Successful Blog

Liz Strauss – Titan of Web 2.0! Thank You, Davos, for the Honor!

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It Started with an Invitation to Speak in Davos

Davos, Switzerland, 21 February 2011, II World Forum “Communication on Top” took place in Swiss Davos at the end of last week. Trend-makers and key figures from communications industry participated in the Forum. Among them are top-managers of world-known companies like GALLUP, ENEL, EDELMAN, SPN Ogilvy, DELL, leaders of large-scale political and social projects in various countries, and world-famous “stars” in the area of consultancy and communications.

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Last year, I received an invitation from the project manager of the annual World Forum “Communication on Top”, held in Davos, Switzerland. The content is in the field of Communications, PR, Marketing, Social Media, and Corporate relations: http://www.forumdavos.com

The invitation offered me a keynote session and asked if I would be willing to participate as a nominee for the C4F awards ceremony in the category “Titan of Web 2.0.”

Being asked to speak in Davos is quite a heady experience. Switzerland is famous for great minds meeting at important events.

Such as this interview in which:
Garrett Johnston discusses

  • aritificial intelligence and the singularlity
  • understanding the reasons people consume what they consume
  • creative and uncreative consumers.
  • companies who do well in the crisis

 

“It’s a question of making the choice easier and more accurate for the consumer. It works for everybody and reduces friction.” he says.

Who Wouldn’t Want to Be at an Event Like that?

Unfortunately Switzerland is also an exclusive ticket to an entrepreneur in the launch phase of a new business. Though I’m usually quick flexible and creative at solving problems in ways that everyone wins, I also had a prior commitment to speak on the other side of the world in Las Vegas during the Davos event.

And my word is my word.

So we agreed that the keynote might wait until next year. Then we’d have proper time to plan for the event. Participation in the nomination moved forward, I met with Helen Brandt of the Davos Top of Communication World Forum Team — It was an early morning interview — 7 time zones apart — on Skype about what being a Titan of the Web might mean.

Here’s a bit of that … Liz Unplugged.

  • a titan – brings images of building things with elaboration and fluency
  • It’s not a titanic labor to raise a blog; it’s a titanic responsibility. You write a blog to connect with people. It’s conversation.
  • I love to show companies how an invitation is more exciting than a pitch. I love to teach the fun of negotiating from the same side of the table.
  • I love showing people how their values attract people who have the same values as they do.

 

“I love bringing people back to the common sense. There’s so much we can do to bring the world back to the community,” I said.

I had done all I might do to be ready for the Titan of Web 2.0 nomination. Now what was left was to be online during the presentation.

Enter the Titanic in the Titan

When I got to Las Vegas, I was set and ready. I tuned in before my event to watch an learn from the speakers. All was well. Then came the time for the presentations — 7pm in Switzerland / 10am in LasVegas and the livestream in my hotel crashed.

The rest is history. I wasn’t a part of the awards — the skype connection we prepared disappointed us with no service. It was time to go speak on my panel before the wifi came back up.

The panel at the conference in Las Vegas went well. The people were outstanding both on the panel, including that Leadership guy Terry Starbucker, and in the audience. We talked about how social media can change the face of a business and bring customers closer — close enough to build a brand up.

An hour later, when the panel was over, I discovered via Twitter this lovely tweet …

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and-the-winner-is

 

And my partner, Terry, who was the first to say “congratulations,” now calls me Liss.
And every life event is worth the worry if you get a great story out of it.

Will I be at Davos next year? You can bet on it. I will be there not only to give that keynote, but to say a proper thank you, share my gratitude for this prestigious recognition

And I’ll try to learn some titan speak.

Blushing just a little, and saying thank you to the Davos Forum, to my friends, partners, and readers, — all of you who make everything I do worth every minute I spend doing it.

You’re the titans that keep this titan on the web.

Related links for more information about World Forum, “Communication on Top,” Davos, Switzerland:
http://forumdavos.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/comm_on_top (hashtag #topcom)
http://www.facebook.com/ForumDavos
http://www.youtube.com/user/forumdavoscom

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Jack Welch on Candor and Liz Strauss on High-Trust Culture

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Lack of Candor Is a Killer

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Right at the top of the interview with Jack Welch (former Chairman and Chief Executive of GE) at the World Business forum, he spoke about leadership in many ways. The most interesting to me was his conversation about his famous policy of “Rank and Yank.”

When Jack first took over GE in 1981, America was facing high unemployment and high inflation. GE had 178 people in strategic positions and 3 business showing losses for 20 years. Welch became known as “Neutron Jack” because of the tens of thousands of positions he cut. But that single campaign left the company and the remaining employees with a streamlined organization prepared for future growth.

Hard choices and candor were his management tools. Welch is passionate and straightforward about candor in business. “I would call lack of candor the biggest little dirty secret in business, ” Welch says in his book, Winning. It “basically blockes smart ideas, fast action, and good people contributing all the stuff they’ve got. It’s a killer.” Jack’s deifnition of the difference between candor and abrasiveness is the corporate level from which the words are said. From higher up it’s candor, from lower levels it’s called abrasiveness.

I agree with Jack, nothing can break down trust (and build fear) more than lack of candor — inconsistent truth. People get fired when no one has said a word to them about their performance being less than it might be to be “great.” Then they wonder why no one told them the truth.

At GE, Jack held his managers to a policy of Rank and Yank — that every manager had to rank his or her employees and fire the bottom 10% once a year. When speaking on that at the WBF, Jack Welch seemed to have moved from firing those who might improve to retraining them. In this one minute interview, Jack explains who to keep and retrain and who to let go.

Here’s another one-minute interview with Jack on integrity, learning, and mentorship.

At the World Business Forum, Jack was clear and cogent on what makes a winning team. “You get the right players in the right positions and you will win.” Jack spoke of mentors and leaders and managing from the top, at one point delivering my favorite quote of the two-event.

“Fear as a management tool is dead.”

Jack and I are so aligned in that single statement.

How to Build a High Trust Culture

Fear cannot exist in the same space as trust. Here are a few of my best practices on how to wipe fear out of your organization. Ironically, in this grassroots social business world, developing a high trust culture a process that builds its roots from the to.

  • Leaders build a values system that resonates with everyone who helps the business thrive. This happens when leaders let go titles to be human, get their hands dirty, and invest their hearts as well as their heads outside of themselves — the higher cause of the business.
  • Incorporated core human values into your value proposition. Repeat both the same sentence every time you speak — to every audience.
  • Talk, walk, and live the truth online and offline, inside and outside the company. Trust is the hard truth spoken gently. Leaders are charged with defining the reality under which we serve the cause. Make it easy to see, hear, and understand what is valued and what is not.
  • Invite ideas and diverse thinking. Explore those ideas and thoughts that are different from our own.
  • Celebrate and reward people who live the values as well as the performance goals of the company.
  • Invite people outside the business who exemplify the same values and performance ideals to participate, engage in, learn from, and add to the culture and community you’re building.

Watching Jack it’s easy to see that the world is his natural habitat. He lives his values and feels no need to apologize for what he believes. He knows his losses, learns from them, and makes them part of his repertoire of strengths. It’s a irresistible combination of humanity and leadership.

And that sort of candor is easy to trust.

How will you contribute to building a culture of candor and trust in any business or any size?

You’ll find Jack as @Jack_Welch on Twitter — He does his own tweeting.
Read more about the World Business Forum 2010 at WBFNY.com and WBFNY-bloggershub

Be irresistible.

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

I’m a proud affiliate of

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Book Yourself into the Book Yourself Solid Webinar

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I love this! Check it out…

It’s hard to believe that any individual I’ve helped focus a business hasn’t heard me say, “Get Michael Port’s book, Book Yourself Solid.” I keep it on the stand by my bed. It’s a timeless book that delivers on the title by explaining in clear easy steps how to build a solid practice through focus on and care for the people you serve.

So it was pretty darn exciting to me when I spoke on the phone with Michael Port this week and he said that he has created a quick, easy, and inexpensive way for you to get all the richness of his experience in a 2-day webinar in September.

I’m not kidding. This is something very cool. It is not online marketing or get rich quick. It’s systematic and professional business building that sticks.

If you know my blog at all in 5 years, I’ve rarely taken on an affiliate relationship.

However, I want to support this program, because it’s the right information at the right time by the right teacher at a price that is way less than I would have expected. (In fact, I so believe in it, I didn’t even ask him what the affiliate relationship is.)

Check it out. See for yourself.
https://michael.infusionsoft.com/go/2day/lstrauss/

Michael’s marketing advice is the best around. He’s also a generous human being who “gets” the value of relationships.

Bottom line: he delivers what he promises.

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

I’m a proud affiliate of

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Social Media Book List: #DIVERSITYtweet and Blogging All in One for Dummies

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors to help manage their online book promotion. As part of my job I read a lot of books (and I love to read anyway!). I am here to offer a weekly post about one book author I am working with and one book I have put on my reading list. This week I will be highlighting ‘#DIVERSITYtweet’ by Deepika Bajaj. and ‘Blogging All in One for Dummies’ by Susan Gunelius. The books I discuss will cover topics such as social media (Facebook and Twitter), blogging, business, organization, career building, networking, writing, self development and inspiration.

‘#DIVERSITYtweet: Embracing the Growing Diversity our World’ by Deepika Bajaj

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‘#DIVERSITYtweet’ truly opened my eyes by adding this powerful medium to get our Diversity message out. Deepika truly hit a homerun on this one.”
Captain Ken Barrett, Diversity Director, U.S. Navy

People are transcending cultures and geographies and are embracing diversity in their experiences and interactions with others. Most importantly, this book is a thought provoking resource for managers and those who work with a diverse group of people, be it in the workforce, community projects, team building assignments, social gatherings, or business meetings. Organizations need to know how to manage diversity to be successful in the future, and in today’s competitive age, the flexibility and creativity augmented by diversity is crucial for success.

By the end of 2010, Twitter will have roughly 18 million registered users. What does this have to do with diversity and inclusion? The momentum has begun. The content is being developed in 140 characters; and identities are being created, new interpretations of diversity are being developed – with it we are observing new breakthroughs and breakdowns for Diversity. There is a paradigm shift – Diversity is the NEW NORMAL.

The book intends to create a bridge between a fresh and growing medium of expression and diversity and inclusion efforts. The message of diversity now transcends into thoughtful TWEETS and empowers the individual, an organization and its workforce. The big question is – Are you open to capitalizing on this momentum?

Here are a few tweets from ‘#DIVERSITYtweet’ I would like to share with you:

#1 Diversity in nature makes a case for respecting diversity in humanity.

#12 It is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change that will survive.

#24 Diversity cherishes mutually beneficial relationships to serve the increasingly diverse global market.

#37 Diversity’s ultimate goal: Preserve our individualism while integrating us with others’ lives and perspectives.

#53 Every single person, with his or her own combination of background traits and characteristics, is his or her own unique diversity story.

#72 Whatever your ethnicity is, it is not the external beauty that counts. No one will hire you for the shirt you wear. They want your attitude and aptitude.

About the Author:

Deepika Bajaj is the Senior Director at Working Mother Media, a company providing support and community for women to find work life balance and founder of Invincibelle, a company empowering diverse, multigenerational workforce and women to thrive in a multicultural world. Prior to this, Deepika has more than eight years of experience in telecommunications consulting and corporate marketing. She has served on the board of various professional organizations including the National Society of Hispanic MBAs and Women in Intel.

Deepika is currently writing another book. This book (yet to be named) speaks to her experiences of being a global citizen and what is shaping the new voice of diversity. She speaks and consults on diversity, blogs at www.deepikabajaj.com, writes a column on mom blogs at Working Mother Media and writes a column on social media for Active Garage. She is in the process to launch a new blog Diverseconomy.com. You can follow her on http://twitter.com/invincibelle.

Deepika holds a degree in Engineering from Bangalore University, India and has an MBA in marketing from Fordham University, New York. She is an honorary member of Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma. She loves kickboxing, reading, music, and painting. Currently, she lives in California.
You can purchase a copy of ‘#DIVERSITYtweet’ online at ThinkAha Books or at Amazon

This blog post is part of a virtual book tour done by Key Business Partners, LLC and I have received a complimentary copy of ‘#DIVERSITYtweet’ by the author.

Blogging All-in-One for Dummies by Susan Gunelius

Now I would like to highlight a book on my “review” reading list–Blogging All in One for Dummies.

Blogging is one of the key elements to having a successful online business presence. Blogging All in One for Dummies offers you a multitude of information to not only get your started but how to maintain and even build your business through your blog.

Here is partial book description on Amazon.com:

Prepare to launch into the blogosphere — here’s your ticket!

What do you want to tell the world? Get started today with this guide to creating and solidifying your place in the blogosphere. You’ll discover all the strategies and tools you’ll need to launch a blog and get noticed.

From selecting a platform and writing your first post to including ads and using Twitter, you’ll be piloting a blog in no time!

* What’s your niche? — follow guidelines to choose a niche and set your blog up for success
* Build your business — create a business blog marketing plan and choose business bloggers
* Make the right decision — select the best blogging applications and blog hosts to meet your goals
* Extend and enhance your blog — from optimizing your content for search engines to creating blog feeds, get up to speed on the available tools
* Gain a following — discover the secrets of blogging success as you market your blog and build a community
* Show me the money — find out how to earn income by adding blog advertising, publishing sponsored reviews, and selling merchandise
* Enter the world of microblogging — learn how to create your Twitter profile, follow other users, write and publish tweets, and more

Open the book and find:

* Advice on choosing a blog topic
* The rules of the blogosphere
* Tips on selecting the right blogging application
* How to write to attract search engines
* Ways to analyze your blog’s performance
* How to find and edit images to spice up your posts
* Guidance on creating a podcast or vlog
* Secrets of making money from your blog

8 books in 1

* Joining the Blogosphere
* Niche Blogging
* Corporate and Business Blogging
* Choosing a Blogging Application
* Blogging Tools
* Promoting and Growing Your Blog
* Making Money from Your Blog
* Microblogging with Twitter

About Susan:

Susan Gunelius is President and CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a full-service marketing communications provider.

Susan is also a published author and active blogger. As a marketing, branding and copywriting expert, Susan writes business nonfiction books through some of the largest and most recognized publishers in the world including Palgrave Macmillan (a division of Macmillan Publishing), Wiley, McGraw Hill and Entrepreneur Press.

Susan’s marketing-related articles have appeared on websites such as Entrepreneur.com, MSNBC.com, FoxBusiness.com, WashingtonPost.com, BusinessWeek.com, SmartMoney.com, TheStreet.com, Yahoo! Small Business, Yahoo! Finance, and more. She also writes articles and blogs for a variety of clients, including Cox Communications, Newstex, and About.com (a New York Times company).

With nearly 20 years of marketing, branding and copywriting experience, Susan is a seasoned corporate professional having spent much or her career developing and executing marketing programs for global and national organizations, including divisions of AT&T and HSBC.

*courtesy of Amazon

You can purchase a copy of ‘Blogging All-in-One for Dummies’ on Amazon

I truly hope you will check out these books and please comment and let me know your thoughts on them.

8 Tips on Using Twitter to Build a Powerful Business Network

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From the Beginning

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More than ever, building and growing a business means becoming part of the social web. A powerful network of loyal fans means your message can be visible, heard, understood and spread with the speed and reach of the Internet.

How do you get a network like that?

I often call Twitter the world’s largest networking room, but that doesn’t do it justice. Networking rooms are physical and geographically limited. They can’t expand and contract in size. The people who visit the room are limited by those who can physically get to the location where the meeting and the room exists in space and time. And not every networking event collects the people who are interested in what we do.

Unlike that networking room, Twitter let us decide who is at our “networking event.”

8 Tips on Using Twitter to Build a Powerful Business Network

  1. Have one clear business message. Define yourself clearly as a business person. Use a photo. Write a professional bio. Name the metropolitan area you’re in. Link to a business site that tells more about you. Some folks link to a special page on their blog set up just for Twitter visitors. Add a unique background to further define yourself.
  2. Have a goal. If you want Twitter to be your relationship command center, you’ll set it up differently than if you want it to be your idea lab, your outlet store, or your customer service base. Think about that.
  3. Do the research. Check out how @DellOutlet , @ComcastCares , @TwelpForce , @AlyssaMilano , @WholeFoods , @SharnQuickBooks and others use Twitter to connect. You may not be as big as they are, but you can learn from their approach.
  4. Start small and listen. Visit Listorious.com
    listoriouseducation

    and TweepML to find lists of Twitter people who share your interests. Choose to follow a limited number a day. Get to know how they talk and what they talk about. When they follow you back, use that as opportunity to say hello to them in a unique and personal way.

  5. Talk when you have something that will add value to the conversation. Be helpful, not hypeful, just as you might be in person. Use the @ sign (@lizstrauss) to make sure your comment about a person or to a person gets to the person you’re mentioning.
  6. Start a Twitter list.
    startabuzztwitter

    Lists draw attention to and from people. Each list can focus on one group of people. Check the lists that other folks make, see what their lists say about them. Have a core list strategy. Lists might include a handful of advisors, thought leaders in your industry, partners and vendors, key customers and clients, people in your home location.

  7. Decide early who you will follow – who you want at your networking event. Some folks follow only a few people and keep their followers limited to people in their business. Other folks look for input from a wider group.
  8. If you’re looking for clients, don’t just talk to the people who do what you do. It’s fun and safe to talk business with our peers, but the folks who hire us are the folks who don’t know how to do what we do.

Like any networking event, Twitter is filled with opportunities to meet people who want to do business. The difference is that some networking rooms are filled with people who have no business in common with us. On Twitter, we can reach out to folks who are interested in being at the same networking event as us.

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

I’m a proud affiliate of

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SOB Business Cafe 06-18-10

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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

brandsavant
Keep in mind, however, that only 7% of Americans are even aware of location-based services. That’s the small number that Foursquare and others in the space might really be thinking of, because that’s a fixable number. That’s a number that will grow, and when it grows, the import and business reach of these location-based networks will grow with it.

Justin Kownacki
If they love you, their adulation becomes addictive. You learn what they like, what they respond to, and what makes them appreciate you more. Naturally, you’re inclined to pursue those reactions because they make you feel good, and that means you’re less likely to experiment with anything outside your audience’s comfort zone.

Marketing Profs Daily Fix
When they were last at your business, the light above the register hadn’t blown out yet, and it was pleasant and bright. The front door didn’t squeak each time it shut. The WiFi sticker on the window hadn’t been peeled and torn by that little kid. The floorboards hadn’t been scraped and marked by the mop bucket.

Now a week later, these small changes add up. Individually, each change is hardly noticeable. When seen all at once, they leave a poor impression.

How do you maintain the quality of the experience for your customers?

Mack Collier
Here’s the twist that makes this event so interesting to me; The 15 customers Dell will meet on the 15th are customers that have issues with Dell, and want to voice those issues to the company. The 15 customers Dell will meet on the 17th are evangelists of the company. So over the course of 2 days, Dell will be meeting with 30 of its most passionate customers, from both ends of the spectrum. I think this event is also an example of the next evolution of social media for companies.

Vandelay Design
Because web design and SEO are closely related, it’s a topic that designers are frequently asked about, but there is often a lot of gray area about what is the responsibility of the designer and what is within the designer’s power. While many clients want the designer to create a website that ranks well and attracts targeted visitors, SEO is really an ongoing process that involves much more than the design and coding of the site.

Janet Clarey
There are those who write cautiously on the web and those who don’t. What’s your style? I try to write what I’m thinking and write it like I’d say it if I was sitting around having coffee with you. Sometimes wine

One Organized Business
I entered a crazy hectic working relationship on a project that practically sucked the life out of me. It was definitely stressful from beginning to end. I did manage to find the positive in the situation though. I learned that I need better boundaries when partnering with people, and I also learned that I really like the way I do things!

Related ala carte selections include

Danny Brown
One of the folks that I’ve been fortunate to get to know through social media is John Haydon.

Hailing from Cambridge, Massachusetts, John’s someone that inspires me every day. He’s an outstanding ambassador when it comes to social media for social good; a great social media blogger; and a key part of the 12for12k community.

Neatorama
via @ChrisBrogan

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

I’m a proud affiliate of

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