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Goals

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

Goal Culture

by Randall on January 11, 2011

Filed in: Blog, Career Planning, Make It Happen Tipsheet, Management

Tagged as: , ,

Do you look for shortcuts in order to more efficiently reach your goals?  Do you feel jealous when others achieve before you do?  If so, it’s not surprising: you’ve been programmed that way.  Many organizations set annual goals for their employees; they follow-up with annual evaluations.  Compensation is tied directly to achievement… and the cycle continues.  You’ve been programmed.

This focus on goals builds a goal-oriented culture.  And not surprisingly, it moves attention away from relationships, processes, ethics, and history.  Focus is on getting the job done… sometimes, at any cost.

The best organizations realize that relationships, process, and history are critical too, and try to emphasize these factors through… goals.  (Improve process time, quotas for relationships, knowledge management to capture history, etc.)  If your organization is goal-focused, remember that you should also set your own goals – either formally with your manager, or informally on your own.

This week’s action plan: This week, consider the last major goal that you’ve achieved.  What did you expect to learn by doing it?  And were there any surprising insights?  It’s not just the achievement of the goal, but what you learn along the way that has enduring value.

Personal note: January 11th is a special date:  It is the beginning of my sixth year of writing these weekly Tipsheets.  After 261 of them, what did I learn along the way?  That writing spurs thinking.  That I enjoy writing (and thinking).  And that I get better with practice.   Please continue to share your feedback with me, at www.RandallCraig.com. You can subscribe and receive these tips via email from the same site.

Reverse Engineering

by RandallCraig September 21, 2010

How often have you admired someone else’s accomplishments, and said to yourself, “I wish I could do that!”. Or when faced with a daunting goal, are not sure where to start? Conventional wisdom suggests that you start at the beginning, and take small, easily accomplished steps. Doing so moves you closer to your goals, and [...]

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Good to Great… Attitude

by RandallCraig July 13, 2010

We all know that having a great attitude is important, but what if you have always seen the glass as half empty? Is it possible to learn to see it half full? The answer, thankfully, is yes. Read on for ten tips that can turn around a bad attitude, or turn a good one into [...]

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Summer Motivation

by RandallCraig July 7, 2010

Have you ever found yourself becoming less motivated – and perhaps a bit less productive – during the summer? It isn’t surprising: great weather, outdoor activities, and more social time all conspire to have us think beyond the job. Yet to be successful, especially in a tough economy, requires both focus and productivity. Here are [...]

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Carrot and Stick Resolutions

by RandallCraig December 29, 2009

If you’re like many people, you will make a New Year’s Resolution: start this project, finish that project, exercise more, eat less, etc. Yet despite our best intentions, too often there is little follow-through, and the resolution is quietly abandoned. This year, can it be different? (Yes!) Translating resolution to action is far easier when [...]

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Summer Vacation

by RandallCraig July 15, 2008

The month of July is special, as it is the month when many people traditionally take their vacations. But it is special for another reason as well: it is the half-way point of the year. And while we might prefer to be sipping lemonade at the beach, it is a useful time to look at [...]

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If you put your mind to it

by RandallCraig April 10, 2007

If you put your mind to it, you can do anything. How many times did you hear this from your mother, father, or favorite aunt or uncle? If you’re like most people, you’ve heard this expression many times — when you were growing up. (As an aside, how many times have you heard this from [...]

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A Different New Year’s Resolution

by RandallCraig January 2, 2007

Now that the new year is here, it is time to be thinking about all of the “resolutions” that you are going to make. For many people, the top resolution is to do something about their job: get that promotion, work on a special project, ask for a raise, achieve ‘balance’, or maybe quit and [...]

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Career Intensity

by RandallCraig October 3, 2006

An athlete’s training schedule holds an important lesson for those looking to develop a successful career. At the beginning, an athlete may run 5 miles in one hour. As they get better, they move their time down to 55 minutes, then 50 minutes. At this point, they decide to add a 6th mile – which [...]

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Coaching 1-2-3

by RandallCraig August 22, 2006

One of the biggest buzzwords in business now is “coaching” – but what does it really mean?. What springs to mind is the athletic coach, who provides the technical skills to help the athlete reach their potential. On the other hand, we think of the mentor, whose invisible hand and perspective helps guide the “mentee” [...]

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People don’t fail, they give up

by RandallCraig August 15, 2006

Look around, and you see others enjoying great vacations, fancy cars, and great careers. Especially when you don’t have these things, it is easy to lose your confidence, which makes these (and other goals) even less attainable. While some are successful because they are lucky, most people get to where they are because of consistent, [...]

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Summer Resolutions

by RandallCraig June 27, 2006

We’ve all heard about New Year’s resolutions, but how about Summer Resolutions? Or, for that matter, First-of-the-month Resolutions, Monday resolutions, or 9am resolutions? While some of these may sound absurd, there is actually something that can be learned from them. For most people, New Year’s resolutions have two things in common: they are made with [...]

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Think and Grow Rich

by RandallCraig February 14, 2006

No matter how clever you are, no matter how much education you have, and no matter how important your job title, thinking will only get you so far. Those who are successful, on the job and off, are those who successfully translate their thinking into action. Whether you’re looking to “grow rich” or have some [...]

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A Lifetime Return on Investment

by RandallCraig February 7, 2006

Recently I was a speaker at an international gathering of HR professionals. For three days, participants walked through the trade show, sat in conference rooms learning new ideas, and met other folks in the business. The wonderful thing about all this education and training is that once you learn something, the knowledge is yours forever. [...]

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