Successful Blog

SOB Business Cafe 08-13-10: The SOBCon SxSW Panel List

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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 is

the list of panels by the friends of SOBCon. If you know these folks, you’ll know that it’s smart and lucky to vote for them.

SOBCon influence invades SxSW Panel picker. Get out and vote for these amazing folks so

  1. @lizstrauss @starbucker @caroljsroth@caroljsroth will present:

    Build, Buy, Partner: Time is Money
  2. @lizstrauss @starbucker @caroljsroth@caroljsroth will present:

    From Jobbies to Businesses: Strategies for Irresistible Success

  3. @ericlukazewski will present:

    Confessions From Social Media Event Organizers

  4. @JasonFalls will present:

    Social Media: The Pink Collar Ghetto of Tech?
  5. @renewabelle @renewabelle will present:

    Making Sustainable Attainable: Energy Efficient Computing
  6. @DaveMurr will present:

    Have Fun to Increase Customer Engagement
  7. @jeanniecwwill present:

    X Marks the Spot: Mapping The Customer Experience
  8. @LisaPetrilli @judymartin8 will present:

    Conquer Your Kryptonite: Superpowers Fueling Kick-Ass Business Deals
  9. @conniereece will present:

    Resources Roulette: Winning Social Strategies for Shrinking Budgets
  10. @ScottMonty @Schwen @ShannonPaul will present:

    Socially Regulated: Social Media in Regulated Industries
  11. @jonathanfields will present:

    Fear and the Art of Creation
  12. @LucretiaPruitt will present:

    Killing Clark Kent; When You Outgrow Your AlterEgo
  13. @GlendaWH will present:

    The untapped iPad Market: Is Your Site POUR?
  14. @hardlynormal Mark Horvath will present:

    A Conversation on Social Change through Social Media
  15. @armano will present:

    Why PR’s Future May Not Look Like PR

Remember, voting ends on August 27th, so do it now. BTW, these are also great people to follow on Twitter.

If you’re a member of the SOBCon community or want to be one and you have a panel you’d like to be on this list, Tweet or DM us at @sobcon, or add a comment to this post.

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

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Aristotle Scooped My Ideas on Personal Brand

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by Patty Azzarello

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“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not
an act but a habit.” –Aristotle

Consistent Behaviors

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I am always talking about how Brand is about consistent behaviors.

In fact, I just was interviewed by a Forbes Magazine editor for 90 minutes on this topic. Turns
out, I was scooped by Aristotle!

As Aristotle will tell you, what I am saying about branding is not a new idea.

The Big Idea

But the big idea here for me is that we build or degrade our Personal Brand every single day — in every single conversation, meeting, email, presentation, and interaction we have with others.

You are broadcasting your Personal Brand

The behaviors people experience most consistently from you, ARE your Personal Brand.

(By the way this is true for corporate brands too. Your company’s brand is granted to your
company based on your customers’ cumulative experience with all the products, services,
processes, communications, and employees that interact with customers.)

You have a personal brand today whether you know it or not.

The question is – is it what you want it to be? And are you doing anything consistently, on
purpose, to give people any particular impression of you?

Choice #1 – Build your Personal Brand on Purpose

If you want to build your Personal Brand here are the steps.

Learn what you are known for. Get some feedback from people who know you and work
with you.

  • Decide what you want to be known for. Understand if there is a gap.
  • Define some specific behaviors that support your Brand.
  • Do them on Purpose every chance you get.

.
For example if you wanted a Brand of being…

Efficient: Don’t write long emails, ever. Do present (every time) how your solutions save time and resources along with getting the desired outcome.
.

Well Connected in your industry: Don’t take on projects alone, engage your network. Do expose the virtual team you’ve created and always include externally sourced content in your communications.
.

Cutting Through Chaos and solving complicated problems: Don’t ever participate in group email debates, offer obtuse suggestions, or let issues fester. Do offer concrete ideas and close off loose ends – every day.

Choice #2 – Leave it to chance

Why now?

If you have made it this far in your career without bothering to build your Personal Brand, why
should you worry about it now?

One hazard of leaving your Personal Brand to chance is that you remain somewhat of a blank.

Even if you are generally known as “good”, when opportunities come up, if you are not known
for anything in particular so you don’t stand out very much. You don’t stand out as much as
someone who is known for something specific.

Many people are striving for more recognition, relevance, and respect. Building your Personal
Brand is a key factor in positioning yourself to attract the respect and the rewards you deserve.

Stand out more. Be more Credible.

You become a much more credible and powerful presence in your company if everyone around
you says similar, specific things about their impression of you. Your Brand becomes significant
and believable.

Your intentions do not equal others’ perceptions

It doesn’t matter what you think or feel, or intend to do. Those things only matter to you. No one
else can see them.

Others can only experience what you DO.

Another hazard of leaving your Personal Brand to chance are that you can be giving negative
impressions that you don’t intend.

For example, I remember once when I did a 360 review, I got low scores on being a good
listener. I was totally shocked, because I always considered myself to be a great listener.

What I learned when I dug in was that the few people I listened to, indeed thought I was a good listener, but the vast majority of my organization never observed me listening.

Build your Brand with visible behaviors

So to build my Brand as a Listener, I created more opportunities to listen.

I created office hours, and breakfast and lunch meetings with groups of individuals. I created a website where people could give me feedback. I requested input every time I spoke. I told people what happened as a result of getting input.

My Brand issue was not with my listening skill or intention, it was about the accessibility and
visibility of listening opportunities. I was able to build positive brand value by creating more highly visible listening opportunities on purpose.

By investing some thought and energy in building your Personal Brand on purpose you will
increase your credibility and your value.

—–
Patty Azzarello works with executives where leadership and business challenges meet. She has held leadership roles in General Management, Marketing, Software Product Development and Sales, and has been successful in running large and small businesses. She writes at The Azzarello Group Blog. You’ll find her on Twitter as @PattyAzzarello

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The Best Bloggers Are Learners

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By Terez Howard

 I know the old adage really says, The best teachers are learners. I think the saying applies to we bloggers, too.

Ever find yourself stuck in the same routine?

Personally, I have a cleaning routine. I clean each room in a specific order. I dust each piece of furniture in one order around the room, clean any glass and then clean the floor. That is my routine, and I can do it mindlessly and very quickly. That’s what is good about my routine.

The bad part of my routine is if I have to break it somehow, like if my refrigerator needs cleaned or my closet needs organized. I have a hard time getting the oomph to actually do a task outside of the ordinary.

I think that many bloggers get stuck in a routine, which is bitter-sweet. It’s sweet because a blogger can write an interesting post quickly. It’s bitter because a blogger might get stuck doing the exact same thing. This can morph interesting into boring.

I’ve stepped out of my usual blogging routine to interview a few of my writer friends. I have written for or with each of these people, and they each gave some thought-provoking insight.

I asked them all this question:

What is one problem you see with bloggers’ writing, and what is the solution?

Liz Strauss, (you should all know her!), said:

“Bloggers are often too self-conscious when they write … They focus too much on the information and not enough on bringing their own “value” to the topic. Information is all over the Internet, but an experienced opinion is not. I read your blog because you’re there.”

Dan Keller, a.k.a. Tycoon Blogger, said:

“The biggest problem I see with bloggers’ writing is that most are so damn boring. Seriously, most blogs are written like a car manual. I would like to see more bloggers loosen up and interject their personality into their writing and shake things up a bit. Dare to be edgy and exhibit some break-through thinking. I have personally been working on developing my own unique writing style, and I have found the more I deviate from the norm, the more popular my blog.”

Tom Lindstrom, from tlmarketing.net, said:

“Bloggers often write about things they like because this way it is a lot easier to keep a blog going for longer. The downside with this is that monetizing the blog becomes really hard because you need to have the right keywords (keywords that people are actually searching for every month) in order to make money from your blog. The solution is to do proper keyword research before writing anything.”

Katherine Nussberger, USARiseUp Associate Editor, said:

“My initial opinion is that many bloggers write about some topic or issue that is strictly based on their personal opinion. As a journalist, first and foremost, I personally do not see the value of this style of writing because in a lot of ways it feeds on negativity and does not provide a solution or unbiased account of the topic or issue. On our site, www.usariseup.com, we have very strict guidelines for our Blog Zone that specifically state that we need sources for all of our blog articles because we do not accept opinion based pieces.

Solution: I think that to become a reliable and usable source of information, bloggers need to cite their information, and provide valid comparisons of the topic that show both sides, which I know is similar to journalism, but even in blogging there have to be guidelines. Bloggers need to become more willing to show another opinion beside their own in their content, and let the readers decide which side they accept or believe in without trying to push the reader into a belief system that is exactly the same as the blogger.”

Jael Strong, one of TheWriteBloggers, said:

“The absolutely largest problem that I see with blogs is the poor mechanics. Misspelled words, omitted punctuation, and word misuse (i.e. “there house” instead of their “their house”) are sometimes so distracting that I stop reading altogether, even if the topic and writing themselves are engaging. The solution? Do not depend on spell check programs, periodically review the rules of grammar, and edit! The best editing strategy that I use is reading my work from the end to the beginning, sentence by sentence. I catch most of my punctuation errors through that strategy.”

What stood out to me?

Be interesting, be unique and be professional.

How would you answer my question: what is one problem you see with bloggers’ writing, and what is the solution?

—
Terez Howard operates TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility. She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas . You’ll find her on Twitter @thewriteblogger

Thanks, Terez!

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

How to Power Up Your Power Network and Bring It Closer to You

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It’s Always Been About Showing Up

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It’s fun to connect with people who do the same things we do. It’s also great business. But a quick hello and a conversation about what we do doesn’t make a relationship. If we don’t let our new friends know where serious about a relationship things often stop at that point.

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Suddenly we can find ourselves with idea, an adventure, or trip somewhere that would be a perfect fit for someone we’ve met but hardly know. We might have a product that would be a perfect fit for their network, but we’ve never gone past that first hello. We’d love to share the benefits with someone that we’ve met, but we’re not so comfortable that we’re not stepping over the line by even suggesting that.

Here are five highly effective ways to power up your power network and bring the people in your network closer to you.

  1. Be a good surprise. Keep a list of people who have referred you, recommended you, tweeted or retweeted your work, or done something large or small to help you. Write an unexpected email, direct message, handwritten note to one person on that list to say you appreciate the contribution that person has made in your life.
  2. Be a new encounter of the very best kind. As we travel Twitter and get introduced at meetings, we encounter more than a few people who have skills or interests that compliment are might add value to what we do. Once a week, make an appointment to talk on the phone with one or two people from that group. Ask about their goals for the next two quarters. Explore how you might align their goals with yours.
  3. Be a sincere fan. Email someone you respect and admire, but don’t know well. Write the email solely for the purpose of explaining the way that person has added value to your life.
  4. Be on a quest. Make it a quest to request help from someone you’ve never worked with. Every week, decide on one thing you probably would do better if you brought in some other brain, hands, or eyes. You’ll be surprised what you learn simply by deciding on what to request and then by listening to the answers.
  5. Be an idea explorer. Use a search engine, Wikipedia, books, magazines, and a rare group of friends to seek out new ideas on a subject your network cares about. Then share them generously online, on the phone, and in person whenever you interact.

Make time for all five of these every week and your network will explode with true connection — people you know, people who know you, and who know what you do. Every burst of energy in that direction with be a reminder that the people you’ve connected with are more than contact information to you.

How do you keep the power in your power network?

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

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Be the ONLY: How to Claim Your Ground and Own It

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A Real Contribution

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Last week, Jeff Bezos announced plans to release a new-generation Kindle that will be even cheaper ($139) than the current generation, but will make only a few modest improvements in quality and performance. Even as analysts applauded the success of the Kindle thus far, they wondered why Bezos and his colleagues weren’t making the device much more functional, colorful, and powerful. In other words, why weren’t they taking the simple Kindle and enhancing it to go head-to-head with Apple’s iPad and other companies searching for an iPad killer?

To which Bezos offered a strategic insight about his business just as compelling as Andrea Guerra’s take on his business. “There are going to be 100 companies making LCD tablets,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “Why would we want to be [company] 101? I like building a purpose-built reading device. I think that is where we can make a real contribution.” — Bill Taylor, Do You Pass the Leadership Test, Harvard Business Review. Aug. 03, 2007

It was still the 20th Century when someone told me that I could count on these four words to always be true …

This too will change.

And since the 21st Century has arrived, those same four words have become a part of my daily reconnaissance.

Like Jeff Bezos and Bill Taylor, who wrote about him, I believe that being good at something is no longer an option. In this ever-shifting, high-noise environment, we

  • have to be the only and best at something
  • have to be the first trusted source
  • have to claim our ground and own it.

And this is more than 20th century specialization, it’s making a real contribution. It’s leadership focused to serve a distinct customer group with a clear solution. It’s irresistible service.

In the 20th century we had the advantage of geographic protection. People could only find sources as far as their shoes, their cars, and their catalogs would show them. Now the Internet has not only brought the world to their door, but Google is willing to sort it for them.

The Ground Rules to Claiming Your Ground

Apply what Jeff Bezos said to the massive opportunity that is today’s marketplace and it becomes obvious that our ideal customers are faced with overwhelming choices. The number of options for whatever anyone wants to purchase are outlandishly huge at every level: value, relationship, and cutting edge-luxury niches.

The leaders in the field have decided exactly which customers they are selling to and they signal their commitment to serving those customers on every level. Narrow your niche and you’ll still have a world of ideal customers, but you’ll be able to serve them.

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Every choice of text, image, offer, or even white space in the Apple Education website reflects their commitment to educators. That focus is key to becoming the first, trusted source to the ideal customers you want to serve. But before you can own that space you have to be able to name that space and claim it.

Three simple questions can help you identify a space that holds the best opportunity for your skill set and your brand. Let’s call them the Ground Rules.

  • Where do the rules of the game / industry / current trends favor you? Make your own game. Check where your skills cross your mission. Look for opportunities where they meet. The same computer can be positioned and packaged differently to meet the needs of a specific trend or group. We can do that too. Be the best, the most, the fastest, the only. Do you write the lightest code, offer the most unique design, or maybe tailor your service to each individual?
    Example: Let’s consider that last one. As technology moves us faster, people have less time to do what they used to do and less time to do things that are meaningful. Can you configure be the simplest, fastest solution and still an outstanding value? Can you do one outstanding thing for less cost in less time? Can you make that contribution easier, faster, more meaningful, more fun?
  • What ground works for you? Be obsessed with easy. Reach out to the customers you can reach easily. If you can’t reach the customers for your idea, partner with someone who can holds that ground …. or recongfigure your idea for the customers you can reach. Repurpose products you already have to attract new customers to you. Build for the customers who already love you.
    Example: Amazon started with readers and moved out from there. Apple moved into education by offering their computers to schools and grew new customers. Software companies extend their reach by partnering with computer companies who load their offer on new computers. Who has a list that serves the people you want to reach? Who is already within your reach now?
  • Where will you find the best rewards? Claim an audience and serve them. Don’t claim a tool meant for everyone. Tools don’t make relationships people do.
    Example: It’s better to claim service professionals moving online than to claim to sell a service to all small businesses. If you clearly claim a group, you can serve them well. They’ll tell their friends about you. Not everyone who buys a book on Amazon reads it. Some give books as gifts. Some use them to fill their book shelfs. Some intend to read and never do. It’s easier and more efficient to grow a clarified customer group than to try to grow a group from individuals who have nothing in common.
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Narrow your space to your ideal customer group and your unique expertise become clearer and more defined. It’s true. Show up with the skills, expertise, integrity, and competency and deliver on what you say you do.

Once you own your ground everyone else becomes a “knockoff.” You become the barrier to entry … the ONLY. There can be only one Cirque du Soleil, only one Mac, only one SOBCon – those who follow will be facsimiles.

Look around at the winners, they claimed their ground before they owned it. Amazon claimed the world’s readers before they captured that market and now they serve readers products of every sort … including a simple Kindle that will never compete with the iPad.

What space can you claim? What unique value will you deliver to the people you want as your ideal customers?

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

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Be What You Wish

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Trust is simple really.

Trust is knowing …

and believing …

that every minute …

that company, that human being …

will choose for you over his, her, or their own insecurities.

Trust is not wishing anyone will give up anything.

Trust is feeling safe that, when danger or grief is near,
others will have a care to protect what we value and hold it dearly.

Trust is …

knowing I can bet my life on you and I’ll win when the chips are down.

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It can happen in family, in friendship, in business, with strangers.

Trust is equal opportunity.
It’s all inclusive yet at the same time discriminating and exclusive.

Trust is our cells reflecting an aspiration — a breathing — that could elevate our species.
We cannot trust without being it.

If you wish trust, be trustworthy.

Be what you wish.

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

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