Social Media’s Not For You. Or Is It?

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

Entrepreneurs have embraced social media in increasing numbers, but there are still many who are convinced it’s not for them.  I’ve been in marketing for nearly three decades and I’m as skeptical as you are. But once I set aside my skepticism and thought about my business, it made sense.

“Why is your CPA firm on Facebook?”  I get asked all the time.  “Why would a CPA firm be twittering, or blogging, or posting videos on YouTube?”  This question is the 2010 version of the one I was asked ten years ago – why does a CPA firm need a marketing department?  (more…)

Powerful explanation is key to leadership communications

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

I wanted to share this great post from the Harvard Blog.  It’s an excellent reminder of an important concept in leadership communications:  explanations, with details, are needed to persuade followers to share your enthusiasm.

John Baldoni writes, “Explanation is a key attribute of leadership communications. Leaders know to inject their communications with verve and enthusiasm as a means of persuasion, but they also need to include an explanation for the excitement. What does it mean and why are we doing it are critical questions that every leader must answer with straightforward explanations.”

The post describes three important steps:

1. explaining the initiative and why it’s important
2. defining what isn’t part of the initiative
3. persuasive call to action.

I’d add that, like a good story, an explanation needs enough detail to really energize your team.  Rich detail is what grabs a reader or listener’s attention.  It’s why a story that starts “The red Porshe screeched up to the curb” is more intriguing to a reader than the one that starts “A car pulled up.”

Read the full story

What do you think?  How do you use explanations and storytelling in leading your team?  Join the discussion!

Are we ignoring internal networking?

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

This piece in Monday’s Financial Times intrigued me. 

Stefan Stern writes, “All kinds of unseen bottlenecks and undiscovered geniuses may be lurking within your business. But until you start asking your people the right questions – who talks to whom, who inspires whom – and analysing the answers, you may never find out what it is that people in your organisation already know. Your employees will never make the right connections that could lead to valuable innovation.”

So I’m wondering.

• Is the flow of information between employees creating the right kind of productive communication?
• Are collaborative networks developing?  What can I do to nurture them?
• What about the interactions between our external networks and our internal networks?

Are your people talking productively? Join the discussion!