creatorbase

Linchpin looks back to move forward

Sometimes, extraordinary things simply come together. But not without creativity, insight from others and the past, commitment and much work along the way. 

Looking back and reflecting on a flight from Captiva to San Francisco in April 2010, those ~6 hours of reading Seth Godin's Linchpin -- and some invaluable time to really think -- had a significant impact on me and what's to come moving forward. It's a timely book for executives, teams at work, families, college students, community groups, etc. 

Instead of posting a long point of view here, I included links below to some other readers' reviews. And if you're feeling tired or are short on time right now, The Linchpin Manifesto will provide some inspiration. Click, print and post on your wall if you want a reminder of Linchpin beliefs and actions:

Intrigued? These posts provide a glimpse of what the book covers and how others perceive the value:

• Joe Woolworth - Morrisville, NC: Linchpin by Seth Godin Seeks a New Revolution
• Drea Knufken - Boulder, CO: Are you indispensable?
• Squidoo community: Linchpin - Your reviews

If you read Linchpin and have a life-changing experience, please share your thoughts here or on one of the friendly sites above. Yes, now is the time.

Are you really open for business?

Collaborating, loosening the reins on creative control, sharing information, crowdsourcing, automatically extending trust, being exposed to more risks (not necessarily real), and engaging with authentic communications are all indications of openness in business. As your customers, employees and community members in general become more adept at using social and other related technologies (i.e. mobile), they will push you and your business to be even more open. Guaranteed.

Charlene Li, founding partner of Altimeter Group and co-author of Groundswell, recently released her new book, Open Leadership. I was very fortunate to be able to participate in the early stages of her book's development and review, and think it's a must read for anyone who values and understands the currency of relationships in business. Further, if you believe social technologies are changing how we do business then you'll find Open Leadership is a great resource and business-case builder. Here's a quick preview about why Charlene wrote the book and what's in store:

There are many tools and take-aways in the book and online via the open-leadership community. For example, Charlene discusses how all open-driven objectives create common benefits, in that they:

• Remove friction: removing barriers in business, and providing more access to information and people, lowers the cost of decision making

• Scale efforts: a culture of sharing means things spread faster and wider

• Enable fast response: the real-time nature of social technologies means you can respond quickly to needs and opportunities

• Gain commitment: businesses that win the hearts and minds of stakeholders gain business and competitive advantages

For me, this book fits like a glove because I tend to be an open person and prefer to work with other open leaders and practitioners. Close to home, I doubt that I would have landed a dream job this month if both employer and new employee did not share a passion for innovation and openness. 

Try moving out of your comfort zone to reap the rewards of really being open for business.

Cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence

Why don't we get the best out of people? Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. It's a message with deep resonance. 

A visionary cultural leader, Sir Ken led the British government's 1998 advisory committee on creative and cultural education, a massive inquiry into the significance of creativity in the educational system and the economy, and was knighted in 2003 for his achievements. His latest book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, a deep look at human creativity and education, was published in January 2009.

In this poignant, humorous follow-up to his fabled 2006 Ted Talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning -- creating conditions where kids' natural talents can flourish; this video clip is just under 17 minutes and worth the time to watch and share:

What do you think about this topic? 

April foolin

Did April just fly by or is my imagination playing tricks? This has been an interesting month with a number of business and personal activities that have been keeping me very busy. How about you?

A recent trip to Captiva for the Email Insider Summit was highly productive and enjoyable. Here's the highlights post including video from a great conversation with Hayle Chun of NBC Sports & Olympics. He touches on how and why email, social and mobile were a winning combination for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games:

And, here are some twips (tips you can tweet) from the 45 Tips in 45 Minutes panel I moderated at the Email Insider Summit, including speakers from Barnes & Noble, Responsys, National Hockey League and eHarmony.

I've also been heads down with a dual request for proposal (RFP) process that is generating some great feedback and ideas. A number of companies and industry experts are participating in the process and I appreciate their efforts! 

Your thoughts?

Shame on moi.

I appreciate French culture, language and the people and have fond memories from a trip to Paris in the 90s. The word "moi" is an informal way of saying "me" in French but it will also represent an acronym for a new point of view that I'm going to keep in mind going forward: meaningful online investments

It occurred to me last week that I missed a planned January blog post on creatorbase.com. It's not that I didn't have content or ideas in mind, or that I wasn't online and able to make a post. I spend a lot of time using the Web (via laptop and mobile) for work, family, friends and personal interests -- but I simply prioritized other things over thinking about and creating a meaningful post last month. I also know there is no turning back time and creatorbase will forever be absent of a January 2010 post; a hole in the archive. 

To be clear, a hole in the archive is not an issue for me or anyone reading or sharing creatorbase. The key here is that blogging, social media and time online, in general, has become a very important component of an investment strategy for living. What's the take-away here? I'm committed to meaningful online investments that help others and are sometimes meaningful to me. The reality is I won't always get it right for others and that's okay.

Alexis Ohanian at TED on "losing control"

In this November 2009 TED talk, Alexis Ohanian of Reddit describes how losing control on the Internet can be a very good thing for individuals, businesses, nature, society, etc. I think you'll agree that his passion for the topic and youthful delivery is a bit infectious. And in true Twitter-form, Alexis is brief and to the point.

Is there a lesson here for 2010? Perhaps a resolution-nugget? Hint, letting go and not being afraid of the unknown can pay dividends.

Email, social and mobile...

The online marketing space has evolved, and social media and mobile channels present the opportunity for more personal engagement to exist between people and brands. Businesses and marketers need to think beyond a batch-and-blast email marketing mentality to a well choreographed and integrated approach that is in sync with target audiences. 

Social media and mobile channels combined with email marketing can help fuel this shift, enhance engagement, grow customer opt-in lists, and maximize audience touch points. Yet, as noted by Forrester’s David Daniels, “not enough email marketers are integrating proven channels, such as social into their email marketing campaigns.” Likewise, Altimeter Group’s Jeremiah Owyang recently discussed on his blog why he believes that email marketers can no longer avoid integrating social tools. Continue with the post...

Think like a tribal leader to create change.

Seth Godin argues, with a sense of humor and insight that only he can deliver, the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big changes. Successful (tribal) leaders today tell meaningful stories, connect people, lead a movement and create change.

I read Seth's book "Tribes" last year during a memorable trip to Tennessee for Thanksgiving with our extended family. This video recorded at TED in February 2009 is a fantastic summary of the book and Seth's ideas on how to lead today... 

Are you leading a tribe? If so, please share your thoughts, ideas and links so others can learn from your experiences.

Does social media create ROI for businesses?

You bet! And I'm counting on this fact, and some factoids from this video and 2009 results at Lyris, for an upcoming presentation. I lead our community practice at Lyris and social media is right smack in the middle of an infusion that includes customer engagement, thought leadership, traditional media, community intelligence, mobility, response management, and brand-building activities and investments. Of course -- analytics, communications, innovation and teaming are required behind the scenes to successfully bring it all together.

If you're having trouble selling social media and networking strategies and programs to your boss or leadership because of a perception that it's difficult to create and measure ROI, watch this video for some ideas and proof points; share with others too...

  

Enjoying time with Lyris customers.

If you have been following my business and marketing-related posts on this blog and Twitter, it's likely you have noticed a few mentions of Lyris and Lyris HQ. With transparency and new FTC rules in mind in terms of disclosure and endorsements, I am a Lyris executive and really enjoy spending time with our customers (marketing peers). Why? Because it's a great way to learn about their needs and stories, get to know them personally, help them reach and serve their customers, and collaborate with them on thought leadership for the global marketing community at large. 

I'm enjoying time with our customers, on social media and in-person, and happy to communicate about them and how teams at Lyris are helping customers be more successful. This recent post and video from Jeff Bezos of Amazon provides some insight into why focusing on customers is fundamental to success; and fun too.

Also, here's a new video that was recorded yesterday at ad:tech NY with Joe Harrell, Director of Marketing and Product Management from the Alliance for the Arts. We're talking about tri-messaging and what this means for Joe's community and members:

Note: This video with Joe Harrell from Alliance for the Arts was recorded at ad:tech NY by David Spark and sponsored by Lyris. Mr. Harrell was not paid by Lyris for his comments.