Successful Blog

A Symphony and SOBCon: Are You Part of Something Bigger than Yourself?

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A Symphony in My Head


There’s a song in my head.
I heard it first quiet in the night at my computer.
Then it came again when I woke.

It never really left me.

It began … looping in and out of days … over two years ago.

I considered it an insignificant melody,
a memory tracing, some forgotten top-40 wonder.

Until I asked … until I tried … until I found …
no one, not anyone, could
recognize it, identify it … hum along,
then I knew.

It was mine.

Not a song, but a score.

When I claimed it, it grew
louder, broader, deeper.
It transformed into a symphony, with horns, woodwinds and strings.
I hear the most delicate and the most booming percussion
with a triangle and an ever-changing, but not-so-different drum.

Yet a symphony in a person’s head is hardly an idea.
It’s colors and rhythms that move hands and words.
(maybe feet when it’s certain no one’s looking.)

It’s still a thought.

To be a symphony it needs
a composer to score it
an orchestra to express it
an audience to participate and receive it …
and a conductor who understands
the music, the instruments, the players, the audience,
and the meaning of intentional serendipity.

A symphony takes breathing and doing
and more than one human being.

A symphony is expertise, artistry, community, and trust made real.

NOTE: When the symphony is playing, I might add room for a little thinking
about possible choreography for occasions when no one’s looking …
or even those when they are.

It’s true I have a symphony in my head. It started as we planned SOBCon07.
And it’s still playing louder, longer, stronger as we plan SOBCon again.

It has me thinking about the phrase “conducting business.” Somewhere inside that phrase is the idea of turning leadership from one to many. A conductor leaves space for the expertise and decisions of the players who know their instruments. Likewise in business, a leader steps back to let many people and their relationships — clients, developers, buyers, sellers, teachers, learners — come together in the best ways. Leaders produce something bigger any one person.

Maybe that’s why that symphony started playing right before SOBCon.

To build the conference, we knew we had to give ourselves over to the people who would be there. We had to step back and leave room for the many relationships — speakers, attendees, sponsors, signers, site managers, bartenders — that come together in the best ways to produce something bigger any one person. We designed it so that attendees would have as much time to talk each other about the ideas — as they did listening to the speakers. We trusted that every person in the room would bring expertise.

People who knew the value of working together were the ones who came to sit at our tables.

The first year we became “an awesome event.” The second year, we began teaming up together. We talked about and tackled real problems. We’re partners, teammates, and coauthors. We’ve entered joint ventures. After we left, we still call each other for support and advice. We still meet, talk, and Twitter. This year we’re coming back with more to offer to each other and every person who joins us. We only have one rule: Be Nice. But we also like it if you’re serious and you come with trust.

And I personally plan to bring more than anyone else in there — including my dearest friends, Mr. Starbucker, Ms. VanFossen, Ms. Piersall , Mr. Clark , Mr. Smith, Mr. Solis, Mr. Bullock, or even my poptart partner Mr. Brogan.

I’m also bringing a special guest … who said he’d help me.
Don’t worry, it’s a fabulously GOOD secret.

Because a symphony is a challenge to bring all that we are. And I plan to be playing with every bit of my head, heart, and purpose.

Every great event, every true community, every well-run business is a symphony, isn’t it?

Ever been to the symphony? Every played in an orchestra? Ever done anything like that? Are you part of something bigger than yourself?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Jim G, Mr. Detroit, and a Saloon Fight: What Makes You a Fiercely Loyal Customer?

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I grew up hearing fiercely loyal customers tell stories about my dad. Other such stories I lived myself …

I was about 20 years old, home from college for the weekend. I stopped by the saloon to see my dad. All the guys were razzing him saying things like, “Close the cash register, the Boss is in town.” I was grinning back, “A smile from my dad is all I’m after.”

Some guy from Detroit swaggered in like this was any old bar, and he was some hot stuff. The big spender sat down and ordered a 50-cent, 8 oz. draft beer. He chose the red stool to Jim G, a guy about my age, who saw my dad as his surrogate father.

I had just thanked Jim G 83 times for fixing the flat tire on my boyfriend’s car — he’d driven out 17 miles to help me when I was stranded on route 80. We met for the first time by the side of that highway just 18 hours earlier.

I didn’t notice the Detroit stranger order his beer. I never served drinks there. Everyone knew my dad didn’t want me to. By the time the guy got it, I was teasing my dad and talking to a Joey D. He was an old guy who knew me since I was still sitting on the bar with my feet hanging.

Next thing you know, Mr. Detroit threw a fist in Jim G’s face. They were having it out right there in seconds. My sixty-something dad flew over the bar, pulled the guys apart, and handed them over to a couple of friends. Then, as a deputy of the county, he called the cops to pick up Mr. Detroit for visit to the local jail.

It was then that I heard the story. Mr. Detroit had asked Jim for my name. Jim said, “I told him ‘You wanna know, ask her or ask her father.’ I wasn’t going to tell him if you didn’t want him to know.”

Later that night, my dad bailed Detroit out of jail, took him to breakfast, and sent him on his way.

In a small town saloon, personal and business relationships can’t be separated. You throw guys in jail and you bail ’em later. You feed ’em and let ’em know you’ve been there.

My dad cared about the people who were his customers and so they cared about him. He looked out for them and they looked out for him. Investment made investment returned. It’s the ROI of relationships — in spades. For me, it was like church, family, and Mark Twain to be there. Lots of others felt the same way that Jim G and I did.

What makes you a fiercely loyal customer?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Cool Kids, Granny Dresses, and Back Channel Intercoms: How Do You Trust People You Can't See?

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I Heard Them Laughing

I was 13. What an awful age, but one for learning human dynamics.

A bunch of clueless moms had arranged something, a sleepover of about 8 girls. Who knows why they thought this group belonged together? We were mismatched in maturity, in intelligence, in interests, and most importantly in that sacred cow of 13-year-oldness … popularity. I dreaded going.

Additional humiliation. We all had to wear granny gowns.

Everything went in the awkward and tensely exciting way things do when you’re 13. I was mostly listening. Mostly everyone was mostly nice to mostly everyone. We ate. We talked. We listened to music.

I was the first in the group to use the facilities up the stairs. The group didn’t realize that a heating vent connected the party room to the bath room. That vent also served as a back channel intercom.

I heard them talk and laugh. They were talking “cool talk” about how cool they were and how cool I was not. Peer pressure and insecurity drives that sort of stuff. When you’re 13, finding who’s the coolest is the coolest thing of all.

Back downstairs, I didn’t let on. Other girls left the room. Other girls heard things. I saw it on their faces.

Before I went to sleep I vowed a 13-year-old’s vow that I’d never be a smiler who talked mean on a “back channel intercom.”

Air and Empty Shoes

Now, I send you a tweet. I write a comment on your blog. You answer.

I can’t see you. You can’t see me. That can be a scary feeling.

I have to use what you give me to decipher whether you mean what you say. Who knows? You could be laughing behind the screen. You could be back channeling messages. You could contradict what you tell me when you’re with cooler kids than I am.

But then offline life is like that too. . . .

Trust doesn’t happen spontaneously. We can’t engineer a community by inviting 8 pseudo friends to the same party or dressing in the same clothes. And as a species, it’s our nature to have all too many back channel intercoms.

I can’t see you. You can’t see me.
If we’re invisible, so are the things we stand for.
Can’t build much that lasts on air and empty shoes.
But we can let ourselves and our values shine through.
Integrity, consistency, and trustworthiness show up equally as whole and as frequently as we do.

Community grows from what we see, what we are, what we imagine together.
And the more we show up, the more we find in each other.

How do you trust people you can’t see?
People ask me that all the time. Now I’m asking you.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Why Madonna Can Reinvent Herself and We Cannot

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Authentic Either Is or Is Not

Ever watched a musician or a politician change their persona? It seems that for every tour or campaign, they’re reinvented in a way that makes us take another look. No one seems to think anything of it.

And if the music tour flops or the election is lost, the musician or politician simply reinvents their persona and the organization starts over with a new definition.

I’ve been thinking about business and personal branding in the context of social media. A personal brand for business in social media is more complicated. We can’t change a social media personal brand the way that rockstars or politicians do. They have whole organization behind them and between them and their fans.

In social media, we live with our “constituencies.” We act. We interact. We earn or lose respect. We reveal our thoughts, values, and beliefs. We give our word, make promises, and develop reputation. We connect with authenticity and trust, or not.

But I submit that …

We cannot rebrand or reinvent real relationships with real people.

It’s the difference between a handshake with stranger and holding hands with with a best friend. It’s why Madonna and Clinton can reinvent themselves, and we cannot.

How can personal branding fit in authentic relationships?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

A Lyrical UN-Interview with Greg Verdino …

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It Never Happened So It Can’t Stay in Las Vegas

Actually it didn’t happen anywhere.

Well, it did happen, that we were all in one place, but it didn’t happen, not as I’m going to write it. The un-interview occurred just a few feet from the highly-esteemed Joe Jaffe. The atmosphere was so heavy, I doubt anyone in the room heard singing or saw the flashing of the camera as the conversation, or actually the lack of it, commenced. This is an exclusive I bring to you.

I call it …

You’re So Greg

I walked into the party,
like I was walking into a screen.
My hair was strategically flipped
around my eyes,
My sweatshirt was golden brown.
I had one eye on the techies
as I watched them all convene
And all the boys dreamed
they’d be guitar hero
They’d be guitar hero but…

You’re so Greg.
You don’t need to say what you’re thinking
You’re so Greg.
I’ll bet you don’t need to say what you’re thinking.
Do you? Do you?

You read my tweets a few months ago,
when I could hardly believe
You said that you made a reach to SOB
And that you would never leave

You give away the looks we love
and you gave a few to me
I had some views, they flashed to my camera
Flashed to my camera, and …

You’re so Greg.
You don’t need to say what you’re thinking
You’re so Greg.
I’ll bet you don’t need to say what you’re thinking.
Do you? Do you?

Because the looks say everything.

Well it was something like that … next time maybe they’ll bring Jane Quigley with them.

Like I said, it never happened so it can’t stay in Vegas.
But if you want to know what they’re up to next … @gregverdino and @jaffejuice

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Perfect Blogs, 404 Errors, and Humanity

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What Makes a Perfect Blog?

When I talk to an organization considering a blog, they often are aiming for a perfect example of the genre. It takes a while to coax them into realizing that perfection isn’t what they think it might be …

  • to their product team, a perfect business blog showcases the product features in shining glory
  • to their marketing group, a perfect blog is one that gets customer attention and participation
  • to their sales group, a perfect blog generates qualified leads for products that sell and stays sold
  • to their design team, a perfect blog is aesthetically pleasing
  • to their coders, a perfect blog has no 404 errors
  • to their lawyer, a perfect blog is far from controversial
  • to their CFO, a perfect blog costs next to nothing
  • to the CEO, a perfect blog is one that does all of those things
  • to their customers — it connects them to people, ideas, and answers.

In that sort thinking, a perfect blog is something different to everyone.

My experience is that we do best when we move thoughts of perfection to paths of connection. People talking to people is what turns a blog into a community.

The perfect blog is code filled with humanity.

How do you bring the human connection into your blog?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!