121: How Do You Get from Strategy to Execution?

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An Execution . . . [grin]

Dawud, Do I hear you laughing from sending this question? DAWUD MIRACLE asked me (and you),

What do you feel is necessary to create an effective strategy to promote a business?

I shall rise to the challenge. I shall not be intimidated . . . much.

Strategy and promotion in the last question. Strategy and execution in this one. I’m wondering whether you stay up all night thinking of how to make me work?

Strategy and Execution . . . or Strategy and Tactics

This is a place I could write a book by talking. After five minutes, my husband would say, “Honey, don’t make me live it.” Most publishing projects I’ve worked on, including those I’ve been in charge of, have gotten this wrong in some way.

It’s almost impossible to get the transition from strategy to execution/tacitics just right . . . it’s like becoming a person. In fact, this particular challenge is one of the reasons that I get so jazzed about business. I believe it has made me a better human being — granted, it can go either way.

The main problem that happens is best described this way.

The project is over. Time to do the prototype.

My best tactic is to spend 80% of my time in strategy. I fight myself and everyone on a project to plan deep and build protoypes that are highly defined and agreed upon. Execution is a breeze when everyone knows what the definition of “good work” is, what direction to walk in.

So the way I get from strategy to execution is really to have a strategy, one in which outlines in detail what we are building. The next step is to look at three things closely– People, Quality, and Resources — and how to manage them on a daily basis — Process (information flow).

I actually draw boxes to show how the project will move from one phase to another. In the boxes I write what people and resources I might need to shore things up. I make sure I know what information comes together when.

By the way, I’m no good at doing this in my head or alone. The people involved have to talk it out to make sure that there aren’t gaping holes. When we describe a realistic process, we build in 10% more time for that problem that no one ever expects that always comes.

If I have a clean desk and a schedule for those boxes, when a strategy is planned, I’m more than ready to hit the ground running.

And since this is a one2one conversation . . . and I’m inherently currious . . . to Dawud, (and you too)

I’m sending the question right back.
What do YOU feel is necessary to create an effective strategy to promote a business?.

If youâ€™re reading this, Iâ€™d love to hear your answer too.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

One2One is a cross-blog conversation. You can see the entire One-2-One Conversation series on the Successful Series page.

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121: What’s the Key to a Promotion Strategy?

Filed Under 121 Conversation, Business Life, Successful Blog | 5 Comments

A Strategic Conversation

Where we left the conversation, DAWUD MIRACLE asked me (and you),

What do you feel is necessary to create an effective strategy to promote a business?.

Wow! I’m grinning. Okay, Dawud, you’ve got me now. Strategy and promotion in one question. Hmmmm. I bet my readers will do better than I do on this one. Maybe I’d better unpack the question first.

Strategy . . . I’ve always liked the idea but forth in the book, Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant. Much of why I like it is in the title — find an uncontested space where competition is not. The idea is simple. . . . Why swim in the shark invested blood-red ocean where the fight is always on? Why not swim in the calm blue ocean where I can be a category of one?

For once in my life, maybe the fact that I’m different (you are too — right?) can be a fabulous plus if I turn it to my advantage. That’s a strategic thought!

Strategy for promotion . . . As I look back I see a two-part blue ocean-type strategy that has been a part of tpromoting the business I’ve built behind Successful-Blog.

A great product is its own promotion. I’ve created unique value my ideal customers love. The Perfect Virtual Manager — even the concept that we all deserve a personal manager as a rock star might have — has been helping entrepreneurs, small businesses, and a corporation or two take a new look. We’re working as partners to focus their business and find their ideal customers. The PVM is a one-of-a-kind business support structured around a foundational plan I’ve built during 22 years of training people who teach.

The new series, Inside-Out Thinking, in like manner, is unique in an Internet of “me too” content. It promotes itself. The series is something readers need and hasn’t been offered before. The series provides the hows and whys about building a solid business foundation and finding the ideal customers who love what we love to do. By conceiving and designing from my own experience and proven track record — yours might not be where mine is, but you have yours — I’ve created something others cannot also create. They can follow, but they can’t duplicate it.

Open Comment Night, the Virtual Conference last March, this one2one conversation that we’re sharing are all value offerings that I can create unique customer value. Soon enough as I focus my content in the areas that reflect what I’m particularly good at discussing, my competition begins to fade.

Promotion. Promotion is easiest when you ask cusomters to choose between two options:

A. YOU
B. Everyone else in the world.

Here’s my most effective promotion strategy.

Set up a choice between me and the rest of the world. Then promote the rest of the world.

And since this is a one2one conversationâ€¦ to Dawud, (and you too)

How important is strategy to your business? How does your strategy get built?

If youâ€™re reading this, Iâ€™d love to hear your answer too.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

One2One is a cross-blog conversation. You can see the entire One-2-One Conversation series on the Successful Series page.

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121: What Makes Your Heart Sing?

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What Makes Your Heart Sing?

DAWUD MIRACLE asked me (and you),

Whatâ€™s one, core thing that makes your heart sing? Could be anything. But something that really blows your heart wide open.

Aw, Dawud, that’s too easy . . . I love the view from outer space and from inside your computer.

All of my life I’ve been about people. There’s you, Chris, Sandy, Wendy, Lorelle who knows Chrisg, my essential man, Terry, Sean R., Jeff, a BawldGuy Talking, and so many more.

and how they learn. I’ve been teaching since I was ten. Put that together with love of relationships — connections in information and connections between people and you’re getting close to who I am.

Of course I love my family. I love music. I love dancing.

But I’m a saturation kind of a person. I dedicate myself to one thing. When I do something I don’t just pick it up. I don’t get just involved. I go on a quest. What makes my heart beat and gets my head focused is . . . is building things, playing with strategies and concepts, focusing visions, getting rid of the muck and showing folks how to unstuck and helping people chose their customers and attract them.

I especially love helping folks who aren’t sure what they should be doing.

It’s fun to help people discover where their passion lies. I guess it appeals to the a teacher in me. Just let me start with a question. Then I get to do go looking for relationships while I’m listening to another person talking — two of my favorite things.

I keep asking questions and in the words I hear folks describe the people and ideas that they would love to spend their waking hours with.

By the time I start mentioning what I’m observing, I’ve already got a big smile on my face. It’s so fun to say, “hey, did you hear that? It was beautiful what you just said. Did you notice how many times you’ve talked about . . .? You seem to be really into . . .?” And to hear back, “Oh yean, I guess I am.”

That’s when it gets just like two kids playing.

And they call this my work.

How could I not be jazzed!

I that that would be what makes my heart sing.

Everyone else, what makes YOUR heart sing?

And since this is a one2one conversationâ€¦ to Dawud, (and you too)

What’s the the part of business, besidss relationships, that you look forward to doing more of?

If youâ€™re reading this, Iâ€™d love to hear your answer too. –ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

One2One is a cross-blog conversation. You can see the entire One-2-One Conversation series on the Successful Series page.

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1 Conversation . . . 2 Blogs . . . 2 Directions

Filed Under 121 Conversation, Business Life, Successful Blog | 36 Comments

It started simply enough. Dawud and I talked about how to bridge our blogs with conversation. I would explain it. He would design it. Together we would work it out.

How cool is that?!!

We called it One-2-One . . . 1-2-1. It’s 1 conversation, in 2 directions.

If I was Dawud a great visual would be here. Imagine an arrow to Dawud’s blog and an arrow to you.

I write a question and send it to Dawud. The next day he posts his answer and ends with a question. . . . as he might in a conversation. That’s one direction.

While he answers, we can have our own conversation. That’s a second direction.

He’ll know my question when you do. I’ll know his answer when he posts it.
On his blog, the whole thing will work the same in reverse.

He and I won’t know beforehand â€“ no problem. . . . itâ€™s conversation about

business
strategy
social networking
tangents.

Conversations are unpredictable. That’s what makes them fun.
All conversation is an experiement in finding what we know. Isn’t it?

Question Question Question

Hereâ€™s my question.

When I go to your blog I get the feeling there’s a back room behind your blog where you work. What work do you do there?

Find Dawud’s response tomorrow afternoon at DawudMiracle.com by the one-2-one logo.

Meanwhile, what kind of work do you do in the backroom of your blog?

One2One is a cross-blog conversation. You can see the entire One-2-One Conversation series on the Successful Series page.

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SOB Business Cafe 06-29-07

Filed Under Great Finds, Successful Blog | 13 Comments

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.