Make It Happen
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Focus

Tools of the Trade

by RandallCraig on January 3, 2012

Filed in: Blog, Career Planning, Make It Happen Tipsheet, Professional Development, Social Media

Tagged as: , , ,

If you are reading this and profess to have some expertise in Social Media, then you may be offended by my next comment: it soon won’t matter, and your “expertise” is fast becoming irrelevant. Your long term career is in jeopardy, and your short term prospects are also questionable.

Note that I didn’t say that Social Media is becoming irrelevant; exactly the opposite is true. If you value your Social Media expertise, consider the impact of these two converging trends:

  1. The general population – and certainly the business world – is fast approaching your level of knowledge. No one will be willing to listen to (or pay) for common knowledge.
  2. There is a dramatic shift from learning about Social Media, to learning about how Social Media can support real business goals. Core expertise (Strategy, Marketing, Finance, Sales, HR, Operations, etc.) has enduring value much more so than expertise on using a tool. While it is true that some people make their living as driving instructors (tool: car) and call center trainers (tool: telephone), at best these are niche professions.

This Week’s Action Plan: Unless you see your long-term career as a Social Media expert, it’s time to focus on the basics of your expertise, and not just a single tool of your trade, Social Media. This week, consider where you’re spending your time: If you’re spending too much time on the tools and not enough getting better in your core, then flip your priorities… or eventually become irrelevant.

Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.RandallCraig.com to register.

Randall Craig

www.RandallCraig.com
www.ptadvisors.com
www.ProfessionallySpeakingTV.com

13 Social Media New Year’s Resolutions

by RandallCraig on December 20, 2011

Filed in: Blog, Make It Happen Tipsheet, Social Media

Tagged as: , , ,

Are you one of those people who have given up on New Year’s resolutions?  If you are active on the Social Web, an annual review – and a few resolutions – can make a significant difference to your effectiveness.  Here’s my take on a few you should consider:

This Week’s (Year’s) Action Plan:

  1. Review and update all of your profiles. Once a year isn’t so often to update your profiles.
  2. Remove out-of-brand comments and photos from profiles.  They creep in from others, but impact your brand directly.
  3. Disconnect and ‘Defriend’ connections who use the tools to fill your page with irrelevant and time-wasting comments.
  4. Isolate your personal from your professional Social Media time: nothing wrong with playing Farmville – but this isn’t work, it is  entertainment, no different than sitting in front of the TV.
  5. Figure out Twitter if you haven’t already. Hint: it’s about the relationship, not the broadcasts.
  6. Think about doing a blog. If you’re not sure how to start, click here for a few ideas.
  7. Link your profiles together to improve your personal productivity and spread your perspective further. For example, you can embed a blog within your LinkedIn profile, and wire in your Twitter feed at the same time.
  8. Begin monitoring your social footprint. Use Google Alerts, and sign-up for the free version of Hootsuite.
  9. Set some goals: If you’re going to spend time on this activity, it pays to think about what you will get for your efforts before you start.
  10. Use Social Media to connect to people in the real world. A computer won’t buy from you or give a job – a real person will.
  11. Participate in one relevant discussion group or online forum. Not only will it expand your network, it will provide context and connection to what is happening in your field.
  12. Take advantage with what your organization is already doing in the Social Media world: Connect, comment, vote, blog, tweet and retweet.
  13. Finally, stop doing what isn’t working and focus on what is.  (What might be working:  not getting traction, it’s taking too long, not enjoyable, not enough ROI)

Today’s Action Plan: Unlike most New Year’s Resolutions, this list isn’t actually that hard.  Why wait for a special invitation: choose one of these and take care of it today.

And here’s a question for you:  do you have any Social Media resolutions of your own?

Note: The Make It Happen Tipsheet is also available by email. Go to www.RandallCraig.com to register.

Randall Craig

www.RandallCraig.com
www.ptadvisors.com
www.ProfessionallySpeakingTV.com

Reflections on Steve Jobs and the impact of Apple

by Randall October 7, 2011

Steve Jobs was a visionary:  incredible focus, a market disruptor, a tech genius, a serial entrepreneur, and so on.  All true, but there is also something else – a thread that underlies and connects everything that Apple does: their focus on the empowered customer.  From day one, this was reflected in the user experience. It [...]

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Social Media Stop Sign

by Randall September 13, 2011

How long ago did you (or your organization) start your Social Media “work”?  Likely, a few years ago.  First came LinkedIn: you filled out your profile, asked for (and responded to) connection requests.  Then you asked for (and responded to) recommendation requests, asked (and responded to) questions, and joined a number of groups.  Then you [...]

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The Rule of Three

by RandallCraig December 7, 2010

Have you ever read a blog post or listened to a presentation, only to find yourself unable recall what was written or said? Have you ever found yourself frustrated when your own ideas are so quickly forgotten? There are many possible reasons for this, but often the culprit is a lack of focus in the [...]

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Prime time

by RandallCraig November 17, 2010

Are you interrupted so often that you can never get anything done? Too often, our priorities are set by external stimulus, and not through intentional decisions. We focus on the urgent, not the important. The key to addressing this issue is trainint… of those people around you. If people think that you will always answer [...]

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Enough Fluff

by RandallCraig November 3, 2010

In today’s society, we are surrounded by fluff: low value information whose noise gets in the way of solid analysis, improved relationships, and personal excellence. Some of the fluff is mis-aimed advertising, some fluff is reply-all emails, and other fluff is “analysis” that doesn’t really analyze. We see fluff at meetings that go on too [...]

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Persona Grata

by RandallCraig June 8, 2010

When you are doing a major presentation, writing a blog, or posting on Twitter, how do you know whether what you say is hitting the mark? And how can you improve the effectiveness of your message? One of the more clever techniques that marketers use for this purpose – and you can too – is [...]

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White Space

by RandallCraig July 22, 2008

Graphic designers know that if you have one element on the page, and lots of white space around it, the eye is drawn to that one element. Professional speakers know how to use a pause – silence – to emphasize a point. And musicians know that a break in the music creates anticipation. How can [...]

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Singletasking

by RandallCraig May 20, 2008

Without a doubt there are at least some people who are reading this Tipsheet while also listening to music, having an instant-message conversation (or two), and speaking on a telephone conference call. Supposedly, multi-tasking skills improve with time: eventually, like the computers we rely on, we believe our brain can process multiple streams of activity [...]

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One Thing

by RandallCraig October 16, 2007

We are often distracted by things around us. Indeed, sometimes entire mornings or afternoons can go by without actually accomplishing much. If you string these days together, it is no wonder why we are not reaching the level we think we should be at: we’re too busy multi-tasking between emails, voicemails, instant messaging, FAXes, conference [...]

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You Don’t Start a Bonfire, You Light a Spark

by RandallCraig February 27, 2007

What starts you on your path – and what prevents you from taking that first step? While there are many contributing factors, consider this concept: you don’t start a bonfire; you light a spark. Those who are so focused on lighting the bonfire often give up. The enormity of the big picture prevents us from [...]

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Ability

by RandallCraig December 12, 2006

Have you ever had an athletic injury, and found yourself on the sidelines? This happens off the field too: we let a career “injury” shunt us to the sidelines as well. Athletes quickly learn that a leg injury just means a renewed focus on the upper body. So should we when it comes to our [...]

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It’s not what you say, it’s what they see

by RandallCraig June 13, 2006

Who doesn’t remember the old adage “Do as I say, not as I do”? For today’s progressive manager, this expression isn’t really appropriate. But how about “It’s not what you say, it’s what you do”? This variation is better, as it focuses on action. Furthermore, when you do and say the same things, you develop [...]

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