“Brands are either part of the conversation or they’re not and as a result, they’re either part of the decision-making cycle or they’re absent from the heart, mind, and actions of the connected customer.”
Brian Solis, author of Engage and The End of Business As Usual
As many of you know, I spend a ridiculous amount of time on the web. I have a healthy obsession with engaging and listening because I care about you and want to help you and your business.
Recently, I have seen a lot of chatter on Facebook about the ROI (return on investment) of engaging on the social web, and how it really is just a big waste of time. What that tells me is there is still a BIG misunderstanding of these platforms and how important they are to the future of business, both big and small.
Engage.
These online platforms are no different than our offline platforms (i.e. the salon) when it comes to business. They are designed to allow us to engage with current and future customers in a meaningful way. To listen, to have two-way conversations, to solve problems, to build relationships, to create and deliver value. How in the world can someone not see the ROI in that? SMH.
Listen.
I overheard a conversation a while back from a business saying “If we have a business Facebook page, then customers will want to talk to us and ask us questions, and that is a lot of work.” My response was simple: What could possibly be more important than engaging with and listening to your customers? How awesome is it that they care enough to engage with your business and buy something from you? Think about it.
Care.
I love this infographic that illustrates the trend of the connected customer when it comes to expecting customer care via social platforms. By 2014, refusing to communicate with customers via social channels will be as harmful as ignoring phone calls and emails. WOW. Take a moment and let that sink in.
(infographic discovered on Google courtesy of Bluewolf)
Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics said it best…”The ROI of social media is that your business will still be around in 5 years.” I could not have said it any better.
So remember. Engage. Listen. Care. Three simple yet powerful words to remember, both online and off.
If you ever have any questions for me regarding my blog posts, feel free to post questions to Facebook or email me by clicking here. I will always respond, both online and off. Because I care.
“An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.”
Charles Bukowski
I have always been one to keep things simple. And by simple I do not mean easy. There is a big difference. So I guess that makes me an artist, one that is able to make hard things simple. Awesome.
I follow a blogger named Chris Brogan. He is the CEO of Human Business Works, a business design company and is a New York Times bestselling author of The Impact Equation and Trust Agents. I love him. He is an artist of business. And one of my mentors.
Chris created an exercise called My Three Words. It is his process of creating a focus for the coming year. When I read his post, I immediately fell in love with his process and had to share it.
You see, I have always seen things in 3’s (and sometimes 4’s). I love triangles (and squares). Most of my professional life I have created strategies, plans and programs in this way.
My Three Words for 2013 Hone
I will hone my skills in order to live my purpose of helping to empower people and businesses through sharing my knowledge and experiences with love.
Harness
I will harness my passion for storytelling and stay focused on what makes my soul come alive. And do more of it.
Honor
I will honor my promise to myself and others, to do all things with love, authenticity and integrity, to speak my truth and to create art, which in my case is the art of business and personal development and storytelling.
OK, your turn. What are your Three Words? If you feel compelled, click here to share them with me. I would love to see them. If you are feeling really bold, post them on our Facebook page. Or tweet them to @passionsquared2 with the hashtag #mythreewords.
A big shout out of thanks to Chris Brogan, for being so awesome and sharing this exercise with the world. If you want to subscribe to Chris Brogans Blog, click here.
As many of you know, I heart Seth Godin. It’s one of those professional crushes so to speak. Yes, I have many of those.
His mind, his brain, his ability to turn what may seem complex into the most simple to understand thoughts. Today is a great example of that as Seth talks about the importance of making decisions.
Seth’s Message On Making Decisions
On today’s Blog, Seth says, “You don’t run a punch press or haul iron ore. Your job is to make decisions. The thing is, the farmer who grows corn has no illusions about what his job is. He doesn’t avoid planting corn or dissemble or procrastinate about harvesting corn. And he certainly doesn’t try to get his neighbor to grow his corn for him. Make more decisions. That’s the only way to get better at it.”
Faith Without Works Is Dead
While I am a deeply spiritual person, I do not subscribe to any formal religion. But this statement, which does come from the Bible, is one of my favorites and also one of my mantras.
When I speak about passion, dreams, faith, hopes, believing in yourself, and vision boards, I also mention taking action and executing on those passions, dreams and hopes. Why? Without taking action and making decisions to execute on your ideas, they are just that, ideas, thoughts and dreams that will never materialize into anything. Thus, faith without works is dead. Think about it.
My Secret Recipe
As I wrote in a blog a while back, titled I Think I Can, I spoke about how to turn your dreams into reality. My recipe is take two cups of passion, add a cup of skills mixed with a gallon of execution, and you are well on your way to doing big things. It really is that simple. So many times we miss the last ingredient, and find ourselves no closer to our dreams, simply because we missed that last and most important step.
So my challenge to you, today and always, is to start making decisions. Take action on your ideas. Your dreams. Your hopes. Yes, make that vision board, they are awesome, but also take the time to figure out how you are going to take action on those visions. You can do it, I know you can. I have faith in you. Now get to work!
Click here to subscribe to Seth’s Blog. It’s an easy read, and one that is sure to get you thinking, growing and possibly making more decisions.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
Søren Kierkegaard
As this amazing year comes to a close, we took a moment to look back at what made your heart sing.
Not surprisingly, you loved posts about our hair heroes such as Vidal and Ann Bray, and our profile on the incredibly talented family of hairdressers, and our friends The Teals. Our plea to “just do it” in our post What Are You Waiting For stuck a cord with you, as did our super easy social + digital cheat sheets and stories. These were your favorite blog posts of 2012.
It has been an awesome year creating and sharing our passion with you, thank you for being here with us and taking the time to engage with our form of art. It matters. You matter.
(shared with LOVE + GRATITUDE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
“Follow your inner GPS, not some busted old map given to you by others.”
Rose Etheridge
In a few days we will be ringing in a New Year. Another year of life, success, learning and challenges.
I am not one for traditional New Years resolutions, in reality, there is not much I do that is traditional. But one exercise I like to do when the year comes to a close is focusing on what I want to keep, what I want to discard and what I want to add.
This allows me to get real clear on how I want to enter the new year. It really is amazing what happens when we get still for a moment, gain clarity and listen to our inner GPS. Maybe you have a practice similar to this? If so, I would love to hear what works for you.
My 2013 List
What I want to keep.
My passion.
My Utopian view of the world.
My deep desire to help others.
My work ethic.
My daily gratitude practice.
My belief that people are good.
My love of family & friends and making them a priority.
What I want to discard.
My fears. (I have a lot of them)
My anxiety. (Created from the above)
My sadness. (Losing my Dad has been devastating)
What I want to add.
More focus. (It’s been a pretty cloudy year)
More activity, both socially and physically. (I’ve been pretty lazy to be honest, and my clothes are a sore reminder and my friends are over it.)
We are not trees. We have the ability to focus on and do anything we want to. We have the freedom to follow our inner GPS. What is yours telling you?
