Successful Blog

SOB Business Cafe 07-16-09

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SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking — articles, books, podcasts, and videos about business online written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Levite Chronicles
You are going to talk to some people this week who aren’t completely upbeat.

in over your head
If I do this boring job long enough and well enough, I’ll be promoted to the job that’s fast-paced and exciting. That’s the job I really want.

Talking Story with Say Leadership Coaching
I doubt anyone micromanages intentionally. No one likes to think they are being accused of doing it, and no one wants to be on the receiving end of a micro-manager’s reach.

Virtual Impax
Social Media is shifting the balance of power in the relationship between consumers and the businesses that serve them from caveat emptor (buyer beware) to caveat venditor (seller beware) and the easy to use mass communication tool known as social media is the sole reason for this shift.

Remarkable Communication
Does any of this have anything at all to do with writing, blogging, or communication?
Of course it does, silly!

If you can’t dye your hair pink at the moment, you can still write like someone who does.

Related ala carte selections include

AdRants
Vandalism of a whole new kind?

Middle Zone Musings
And I remember when he wrote his first comment on this blog.

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Are You Making Your Business Decline Happen? What Are You Doing to Manage to Growth?

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Let’s Cut Back to One Catalogue

Working Plans logo

The story isn’t an urban legend. It’s what happens everywhere about this time … or times like this. Budgets are tight or gone. Managers, marketers move from fear rather than from confidence. They don’t believe in the products that once were doing so well and suddenly are not.

The answer is too often some version of …

“Let’s make fewer products. Put out fewer catalogues.”
“Right, why not have only one product and get a single $100Million customer?”

“Let’s offer deep discounts”
“And let’s attract price-focused customers and tell our most loyal fans that our products and services aren’t worth the price they’ve been paying.”

See how we manage to make a decline happen?

Managing to Growth

decline

Managing to decline is a subtle of way of uninvesting moved by fear. We actually make our businesses decline and decline faster not supporting our work in the ways above.

Fear is a business killer.
Kill the fear by managing to make growth happen.

Rather than offering fewer products and fewer catalogues,
rather than slashing prices,
make new offers.

  • Look to the folks who are already buying what you offer and the folks you would most like to have as customers or clients. Ask them what you might build or offer to serve them. They’ll help you construct what they want.
  • Look at what sells and find ways to combine two great products with a new third product to make an entirely different — one that will attract friends of the customers you already have. New products get new prices.
  • Look to the experience of using your products or services. What’s making that experience difficult? Remove that. What could you add to make the experience awesome? Add that. You have another new offer.

Businesses grow when they have better products and services that meet more customer needs in more ways. Simple logic right?

Have you been making the decline in your business happen? What are you doing to manage to growth?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!
Buy the Insider’s Guide. Learn how to write so that the Internet talks back!

Open Mic Tonight 7pm Chgo Time: We're Going Bowling Wearing Crocs!

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Join Us Tonight

JOIN US TONIGHT AT 7PM

No Need to Bring Your Bowling Shoes!

Today is a double invitation. We’re going bowling in the comment box tonight … We’ll be talking about everything that goes with 21st century bowling, great music, bags, shoes, and t-shirts, the great people who show up, and how unpredictable it all is.

And we’ll be talking with

George Smith of Crocs

George knows a thing or two about shoes and t-shirts.

We’ll be bowling again at

BowlHer
a fabulous event by Collective Bias
at
Lucky Strike Lanes on Saturday, July 25th

Sign up here to attend.

Check out the swag Bag for the BowlHer event in Chicago!

Join us tonight to go bowling. 🙂

Oh, and bring links with pix that might remind us your bowling experiences.

The rules are simple — be nice.

Do be nice. 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related article
What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?

Thanks to Week 194 SOBs

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muddy teal strip A

Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Let me introduce the bloggers
who have earned this official badge of achievement,

and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

muddy teal strip A

lori-moreno
steve-boeses-hr-techonology
who-do-you-think-you-are

They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. Thie award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

deep purple strip

Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

The Mic Is On: We're Talking Online and Offline Cultures

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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.

It’s Not a Another Life …

When go to another country, when we talk on the telephone, we don’t say that we’re not in real life. But somehow we’ve started thinking that because we’re using our minds to connect online, we’re not in the real world. It’s a different culture with different rules that’s all.

  • How does trust work differently in different cultures?
  • How is coming online like going to another country?
  • How do you figure out who’s good and who is not in different cultures?
  • What makes relationships faster online?
  • What makes relationships misfire in person, on the phone, and on the Internet?
1045178_strange_world

And, whatever else comes up, including THE EVER POPULAR, Basil the code-writing donkey . . . and flamenco dancing (because we always get off topic, anyway.)

Oh, and bring example links.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
image: sxc.hu
Related article
What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?

Open Mic 7pm Chgo Time: Comparing Online and Offline Culture

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Join Us Tonight

JOIN US TONIGHT AT 7PM

It’s Not a Another Life …

When go to another country, when we talk on the telephone, we don’t say that we’re not in real life. But somehow we’ve started thinking that because we’re using our minds to connect online, we’re not in the real world. It’s a different culture with different rules that’s all.

Join us tonight to talk about it. 🙂

Oh, and bring example links that explain your thoughts. .

The rules are simple — be nice.

Do be nice. 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related article
What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?