I have been busy the last few days with new clients and learning new tricks about search engine optimization.
As an entrepreneur, I have to deal with so many issues. But I my business services are expanding from traditional direct mail to search engine optimization, e-mail marketing, and web design.
To keep up with the new stuff and everything going on with the Post Office, I sometimes feel stressed out. However, I also appreciate that I have job security as I continue to deal with new clients and their marketing challenges.
Everything is changing — and there is no way to keep on track. However, it beats working in a big corporation and then being let go without any skills that are applicable in today’s fast changing world.
A community is where they know your name and miss you when you are gone, according to Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of England.
I like that definition. It’s so personal. It’s a bit like the sitcom “Cheers.”
Is a real community the same as a virtual community? I have been struggling with that question recently.
I have been trying to build on online community for the sole purpose of helping my business grow. I started a blog and joined LinkedIN, though I have not touched Facebook or myspace.
From my perspective, the real advantage of online communities is that space and time are nonfactors. Anyone anyplace in the world can be in my virtual community. I can answer them at my leisure and get responses in my e-mail’s inbox.
If you believe the hype, being part of an online community seems like the fastest way to riches and success. Lots of friends. More business. But is it? What is the purpose of an online community and how can it benefit me?
I am still trying to decide if being active in online communities is for me. Will the more I read and post develop new friends and generate more business? Does the 8th grader featured in today’s Raleigh newspaper really have 1.4 million fans?
Or is being online a huge time sucking trap? It seems that the more online I am, the less time I have to actually run my business or to meet and talk with real people? It seems like I spend too much of my day in front of computer screen already.
I want to explore how a real community, according to my definition, works.
Let me tell you about myself. I am not a very sociable person. Doesn’t mean I don’t like people. It just means I can be content to stay at home and watch TV and not feel obligated to go to parties or other social events just to be doing something.
I am not particularly shy, but I don’t think I am an extrovert, either.
In my definition, my Toastmaster group is a community. People know my name here – and they know when I am not here. As a side benefit, I have developed business relations that have helped my bottom line.
But being a member of a community means accepting obligations – and I think that is the part that many people in today’s society fail to realize.
Paying my dues may make me a club member, but that is not the same as being a being a member of the Talkmaster community.
Having an e-mail address and a password may make me a member of LinkedIn, but is that the same as being in a community?
It’s the difference between involvement and commitment. I often tell the story of the breakfast of ham and eggs. The chicken is involved in the breakfast, but the pig was committed.
I am committed to Toastmasters, and especially this club. I understand that my obligation to this club means that I show up on a regular basis, do roles that are assigned to me and support others. In return, I get support for my efforts. I grow and my confidence to handle situations expands.
I am not so sure what my responsibilities and obligations are to my online community. Does my anonymity allow me a free pass? Is anything expected of me?
An ideal community nurtures trust. I trust all of you will make great speeches and have the capacity to learn and grow. You have faith that I will do a decent job – and even applaud me for my efforts!
Being a member of a community takes time and consistency. Everyone wants instant gratification, but it takes time to cultivate relationships. In an online community, it’s too easy to login and make comments – and then leave.
I believe that being a part of a real community is a key to health and happiness. My son, Daniel, took a course on happiness from the Harvard professor who wrote a book about it. It’s not about wealth. Instead, it’s about having an understanding of what makes you tick and the confidence in your own abilities. A good community builds that self-esteem that you have to earn.
The challenge is to be part of community where people share the same goals – and the goals are positive. My definition of a community also describes a criminal gang. And not every member of a community may share your goals. Bernie Madoff was certainly an outstanding member of the Jewish community – until he was found out to be running a huge Ponzi scheme.
So, I come back to my original question – can an online community replace a real community? It certainly can in expanding my horizons and contacts. Will it increase my business by being active? Possibly. Is it worth the time and effort? The jury, for me, is still out.
However, only a real community made up of actual people can help me in terms of personal growth and satisfaction. It takes effort and commitment, but it is certainly worth the effort.
Tags: competitive advantage, Toastmasters
Do you ever feel like a dinosaur?
The world is rapidly changing and it’s survival of the fittest.
In today’s business environment, the race is being won by the fastest, not the largest.
I am, thankfully, surviving in this tough economic environment that is killing many of my larger competitors.
The days were I envied people working at large corporations and steady paychecks have long vanished as I go to work in my garage.
Yet there are many days I feel like a dinosaur. I have yet to learn how to text. Don’t want to. Still not on Facebook, but I am on LinkedIn, but haven’t yet figured out why.
But I survive because I adapt and am flexible.
My business is constantly evolving – even though my main source of revenue is old-fashioned snail mail. However, I am expanding my marketing expertise to include web design, search engine optimization, and e-mail marketing.
I recently changed my company’s name from MarketPlace-Mail.com to MarketPlace-Solutions.com to reflect this change.
I have a degree in journalism from the University of Illinois. Talk about Jurassic Park! I remember hot lead type and bulky typewriters. It’s hard to believe that in high school, I was the only male to take a typing course where we learned how to set margins and type fast so we could be good secretaries.
I can’t learn everything, but I have stayed enough ahead of the curve to stay afloat. I adapt disruptive technology to keep my business growing.
It’s all about being flexible and curious. Change is happening whether you want it to happen or not. The challenge is to embrace the change that suits you, reject what is irrelevant, and realize you can’t do everything.
The most important tool I have learned is how to effectively use the web. I sat down and learned how to do search engine optimization – the ability to be found on the web.
I started off by paying someone, but quickly determined he was a fraud. I probably spent an hour a day for over six months figuring out how to make Google my salesperson instead of trying to make cold calls.
You cannot go to school to learn this skill. I don’t think there are any college courses on the subject because the people with the knowledge don’t have time to teach it.
I feel I have given Daniel a master’s course in search engine optimization. Daniel’s help and advice have benefited my business – and help pay his college tuition. I feel Daniel’s knowledge puts him in a better position than many of his peers in finding a job or starting his own business.
As I became more involved in SEO, I realized that I had to learn more about how websites are constructed. Again, I find many people claim knowledge, but few really know what they are doing.
I spent the last several months learning the intricacies of Cascading Style Sheets. You see, a website that was constructed 5 years ago or more was done using HTML tables. That way is obsolete, yet many are still doing it. Between the books I read, the online videos I watched, and the time I spent actually doing it, I spent more time on the subject than if I had taken a course at a university.
I learned that there are probably only 30 or less basic web designs. The infinite variety of websites is a result of manipulating the CSS.
It’s best when you have the CSS in a CMS – a content management system, which is the latest wrinkle in web design. But that is another speech.
I also learned to delegate it to other people who I can trust so I can concentrate on the business. But I have enough knowledge to look under the hood and make repairs – and determine who knows what they are talking about and who is faking it.
However, the most basic form of communication – speaking and listening – is never going to go out of style. That’s why I am in Toastmasters. Speaking and listening are skills that need to be constantly honed.
I am obviously a dinosaur. When I talk to my children about days before computers, cell phones or cable TV, I feel a bit obsolete. I have yet to figure out all the functions on my 4 remote controls.
Yet, I am surviving because I keep adapting. My secret? Going to Toastmasters every week. Every meeting I learn something new, laugh a little, and enjoy the camaraderie of my fellow Toastmasters. You can’t become extinct when you have to give a speech!
I am currently reading the book “Why GM Matters.” I recently finished the books “Gamble” about the war in Iraq and “What Would Google Do?” In addition, I am trying to assimilate “Web Design for ROI.”
Although these books are all different on the surface, I realize that all of them are about corporate culture. It’s a term Mike uses a lot.
The only way GM can survive, according to the book, is by changing their corporate culture — making more innovative and less bureaucratic. The author details some of the changes that have been going on for several years. It’s the vision and leadership of a few people that can determine the fate of hundreds of thousands.
Same thing with “Gamble.” It’s about the complete change that Gen. David Petraeus had to implement to keep Iraq from descending into hell. His plan was not well-received and he had many, many political obstacles to overcome. But he had a vision and a team and they changed the dynamic.
“What Would Google Do?” gives ideas on how to think outside the box — and how Google’s mindset has changed almost everything in society. I am currently trying to build membership for my synagogue. My idea? Lower membership dues and increase the base!
These are ideas and thinking processes that Michael covers in “Flexible Thinker.”
As a small business owner, I have no concept of office politics and trying to influence a huge bureaucracy. However, I constantly have to stay sharp and re-invent myself. I am redoing my website. There is no such thing as resting on your laurels in small business and failure is an option. My business has been steady this year and I am paying my bills. Not an insignificant accomplishment. Reading books is one way to “sharpen the saw” and I recommend it to other entrepreneurs.
Tags: Change Management, competitive advantage, disruptive technology, human resources, Organizational Culture
I am following the news in the Raleigh News & Observer about former Governor Mike Easley’s saga of political influence.
Much of it centers around his relationship with McQueen Campbell. McQueen is a great guy. He is very unassuming and has a thick NC drawl.
McQueen joined both of the Toastmaters Club I was associated with — High Noon and Talkmasters. He was eager to get his Competent Communicator award and thought that by joining two clubs, he could do it faster.
I was suprised to find out after a few meetings that he was chairman of the NCSU and Easley’s pilot. When McQueen started Toastmasters, he was a bit awkward and nervous. However, he soon improved and let his sense of humor shine through. He enjoyed talking about flying and gave a very funny speech about what to do when the pilot has a heart attack. His main advice, “Your first job is to land the plane!” It was a humorous speech with a serious message.
I always wondered why politicians spend so much time and money to get elected to offices that don’t pay all that well. Mary Easley’s $180,000/year position at NC State sure seems like a plum position.
I don’t believe that McQueen did anything wrong. I feel sorry for him the way he is being raked over the coals by the media and being forced to resign from his position. I can only imagine the stress and lawyer bills he is accumulating as he fights the charges.
Although I usually side with the MSM on issues, it’s clear that they have used innuendo to indict to McQueen. However, I also think it’s time that politicians actually keep their promises and worry about their constituents and not their private pocketbooks.
Tags: Organizational Culture, Toastmasters
I am very blessed to have 2 outstanding children — Rachel & Daniel. Rachel was recently laid off from her job in a midsized accounting firm and Daniel is a student at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzilya, Israel.
As are many people across the globe, they are being impacted by today’s economic chaos. I look around and see the world changing faster than any of us imagined.
The one certainty is there will be a long time of uncertainty. There are no such things as stable jobs in today’s world. I feel much better off as a mom & pop operation with low overhead than I would as a senior executive at General Motors.
I am convinced that a college education is a minimum requirement in today’s economy, but not quite sure of the reasons. I told Daniel yesterday that colleges are creating priests for a church that doesn’t exist. If the goal of a college degree is to get a steady paycheck, that is just not going to happen. I don’t care what field you are in or what degree you earn, the world has changed and there is no going back.
I am reading the book “What Would Google Do.” The author makes the point that fast is the new big. As an entrepreneur, I have been constantly changing my business. Rachel complained that there are too many ideas and course changes as we strive to launch the idea of wholesale Search Engine Optimization. Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t. Maybe taking over the whole website and becoming a webmaster is a better course of action.
What are Rachel’s chances of landing a job that paid as well as she had right of college? I don’t think they are that great. But fortunately, I have a need for her services and can teach her skills that she cannot learn in a classroom. How to sell, how to deal with clients, how to market. Real world stuff. I just hope that Rachel understands that it is her business to run and doesn’t look at it as a placeholder while she finds an ideal job. If she does that job, great. But in the interim, I need her skills to grow my business. We are very fortunate that there are no pressing obligations — mortgage, children, etc — that tie her down.
Daniel understands what I am doing. Daniel gave me the ultimate compliment when he said he was finally appreciating what I have accomplished. Daniel appreciates my attitude of “I don’t care what other people think, I’ll do my own thing.” It hasn’t always been easy, but I have done it my way. Daniel is trying to get an entrepreneurial scholarship to help African war refugees in Israel. He knows that HelpGetYourWebsiteFound.com is his business — though decisions are collaborative.
Can we thrive, not just survive, in this economic climate? There is no alternative. I pray that my children learn the lessons of trying new things and constantly innovating to stay one step ahead of the competition.
Tags: competitive advantage, increasing sales, thinking differently
I am a business student at the Raphael Recanti International School at IDC Herzliya and this past semester I had the privilege of being a student in Dr. Tal Ben Shachar’s class Positive Psychology. Tal is a Best Seller for his book titled Happier and he was a former professor at Harvard where he had over 1500 students enrolled in his class. Tal’s class focused on adjustments we can make in our daily lives that will make us happier in the long run. He explained concepts like finding the good in every situation, the importance of being able to leave your comfort zone and test yourself, and the importance of being able to learn from failures. To paraphrase what Tal said in one of the first classes I am not going to teach you anything new, but I am going to chip away the stone so that we will be able to find a new and happier reality. My background is as a business student and as an entrepreneur, and I was able to apply the lessons he taught in both my personal life and in my business life. A happy person is one who is willing to take risks. Of course he may fail at first, but only from this failure can one improve. The same is true for entrepreneurs. Some people are content to go with the status quo, but what makes an entrepreneur special is that he is willing to go out on the limb and take risks. Of course there is a chance of failure, but unless we take these chances the opportunity for growth does not exist. Also, as an entrepreneur we need to work to find the good in situations even when hope seems lost. This current economy presents challenges that have never seen before. However, through creativity and ingenuity one can still stand out from the crowd.
Tags: Entreprenuer, IDC Herzliya, Positive Pyschology, Tal Ben Shachar
Yesterday I got an e-mail from my alma mater — the University of Illinois at Champaign. Instead of deleting it automatically, I opened it.
At the bottom was a little blurb that a professor, Glenn Hanson, had passed away.
Talk about memories. I graduated class of ‘74 with a degree in journalism. I don’t even want to think how many lifetimes ago that was.
The only thing I still remember is Glenn Hanson’s typography class. In his class, I learned the difference between Helvetica and Times Roman. I learned how to layout pages, resize photographs, think in points and picas.
My friend, Matt O’Connor of the Chicago Tribune, remembers me coming into class late and Mr. Hanson would always take note of it by yelling “Rosenberg!” Everyone thought I was a favorite — but Mr. Hanson had strict standards and there was no easy grades in his class. (I think I got a “B”…)
Everyday I use what I learned in his class. I certainly have no design sense, but I do know how to work with graphic artists. I know the basics of good design and readability. The word “propinquity” is a word that I have never heard since — but it meant keeping the elements together.
Also, I remember he taught us the importance of line lenght — 1.5 alphabets was the preferred length for “readability.”
I have lost track of Mr. Hanson, but often thought I should contact him and see if he remembered me. He did when I came to an Alumni event many years ago. I want to thank him for the basic knowledge that has been so instrumental in my life.
It’s hard to remember a time when typesetters took material from manual typewriters. That layout was on a paper and that headline letters needed to be counted to make sure they would fit. I have dim recollections of a manual press and some press-on letters for headlines.
When I was a student, Mr. Hanson was so, so old. He was probably younger than I am today! I would love to know what he thought about all the design tools and software everyone has today. But the principles of good design that he taught so long ago are still relevant and important to my business.
Mr. Hanson, I will miss you. Thank you for your encouragement and sharing your knowledge.
Tags: presentation skills, training
There is a scary statistic that less than 5% of all university graduates ever bother to read more than 2 non-fiction books throughout their entire career. For many professionals, for instance, continuing education units are more of a nuisance than a benefit. How can you create a culture of learning when you yourself do not want to read more? The fact is, in order the essence of career performance is the ability to learn and adapt. It is the essence of dealing with leading change as well. After all, especially in today’s environment, if you are not moving forward, then you are moving backwards.
Tags: career performance, Change Management, culture, learning
Principles and Procedures For Faster, Cheaper And Better Learning
I always love to hear course design guru Thiagi speak. He consistently gets away with saying things that no other keynote in the world can. At the International Alliance of Learning, I had the privilege once again in hearing his ‘pearls of wisdom’. Strangely enough, it was not just what he said that intrigued but the hand-out. He put together a list of principles and procedures that in my opinion provide a very good basis for course design. Here are his 12 principles for faster, better, cheaper course design:
1. Let the inmates run the asylum. Invite participants to generate learning content and conduct the training activities. This works closely with Dave Meier’s dictum on accelerated learning that if you are tired after a training event, you have worked too hard and the learners have not worked hard enough.
2. Content is abundant. Incorporate existing content in your training.
3. It’s the activity, stupid. Don’t waste your time in designing content. Invest it in designing training activities.
4. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Use templates for presenting content, designing activities, and structuring learning events.
5. It isn’t over – ever. Use feedback from every training session to continuously improve the training package.
6. Show me the cash. Use external results as the only way to evaluate training.
7. Face reality. Use authentic assessment for your final test, authentic activities for practice exercises, and authentic examples for illustrating content.
8. Open minds with open questions. Require and reward higher-order thinking.
9. Walk in all directions. Design your training concurrently and iteratively.
10. Avoid analysis paralysis. Don’t spend more than 5 minutes for the initial analysis.
11. Build the airplane while flying it. Design training while delivering it.
12. Think outside the box. Use creative approaches to your training and creative responses from your participants.
Here are Thiagi’s list of procedures for creating learning courses.
1. Specify logistics. Figure out the local resources, constraints, and administrative details.
2. Conduct initial analysis. Do a 5-minute analysis to specify metrics for the results.
3. Construct tests. Construct authentic final tests and subtests. Arrange the subtests in a sequence.
4. Accumulate materials. Collect existing content, activity templates, and testing formats.
5. Design rapidly. Work with SMEs and participants to design different modules in a slapdash fashion.
6. Align everything. Mare sure that the activities, content and tests are congruent with each other. Periodically check the linkages among the modules.
7. Repeat. Repeat the previous steps as many times as needed.
8. Deliver. Deliver, evaluate, revise and repeat.
9. Keep tweaking. Keep improving the training package (until you die).
I know that we, like other quality course designers, have applied these principles and procedures intuitively and Thiagi has once again said them simply and brilliantly. As any good educator or course designer will tell you, it is more important to focus on the design of activities because you can use content that already exist. After all the success of learning is not just about memorizing information, it is applying it.