David:

A couple of years ago, I attended an IS (Industrial Solutions) offiste Leadersip workshop that you facilitated for Siemens.  At the time, you challenged the group with the question "What are you working on that’s big?"  That question has "haunted" me for almost two years because I didn’t feel that I could ever adequately answer that.  Nothing really met the scale that you were talking about.  Finally, however, I believe that I can, and it feels so good to know I am working on something that can make such a difference.  I am bringing together my personal life – humanitarian work in a rural region of Haiti – and my business life – working for Siemens.  I am in the initial stages of getting Siemens to fund and participate in a joint project with "Engineers without Borders" to bring distributed power and water to a rural area of Haiti – Fond des Blanc.  Ultimately, this will impact as many as 70,000 people living in this region and allow for improved healthcare and quality of life.

I don’t know if people follow up with you years later to tell you how one simple challenge made an impact, but I wanted to do so.

Thanks for issuing the challenge!

TW
Sr. Director, Human Resources
Siemens Industry, Inc.

A CEO recently asked if I could help his senior leaders build a stronger portfolio of relationships.  Although extremely competent in their individual roles and realm of responsibilities, he thought they could become better “connectors.”  After evaluating each executive’s relationship development efforts, my goal in coaching them is to see them become more intentional about their investment efforts, and to strategically focus on the diversity and quality of their relationships. 

If you want to effectively and consistently connect with others, be the kind of individual others want to connect with. Here are eight best practices that will help you become an object of interest: Read the rest of this entry »

The execution of a social market leadership strategy requires that you develop digital relationships with people who can become evangelists of your brand or quantifiable value-add.  One of the best ways to support these relationships, and strengthen your brand (especially if you’re in the intellectual property business) is to post compelling content online: new videos, blog posts, tweets, LinkedIn and Facebook status updates. Creating it consistently, however, requires significant bandwidth. You have to sift through content yourself, pick the best and most trustworthy voices, craft appropriate responses and counterpoints. Who has the time and wherewithal to make sense of it all? Other than a handful of exceptions such as Butterfly Publisher, there are few tools that disseminate content and help you proactively manage the deluge of resulting conversations. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m convinced, the longer you stay in the consulting business, the more you tend to see it all.  I actually had an executive tell me recently that he saw no value in social media, other than a waste of his already limited resources and that he had been there for over 30 years, so he must have done something right!  Needless to say, it was a very short meeting.

What he and many other executives don’t get is the fundamental shift in buying processes.  Prospective customers, distributors, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and stakeholders of many stripes know a lot more about you, your products and services, before they ever engage you!  If social networking is about your personal presence, and social media is a platform to extend your reach, social market leadership is about purpose.  Read the rest of this entry »

Friday, September 17 | 1 PM Eastern (10 AM Pacific)
Utilizing Available Channels

Today’s most effective sales and marketing organizations recognize that customers like to buy products and services in many different ways and so they create a multi-channel approach, providing multiple opportunities for customers to buy, ranging from web-based customer portals to channel partners.  This webinar looks at best practices around utilizing the various channels to market available in today’s world. You will also receive a link for a Digital Download of this session.

Complimentary Webinar

Dear Friend,

With three minutes, you could help my friend Michael Levin’s kids’ school receive a prize of $500,000.

Kohl’s is running a contest to give $10,000,000 to 20 schools across the country.  Hebrew Academy of Huntington Beach, where Michael’s kids attend, is currently close to the lead.  The competition ends on September 3, and this is the time when votes are most needed.

If you click on www.votehahb.com, you can vote 5 times for the Hebrew Academy of Huntington Beach.  It’s a fantastic school, and a half million dollars would go a very long way!

Thank you!