The opinions blogged herein represent only those of Tony Faustino and do not reflect those of his employer, persons or companies mentioned herein, or anyone else. The posts on this blog are provided "as is" with no warranties and confer no rights.
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The Premise / Goal / Timing of This Weekly Feature
Premise. If you like the content in this blog, you may like the type of content I regularly read and study on the Web.
Goal. On a weekly basis, I'm going to publish links to three (3) articles I find interesting. I'll include a brief summary with some bullet points explaining why I think the content is worth consuming.
Timing. I'll publish this content every Wednesday / Thursday.
Hoffman bases his networking philosophy two (2) basic principles:
* See the world from the other person's perspective -- putting yourself in another person's shoes is the first step to developing an honest connection
* Think about how you can collaborate with and help the other person versus thinking about what you can get out of the relationship -- your first move should always be "how can I help."
2. The $1.6 Billion Woman, Staying on Message (The New York Times): I'm a huge fan of Facebook's COO, Sheryl Sandberg. In my opinion, she deserves just as much credit (or more) as Mark Zuckerberg in transforming Facebook into an advertising revenue juggernaut.
I find this article interesting because it emphasizes her multi-faceted role at Facebook:
* Sandberg is the public face of of Facebook. She's Facebook's corporate amabassador to Wall Street analysts, thought leaders at global forums such as Davos, global government leaders, and global brands (i.e., she's one of the few global corporate leaders who's been to Bentonville, Arkansas twice).
* She's the driving force in recruiting and mentoring top talent at Facebook (especially women).
* She's publicly stated her views about furthering the professional interests of women in Corporate America (particularly Silicon Valley and the technology industry).
The last point is especially intriguing because Sandberg's recently received criticism for expressing her views on the success of women in the workplace. And, the critics are women.
* His voting power with those shares (due to various agreements with other investors) grants him voting control of 60% of the company's shares.
* The article gives context to how Zuckerberg's control of company stock compares with Microsoft's Bill Gates and Google founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, when their respective companies went public:
Microsoft: Bill Gates controlled 49% of company shares
Google: Brin and Page controlled 16% each of the company shares (for a total of 32%)
Your Feedback Please!
I'd like to experiment with this type of post for the next two to three months. Let me know what you think (especially if this idea sucks):
How can I improve the value of these weekly posts?
Is my initial timing choice for publication okay with you (e.g., middle of the week versus the end of it)? If not, please tell me.
What content are you reading?Please share your links with our community in the comments section!
That's why solving without shilling is an unmet need and first step in building a trustworthy and credible online reputation.
LinkedIn Answers: One-To-One Trust Building
Building a Reputation Requires Focus and Prioritization. Investing one's time and knowledge over multiple social platforms is part of active social media participation. Therefore, prioritizing and allocating time becomes even more important if the goal is to build a go-to reputation in a particular subject or industry.
LinkedIn Answers: Overlooked and Underrated. LinkedIn Answers is an overlooked and underrated platform in earning individual trust and building credibility. For better or worse, the Internet is a medium powered by buzz around "bright and shiny objects." What's was yesterday's Delicious.com is today's Pinterest.
An Unmet Need: Helping Others Help Themselves. LinkedIn Answers provides opportunities and benefits in helping an individual person address his/her problem. That's why participating in LinkedIn Answers presents a HUGE opportunity to build one-to-one trust.
How to Get Started in LinkedIn Answers
1. In your LinkedIn Home Page, look under the "More" Tab:
2. Click on "Answers." You should now see this screen:
3. Click on a category / topic you find interesting. You can choose a topic in the Recommended Categories or you can browse all topics found on the right-hand side of your page:
4. I frequently review the questions under Recommended Categories. Click one of those links to see "Open Questions" posed by LinkedIn members.
Let's see what open questions are available under "Internet Marketing:"
5. Next, choose the questions you can answer really well. In step #4, I clicked on the question titled: "In your experience, do you think that an impressive blog will take the place of a formal website?"
The individual Q&A screen for that question looks like this:
6. Click on the yellow "Answer Button." The next screen that pops up provides a field where you can write up and submit your answer. You also can include hyperlinks to web pages supporting your answer.
5 Benefits of Participating in LinkedIn Answers
1. Increasing Your Personal Credibility, Authority, and Visibility. LinkedIn Answers is a great place to start to increase your online visibility and authority in a specific industry or subject. Following through on a daily or weekly goal to answer questions in your chosen categories.
2. Earning Expertise and Trust Via Best Answer Designations.LinkedIn Answers is a great example of gamification. LinkedIn members posing questions have the option to award Best Answer Designations. Best Answers are social proofpersonified. And, earning them is fun and motivating!
3. Gaining New Social Media Followers (i.e., Blog Subsribers, Twitter Followers, etc.). Every time you answer a LinkedIn question, you share insights about your knowledge. Take advantage of this personal branding opportunity! Crafting and submitting thoughtful LinkedIn Answers (without blatantly selling) is a proven inbound marketing tactic for promoting a personal brand or your organization's products / services.
4. Earning a New LinkedIn Connection -- Validation From The Person Asking a Question. Why? Because, you earn that person's individual trust. A person posing questions on LinkedIn Answers will usually evaluate both your answer and your LinkedIn Profile (especially if he / she found your response helpful). The quality of your answer determines if you receive an invite to join his / her network.
5.Earning a New LinkedIn Connection -- Validation From The People Who Answered the Same Question. Why? Awarding of a "Best Answer" promotes friendly competition among the respondents. Remember, the answers are public to all LinkedIn members. Therefore, the people who who answer questions on LinkedIn Answers are also evaluating both your answer and your LinkedIn Profile (especially if you are awarded the Best Answer). If you impressed one of the responders, you may receive a LinkedIn invite from him / her also.
Conclusion
Daily Monitoring and Answering of LinkedIn Questions. I monitor opportunities to answer LinkedIn Questions everyday. My daily personal goal: answer one (1) question that I know I can provide a really good answer. However, that doesn't mean I answer one everyday. I answer only questions when I know I can provide strong and differentiating responses. LinkedIn Answers supported with facts, additional hyperlinked resources, and a confident tone are killer!
New Learning Opportunities. If I'm unable to answer a question with a differentiating answer, I move on. But, here's the learning opportunity: I continuously identify areas for new growth opportunities. When there's a great question I know I can't confidently answer, I record it in my idea book to start Evernoting and studying articles to fill that gap.
A 15-Minute Daily Process Generating Huge Personal Brand Returns. Monitoring the conversation and answering selected questions on LinkedIn Question & Answers literally takes 15 minutes.
Is there a process for efficiently monitoring LinkedIn conversations in Questions & Answers?
What exposure can a LinkedIn Answer provide beyond the LinkedIn Community?
Answer to #1. Yes. That's the subject of Post #4 in this series (scheduled publication: next week).
Answer to #2.Your LinkedIn Answer can achieve national / global exposure because it may get published in a branded, global, online publication. That's the subject of Post #5 in this series (scheduled publication: two weeks from this post).
The Wall Street Journal Careers Section published the following articles on January 24th describing the challenges and sense of futility job candidates encounter when applying to a prospective employer:
Both articles highlight relevanttrends in personal brand differentiation and demonstrating digital strategy / digital marketing expertise.
Bottom Line. Becoming an expert is one thing. Demonstrating that expertise online to a potential client or employer is another. Because, it doesn't matter if you're trying to earn a digital marketing or social media marketing position or another position in an unrelated industry.
Either way, your online presence must be FINDABLE and HUGE.
Clients or Employers Conduct Online Due Diligence
Is Your Online Presence Visible or Invisible? Clients and employers use online search and social networks in hiring evaluations. Key themes emphasized in both Wall Street Journal articles included:
How The Internet Reinforces a "Show-Me-What-You-Got" Mindset
Why Clients and Employers Want to Understand How You Think
Too Many Job Candidates / Self-Proclaimed Experts, So Little Time
How Employers / Clients are Using the Internet Evaluate Talents and Skills
Your Online Activity Represents How You Think. Your resume does not. The opening paragraphs of the No More Resumes, Say Some Firms article reinforce this growing notion especially among employers:
"Union Square Ventures recently posted an opening for an investment analyst. Instead of asking for résumés, the New York venture-capital firm—which has invested in Twitter, Foursquare, Zynga and other technology companies—asked applicants to send links representing their "Web presence," such as a Twitter account or Tumblr blog. Applicants also had to submit short videos demonstrating their interest in the position."
"Union Square says its process nets better-quality candidates —especially for a venture-capital operation that invests heavily in the Internet and social-media—and the firm plans to use it going forward to fill analyst positions and other jobs."
"Companies are increasingly relying on social networks such as LinkedIn, video profiles and online quizzes to gauge candidates' suitability for a job. While most still request a résumé as part of the application package, some are bypassing the staid requirement altogether."
"A résumé doesn't provide much depth about a candidate, says Christina Cacioppo, an associate at Union Square Ventures who blogs about the hiring process on the company's website and was herself hired after she compiled a profile comprising her personal blog, Twitter feed, LinkedIn profile, and links to social-media sites Delicious and Dopplr, which showed places where she had traveled."
"We are most interested in what people are like, what they are like to work with, how they think," she says."
Rage Against the Machine
A Two-Front War: Other Candidates and the Company's Online Applicant Tracking System. The accompanying WSJ video shares why optimizing a resume for keywords is vital. Your resume can be unfairly weeded out by a machine's keyword algorithm (even with internal referrals).
Show Clients and Employers Differentiating Content
"A friend of mine Eric Friedman tells the tale of his job interview with renowned VC firm Union Square Ventures in New York. During a pivotal second round interview Eric sat down with one of the partners, Brad Burnham and presented his resume. Brad told Eric to hang on to it as he just wanted to chat. When Eric pressed him as to why, Brad responded with something remarkable which went like this: “You can work really hard on crafting a well written, organized, resume with bullet points of accomplishments – but you can’t fake 500 blog posts.” On the web, it’s “show me, don’t tell me.”
Therefore, achieving this goal requires more effort. And, I'm reminding myself to focus on one thing at time.
Because, starting is everything.
Your Turn. How are you going to show your expertise / your art to a potential employer or client? How are you going to differentiate yourself among the masses?
Please share your thoughts in the comments. And, I hope you'll return next week for Part 3.
I remember Tom's insight 2+years ago during a small breakfast meeting at La Peeps Restaurant in Overland Park, KS. Our discussion centered around the burgeoning cottage industry of books and seminars touted by self-proclaimed social media experts, gurus, ninjas, and evangelists.
More importantly, his statement summarized both the opportunity and barrier to entry for people pursuing social media as a profession or as a credible vehicle for personal reinventions beyond a current job description.
I remember asking if he copyrighted this wisdom. He said no. But, he smiled and said if I ever use his quote, I should assign him credit and attribution (which I hope I did here).
Because I knew I'd reference his statement in a blog post someday. That day arrived.
First, This IS NOT a Bash-the-Author Piece. It's quite the opposite. Please read the entire Forbes article because Cari Sommer (the author) offers valid advice on building one's online credibility, reputation, and visibility the right way.
Second, This Post Describes Why Cari Sommer Is a Great Example of Personal and Professional Reinvention. Cari Sommer transformed her professional career and trajectory by reinventing herself into a bona fide communications expert and entrepreneur. A major portion of this post explains why I believe she's a credible and successful expert in her field.
Check out these Google results on these infamous keyword phrases:
"Social Media Guru" = 2,160,000 results
"Social Media Evangelist" = 1,090,000 results
"Social Media Expert" = 1,060,000 results
"Social Media Ninja" = 281,000 results
Based on this quick analysis, I wonder if:
There really are that many people who can credibly make those self-proclamations?
"Ninjas" have a better long-tail chance of being found via search than "Gurus"?
"Evangelists" and "Experts" are interchangeable titles (give or take wading through 30,000 results)?
Expertise Is Earned, Not Self-Proclaimed
Ms. Sommer's Provides and Shares Credible, First-Hand Expertise Earned From Her Personal Experiences. I buy-in to Ms. Sommer's generously shared advice on building a solid online reputation and positioning oneself as a social media expert (or an industry expert). It's credible and emphasizes a learn-by-doing attitude:
Self-publishing content on social media channels (i.e., a blog, LinkedIn industry groups, etc.)
Attending and speaking at industry conferences
Identifying and building relationships with industry bloggers and journalists
Pitching one's expertise to the industry influencers
But, The 3.5 Million Self-Proclaimers Haven't Practiced or Applied Any of Ms. Sommer's Advice The sad fact is so few have consistently performed (or even attempted) any of her recommendations over the long haul. Why? Because, the advice she imparts requires major time investments in:
Focus
Practice
Patience
Experimentation
Creativity
Hustle
Hard Work (aka Malcom Gladwell's Rule of 10,000 Hours)
Commitment
Want to Be Really Good at Something? Invest 10,000 Hours.
Malcolm Gladwell on 10,000 Hours.Here's Malcolm Gladwell in a CNN interview describing the significance of the 10,000 Hours Rule (timestamp 2:30 to 4:00):
Ms. Sommer Earned Her Expertise -- She Didn't Just Proclaim It. An influential, global media organization like Forbes didn't just hand her an outstanding personal branding opportunity because she proclaimed her industry expertise.
Unlike the aforementioned millions of great pretenders, she:
Earned this gig by executing her own advice
Earned her position as a communications expert through professional experience
Earned her expertise by being relentless (e.g., she wasn't afraid to fail)
See these excerpts from her Forbes Contributor bio and her communications consultancy homepage. She made it happen. She didn't just proclaim expertise.
A Case Study in Personal and Professional Reinvention
Ms. Sommer Reinvented and Transformed Herself Into a Communications and Public Relations Expert. Look further down her Forbes Contributor biography. She professionally reinvented herself from being a former litigator at an international law firm to becoming an entrepreneur and CEO of her own communications consultancy:
Where's The Cari Sommer's Substance? You can study it first-hand in this CBS News.com video.
Conclusion
I wish more people like Cari Sommers had the substance and experience to back up the "I'm An Expert" claim. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be so cynical.
I look forward to her future contributor articles in Forbes and other media sites. Until then, I've started following her on Twitter because I want to continue learning from a bona fide expert.
(Direct Quote from the Fortune Article): "Here's the scary part: Roehm rarely misses a chance to talk about how delighted she is with online advertising. Last year she spent 10% of the budget online; this year she is allotting closer to 18%; next year, she says, she will allocate more than 20%. Do the math: In 2006 roughly $400 million of Chrysler's money that used to go into TV, newspaper, and magazine ads will be spent on the Internet. Says Roehm: 'I hate to sound like such a marketing geek, but we like to fish where the fish are.'"
A 34 Year-Old Marketing Executive Publicly Declares a $400 Million Bet on Digital Marketing ROI. Wow! Here's a gutsy, young, rising, marketing executive superstar who's publicly stating her $360 million and $400 million bets to achieve digital marketing ROI in the next two years! Not only did this quantitatively trained University of Chicago MBA convince a highly conservative executive management team to think and invest differently but she also commanded their $2 billion global marketing budget.
Fast Forward to After a Highly Publicized Departure at Walmart in December 2006. After numerous high profile promotions and industry accolades, Ms. Roehm abruptly found herself at a personal and professional crossroads. Starting in 2007, her short tenure as a Senior VP of Marketing at Walmart was her last full-time, executive marketing position for the next five years.
She wanted back in the C-suite. But, as articulated by Fast Company, Corporate America wasn't willing to take on "damaged goods."
How Did Julie Roehm Recover and Reinvent Her Personal Brand?
The Governing Question. And, here's how I will attempt to answer it:
Examine how Ms. Roehm leveraged social media technologies to reinvent her personal brand
Offer my opinion on her multi-channel social media strategy and individual channel tactics
Conclude why I think her move to SAP fits from a social media perspective
What This Post WILL NOT Attempt. A lot of content exists online about Ms. Roehm's departure from Walmart. I couldn't avoid it while conducting the research for this post.
Therefore,
I will not rehash any of that online content and provide my personal opinions on it
I will not pass any personal judgment on Ms. Roehm in relation to that online content
If you're looking for a sensationalistic piece, please click to a different website / blog. Because, you're wasting valuable time by staying here.
If you're interested in answering the previously stated governing question, I hope you'll please stick with me for just a little while longer ...
1. Roehm Crafted a Personal Social Media Strategy First
A Home Base Personally Branding Julie Roehm.juliearoehm.com is her personal website where she controls every positioning aspect of her personal brand:
Brand Persona Attributes: C-Suite Executive, Marketing Expert, Smart, a Likable Personality
Targeted Buyer Persona: C-Suite Executives in Marketing, Branding, and Public Relations
Target Industry Expertise: Retail, Financial Services, Automotive, New Media
Online Assets Focusing on a Cohesive Brand Message. And, she showcases these personal brand attributes by delivering and linking a cohesive and consistent marketing message among each of these online, personal branding assets:
Her Personal Blog: "I'm an authority who publishes insights on marketing strategy."
Videos (especially from Fox Business News): "A major news network has me regularly comment because I'm a marketing strategy authority."
The Julie Roehm Twitter Feed: "I read, study, and share interesting content on marketing strategy."
LinkedIn Profile: "I've held several marketing strategy authority positions or consulted for large organizations as a marketing strategy authority."
A Multi-Channel Hub and Spoke Model with Both Long-Form and Short-Form Context. The multiple channel strategy executed here is worth highlighting in this age of real-time streams via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+:
1. The Marketing Pull. Her website, blog, and videos contain the long-form context demonstrating her expertise to the target audience. These online properties give her the runway to provide more details and examples of why she's a bonafide marketing authority in her target industries.
2. The Marketing Push. Her LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter contain the short-form context to share content she's provided on her "pull assets" (i.e., a recently published blog post or tweeting an article link relevant to a specific industry or area of marketing expertise).
2. Roehm Leveraged Online Video to Her Advantage
The Julie Roehm Personal Branding Killer App. Ms. Roehm leverages online video brilliantly. These videos demonstrate her personal strengths as well as different views of her personality:
Articulate and Smart
Subject Matter Expert
Thinks Quickly on Her Feet
Confidence: e.g, she knows this stuff cold
Humor: e.g., she pokes fun at herself and doesn't take herself too seriously
Plus, notice how each video positions her as one of the following:
Julie Roehm, Consumer Analyst and Marketing Expert
Julie Roehm, Marketing Strategy Consultant
Julie Roehm, Marketing Expert
* Example: Leveraging Online Media in Branding Strategy
Note: I provided the Fox Business News videos this way because (1) Fox doesn't allow the use of video embedding in external sites and (2) The URL in one of the videos produces funky-looking "duplicates" on my published blog post. Sorry for the inconvenience.
3. Roehm and Her SAP Senior Marketing Executive Colleagues Share a Common Ground: Think Like a Publisher
Both Her New Boss and a Senior Marketing Executive Colleague Self-Publish a Blog and Use Twitter. Ms. Roehm, her new boss, and one of her senior marketing executive colleagues agree on an important aspect of a global brand's marketing strategy: self-publishers win in social media.
How can I make that type of a statement? Her SAP senior marketing executive colleagues also actively self-publish online content:
And, during the interviewing process, I'm sure Ms. Roehm showed this online content portfolio to her SAP colleagues to make the case for her knowledge, expertise, and creativity in executing a successful social media strategy.
Thinking Like a Publisher Means Creating "Show-Me" Content. Ms. Roehm started actively blogging in March 2009 and opened her Twitter account in May 2007. That's given her significant time to create, publish and build a sizable online content portfolio. To her credit, she aggressively self-published content for the past five years to position herself for senior marketing executive positions.
"She now ranks cultural fit -- geographic and corporate -- at the top of her list, adding that her 'aggressive-aggressive' personality, as she describes it, doesn't jibe with the 'passive-aggressive' politeness of the South. 'I wanted to be able to show that I can adapt anywhere, I can do anything. The thing I learned about myself is that I'm not a full-on chameleon, and there's nothing wrong with that."
I have no knowledge of SAP's corporate culture. But, I do know these three (3) things after analyzing her personal social media strategy:
1. Julie Roehm maximized her online personal branding opportunities.
2. She strategically self-published content that's tactically distributed via multiple social media channels.
3. Her content delivered and reinforced a consistent brand message highlighting her marketing strategy capabilities and expertise.
Did her online activities alone win her this new professional opportunity? Of course not.
But, her online content strategy significantly contributed to winning her new senior executive postion at SAP. I look forward to tracking Ms. Roehm's progress because she's always been someone to watch.
Sony will release the DVD for Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill, on January 10, 2012. The 2011 film recounts how Billy Beane, the Oakland A's general manager in 2002, employed sabermetrics statistical analysis and research in his player evaluation and acquisition strategy.
Moneyball's Unsung Hero: Bill James. Mr. James is the creator of sabermetrics who now works as a Senior Adviser of Baseball Operations with the Boston Red Sox. His self-published Baseball Abstracts from 1977 to 1988 influenced Billy Beane's decision to operate on a different competitive dimension: identifying undervalued and overlooked talent from non-traditional baseball metrics (i.e., on-base percentage) and data analysis versus traditionally accepted baseball scouting methods and metrics (i.e., batting average).
Bill James's Background (e.g., he wasn't always affiliated with the Red Sox)
Why / How He Questioned Conventional Baseball Talent Evaluation
His Motivations as a Writer
Inspiring Lessons in Leading, Self-Publishing, and Questioning Conventional Wisdom. James inspires me as an aspiring blogger because of how he started and cultivated the influential and powerful sabermetrics tribe before the benefits of the modern-day Internet. And, he continues leading via his work at Bill James Online and several published books.
Questioning and disrupting the status-quo establishment
Self-publishing to spread ideas (i.e., social media: blogs, social networks)
Writing about and sharing what moves you
Leading a tribe that flourishes into an industry-wide movement
Ignoring the limits of a "current" full-time job description
1. Write About What You Love
You Can't Fake Passion.The Bill James Baseball Abstracts are famous for their quality and quantity of statistical analysis and data. But, more importantly, James made this new form of baseball knowledge interesting and accessible to all passionate, hardcore baseball fans.
And, his love of writing and baseball is why he explains both the science and art of sabermetrics better than anyone. That's why Bill James is the sabermetrics authority. Here are direct quotes from Moneyball (the book) describing his passion for both writing and baseball:
"I think about baseball virtually every hour of my life."
"I'd probably be a writer if there was no such thing as baseball, but because there is such a thing as baseball I can't imagine writing about anything else."
"I learned to write because I am one of those people who somehow cannot manage the common communications of smiles and gestures, but must use words to get across things that other people would never need to say."
"If it doesn’t move you emotionally, don’t write it (realize emotion is relative – it doesn’t have to move every member of your audience, but if it moves you then you’ve done it right: it’s going to impact someone else that way too)."
2. Write Because You Love It (Not to Get Paid for It)
"The first Abstract, in 1977, sold 75 copies, at $4 a copy. In 1978 sales edged up to all of 325 copies. Undaunted, James slogged ahead, checking the boilers, working on his numbers and producing editions of the Abstract. Sales passed 600 copies in 1979 and 750 last year, but the readership, while small, is enthusiastic, and James has become something of a cult figure. Esquire magazine assigned him to do season previews, and he even received an order of for the Abstract from Norman Mailer, which left James, a literary hero-worshipper, feeling both honored and abashed. He sent Mailer a copy but returned the writer's check. Mailer sent it right back with a note saying, 'If ever an author earned his five dollars, you have.' The price has climbed since then (to $13 for the 1981 edition), but James has yet to break the $10,000 barrier. 'It's been discouraging." he says, 'but not as discouraging as having to get out of bed in the morning and go off to work.'"
How Are You Going to Monetize Your Blog? One of my closest and most trusted friends posed this question when I started blogging two years ago. My response: "I don't know, yet."
But, after publishing 100+ posts, I know now. I Plan Making Zero Money (Ever)
Ask these questions about whether or not you really love blogging or writing:
* Are you willing to invest the significant time required to research and write individual posts either before or after putting in a full-day's work at your "real-world" job (and usually at a time when the rest of your family is asleep)?
* How much do you enjoy commenting on other blogs to build relationships and add to the conversation?
* Are willing to confront and push through The Dip after the initial excitement of starting your blog ends (i.e., around the first six (6) months?
* Is getting paid how you'll ultimately measure or determine whether or not you're a successful writer or blogger?
Discipline, Conviction, Belief, and Courage. If you answered "No," "I don't or not a lot," "I'm not," and "Yes" to any of the aforementioned questions, invest your scarce, valuable, free time in something else. Why? Because, blogging or writing is a long haul endeavor. Individual discipline, conviction, belief, and the courage "to consistently put yourself out there" drive the long-term outcome.
3. Lead a Tribe by Expressing YOUR Point-of-View
Because That's The Unmet Opportunity. James's research and scientific sabermetrics analysis challenged major league baseball's conventional wisdom in player and talent evaluation. But, it's his writing and unique point-of-view (e.g., his art) that distinguishes him as THE trusted sabermetrics authority (aka The Sabermetrics Tribal Leader).
"But once again, the details of James's equation didn't matter all that much. He was creating opportunities for scientists as much as doing science himself. Other, more technically adroit people would soon generate closer approximations of reality. What mattered was (a) it was a rational, testable hypothesis; and (b) James made it so clear and interesting that it provoked a lot of intelligent people to join the conversation."
A Tribal Leader Lurks Inside Us All. Study this Ted Talks Video from Seth Godin. In February 2009, Godin introduced his ideas on Tribes. His points describe how James built and led his tribe. And, how the same leadership opportunity is available to all of us:
6:50 to 12:09 - The Concept of Tribes and Leading One that Becomes a Movement
12:10 to 14:17 - Heretics Look at The Status Quo & Say I Don't Like It
16:00 to 17:27 - The Common Traits of Tribal Leaders
They Challenge Everything
They Build a Culture
They Connect People to One Another
They Commit to The Cause
4. Define Yourself Through Your Art (Not Your Full-Time Job)
A Former Night-Watchman Became Major League Baseball's Foremost Authority in Scientific Sabermetrics Analysis and a Senior Adviser of Baseball Operations With the Boston Red Sox. When Bill James started self-publishing the Baseball Abstracts, he worked full-time as a night-watchman in a Stokely Van Kamp pork and beans factory in Lawrence, Kansas:
(From Moneyball (the book)"It was while guarding Stokely Van Kamp's pork and beans that James stumbled seriously into putting his thoughts down on paper, in response to having things he absolutely needed to say that he was unable to convey any other way."
(From Daniel Okrent's Sports Illustrated article) "Later, he worked for a time as a boiler attendant--a watchman of sorts--in a food-packing plant in Lawrence, which turned out to be an ideal job for James. 'I'd spend five minutes an hour making sure the furnaces didn't blow up,' he says, 'and 55 working on my numbers.'"
And, The Boston Red Sox ended an 86-year championship drought by capturing World Series Championships in 2004 and 2007.
Technology and The Internet Don't Care About Your Current Job Title. Anyone reading this blog post has the same opportunity to lead, influence, and access a global audience. In the following interview, Seth Godin states the case for why technology levels the playing field:
* Your Laptop Is The 21st Century Factory (0:40 - 1:56). Now, you own the means of production. But, the driving question is what are you going to do with your laptop to make something that changes the world? That "something" could be:
A Web Page or Website
A Blog
An E-Commerce / Online Retail Site
* You Can Globally and Directly Connect (2:17 - 3:54). The Internet enables your global connections to promote your work and do business (and vice versa). Marketing is no longer a game of who shouts loudest. It's a game of competing for and earning "the whisper-time" of your target audience in their social networks.
* You Can Spread Ideas Via Social Media Connections (3:55 - 4:58). Developing these connections (or knowing people who have them) is vital. Why? Because, social media influencers determine:
The ideas that get a head start
The ideas that spread
It's Our Turn To Lead. We’ve all got something inspiring inside of us. Share it in your blog, your column, a self-published eBook, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, or Google+.
I studied Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel from cover to cover. And, I loved every word. My one regret: I didn’t start reading / studying it sooner.
An Important and Valuable Book. Don’t make my mistake. Six Pixels of Separation belongs in the digital marketing and leadership library of any Fortune 500 executive, small business owner, or entrepreneur who is driven to forge an organization on the principles of trust and community.
This review focuses on seven (7) pearls of wisdom from the book. But, there are so many more.
I hope this review inspires you to:
Purchase the book and study it
Share it with your family, friends, and colleagues
A 3-Pronged Approach: Building, Differentiating, and Auditing Your Personal Brand. Chapter 7: You Are Media (pages 124 – 142) is the most important chapter of the book. It focuses on how individuals can create, promote, and differentiate their personal brands by publishing digital content.
Mitch provides detailed guidance on these key branding activities:
Build a 3D Personal Brand (pages 134 – 135)
Differentiate Your Personal Brand Via a 15-Point Personal Brand Questionnaire (page 129)
Audit Your Personal Brand in the Online World (pages 139 – 141)
In the following video (timestamp 1:53 to 3:10; note there's a short advertisement in the beginning), Mitch describes how organizational brands or individual brands can market themselves in online channels by:
Participating in online conversations
Providing valuable content
Helping other people connect and engage with others
You Are a Broadcast Network. Page 137 states why we are all individual media companies:
“Individuals are creating content; the individuals are the media. The media they are creating are also a form of advertising.”
“It made me wonder: why would Robert Scoble accept a “friends invitation” from people he does not know? Why do you want to be connected to people you don’t know and alert them to stuff you’re doing? And then it hit me! Robert Scoble is media. He’s building his own broadcast network. He understands that media is completely fragmented and, by participating in all these new social communication vehicles (blogging, Twitter, Pownce, Facebook), he’s aggregating readers and viewers, thereby increasing his penetration and his worth as media.”
2. We Are All Intrinsically Connected
Six Degrees of Separation Applies to Traditional Media. On page 4, Mitch explains that today's technology and digital channels enable people to know everyone because:
“We are all intrinsically connected through technology, the Internet, and our mobile devices.”
“We are all a click (or pixel) away from one another.”
“This means that building relationships and turning those relationships into an online community is more important than ever before.”
He describes the Six Pixels of Separation Concept in the following video (timestamp: 0:08 to 1:37; note there's a short advertisement in the beginning):
Geographical Boundaries No Longer Apply. Watch the following video. It describes the true story of how the rock band, Journey, found its new lead singer via YouTube. The new lead singer lived in the Philippines (and didn’t speak a word of English). The story starts around 40 seconds into the video:
3. Digital Marketing Is About Being Slow
In Praise of Slow. Pages 31 – 34 contain my favorite Six Pixels quotes. Why? All of the lessons reinforce a long-term approach / attitude in building a credible digital presence. The misconception about digital marketing versus traditional marketing is digital results could be achieved faster and cheaper:
“Yes, you can make fast decisions, see fast results, and optimize and change things on the fly, but real tangible results take time. You can’t quickly start a blog and get results right away. It takes time to build your content, find your voice, develop a community, and earn trust and respect.”
Time Invested Drives New Media Opportunities. On page 5, he describes how the time invested in building online communities and reputations determines success in online channels (not how much money is dumped in advertising and PR):
“The new online channels will work for you as long as your are working for them by adding value, your voice, and the ability for your consumers to connect, engage, and take part.”
Eight (8) Years of Blog Posts and Hundreds of Podcasts. Mitch started publishing the Six Pixels of Separation Blog in 2003. At the time of the book’s 2009 publication, the Twist Image Team published 200+ podcasts.
On pages 184 to 185, Mitch comments on the time and and work invested:
“None of this was easy to accomplish. It was (and is) hard work and very time consuming, but we have achieved great results from these efforts, and it has differentiated us and brought us out of the bloody red sea of interactive agencies and into a blue ocean (even though, on some days, it feels more lie a pond) of what the agency of the future should look like.”
Watch This Interview About In Praise of Slow (time stamp 2:30 to 5:00). Pay special attention to what Mitch says about In Praise of Slow along with his blog’s role in lead generation and client acquisition:
4. Influencers of Content Value: Time, Search Engines, Linking, and Sharing
Content’s Slow, Steady Process and the Link to Search Engines. Page 33 contains an important lesson on how content earns favorable search engine rankings:
“The older the content, the longer it has been online and searchable through the engines, the more people who have linked to it, shared, and tagged it, the more valuable it is. Content that ranks at the top of Google does not get there because of how new and fresh it it is. Content rises to the top of Google based on how long it has been available and how valuable it has been to the online community.”
“It’s a slow and steady process that makes content rise to the top of the search engines.”
Speed Is a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tactic. Page 33 discusses why speed is important in online publishing. Key points about speed include:
* Speed gets your content is indexed in search engines as fast as possible.
* The sooner your content is available through search, the sooner people will find it, and the sooner it will become valuable.
* Posting your content fast means you can gain the efficiencies of content’s slow, steady process faster.
5. Attention Does Not Equal Trust
They’re Not the Same. Think about celebrities, politicians, athletes, etc. who garner significant attention. Do you trust them? Probably not. Being the center of attention is not a sustainable long term strategy.
Digital Marketing Is Not a One-Night Stand (page 34). It’s about TRUST. It’s about building real, genuine relationships with both your current consumers and potential consumers.
“There’s no such thing as an overnight sensation. Everything you’ve seen in business as an overnight sensation was, in effect, decades in the making.”
“The digital social spaces are built on trust and trust alone.Trust is always built slowly over time.”
Earning Trust. Pages 167 to 169 discuss earning and sustaining trust once your online participation receives attention. Mitch writes “to use the Web in a human way.”
* Be Helpful. Helping others online is how you turn attention into trust. Remember, the Web is built on reciprocity.
* Be Sincere. Helping others without expecting anything in return is the right attitude. Helpful and sincere people are valuable community members – just like in the real world.
6. Traffic Does Not Equal Community
Be Wary of The Mass Media Complex. Driving more traffic is good. But, the ultimate goal is not solely about achieving large numbers.
In the following video, Mitch discusses the mass media complex (e.g., appealing to everyone or trying to attract millions). Pay attention to his explanation from time stamp 0:40 to 0:57 (especially about how Six Pixels of Separation targets the digital marketing and social media community):
Focus on Building Community. The thought here similarly applies to the one about attention does not equal trust. On page 166, Mitch writes:
“Keep in mind that many people who have lots of traffic really don’t have much community at all. In fact, hunting for the traffic can be a game of diminishing returns. To really evolve and maintain, focus on the five new community members (who will, we hope, become lifetime customers) versus the 55,000 who might float in and right out simply because of an orphan link that someone posted somewhere. Namely, they were interested in your content for about five seconds, but now they are gone.”
“The long-term game of sustainability in the online channels is one of quality versus quantity.”
7. The Golden Rule
Say Thank You. Pages 41 to 42 and 210 to 212, reinforce the importance of (1) monitoring mentions of your product / service AND (2) expressing thanks to the people sharing your content:
If someone mentions you, it is now your duty -- at the very least -- to leave a comment back on their blog (or email them directly), letting them know you are reading, paying attention, and most importantly, appreciative of their mentioning you.
As much as you physically can, respond and be thankful to everyone who takes the time to mention you.
Make this your golden rule, and make a commitment that you will never break it.
It Shows You're Human. Practicing The Golden Rule shows others you're listening, responsive, and appreciative. In all human interactions, isn't that the goal? Make it the norm not the exception in your digital interactions.
And, Mitch Joel is a Man of His Word. These acknowledgements from Mitch show how he practices The Golden Rule:
Tom Peters is co-author of In Search of Excellence – the book that changed the way the world does business, and often tagged the best business book ever. Keep up with Tom at tompeters.com, ranked #9 among The Top 150 Management and Leadership Blogs.
His globally-respected work on business, leadership, and management includes:
Thank You Mr. Peters and Team! I’m honored by the listing on your website. I jumped for joy when I saw my blog post on your Media Sightings page!
Who Says Blogging Is Dead? The people promoting this message are misinformed. Don’t buy into this noise. Read this direct quote from The Brand Called You about earning recognition and building reputation for your personal brand:
“If you’re a better writer than you are a teacher, try contributing a column or an opinion piece to your local newspaper. And, when I say local, I mean local. You don’t have to make the op-ed page of The New York Times to make the grade. Community newspapers, professional newsletters, even inhouse company publications have white spaces they need to fill. Once you get started, you’ve got a track record – and clips that you can use to snatch more chances.”
Blogging Matters More Than Ever. Take note of this advice from Seth Godin and Tom Peters about marketing your personal brand via writing a blog:
Your Turn. You’ve got something inspiring inside you. Share it in your blog, your column, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, or Google+. I want to read about your victories!
The Deepest Human Need is the Need to be Appreciated
Insightful Advice from William James and Tom Peters. Watch this Tom Peters video about the power of Thank You Notes (specifically time stamp 1:20 to 2:34). In addition to the William James quote, Mr. Peters shares:
"Recognition and Appreciation. Nothing gets you further in your career. And, it also makes you a better human being."
Digital Thank You Notes. When someone links to your blog, tweets your post on Twitter, or shares your work on LinkedIn News, do you say thank you?
If someone cites your content in his/her blog, show appreciation and demonstrate listening by:
* Commenting in their Blog Post. Doesn't it feel good when someone leaves you a blog comment? When someone takes the time to find your post, read it, evaluate it, and share it in their work, they are giving you a generous gift.
* Tweeting This Person's Blog Post. Publicize this person's blog post to your Twitter followers. Help drive readers to this person's blog. Sharing builds community on The Web. Isn't building community the goal?
* Tweeting A Quick Thank You Note. Thank you notes are important on The Web. Why? You show you're listening. You show your appreciation. You show you're human.
Demonstrating humanity and humility in 140 characters (or less) is a good thing.
Mitch Joel's Golden Rule
Advice from Six Pixels of Separation. On pages 41 to 42 and 210 to 212, Mitch Joel reinforces the importance of (1) monitoring mentions of your product / service AND (2) expressing thanks to the people sharing your content:
If someone mentions you, it is now your duty -- at the very least -- to leave a comment back on their blog (or email them directly), letting them know you are reading, paying attention, and most importantly, appreciative of their mentioning you.
As much as you physically can, respond and be thankful to everyone who takes the time to mention you.
Make this your golden rule, and make a commitment that you will never break it.
Conclusion
Success Requires the Help of Others. Achieving successful outcomes is a team sport. Teachers, mentors, coaches, teammates, family members, colleagues, clients, or someone else helped us accomplish something really worthwhile.
The Digital World Is Different. Why? Everyone I previously mentioned is someone I know personally. In the digital space, there's a higher likelihood that you don't personally know the people who spread your content. That's a key difference. Folks from any part of the world may have linked to your blog post, liked your content on Facebook, or tweeted about your service on Twitter.
Whenever you can, recognize these people and express your appreciation.
A Final Thought. I've thoroughly enjoyed publishing this four-post blog series on Tom Peters' Personal Branding Lessons. Readers shared these posts on LinkedIn News, curated them on websites, and tweeted the posts to their followers.
I appreciate you taking time to read these posts. And, you're so generous to share them.
The article shares real-life stories of five (5) professionals who confronted and overcame personal and professional setbacks.
And, these compelling examples prove successful reinvention happens at any age despite your previous job description.
The following video profiles one of these true-life reinventions (note: the beginning contains a short commercial):
Lifelong Reinvention Is A Professional Requirement
U.S. Labor Statistics Paint a Sobering Picture. These statistics are from the Fortune Magazine article. We're living in an era of:
* Job Destruction. 12.6% of the workforce lost their jobs in the past recession, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Displaced Worker Survey (the highest rate since at least 1981).
* Multiple Professional Identities. The youngest baby boomers (those born from 1957 to 1964) held an average of 11 jobs from ages 18 to 44, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Denali Group, a procurement-services company, predicts Generation Y will have 15 to 25 jobs in their lifetime.
* A Project-Based Economy. By the end of 2010, the number of people working part-time because they couldn't find full-time work had nearly quadrupled since the 1950s to 2.38 million people.
Tom Peters Described Our Project-Based Economy In 1997
One key to growing your power is to recognize the simple fact that we now live in a project world. Almost all work today is organized into bite-sized packets called projects.
A project-based world is ideal for growing your brand: projects exist around deliverables, they create measurables, and they leave you with braggables. If you're not spending at least 70% of your time working on projects, creating projects, or organizing your (apparently mundane) tasks into projects, you are sadly living in the past.
Today, you have to think, breathe act, and work in projects.
Project World makes it easier for you to assess -- and advertise -- the strength of Brand You.
Project World Dictates Lifelong Learning and Reinvention
Brand You Requires Regular Reinvention. Tom Peters emphasizes this conclusion in The Brand Called You:
A career is a portfolio of projects that teach you new skills, gain you new expertise, develop new capabilities, grow your colleague set, and constantly reinvent you as a brand.
Instead of making yourself a slave to the concept of a career ladder, reinvent yourself on a semi-regular basis.
They embrace the future (especially new technologies like social media)
They take calculated risks (e.g., they are willing to fail)
Read, Read, Read! Tom Peters shares important advice on keeping your analytical skills and creativity fresh (e.g., new skills and knowledge powering reinvention): Out-Read The Other Guy.
1. Connect. Social media and a laptop allow us to make direct connections on a global scale. Connect and learn new insights from other people. Better yet, create something that impacts their lives. In return, you'll build reputation, influence, and power.
2. Be Generous. By creating something that benefit others and by not expecting anything back, you'll cultivate community (aka a tribe). And, communities spread ideas. Your personal brand could be one of those ideas.
3. Make Art. All of us are capable of creating art. With today's technology, it could be an informative website, a great blog post, or a thought-provoking eBook. Your art can move and influence others.
4. Acknowledge the Lizard. That voice inside our heads that prevents us from creating art -- that's the lizard brain. The lizard brain reminds us how we fear being laughed at or looking foolish. Acknowledge it. Now, ignore it. And, create the art that's inside you.
5. Ship. Godin says: "The key to reinvention of who you are, then, is to become someone who ships (aka The Linchpin)." The Linchpin is the person who accepts accountability, has the skills for getting things done, and creates outcomes. To create outcomes, you have to ship (i.e., hit enter to send that email, press publish to post that blog article, or make the hard decision).
6. Fail. Reinvention requires failing often and failing small. You have to be willing to fail. Watch this Tech Crunch TV interview with Godin on The Value of Failing Small (especially time stamp 1:59 to 3:26).
7. Learn. Another direct quote from Seth Godin: "The path to reinvention, though, is just that -- a path. The opportunity of our time is to discard what you think you know and instead learn what you need to learn. Every single day.
Read Godin's eBook: Brainwashed -- Seven Ways to Reinvent Yourself. Here it is from Slideshare:
Leverage Technology To Your Advantage. The Internet levels the playing field. In the following video, Godin makes a strong case how technology powers your reinvention:
* Your Laptop Is The 21st Century Factory (0:38 - 1:54). Now, you own the means of production. What are you going to do with your laptop to make something that changes the world?
* You Can Globally and Directly Connect (2:17 - 3:54). Plus, the Internet enables your global connections to promote your work and do business (and vice versa).
* You Can Spread Ideas Via Social Media Connections (3:55 - 4:58). Developing these connections (or knowing people who have them) is vital. Why? Social media influences:
The ideas that get a head start
The ideas that spread
Don't Make My Mistake. I started my blog and personal reinvention process in July 2009.
My ONE Regret -- Not starting sooner.
And, it isn't just because of the resulting opportunities. Reinvention Is Fun.
Go. Connect. Be generous. Make art. Acknowledge the lizard. Ship. Fail. Learn.
