BusinessWeekOnline Agrees

March 24, 2006 by Liz

I just got this in my BusinessWeekonline email.

It seems that Carmine Gallo, corporate presentation coach agrees. Click the screenshot to reach his presentation tips.

Thank you, Carmine. The facts are the facts. 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Brand YOU–You Are What They See

March 24, 2006 by Liz

Covers Sell Books

People say, Don’t judge a book by its cover. People judge books by covers. Covers sell books. We only have so much time to look at books, and the cover is what gets our attention. This photo lets you know how important a cover can be. As a publisher, I’d edit that old advice to say, Judge a book by its cover, but also judge the book builder too.

A book cover makes a promise about what you will find when you open the book.

Your image works the same way for you.

What’s Your Cover?

What people see about you, your first impression, your image, is like the book cover to your personal brand. Your first impression literally makes a mental image. Your image makes a silent promise about who you are and what people can count on when they get to know you. That mental image lasts. Pictures stay longer than words.

When there’s a question about what to believe, your image might just tip the balance. That’s a powerful reason to be sure that the big idea of your brand carries through into all things that people see around you. Here’s a checklist that might help you make sure your image supports your personal brand.
For the sake of this checklist let’s imagine that you want to be known as one who is always on top of information.

Your personal image. Do you dress the part? Do the clothes you wear and your haircut look pulled together? Do you sit and stand like one who is always ready to take notes? Have you got the right energy level? Do you carry the tools you need? Notebook, pens, list of phone extensions to use when outside your office? When you’re asked, can you look things up and find them?
Your workspace. Is your workspace organized? Is your computer desktop organized too? Have you put the things you use most often closest to where you use them? Have you placed the things people are likely to ask for in a place where you can find them quickly? When you stand at your doorway, does your space look like the workspace of one who handles information well?
Your skills. Have you mastered information software programs, such as spreadsheets and databases that might be useful in your job? Do you know more than usual references that people might use to answer questions that come up?

Once you start thinking in this direction, you’ll start to see that everything you do is an opportunity to enhance the big idea of your personal brand. It’s not so hard to develop habits that form around your big idea. That’s the key learning to live your brand.

People do judge books by the promise of the cover. Make a promise they will value. One that you will keep–and they’ll notice it for sure.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

SOB Business Cafe 03-24-2006

March 24, 2006 by Liz

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking–articles on the business of blogging written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the screenshot to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

Liew has found a new way to check your blog’s influence in the Blogosphere.

Brian actually has two review on Microsoft Office 2007. After you read this article, you might want to click through to his home page, to catch the preview article.

Microsoft Office 2007 article by Brian Shih

Joel entertains with some Mad Science.

HART reviews IE7 Beta 2.

Sumeet offers some fine points on interview success.

Related ala carte selections include

Arloo treats us this lovely dessert. He has the details.

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

Have a great weekend!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

20 Rules of Smart & Successful Web Development

March 23, 2006 by Liz

Sometimes you find a golden nugget . . .

Great Find: 20 Rules of Smart and Successful Web Development by Vitaly Friedman
Type of article: Online business basics and web development
Permalink: http://www.alvit.de/blog/article/20-rules-of-smart-and-successful-web-development-and-web-design
Target Audience: Any person who wants to do business on the Internet and every web developer or person who hires one

Content: Vitaly Friedman is a web developer who can write. He’s also a deep thinker who learns from what he does. I read this article not once. but twice–both times wishing I could say I wrote it, thinking he said what I’ve always wanted to say. From Respect your visitors. and Care about your content. to Learn to handle the Creative Block. and Be aware of the Power of the Web.I felt I was listening to a kindred spirit talking– one who said it so much better than I might have said it.

So I’ll leave you to him. Click the screenshot for the best article I’ve read on the subject in a very long time–maybe ever.

It’s always nice to find a new hero.

–Me “Liz” Strauss

Critical Skill 1: Strategic Deep Thinking

March 23, 2006 by Liz

No More Faster, Faster

We live in fast food culture, where now and yesterday seem to be the timing of every answer. “Faster, Faster,” was great when I was at the carnival as a child, but I’m not sure it’s the best answer for making decisions about my business or my future. I’m all for doing strategic deep thinking about important decisions, but our environment doesn’t do much to support or even to teach how to think deeply or strategically.

We sort everything into top ten lists. We find out the what of things and sometimes the how, but hardly ever the why. We ask for things done, but not necessarily done right. We stop looking as soon as we find the first answer. These are not the traits of a deep, strategic thinkers.

Thinking Deeper

Thinking deeply and strategically isn’t popular, but it is valuable. The folks who can do it are prized and sought after. They are also incredibly secure. How do they get to the thoughts that are past the surface? Here are some of the things that strategic thinkers do. These are all things anyone can do.

Go past the first answer. When you’re faced with a problem, once you find answer 1, keep looking for answers 2, 3, and 4.
Get a friend to find the holes in your thinking. Pick someone who wasn’t involved in finding the solution. Anyone involved in the thinking can’t see the flaws in it.
Set your thinking on the back burner and revisit it in an hour or so. This is the same concept as letting yourself sleep on it. Research has proved that it works. Tell yourself that you’re going to put the idea in your subconscious to work on it. I always touch the back of my head when I do this. When I return to the problem later, I find new information to work with.
Try on your thinking as you try on your clothes. Remember, we’re outside of the box here. This might sound silly at first, but it works. Take an inventory of how the idea feels in your gut, in your fingers, and in your toes. If something doesn’t feel right, explore what that is. You’d be surprised how much knowledge you carry in the cells outside of your brain.
Discount the obvious, and look for the invisible. Ask yourself outright, “What am I missing here?” When you find it, adjust your old solution to cover the new information too.
If someone disagrees with your solution, include his or her thinking as part of the problem. This IS one case where two ideas can work to become more than the whole. Keep your own goal, but add the new ones to the mix. You’ll find the new solution stronger than the one you originally reached.

These are just a few ways to take your thinking deeper than what I call the “skin of the pudding.” I like to think deeply, because I like to know that my answer will stand when I have to defend it.

It might not be faster, faster, but it’s worth it to know that the answer will last and last.

What parts of your brand could use some strategic, deep thinking?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Eye-Deas 4: Photo Ideas Bank

March 23, 2006 by Liz

Get the Picture?

Photos can often trigger an idea in a way that words cannot. That’s because photos access the right brain, where words don’t usually hang out. The fun part of using photos to get ideas is that often you’ll see in a photo different things depending on what you’re looking to write about. Here are some photos you that might get you started thinking.

Team Meeting

Open Microphone Night

Gold World

Waiting Room

Fall Colors through Window Hand Stamp

Mainboard

Computer Room

Coffee Sunflower on Beach

All of these photos are from the stock xchng and are restriction free.

Catch the Ideas While You Can

As you look, grab a pencil and write down any ideas that come to mind. You might not need an idea right now, but you’ll have those ideas for later when you need one.

I see articles here on the price of coffee, the need to clean up our waterways, the cost of meetings to business, healthcare, the future of the Internet, the global economy, and so many more. . . .

What do you see?

I’m sure by now you have the idea about getting ideas from images. It’s all a matter of remembering that when you look, you should also be seeing.

–ME “Liz” Strauss