Have you noticed the ratio?

Most of us were born with two ears and one mouth. There is a special significance to this ratio. We should be leaning more heavily on listening than talking. While you are doing the talking you can’t possibly hear what the other person (parent, child, client, or friend) has to say.

A lot of us seem to subscribe to the misconception that only way to get our point across is to keep talking ( sometimes with increasing volume) until we wear the listener down. However, if you didn’t listen to your customer describe the widget he wanted and the fact that it had to be blue, you would have egg on your face when you delivered a red one. You would stand a good chance of losing the sale, future transactions and all the referrals that may come along with it.

You should consider retuning your communication tools so you can really comprehend what your client has in mind and how you can help solve their problem. Ask a few open-ended questions to determine their exact needs. Restate the challenge to be sure you are all on the same page. After this fact-finding and attentive listening you should have no trouble offering the right solution.

By keeping in mind the ratio between ears and eyes: listening and talking, you will find that all your communications will be more rewarding and you will be easily able to build on your successes.

Advertising vs. Public Relations

This question has been bandied around for as many years as there has been commerce. Public Relations (PR) and advertising are cousins. They serve the same master (Aunt Profit) but with different approaches.

Once men started creating surpluses that they could trade for needed goods that they didn’t have the earliest tradesmen “advertised” to their neighbors what they were going to have available at the next market. Once they established trusting relationships they was more reliance on public relations to drive the commerce machine. People will always do business with those they know and trust.

Jumping ahead, I have always found that advertising is great for getting instant results. It is where you put your coupons to attract new shoppers (and some savvy ones) to introduce to your products. The accounting is built into the campaign, because it is easy to quantify the results, and is very reliable. Advertising gives you "instant" results.

PR on the other hand is more of a long term investment. It can entail "free" advertising if you use press releases judiciously. It has a lot to do with who you know and who knows you. The newer arena of social networking is a terrific platform for PR efforts. A PR campaign is where you foster friendships and relationships. These connections may not become clients or customers for quite a while, but they are likely to be very faithful when they do.

It appears to me that customers come from an advertising base and clients come from a PR base. Both aspects are important for the success of your business; each has its strengths and weaknesses. Your business development strategies should include a mix of both methods depending on your predetermined goals. Relationships have a significant impact on your bottom line.

For more in depth information contact me: or at least leave a comment here. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you.

Are You Buried?

I just turned on my computer and a monster jumped out at me. One look at my mailbox made me want to go and hide until next year. I have several mailboxes that I use like filing cabinets, each one receiving mail related to different projects. A couple of them are not too overwhelming, but then, they are also places to play so they require no immediate attention. My main box, the catchall of all things curious, significant, important for me, or important to other people has 1251 messages with 602 of them marked unread. There is probably a fair amount that has become dated or obsolete that can be deleted, but that still means I have to sort thru them. A lot of it I have every intention of reviewing, when I get time or whenever the cows come home, whichever comes first.

A lot of this chaos I have brought on myself. If I see something that I think is interesting I subscribe, figuring that I can throw it out later. Unfortunately, later seems to be buried at the bottom of the pile. Then there are the things I mark for follow-up; do you recognize those initials, that’s what happens to those red flags.

I also need a big shovel to get myself sorted out in Twitter. Again I have solicited all these neat comments, but I have given virtually no consideration to when I think I can follow up on all those cool tweets. My mind is like a sponge that needs new information to sop up on a continuing basis. Unfortunately it can’t operate on remote control—I have to take action to keep it well fed and happy.

The same situation applies to all of my social networking sites, like Linkedin and Ladies Who Launch When do I think I am going to catch up with all the information that is available to me.

I really believe in the power of these new relationships. Maybe I can figure out a way to have a big party, invite all these connections, make new friends and see if someone has a brilliant or at least better idea of how to handle all this social media chaos. Please comment if you can relate or have a solution before I get so buried that I will never see the light of day again.

To Be or Not To Be

Several years ago Reader’s Digest published the fact that if you are in business for yourself you only have to work half-time; and you get to pick which 12 hours you work. Those of you who are self employed, or do commission sales because that is the same thing, know that this is true.

Self-employment does carry the disadvantage of potentially very long hours, estrangement from your family and friends, and burnout. However, it also offers the advantage of self fulfillment, choices, freedom, and no limits to your income or success.

I have a friend who thinks I am crazy for working for myself. He can’t understand my need for freedom and choices and he is especially baffled by my never knowing how much or when my money will come in. In his case he is lucky that he has a very high level position that pays him an above average salary. He is particularly satisfied knowing exactly how much and when his money will be available. This allows him to plan, to the penny, his budget and expenses. I see this as boring and lacking in excitement.

Obviously, from this example, there are two different personalities at work here. Some of us like the adrenalin rush of the unknown. If we have worked smart enough we will have a financial cushion available that will alleviate crisis, but still let us experience the challenges of our indefinable future. The other personality is not comfortable with uncertainty. They have to know exactly what to expect; they don’t like surprises. They probably don’t even like surprise parties. If they are lucky enough, like my friend, to make an above average income they have lots of choices of how to live their lives. Unfortunately, most do not have this luxury so there are restrictions to their choices. Open-ended opportunity is only available if you work for yourself or do commission sales where there is no limit to your earnings.

Which personality are you? If you have always dreamed of having your own business, this is one of the most fundamental questions you must explore. Having your own business is a wonderful thing, if it fits your style; if it doesn’t you are setting yourself up for heartbreak and failure, and there is very little you can do to change this course.

Do You Read Directions?

Oops-you just did it again. You just assembled your new office furniture and only had a few parts left over. You tell yourself “that shouldn’t matter, they always ship extra parts.” But wait! –why won’t your new spiffy chair roll across the floor? You are probably experiencing an ailment that is very common, especially to men, of not reading the instructions. And this is probably not the first time this has happened.

Putting together your new office furniture, your kid’s bike, or your new lawnmower is not the only place that reading (and following) the instructions is important. Have you ever submitted an application for something important only to have it returned for more information or a missing signature? This type of delay could be very expensive, especially if there was a time limit on your application. The problem was easily avoided if you had read (and follow) the instructions.

I have found that some instructions are very hard to comprehend because they were created in another language and in another culture and then translated for our use. It is pretty easy to not follow these directions because they don’t make sense, or sometimes even leave out important steps of the process. Others, however, are amazing in their completeness and ease of understanding. If you just follow one step at a time, in order, not jumping ahead of yourself, the item goes together very easily, and you won’t have any parts left over. If you try to out smart the directions you are likely to create chaos and have more trouble correcting your mistakes than you would have had if you’d followed the instructions in the first place.

This advice about following the directions applies not only to mechanical things, like tools and toys, but also to software, computer programs, cameras, and other communication devices. Technology instructions often fit into that category of translated instructions that make no sense. I know I don’t have a technology gene so I have learned to rely on one of my partners for help. Just hand them the device, admit you are dumb, and wait—they will always find the answer for you.

Asking for help is the surest way of avoiding chaos and sensory overload. You will also make lots of points with your friends, because they want to be helpful and they will like it that they are smarter than you. You now have an opportunity to make your friends happy, not strain your brain, and move up to the next level of technology so you can race ahead, until the next time you get a new toy.

What now...

The question is---how do you get back “up on the horse” after a week or more of major crises in your life? I’ve just had one of those weeks that none of us needs or deserves. In one week I had to face my mother’s death, major court mediation, and a car accident that came close to totaling my car (fortunately, nobody was hurt). These are all life changing experiences, but handled one at a time they can be easily endured. When they all happen in one week, they can each be monumental and difficult to handle. Your normal life definitely gets put on hold.

I have always believed that adversity is an opportunity to learn something of importance, whether it be how to address a problem or how not to do something. The most challenged, unsuccessful person in the world can be a great teacher of how not to confront a problem. This awareness can easily be spun into a positive lesson.
What am I supposed to be learning from last week, besides patience? As I look around on Monday morning trying to assess what this week might hold I realize that I have basically been in hiding. My mail has piled up, my house is a mess, the laundry is taking over and I don’t know where to start to dig out.

A friend has just suggested the standard advice, get up, dress up and show up. This just means putting on a happy face and moving forward. Another bit of advice that comes to mind is “fake it ‘til you make it.” This may be all I can do for now. It will probably take some time for me to really get back on track. I do know that forward momentum breeds forward momentum. Just because I’m overwhelmed now doesn’t mean that I will always be that way. Time will lead me out of this chaos and back on the path to serenity.

... its going to be a great ride.

Are you ready to act like the Roadrunner and fall off the cliff into the abyss? With the bankruptcy of General Motors yesterday, we are about to experience dynamic changes in our culture and our futures. As uncertain and overwhelmed we were the last time we made major cultural changes, we survived it, and we will survive it again. The only real difference this time is the pace of our lives and the speed with which we encounter change.

The last major change was the transformation from the industrial age to the information age. In that case specifically General Motors, and all its support systems, is going to emerge from its restructuring activities in a whole new form; bigger and stronger, but very different from today. The industry grew up 50+ years ago and hasn’t aged gracefully. It is going to have to become leaner and more responsive to its customers (both internal and external) in order to survive. New technologies will be embraced and new inspirations will be encouraged. It has been several generations since we were able to witness such changes and these will be even more dynamic than previously. Hang on—its going to be a great ride.