My Morning WalkNew day, uninterrupted thoughts

At what point do we say: “Enough….slow down, take a breath, and gather our thoughts for the next push toward stardom, excellence, or major goal?” Technology continues to move at light speed, but how much is actually necessary for the achievement of success? Is there a break-even point on time and resources that one can use to determine the feasibility of a new Blackberry app versus an i-Pad? What about Skype versus an internal video telecommunications network? Is either a better option and how are such options weighted in the decision-making process?

Business owners/entrepreneurs face these decisions every day, more now than ever. The competitive landscape is constantly changing and there is immense internal and external pressure to keep up with the Joneses. Is such activity really necessary? Does everyone need to take baby steps that include adaptation of every possible new strategy, or are some better off slowing down the decision-making process, focusing on what they do best, then adapting new technology and processes to maximize their revenues based on more systematic, strategic choices?

Looking at the big picture, I’m not sure what the answer is, but I know that getting caught up in the analysis of these decisions makes for an unproductive life. Input?

Looking back at the posts I’ve written on this site, there’s one titled “60 days to social media success”. Is that really possible? I haven’t posted since February 2011, yet I still don’t believe I’ve missed out on a whole lot in those 6 months. Why? Because the world I live in, the clients I help, and the students from the social media class I’ve been talking to are all telling me both verbally and non-verbally that the “60 days” is a fallacy. Why? As Anthony Robbins says: “Communication is more about the message received than the message delivered.” In other words, if your local world isn’t ready to HEAR the news that social media is the new normal and Seth Godin’s concept of “Permission Marketing” is going to replace telemarketing, direct mail and interruptions, then whatever I or anyone else says on an obscure little blog like this one is totally irrelevant to the status quo. When and only when the market I am trying to attract is open and prepared to accept the message being delivered in the manner in which it is intended will the acceptance and adoption of social media strategies take place.

The posts are going to resume mainly because blogging is fun and yes, I have an opinion. I’ll try not to commit the cardinal sin of leaving the post unattended in the future.

The insurance business has been around for decades. Clients, prospects and internet “experts” all imply that it’s a necessary evil of life. We learned about insurance as children, oddly enough when the board game “LIFE” used to force us to buy it when we landed on the wrong square. In the real game of life, mortgage lenders require homeowners insurance to cover their financial interest. Banks lending money for auto loans will assess a monthly insurance charge for physical damage coverage ONLY, sometimes more than five times the amount for a “full coverage” policy from an insurer, and most states require auto liability insurance, although the minimum likely couldn’t pay the gas bill for the ambulance. Health insurance is a hotly-contested issue and has been for years. Life insurance is something no one ever wants to think about…at least until their diagnosis makes them ineligible…THEN they want it.

This post isn’t about any company or competitor…it’s about an economic concept. How many people out there have unlimited disposable income? How many just write checks for new cars and houses without the need for a loan? Would you say a majority or a minority? How many families have to sit down at the kitchen counter or dining room table to figure out their bills every month? How many have to actually FIND money from one or more accounts to afford groceries? How many families with children have to say “it’s either dance, piano, or baseball, but not all three”, and one, two or three children can’t play a sport or take lessons to learn a favorite activity? How many people in this country are in any or all of these situations? What about you…is money even a LITTLE tight? If so, here’s something that’s truly beyond comprehension:

If you can’t afford your own wants and needs, where do you find the resources to handle the unexpected occurrences in life? Yes, emergency savings is a good thing WHEN YOU HAVE SOME. This isn’t about the benefit of having emergency savings…This is about having to spend the money in the first place for something you never expected. What if you tapped into your savings and bought a “new” used car for $4000, insured it with liability coverage only, and a month later hit a deer and totaled it. You’re out four grand, right? What would you have done with all or part of that money if the incident never happened? Would you have bought a few more groceries, maybe hamburger instead of peanut butter? Would you have allowed your son or daughter to sign up for an activity they really enjoy? Would you have gone out to dinner or bought your significant other a nice gift for Valentine’s Day? What IS the opportunity cost to the economy when a person has to spend their disposable income or emergency savings on an unexpected occurrence?

Sorry, insurance shouldn’t be just a commodity any longer. It should be considered economic stimulus NOT funded by the federal government. Time for a large-scale paradigm shift.

Which do you love more: Your work or how your work gets done? Do you have the same feelings about both or is there something about one or the other that you would like to change? What would the world look like for you and those you serve if you actually LOVED both sides of this equation? What if those you serve appreciated who you are as a person as much as they understand what you do as a professional? Could barriers to communication be broken down in times of hardship and change? Could trust be elevated to a level that would make “divorce” a very unlikely proposition? Would you actually be able to spend more time on passions outside your profession instead of sitting in the office all day waiting for the next person to come in for a transaction? If the world is becoming more relationship-based every day, meaning people are only willing to engage in conversations with those they know, like and trust, how is that changing the landscape for what YOU do?

Statistics and studies posted by Mashable.com this week showed that the number of people opting out of newsletters is increasing at a greater rate this year versus last. Why? In the excitement of the new social media strategies, people were looking to gather as much information, connect with as many others, and subscribe to as many blogs as they possibly could last year. This year they looked at their overloaded in-boxes and said: “There is NO WAY I can do this any more” and started sorting through the chaos. The relevant, entertaining, trusted information got retained. The rest was axed.

This begs the question: How do WE not get axed? What is it about our jobs that we LOVE, and how can we convey that love and passion for waht we do to others we want to attract? What would the benefits be for us as entrepreneurs, managers, team members and even consumers if we could live lives surrounded by people we know, like and trust AND who know, like and trust us? How can we reach out to these people and do so with no real concern for geographic boundaries? And how can we communicate the message of our intent in a non-threatening, non-interruptive manner?

The answer to our future lies in how we respond to these questions.

Thank you and have a great day!

Who hasn’t seen “A Christmas Story”? It’s a classic that gets watched in our house every holiday season. So many humorous situations keep families rolling with laughter even when they’ve seen the movie 50 times. Who can forget the one where Ralphie, after checking the mailbox every day for about two weeks, FINALLY gets his Secret Society Decoder Pen. He slams the mailbox closed and runs into the house, full of anticipation of the message revealed by his secret pen. He feels like a CIA agent, the Agent Cody Banks of the last generation. Is he ever pumped!

Ralphie runs upstairs to the bathroom, locks the door and rips open the package. There’s the pen and the secret code. He gets to work. Meanwhile his little brother is knocking on the door. Nature’s calling, but Ralphie keeps plugging away at that message, oblivious to his brother’s dilemma. The pounding gets louder in the scene, both from the door and Ralphie’s racing heart. What does this message say? Whatever it is will change the world, he knows it! Keep going, push through and figure it out, for humanity’s sake! Finally the message is revealed: Remember what it was? DRINK MORE OVALTINE. Even better was Ralphie’s response: “Son of a B****!!!” After all of that buildup came a tremendous letdown.

Fast forward about 50 years from the setting of the movie. Last night my wife discovered a QR code on the newspaper, so she grabbed her Android and I my Blackberry, each one equipped with code readers. Kind of a “quick draw” competition if you will. We each pointed and shot the code, then waited for the phones to decode the message, like we were using Ralphie’s decoder pen. Within 30 seconds the message was revealed: It said: “Here’s the Deal”…It was a site that directed us to a coupon for a restaurant we’d never heard of in a place we never go.

Therein lies the dilemma: We have all of this new technology that could be used to help people, build business, and attract and maintain attention. Or, we could put QR codes all over the place that tell us to “Drink More Ovaltine”. I think we can do better than that.

Yesterday was a long one for a lot of people across the country. A massive storm filled driveways with several feet of snow and covered city streets with inch-thick sheets of ice. A good day to stay home with the kids and relax until the plows came by. It was also a good opportunity to truly appreciate what a “neighborhood” is all about.

Everyone started rolling out of their houses on our cul-de-sac at about
7 a.m. As garage doors opened, 3-foot drifts that were against them remained standing, molded flat even when the support of the doors was gone. Those who had snowblowers had to shovel just to clear enough space to get them out. Only then could the work of moving the newly dumped precipitation begin. Everyone on the street got to work, either shoveling or blowing snow. No one would be able to get down the street, however, because city plows wouldn’t arrive until later in the day.

As the day progressed, neighbors started “paying it forward”. When one person helped another and reduced their work load, instead of going inside they moved to another neighbor’s driveway to help. This went on all day. Then, just when we all thought we were done, the city crews came and pushed a 3-foot high hill of snow at the base of everyone’s driveway when they cleared the street at about 4:30 p.m., 30 minutes before those with all-wheel-drive vehicles who went to work would be arriving home. This is when it got interesting…

Those of us with snowblowers cleared our own driveways again…then, without a second thought, moved to the neighbors’ homes and cleared theirs, too. Within 45 minutes, everyone had a clear path to their garage. I feel very fortunate to be a part of a community that steps up and takes on adversity, looking out after each other, and pays it forward without ever expecting anything in return. Isn’t that what a neighborhood should be?

While I was outside this morning clearing snow from the insane blizzard that pummeled Iowa City and the entire Midwest last night, a fond memory passed through my head…This is EXACTLY what my dad used to do in winter. In an instant I was 10 again, and my mind raced with thoughts of him getting out of bed at 3 o’clock in the morning to start the tractor with the scoop on the front, blade on the back and tire chains on the 3-point hitch—just in case he needed them—and headed off on his 2-mile trip to Cambridge to clear parking lots and driveways.

Dad was a farmer. Although he had a ninth-grade education, he had impeccable math skills and used a paper and pencil to calculate things like harvest yields and fertiziler applications. He was the kind of man who would do anything for anyone and never ask for anything in return. In winter (the off-season), businesses would pay him for clearing snow from their parking lots, and most people would pay him for clearing snow from their driveways, but never more than they could afford…he insisted (and you didn’t argue.) As a 10-year-old it was pretty cool to see dad come home at 8 p.m. after 16 hours in a tractor with a pocket full of tens and twenties. It’s taken me a long time to realize that it wasn’t all about the money for dad. I think that, even though he got paid, it was more about being able to help others and bail them out of a tough situation (deep snow with only a shovel to move it) that drove him.

Dad led by example, and the thought of him jumped into my head at 7 a.m. today. As I was running my snowblower, clearing the driveways for my neighbors, I remembered dad in that tractor. Perhaps that’s why I felt such joy when I looked at the “you’ve got to be kidding me” expressions of the people who didn’t have to shovel 16 inches of snow by hand. He died 11 years ago Friday…February 4th, 2000. Even though he’s no longer here, his example will live forever in my memory. Thank you, dad, for all you did for me and others. I’ll always love you.

Think back to the 1950′s, or if you’re not that old, go watch a “Happy Days” or “Leave It To Beaver” rerun. Doesn’t it make you wonder how in the world people lived like that, given the resources we have at our disposal today? Those were the days when moms stayed home to cook, clean, do laundry, and make sure the kids were off to school and back home in time for supper. These women would meet their husbands at the front door with his slippers in hand after his long day at work. WOW, how times have changed.

Am I the only one who’s criticized today by for having his kids involved in dance, baseball, piano, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer, band, speech, debate, and whatever else a kid can possibly do? “When do you take time for yourself?” is a common question asked of my wife and I, and we’re most certainly not alone. Today’s world offers more opprotunity for kids to do things, connect, grow and learn than were available in the ’50′s. It also allows me to volunteer for baseball, basketball, football and softball coaching duties with my children and to volunteer for things like Junior Achievement in their elementary school classrooms. Dads in the ’50′s didn’t have that many opportunities…they were the breadwinners. Does that mean today’s world is bad? Not necessarily…it’s just different.

Social networking in my father’s day was a group of men (friends) meeting at the local grain elevator (platform) to discuss all the local gossip from the past week, upcoming events and business/agricultural trends (news feeds) that he and his friends observed. Each one would take his chance to speak (post) about what they knew, then others would add to the discussion (comment) . The only difference between then and now was that they did it in person without the internet and they were only sharing information with others within the same geographic location. Today, our horizons are expanded and no geographic boundaries exist. How cool is that?

A few weeks ago, I read a post that challenged readers to “give up their electronic devices for one day”. My thought: “And isolate myself from all of the awesome people I’ve connected with online over the last 3 years? Why in the world would I want to do that?” (My dad never missed a Saturday at the grain elevator, either.)

How would you classify your blog, if you have one? Experts say that the blog should be the central hub of your online effort. They also say that a majority of people either don’t treat it seriously or give up after the first few posts because they don’t see a “return on investment”. Is that really what a blog should be about…ROI???

For the last two years I admit that my blog has been a sideshow. Although I believe it’s a necessary part of my overall personal branding strategy, I’ve never really seen it as the main event of my online efforts until now. Maybe I’m just a bit slow because it’s taken 2 years to comprehend that every blog is a direct reflection of the author’s character. That each blog has its own DNA, just like its author. That each blog post delivers its own message based on the author’s interpretation of the world as they see it. And that each blog post allows and encourages other like-minded thinkers to connect with its author regardless of geography.

With that said, I’m not going to make my blog (nor do I believe anyone else should make theirs) the central focus of their online SALES effort. Although many people do this, I refuse to ask for business inside a blog post. Does it seem right to invite people into your brain, then throw them a buying proposition? I don’t think so. Instead, the blog should be seen as a personal branding tool with clear, concise messages relative to the character of the author that are delivered consistently and with content that deserves the attention of like-minded thinkers in the virtual world, no matter where they are.

Many people have tried blogging and gave up because they weren’t immediately gratified. They wrote five posts and no one commented, so they quit. They tried to ride the “one-trick pony” and jumped off before it even reached a gallop. Others, like myself, have been treating their blogs as a sideshow with the same thinking as the pony-riders except with a bit more persistence. Still no results, but hey, it feels like the right thing to do. Then there are the “main events” in the world. The people behind these blogs don’t necessarily put their entire days into them, but they have realized faster than most the personal branding power of this medium…and they are reaping the rewards.

Where do you fit in this virtual circus?

Take a look around at all of the big brands out there and what they are doing these days. They are diligently encouraging their clients to interact with them on social media. They are using social media to respond to their clients’ concerns, fears, service requests, and questions about their brand’s quality, distribution, image, and product offerings. But what about the individual representatives of those brands…those people out on mainstreet in Smallville, USA? How are THEY, in many cases small business/franchise owners, maximizing big brands’ strategies to their own benefit? How are they piggy-backing on these strategies to enhance and change the way their business is getting done on a daily basis? And how are they differentiating themselves from other competitors in Smallville and other market areas? I’m not so sure the answers are positive for any independent brand representatives at this point for two reasons: 1. THEY don’t know or sometimes care about how to differentiate, and 2. The CLIENTS don’t know or care enough about the products the representatives are offering to change their own paradigms of interaction…YET.

At some point, the straw is going to break the camel’s back for a lot of customers and prospects. E-mails, faxes, and phone calls requesting to be removed from lists and opting-out of corporate e-mail newsletters are pouring in at alarming rates in many representatives’ offices daily. It’s getting to the point where it would be just as advantageous to throw money out the car window while driving down the freeway than to spend it on traditional campaigns. Many representatives choose to pour money into non-profits or school sponsorships instead of direct mail campaigns, but is that of true benefit?

Argument: NO, it is not. Why? How does giving money to non-profits BRAND you as a business owner? I’m NOT saying it’s a bad thing to give money to good causes that you believe in. I’m saying that you are branding yourself as a philanthropist, not as a business owner, by doing this. Sure, the charities or organizations you give to likely demonstrate values and beliefs consistent with your own, but branding yourself is a very small part of this equation. Basically, there’s a lot more effort involved with branding yourself than writing a check and having your business’ name featured on a charity’s website or in a phone book. This is about distinguishing yourself as a human being.
Why is this important when you are connected to a big brand?

Because people connect with brands in one way, but with people in a completely different manner. We’re all humans with wants and needs and we want to be heard. We still have a desire to interact on a personal level, and no matter what, big brands can never replace people in anything but transactional relationships. (Until CEO’s start blogging.) Now more than ever before, independent representatives have the ability to leverage the positive image of the brand they are associated with in building their own personal and business identities online PROVIDED they are loyal to that brand. But the second they act in a manner inconsistent with that brand’s public identity, credibility for their sub-brand is lost. Still, to achieve success in this very volatile period of transparency, sub-branding oneself is the only long-term solution.