I have to admit that the news of Steve Jobs’ passing really rocked me yesterday.

We could learn a lot from him and although he will be missed, his legacy made a lasting mark on our world.

He may have been and done a lot of things, but there are few core lessons that we can learn from him.

1. He had a focus. Apple’s focus was “ease of use”. It wasn’t to make the worlds coolest phones and computers so that everybody in the world would want one, blah, blah, blah…

2. He didn’t ‘do what everyone else does’

3. When the rest of the world was looking for how they could put a zillion more features into a cell phone that could sell for under $100, he created a $600 iphone!

There are so many things to learn from him, but I think it is safe to start there!

What will you remember most?

What will you be remembered for?

How can YOU think differently?

Take a moment to watch this video
Steve Jobs Live before you die

 

For many years now [ever since I left Real Estate Brokerage] I have struggled with labels. People would ask “What do you do?”

Seems like a simple question, but articulating an answer never was.
When I would speak somewhere, people would also ask me for a title or ‘label’. I found that even more challenging.

I never wanted to ‘just be social media’, marketing and branding didn’t quite cover it…I’m not a big fan of titles like “coach” and I never liked words like “guru”…

I have always seen myself as a “connect the dots girl”. I help people see what they cannot see [because they don't have an outside perspective of who they are or what they do] and help them to get clarity in what they do, and create message that people understand. I also often help people create plans, complete todo’s, etc.

I had an epiphany last night.

It occurred to me that I am more like a GPS.

Most people have an idea of where they want to go. They just want to get there, but they need help navigating. They need to know which way to turn next, how to navigate detours. I basically help them get where they want to go. Sometimes I help them to see that where they think they want to go isn’t really where they want to go at all!

As I continued to muse this thought, I realized that I simply help people overcome the challenges that I have struggled with and overcome. I know what it is like to lack direction, clarity, courage, a path, a plan, etc. In fact, I still have those moments [and days].

It is said that your greatest failures and challenges in life are clues to your purpose. I never really liked that thought very much, but am now pondering it in a different way.

What would that mean for you?

 

First let me start by saying how thankful I am that we did not suffer any significant damage or injury from Irene. My heart and prayers go out to those who did. This post is not intended in any way to take away from those who did!

As I waited and watched Irene yesterday, I couldn’t help but think “there are some life and business lessons here”.

Here are a few that I came up with, please feel free to add your own in the comments!

• You can have an expected path & plan, but they are always likely to change or “wiggle” off track
•  Be prepared, but also be prepared for those “wiggles” and detours!
• There is beauty in EVERYTHING! NO matter how ugly or horrible things may seem, look for the beauty and the blessings. They are always there.
• Often times ‘bad events’ bring out the best in people. Be one of those people, and acknowledge the others who are too.
• Be grateful! No matter what you have or don’t have, you have a LOT to be grateful for. I am a big believer in the power of gratitude!
• Storms in life will come and go [like it or not:)]. They happen for a reason. Be sure to look for and see the gift in them.
• Events like these have a way to bringing to light “what really matters” and what doesn’t. Try to keep that perspective in all that you do!
• If you are reading this, you are extremely lucky. You are alive, have power, a computer, and internet access. Count your blessings ALWAYS and be HAPPY!

What others would you add?

 

I recently spent some time with a great friend up in the mountains. The trip was incredible and I didn’t want to come home.  I came up with lots of great ideas and plans however, which ordinarily “juices” me to no end.

I have found myself resisting though. I have been tired all day, unfocused, and unable to get my rear in gear.

I am trying not to beat myself up however. There is a reason for it. I have no idea what it is, but I am allowing myself to just “be” and muse.

Do you ever “get stuck?”

We all do at some point, and what “works” is different for everyone.  So, I am going to do as my friend suggested  and mentor myself just as a would a client.

Here is what  I would tell a client to do:

• Give yourself a day off (or two)
• Write! Write what you are thinking and feeling. Imagine yourself as successful as you want to be. Now, ask yourself what you think might happen if it came to be. What might you be afraid of? What might be holding you back?
• What is your first “money memory”?  Whether you have fears around money, issues with food, alcohol, or whatever, looking for your first ______ memory can be very enlightening!

Awareness is the first step!

If you have challenges with money, love, work or whatever, take 10 minutes each day to think about it and write about it. You might just have an amazing breakthrough! If you do have one, or have had one in the past,  I would love to hear about it!

 

Here is INC. Magazine’s list of Best Books for Business Owners 2010:

1. Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

2. Social Entrepreneurship by David Bornstein and Susan Davis

3. Zilch by Nancy Lublin

4. Zingerman’s Guide to Good Leading by Ari Weinzweig

5. The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention by Pamela Mitchell

6. Life by Keith Richards and James Fox

7. Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

8. Bury My Heart at Conference Room B by Stan Slap

9. Building Social Business by Muhammad Yunus

10. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

11. The Little Big Things by Tom Peters

12. The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick

13. MacroWikinomics by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams

14. You Are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier

15. Linchpin by Seth Godin

16. Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson

17. The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely

18. Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pignuer

19. Islands of Profit in a Sea of Red Ink by Jonathan L. S. Byrnes

20. Smart Growth by Edward D. Hess

21. Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson

22. Good Boss, Bad Boss by Robert I. Sutton

23. How Companies Win by Rick Kash and David Calhoun

24. The Mirror Test by Jeffrey W. Hayzlett and Jim Eber

25. Spend Shift by John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio

26. Built to Sell by John Warrillow

(I haven’t read many of these yet. If you have, please post your thoughts, in the comments below!)

In addition to this list, I thought I would add a few of my [timeless] favorites:

• The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann
• Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
• The Tipping Point by Malcome Gladwell
• The E Myth by Michael Gerber
• Good to Great by Tim Collins
• Purple Cow (among others) by Seth Godin
• The Cluetrain Manifesto by Levine, Locke, Searis and Weinberger
• Over the Top by Zig Ziglar

Have you read any of these?

I’m sure I have [unintentionally] left out some great ones.  Please share your thoughts!

 

Google launched realtime search last December, but they have now ‘kicked it up a notch” by giving it its own home page. Basically it is a Google search page that updates in real time. Unlike ‘regular’ Google searches which often have ‘top results’ that are years old, these searches will produce them as they are posted.  While sorting the data based on things like ‘number of people who have clicked on this one’ is believed to be useful based on the assumption that those sites that have been most visited, are more relevant and valuable, that is not always the case.

The world is changing faster than I can type! Some things need to be more current than others. Technology for example. It doesn’t really matter to me if a blog has a gazillion visitors and therefore gets top placement if I am looking for information on facebook for example. Last years ‘how to’ information is likely no longer relevant.  I have been searching for medical information a lot lately and there is another area where I want the very latest [even if it's on a more obscure site] findings, research, etc.

A big part of this real-time search is twitter. Just go look at the results rolling in on the page. That is where a lot of the data is coming from. This again can be very useful! Think about it…

Going back to my medical search. I am searching for the latest greatest content on a condition called Paralytic Ileus.  If by chance, someone happened to be tweeting about that as I was searching, I would be thrilled! Now I have someone that I can reach out to and connect with and learn more from, as opposed to just an article or abstract.

Imagine the person who is thinking of relocating to the area.  Let’s say they are searching Google for family friendly activities in the Raleigh area (where I live) and you happen to post a blog post, or tweet a link about that very thing. Voila! Not only do they get to read whatever you posted, but they get to connect with you!  We all love information, but there is simply something irreplaceable about connecting with PEOPLE.

Now you might be thinking “that only helps me if they search at that exact time”. Perhaps,  depending on the content. People may not be posting new content as quickly as you might think.  But that wasn’t even a possibility before! Your post will still be ‘out there’ in Google land, just as it always would have been. This is just another ‘place’ or ‘way’ that it shows up.

How to use Google Realtime Search?

You can either go to http://www.google.com/realtime

or just type whatever you are searching for into your Google toolbar and then on the results page choose “updates” on the left side!

So, what does it mean to you?

As a business person [or anyone posting content]:

In my opinion, it could mean:

a) it doesn’t affect you in any way because you aren’t contributing anything to the internet pool on a consistent basis, or

b) it can mean that you now a little bit of additional opportunity for people to find you and your content, and a ‘level playing field’ in the land of Google, if even for a brief period of time.

As a ‘consumer’ or person searching for information, it allows you to find up to the minute information and more easily connect with people who are experts in, or interested in the same information that you are looking for.

Of course, like all things new we will have to wait and see how it all pans out.

What do you think? Do you see any other good/bad points that I haven’t mentioned?

(Oh, and you can click here for the Google “how to use Google realtime video”)

 

When you are in business mode, marketing is a word that ‘speaks to you’. If you not, it also speaks to you…although maybe not in a good way.

The words ‘marketing’ and ‘selling’ are now seemingly on the ‘bad words’ list, and perhaps rightfully so. We all know there are ‘those salespeople’ who give all a bad name. We have all been marketed to when we didn’t ask or want to be. We have TiVo’d our way out of commercials, “Do Not Call listed” our way out of cold calls. If someone knocks on our door we are likely to slam it in their face.

Marketing and selling are not bad things. We all need stuff, and we need to know which stuff is better, and in some cases, we need a salesperson to help us buy it. The trouble is in the manner in which it is done. Sadly, the manner in which both are done have become ‘bad’. The intention is often bad, the definitions are often bad, and therefore the words are even “bad”.

Sales vs. Marketing

First let’s look at sales, or selling. The word selling comes from the Old English word “sellan” which means “to give”. If you read the current definitions however, you get things like:

to persuade or induce (someone) to buy something: The salesman sold me on a more expensive model than I wanted.

to persuade or induce someone to buy (something): The clerk really sold the shoes to me by flattery.

If you think about the word ‘marketing’, it comes from back in the days when people purchased items ‘at the market’. In fact, if you check dictionary.com, NONE of the definitions are what most of us think of marketing to be. They refer to ‘the act of buying and selling of goods’. Even these descriptions from dictionary.com define it differently than many would:

The activities of a company associated with buying and selling a product or service. It includes advertising, selling and delivering products to people

Many people believe that marketing is just about advertising or sales. However, marketing is everything a company does to acquire customers and maintain a relationship with them

Or, how about this explanation from Allbusiness.com:

Theodore Levitt, onetime lecturer on business administration at the Harvard Business School, aptly described the difference between sales and marketing: “Selling focuses on the needs of the seller and the need to convert product to cash. Marketing focuses on the needs of the buyer and the need to satisfy the customer through the products produced.”

To put it another way, it’s sales’ job to influence the customer to buy what the company has produced. It’s marketing’s job to influence the company to produce what the customer wants. Both are concerned with the customer but, while sales talks, marketing listens.

“while sales talks, marketing listens…”

When you are marketing, are you listening?

Marketing focuses on the needs of the buyer and the need to satisfy the customer through the products produced

Are you focused on the needs of the buyer, and the need to satisfy the customer?

The truth is, if we had that focus, if we actually were marketing and selling as described above, they wouldn’t be bad words!

Unfortunately, we have MADE them bad. Our intentions and words have created the perception and the aversion that many have to sales and marketing.

Think about it. As Bob Burg, author of The Go-Giver and Endless Referrals points out, think about the term ‘sales pitch’. Think about baseball and what the intention of a ‘good pitch’ is? It’s striking the other guy out! It’s making the other guy lose, so that you can win!

Think about marketing terminology:
Tactics
Strategy
Targets

That doesn’t sound like listening to and satisfying the needs of anybody. It sounds like war!

Now don’t go getting all cranky because I said that, and you use those words. We all have, if we do any marketing at all. Those are the words of the industry, and we use them without a thought.
(Just like we say “kill two birds with one stone” with no intention of kill anything

What I am suggesting is, that you give it all some thought. That you shift your focus from what everyone else says marketing is, or should be, from what you have thought sales is or isn’t, and consider how it used to be. Consider how it could be…

Shift from ‘the way it’s always been’, or at least what you thought it was. Consider the points above:

sellan = to give
marketing = to listen

I know it’s not the way that everybody else does it. But, do you want to be like everyone else, or do you want to be remarkable?

(Need help with the shift? Contact me! I will be happy to help)

 

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