Successful Blog

How to Build the Deeply Connected Network that Is Key to Any Strategy

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The Magnetic Attraction of Values

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When we were writing the press release for the first SOBCon, I said,

Every business is relationships, and relationships are everyone’s business.

Our networks are relationships with people who help our businesses thrive.

If you look to your network, what will you find? What moves you to follow up when you collect a business card or meet a new contact? What brings you to invite a new company or a new person into that network that keeps your business alive?

It’s been said that …

If you want to know what you stand for, look at your friends.

It’s true in business as well as in our personal lives. It’s not what you say. It’s what you do that counts. We define and describe our values by the relationships we make. The values of the company we keep attract other people who keep those same values. We trust people who value what we do. We know they’ll choose as we choose and decide as we decide.

It’s an almost automatic, magnetic attraction.
The attraction occurs so naturally that we often don’t notice our common values until we grow our network without attention. Then like a bad download, we add a relationship that corrupts and we feel the loss we get an unexpected and negative response that doesn’t match our values set.

Trust relies on having our values aligned.
Trusted sources are foundational to strategy.

How to Build the Deeply Connected Network that Is Key to Any Strategy

They say …

Information is power.

The most powerful information isn’t published in Wikipedia or available to the masses via simple research. The best jobs never make it to the job boards. The best partnerships don’t get offered to everyone. Competitors don’t advertise their disadvantages or their future plans. It’s impossible to know about every startup about to launch and every web application that could expedite what you’re currently developing. Yet that scarce information is the rocket fuel that drives a brilliant strategic plan.

Strategic information like that depends on a deeply connected, values-based network of relationships. Access to prized information is what advances your position more quickly than any other resource can.

Developing a deeply connected network that brings that information to you is key to any strategic plan.

Here’s how to build a power network like that.

  1. Know your values. Identify the values that need to be present to determine a “go” or “no go” decision in your business. Those values represent your brand and the foundation of the relationships that will help your business thrive.
  2. Use those values to identify the network relationships you want to establish and cultivate. The people and businesses who share your values will be predictable and easy to trust because they will make the same decisions as you would even when the situation is not clearly black and white.
  3. Become an information magnet and filter. Develop a sense of what information is available to everyone and what is not. Put to use what informs your position. Capture and catalogue scarce information that is irrelevant to you.
  4. Pass on to others in your network information you’ve captured that will improve their position. If you share a trend building, a competitive initiative, or a new tech development about to be announced that could change their strategy, you’ll soon find they are sharing similar information with you.
  5. Treat your network as highly valued. Offer them the same regard you would offer a world leader you admire. Hold them in the highest respect. Keep their secrets. Make time for them. Value their time even more than you value your own.
  6. Show your clear appreciation. Point out their great work. Have gratitude not expectation. Realize and appreciate their achievement by filtering the connections you offer them.
  7. Choose them wisely and trust their truth. Enlist only those willing to invest to equal depth. Seek a comrades that “won’t let each other fail.” Ask them often to challenge you to see and know the truth.

A deeply connected network isn’t measured by numbers, but by commitment. Five people who hold us to a true north outweigh 500 who say we’re always right. Reach for one or two who are willing to grow your mind, your heart, your resolve, and your vision as well as your bottom line and you’ll find that many more of the same kind will find their way to you.

A deeply connected network like that is irresistible.

On what values do you deeply connect?

Be irresistible.

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

Did You See the Netflix Movie that Bombed?

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As a business owner, you oftentimes have to put things out there and see what sticks.

What does stick can prove profitable, while other attempts can fall on deaf ears. Anyone remember the new Coke?

For business owners, effectively communicating with your customers and potential customers can mean the difference between turning a profit, breaking even and even going under.

Upset Customers are bad for Business

As many of you know, Netflix alerted subscribers a few months back that it was going to employ separate prices for its DVDs-by-mail and streaming video plans.

The end result would be a significant price increase for its customers, with the least expensive bill for customers who sought both services going from $10 to $16 a month. While $6 a month doesn’t sound like much, that is $72 a year that could go for other indulgences.

With the price increase kicking in this month, many Netflix subscribers indicated they would be turning elsewhere for their DVD and streaming video needs. Upset customers bombarded the Netflix site with countless comments, along with a barrage of tweets via the hashtag #DearNetflix.

According to the most recent data, it appears a significant number of those subscribers are holding true to their word.

Netflix recently trimmed its subscriber forecast for the present quarter, reporting it now expects to conclude the period with 24 million customers, some one million less than it had forecast just a few weeks back. When Netflix ended its second quarter at the end of June, it reported having 25.6 million global subscribers.

So, how did Netflix respond to this issue in hopes of righting the ship?

In yet another public relations nightmare, the company said it was separating its DVD mail rental and video streaming services, renaming the new DVD service Qwikster (the streaming service will remain under the Netflix name). Individuals who choose to both rent and stream videos will be required to log in to a pair of different sites and get two different credit card charges.

Research Ahead of Time Potential Fallout Issues

Not only have many subscribers expressed their dismay with the price increase, but they also were probably left scratching their heads as to the new name for the service.

As it turns out, Netflix apparently did not do enough research on the name Qwikster ahead of time, or officials would have known that the Qwikster name on social media venue Twitter is currently held by a male whose avatar is that of Elmo displaying a joint. Oops!

So not only now do you have a company upsetting many of its subscribers by hiking the costs for its popular service, but now you leave them confused with the name change, not even apparently taking the time to check and see who might hold that label on one of the most popular social media sites. Again, oops!

Due to the company’s recent gaffes, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings issued a statement to customers upset with the price increase for the service in recent weeks. “I messed up,” he remarked on the company blog and in an e-mail to subscribers. “I owe everyone an explanation.”

Running a successful business takes time and effort, but above all, the ability to always be one step ahead of the game.

In this instance, it appears Netflix and the changes it enacted, are getting tuned out by a large percentage of customers.

Photo credit: benzinga.com

Dave Thomas writes extensively for business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses. Among the topics he writes about is business cash advance.



How to Use Strategy to Build Opportunity into Your Life Now!

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Making Random Decisions Is as Reliable as Luck

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Get up in the morning, get working, solve today’s problems go have fun is that the way life is working for you? Facing each day with a single-day view will get you through a life or a career, but at the end you may find that many of those days might have put to better use.

If you think of it making random decisions probably has about the same long-term results as relying on luck.

Strategy is a longer view, a stronger view, and a more useful way of leveraging opportunity too.

20 Everyday Situations That Strategy Could Turn to Opportunity Right Now!

With a mind toward strategy, you can leverage the opportunity in any situation, fix the problem your facing, open the door that isn’t moving and get things working FOR you. Strategy is not some high-falutin’ sort of thinking that only great minds do.

It’s a method of solving problems. Did you ever want to …

  1. be more visible in your circle?
  2. become the first, trusted source at what you do?
  3. settle a conflict without becoming part of it?
  4. help solve a problem with friend, family or coworkers?
  5. enlist powerful people to your cause?
  6. get sponsors for an event or meeting?
  7. quit a bad habit or change unhealthy thinking?
  8. get out of debt or pay off a loan?
  9. negotiate a new or better position?
  10. get upgraded to a better hotel room?
  11. change how people see you?
  12. raise money for your cause?
  13. get a meeting with someone you admire?
  14. find a new career that fits you?
  15. organize a group trip?
  16. motivate people to join you in something cool?
  17. get a raise you deserve or raise your rates without worry
  18. start doing what you were meant to do with you life?
  19. do damage control?
  20. start investing in a retirement you look forward to?

Too often we walk into all of the above situations without putting together a system for finding success. A clear strategy could turn any of those 20 (or most other) everyday situations into an opportunity rather than leaving the outcome to instincts and chance.

What Isn’t Strategy and What It Is

We use the word strategy as a synonym for the word way or the word plan. It’s not right, but it sounds cool. Bet you’ve heard people say things like this …

  • I’ve figured out how to use two tools to offer a new strategy for making money online.
  • My strategy is to say “yes” and then do whatever I want.
  • Our strategy this year is to focus on growing by 50%.
  • It was a bad strategy to spend money on that vacation.
  • Our long-term strategy is marry well and have a house with a great view.

Those are not strategies. Some aren’t even decisions or plans.

Strategy is more and more useful in our lives than most folks expect.

Strategy isn’t a business tool. It’s not a single goal, or a choice, or good idea, or a description of what we’re going to do. Strategy is a practical system that changes how we view and interact with the world.

Next time you have a situation that offers a change of any kind bring some strategy with you before you respond. Here’s how to do that.

  • Think about the outcome that you want to achieve — your goals.
  • Think about the people involved and what motivates them — their goals.
  • Think about your position and what you bring that adds value to THEIR goals.
  • Think about what you might offer to align your goals with theirs.
  • Think about how you can turn your what you want — your opportunity into a benefit for them.

Start by listening to what you know and asking questions to hear more about what they know. Offer a few suggestions that are unfinished, allowing everyone to participate in defining a great outcome. Call the group to action. Then claim and celebrate the agreed upon result! The hardest part is thinking it through before you begin.

How have you used strategy to build opportunity into your life right now?

Be irresistible!

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

Is There a Vote of Confidence for Small Businesses?

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If you ask a lot of small business owners, they’re worried right now.

Whether it is higher costs for health insurance, higher taxes or the inability to hire more workers to meet demand, many small businesses are going through rough times. If that doesn’t already paint a dreary picture, a recent survey from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) won’t help matters.

According to the recent survey, small business confidence dropped for a sixth straight month in August, as the NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index dropped to 88.1, the lowest level going back to March 2010. Data shows that the index has steadily declined since February, when it hit a high of 94.5.

Noting that these results are the first to be unveiled since the debate in Washington regarding the debt ceiling, small businesses are not exactly brimming with confidence over the deal struck by lawmakers.

According to NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg in a statement, “The tumultuous debate over the nation’s debt ceiling and a dramatic 11th hour ‘rescue’ by lawmakers did nothing to improve the outlook of job-makers. In fact, hope for improvement in the economy faded even further throughout the month, proving that short-term fixes will not help.”

Numbers Paint a Grim Picture

As the U.S. Small Business Administration points out, companies with less than 50 employees accounted for 65 percent of all positions created during the last 17 years. Up a point from July, 12 percent of small business owners believe they will decrease their payrolls over the next three months, while just 11 percent say they are likely to increase employment over the same time frame.

Data mined from the recent survey of nearly 1,000 small businesses indicates that the drop in small business confidence in the last month was highly focused on decreased expectations for real sales gains and business factors. Small business owners tabbed sales figures as their biggest concern.

According to the survey, small business owners were also less optimistic regarding business conditions down the road, with the net percentage of owners believing they would see improved conditions down 36 points since a January 2011 survey.

In order to stimulate hiring, President Obama went to Congress with a $447 billion job growth package, including granting businesses a 3.1-point decrease on taxes they must pay on the first $5 million of their payroll. The plan was presented to Congress as the national unemployment rates holds at 9.1 percent.

Should You Hire Now or Hold the Line?

As a small business owner, have you been toiling with the idea of hiring employees heading into the final quarter of 2011?

In the event you are considering hiring, take several factors into consideration:

  • Can the current workload be handled by present staff or do you need extra bodies in the office?
  • What will the implications be financially if you bring on extra people in terms of added health care costs, workers’ compensation etc.?
  • If considering laying off some workers to bring your finances better into line, would you consider rehiring these individuals down the road when times are better?
  • What are your long-term goals for your company?

Being a small business owner comes with a myriad of responsibilities, not least of which is deciding when is the right time to add and subtract employees.

Photo credit: londrescallando.com

Dave Thomas writes extensively for B2b lead generation online resource Resource Nation that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs. He is an expert writer on items like business cash advance and is based in San Diego, California.

Create New Business Connections Using Twitter Less than 30 Minutes a Day!

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Grow Your Business

This article first appeared on Amex Open Forum

If you produced the world’s most enticing business networking event, who would you invite? Certainly we’d all want people from our own industry – vendors, partners, stakeholders, employees, customers and clients, even competitors – people from all over the world connecting and sharing what they do and how they do it.

Information and connections invaluable to creating more opportunities for any business … but taking advantage of all of the possibilities at a huge event — finding the best strategic matches to your business — is clearly impossible to do. After all, such a gathering would involve thousands of great people (and likely a few who aren’t so great), and you’re only one you. In the few days at any live event, it’s not possible to explore a serious business relationship with every person who might strategically help you grow your business. And the cost in time and resources to attend more than a few events a year limits that ability to connect even more.

That’s what has made Twitter so popular. Twitter has become the World’s Largest Networking event and you can sign in to connect and build relationships that will grow your business simply by investing some quality time every day. Here’s how to get started building that Twitter network in as little as 30 minutes a day.

  1. Decide who you are. Twitter is about people of like minds and like values connecting to share what they know and to find ways to work together. To attract the people who meet that criteria for you, you have to be clear on your values, clear on who you are, and clear on what you have to offer people who might want to work with you.
  2. Choose a great profile pix. Your Twitter profile is your calling card and the first place people look when they want to know more about you. Think about the vendors, partners, stakeholders, employees, customers and clients, and even competitors you might want to talk with and learn from when you choose your profile picture. Make it a picture that reflects a real person that those real people will want to get to know.
  3. Make your bio more than a pitch. Read a whole slew of Twitter bios. Which ones make you interested in the people they represent? Say something in your bio that makes me want to know more about you and be sure to include a link to where I can find that “more” if I do.
  4. Search for like-minded people and follow them. Many tools can help you locate the people you want to follow. Make a list of key words that might identify the people who are a good match for you. Job titles, issues, and trends make good key word searches. Some tools to start finding people to follow might include Twitter’s own search box, Listorious.com, and a “who to follow on Twitter” search on your favorite search engine.
  5. Check who your followers are following. When you find and follow someone who knows your industry and also knows Twitter. Click through to see who that person is following. Read their bios and decide whether you should be following those people too.
  6. Listen to the people you follow and add value to their conversations. Watch what the people you follow do that you find worth imitating. Most influential Twitter folks talk directly to other people and make their message about the people they’re talking to. If you want people to listen to what you’re saying, speak in their language and make the message about them.
  7. Curate Attractive Content. Read the online publications that the people you want to attract and connect with would be interested in. When you find a great article, share the title, share the link, and share the @Twitter name of the author if you can find it. Everyone enjoys it when someone passes on their work. Many writers watch their Twitter “mentions” to see who has talked about them. It’s a great way to make relationships with them.
  8. Start slowly. Show up at the same times every day. With 15 minutes in the morning around 7am and 15 minutes in the evening around 4pm or 7pm, you’ll start seeing the same faces show up in your Tweet stream. and relationships will naturally happen, if you simply reach out to the people who care about the same things that you do.

Though Twitter can take more time than anyone might be able to afford, if you invest 30 minutes a day for a month, you’ll begin to get or extend invitations to share an email or a phone call about working together. Then, you’ll know how Twitter has come to be the world’s largest networking room inside your computer.

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

5 Focus Strategies to Seize the Right Opportunity Right Now!

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The Signal to Noise Issue Isn’t Only On the Internet

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Has it happened to you that you’ve invested your best strategy into landing a chance — an introduction, a project, small job for a potential client. Now is your moment! You can move forward your mission, change your position, take advantage of the changing conditions this chance affords you to leverage your expertise into new rewards and new experiences.

Even on a small scale a new opportunity ripe with potential can set off a world of thinking that undoes our ability to get down to what needs doing. We find ourselves over researching, procrastinating, contemplating the future, and social networking to see what others have done who have had the same experience.

The signal to noise ratio ratio on the Internet may be a distracting influence, but nothing undermines our ability to seize the opportunity right in front of us more than the signal to noise ratio that we allow in our heads.

What We Do That Undoes Us

In faster than you can fragment a computer, we fragment our heads and convince our hearts that they’re not a part of what we’re doing. We get busy with thoughts past and future and irrelevant arguments about what we could, should, or might be doing. Does any of this sound the least bit familiar? We fill our heads with

  • how we’re the wrong person to do this.
  • how we’re much better suited to be doing what we’re always doing. .
  • how people won’t respond well to what we end up doing.
  • how while we do this we might be missing other exciting opportunities.
  • how our results have backfired or fallen flat in the past.

    • And the big one …

  • how boring, uninteresting, long, hard, difficult, not fun, time-consuming and beyond our abilities we’ll find this new opportunity — among the 23,067 other reasons we might have for not doing it.

All of which are centered in the past or the future, not the current reality.

5 Focus Strategies to Seize the Right Opportunity Right in Front of You Now!

How do you know that you’ve got the right opportunity? A well-chosen opportunity is a match of our skills with enough challenge that we’re the perfect halfway between anxiety and boredom. We’ll need to stretch just a little bit, learn a few things as we’re doing it, but that will keep our concentration.

If you’ve chosen the right opportunity, the key is to focus and to stay completely in the moment. NOW is the only moment and the opportunity is the only the focus. Here’s how to do that successfully.

  1. Focus in on seeing the project finished. As Tim Sanders says and my experience agrees with, when our brains know that we plan to succeed, our subconscious releases the chemicals we need to help us do that. Call it flow or in the zone, but it’s the optimal experience. In order to get there, we have first have to know exactly what the task is. Every task you successfully finished had as many roadblocks and snags as those you left by the ditches. The difference in your successes was that you knew, you had decided you would finished and that became your first point of focus.
  2. Focus on the process and resources you need to do it well. In your mind plan through the process and see yourself doing it. Break that process into stages and determine what resources you need to complete each piece of the process. Bring the resources you need to where you will need them. Get serious about dedicating a true workspace to the project.
  3. Focus on making that opportunity a priority.Decide how much time you will dedicate to moving it forward every day and allow yourself no excuses. Include time for rests, rewards, breaks, and some play away from it — but don’t let the play be more important than the opportunity you’re ready to seize right now.
  4. Focus on working in the moment. Keep every step of completing the process in the NOW. Don’t relate to past successes, except to move this process forward. Don’t think about future rewards until it’s over. Don’t let other things interrupt you.
  5. Focus on how any opportunity can be the vehicle you need to learn what you should be learning. Love the faults and flaws of the project. Challenge yourself to value everything that you wouldn’t normally like doing. Find the fun in the most mundane tasks and huge overwhelming challenges. Turn every bit of the opportunity into a smaller, exciting opportunity of its own.

If you can master those five strategies, the payoff for you will be huge and long lasting. You’ll find that your life is more in control because it’s more focused, less hurried. The things you’ll be doing will be more efficient because you’ll be choosing to focus on doing only one of them at a time, which means it will get your concentration and best thinking.

Listening will be easier and you’ll be more likely to know what to ask and what to listen for.. Fewer communication problems will be happening. You’ll find yourself easier to work with and other people will agree with that assessment. Your confidence will rise.

Work will be more enjoyable and you may find that you like doing more kinds of work than you ever thought you would. Proof of concept is that what I’ve written here is exactly what I did when I didn’t want to write this blog post. And I had a blast doing it.

It’s really just a matter of turning down the signal to noise ratio in your mind. Are you ready to seize the opportunity right in front of you now?

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