Tag Archives: Tom Peters

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Sunday Brunch Reads with Social Media ReInvention: Week of 10/05/14 to 10/12/14

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Sunday Brunch Menu LARGE

Share-worthy links Social Media ReInvention Community Members can enjoy during Sunday brunch:

1) eMarketer: Second Screening During TV Time—It's Not What You Think. The television industry (and myself) thought associating Twitter #hashags with its programming increased higher audience engagement and participation. Wrong.

Check out this Facebook post detailing the Millward Brown Digital Study, From One Screen to Five: The New Way We Watch TV. Facebook collaborated with Millward Brown on the study.

This stat caught me by surprise (maybe it shouldn't). The number one ranked "second screen" competing for our time and attention isn't Facebook, Twitter, another social network, etc.

It's email. 

eMarketer is publishing a detailed report on our television and social media viewing habits called, “Simultaneous Media Use: Screen Fragmentation Complements Traditional Channels.” Here's a direct quote from the eMarketer article:

The takeaway is that a major portion of digital activity during TV shows has nothing to do with the show or the commercials. People simply drift away from the program and do other activities on their devices. This represents a transformation in the role of television from being a focal point to being just one of many screens competing for attention.

We're an iTV and Roku family (dumped cable months ago). Maybe, that's why I don't tweet, like, or post while watching tv. I'm focusing on the show (a rare treat).

2) McKinsey Quarterly: Tom Peters on Leading The 21st Century Organization. I'm a huge Tom Peters fan. At 71, he's still a rebel with a cause. I love and respect his candid and forthright views about developing and understanding an awareness of power, influence, and politics in organizations.

That's how change takes place in The Fortune 500. Change takes place by influencing and developing political allies (one person at a time).

Here are direct quotes from the article:

Change is about recruiting allies and working each other up to have the nerve to try the next experiment. You find allies. You encircle the buggers.

You don’t bring about change in real big meetings or virtual meetings. You bring it about one person at a time, face to face—when we discover we have some common interests and we’re both pissed off, say, at too many CEOs who talk about charts and boxes. And so we create a conspiracy.


Bonus 1: Mitch Joel's recent podcast with Tom Peters.

Bonus 2: My post, Tom Peters Personal Branding Lessons, Part 1: Why YOUR Blog Matters. Mr. Peters linked to this post and cites it on his Media Sightings Page.

3) Brynne Tillman and The LinkedIn Challenge #thelinkedinchallenge. Brynne's LinkedIn Posts on Social Selling and maximizing LinkedIn's utility and power in our professional lives never cease to amaze me. She's a bona fide subject matter expert in her field.

Her creativity to create and initiate #thelinkedinchallenge is genius. It's a clever take on the #ALSChallenge. The purpose: connect and introduce two (2) Linked connections who can benefit from each other.

I participated right off the bat. Here's my Twitter conversation with Brynne:

 

Brynne Tillman #thelinkedinchallenge coversation 2014-10-12 at 2.36.23 PM

4) John Mack and The Pharma Marketing Blog: #mHealtMobile Chat Takeaway: Pharma Must Involve Patients Early on When Developing Mobile Health Apps. Last week, I participated in the #mHealthPharma Tweetchat. John lead and moderated 45 global participants!

And, he performed brilliantly.

I first discovered the initial discussion thread in this LinkedIn Group: Mobile Health Global.  The topic centered on this question: "What stands in the way of pharma developing high quality mobile health apps?" This is the headline of our first debate.Participate in it here since the 25th of September. John Mack will moderate it!

I love discovering LinkedIn Discussion Groups like this one! I virtually met and conversed with smart, passionate, and thought-provoking people in the LinkedIn Group and the #mHealthPharma Tweetchat.

Here are links to their Twitter Profiles:

Check out Teresa Bau's Storify presentation. I have to learn how to do this because it's pretty cool:



 

Did You Enjoy This Post?

If yes, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog. Many Thanks!

 

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+. 

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3 Career Management Lessons for a Social Media Age I Learned From My Dad

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Happy New Year!

 

 

I made a 2014 resolution to publish an eBook / presentation.

This presentation / eBook describes three (3) career management lessons I've learned from my Dad and applied to my own career:  

1) Learn From the Best  

2) Get Published  

3) Get Back Up — Fast!  

My Dad inspired me to apply each of these lessons in a digital marketing and social media context (e.g., blogging, participating in Twitter, reading books of marketing strategy thought leaders, connecting directly with marketing strategy thought leaders, etc.).  

These lessons describe the opportunity for online self-publishing, personal brand / personal reputation management, and the teachings of different marketing strategy authors.   The marketing strategy authors (and their books and blogs) that have inspired me include Seth Godin, Ann Handley, Mitch Joel, Tom Peters, and David Meerman Scott.  

It's my way of showing my Dad how much I admire and respect his individual achievements (and the obstacles he overcame).  

Thank you and I hope you enjoy and benefit from reading it. If you find the content helpful, please feel free to share this presentation with others. 

Have an Amazing and Blessed 2014!

 
Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino  or circle him on Google+.

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4 Questions Our Futures Depend On from CTRL ALT Delete by Mitch Joel

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Mitch Joel CTRL ALT Delete Book

Do You Want Want to Be Employable in the Next 5 Years?

If Yes, Grab Some Coffee (Because This is a Long Post).  Social Media ReInvention Community Members know of the tremendous respect I hold for Mitch Joel.  His books and art have tremendous influence on my marketing strategy and creative perspective. 

CTRL ALT Delete Is a Gift on 21st Century Career Leadership and Opportunity Management.  Mitch frames and delivers his compelling arguments in two (2) sections:

1.  Reboot: Business – The 5 Massive Movements

2. Reboot: You – The 7 Triggers

Yes, his book describes corporate and marketing strategy opportunities impacting organizations (big or small).  Yes, his book contains important personal branding / personal reputation implications.

But, all twelve (12) principles focus on individually identifying and framing opportunity (and having the collective or individual courage to pursue it).  

We All Have the Opportunity to Differentiate Ourselves and Lead.  CTRL ALT Delete's resounding themes are to:

  • Take the Initiative
  • Take Intelligent Risks (i.e., Embrace the Squiggle)
  • Differentiate Yourself (because the opportunities are highest in THIS era)  

That's why our futures depend upon studying and practicing CTRL ALT Delete's teachings.  Others with vaster audiences and authority than mine share that opinion.  

Invest in Yourself and Buy CTRL ALT Delete. Here are four (4) important questions Mitch Joel asks about building competitive advantages to reboot our organizations and individual careers: 

How Are We Building Direct Relationships with Our Customers, Fans, and Connections?

Creating a Unique Competitive Advantage.  Direct relationships as a competitive advantage (versus price) is best described by these CTRL ALT Delete quotes (page 11) on how Apple executes its retail strategy:

The solution for Apple was to create a "cradle to the grave" business model where the customer is–at every touch point–directly speaking with Apple's brand.  A true, direct relationship–in every sense of the word.  Apple could not win on price (their computers and other devices are usually much more expensive than their competition's), so they had to win by being there for the consumer and by making these consumers a part of a more complete brand ecosystem.

At the time that Apple first launched retail stores in 2001, the common practices among retailers was to cram each nook and cranny of space with merchandise to maximize the sales per square foot.  Sadly most retailers (and businesses) still hold on to the traditional thinking.  For Apple, it was less about every square foot of retail space and much more about evey square inch of the direct relationship. Apple didn't start in the retail business to compete with other consumer electronics stores; they went into retail for the direct relationship with their customers.  Apple's attitude was: "Why give that power to Best Buy or anyone else?"

Apple Hired Angela Ahrendts Because of Her Ability to Build and Nurture Direct Consumer Relationships.  Angela Ahrendts hiring as Senior Vice President of Retail is Apple's signal to re-engage its devoted following.   Her retail philosophy is grounded on the ability to feel, empathize, and become a brilliant brand ambassador.  That's the foundation for direct and strong consumer relationships (from Austin Carr's October 15, 2013 Fast Company article):

"My dad used to always to say that he could teach anything but he couldn't teach how to feel.  That's the hardest part when you have 11,000 people: How do you teach them how we feel?"  

"The thing is, I don't want to be sold when I walk into a store to be welcomed.  The job is to be a brilliant brand ambasador.  Everyone is welcome. Don't be judgmental whatsoever."

"Don't sell! NO! Because that is a turnoff."

 

 

 

 

 

Converse Directly With Your Connections and Followers. Don't just tweet out links and "like" stuff. Mitch's observations about building direct relationships highly applies to our personal social network connections.  For example, participating in Twitter by sharing links your followers find helpful is a starting point for establishing authority and reputation.  

But, if you want to "own and nurture" a long-term direct relationship, you have to directly converse with your followers.  Mitch talks in depth about this concept throughout the book.  These types of direct conversations are powerful and solidify lifelong loyalty and relationships:

Twitter Conversation Mitch and Tony

How are You Building Competitive Advantage in a One-Screen World?

Check Out Mitch's Video Sharing Several Factoids on Mobile Trends:

  • In 1999: 38 million people had broadband Internet. Today: 1.2 billion have on their mobile phones.
  • Facebook has half of its nearly 150 million daily visits from mobile.
  • More people have a mobile subsciption than access to safe drinking water and electricity in our world today.
  • 200+ million tablets will be sold in 2013.
  • 23.1% of U.S. internet traffic comes from mobile devices.

 

Real-World Case Example: Apple Acquires Topsy.  The rationale for the Apple-Topsy acquisition comes straight from this section in CTRL ALT Delete: The One Screen World – The Shift From Four Screens Down to One (pages 90 -109). 

The entire chapter describes how consumers operate in a mobile, one-screen world. The only screen consumers care about is "the one currently staring them in the face."

Mitch further makes a compelling argument: The most important consumer screen resides on our smartphones.

Twitter Is Mobile, Untethered, and One-Screen Savvy.  It's a social media platform focused on telling Apple WHAT We're Thinking WHEN We're Thinking AND WHERE We're Thinking It.  This November 2013 Bloomberg-Businessweek article describes how the Twitter API, its meta data, and tweets provide rich consumer data. 

Here are Mitch's thoughts on Twitter and the one-screen world (from page 99 of CTRL ALT Delete):

"Twitter's metoric rise and continued success have less to do with how many followers Lady Gaga has and much more to do with the fact that it was the first-ever online social network that worked better on mobile than it does on the Web.  The sheer simplicity of those 140 characters of tweets makes it that much more workable and easy for consumers.  Twitter's focus (from day one) was on connecting people as they were on the go.  To this day, everything that Twitter does — from acquisitions to business strategy — is driven by a one-screen-world philosophy." 

Consumers, Followers, and Connections Expect and Demand Immediate, Real-Time Responsiveness.  Communicating and responding with our respective audiences with real-time immediacy is now a competitive differentiator (in both our professional and private lives).  According to the eMarketer article: Key Trends for 2014: Always On Means Always Social, mobile, social networking via our smartphones and tablets will continue driving our "real-time" communications:

 

Key Trends for 2014 Always On Means Always Social - eMarketer

eMarketer: Key Trends for 2014 – Always On Means Social

Whether we like it or not, consumers (and personal connections) expect us to be there in real-time with the right message, at the right time, in the right place.

How are We Differentiating Ourselves as Critical Thinkers?

A Personal Blog = Personal Competitive Advantage. The Internet affords anyone with a laptop and broadband access an opportunity to stand out.  But, we often allow ourselves to be defined by our current job titles and bullet points on our resumes.  That's a mistake.

Mitch thinks strategically and critically.  In a social media age, when most tweets or Facebook status updates provide diminishing returns on our attention, the opportunity to differentiate ourselves as entrepreneurial, credible, forward-looking strategic, critical thinkers has never been higher.

Writing a personal blog allows you to maintain an identity separate from your employer (i.e., it's a portable asset).  Dorie Clark, in her great book, Reinventing You, defines a personal blog as valuable, intellectual property showcasing individual expertise by:  

1. Showing how you think

2. Demonstrating your individual creativity

3. Making it easy for a potential employer / great connection to find you (e.g., SEO benefits)

4. Giving you practice in an important and portable business skill set — writing

5. Proving you're technology and Internet savvy  

6. Informing people first-hand how you're driven to learn new skills

Isn't Blogging Supposed to be Dead?  Hardly.  As Mitch points out in the section, "Your Life in Startup Mode," a personal blog describes important aspects about ourselves that a resume fails to represent:


(page 227) "You're writing to exercise your critical thinking skills."

(page 225) "But for the purpose of this book, I'll define a blog as an online journal of your work.  The spirit of the blog is to create a living and breathing resume and portfolio of how you think and work."

(page 224) "I still believe that a blog is a canvas that allows you to think, share, and connect with an audience." 

(page 228) "Because if you care enough to blog, it means that you have something to say.  If you have something to say and you're blogging it, it means that you want to share and connect.  Ultimately, the world needs more people like that."


Seth Godin and Tom Peters on Why We Should Blog.  This classic video from two great marketing teachers on why blogging matters deserves viewing:

 

 

What is the Legacy and the Value You are Ultimately Delivering and Leaving?

Pages 190 and 193 from The Marketing of You explain the ultimate goal for connecting (online or face-to-face):

(page 190) "There's nothing wrong with asking for help, but you will always see a more positive result if you start by delivering value first—by being valuable to others before asking them for favors.  Give abundantly and be helpful."

(page 193) "True influence comes from connecting to individuals, nurturing those relationships, adding real value to other people's lives, and doing anything and everything to serve them, so that when the time comes for you to make a request, there is someone there to lend a hand. Worry less about how many people you are connected to, and worry a whole lot more about who you are connected to—who they are and what you are doing to value and honor them (in their spaces)."

That sounds like a great philosophy towards achieving professional and personal fulfillment.

 

Did You Enjoy This Post?

If yes, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog. Many Thanks!

 

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+. 

 

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Part One: 4 Gurus with Books Helping New College Graduates Build a Professional Online Presence
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Part One: 4 Gurus with Books Helping New College Graduates Build a Professional Online Presence

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Big Banner Asking What Are You Reading?

What Books Are You Reading to Land a Job After College?

 

How Confident are You in Finding a Job After Graduation?  


There are no guarantees of employment for new college graduates or current students in today's brutal economy.  A college diploma is now a minimum requirement.  This November 2011 New York Times direct quote describes the current situation:


"A bachelor's degree on its own no longer conveys intelligence or capability." 

A Professional Online Presence Provides Differentiation Among a Sea of College Graduates

A Resume and Diploma are NOT Enough.  Recent graduates (and current undergraduates) need more to catch a company recruiter's attention.  LinkedIn Grad Guide Video #2: Building Your Professional Brand revolves around this concept.   Here's a key fact about how company recruiters now evaluate future employees (particularly college graduates and current students):


"It's no longer enough to simply have a resume. Students now need a professional  online presence."    – Holly Paul, former US Recruiting Leader, PriceWaterHouse Coopers (now Chief Human Resources Officer, Vocus).

 
Do You have a Professional Online Presence?   Is Your Professional Online Presence Differentiating?  If you said no to either of these questions, I hope you'll continue reading a little longer.  Developing a professional brand / presence requires work, time, patience, and discipline.  If you make the commitment, this investment increases the probability a company recruiter (or your first boss) will:

  1. Find you online
  2. Select you for that crucial first interview  

Seeking a Job in Marketing, Public Relations, or Communications?  Majoring in these Fields)?  If you nodded "yes," the authors / books described in this two-part post are MUST READ content.  These gurus are driving the future landscape of digital marketing, public relations, and communications.  

Note: I am not an Amazon Affiliate Program Member.  I tremendously respect the following authors because of their invaluable guidance in developing a professional online presence.

Turn Your Non-Working Time Into a Competitive Advantage

Read. Read. Read.  The following suggested authors / books are not "cookie cutter" or "10 easy steps on how-to land your first job out of college / summer internship in a lousy economy" resources.  

These authors share creative ideas to show a potential employer "you're more than a resume and the grades on a college transcript".  Their teachings provide suggestions in maximizing the Internet's global reach and leveraging search engines to your advantage.
 
Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha

Hoffmanreid_thestartupofyou

Read The Start-Up of YOU First.  

Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha wrote The Start-Up of You with the following principles in mind:  

1. You were born an entrepreneur.

2. Succeding professionally in today's economy means people of all ages need to adopt the same strategies of successful entrepreneurs.  

Why?  Successful entrepreneurs excel at:

  • Adapting all the time (e.g., permanent beta and pivoting)
  • Dealing with uncertainty and information gaps
  • Understanding their competitive advantage(s) (plus identifying quickly what is not)
  • Building and nurturing lifelong networks and relationships (both personal and professional)
  • Asking their lifelong networks and relationships for advice when confronting problems
  • Managing risks intelligently

Why The Start-Up of YOU Matters

So what does entrepreneurship have to do with building a professional presence (and ultimately in landing that first job out of college)?  Here are some direct quotes referencing Ronald Brownstein's NationalJournal.com article, "Children of the Great Recession:"

"For the last sixty or so years, the job market for educated workers worked like an escalator.  So long as you played nice and well, you moved steadily up the escalator, and each step brought with it more power, income, and job security."

"But now the escalator is jammed at every level.  Many young people even the most highly educated, are stuck at the bottom, underemployed, or jobless."

The Start-Up of YOU's principles describe the entrepreneurial strategies and career tactics traditional liberal arts undergraduate classes overlook.  Understanding and applying these entrepreneurial strategies and career tactics can guide you in the current job market.  

I published a series on The Start-Up of YOU when the book rolled out last year.  The second post, Start-Up of YOU Book Review, Part 2: Five Game Changers in Career Competitive Advantage highlights several key takeaways.   

Here are a few more helpful links to The Start-Up of YOU Resources Page to get started:

If you have difficulty with these links, please email me at tony[dot]faustino[at]gmail[dot]com, and I'll send you the PDFs.

The Start-Up of YOU Resources Page also contains this SlideShare presentation: Start-Up of YOU Visual Summary:

  

Dan Schawbel

Me 2.0 CoverDan Schawbel wrote Me 2.0 and Promote Yourself.  The New York Post selected Me 2.0 as 2009's Number 1 career book.  Promote Yourself (his latest book) is a current New York Times bestseller.  Dan's also the Managing Partner of Millenial Branding, a Gen Y research and consulting firm.  He is the personal branding authority for millenials.

Great Insights Relevant to All Professional Ages.  In my opinion, Dan's professional branding teachings apply to ALL professionals and job seekers.  I studied the 2009 first edition in my early-forties. 


Why Me 2.0 Matters  

Me 2.0 provides easy-to-understand suggestions for creating a professional brand online by:

  • Evaluating blog hosting options (if I could go back, I would select WordPress)
  • Starting, writing, and marketing a personal blog 
  • Participating wisely in social networks
  • Developing relationships with influential bloggers in your targeted industries
  • Understanding search engine optimization's (SEO) impact on your professional career

Dan published this free PDF presentation, Blogging Your Brand: A Complete Guide to Your Success, to support the book's launch.  It's a great primer for seriously publishing a personal blog and creating a professional brand.

Stay tuned for a future review of Promote Yourself (it's on my reading to-do list).  Here's Dan's blog post, Promote Yourself Excerpt – Chapter 10: Start Your Own Business While on the Job, if you'd like to learn more.
 


Mitch Joel

Six Pixels CoverI am a HUGE Mitch Joel Fan.  Mitch is President of Twist Image – one of the largest independent Digital Marketing Agencies in North America. When Google educates the top global brands about digital marketing, they call Mitch to speak at the Googleplex.

Why Six Pixels of Separation Matters


Chapter 7: You Are Media and Chapter 10: From Mass Media to "Me" Media.  These Six Pixels of Separation chapters, along with Tom Peters' classic Fast Company article, The Brand Called YOU, explain best why cultivating a professional online presence should be a career priority.

Key content generously shared in these chapters include: 

  • A Personal Brand Questionnaire (for evaluating your personal brand and how well you are digitally communicating it)
  • The Essential Components in Building a 3D Personal Brand: Giving Abundantly, Helping Others, and Building Relationships
  • A Personal Brand Audit of Online Tools (such as a personal blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Search, and Google Alerts)
  • Building and Targeting a Niche for Your Professional Online Presence

A Bonafide Visionary.  Here's a direct quote from Mitch Joel in Six Pixels of Separation "predicting" why a professional online presence matters more than ever for new college graduates (this was in 2009).  

Mitch framed his insight within the context of the following quote cited in Six Pixels of Separation from Michael S. Malone's May 2008 Wall Street Journal article, "The Next American Frontier:"

 "The most compelling statistic of all?  Half of all new college graduates now believe that self-employment is more secure than a full-time job.  Today, 80% of the colleges and universities in the U.S. now offer courses on entrepreneurship; 60% of Gen Y business owners consider themselves to be serial entrepreneurs, according to Inc. magazine.  Tellingly, 18 to 24-year-olds are starting companies at a faster rate than 35 to 44-year-olds.  And 70% of today's high schoolers intend to start their own company, according to a Gallup poll."

(from Mitch a few paragraphs later):  

"Here's what he's really saying (e.g., Mr. Malone): Without noticing it, we have once again discovered, and then raced off to settle, a new frontier. Not land, not innovation, but ourselves and a growing control over our own lives and careers.

Mitch Joel's Latest Book is Ctrl Alt Delete.  My biggest personal mistakes/regrets in understanding and building a professional online presence are:

  1. Not publishing this personal blog at least 10 years earlier.
  2. Not reading Six Pixels of Separation upon its initial release.

Mitch recently published Ctrl Alt Delete.  I'm studying it now (and I love it).  The lifelong career advice is invaluable.  To preview Ctrl Alt Delete, please watch this thoughtful conversation between Jonathan Fields and the humble maestro: 


 

Closing Thoughts

This concludes post three on helping recent college graduates and current undergraduates build a professonal online presence.  I hope you'll return for post four (e.g., Part 2) sharing six (6) more authors and their respective books.  Post 4 should be published in two weeks. 

Your Turn: Have you read any of these books?  If so, how useful do you think they are to recent college graduates and current undergraduates.  Are there other books you think would be helpful? Please let me know in the comments.


Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.  

 

Note: This is post three in a series sharing resources to help new college graduates and current students land full-time jobs or internships.  If interested, here are links to other posts in this series:

 



Photo Credit: by Pop Culture Geek via flickr

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Tom Peters’ Media Sightings Page Cites Social Media ReInvention Blog

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Jumping For Joy

 

I have wonderful news to share with the Social Media ReInvention Blog Community.

Tom Peters’ website, www.tompeters.com cited and linked to my post: Tom Peters’ Personal Branding Lessons, Part 1: Why YOUR Blog Matters.

The blog post is listed on the Media Sightings Page of the Tom Peters Website (screen shot as of August 4, 2011):

Tom Peters Media Sightings Pic

Mr. Peters’ bio states:

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:

 

Conclusion


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!


Start blogging. Start writing. Start creating.  And, don’t look back.

 

Photo Credit by Lauren Manning via Flickr

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Tom Peters’ Personal Branding Lessons, Part 4: YOUR Thank You Note Matters

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Thank You Multiple Languages

This is the final post in a four-post blog series on personal branding lessons inspired from Tom Peters, The Brand Called You.

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.


Thank You — It means so much to me.

 

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy for organizations and individuals in his marketing strategy blog, Social Media ReInvention.  Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.    

 

Photo Credit By woodleywonderworks via Flickr

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Tom Peters’ Personal Branding Lessons, Part 3: YOUR Lifelong Reinvention Matters

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Fortune Magazine Reinvent Your Career

Fortune Magazine published, Reinvent Your Career, in its July 4, 2011 issue. 

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

Read The Fast Company Article, The Brand Called You.  These Tom Peters quotes underscore the personal branding opportunities in a project-based economy:

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.

Common Traits of Successful Reinventors.  In the Fortune Magazine article, Pulling Off The Ultimate Career Makeover, successful reinventors share a common attitude:

  • They love learning by doing  
  • 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.


  

Reinvent Yourself By Doing Work That Matters

Seth Godin’s Seven Ways to Reinvent Yourself.  “Doing work that matters” may require a personal transformation.  Here are Godin’s seven (7) ways to do it:

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:  

 

Seth Godin – Reinvent Yourself

View more presentations from LeeFuller

Conclusion

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: 

  1. The ideas that get a head start
  2. 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.

And, please let me know how it goes. 

 

Did You Enjoy This Post?

If yes, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog. Many Thanks!

 

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.

   

 

Photo Credit via Mike D Merrill   

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Tom Peters’ Personal Branding Lessons, Part 2: YOUR Storytelling Matters

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Storytelling

Why Is Storytelling Important?

It’s A Necessary Business Skill.  Do it well and you’ll surpass your competition.  Tom Peters makes a memorable point about storytelling’s importance especially during senior executive presentations: 

 

MBAs — Become Better Storytellers.  John Byrne published What Business Really Thinks of the MBA in his Poets & Quants Website.  The article summarizes insights from the 2010 book, Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads.

Analytical Smarts Aren’t Enough.  The authors cite storytelling as a necessary skill today’s MBAs lack.  Several executives (aka newly-minted MBAs’ future employers) in the book say MBA presentation skills are a special weakness:

Students need to master the art of storytelling. They must learn to sell their ideas in a powerful, succinct way.

Students fail to deliver the important message up front. I’m often asked to review their five-minute pitch for a business plan, but after the first minute they still haven’t given me a reason to listen for the next four. I’m looking for clarity with accuracy, precision, and conciseness.

Stories Motivate Us For More


Read Valeria Maltoni, Author of Conversation Agent Blog.  Valeria ALWAYS writes thought-provoking, well-researched, passionate posts.  She tells stories brilliantly.

And, she leaves us wanting more. 

Her recent blog post is no exception.  How Content Rules, reviews the fantastic book, Content Rules by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman.  Check out this killer opening:

She stood next to the podium and started reading from Gustav and the Goldfish, a book written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss in 1950 as part of his long-running series of children stories for redbook. We all sat there in rapt attention — the bigger the fish got, the more we leaned forward in anticipation.

Ann Handley is more than a writer and Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs: She’s a storyteller.

Doesn’t that:

  • Grab your attention from the start
  • Drive you to read more
  • Make the reading experience memorable

Stories Makes Your Message Stick
The SUCCESs Model.  Chip Heath and Dan Heath introduced this framework in their classic book, Made to Stick.  Buy it.  Study it.  Your must-have, business library has a place for it.

Here are their six principles of successful ideas:

S = Simplicity.  Strip an idea down to its core.  Relentlessly prioritize.

U = Unexpectedness.  Be counter-intuitive, use surprise, and generate interest and curiosity.  

C = Concrete.  Paint a mental picture using human actions or sensory information.  

C = Credible.  Cite outside authorities using vivid details (i.e., “Where’s the Beef?”)  

E = Emotional.  Make people feel something.  People care about people, not numbers.   

S = Stories.  Stories drive action through stimulation and inspiration.

Chip Heath explains the principle of simplicity in the following video.  Note: There’s a short advertisement at the start.  

Notice how he uses the SUCCESs principles especially storytelling:  

 

Conclusion

Data, Facts, and Analysis Aren’t Enough.  Peter Guber, former chairman of Sony Pictures and current CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group, published a book earlier this year:  Tell to Win — Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Storytelling.  Fast Company interviewed him in this article, Storytelling Your Way to Success.  

Here’s Guber’s view on how storytelling impacted the successes and failures in his life:

I realized that the secret sauce to success is the ability to take facts, bullet points, and data and orchestrate them into an emotional offering so that your audience metabolizes them and then the information becomes resonant, memorable, and actionable.

The Best Story Wins.  That’s timeless Tom Peters’ wisdom.  Telling a simple story when describing a complex solution is challenging.  It’s a highly sought after skill.  

I work in a professional services firm that addresses complicated problems.  And, the solutions are never easy to execute.  Plus, the solutions contain multiple components that can be difficult to explain.

A Differentiating Opportunity.  Untangling the complexity and simplifying the message are the differentiating opportunity.   That’s how storytelling differentiates your organization.  If you’re the storyteller (or the person charged with creating the story), take advantage of the opportunity to differentiate your personal brand. 

 

 

What’s YOUR story?

 

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If yes, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog. Many Thanks!

 

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.

Photo Credit by Fort Rucker via Flickr

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Tom Peters’ Personal Branding Lessons, Part 1: Why YOUR Blog Matters

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Brand Called You - Personal Brand

 

 

Fast Company published The Brand Called You by Tom Peters in August 1997.  Mr. Peters’ timeless advice about personal branding is especially relevant in our current economy.

Personal Branding is Important.  Here are two (2) direct quotes from the article:

  • “We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc.”
  • “To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for The Brand Called You.”

A Brand = A Promise of Value.  Think of personal branding like this:

  • The distinctive role / niche you create for yourself
  • The message and the strategy you’ll conduct to promote The Brand Called You


Your Personal Branding Hub: A Personal Blog 

A personal blog can be an important component of your personal brand (maybe the most important): 

* Blogging provides your forum for demonstrating your expertise about a subject you’re passionate about.  And, you get to pick the subject area — don’t worry about your current job description.

* Blogging drives your creativity, imagination, and intellect.  Adam Singer says it best: Blogging Is Like Going to the Gym … For Your Brain

* Blogging and personal branding means building community.  Community is a key concept in Mitch Joel’s book, Six Pixels of Separation.  Building community (online and in-person) includes:

  • Commenting on other blogs
  • Attending conferences related to your chosen subject area
  • Participating and contributing to conversations in social networks relevant to that subject (i.e., LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.)
  • Developing new relationships inside and outside of your current employer

You’re Not Defined By Your Job Title … 


… And, You’re Not Confined by Your Job Description.  This is another timeless lesson from Mr. Peters.  For corporate employees, his insight brings significant career implications:  

“No more vertical.  No more ladder.  That’s not the way careers work anymore.  Linearity is out.  A career is now a checkerboard.  Or even a maze.  It’s full of moves that go sideways, forward, slide on the diagonal, even go backward when that makes sense.  (It often does.)  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.”  

Mr. Peters explains this concept in the following video:

  


You Own The Means of Production to Mold Your Personal Brand


Take the Initiative — The Internet Levels the Playing Field.  Paraphrasing a key concept from Seth Godin’s book, Linchpin, “employees no longer have to be cogs in the giant industrial machine.”   

Why? The Internet provides direct and infinite opportunities in building a personal brand.  The only limit is your imagination.  On page 24 of Linchpin, Godin states:

  1. “Today the means of production = a laptop computer with Internet connectivity.”
  2. “Three thousand dollars buys a worker an entire factory.”

Godin shares his thinking with David Meerman Scott in this video interview (time stamp 3:48 to 5:12). 

 

David Meerman Scott interviews Seth Godin from David Meerman Scott on Vimeo.

 


You are Responsible for What You Do with the Means of Production.  There are two (2) important requirements in leveraging the “Digital Age Factory”:

  1. Initiative — Having the courage to start.  
  2. Persisting and persevering to finish.

Career Security Versus Job Security.  The means of production can lead to career security.  I’ll take career security over job security everyday of the week (and twice on Sunday).  To understand the difference between them, read these articles by Adam Singer of The Future Buzz:

Start Your Personal Blog.  Select a subject you’re passionate about.  Set up a WordPress, Blogger, or TypePad account.  

Keep Keeping On.  For most beginning bloggers, the writing and creative process doesn’t always flow easily.  Don’t worry.  It gets better with time and practice.

 

The Most Important Marketing Tool for Your Personal Brand

Tom Peters and Seth Godin Say Blogging Matters.  Check out this video.  Both Peters and Godin provide their personal insights on why blogging is a powerful marketing platform.  

Mr. Peters says “blogging is the best damn marketing tool by an order of magnitude that I ever had.  And, it’s free.” 

 

Blogging = Writing …  

… And, Writing is a Vital Business Skill.  Thoughtfully expressing written ideas directly impacts your career.  Think about it.  How many corporate emails do you write on a daily basis for one of the following audiences:

  • Your clients
  • Your boss
  • Your teammates
  • Your boss’s boss
  • Outside vendors

Practice Breeds Confidence.  I’ve published and maintained my personal blog for five and half years.  Blogging allows me to practice writing more than any other business activity.  

And, blogging is something I love practicing!   

A resulting benefit of consistent practice — increased confidence.  Written communications require confidence when:

  • Summarizing “the so what” to an executive audience
  • Delivering good news
  • Delivering bad news (and the plan to address the situation)
  • Crediting a colleague(s) on outstanding work (especially to upper management)
  • Gaining consensus (especially among team members beyond your management control)
  • Framing / Describing a politically sensitive situation (and the plan to address the situation)

Writing and the Link to Your Business Career.  Don’t believe me?  Listen to what Mr. Peters says about business writing skills and its importance:

 

Conclusion

You Don’t Have to Make the Op-Ed of The New York Times to Make the Grade.  That’s my favorite direct quote from The Brand Called You.  Your effort, your passion establishes your personal brand / reputation.

Publish. Connect. Give.

Do these three (3) things regularly and people WILL:

  • Find you online
  • Link to your blog
  • Cite you in their blog posts and articles
  • Ask you to contribute to their publications
  • Say you contribute value to their respective communities 

It Happened to Me. It Can Happen to You.  Here are links to other blogs or content highlighting my personal brand and/or citing my personal blog.  My blog posts or other networking activities created these personal branding opportunities: 

Start blogging.  Start writing.  Start creating.  And, Don’t Look Back.

 

Did You Enjoy This Post?

If yes, please share it with your friends and subscribe to my blog. Many Thanks!

 

Tony Faustino is a marketing and corporate strategist.  He thinks and writes about how The Internet reinvents marketing strategy in his personal blog, Social Media ReInvention. Follow his tweets @tonyfaustino or circle him on Google+.

 

 

Photo Credit: by ViteVu via Flickr