Successful Blog

The Sound of Words

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I've been thinking . . .

about the words inside my head.

If I were born deaf, would they be there?

I might care even more about words than the average writer. I don’t care as much about typographical errors. I try to wrestle errors down when I am able, but it’s the words and how they fit together that turn me on. . . . I like the way they look on the screen and on paper. I like the way they sound in my head as I think them.

I think about what individual words mean. Words like know, understand, comprehend — I spend time deciding which one to use. Sometimes I go for the musical ones — despicable sounds like a drummer drumming, sincerity sounds a tango is ready to begin.

I keep a Special Categoy, a healing place, for the words that need their meaning back . . . Most have suffered the torture of being locked onto holiday cards. peace, joy, compassion. forgiveness, joy. greetings, good will

Words connect us and with the sound of voices. We use them to seal our pacts. I do. I love you. I promise. All of those are more than words.

Words explain what we do and who we are.

Love, hope, destiny, conversation, imagination, creativity, freedom. understanding, faith, brave kind

We are so hungry to be heard. We sometimes talk about anything.

Sometimes people listen to the words we say.

I read that. . . . People born deaf have no words. If they learn sign that’s the language of how they think. The signs are their words. They even sign in their sleep.

I don’t suppose people born deaf feel brave or alone without words inside their heads. Yet I imagine they still have the same wish to be heard.

Brave and vulnerable is what it takes to stand tall when so many people can’t stop to listen to our most important words.

What happens to our words when we forget to listen?

Liz's Signature

121: Help! I'm Lost — My Business Is Out of Control

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one2one blog post logo

Wandering through the Woods

I just got done reading Dawud’s answer to my question . . . What advice would you give to a friend whose audience wasn’t his niche market group? He laid out a set of six factors that the person might consider to refocus again.

At the end of his article, Dawud left me (and you) with a question.

So Liz, what would you suggest my friend do if they looked around and found themselves lost with their business?

Being lost is not a fun thing. I get that way on a regular basis, so I ought to know.

Whether we’re walking through the woods by the river in my old hometown, or navigating the issues of a business that seems out of control, getting lost is a real situation that we can only deny for so long. Walking in circles doesn’t get us anywhere.

If your friend is stuck, the first I would do is introduce myself and ask him to sit down. Then we’d take a moment to breathe.

I’d let him know that I’m on his side and that no one stays lost for long. He’d get a few minutes to tell me about his journey.

Only a few minutes. . . . no point in spending time talking about what isn’t working, at least not while we’re still lost.

If it’s possible, I get your friend out of his usual work environment. The best would be to get outside where there is sky and trees. Figuring out how to unbundle and unburden chaos is so much easier when we’re not surrounded by human-made things. As a second choice any neutral ground will do.

Then I’d ask, “Who are you What do you love doing? Who loves what you love to do?” My guess is that he’d probably try to tell me why he’s not doing it. I’m kind of relentless at times like that — I wouldn’t let him talk about how he got lost.

You can’t get “unlost” until you know where you are and where you want to go.

Some folks take longer than other folks, but we’d talk until I understood what his answers to those three questions are. All along the conversation, I’d keep checking to make sure that I was hearing what he said.

When we agreed that we both had a clear picture of who he is, what he loves doing, and who loves what he does, then we’d return to the state of his business now.

With the first part decided, the second part becomes easier. Hold up the business to day to see how it’s not doing what we’ve just defined. Then carve the path to bring reality back in line with the definition.

That’s how I’d start to help your friend who is lost.

Many paths lead out of the woods. How would you help a business friend who is lost?

And Dawud, I’ll leave you with this question for next week.

What do you do when your business is going well and close friend’s is not?

If you’re reading this, I’d love to hear your answer too.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

One2One is a cross-blog conversation. Find the answer at dawud miracle on Monday. You can see the entire One-2-One Conversation series on the Successful Series page.

Personal Integrity: Sometimes a List Is Just a List

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This is an invitation for a conversation on personal integrity and how we, as humans, interact. In this case, I’m having what might be called an examination of conscience.

Every person comes to his or her own views on religion and politics. I respect and honor those. I’d like to keep this conversation focused on the personal and the individual, not the national or international. Conversations on political or social problems are better and more deeply thought through in places other than on this blog in a single blog post. Please note that contributions that obviously belong in those other discussions will be not be posted here.

I need space to be understood and offer that personal space to the people I meet. If you are new or a long-time commenter, please feel welcome to discuss your views on the problem below. I truly would appreciate your wisdom and counsel.

There is, as always, only one rule here: Be nice.

Can we talk about . . .

personal integrity.

Last night, I put up a list of Women Bloggers. People have every right to question my doing that. I did too. I still am. It’s a matter of personal integrity.

I don’t speak a great deal about link lists on my blog, but it’s not hard to know my feelings about link lists that were made to boost rankings or game the system. So why did this one elicit a different response from me?

Did I cross my own line? Was I seduced by unconscious peer pressure? Was my reasoning really just a rationalization? Or was I being the complicated person I am? Humans are nothing if not complicated beings.

Too much information makes this problem bigger than I am. Yet I think it’s worth exploring, because we face dilemmas of this nature every day. What contributes to such decisions, I wonder?

Here’s what I know unequivocably.

As I begin writing, I don’t know for sure why I made the list.

I do know this. I invested close to 3 hours putting my part of the list together, despite the fact I worried about the people I would leave out. I find the list a resource because sometimes a woman’s point of view is what’s needed. Last night proved that I don’t know enough of them. Even now two blogs come to mind that I wish I had remembered to include.

When I first saw the W-List, my plan was to say “thank you and move on.” Sometime last night that plan changed. Several factors might have influenced such decisions come to be. Here are the influences and the questions those raise for me as I look back.

  • Who I am as a person — I am an individual who creates my own path. I don’t feel I’ve be obstructed unfairly — Was it link love or a sell out?
  • My history — I grew up with brothers in an all boys’ neighborhood. Don’t you dare say I throw like a girl — Was I honoring women or leaving out men?
  • I was on the list — Was it ego or gratitude?
  • New versions of the list were coming up, always with new content added by the blogger who offered it — Was it appreciation or peer pressure?
  • The fact that I was surprised by the number of great blogs I had not seen before — Was it guilt or a wish to share?

Who knows what other factors might have been an unconscious part? I went back to my “Dear Emperor” post this morning. I can say I passed the test that I set.

As they say in the world of law, we might be able to prove possible motive, but we cannot ever know someone else’s intent. I’m finding now it’s not that easy even to know my own every time.

At the end of writing this . . . it’s been close to two hours and then, I’ve taken out 60% of what I wrote . . . but I know more. I state it calmly and gently here with my head and my heart.

I celebrate the women bloggers on the list. By giving to them, I take nothing from the men I esteem. I only wish I had taken the time to celebrate the men too.

As a child I knew, sometimes my parents celebrated one of their children without mentioned the other two. Yet each of one of us was always their favorite.

One lesson that I have always had trouble with is that when I’m not included it’s rarely about me. (And when I am, that’s usually not about me either.)

Sometimes is just a list.

Gosh, thanks for listening. Feel free to disagree.

Liz's Signature

As a following note: Before I leave, I’d like to mention that I don’t believe much in fate or omens, but I do enjoy delicious irony and blogger synchronicity. When I awoke I found these. Brief Case Study: Liz Strauss appreciating readers on Successful Blog through comments and through encouragement awards and Now, Make me feel important! who pointed me to The W (and M) List – Promoting Quality Bloggers

The W-List: Gathering a List of Outstanding Women Bloggers

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Hear the Women

PR PowerWomen-logo

Meet some spectacular women in blogging.

ToddAnd made the Marketing Power150. It was built to offer some organization and respect to the wide world of marketing blogs. The Power 150, based on an algorithm of five ratings, is now a partnership between ToddAnd and AdAge.

Yesterday, Valeria Maltoni at Conversation Agent shared the list of Women’s PR blogs that was originally pulled from Todd’s list by Kami Huyse at Communications Overtones. Valeria points out the focus on and the power of male bloggers in the blogosphere.

The statistic Kami drew out is valid pretty much all over the place. Go to Fast Company Expert blogs where I post every Thursday and count the males and female bloggers — 26 to 6.

Are there truly 5+ to 1 men bloggers to women bloggers? Why should we care?

We should care because women are great at conversation, strategy, and writing. We should care for the same reason that no one should be overlooked.

So Valeria has made a suggestion.

Maybe we can start a W-List to help us all discover great blogs authored by women.

I’ve been exploring these blogs since yesterday. I’m proud to present them. I’m surprised at the one I didn’t know were out there. With that in mind, I’m passing on the entire list with these additions:

The W-List

I’ve incorporated the above blogs in the list.

Now the list seems to be filling out nicely. What women bloggers can you add?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Is your business stuck? Check out the Start-up Strategy Package. Work with Liz!!

Do A Survey to Focus Your Business

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Our Customers Know

insideout logo

Have you noticed? Everything about setting up a business requires clean decisionmaking that comes from both heart and head. In other words, to do it well, we have to know who we are.

My friend, Dawud Miracle, and I take that idea seriously. We don’t just discuss it in the one2one conversations on our blogs. We talk about it on the telephone and via email whenever the need strikes, which is often enough.

A few weeks ago, I asked Dawud how I might help a client get to his core offer and together we decided a survey might be one way to go. If you’re feeling a bit the same way, let’s see how a survey would help.

A Survey to Focus Your Business

The single greatest value that I bring to a client relationship is the truthful perception of someone who is not them. I stand outside their business and tell them what a naive, intelligent customer sees.

Getting focus means seeing who we are and what we do well. If the picture is too foggy, it’s helpful to have several points of view against which to test our perceptions of ourselves.

An informal survey can gather those points of view.

A Survey to Focus Your Business

Let’s start with the survey itself. Here are some survey questions to make this happen for you. You’ll notice a blank for your name or the name of your business.

  1. What kind of work does _____ love doing? Why do you think so?

  2. What successes can you point to that _____ has had in the past? What does _____ do better than almost everyone else?

  3. If you were to recommend _____ to a close friend, what would you say?

  4. Do you see any disconnects in what _____ loves doing and does well, and what _____ could be doing to serve customers?

  5. What do you think _____ can promise to deliver that people really need? Are you confident that _____ would keep that promise? What makes you think so?

  6. Would you count on _____ to deliver on that promise? What makes you think as you do?

Only six questions, but use them well and they’ll get some critical information.

Putting the Survey to Work for You

Sometimes the key is asking questions. Sometimes the key is having someone ask for you. To get a true picture of how folks see your business, I recommend that you allow them to talk a friend anonymously rather than having them write to you.

People often say the best things about us when we’re not listening.

Let’s get this survey rolling.

  1. Ask a friend to be an interviewer.

  2. Provide the interviewer with no more than 7 questions. Use the ones above to get you started. Ask interviewer to help you word any additional questions so that they leave room for explanation.

  3. Identify no fewer than 5 people who are familiar with your business or your performance at businesslike tasks. Have the interviewer help you choose folks who can give an informed response. Work toward a list that represents the customers you want.

  4. Discuss with the interviewer the best way to introduce the interview to each person on your list. Make it a goal together to set up a high-trust situation so that each respondent can answer freely.

  5. Have the interviewer contact the people on the list and conduct the interviews.

  6. Ask the interviewer to compile the constructive information into a summary or a bulleted list for each question. Respect respondent’s privacy. You’ll want to survey them again.

  7. Discuss a plan of action with the interviewer. He or she was heard the responses and so can say whether your reaction is the right size for the information gathered. He or she knows whether you need to find out more on some points.

  8. Use what you found with what you know about yourself and your business to
    • Decide what businesslike thing you love doing.
    • Choose your ideal customer.
    • What you can promise and deliver to the ideal customer you want to serve.

  9. Introduce changes you’ve identified into your business slowly and one at a time.

Information from people who know us is the most valuable data we can find. When we put it with what we know about ourselves and what we do well, we can make incredible things happen.

How might you use a survey to improve your business?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Is your business stuck? Check out the Start-up Strategy Package. Work with Liz!!

Related
To follow the entire series: Liz Strauss’ Inside-Out Thinking to Building a Solid Business, see the Successful Series Page.

The Mic Is On: We're Talking About Blog History . . .

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It’s Like Open Mic Only Different

The Mic Is On

Here’s how it works.

It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME.
The rules are simple — be nice.

There are always first timers and new things to talk about. It’s sort of half “Cheers” part “Friends” and part video game. You don’t know how much fun it is until you try it.

The History of Blogging!

Here’s a few ideas to get us started:

  • How blogging started
  • Personal Stories
  • Traditions
  • Facts

And, whatever else comes up, including THE EVER POPULAR, Basil the code-writing donkey.

Oh, and bring links about the history of blogging to share!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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