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Las Vegas 2009
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Washington 2009
We are fast becoming a nation of visual communicators. According to Martha Johnson, newly confirmed Administrator, GSA to speak at iFIVE session
We are delighted to announce that Martha Johnson will be our featured speaker at iFIVE’s The Transformational Woman. You will not want to miss hearing from this top leader as she shares her vision for GSA. Register Now for this exciting April 6th event, being held in partnership with SGTP AnCon ‘10. Learn more about the agenda. Read More
Un-social media
So, you are calling a client and you have what you will say all laid out. You expect to get voicemail. She never answers her phone. Oh no! She answers. You were planning a monologue – no back talk. Now you have to deal with a dialogue.
Ever do this? Ever have this happen to you? I have been on both sides of this scenario. You can always tell when someone did not expect you to answer. They stumble. They fumble. I know I do.
Now we have Facebook, blogging, Twitter, LinkedIn and much more to help us connect with people without talking to them. According to Microsoft’s Social Media book for small businesses, Twitter grew by more than 600% in 2009, while Facebook grew by 210% and LinkedIn by 85%. We are told that these social media behemoths draw their power from creating communities, stimulating dialogue, conversations and sharing. Well, sometimes they do. Some big brands have figured out how to make this work.
Can the rest of us really maintain a meaningful dialogue with dozens, hundreds, thousands of friends, followers and fans? Social media for most of us is monologue. More like a personal infomercial than a personal conversation. And, online socializing removes our ability to take the measure of a person by their tone, their demeanor. Yes, YouTube is visual but it is more like a performance than an interaction with the audience.
Let me stop here and say that I love social media. I encourage my clients to embrace it. I work with them to make it work for them. Social media enables us to reach a lot more people. To give voice to our passions and to find people who share them. Through social media, I have found brilliant people I would never have found, reconnected with people I somehow lost.
But social media also enables us to be more unsociable than ever. We can stay in front of our computers, feel connected, without ever really engaging with anyone. We can click from site to site, turning e-relationships on and off. Unsociable? Heck , we can be anti-social. The other day I asked a website developer if I could hire him to speak with me over the phone to go through some changes to a template of his I had purchased. He informed me that he would do it but only online. No dialogue. OK. I guess.
I think social media is in its glorious infancy. I am looking forward to participating in its growth.
We transformed the Transformational Woman!
Sometimes we choose change….sometimes change chooses us. At iFIVE, we believe change is what you make of it and we’re committed to making change work for each of us.
We’ve moved The Transformational Woman from February 9th to April 6th. Read More
Are you a locavore with few frenemies? Good for you!
For me it’s fun to pay attention to the new words that the major dictionaries decide to add each year. It’s a peephole into the culture and into technology in particular, since so many new words come from new technology.
For 2009, locavore and frenemy were two of the non-techie words among the almost 100 new words added to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. A locavore is a person who is committed to eating locally grown foods. A frenemy is a person who pretends to be a friend but is actually an enemy.
Way back in the year 2000, the word “dot.com” was a new word added to the dictionary. The definiton was a company that was web-based. It recalls those days when we all knew people who were leaving their jobs at regular companies to go to work for dot.coms. Very cool and meant lots of money to follow. Do we still refer to any companies as dot.coms?
Technology is integrated into all businesses today – into both the business model and the business culture. Technology is not a department or a capability but is inherent in work. You cannot carve it out.
And if the futurists are right, technology will increasingly become more integrated into people. Technology will allow us to become more than human. How do I download the upgrade?
“The Transformational Woman” agenda
Hear Martha Johnson, newly confirmed Administrator, GSA, and other top industry executives speak…Participate in a roundtable panel of industry leaders…Learn your personal profile for change…Network with women from across the travel industry and more Read More
Change? From what to what?
Today, change is relentless – the future is hurtling toward us – it is good to know the skills that will allow us to grab it. Read More
All Access Exec: a 5-Question Speed Interview: Angela Brav
Angela is COO, North America for IHG, the world’s largest hotel company as measured by number of rooms. She is a founding board member of iFIVE.
1. Best career move you ever made?
Accepting an international assignment earlier in my career.
2. What is fun about you?
Well, I enjoy my work, so I find the humor in it. I can laugh at myself. My team and I enjoy the give and take of picking on each other.
3. Who, or what company do you think gets it right today?
Nike, Patagonia, Google all come to mind.
4. What is the best place you have ever visited?
The Sinai in Egypt. Incredible in its serenity.
5. What is your superpower?
I am good at prioritizing – at rapidly understanding what is most important. And, I can quickly center myself around what it takes to achieve a goal.
Try this for You
January is the month of resolutions. Before you make them, take a few minutes to examine the 5 things you need right now.
Resolutions can be daunting.
I found the exercise below many years ago and often use it in team building sessions. Try it yourself before you start your resolutions – it may change how you approach the New Year.
What I need right now
Choose (mark) five things from this list that you think you need more of. Add your own things if they are not on the list. But, select no more than five.
Put the 5 choices in order of importance.
What is your first step?
Whom should you share your five things with?
I need more……
| Vitality | Self-esteem | Direction |
| Tenderness | Composure | Security |
| Recognition | Generosity | Balance |
| Activity | Confidence | Caring |
| Awareness | Health | Motivation |
| Sharing | Solitude | Devotion |
| Contemplation | Serenity | Trust |
| Insight | Joy | Commitment |
| Forgiveness | Purpose | Music |
| Laughter | Support | Self-expression |
| Companionship | Harmony | Romance |
| Intimacy | Patience | Sensitivity |
| Self-awareness | Skill | Structure |
| Opportunity | Challenges | Variety |
| Accomplishments | Imagination | Control |
| Responsibility | Education | Experience |
| Freedom | Strength | Energy |
| Fitness | Relaxation | Comfort |
| Nutrition | Sleep | Childlikeness |
| Coordination | Flexibility | Exercise |
| Self-control | Celebration | Play |
Source: Ice-breakers and Heart-warmers, by Steve Sheely
Try This for your Business
Your business anniversary is a not-to-be-passed up business opportunity.
Whether it is your 1st or 21st, the year does not matter. What matters is that you take the opportunity to celebrate your anniversary by emailing your clients and thanking them. And share information with them that is important to them – that they can use.
The anniversary communication will remind them (indirectly) of why they do business with you and are happy to continue to do so. Or, if they are former clients, they are reminded of why they should do business with you again.
It is your anniversary but be sure and make this communication about them.
