There was an interesting conversation about thought leadership on #profschat the other day around what it is, what it means, where it fits into an organization’s priorities, who “owns” it, and how to execute a successful thought leadership strategy. And it got me...
A friend of mine calls them PITAs. That's short for Pain in the ______. As in clients (or customers) who are more trouble than they're worth. I'm either lucky enough or wise enough not to have any PITAs. One advantage of being my own boss is I can prioritize "working...
I stopped into an Irish Pub the other day for a quick pint of Guinness. A guy sidled up to the bar and ordered "two PBRs and a Coors Light." This post is about impressions--and your brand. Are you wearing flip flops at work? Do I have to call you more than once...
Love it, hate it, or deny it exists, personal branding is a hot topic. And it's going to be THE topic today for #sm122, a weekly tweet chat around the business of social media. Join me at 12 noon EST as I host a conversation around personal branding. We'll explore:...
When I moved into my condo, it took me a couple of months to find a tile guy to replace my kitchen floor. The job was "too small," one contractor flat out said to me. When I was writing articles for an insurance company, two brokers and one attorney (the company's...
What's wrong with being second? Americans (and probably others too) are obsessed with winning. As though being second, third, or fourth were unacceptable. Two sports reporters were debating recently whether the USA women’s soccer team was a failure because it lost the...
My target audience isn't marketers. It's businesses. There's nothing wrong with marketing blogs. Or PR blogs. Or blogs about kittens. But too many business bloggers are really just writing for themselves. What challenges do your clients, customers, and/or prospects...
Assessing value can be one of the toughest challenges facing any business. Bring small business folks together for a conversation, and the topics of rates and handling negotiations routinely come up. Pricing is often in the eye of the buyer—budget, need, demand, and...
Would you fire an employee who badmouthed your business? I had the pleasure of presenting at the Direct Marketing Association of Washington's Social Media Marketing Day. Our panel was charged with talking about best practices. Did you know, for example, that Facebook...
Everyone should spend a week (or longer) working for The Ritz-Carlton. It doesn't really matter what job--front line, back office, executive suite. You'll learn something about customer service done right. I was fortunate to spend a month many years ago working in the...