the education of someone whom I know who has the potential to really help others. – John Lim via FB
• I would give $500 to 200 people and ask them to share their story of "the power of gift" and what it meant to them, on a website for others to read. – Jeremiah Prigge via FB
• Assist people that I constantly see having to leave a prescription drug due to their not having the money to pay for it. – Rex Kinnison via FB
• I'd find single moms who want to be with their kids and help them fund their new entrepreneurial biz. – @Susan_Wilkinson

Others wanted to go where the greatest needs are:

• Start literacy programs in rural Indian cities to empower future generations. – Meeta Vyas via FB
• I would take the square foot garden guy (Mel Bartholomew) to Haiti and back him for all the materials he'd need to educate the locals on his growing methods. – Elizabeth Puglise via FB
• Give it to the people in Joplin, MO. – Sue Henry via FB
• I will go with a planeload of food, water and medicines to Somalia right now! – @vrajamani

There were tons of ideas for how you would help Specific Causes that are near and dear to you:

• Lot of organizations were mentioned by name:  www.charitywater.org; www.healthcorps.org; www.kiva.org; www.nohomelesskids.org, and www.reliefbus.org to name just a few.
• I would give it to the incredible people at Lighthouse Voc-Ed Center who are doing bleeding edge, groundbreaking work with people with autism. – Joy Johnson via Facebook
• Straight to the animal shelter. – Suzy Wilson via FB
• Reach out to the many men that suffer from the devastating and long lasting effects of childhood sexual abuse. – Rhett Hackett via FB
• I would help the Leukemia and Lymphoma society do more research on blood diseases!!! – @Heubergermotors

I especially love that you want to work your networks to make the impact as big as possible:

• Plan and Organize a Charity-Network Party with Keith and other Network specialists to collect much more then the $100,000 and donate it THEN. – Ramo Karahasan via FB
• I'd get one of those extreme couponing people to help me shop for all kinds of nonperishable food items and toiletries. I'd than make 1,000's of care boxes and just start handing them out to people on the streets as well as in shelters. – Christina Cordier via FB
• Mastermind with some amazing conscious capitalists to get some feedback on leveraging the impact of the 100k first. – @ThomasMangum

And finally – kudos to those who would start something new!

• I would create a social network to connect people with local charities that need help. – Bobbie Schaeperkoetter via FB
• Use it to seed a charity for teachers to buy school supplies so they aren't spending their own money. – Christopher Banas via FB
• I would set up a sustainable trust that would be designated for individuals with severe mental illness, living in the community, who have no prescription coverage and are being sampled their medications. – Danielle Birdeau via FB
• Start something up in Detroit that employs locals to create something from unused/recyclable materials that would grow to include resources to encourage others to do the same. – Kassandra Frost via FB
• Start the Carol's House foundation in honor of my sister providing housing/support for adult children with disabilities. – @ScottVann

Thanks to all who contributed ideas – I wish I had $100,000 to fund each of you.  But don’t let lack of funds slow you down – now that you have your vision out there, find whatever ways you can to move closer to making an impact.  Tap your network, see what resources you CAN contribute – time, talents.

Being of Service is so powerful – make it happen!

4 comments // In Philanthropy

Have you been participating in my “Mini Mission Mondays” on Facebook and Twitter? These are bite-sized outreach ideas that encourage you to interact with your business-critical network on a regular basis. Missions are the foundation of Relationship Masters Academy.

This week's mission: Email a business-critical contact who has done something you admire and let them know.

Are you asking yourself whether this is really worth squeezing into your agenda, on what is no doubt a busy day?

Put yourself in the shoes of the recipient. Imagine how you would feel receiving an unprompted email that genuinely compliments your work. Imagine how it might transform your morning, making you just that much more willing to help others, that much more confident, that much more enthusiastic and engaged. (Extra credit: Ask the person if they'll coach you over a coffee on the thing you've noticed they're great at.)

Just that single email could make an entire team's day more productive. Imagine the effect you might have if you sent out such an email every single week.

Am I on to something here? Tell me and report back when you've completed your mission.

18 comments // In Relationship Development Skills

Today’s guest post is from Phil Simon, a fellow speaker at Inc’s Grow Your Company in April. He’s got great ideas on how growing companies can get a leg up with new technology.

Compared to big companies, many small businesses are adopting new technologies at both greater speed and lower cost. These represent two sources of a new competitive advantage for these nimble, agile companies. At the New Small, new technologies are enabling a completely different mindset and definition of work. Smaller outfits and startups are attracting top-flight talent because, to some extent, they allow work to be done anywhere: from home, on a beach, or in a coffee shop.

This tech-friendly ethos is allowing employees to work on their own terms, addressing the work-life imbalance from which many people suffer. In this vein, the New Small is using technology strategically to win the war for talent.

So, there’s good news for small businesses on several fronts. Emerging technologies are allowing progressive companies to leap ahead of others still struggling to figure things out.

But which technologies are making such a dramatic difference? There are five specific ones. I collectively refer to them as the Five Enablers. Here’s a primer:

Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is one hot technology, and for good reason. At a high level, cloud-based applications allow employees to access company information from wherever they are. Data and applications in the clouds are simply more accessible than those stored in a single location. Although there are security implications related to de-perimeterizing the enterprise, cloud applications are gaining momentum as organizations try to improve accessibility and information -- and reduce the cost of getting it.

SaaS
Software as a service (SaaS) is kind of a cousin to cloud computing. In fact, the latter enables the former. SaaS is a software distribution model in which applications are hosted by a vendor or service provider and made available to customers over a network, typically the Internet. SaaS is becoming an increasingly prevalent delivery model as underlying technologies that support Web services and service-oriented architecture mature and new development approaches become popular. Meanwhile, broadband service has become increasingly available to support user access from more areas around the world.

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
FOSS alternatives to traditional (read: paid) offerings have been gaining acceptance for years. For those who doubt the penetration of open source (OS) software in ordinary life, consider that it is now penetrating even the hallowed -- and traditionally conservative -- halls of academia.

Mobility
Mobile technologies extend the capabilities of certain applications, particularly in retail, manufacturing and inventory-related environments. The number and variety of consumer-oriented applications are absolutely astounding. The bottom line with mobility is this: People no longer need to be chained to desktops or laptops to access or receive information. The potential of mobility is simply massive. Collectively the New Small has embraced the use of smartphones and productivity-enhancing apps. Mobility is unquestionably useful. Unfortunately many companies are too scared to embrace a mobile world. Others are intrigued by its possibilities but, for whatever reason, cannot make any headway.

Social Technologies
Social networking and media are piping hot topics these days. Many people at least particularly understand how to use social networking tools on a personal level. However, fewer are sure about what -- if anything -- these tools can do at work. Many people wonder whether they should even be on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn while on company time.

Ignore these technologies at your peril. As Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

You've just read an excerpt from Phil Simon’s new book, The New Small: How a New Breed of Small Businesses is Harnessing the Power of Emerging Technologies, available for purchase from Motion Publishing LLC. To learn more about the book please visit thenewsmall.com and www.philsimonsystems.com.

0 comments // In Entrepreneurship

Whether you know it or not, you are creating a brand for yourself online. If you haven’t given any thought to what you put on the Internet this may sound like bad news. As the proverb goes, “in crisis lies opportunity.” You can start right now to shape your online brand so that your best foot is forward – all the time.

Kate-Madonna Hindes’ RMA Masterclass is the ultimate beginner’s guide to getting the real you across online. Small business professionals and solopreneurs, this one is especially terrific for you.

Here are three tips from Kate-Madonna to help cultivate an authentic virtual presence that screams, Connect with me!

1. Humanize: People don’t want to read a ‘how to.’ They want to read opinions and hear about experiences and passions. Bring your own voice.
2. Resonate: Once you find your audience, never stop adapting your material. This is your platform to broadcast WHO you are.
3. Originate: A successful presence is original and filled with anecdotes and wit. The only thing that sets you apart? YOU.

Question: How often do you Google yourself, and are you happy with what you find? If not,  how are you fixing it?

0 comments // In Social Media

My team recently pulled together the top apps for CMOs on iphone, Android, and Blackberry. Thought I'd share them here. These are all useful for more than just CMOs - check them out and share your "don't leave home without it" app in the comments.

Top 5 iPhone apps for CMOs:

1. Keynote: As a CMO, you'll be making presentations. The iWork Keynote app is ideal for on-the-go presentation development. You can also import Microsoft Powerpoint slide decks with ease (Note: Also available as an Android app).

2. Dragon Dictation: There's only one way to get more done if you need to communicate with lengthy messages or compose marketing prose. In addition to sending lots of staff-related email messages to delegate tasks, the CMO is typically at the center of all corporate messaging. Dictating messages and documents is far more productive than typing and provides a highly productive solution.

3. Instapaper: CMOs are constantly on the prowl for competitors, partners, and marketing opportunities. Grabbing links is an inefficient method of capturing things to read and especially useless when you're not online. Capturing pages and articles is a breeze with InstaPaper which allows you to cache your reading requirements offline.

4. HootSuite for Twitter: This app is ground-zero for the CMOs social media intelligence dashboard and outbound messaging platform for his or her entire marketing team. HootSuite helps you manage multiple Twitter, Facebook, and other social media accounts in one place. It also provides automated content posting features and persistent search queries to keep tabs on partners and competitors. Because they provide such a robust web version, you can hop to any system (including iPad) and all configurations are live. Plus, your team needn't install and setup native clients. This system also provides integrated social team management features that allow you to control and commend the social media process from one application. HootSuite is only available for iPad (presently) but that will change soon. On the iPad, the native iPhone app works fine, and the web-based interface also works pretty good in Safari.

5. Gist: Gist is a comprehensive contact, company, and social dashboard for all your business relationships. Presently only available as an iPhone app which works fine on iPad, it also includes a Safari-compatible web interface. This tool will make it easy to stay abreast of all your ongoing and past communications with customers, colleagues, and partners.

Top 5 Android apps for CMOs:

1. TripIt: This app gives frequent travelers instant access to their trip planning needs. Users can keep track of their itineraries, even when they're offline, as well as maps and directions, flight alerts, links to hotels and restaurants and alternative flight options in case of delays.

2. Seesmic: Multiple Twitter accounts can be managed with a simple interface with Seesmic. View timelines, private conversations, post tweets from a single or multiple Twitter accounts, share photos and videos and be notified of new replies as they happen.

3. mShare: Share files of any size with other mobile phones and computers or use the app as a way to backup and store mobile device files. The app works the same way as an FTP server and an instant messaging service.

4. iSkoot for Skype: Also available on the Blackberry mobile platforms, this app allows you to make calls over the Internet. Make calls to those on your Skype contacts list, instant message and place calls to anyone in the world.

5. Lookout: This app provides mobile antivirus protection while backing up important data at the same time. The app can also help locate your phone if it's lost or stolen, with a handy siren that goes off to alarm its misplacement.

Top 5 Blackberry apps for CMOs:

1. Documents To Go, Premium Edition: The app, which is available on all three of the smartphone platforms, allows users to open native Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF files. The Premium version also provides the ability to edit and compose documents.

2. Exgis Time and Expense Pro: Mobile professionals use this app to track their mileage, time and expenses when they're working in the field, or using the information later for invoicing clients or their employer. Data can be exported from the phone to a spreadsheet and saved to a computer for future use.

3. CardSnap: Stop collecting stacks of business cards and quickly convert a photo of a business card into a contact on your Blackberry - the app takes unlimited card "snaps."

4. MyCaption: MyCaption is ideal for those who compose emails, text messaging and calendar items while they're away from their desk.
Users can dictate emails, memos, tasks or calendar items and have it transcribed to Microsoft Outlook, Gmail or the appropriate software application.

5. WiFi File Transfer App: This app is best for professionals who need to instantly send files from their BlackBerry to a computer or printer all through the same web browser - it's like using the smartphone as a wireless memory stick.

3 comments // In Communication

Remember Rule 2 from the article that prompted NEA, Secrets of a Master Networker? "Take names."

The article talked about how I have call sheets by region, listing the people I know and those I'd like to know, so that when I'm in town, I can get in touch with them.

Yes, relationship management is important. Yes, we've evolved and refined that process. But that rule should really be "Develop Friends" not "Take Names."

Note: I said relationship management not contact management.

Business today is personal. The best business relationships have always been personal, but today we've taken it to a whole new level.

The edges between work and social life are blurring. People are shifting their social networks into their work networks and vice versa - business associates and childhood friends, side by side.

Business has invaded Facebook. Talent seekers are scouring MySpace, Flickr, and YouTube for their next star. Sales people are doing the same to get their friends to help them sell.

Have you Friended your boss on Facebook, or connected on LinkedIn? Do you send Twitter messages to your customers? You do now. Or should.

Social software permits rich interactions. What you feed into the system becomes another point we can use to connect.

We prefer to buy from people who are like us. You like Law and Order? Me too! That may not always be enough to move a sale, or get a job, but it shows your human dimensions, and in this wired world of digital communities and deep long-tail niches, that's how it's done.

When you enter a market, be a real person. Act like one, care like one, and feel like one. Those subtle signals, verbal and non-verbal, help people figure out how to react to you - and whether they should bother handing you any of their attention.

Tell me when being yourself turned your business contact into a friend.

3 comments // In Relationship Development Skills

To help get you a jump start in the Twitterverse, here’s the Top Six Twitter Tips for Newbies that my team culled in part from a conversation in the RMA forums!

1.    Dive in. Once you’ve added the obvious Twitter friends, start digging – who and what are they linking to that interests you? Who are they retweeting? In addition to searching through your initial network, do a Twitter search for topics or people of interest to you. As RMAer Eric Frazer suggested, http://search.twitter.com/ is a great, user-friendly search site to find out who’s having the conversations you’re interested in joining.

2.    Save space! You’ve only got 140 characters per tweet, so use a URL shortener like the one found at http://tiny.cc/ to convert your links into shorter ones.

3.    Hashtags and retweets and private messages? Oh my! What can make Twitter feel so foreign at first are the #s and @s you see everywhere – but making use of these links you to the larger Twitter community. Use the @ symbol before a Twitter user’s name (@RMA) to link to that profile. Use hashtags to get your post to show under a particular category – for instance, if referencing your RMA work, just add the hash before it (#RMA) to get it to show up in a search for tweets on RMA!

4.    Save time by linking your accounts. Wondering how you’ll keep up with Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn while still finding time to eat three meals a day? Applications like TweetDeck link your accounts for you, so that you have a centralized space for all of your social-networking applications.

5.    And then I went to the store… Even your closest friends will be tempted to remove you from their Twitter feeds if all you post are your accomplishments or obvious PR. Similarly, a play-by-play of your day’s events isn’t going to draw people in. As Chris Brogan notes in his list of tips on using Twitter for business (thanks to Eric Frazer for the link!), “Instead of answering the question ‘What are you doing?’ answer the question, ‘What has your attention?’”

6.    Cultivate conversations. You don’t always have to have something to share – a great way to start a conversation with your Twitter followers is to just ask a question. And as Rachel Katz has noted, don’t be afraid to reply to someone’s tweet, even if you don’t know them! Your response will show up on their feed, meaning they and others interested in the same topic will have the opportunity to read your thoughts and respond.

Some great links to learn more:
Paul Boutin’s New York Times Gadgetwise blog post on Twitter for beginners
Mashable’s “40 of the Best Twitter Brands and the People Behind Them”
Chris Brogan’s “50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business”

What are your best Twitter tips? Has Twitter led you to new resources or inspiration? Have you discovered an untapped business connection through the site?

2 comments // In Social Media

I'm trying to make my Twitter stream  more useful. Here are some ideas Ryan, KF.com's community/social media guy, had for me. I thought they might be useful for you too.

1.    Start to post more questions. People love to answer them. This is a quick way to build community. If you ask the right questions as people will answer other people’s questions and connect that way.

2.    Give more tactical advice. Transform your inspirational thoughts into challenges for your followers. Try to think tactically and I think people will respond well. ex: “Next time you go to a meeting, call ahead and ask if they want a Starbucks. Ask the receptionist too :)”

3.    Host more impromptu “tweetups” when you have downtime in your travels. A great opportunity to do this is to invite people to any charity events that you plan to integrate into your travel schedule this year.

I also throw the question back at you: What you would like to see more of in my Tweets/Status Updates? Less of?

8 comments // In Social Media