"Watch your thoughts for they become words. Choose your words for they become actions. Understand your actions for they become habits. Study your habits for they will become your character. Develop your character for it becomes your destiny."
                                                                                                                - Lao Tzu

Staying Ahead of the Curve

Woah, it’s been quite a while since my last blog entry! Thankfully, my absence is the result of being extremely busy this summer. Aside from the obvious benefit of being busy ($$$), working with new clients and new projects has been a great learning opportunity! I am convinced, there is no better way to keep ahead of the curve, keep energized, and pursue innovation than to be proactive about working with new projects.

“To stay ahead, you must have your next idea waiting in the wings”   -Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Last Minute Stocking Stuffer - FROM SPACE!

Fisher Space Pen - IN ACTION!

Anyone who has been to one of my networking seminars or workshops has heard my rule:  “Always have a pen with you.”  This is important so that you can write down useful notes from each conversation that you have.  It is hard enough to remember names and faces when you meet a variety of people at one event.  To remember the topics of conversation that you discussed, the hobbies and interests of your new acquaintances, you’ve got to take notes.  I like to write them on the business cards I receive from people I meet.  This way when I am transferring the contact info into my computer later on, I also have notes from our conversation handy.  Always having a pen with you is a habit that you need to create for yourself.

Cowboy Up

Last week, a friend of mine made a speech at our local Toastmasters club, and the message has stuck with me for the past 7 days.  Oly Olson was born in Wyoming and has lived here most of his life.  He loves Jackson Hole as much as anyone else who lives here or who visits.  The purpose of Oly’s speech was to bring attention to how everyone comes to Jackson Hole because of it’s unique character, yet as soon as they get here, they want to change it to make it more like the place they came from.
The main point that Oly was driving was to embrace the Western culture of Jackson Hole. 

Customer Service vs. Customer Engagement

"En-GAGE!"

I am always surprised by how many businesses confuse the concept of Customer Service and Customer Engagement.  When I inquire about Customer Engagement strategies, their minds subconsciously make a word swap and they begin telling me about their latest and greatest customer service initiative.  I am not sure why this happens, but when it does, I give them the following analogy to open their minds.

The 90% Rule

90% of marketing happens AFTER your customer contacts you, however most businesses spend the vast majority of their marketing budget on awareness initiatives.  How could this be?  It comes down to the fact that the most easily measurable statistics for marketers are awareness indicators (e.g. click-throughs, page views, phone calls, Facebook “Likes”, etc.).  Businesses would do themselves a big favor if they devoted more of their marketing efforts to customer engagement and measured revenue and repeat business.

Engage Employees With Facebook????

During a recent strategic planning session with one of my clients the subject of Social Media came up.  Almost immediately the owner of the company rolled her eyes back, and made one of those "hrumph" sort of noises, indicating her displeasure.  She went on to explain that her employees "waste time" on Facebook, and that productivity suffers as a result. I saw this as an opportunity to explain to her that people may waste time socializing when they should be working, but it is hardly the fault of Facebook.