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Archives for September 2011

Nine Global Bloggers You Should Know

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Bulgaria, Sweden, Thailand, Canada, Australia, Romania, France, Costa Rica, Lebanon, Hong Kong – these are the countries and regions most on my radar each day I tweet, open a blog post, write a blog post, retweet from Triberr, and comment in others’ houses.

The world is becoming smaller every day.

Which countries are on your radar? Have you developed the sweet relationships I have with peeps in each of these locations? Do you think you’d go visit that country and want to ensure you meet for an espresso or cup of tea?

I have to say, honestly, I have and I would. My tweeps notwithstanding from the U.S., the richness of culture and excitement I receive from these relationships I’ve developed are worthy of continuing on this path and this growth journey. Let me share a slice of my world with you and encourage yo u to put these tweeps on your global radar:

** Petya Georgieva, in Bulgaria, has invited my comment about PR and again today in a guest post. (Funny how I selected a similar topic today, eh?)

** A podcast I did with Jon Buscall of Jontus Media in Sweden about social media anything and everything via Skype was my second experience with this medium. I love doing these, and Jon is a master podcaster (and his accent is very sexy, but don’t tell him). Jon shares that our first session was his most popular with listeners from all over the world. (That #RocksHot – did you know I engraved by iPad2 with “Soulati Media Rocks Hot.”)

** On occasion Robert Dempsey and I Skype (he’s in Thailand), and I see him on blogs everywhere in the States, too.  Robert #RocksHot in SEO and is ahead of the curve with social media SEO – the new buzz.

** My best pal in Ho ng Kong, Roy Grubb of WikIT and Topicscape is a  mind-map wizard. He found me first and early on my blogging pathway. (In fact, he’s my “agent” and supports me all over Twitter).

** Have you met Leon Noone yet? He’s my favorite Aussie curmudgeon. I love that man to pieces with his wit and dry humor. He’s got experience beyond anyone I know, so make sure you put him on your radar.

** And, Kaarina D illabough is a lovely Canadian who writes with amazing thought, warmth and coaching style on her blog.

** Stan Faryna, writing from Romania, will take you on a wild ride with his emotional and inspirational writing. He keeps you guessing always and yet is so totally engaging and sweet.

** The Falchetto’s, John and Ameena, each write their own blogs Expat Life Coach and  Mummy in Provence. Each is respected and inspiring for their life works.

I could give you more examples of others who are in my Globe Spotting Tribe on Triberr, but for starters, these are wonderful peeps who sit with me on the down low…or the QT… as they say. If you want to gain influence and enhance your brand in another country, then go to a blogger’s house who works in another country. Simple. Develop relationship with that person and their community, and you’ll begin to get invites to participate.

Who might you add here, please? We’re always interested in learning more about peeps around the world who are rockin’ it.

 

 

Five Tips From Low To Grow

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I recently came off a low point bordering on downright “depression.” Shhh, I don’t like to allow that word into my vocabulary as I hate feeling down in the dumps. Sometimes it’s just plain unavoidable.

When these lows happen, I usually fall pretty hard because I’m a 99 percent up person – always glass half full, seeking a belly laugh, giggling at a stupid tweet, and wanting to find the happy each and every day and ride that wave.

But, when everything, it seems, just collapses onto my shoulders from the uncontrollable Mother Nature escapades on the house and vehicle, the start of school and new accelerated math requirements to client relationships that are trying and doubting and tales of lives lost and hearts broken – ohmygosh. It sometimes becomes too much to bear, and I know I’m not alone with these feelings.

Yet, all I want to do is be alone and muddle through. That is why I took a bit of a hiatus from the blog – no incentive, the words would not flow, the ideas were like molasses pouring from a bottle with a small neck.

As a result of this low point, I took the opportunity to grow – as a person, as a coach, as a practitioner, as a friend, and as a mom.  Because, when I really dissected what was making me feel so dumpy, it had much to do with criticism; which I always take to heart regardless of whether someone is in the right or wrong in saying what they’ve said.  This is part of the challenge of working for yourself – there is no one to balance the thoughts, decisions, actions, or choices.

And, you know? I have NOTHING to complain about; hopefully, this is not coming across as a complaint. It’s all about my own personal strength and spirit as I traverse this blogging and social media journey.

There’s been much lament of late on the blogosphere. Bill Dorman wrote about it this week on his blog – what’s up with everyone “the lights are on, but no one’s home.”  Many wrote in about change – there is job loss, ill family members, waning interest, time pressures, the glories and hazards of a job hunt, and people just wanting a change. I feel it, for sure. I yearn for the glory days of Twitter of yore, and it will never be the same. These feelings add up to a gray-to-black cloud hovering above, don’t they?

For me, it’s always a relief to climb out of the hole; for others doomed to reside in there, I feel compassion as it’s never easy to pick yourself up with a solid exit strategy from bottom to top.

My few suggestions may be silly to others, but they work for me (please add yours?):

1. Hit the trails early morning and when the fawns cross my path I stop and stare at their gorgeous faces in wonder and awe.

2. Focus out on someone else who needs a boost more than me and put their needs in front of mine.

3. Kiss my child and nurture her to grow with strength of spirit and this spreads warmth through my heart so it glows with love to share with everyone.

4. Ask how I can help someone I see having a bad day; that support is so precious, and when it comes to me even in a simple tweet, I’m thankful.

5. Send a greeting card (Cardthartic is my favorite; all about “Honoring Emotions”) to someone unexpectedly. You’ve got mail!  Yeah! When was the last time you sent a card/letter to anyone? It’s part of who I am and I’m raising my child to be the same. It warms you that someone took that precious time to think of you that much.

I know this is a hokey post and off base for me, but you know what? I’m not going to pull the wool over your eyes and make you believe that I’m not human and need a hug sometimes, too.

How To Make The Bed With Clients

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Making my queen bed, I was struck by how many ways there are to accessorize a mattress. Usually, our mothers teach us their method, and their mothers before them show the proper way, and it sticks for life.  If you enter the military, you learn a more disciplined method, and those corners are crisp forever. Years ago when I made a bed with my mom, she insisted the pretty side of the sheet had to be underneath so you could sleep between the two patterns.

Then, there’s the matter of the bed spread, comforter with duvet, and how far down to fold these top layers. Finally, how many pillows are included on your bed? Any extra for reading? Any shams, bolsters or other decorative accents? Thread count?

Imagine making a bed with your client. Oy. Here’s how it may pan out:

**  The first several times there’s tentative balance as you attempt to find common ground. There are probably a few laughs, too.

**  Then, there may be a discussion about how your client learned to make the bed and why that way may be faster.

** Perhaps you need to stand back and watch a demonstration on how to make military corners because your client was in boot camp and insists on crispness.

** For sure, there’s tug and pull when you realize your client has pulled the entire blanket to his side. You have nothing to work with; not even a flap. How do you politely ask for some input blanket?

** Finally, the coverlet goes on, and the client wants to fold it down half way so 10 pillows in varying sizes, colors, and fabrics can be piled near the headboard to make the final product totally ridiculous — it’s no longer a bed. And, you just stand back with arms crossed and head nodding while muttering, “Do not pick this battle; he’s footing the bill.”

At the end of the day, making a bed with someone new is all about finding common ground, striking a balance, learning, and compromise.

Before you head into that bed-making experience with an unknown client, here are a few reminders to keep in mind during fact finding to ascertain what’s hot:

  1. Tell me about your experience making a bed.
  2. Get all the stories you can to create a rich history and bring that client to life.
  3. Find out the rules, the etiquette, the boundaries, and how the corners are folded; keep those in mind throughout the relationship.
  4. What milestones helped create the best- looking, award-winning bed ever?
  5. What technique contributed to efficiencies in process, economies of scale, and cost savings?
  6. What best practice was developed along the way to contribute to the bottom line?

Here’s one final thought…when answers become overwhelming and all you can do is make nonsense soup from too many ingredients, that’s the sign it’s time to move along to the next bed with a new partner.

Resonate? (Not expecting too many comments on this one; I was trying to find a gentle way to say … I think you’re smart enough to figure it out!)

 

 

RIP Trey Pennington

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I’m just getting up to speed after a Labor Day weekend fraught with thought, the need for new direction, and some infusion of happy. That’s not going to be the case for awhile. Add in the fact my RIM Blackberry is not sending all my emails to the device and thus my shock at this morning’s news, courtesy of Spin Sucks.

Trey Pennington committed suicide Sunday on his church premises.

For those of you who didn’t know of Trey, he was a leader, mentor, and consummate storyteller. I had the privilege of sitting next to him when we presented to Social Slam in April in Knoxville. He spent his own funds to buy colorful bandanas for the entire conference – some 400 people.

When he told stories, they were always about his kids – five of them and two grandchildren. He absolutely loved his family, and only he and those close to him knew the reasons for a serious and horrific separation from his wife.

I am devastated. Not because I knew Trey as a friend, but because I knew him as a social media leader and influencer. In April, he was on top of the world; within four months, he has left our world.

Social media fuels image, reputation, credibility, influence, friendships, mentorships, opportunity, relationships, and interactions. Behind ALL of this, there are people asking for help or crying out for attention or sending hints of a downward spiral yet to come.

What can we do? Is it a Twitter buddy’s responsibility to ask the poignant questions that cross the line from 140 into personal space? And, then what do we do? I’m at a loss here.

I have a network of close-knit tweeps. When they’re absent for many days, I notice. After many weeks, I wonder. After more than many weeks, I worry, and then I begin to ask questions and pick up the phone. That’s my nature – to nurture.

The only thing I want to tell the Pennington clan is this – your dad was the absolute epitome of professionalism. He always welcomed the little guys and the newbies into his circles, and he did it with warmth that was heartfelt. When he spoke and shared, it always included you – his children, and there were always stories about your escapades to bring laughter to an audience.

I can’t know how you’re feeling today or the questions you have that will go unanswered. I am in shock, in tears, and devastated with this news. I’m sorry. I’m so terribly sorry.

Obama, Boehner and Lessons for Business

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Today, I was ready to troll for a blog post; I really had nothing brewing, not even an inkling (to reference my good friend Ken Mueller). Then, I read the second headline in this morning’s Wall Street Journal (the paper version, mind you), and the post came rolling in. (I purposely missed last night’s news as I’m trying not to get all discombobulated with the sickness plaguing U.S. leaders).

But, there it was…a slap in the face…the President of the U.S. asked to address Congress on Sept. 7, 2011; the Speaker of the House said no, you ought to do it a day later (in direct conflict with the NFL game).

That’s it. There’s my blog post concept, and the negative emotions came flooding in to wreak havoc on my morning coffee and dry bran muffin I made this weekend.

Because I’ve been letting the world’s state of affairs bug me, and I’ve been ranting a bit (see my Monday Meanderings), I’m going to turn this latest stupidity (the likes that haven’t been seen, I’m told, since Woodrow Wilson was president in the 1910s) into how not to run your business.

Imagine Company X has a president with successors interested in taking over that top-dog position. There are employees across the U.S. and they manufacture widgets. The employees are restless because the leadership of Company X is constantly bickering and doing it publicly as well as behind closed doors (if that can ever happen).

Employees are Facebooking their malcontent, and water-cooler gossip among the white-collar shirts is heated. The president of Company X requests an all-staff meeting, and the management team suggests all staff should not attend; they can watch streaming video of the presentation instead.

Should this difference of timing, medium and attendance be publicized for all the world to see, or should this be discussed and negotiated behind closed doors until everyone can comfortably agree?

You know the answer; I don’t need to tell you how we play in business. But, I do, apparently, need to tell the leaders of the United States, and here’s what I’d like to say:

** We The People in order to form a more perfect union, would like the president of the U.S and his Congress to get the flip along.

** When there are differences so ridiculously inane, like timing of a speech, keep it to yourselves and work it out so We The People don’t need to participate in your bickering.

** Hire a team of therapists to sit with each of  you to curb your hostility for one another so We The People can begin to raise our heads proudly that we’re all working toward one goal — to shore up the foundation this country has worked so hard to attain.

** Put on your mud clothes and hit the streets of Brattleboro, Vermont, where my friends live, and get your hands dirty — TOGETHER — so We The People can begin to see some unity of action on our behalf.

** Read all the blog posts and comments from We The People about how embarrassed and absolutely, positively fed up your constituents are about your behavior. Begin to mend relationships that benefit the jobless, the homeless, those with medical needs, those under water with mortgages, those paying all their taxes, the children without milk, and others who are heading into a downward spiral due to price increases everywhere in this country.

Perhaps, Mr. President and Mr. Boehner, if you heed one item on this list, that would be a start. Maybe if you just read it and noodle on the sentiment at the grassroots level, you’ll know that both of you are heading out the door because We The People are just plain old fed up.

Aren’t we?