Laura Gainor Utilizing Social Media
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Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Best Leadership Advice I Ever Got
Like many young Ph.D. students, I was deeply impressed with my own intelligence, wisdom and profound insights into the human condition. I consistently amazed myself with my ability to judge others and see what they were doing wrong.
UCLA Professor Fred Case was my advisor and head of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission - where I was doing my dissertation research. At this point in my career, he was clearly the most important person in my professional life. He was also a man that I sincerely respected. He had done an amazing amount to help the city become a better place. He was also doing a lot to help me.
Although he was normally in a very upbeat mood, one day Dr. Case seemed annoyed. He looked at me and growled, "Marshall, what is the problem with you? I am getting feedback from some people at City Hall that you are coming across as negative, angry and judgmental. What's going on?"
"You can't believe how inefficient the city government is!" I ranted. I immediately proceeded to give several examples of how taxpayer's money was not being used in the way that I thought it should be. I was convinced that the city could be a much better place if the leaders just listened to me.
"What a stunning breakthrough!" Dr. Case sarcastically remarked, "You, Marshall Goldsmith, have discovered that our city government is inefficient! I hate to tell you this Marshall, but my barber who is cutting hair down on the corner figured this out several years ago. What else is bothering you?"
Undeterred by this temporary setback, I angrily proceeded to point out several minor examples of behavior that could be classified as favoritism toward rich political benefactors.
Dr. Case was now laughing. "Stunning breakthrough number two!" he chuckled. "Your profound investigative skills have led to the discovery that politicians may give a more attention to their major campaign contributors than to people who support their opponents. I am sorry to report that my barber has also known this for years. I am afraid that we can't give you a Ph.D. for this level of insight."
As he looked at me, his face showed the wisdom that can only come from years of experience. He said, "I know that you think that I may be old and 'behind the times', but I have been working down there at City Hall for years. Did it ever dawn on you that even though I may be slow, perhaps even I have figured some of this stuff out?"
Then he delivered the advice I will never forget. "Marshall," he explained, "you are becoming a 'pain in the butt'. You are not helping the people who are supposed to be your clients. You are not helping me and you are not helping yourself. I am going to give you two options:
"Option A - Continue to be angry, negative and judgmental. If you chose this option, you will be fired, you probably will never graduate and you may have wasted the last four years of your life.
"Option B - Start having some fun. Keep trying to make a constructive difference, but do it in a way that is positive for you and the people around you.
"My advice is this: You are young. Life is short. Start having fun.
"What option are you going to choose, son?"
I finally laughed and replied, "Dr. Case, I think it is time for me to start having some fun!"
He smiled knowingly and said, "You are a wise young man."
Most of my life is spent working with leaders in huge organizations. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that things are not always as efficient as they could be - almost every employee has made this breakthrough discovery. It also doesn't take a genius to learn that occasionally people are more interested in their own advancement than the welfare of the company. Many employees have already figured out this one as well.
Real leaders are not people who can point out what is wrong. Almost anyone can do that. Real leaders are people who can make things better.
Dr. Case taught me a great lesson. His coaching didn't just help me get a Ph.D. and become a better consultant. He helped me have a better life.
Think about your own behavior at work. Are you communicating a sense of joy and enthusiasm to the people around you - or are you spending too much time in the role of angry, judgmental critic?
Do you have any co-workers who are acting like I did? Are you just getting annoyed or are you trying to help them - in same way that Dr. Case helped me? If you haven't been trying to help them, why not give it a try. Perhaps they will write a story about you someday!
http://blogs.hbr.org/goldsmith/2008/09/the_best_leadership_advice_i_e.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a38:g26:r15:c0.067712:b20799837:z6
UCLA Professor Fred Case was my advisor and head of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission - where I was doing my dissertation research. At this point in my career, he was clearly the most important person in my professional life. He was also a man that I sincerely respected. He had done an amazing amount to help the city become a better place. He was also doing a lot to help me.
Although he was normally in a very upbeat mood, one day Dr. Case seemed annoyed. He looked at me and growled, "Marshall, what is the problem with you? I am getting feedback from some people at City Hall that you are coming across as negative, angry and judgmental. What's going on?"
"You can't believe how inefficient the city government is!" I ranted. I immediately proceeded to give several examples of how taxpayer's money was not being used in the way that I thought it should be. I was convinced that the city could be a much better place if the leaders just listened to me.
"What a stunning breakthrough!" Dr. Case sarcastically remarked, "You, Marshall Goldsmith, have discovered that our city government is inefficient! I hate to tell you this Marshall, but my barber who is cutting hair down on the corner figured this out several years ago. What else is bothering you?"
Undeterred by this temporary setback, I angrily proceeded to point out several minor examples of behavior that could be classified as favoritism toward rich political benefactors.
Dr. Case was now laughing. "Stunning breakthrough number two!" he chuckled. "Your profound investigative skills have led to the discovery that politicians may give a more attention to their major campaign contributors than to people who support their opponents. I am sorry to report that my barber has also known this for years. I am afraid that we can't give you a Ph.D. for this level of insight."
As he looked at me, his face showed the wisdom that can only come from years of experience. He said, "I know that you think that I may be old and 'behind the times', but I have been working down there at City Hall for years. Did it ever dawn on you that even though I may be slow, perhaps even I have figured some of this stuff out?"
Then he delivered the advice I will never forget. "Marshall," he explained, "you are becoming a 'pain in the butt'. You are not helping the people who are supposed to be your clients. You are not helping me and you are not helping yourself. I am going to give you two options:
"Option A - Continue to be angry, negative and judgmental. If you chose this option, you will be fired, you probably will never graduate and you may have wasted the last four years of your life.
"Option B - Start having some fun. Keep trying to make a constructive difference, but do it in a way that is positive for you and the people around you.
"My advice is this: You are young. Life is short. Start having fun.
"What option are you going to choose, son?"
I finally laughed and replied, "Dr. Case, I think it is time for me to start having some fun!"
He smiled knowingly and said, "You are a wise young man."
Most of my life is spent working with leaders in huge organizations. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that things are not always as efficient as they could be - almost every employee has made this breakthrough discovery. It also doesn't take a genius to learn that occasionally people are more interested in their own advancement than the welfare of the company. Many employees have already figured out this one as well.
Real leaders are not people who can point out what is wrong. Almost anyone can do that. Real leaders are people who can make things better.
Dr. Case taught me a great lesson. His coaching didn't just help me get a Ph.D. and become a better consultant. He helped me have a better life.
Think about your own behavior at work. Are you communicating a sense of joy and enthusiasm to the people around you - or are you spending too much time in the role of angry, judgmental critic?
Do you have any co-workers who are acting like I did? Are you just getting annoyed or are you trying to help them - in same way that Dr. Case helped me? If you haven't been trying to help them, why not give it a try. Perhaps they will write a story about you someday!
http://blogs.hbr.org/goldsmith/2008/09/the_best_leadership_advice_i_e.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a38:g26:r15:c0.067712:b20799837:z6
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Social Media Initiative in Singapore
Last week I attended a seminar by a prof on Social media and its impact. while the content was dated, it looked for a while that the audience themselves were out of place. Thought for a moment if Singapore is not in tune with Social as much as rest of the world, but I cam across an interesting initiative. Looks like its been going for two years now. So Singapore is really on par!!!
http://socialmediabreakfast.sg/about/
http://socialmediabreakfast.sg/about/
7 Questions To Help Businesses Get Ready For Social Media
http://www.penn-olson.com/2010/03/06/7-questions-to-help-businesses-get-ready-for-social-media/
Jumping on the social media bandwagon could be a disaster if your business isn’t prepared for it.
Unlike other media, social media requires a business to stay committed (see “Business: Don’t Use Social Media If You’re Not Ready“)
The post also included additional questions that we found useful in helping businesses decide if they are ready for social media.
Several Penn Olson readers requested us to elaborate on the questions listed. And yes, we’re certainly more than willing to do so. Here you go!
1. What are your business goals?
Having a clear set of business goals is of utmost importance. Are you using social media for maintaining customer relations, building awareness or selling? These goals would determine your execution and performance indicators.
Often, it is not a great idea to focus solely on selling. It makes the business self-centric and I am pretty sure your audience wouldn’t like that.
GOALS
2. What is your budget?
Signing up on Twitter and Facebook is free, but the time spent on maintaining profiles can be a huge investment. The amount of resources you have would determine the tools to use and the scale of your social media project.
Time is money concept with dollars and clock
3. Which social tools are you using and why?
A regularly updated blog would generally take up more resources compared to Twitter or Facebook. Also, think about why these tools are chosen. Linking back to goals: Twitter is generally better for customer relations and Facebook is better for discussion. Only pick these tools if you have good reasons to do so.
4. Who are your target audiences?
Identify your target audience before execution; otherwise you’re just burning your resources. Facebook is huge but it might not be the right tool for you. A quick check on Facebook’s ad data would help you decide if your target customers are on it. For Twitter, this Twitter demographic statistic will help you a long way.
targetaudience
5. How competent is your social media executive?
If you were to hire a social media executive, make sure he is not only proficient in using these social tools but understands your company from head to toe. Should there be any queries, it is not feasible to constantly redirect customers to another person. Likewise, if a disaster were to occur, does he have the knowledge and power to respond swiftly?
executive
6. What sort of message tone are you setting?
Your conversation style and tone should be aligned to your overall brand image. Check out @Starbucks: Its overall message communicated is almost an identical match to its brand image.
Gold Brand
7. Are you able to measure ROI?
If you’re unable to measure your performance, you probably can’t manage it. Start early and fine tune the process along the way to make measurement more relevant.
Jumping on the social media bandwagon could be a disaster if your business isn’t prepared for it.
Unlike other media, social media requires a business to stay committed (see “Business: Don’t Use Social Media If You’re Not Ready“)
The post also included additional questions that we found useful in helping businesses decide if they are ready for social media.
Several Penn Olson readers requested us to elaborate on the questions listed. And yes, we’re certainly more than willing to do so. Here you go!
1. What are your business goals?
Having a clear set of business goals is of utmost importance. Are you using social media for maintaining customer relations, building awareness or selling? These goals would determine your execution and performance indicators.
Often, it is not a great idea to focus solely on selling. It makes the business self-centric and I am pretty sure your audience wouldn’t like that.
GOALS
2. What is your budget?
Signing up on Twitter and Facebook is free, but the time spent on maintaining profiles can be a huge investment. The amount of resources you have would determine the tools to use and the scale of your social media project.
Time is money concept with dollars and clock
3. Which social tools are you using and why?
A regularly updated blog would generally take up more resources compared to Twitter or Facebook. Also, think about why these tools are chosen. Linking back to goals: Twitter is generally better for customer relations and Facebook is better for discussion. Only pick these tools if you have good reasons to do so.
4. Who are your target audiences?
Identify your target audience before execution; otherwise you’re just burning your resources. Facebook is huge but it might not be the right tool for you. A quick check on Facebook’s ad data would help you decide if your target customers are on it. For Twitter, this Twitter demographic statistic will help you a long way.
targetaudience
5. How competent is your social media executive?
If you were to hire a social media executive, make sure he is not only proficient in using these social tools but understands your company from head to toe. Should there be any queries, it is not feasible to constantly redirect customers to another person. Likewise, if a disaster were to occur, does he have the knowledge and power to respond swiftly?
executive
6. What sort of message tone are you setting?
Your conversation style and tone should be aligned to your overall brand image. Check out @Starbucks: Its overall message communicated is almost an identical match to its brand image.
Gold Brand
7. Are you able to measure ROI?
If you’re unable to measure your performance, you probably can’t manage it. Start early and fine tune the process along the way to make measurement more relevant.
How To Earn money on Twitter
Well finally the way to make money on Twitter! Seems simple and straightforward.
http://thesocialmediaguide.com.au/2010/03/02/how-to-earn-money-on-twitter/
http://thesocialmediaguide.com.au/2010/03/02/how-to-earn-money-on-twitter/
Friday, January 22, 2010
Using Twitter for Recruitment
The HR world is stepping into the Computer Science era finally! must admit I was surprised initially but this would signal the new era for Enterprises in the HR space.
Using Twitter for Recruitment
View more presentations from Thomas Shaw.
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