The I's have It

When leading a team to excel daily there have been hundreds if not thousands of blogs, books, and recommendations on how to lead effectively. They come in all shapes and sizes of steps and directions. I, too, have my own thoughts and have narrowed it down to just a few key points.

Informed – when your team is truly informed and all aspects of your vision are transparent and understood, the first step is complete. Without a true understanding of why a vision is important your team just doesn’t have enough information to begin the creative process on their own. Information engages the right-brain so that the left-brain can begin to tactically plan.

Improvement – Your desire to make things better and shatter prior achievements is a key indication of your leadership. No desire, no improvement.

Inspired – your team must be inspired and engaged to achieve. This is when your “influencing” skills are needed. Inspiration includes a “cause” to motivate the team to excel. If your team believes in the vision for the reasons beyond simply “doing it” the power of the human spirit engages and passion is born.

Nelson Mandela
Indira Gandhi
Mother Teresa
Martin Luther King
You

There is nothing more powerful than a passionate human.

Just Who Are You?

I wrote this blog sometime ago but recent blogs from some of my favorite TR bloggers Chris Reed and Jon Gillespie only served to bring it back up. It is somewhat of a rant but I believe a check in on your values and a confirmation that your online brand doesn’t need “management” if your values are aligned in all aspects of your life. Feel free to disagree, as a matter of fact I welcome a counterpoint!

Much has been spoken about the separation between our personal and professional lives online. You have heard all of the suggestions and advice Here are just a couple.

Beware what you post as everyone can see it and you don’t want it to adversely affect your professional career.

Social Media can be abused by posting parts of your personal life that might bring your professional qualities into question.

I could go on and on but you get the picture….you are on stage and what you communicate, show, and display can have negative impacts on your goals, aspirations, and desires.

Here at TR, one of our guiding communications is about being the “authentic and unapologetic you” Now if you are living that principal the above presents an oxymoron. If you are being the authentic and unapologetic you what exactly is it you are doing that can be placed in this media format that you wouldn’t want others to see. Is your personal life so careless and dangerous that you wouldn’t want someone to know something about you?

Take some of the icons of social media presence that I admire such as Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, Joni Doolan, Amanda Hite, Guy Kawasaki….I could go on. Do you think they censor their communication, posts, and photos worried about what you may learn about them? I think not. When they are living their brand do you think they decide not to do something because it may adversely affect their perceived image to us little people? I think not.

So is your brand different in social media than you live daily? If it is, you have to ask yourself, what am I doing? Do you think our role models in this media format create the image we want to see or do you think they just live their lives knowing their values, connections, business, and relationships ARE who they appear to be anywhere just not in social media. I think, yes!

So if you find yourself thinking, I better not write this, I better not post that photo, I better not display myself this way or I could get in trouble….well, maybe you aren’t ready to develop a brand worthy of this vehicle. Your values are your values and they aren’t dictated by what others might see, they are dictated by who you want to be. Are you a Tiger Woods just waiting to be uncovered?

Don’t edit your photos, don’t edit your writing…..edit your values and be your TRUE authentic and unapologetic self.

2010 is here, now!

It’s resolution time and some people may already be producing those resolutions that will be quickly ignored when the New Year vices are in full swing but I wanted to put out a reminder to resolve to do things a little differently. Here are some tips based on what I have learned from this year….either I missed out and wanted to do them or I did them and it worked!

Make Social Media goals part of your 2010 and I don’t mean add 10,000 followers on your Twitter account. Make a resolution to increase your network by a certain amount of “meaningful” connections. It includes, meeting people online, working with them, and if at all possible make sure a percentage of them you physically get in front of and get to know! (Online Dates don’t count)

Find a social media platform you feel comfortable and blog, blog, blog, blog! Don’t be afraid, don’t worry about your grammar, don’t worry about whether people will “get it”, don’t worry that people won’t feel the same way you do, just don’t worry. The best way to solidify your strengths is to teach others about them. You will do better yourself and you will help someone else get better. (Call me, you can guest post for me anytime! TR is sooooo coool) Oh, and thanks FOHBOH.com….haven’t had free time since you got me started!

Find someone that is scared to death of the whole social media thing and help them to understand it. Introduce them to all of your connections, e-mail them blogs that will have meaning to them, invite them to a Tweet Up, do something that brings someone else into the world that you have learned and taken so much from…didn’t someone help you get into this wonderful land? (@sexythinker, thanks for making me learn to type weird $%^& like @sexythinker….who would have thought)

Attend a conference in your area of interest. Only the coolest people go to conferences and the relationships developed there create the best networks of support and future opportunities. (Read Chris Reed’s “Badge of Honor” for some validation of this point-hang in their Joni…..I will be there!)

Create another stream of income….no matter how small. Consult, create, coach, develop, open….hell deliver papers on Sunday morning if you have too. Find a way to enhance your current income base. Trust me, a couple more bucks coming in is a great motivation to create more bucks coming in. (Plus you can give yourself the title “entrepreneur”…Freakin’ Pat Katz…..he put the multi in multiple streams of income)

Join or participate in an organization that helps feed other people beside yourself. There is nothing more fulfilling then helping someone else. Grab your best friend, find the local mission, kitchen, soup line and SERVE. God blessed you with food, now bless someone else with it. (Thanks Faith Mission and Share Our Strength!)


I could type more…..
What other ideas do you have for New Year’s resolutions that aren’t the norm like lose weight, stop drinking, etc., etc., etc.

I need more! 2010 is the year of great things….let’s start now!