Successful Blog

Thanks to Week 210 SOBs

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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.

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blog-til-you-drop
snippets-of-life
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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.

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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

What Jim Ericson Had to Say About Corporate Trust …

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A community isn’t built or befriended,
it’s connected by offering and accepting.
Community is affinity, identity, and kinship
that make room for ideas, thoughts, and solutions.
Wherever a community gathers, we aspire and inspire each other intentionally . . . And our words shine with authenticity.

When We Trust

Trust is what holds together the conversation on the Interwebs. It’s also what brings me to or leads me to leave a deal. Without trust, I don’t know who is talking, what might be happening where I’m not. Trust is what leads us to communicate even when we have only our computers and our words to connect and protect us.

Here’s what Jim Ericson said about corporate trust …

Hi Liz. The notion that it’s important to be able to build trust with others is one of the latest “silver bullets” ricocheting off the walls of corporate America. As a result, books on trust, seminars on trust, and consultants that say they can help a company create a high trust culture in ten easy steps are in high demand. This is hogwash!

There is no formula or set of skills that you can master to help you build trust with others. Trust building is a raw, organic process that consists of spending whatever time it takes to tell our stories to others and listen to theirs. And,I don’t just mean stories that flesh out our resumes. I mean stories that tell where we came from,and where we dream of ending up; stories that shed light on the paths we’ve traveled – triumphs and tragedies alike; stories that reveal not only what’s on our mind but also what’s in our heart.

Then,at the end of the storytelling, or when we’ve gotten to know each other from as many different angles as possible, we get to decide whether we trust each other or not. And, if we’ve been really truthful with each other, a genuine trust relationship is almost always the result.
Jim Ericson from a comment on October 20th, 2009

A successful and outstanding blogger said that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Register for SOBCon2010!

Business in a high-trust environment can change your life.

Synchronicity and Social Networks

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When I asked my friend, Niro to write a guest post for Successful-Blog, he was quick to point out that English is not his primary language. I assured him that I would have his back on the language … what I wanted was his thoughts on synchronicity.

Thoughts and Ideas by Niraldo Nascimento

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I’m a System Dynamics Professor so, when modeling, I have to focus on the relationships between a system and its components as a whole and, think in terms of cause and effect. It’s an honor and would like to thanks the opportunity to explain some things I’m thinking about involving social networks, Twitter, Liz Strauss, and me.

Bad conclusions in studying complex networks and systems are often fueled by the misunderstanding of the relationship between cause and effect. Cause and effect are often distant in terms of time. When we cannot connect cause to effect over time, we have a cause in one hand and no effects in the other or we have effects without a clear cause or causes. Or we might define two disparate events as holding a cause and effect relationship, when they do not.

This problem led the famous Swiss psychiatrist Carl G. Jung to explore a phenomenon which he called Synchronicity. Jung coined the word to describe what he called “temporally coincident occurrences of acausal events.” There are many articles about Jung and synchronicity. This is only a blog post to share some ideas and not a scientific article.

Social Networks as a Complex System

With this in mind let’s think about Social Networks as a complex system. After that I’ll try join these two components: Synchronicity and Social Networks.

Stafford Beer (1926-2002), a reputable Cybernetics research gave us an example about complexity and I’ll try adapting it to this post. Imagine a Social Network with only seven persons. Suppose you are on Twitter following seven persons and being followed by the same seven persons, a group. How many interactions (messages) can you exchange each other as a group? The formula is simple: n(n-1) where n is the number of the persons. Applying it we achieve: 7(7-1) = 42.

It’s very simple in a first look.

Imagine now you are making a “printing screen” or a photo of each interaction. How many photos should have you take? We call it “State System”. Considering the interactions between two persons each time in this system, the results crossover more than a trillion of pictures!! (The formula is 2 indexed to 42 = 242!) The reality would not happen, obvious.

In this moment, 24-Oct-2009, Liz Strauss has more than 33 thousands of followers on Twitter and follows more than 30 thousands. Imagine what happens if we try apply the Stafford Beer example to Liz’s Twitter group? It’s better forgetting it.

Well, we have now a notion of complexity.

An Effect Without Causes?

What you are reading now is an article Liz invited me to write. The question is “Why did Liz ask me, a Brazilian researcher who has nothing different from others?” I don’t know. Is it an effect without causes?

How can we explore the ideas of Synchronicity and Social Networks? I have a little more than 600 followers and Liz is one of them.

An example

Did you ever hear the rooster sounds minutes before the sun rises? There are two interesting questions that relate to that fact.

  • The first mystery is: how does the rooster know that a new day will arrive? Every night are you sure that will you see really a new day and feel the sun beams? Thanks to roosters … they know. When the roosters quit announcing the daybreak, begin to worry about the planet and your role in it.
  • The second is not a mystery but a beautiful social network of animals. A rooster hears a cock crow and sends on the information for other roosters. In this way, they are a social network every morning. There is no explanation, only admiration!

As one man on Twitter, living in Brazil, so far from U.S., I didn’t understand this invitation for this post by Liz Strauss.

Then, I thought, thought again until I found an explanation which satisfied me. Every year I receive a visit of a lot of swallow birds in front of my veranda. Much of then migrate to Brazil run away of the U.S. winter and return for the U.S. summer. It is possible that, some of these birds are the same who visit me and Liz. They connect us to each other in circumstances that are not Twitter. It’s a kind of energy, a kind of magnetism… It is Synchronicity!

Have you experienced synchronicity?

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Niraldo Nacimento, Niro, is a System Dynamics professor in Brasilia, Brazil. He writes thinks, and talks about synchronicity, system thinking, sustainability and photography. You can find him at Cerrado Crafts and on Twitter as NiroNash

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Ah Niro, or it could be that I like the way that you think. Thank you!

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

9 Things I’ve Learned About Social Media

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Guest Post by Tom O’Brien

photo by Tom O'Brien
photo by Tom O'Brien

Two weeks ago I was on a panel for the AC Nielsen Center for Marketing Research at UW talking about social media and market research to executives from Wal-Mart, General Mills, Kraft, Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson and 50 or so others. I was asked to share some lessons learned about SM – from the perspective of a brand marketer.

Here are my lessons learned personally and professionally over the last 10 years of heavy involvement in this space.

1. What people say to each other is more important than what we say to them.
2. People no longer rely on brands for information.
3. Advocates are more important than influencers.
4. Brand mentions are just the tip of the iceberg – somewhere between 5% and 30% of the relevant category conversation. You should listen to the whole conversation.
5. If you want to participate be helpful, human and humble.
6. When you participate, put the community’s interests & motivations first.
7. Connect to existing passion, don’t just make stuff up.
8. If you want new ideas, look beyond your category.
9. Brand advocacy is the most important metric today – are people recommending your brand to others.

Of course I could elaborate – for a LONG time on each of these, but I think you will get the gist.

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Tom O’Brien is CMO at MotiveQuest LLC He also writes for A Human Voice. You can find him on Twitter as TomOB

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Yeah, Tom. Those points are familiar and could take volumes to explain and discuss. Hope we get to have that conversation one day soon. Thank you!

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

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

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Going It Alone as an Entrepreneur

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Guest Post by Debba Haupert

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It’s somewhat ironic, I know. But I write a write a blog and run a business about female friendship — all by myself. In theory, I should have started Girlfriendology LLC with a girlfriend (or two) and collaborated in building the brand and company. I should have women who share the work load and assist me in creating a business around women supporting each other. However, the reality is that I’m a passionate entrepreneur and I didn’t know anyone else crazy enough to start it with me, so I jumped in the entrepreneurial pool alone!

As entrepreneurs, we’re often alone. We typically work long and strange hours from home or finally get dressed to have occasional meetings in coffee shops. We wake up with ideas and do the research to explore them. We create and market products and solutions, and we generally are accountable to only ourselves. That’s a great scenario if you’re self-motivated and prefer not to deal with group decisions. It’s also a wonderful arrangement if you’re creative and dedicated to seeing your dreams become reality.

Self-motivated, creative and dedicated I am, and I’m very thankful to be that way. But that doesn’t mean I HAVE to go it alone. I have received amazing support from other entrepreneurs in several groups that I’ve started or joined. For example, I’m working on eCommerce for Girlfriendology.com (to sell girlfriend gifts). I knew of several other women in town (Cincinnati) who sell products online. I also tweeted about it. Two weeks ago seven of us met to talk about our online stores, what worked/didn’t, technologies, trends and prep for the coming holidays. We plan to do this on a monthly basis as well as feature each other on our websites. I’m also part of an entrepreneurial group, LegacyConnection (www.legacyconnection.com) that shares resources for entrepreneurs as well as keeps us accountable in weekly group calls.

In addition to these groups, I am blessed with great girlfriends, supportive guy friends and a wonderful husband. My girlfriends share feedback, connections and ideas; my guy friends often look out for opportunities for me and my husband, who is a writer, has edited copy, helped with events and had many brainstorming conversations where we strategize on my business as well as his.

So, I don’t feel so bad that I “should have” started Girlfriendology with a girlfriend. I have the support and assistance of a “village” of friends who care about me and my business. As I share on Girlfriendology, if you need a friend, you to need to be a friend. The same goes for us entrepreneurs. Reach out to others, get to know their businesses and collaborate. Life (and business) really is better together with the support of friends and family.

How do you go it alone, but do it together as an entrepreneur?

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Debba Haupert is founder of Girlfriendology . She considers herself a ‘marketing mutt’ based on her 20 years of corporate marketing (from designing consumer products, studying trends in Europe, to writing an award-winning book, selling products on QVC and being a bank VP). She founded Girlfriendology LLC in January 2006 as a way to support and inspire women. She is a passionate entrepreneur and student of social media with over 850 blogs, 150 podcasts/BlogTalkRadio shows, 15000 Twitter followers (primarily ‘girlfriends’), and 1000 LinkedIn connections. And she loves Liz Strauss and is honored to call her a girlfriend! (-;

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Thanks, Debba. The respect, admiration, and friendship is mutual. I’m grateful to have met you.

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

Buy the ebook. Learn the art of online conversation.

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When An Apology Can Open the Door to Trust

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In case you missed this … I wrote this about a year ago, yet it seems just as valid now.

Not All Apologies Are Equal

In relationships, things go wrong. Person to person or in business, mistakes and missteps can be life changing. A wrongly placed word or deed can bring in question what had gone without thought. Suddenly trust, integrity, honesty, sensitivity, authenticity and the core values that connect us are tested.

Mistakes. No human enterprise or individual gets by without making them. We might not mean them. No harm might have been intended. Yet, we’re not harmless — we can cause hurt or damage by the way we behave. How we respond when we do, is what makes a leader.

In a business relationship recently, my property was mishandled. When I asked about it — when and how it happened — the representative said something like this …

I hear you. We’re sorry it happened. We’re looking into it, but I doubt we’ll ever know the exact sequence of events. Can we move forward now?

Not all apologies are equal. I’m not the only one who wouldn’t call that an apology.

An apology that deflects attention, that says “I regret it happened,” is not an apology.
An “I’m sorry” that doesn’t own the damage done won’t rebuild trust.
An incomplete apology is a missed opportunity to build a stronger relationship by learning from what went wrong.

Apologies that Rebuild Trust, Relationships, and Reputations

Mistakes. No human enterprise or individual gets by without making them. We might not mean them. No harm might have ever been intended. The fact remains, we’re not harmless — we can cause hurt or damage by the way we behave. How we respond when we do, is what makes a leader.

Meet a mistake with trust, the mind of a learner, and a truly other-centered apology and a newer, stronger relationship can be the result. To offer a relationship-building apology, we have to show up whole and human — with our head, heart, and purpose reaching out to fix the bonds that we’ve broken.

No person has lived a life without once behaving badly. Apologies can connect us on that point. A relationship-building apology includes many parts and a whole human behind them.

  • a statement of regret …
    I’m sorry.
  • ownership of the act and responsibility for the outcome …
    I behaved badly … It was may fault this happened.
  • acknowledgment of hurt or damage …
    It made you feel small … It broke your — … It lost you business.
  • a promise for better behavior in the future …
    It won’t happen again.
  • a request or or statement of hope for forgiveness or renewed trust …
    I hope you can believe in me.

Apologies are about admitting human error. If you worry about saying the wrong thing, write it down and offer a choice the other person a chance to read it or listen while you do. The point is to be human and mean what we say.

Keep the apology simple. Don’t use an apology to move other issues forward. Save other conversations for other days.

Never lose the opportunity to apologize.
Never take that opportunity away from someone.

Which Social Media Apologies Rebuild Trust?

In the online world, every mistake has a potential for magnification. Every word has millions of opportunities to be misread. The ability to apologize with grace and respect can build respect, relationships, and reputation. In a trust economy, the apology is a powerful form of communication. Simply said and complete, a sincere apology shows respect, inspires confidence, and makes a great step toward rebuilding the trust to move forward.

Here are five well known social media apologies …
Dell’s 23 Confessions
A Commitment On Edelman and Wal-Mart
JetBlue Launches Cross-Media Apology Campaign
Turner Broadcasting Apology Letter
Motrin

In your opinion, which social media apologies rebuild trust with the community?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!