Successful Blog

Have You Found the Great Leader in You?

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A Guest Post by
LaRae Quy

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Good Leadership Begins with You

Everyone talks about developing good leadership skills. The truth is that the only person who can really teach you how to be the best leader is . . . you.

It’s tempting to rely on an expert to show you how to mine the hidden truths about good leadership. The bookshelves are stuffed with leadership assessments and techniques. They can all add value but they cannot answer the most important questions: Who are you and what do you believe?

No expert can tease those answers out into the open except you, no matter how much money you spend or how hard they try. A lack of self-awareness and self-knowledge produces a leader who is grounded only in the latest model or theory—a little like switching religion when the going gets tough or when something better comes along.

Models and Theories

I wrote a blog a few weeks back that talked about how I used different strategies as an FBI agent to surround the foreign spies I was trying to recruit to work for the U.S. government. An individual commented and asked why I didn’t use a leadership model that is currently very popular in training circles.

In actuality, there is nothing wrong with the leadership model he mentioned, but he missed the point because anytime you’re dealing with people, models and theories can only guide a leader so far. At some point, good leadership comes out of what is inside of you.

To paraphrase the venerable Jim Collins, if you’re a leader who doesn’t know who you are and what makes you tick, you will never move from good to great.

I relied on sound theories and dependable models when leading a team, but I distinguished my investigation from the others in the pack by drawing from my personal strengths. I’m not talking about the strengths that come from a skills assessment—I’m talking about the strength of character that girds and sustains us when we’re not sure where else to turn to or who else to trust. This is the type of self-awareness and self-knowledge that is our true north in any situation.

The admonition to become more self-aware can create a point of stickiness because many leaders can be self-absorbed. This is the opposite of what I’m talking about. A leader who is self-aware has not only accepted their weaknesses, they’ve faced them head on and have learned how to manage them as well. There is no room for fantasies or ego.

The heart of good leadership is connecting with others so they will follow us. Like the Wizard of Oz, people will only follow a promise for so long before they pull back the curtain to get a good look at who is behind it. Don’t let them see an empty suit.

The Key Areas for Self-Awareness

People are diverse and complex which is why it’s hard at times to accurately interpret our reaction to different situations. Here are key areas for self-awareness and self-knowledge:

Personality

  • Remember that it does not change as you age
  • Spot ways it impacts the way in which you interact with others
  • Identify your strengths and assets
  • Recognize your weaknesses and vulnerabilities
  • Create opportunities that allow you to thrive
  • Minimize situations that trigger the less desirable personality traits

Personal Values

  • Make a list of values that are important to you.
  • Prioritize the following values: honesty, self-awareness, listening to others, attentiveness, spirituality, authenticity, gratitude, trust, gentleness, humility, courage, self-knowledge, self-discipline, patience, integrity, forgiveness, compassion, charity, freedom, generosity, peace, joy, hope, and decisiveness.
  • Think of times they have provided direction in your life
  • Identify how you keep sight of your most important personal values in the busyness of your day-to-day activities

Patterns

  • Recognize that you are a creature of habit and are predictable in your response to the unknown, the unexpected, and the uninvited events in your life
  • Identify the patterns that emerge in those responses
  • Distinguish between the patterns that are beneficial and those that interfere with your effectiveness and productivity.
  • Pinpoint the patterns that help you succeed and minimize those that impede your progress.

Emotions

  • Identify the emotions that reveal themselves most often
  • Name the ones that rarely reveal themselves
  • Recognize the triggers for negative emotions
  • Make an association between your emotion and your behavior
  • Consider that awareness of your emotions leads to greater control over them

Good leadership begins with you. You will always be the best expert on you—no matter how much you pay a consultant or coach.

How can you begin to reflect on your daily experiences to gain more self-awareness and self-knowledge? Do you want to make that commitment even if it means you’ll need to eliminate something else? What external factors will help you be faithful to the process? What doubts do you have about digging deeper into understanding yourself better?

What are your questions about reading the leader in you?

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Author’s Bio:

Larae Quy

LaRae Quy was an FBI agent, both a counterintelligence and undercover agent, for 25 years. She exposed foreign spies and recruited them to work for the U.S. Government. Now she explores the unknown and discovers the hidden truth via her blog Your Best Adventure. You can find her on Twitter as @LaRaeQuy

Thanks, Larae!

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Be irresistible.

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

15 Ways to 365 Days of Gratitude

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A Guest Post by
Rosemary O’Neill

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365 Days of Gratitude

Now that the turkey leftovers are just about gone, it’s tempting to start hanging holiday decorations and move on. But we should cultivate an attitude of gratitude all year long. It’s one of the best ways to separate human-centered businesses from the robot army. Humans care about elevating others; robots only care about processing bits and bytes.

Here are 15 simple (but concrete) ways to show appreciation online.

  1. Give a Klout +K – you can debate whether Klout means anything or not, and CEO Joe Fernandez has said that +Ks don’t directly contribute to a higher score, but it sure feels nice when someone gives you a +K, especially in a relevant topic area.
  2. Facebook Like – an oldie but a goodie, some people obsess over their number of “likes,” so it’s a nice way to give a pat on the back.
  3. Follow or subscribe – following someone on any social network or subscribing to their feed (blog or status updates) means you are interested in what they have to say. What better way to show you care?
  4. RT or Mention on Twitter – the ReTweet is the highest compliment you can give someone on Twitter, and it contributes to their Klout score, so double score! Mentioning someone, in status updates or comments on other networks is like name-dropping. Often the object of the name-drop is notified, and most people enjoy being recognized publicly.
  5. #FollowFriday – this one has had its ups and downs, but done correctly, a nice FollowFriday on Twitter can be a nice perk for someone. I think Gini Dietrich does it best; she picks one person, writes about him/her on her blog, Spin Sucks, and then Tweets it out. It’s meaningful, succinct, and likely to result in more followers.
  6. LinkedIn Recommend – for a business connection, a nice recommendation for the individual or for their products/services is a great way to say thanks. It’s like getting a gold nugget in the mail!
  7. Empire Avenue buy or recommend – if your contact is on Empire Avenue, buying some shares or giving an endorsement or recommendation is a nice recognition.
  8. Google +1 – this is a very important one. When you give a Google +1 to a person’s content, it shows up in search results, and it means that their content is more likely to continue showing up in your search results going forward. That’s power.
  9. Twitter or Klout list – it’s pretty easy to set up lists in Twitter and Klout, and it’s a way to publicly pull the cream of the crop to the forefront. Would you like to be included in a list of “Smart People” or “People Who Inspire?” Yeah, me too.
  10. Paper.li inclusion – this is another service that has supporters and detractors, but I always feel a nice boost when someone includes my feed in a Paper.li or any other of the aggregator services (Storify too).
  11. Comment on their blog – this is where the action is. Offering an intelligent comment that contributes to someone else’s blog is a sincere compliment.
  12. Blog roll – kick it old school; honor someone by including their blog in your “links” list. Ever heard of “link juice?” It’s hard to come by, and a much-appreciated gift.
  13. Thank on Quora – if you participate on Quora (and it’s a great place to get answers directly “from the horse’s mouth”), the best thank you is a “thank you.” When you give a thanks, the person is notified.
  14. Reply to a forum topic – it takes courage to stop lurking and start a topic in a busy forum. When you choose to reply, and add your own thoughts to the conversation, you are supporting the orginal poster and the community itself.
  15. Comment “like” – several blog commenting systems support “likes” now, so you can select particular comments and single them out for praise.

My suggestion is to start every day by handing out a few of these, without any expectation of return. A day that starts with gratitude is already a success.

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Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out their blog. You can find her on Twitter as @rhogroupee

What Makes A Successful Infographic?

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A Guest Post by
Ryan Bayron

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5 Traits of Great Infographics

The blogosphere makes it very clear that some people love infographics, and others hate them. These days, it seems that anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of basic vector graphics software believes that they can and should contribute to the ever-growing number of infographics floating around the internet. After flipping through hundreds of infographics and trying my hand at a few of my own, I’ve discovered some common characteristics of those that succeed, and of those that fail.

  1. A successful infographic is targeted. The creator knows what the content is about, who will care about that content, and what they want to see. A successful infographic with medical statistics, geared toward physical therapists will look drastically different than one about fast food that’s geared toward soccer moms. Successful infographics are not one-size-fits-all. ( This is good. | This is not so good. )
  2. A successful infographic is accurate. At the bottom of all infographics is (or should be) a list of sources from whence the author gathered the information. When this list contains links to .gov and .edu sites instead of Wikipedia articles and TMZ articles, it makes a difference. People notice that kind of thing. Successful infographics are painstakingly researched, citing public domain scientific journals, published research documents and statistics reports from research agencies. ( This is good | This is not so good. )
  3. A successful infographic is navigable. A person never just looks at the entire Mona Lisa. Studies show that they always start at her face, then move down her arms to her impressively detailed hands. The point is that when we look at an image, our eyes move through it, one thing at a time. Successful infographics provide a clear path and discernible cues to show the viewer what to look at next. ( This is good | This is not so good. )
  4. A successful infographic is novel. It’s not enough just to be informative anymore. Infographics that get shared have a sense of novelty to them – something their readers haven’t seen anywhere else. Whether it’s infographics, online videos, blog posts or flash games, novelty always boosts shareability. Successful infographics are designed to transcend the mere combination of graphics and text. (This is good | This is not so good )
  5. A successful infographic is simple. If someone is overwhelmed by colors, massive text blocks, giant diagrams and in-your-face pie charts, they’ll bounce before they finish reading the title. Simple is not always boring. Successful infographics don’t get in their own way – they make the information easy to find and easier to read, and the graphics are a supplement to the info, not the other way around. (This is good | This is not so good. )

At the end of the day, a successful infographic is just like any other piece of quality content. It must be relevant, accurate, fresh, engaging and unique. In a world where people spend hours on end scouring the internet for things to share on their Facebook walls and Twitter feeds, a successful infographic is a powerful tool for building links, engaging users, spreading information and promoting your brand. The key is to take time to hash out the details and make sure it’s truly worth sharing.

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Author bio:
Ryan Bayron is the owner, author of The Line Theory blog. His website is Byron.org. You can find him on Twitter as @BayronDotOrg

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Thank you, Ryan! Successful infographics can really add to a site’s appeal.

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

Can You Get Around a Firing When Interviewing for Work?

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When you used to look around the cubicles at work, did you ever stop and wonder if this co-worker or that co-worker had ever been fired?

For many workers, the pink slip has come in an unceremonious way all too often, leading them down a trip to the unemployment line. Whether it was due to bad performance, an issue with a co-worker, or just not seeing eye-to-eye with the boss, they were dismissed.

In the event you find yourself in this position now as you search for a new job, there are some important factors to keep in mind when called in for a job interview.

Among them are:

  • Accept reality – Getting fired from a job is one of the toughest things you can go through. Yes, there is a difference between a firing and getting laid off from a job mainly that many layoff victims are oftentimes kept in their company’s plans should conditions improve where they can be brought back. How many times do you see an employer re-hiring a fired employee? The first and most important thing for you to do is accept what happened, take a short amount of time to deal with it, and then move on. Carrying a grudge for an extended period of time can impact you when you go back out on the interview trail, therefore lessening your chances for getting another job;
  • Covering the time gaps – Many individuals have gaps on their resume that can easily be explained away. Whether it was a layoff, taking time off to go back to school or for maternity leave, a sickness, it can be relatively easy to explain the time off. When it comes to being fired, however, this is where it gets tricky. Should you lie and say you were actually laid off or skip around the subject altogether? By all means, do not lie. This is a smaller world than many people think, and such lies can come back to haunt you if your potential or new employer finds out. If asked about why you were fired,  briefly explain your side of the issue and go from there;
  • Point out company you worked for – The last thing you want to do when interviewing for a job is bad-mouth your previous employer. That being said, it is okay to point out factual information about why you were fired. Sometimes firings happen as a result of companies being sold, downsizing, or another method whereby you did not have a say in the situation. You or other individuals may have viewed your dismissal as a firing, where in fact you actually were a layoff victim, something that does make a difference. On the other hand, if your prior employer had some issues with you and/or other employees and you got caught up in them, explain them in the proper manner without carrying a grudge;
  • Admit any wrongdoing – Most employees do not go out of their way to get fired.  In the event you were fired from a job and it comes up during a job interview, let the interviewer know what you learned from the experience and how it has changed your approach to work. While it may not get you the new job, it will at least give the interviewer pause to think that you may be worth the risk and have in fact learned from your previous employment situation. Many employers are willing to give an individual a second chance if they see sincerity and that the candidate did in fact learn a lesson from a job firing;
  • Show appreciation for a second chance– Lastly, make sure you learn from the firing, but then put it in the past so that it does not impact you going forward. It can certainly be tough to transition from being fired to having to look for another job, but it is the reality most people face. By hitting the job trail again and not sulking on your couch, you have already won half the battle.

Getting over a firing and finding a new job definitely takes time and effort, but the end result could show you that the firing was actually a blessing in disguise.

Photo credit: inlandpolitics.com

Dave Thomas, who covers among other subjects’ business phone service, writes extensively for Business.com, an online resource destination for businesses of all sizes to research, find, and compare the products and services they need to run their businesses.

 

8 Ways the Creative You Can Make Money Online

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A Guest Post by
Rachel Carlson

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More Creative Ways to Make Money Online

Let’s face it – money is a huge concern for people these days. According to MSNBC, about 6.5 million people in the U.S. were working two jobs in 2010. The fact that you’re reading this article probably means that you’re looking for your own second job, or at least some supplemental income. Well, the Internet certainly provides many opportunities and advantages when it comes to making money. For example, many people are familiar with tactics such as flipping vintage items on eBay or Craigslist, taking advantage of the “one man’s trash, another man’s treasure” adage. There’s also the very common practice of freelance writing for sites like eHow and WiseGeek.

But there are other, more creative, possibly even fun ways to make money online. Very few of these solutions will provide you with the amount of cash that a second job would, but you’ll also be saving time and money by working at home. Think about it – there’ll be no cost of commuting or going out for lunch every day. And if you’re lucky enough to have something approaching a clear wireless internet 4G connection, you can “work” from anywhere at any time on a laptop or even a smartphone. So stop worrying and start getting creative:

1. Sell Video Game Money

Are you an avid World of Warcraft player? Why not monetize those hours of playing by selling some of your gold for real-world money? There are several sites that will pay you actual cash for your WoW gold; alternatively, you could just contact other players with offers on your own. Also, if you’re not too attached to it, players have been known to sell their accounts for hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Similar things can be done in the game Second Life. Also, if you’re planning on spending time playing Diablo III when it’s released, take advantage of its innovative real money auction house.

2. Sell Stock Photos

Get out the camera – pictures that you take can be contributed to services like iStockPhoto, Stockxpert, Fotolia, Shutterstock, Dreamstime and Clustershot as stock photos that are available for public use. Every time someone downloads one of your pictures for any reason, you get paid. The money results are often miniscule until your picture receives hundreds of downloads, but success isn’t uncommon. According to ABC News, this photo has already earned the photographer over $10,000.

3. Sell Items on Etsy

Etsy is a place where anybody can sell their handmade or vintage items. This includes jewelry, clothing, accessories, housewares, pet supplies, toys, decorations, and many other categories. It has become an extremely popular site for buyers who are looking for unique items. So, do you knit in your spare time? Maybe you have metalsmithing skills that you’re not putting to use. Any unique product that you can hand-craft can be sold on Etsy. And people are buying – $45.8 million of goods were sold on Etsy in August of 2011.

4. Become a ChaCha Guide

Have you used ChaCha? Basically, it’s a service that allows you to call or text with a question that will be almost instantly answered by a knowledgeable guide. Now, this “guide” is usually just looking up the answer on the Internet, but they do have to be pretty creative, as ChaCha has been known to receive some fairly outlandish questions (i.e. “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?”). So, if you want to increase your Internet search skills while gaining knowledge in just about any subject, consider becoming one of these guides. The pay ranges from around 2 cents to 20 cents per answer, but if you work quickly you could earn a decent amount of spending money.

5. Blogging

Starting and maintaining a blog takes a lot of work, but it’s potentially more profitable than any other suggestion on this list. You’ll first have to decide what your blog will discuss. If you’re just looking to make money, you could focus your blog in a niche industry that allows you to attract advertisers and affiliate relationships, as well as allowing you to make sales yourself. You’ll then have to decide on a blogging platform, a domain name, and a hosting service. You’ll also need to start regularly creating content and keeping your site updated. Performing SEO and link building doesn’t hurt either. After all this, it can still take quite a while for your blog to ever start making any money (it might never), but there are plenty of success stories showing that people can make a lot of money when blogging.

6. eJury

eJury is a site where trial attorneys try to get a feel for public opinion regarding a case. It helps them evaluate their evidence, choose jurors, and make compelling arguments in the court room. Here’s how it works: after registering for eJury, you’ll occasionally be sent an email asking you to examine a mock trial. You’ll have a specific amount of time to complete the questions, after which you’ll be paid $5-$10. Doesn’t seem like much money, but it’s not much work either. Here’s an example of an eJury mock trial.

7. Do Some Freelance “Geeking”

If you’re looking to make money on the Internet, chances are good that you already have some experience with coding, web design, or SEO. If this is the case, why not offer your skills up to small businesses that are trying to make it on the web? Contact small businesses about building web sites, or just offer to help them implement a shopping cart, redesign their site, etc. You’ll need to be able to build trust with clients before you can start, so be sure to have a professional resume and portfolio ready. A site like Warrior Forum can help you find this type of work.

8. Enter Logo Contests

Are you a budding graphic designer? You’re probably already aware of the competition in this field, but it never hurts to submit some of your designs in for contests to get a chance at winning some cash. You’ll be building a portfolio and networking at the same time. So, be sure to check out sites like 99 Designs, which has hosted over 100,000 contests and has awarded over $25 million to designers.

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Author’s Bio:
Rachel Carlson is a writer and student that works from home. While she spends a lot of her time writing, she also helps different companies like Clear Wireless with gaining exposure through various blogs and websites. She has recently started a new Twitter account and is finally going to give it a real shot. She can be followed at @carlson_rachel.

Thanks, Rachel!

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

The Five Questions to Leverage Your Unique Position

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Start with Knowing Where You Are

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Strategy is a about making and leveraging new beginnings from wherever you sitting right now. The very nature of strategy is unique to who or what you are. In other words, it’s not a plan that is go grand it good apply to anyone.

Statements like these that I’ve read on too many corporate strategic powerpoints are not strategies …

  • Become a thought leader in our space.
  • Raise our brand awareness.
  • Leverage our customers to own more market share.

These are broadly written descriptions of possible goals.

A strategy is a practical system to advance achievement. True strategy focused on leveraging opportunity consistently and fluently in the direction of growth.
Strategy is uniquely formed from knowing where we stand and what we own.

Strategy begins by understanding where you stand and bringing all of who and what you are to where you want to go.

Knowing where you’re going is irresistibly attractive. Who’d want to follow you if you don’t know where you’re going to go?

So, to get get from here to there, you need to have a goal — a vision on the horizon that you’re willing to commit your best resources to achieving. You’ll need a team of great people to support you — belief and influence will attract the best people to participate in your mission to reach that vision.

But first, you have to know where you are before you go.

Getting from here to there is impossible if you don’t know where here is.

Your unique position defines how to leverage strategic opportunities that yours alone.

The Five Questions to Leverage Your Unique Position

To build a true strategy a person or business has to begin with where you stand and a clear picture of where you want to go. It’s hard to get there from here, if you haven’t figured out where here is. These five questions will help define your unique strategic position.

  1. What drives you to your mission and your goal? Know why you do what you do. No person, no business accomplishes great things alone. Frodo had his friends. Batman did too. Your mission clarifies your position and the field on which you’re playing. It’s the higher calling that attracts the right team who want to move things forward with you.
  2. What do you already own? The strategic of owning nothing can mean the lower risk of nothing to lose. Do you have a spark, a spirit, a culture, a process, a system, a model, a location, a concept, a team that works for you?
  3. What position on the playing field do you uniquely hold by why of the ground, the talents and the values that are your own? If your back is against the wall, no one can sneak up behind you. Distract, Divide, Decide the rules that work for you. Choose the most natural rule of opposites put it to work for you. If the industry cares about sales, care about follow through. If the industry cares about flash and glitz go minimalist. Make having your back against the wall the new the black — the envied position to choose.
  4. What is your role that serves others better than anyone else can? Be driven to make nothing about you. Nothing beats listening to the people who love you to help them with their dearest quest. Use your position to get to know who loves you and to raise the best of them closer to their goals.
  5. How will you combine these to decide how every competitve offer is irrelevant? What does your team bring that no other team can offer — that no other team could reproduce? What’s the WOW of just interacting with you?

Being good at execution or at picking a direction won’t get us to that winning goal. Understanding the strategic advantages of every position, even the worst one you might imagine, that allow us to make the small adjustments and leverage the advantages that the folks who need the “sure winner,” who can’t risk, can’t see, or can’t move fast enough to leverage. Knowing and constantly reassessing your position is as important as knowing your goal.

Have you found the leverage in your position yet?

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