What Makes a Great Working Relationship Actually Work?

Filed Under Business Life, Successful Blog | 7 Comments

Who Does the Work? Who Benefits?

I’ve been a freelance writer, an online publisher, and a strategic consultant. I’ve handled a multi-state whole sale consumer products accounts, selling to big chains and to mom and pop stores. I’ve presented huge educational programs to state boards of education and made deals with publishers on four continents. I’ve built a successful conference and convinced big brand sponsors to partner with us. I led the strategy that turned around a failing company. Most of what I know about getting folks to work with me I’ve learned the hard way, by doing things wrong and adjusting out when those things didn’t work.

But I pay attention … especially to one question that makes a working relationship actually work.

Working relationships work because an exchange of value occurs. Value can be currency, time, resources, risk, or sharing a network. Somehow in the best working relationships a balance seems to keep itself, without any party too closely monitoring the score.

So if you’re looking to start a new working relationship, you might want to do a little more work before you event start.

• Know what you offer to the partnership. What can you bring that I don’t have, but would help me to my goals?
• Know what you ask of it. What could I offer in return that would do the same for you?
• Make sure the two are balanced, aligned, defined, and limited in scope. “I”ll do X. What I ask is you do Y. Those two things should move us both forward. Would that work for you? We could try it once as a proof of concept to see whether it works.”
• Then consider that a promise, a pact, a contract made in your words so that you work your butt off to keep to it.

Investors call that “share risk, share the benefit.”
Working partnership might think of it as “share the workload, share the win.”

It’s a great way to get everyone working at what we do well and still get everything done. It’s also a great way to make an offer to a new client.

What makes your great working relationships work?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

What Makes a Blog Compelling?

Filed Under Business Life, Marketing, Successful Blog | 17 Comments

Talk to Me

What will make a blog compelling to a user?

It’s a favorite question. Getting people to come and stay is what I do, and talking about it is almost as much fun. I might have said it in a slightly more corporate way, but what I answered was basically this.

Humanity is what’s compelling. We’re all hungry for a connection that makes us feel real.

Quality content that serves real human needs served up by a real human being is the combination of three things: head, heart, and practical meaning. Put them together and a blog — or rather one who writes it — can make a reader feel inspired, moved to action, and wholly alive.

People recognize the real deal.

Visitors to a barroom or a blog figure out quickly whether they get to be who they really are, and whether that’s okay with everyone already there.

Authenticity allows everyone to tell their own truth and feel valued for it.

When that “feeling valued” happens, we give back — in attention, participation, and loyalty. When we’re invested, we don’t walk away.

That’s the heart of compelling.

A compelling blog is human in every way.

What makes a blog compelling to you?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Recently, working with a client, I was asked the question,

Use the Power, Wonder Working Power in the Words

Filed Under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog, Writing | Leave a Comment

A Guest Post by Hollie Pollard

This week a christian hymn has rung in my head. The refrain goes like this “there is power, wonder working power in the blood”. With that song ringing in my head I got thinking about power and the power we have as bloggers. The dictionary defines power a couple of ways that I think applies to us as bloggers.

” ablitity to act or produce an effect” and “possession or control, authority, or influence over others”

Each of us who sit down to our computers to write has a power. Have you ever thought about the power behind your typed word? I have learned there is a power to words I and other bloggers use. We tap into that power each and every time our fingers hit the keyboard.

Every time we type we have the ability to become educators, entertainers, comedians, sharers, reporters, engagers, healers, builders of community and the list goes on. As a fairly new blogger I have realized there is power in the word and I have a responsibility with that power:

1. I must be authentic. My words have to be mine. I must share my way. I try hard not to compare myself to others in my niche. I think my story is pretty unique thus my perspective and twist may be different and may connect in ways others would not and with that comes power.

2. I want to inspire. I want to move people to action or at least engagement. In almost every post I try to achieve this goal. For me it is about finding ways to make life a little easier, a little simpler, a little less expensive but then I am a frugal mom blogger. I share how I am doing it. If I can get you to do something then I have tapped into that power.

3. I want to encourage. Every day there are enough trolls and critics. I find there is a real need for encouragers. We need more people willing to lift up others. After all don’t we all need our own cheering section. When I reach out to others I want to build community and lift it up and for me that is the best use of my power.

I have recognized that there is power in the word, wonder working power. Have you? What do you do to utilize the power that is your typed word and how can it make you more successful? For me, I feel successful as a blogger if I am able to tap into that power to be authentic, inspire and encourage.

How do you use the power of your words?

_____
Hollie is a solo flying frugal mom with a love for all things Internet related. You can find her blogging at Common Cents Mom or SimplyHollie.
You can find me tweeting at as well as @CommonCentsMom.

Hollie is also the winner of the FREE trip to SOBCon2010!

Thank you, Hollie!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz to become more visible on the web!!

How Your Instincts Will Blow It for You, if You Don’t STOP!

Filed Under Marketing, Successful Blog | 12 Comments

Strategy Is More Than Meets the Eye

When I was small I liked to hold up my thumb and index finger to frame a tall building in the horizon to make it seem as if the building was smaller than my hand. Today I took picture of the face of my full-sized keyboard that makes it appear as if all of the keys fit into less than a 2-inch high span.

We know it isn’t true, but our eyes want to believe it. Humans do that kind of thing a lot. Our senses and our instincts sometimes lead us down a shaky path. They tell us that the Earth is flat; that stars are tiny; and that when we are threatened we should fight or run.

It’s all perspective and assumptions.

How Your Instincts Will Blow It for You, if You Don’t STOP!

We have a conflict in a meeting, get a nasty comment on Twitter or some writes a critical blog post about us and instinct kicks in. Our hearts start pumping and our minds begin to form a defense. It’s the “flight or fight” instinct and it will blow it for us, if we don’t watch out.

Few things in our work or social lives need the protection from deadly consequence of the fight or flight instinct. We’re more rational now. Yet the reptile part of our brains still emits the adrenalin that makes us want to respond more quickly than our thinking. We’re ready to put out fires, but the best firefighters focus on the results.

If we respond while we’re still focused on the event, our perspective and assumptions are like the pictures of the building and keyboard — out of proportion to reality. We lose sight of other points of view and possibilities. Other people become tiny enough to squash. It’s easy to snap, crack, bend, or break something or ourselves, only to find out later that we didn’t have the whole plot.

Hard as it might be to STOP and walk it off, a little time and distance from the “event” usually brings a clearer, calmer and more appropriate response.

• Think about every possible reason, ludicrous and crazy that might have caused the event.
• Think of how hard it might be to explain your fury to a stranger 10 years from now.
• Realize the power you give when you take on the defense.
• Decide how the person you want to be would rise to a response.
• Think of the impact of your response on the people around you. If you respond on the Internet, think how you’ll see that response 1, 2, or 10 years from now when you see your words again.

You might question the behavior. You might ignore it. You might express your thoughts and future expectations. Or you might end a relationships because you’ve found out that your values don’t match up. It’s unlikely that you’ll instinctively throw water on a grease fire and make things worse.

Strategy is not automatic. Strategy is doing what works.

How do you keep your instincts from blowing for you?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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To FAIL Is Human, to Respond Is …

Filed Under Customer Think, Marketing, Successful Blog | 6 Comments

Who Always Gets a Perfect Score?

So we put our heads and our hearts together into what we do.

In this environment, we think fast. We move fast. We execute with the information that’s available. Sometimes we make the wrong choice. Sometimes the other guy gets there first. Sometimes what we built doesn’t work the way we thought it would.

We could put up a sign to let folks know that working on it.

But when the sign goes up often enough to become an icon, when people make new versions that involve Home Simpson and tattoos, then we’re an exponential FAIL. We all know about Twitter FAIL FAIL FAIL. But we’re not Twitter and we don’t have millions of new accounts signing on everyday.

One little fail can knock down a whole lot of good that we’ve built up.

What’s critical is our response.

• Hear the problem.
• Learn.
• Thank the people who found it for helping you.

When people point out a FAIL, stand beside them. Look where they are pointing.
It’s so much more productive than standing in front of them and feeling pointed at.

Always remember there’s a person on the other end of the issue.

To FAIL is human, to respond is more than service. That’s when humanity and character show through. Relationships built in a FAIL situation, often become FAIL SAFE in the end.

When has a FAIL served you?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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