My Three Words 2015

January 5, 2015Nina KovnerGROW, MY TRUTH

“Powerful words come with powerful intent. Where you have passion, strength, courage, and determination you can accomplish anything!”

 K.L. Toth

My-Three-Words-2015

 

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening.

So here we are…. 20 frickin 15! One of my coolest and smartest biz heroes Chris Brogan has been doing a My Three Words practice since 2006. This is where I discovered this awesome intention setting exercise.

Goals to me are just set ups for failure and crushing self worth, so I prefer to set intentions, visions and my three words. We move towards what we focus on, and I firmly believe that if we keep our mind right, the results come. It’s what has worked for me year after year.

My three words for 2015…

Focus
On how I can create and deliver the most value to those I have the honor of serving

Clarity
Seek clarity around what makes my heart sing and do more of that

Action
Take action on the stuff that matters for my body, heart and business

While I would like to think I am pretty good in those areas, I, like many others, get distracted easily. My head plays tricks on me, and taking action on all things of importance is not always my strong suit, particularly in the body department.

So here it is. Simple. No need for more words, they only distract.

What will your three words be for 2015? Wanna share? Click here, I’m listening.

A big shout out to Chris Brogan again for continuing to push and inspire.

Love+Awesomeness-
Nina

Is Anybody Listening?

Is Anybody Listening?

February 6, 2013Nina KovnerENGAGE

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

Leo Buscaglia

 

Can You Hear Me Now?(image discovered on Google via smartinsights.com)

One of the greatest opportunities we all have with the social revolution for business is an opportunity to listen. And for customers, a big opportunity to be heard.

Before YELP, Google, Facebook and the like, it was much harder to really know what people were saying about our salons, companies and brands. It was also not so easy for an everyday person, like me, to reach out to a mentor, a community, a brand. The social revolution has changed that, forever.

Today, the challenge for all of us is to learn how to become good listeners. And the payoff can be huge if we do. How do we do it? The following is my list of a few ways you can become a listening business.

1. Care
You have to care. If you care, you will take the time, energy and resources available to you to become a listening company. This is always the first step.

2. Make Listening A Priority
When I hear people express to me their concern about the time and energy it takes to engage on the social and digital web, my answer is always…”What could possibly be more important than engaging with and listening to your customers?”

As business becomes more social, it’s time to look at your systems, processes and activities and adjust them to meet up with the expectations of the connected customer.

You can also set most of your social pages to alert you when there is activity on your pages. If it matters, you will find the time and resources.

3. Engage On The Platforms That Matter
If you are a salon owner or work in a salon, platforms such as YELP, Google Places, CitySearch, Foursquare and Facebook are awesome listening platforms as is Twitter. Simply search the name of your business. If you are in the product business, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Google are all great places to listen.

Social Business Leaders Care. They Engage. They Respond.
Recently, one of my biggest biz mentors and super smart thought leaders in the social + digital space Chris Brogan was listening. How do I know he was listening? He responded. To both an email I sent him, and a tweet. And I am not talking about auto-responded, I mean really responded, with love, attention and grace. Why? Because he cares and understands the power of one person, one tweet, one email at a time. He is a true daymaker in my book. If you are in business today, you are a social business too.

This is a pic of our Twitter convo after our email convo, in which Chris took the time to read one of my blog posts inspired by him and share his thoughts with me. Can you believe that? One of my awesome mentors who I have never met responded to my email. A true OMG moment for me. And this all took place early on a Sunday morning. Yep. Sunday morning. I heart him.

Chris Brogan Tweet

My challenge to you is to take an honest look at your daily activities, and begin to carve out time to really listen to what people are saying about you, your salon, your company and your brand. Believe me, they are talking. Are you listening?

How are you listening on the social web? I would love for you to share your thoughts in the comments or you can share your story with me. I am listening.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)

My Three Words

My Three Words

January 7, 2013Nina KovnerGROW

“An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way.”

Charles Bukowski

My Three Words

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.

(shared with LOVE from your passionista Nina)