What is keeping you from taking the leap?

In this episode of Foundation, Kevin Rose sits down with Leah Busque who is the founder of Task Rabbit.

http://youtu.be/8r1CZTLk-Gk

Things move quickly.  Look at what the social web has done.  Millions of apps.  Marketing and advertising has been impacted.  I new category in mobile computing was created (thank you Steve Jobs).

So the next time you start to complain about not having wireless or you have to wait a few extra seconds for your phone to find something on the web, think back 10 years ago.  Did you think any of this was possible then?

NOTE: This post originally appeared yesterday on my other blog, Rey(es) of Light.  2 different audiences but the message is relevant to both.  Thanks for stopping by!

99%

We are half way through 2011.

Have you full expounded on all of your arguments against the power of social media?

What’s Trending is a news source that is an extension of CBS and it looks at what is happening in the social web. This video from them takes a look at the power of the internet and the social web’s impact on governments control of their people using the internet. Countries where they don’t want their people to have a voice (Iran, North Korea, etc..) take extreme measures to limit their voice to the outside world.

Countries that limit internet usage see the power of social media on culture. They see the impact that it can make with bringing light to the real situations in their country. They see the power that it can take out of their hands and put into the hands of their people.

So, how do you limit you businesses impact on the internet? Do you limit your employee’s voice for the company or are they your greatest evangelists? Or as Seth Godin would call these people, the sneezers. They have an ability to speak well of the company, your leadership, your empowerment, and over all be an asset to who you are. How do you empower employees to be your voice?

How are you using to social web landscape to be a wrecking force for your purpose?

Typically when I think of great marketers, I think of Apple.  Outstanding product.  Passionate consumer community.  Informative website.  Great commercials.  I think of the entire marketing spectrum and how they are able to get millions of people to stand in line for their latest product.  I would absolutely LOVE to work for a brand like that!

Is there a brand that can have that same impact on people?  I think there is.  Churches.  Many view the product (faith) as outstanding.  Christians are a passionate bunch.  There many with great websites.  Commercials?  Think of the snippets that get shared among the community that are a great recap of what happened or what to expect?  This could be a marketers dream!

Layer in digital, social media and technology and you have a recipe for success!

This past weekend I was in Chicago and visited Soul City Church.  If there was a marketing model to follow, it would be this one.  As you walk up to the building (a former car dealership) you don’t see anything eye catching.  It blends right in with the rest of the neighborhood.  When you walk in, you are pleasantly surprised.  The space is amazing, clean and modern.  Their volunteers are friendly and welcoming and made sure we knew where to take our kids.  The staff at Soul City Kids was just as as accommodating making sure our kids felt comfortable in a new environment.  The message that day was also excellent.  Jarrett Stevens is an amazing speaker and the passion that he has to reach people in whatever stage of their life is evident.

My point is this.  I love digital.  I love technology.  I love social media.  However these are tools not strategy.  As Peter Shankman put it recently, these are arrows in the quiver of marketing.  Successful marketers see the entire picture.  It might be old school but I still think the 4 P’s of Marketing are still relevant.  The tools to promote them might have changed and evolved but the strategies behind them still matter.

So thank you Soul City Church for reminding me that marketing is what matters.  Facebook, blogs, Twitter are still awesome but they are tools in the marketing toolbox to ultimately reach your audience, build community and interact with your customers.  Are you chasing the tools or executing the strategy?  What are some other examples of brands that are successfully marketing to you?

The other day, Bryan wrote a great blog on How To Prepare For A Conference.  Of his 6 tips, #4 is THE MOST IMPORTANT if you ask me…BE READY TO SAY HELLO.  We spend so much time building our personal and professional online brands.  We love Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, GroupMe, etc.  What I and so many others have been guilty of is forgetting to take the online relationships and make them real by seeking people out when we go to these conferences.

My advice this morning for you is to spend time listening to the speakers and learn something new but to also use the time in between breaks or the networking events to network.  You won’t realize the value of the social web until those relationships are made personal.  So bring your business cards, put on your happy face and stop tweeting…start talking!

The idea of the life and work balance is one that has been a battle for years. In a lot of homes, work often wins in that struggle until something major happens to derail the current process and re-align it to a new one. Think about the options, if I spend the majority of my life doing work, my family/friendships will suffer. Then again, if I only focus only on friends and family, then I won’t have a job. This then begs the question of “How do I do it all?”

Obstacles

There are many obstacles in the balance of life and work. The first of the obstacles is how your boss sees this balance. If he/she doesn’t have a good life & work balance, you can tell right off the top that you will struggle with this! An employer that doesn’t see the value in a good balanced life, will not instill this into their employees.

Too often the companies “bottom line” is valued over the people that actually get them to making that bottom line successful! This is a scary reality for so many people because they live in this imbalance daily. I know of a local company where some of the employees are “dogged” for not working enough and hard enough, yet they are working their tails off. I have had the pleasure of working with them and it is a great company with great people; but the imbalance in the life and work keeps it all skewed.

All of this lends to negative affects at home or with friends because your work rules your life. While it is important to work hard and do a good job, if that is all you do then you are failing in the broader scope.

Another obstacle to the imbalance is the flip of the first one. If you focus more on what is happening outside of work than actually taking your job seriously, you will find yourself jumping from job to job without attaining any real level of success. My guess would be that there are less cases of this than of the first scenario.

Advantages

The advantages to a healthy work and life balanced living come in having a better output of energy at work and more separated energy for play. Employees who find a good balance in their life and set good boundaries tend to be employees who are more efficient and successful in their tasks (I don’t have a study to prove this theory, just reflections on what I see taking place in those around me). All you have to do is look into companies who help create this for their employees and find the best ways for them to live life and work hard too.

To close out this idea of having a work and life balance, I will share my thoughts and then let you watch a video from Ted!

My Thoughts

• You are the only one fighting for you, so fight like your life depends on it!
• Set boundaries in life and at work so that you live a long time, stress is a killer.. literally
• Don’t wait until a midlife crisis hits or problems in your marriage or with kids before you fix it.
• Do it now and find a person to hold you accountable

Practical Application

This is a video from a Tedx conference in Australia by Nigel Marsh where he talks about “How to make a work-life balance work”. My favorite line is “if you don’t design your life, someone else will design it for you and you may not like their idea of balance”

Don’t put your life in the hands of someone else.

Additional Resources:

How to Maintain a Healthy Work Life Balance

Work-life balance: Tips to reclaim control

Great Books:

Choosing To Cheat

Making Room for Life

Life Matters

What type of culture do you work in?

What type of culture are you creating?

I have seen some great cultures being created and some terrible ones in action. We all have heard of what Google offices are like, if you haven’t then you can check this out. I am fortunate enough to be around some great companies and see some great cultures taking place. Curve Detroit is one that creates a place where the employees want to work well for the company. That is why you create a great culture! You’re employees spend the majority of their waking hours at your company, so what kind of experience are they having? Are they connecting with other employees? Is your culture one that cultivates creativity and productivity? How are you Creating a Winning Work Culture?

Tony Hsieh has seen the value of creating a great work culture and how that culture translates to your customers. He shares a bit about their culture in this video.

Now.. hear from the employees..

There is no better time to re-evaluate where your company sits and make adjustments. The longer you wait to make needed adjustments, the harder it will be to make the shift. In that time that you are not making the moves, how many good people will you lose? How much will a bad culture cost you business?

Make a move for you and for your team! They are pouring their lives into your company, why not make moves to make it worth it for them! Do they feel empowered and invigorated or do they feel like slaves? Their work will reflect which way they feel!

Are you ready? Not just for today, but for what is to come. The most interesting part is that what is ahead and hasn’t been fully thought of yet. Some ideas are lingering around while others are just a brief mental processes that have yet to be flushed out.

What processes do you have in place to be preparing for what is to come or what doesn’t exist? Who are you putting in place to make sure that your company strives ahead? Here is a scary thought for most leaders, some of the best ideas that are to ahead, won’t come from you! How are you investing in who is leading next?

Investing in the future isn’t just about investing in the ideas, but investing in what will be.

Begin setting a plan now for what is to come and how to develop those things that will lay ahead of you! Figure out who you are listening to? What has worked before, won’t work tomorrow. Find those “diamonds in the rough” and then harness their innovation and creativity for what sits just steps ahead of you. Take the steps to be ready for what is to come!