Another example of horrible networking...

This evening was Kansas City's Small Business of the Year Showcase. More than 130 award candidates displayed our (my business is a candidate) work for nearly 1,000 local business people who attended.

This is one of the biggest networking events of the year. It's so big, my mom comes to "man" my booth, so I can talk to even more people. She is a great networker, and was fun to hang out with for the evening. I was grateful she spent the time there, and appreciated her help, which is more than can be said of "Barnes."

Here's the story...

One of the most delightful people I met this evening was the wife of an attorney. She wore jeans, pony tail, and KU sweatshirt as she passed out carnations to the women with booths at the event. She was adorable, smart, and socially savvy. I liked her so much, I wanted to meet her husband before leaving. Her husband is an attorney, and she was representing him there. At the end of the event, with my display suitcase and mom in tow, I went to find the wife and her attorney husband.

Boy, was he a jerk!

He introduced himself to me politely, and when I said why I came over to meet him, he made a rude comment about his wife being insignificant. I said something about her being out among the crowd doing a great job networking, and he actually said something which would indicate that she's not qualified to do anything else. (Meanwhile, I'd already learned she has a counseling degree and works as a counselor part-time, while raising their kids. A very smart woman.)

I said, "If you get any business from this event, you'll have her to thank." By then he had dismissed me and was speaking with another man.

Times are tough for law firms, aren't they? One would think the guy would be a little more savvy. Perhaps he can learn a few tips from his wife.

Jack be Nimble, Jack be Quick

Nimble and quick are not words which often come to mind when describing many leaders. Jockeys, perhaps, but not leaders. In today's ever-changing business world, it is essential for leaders to be flexible and think creatively when managing projects, making decisions, and leading others.

One problem, causing stale and slow, seems to be reliance on traditional solutions and problem solving methods. Solving a project management time crunch issue, for example, can no longer be solved by adding people from another team to help in the short-term. First of all, there are fewer people on those teams already--if there even are other teams. Second, companies do not want to, or cannot, pay the additional expense of adding people. Third, clients are nimble and want to see action quicker than ever.

Leaders need to stimulate a creative culture to help managers who tend to rely too much on their experience. No one has experience with what we are all dealing with these days, so creativity is required.

Here are 5 ways to help create a creative environment:

1. Brainstorm for ideas. Hold weekly brainstorming meetings. Choose a topic, facilitate a professional session (email or call Kelly for some tips), and follow up. Great ideas build off other ideas, so give employees a chance to brainstorm.
2. Love ideas before you hate them. Don't judge ideas quickly. Let them fester in your mind, and the minds of others, a little while to see if something could become of them.
3. Release all assumptions. Ask, "What would we do/say in 2006?" then ask, "What might be possible in 2029?" Somewhere between there just might be the answer needed.
4. Play games with a purpose. Here's a link to Games That Stimulate Creativity: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/busadmin/entre/teacher/creative/stimulate/index.htm
5. Rearrange the office. Change a few things around the office to change the way people are functioning. People get in a rut, so change the pictures, layout, color, etc. Hold meetings outside or at an art gallery, museum, diner, park, or gym. Get people out of their usual surroundings.

Adaptability, initiative, and innovation are key success factors today. The leaders who are nimble and quick are those who will succeed through these changing times. They will succeed because they instill the same flexibility and creative thinking in those around them.

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, or Jack be looking for a job to pick!

Common Sense Sales Skills are not Always Common

Doesn't every sales person know by now how important it is to ask questions and understand needs before making the sales call? Isn't that the very basic first step in sales?

I met a gal who recently hung her marketing shingle because former coworkers told her she'd be great at marketing. The thing is, she has never been in marketing. Her coworkers knew her as a recruiter, and while there are marketing elements involved in that job, it is a different job. Is it really wise to start a company in this current climate only on the basis of your friends telling you how great you would be? Not a smart move, in my opinion.

It is smart to attend functions where your target clients are, especially if you are selling yourself as a marketing expert.

A smarter move would be to get to know them and ask questions, rather than hog the entire conversation with your insistence that these targets know nothing about marketing. Believe it or not, many have marketing agencies already and others are smart marketers themselves. You are not some type of sales savior coming to save the day, as there have been dozens of marketing experts visit the same group. Sitting across from four targets over lunch, bombarding them with how much they need you, while not asking even one question, is just silly.

It was smart to attend but not knowing how to conduct yourself there showed you are an amateur in what you are trying to promote as your expertise.

Basic Sales 101 should be common sense to someone who runs a marketing firm. Ask questions! Ask questions! Ask questions! If you read one book on sales, the importance of identifying needs first would be clear to you. The fact that you spent the entire break time talking about yourself was an amateur move, it was insulting to experts at the table, and it was socially rude.

Don't listen only to your friends when setting up a new business. Don't set one up in an area for which your only expertise is a ten-year-old college degree. Don't set one up then screw up what you are trying to sell to others.

Don't try to sell yourself as an expert when it's clear you do not grasp even the very basics of what you are promoting. Figure out the basics first, then sitting with you over lunch might be interesting.

Am I an Egomaniac?

I joined Twitter this morning. Now, I feel like an egomaniac.

Seriously, does anyone out there in the cyber world really want to know my every move? Apparently so, as one person already signed up to follow me. (For non-Twitterers, "follow" is the term used to sign up for updates. It's harmless, not stalker-ish.)

So, let's see, which social media am I using now?

There's Facebook for personal contacts, high school friends, neighbors, and others known socially. There's the college football community site, which I participate in religiously. There's LinkedIn for professional contacts, including those known only via the Internet. There are discussion groups on LinkedIn too, and on The Wall Street Journal web site. There's blogging to share insights with people who have attended speaking gigs and training sessions; plus, following about ten other blogs on a regular basis. And, now there's tweeting via Twitter.

All this connecting makes me wonder why we feel the need to connect so much? What is it about how we're working and living today which makes connecting to so many people necessary? Why do we think people want to connect with us?

Are we doing business with people we've never met? Why, yes we are. I'm in the middle of working out details for two leadership sessions with people connected to via Facebook and Linked In. Neither would have happened without the social media, and both organizations are exciting to work with.

Are we building communities of people who really care about each other via the Internet? Why, yes we are. The college football board mentioned above is primarily for football discussions, but there's one message board for other topics. People all over the country post about new babies, ask for travel recommendations, ask for and give business advice, share music and movie reviews, and share life's sorrows as well. I've shed tears of joy, sorrow, and laughter for people on there, and I don't even know their names. This group proves a bonded community can be formed and developed via the Internet.

Are we holding on to connections longer than in the past? Why, yes we are. We remain connected with former coworkers, high school classmates, and associates more consistently than in the past. It makes me feel good when a high school friend posts pictures of her kids on Facebook or when a former coworker on Linked In updates her profile about a new job.

Could organizations take advantage of the social media? Why, yes they can. And, many are!

Organizations with employees spread all over the country, or world, can unite via discussion groups. Companies can keep in touch with alumni employees, in the hope of maintaining a positive image and perhaps wooing them to return. Businesses can conduct JIT brainstorm sessions. There's a million things to do!

So, in considering the uses and purposes for the social media I employ, I've decided I am not an egomaniac. After all, the readers, followers, friends, and connections could opt out.

You Neede Mine Skillz

An administrative assistant who posts a self-promotion on a networking site better not have typos in her post. A creative marketing agency better have a creative web site. Someone who tauts himself as a great referrer better give referrals. An executive who disparages another's leadership ability ought to be a good leader himself.

One might think those points are obvious, but they are not so obvious to four people I've had contact with in the last week.

No matter what you tell people you are good at, the truth will show through.

If the gal was the best admin, as she claimed, she would not have two typos in a three-sentence post. One is given fifteen minutes to alter a post, so she had time to fix it. Her errors reveal her to be someone who does not pay attention to detail and does not check her work. While a typo in an informal email is generally acceptable, it is not acceptable when posting about one's skills looking for a job.

You get the gist.

Be careful about how you present yourself, as people will see the truth. Be what you claim to be, or become what you wish you were, and know that if you do not, people can tell.

Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

When someone lies, she needs to assume others bridge the gap between her personal and business ethics. A reasonable assumption is that the liar is not a person of integrity and runs an unethical business.

An example illustrates the point.

Last year a new boutique creative agency held a drawing for three $50 Plaza gift cards at a city-wide business competition. It notified the winners but did not send at least one of them the prized gift card, nor did the owner return email or voice mail inquiries--ever.

The small agency is a liar.

As the ignored winner of the gift card, it is disappointing the agency was able to get away with lying to get attention at the competition. I suspect, however, that I am not the only one who knows the agency, and its owner, lied. Plus, if she lied about the gift cards, she lies about other things too. If she has no integrity regarding a silly drawing, she has none regarding more important issues.

Some day, the agency will have to answer for the way it does business. It's not up to me to determine how or when, and frankly, I don't even care, but someone will. Someone will hold the agency accountable for the way it does business and treats people, as all liars do.

The agency is participating in the same competition this year. It will be interesting to see if it uses the same fake ruse to garner attention this year. It is unlikely I will say anything to the owner, as it is not my mission to serve as her conscience. It is unlikely I will call her out with a childish, "Liar, liar pants on fire!"

Besides, she knows she's a liar. That has to be a worse feeling than knowing I know she's one too.