Social media is at the forefront of the marketing battle these days…Facebook, Twitter, Ning and more are now major parts of companies, especially entrepreneurial companies, marketing plans. And then, something unfortunate happens in your organization and you're faced with a decision on how to proceed.
I’ve been following closely what Sea World is doing relative to their social media effort in light of the horrible situation with the death of one of their animal trainers. I’ve admired Sea World’s Twitter campaign…Shamu was one of my favorites in terms of following, but also in terms of showing folks how Twitter (and social media in general) can be used. Here are a couple of links to recent articles in the Orlando Sentinel regarding the Sea World social media campaign and what they’re doing now.
Sea World Impresses with Online Response to Trainers Death
Social Media Risks
Here’s hoping that Sea World will bring Shamu back soon to Twitter.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
More on BlackboardEats.com
After yesterday’s post on BlackboardEats.com, I heard from Maggie Nemser, Founder / Editor-in-Chief of the company. I mentioned in the post that I thought the technology referenced in the article seems “very old school and could benefit from something like Twitter,” she wrote back to say that they “do use Twitter & FB and also easily encourage people to tweet & facebook our deals (which you will see when a deal is live on tue & thurs).”
Thanks, Maggie for the information. This is a neat use of technology to solve an age-old problem for restaurant owners…how to fill seats, generate buzz and still get some cash flow especially when you’re trying to launch a new restaurant or change concepts.
Thanks, Maggie for the information. This is a neat use of technology to solve an age-old problem for restaurant owners…how to fill seats, generate buzz and still get some cash flow especially when you’re trying to launch a new restaurant or change concepts.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
BlackboardEats...Now That's a Name!
Interesting story from the LA Times about an enterprising entrepreneur who is taking advantage of the difficult times facing restaurants and providing them with what they need…lots of customers. The catch, the customers are getting a big discount on the meal. While I like the idea, I can’t help but feel that the technology is very old school and could benefit from something like Twitter.
The story by Jessica Gelt…BlackboardEats Gives Foodies Discounts at High End LA Restaurants. From the article:
Founded in September by former Yahoo.com food editor Maggie Nemser, BlackboardEats has become a Los Angeles foodie phenomenon. At a time when the starved economy has sucked the fat out of the restaurant business, Nemser has created a free service designed to drive the young, hungry and food-obsessed straight into open banquettes.
The service is simple. Interested parties subscribe to the website by filling out a short form asking only for name, e-mail address and ZIP Code. Then twice a week they receive an e-mail offering an exclusive deal. For example, a free flight of wine at Echo Park's City Sip, or 30% off the bill at Ammo.Subscribers have 24 hours to request a pass code for the promotion and 30 days to redeem it. There are no fees, no blackout dates and no fine print. Most important of all, however, is that Nemser, 30, has managed to make the service feel fashionable and upscale so it pulls in a demographic that is desirable to restaurateurs.
The story by Jessica Gelt…BlackboardEats Gives Foodies Discounts at High End LA Restaurants. From the article:
Founded in September by former Yahoo.com food editor Maggie Nemser, BlackboardEats has become a Los Angeles foodie phenomenon. At a time when the starved economy has sucked the fat out of the restaurant business, Nemser has created a free service designed to drive the young, hungry and food-obsessed straight into open banquettes.
The service is simple. Interested parties subscribe to the website by filling out a short form asking only for name, e-mail address and ZIP Code. Then twice a week they receive an e-mail offering an exclusive deal. For example, a free flight of wine at Echo Park's City Sip, or 30% off the bill at Ammo.Subscribers have 24 hours to request a pass code for the promotion and 30 days to redeem it. There are no fees, no blackout dates and no fine print. Most important of all, however, is that Nemser, 30, has managed to make the service feel fashionable and upscale so it pulls in a demographic that is desirable to restaurateurs.
Friday, February 19, 2010
US Small Business Outlook 2010
Just ran across an interesting piece from Forbes Magazine, their US Small Business Outlook 2010. The summary of the report is below; to get the entire report go to: http://www.forbes.com/forbesinsights/lessonslearned/index.html
SUMMARY: Having survived what may have been the most turbulent and confusing 12-18 months they’ve ever faced, small business owners are hoping that the hard lessons they’ve had to face will provide them with the discipline and control necessary to help ensure their success.
According to the U.S. Small Business Outlook 2010, conducted by Forbes Insights in association with financial services provider CIT, small business owners are working harder and longer than ever before. The good news: they also feel they are now smarter about running their businesses and are better leaders.
Small business owners also feel they are operating in a new economic reality, one where the old ways of doing business no longer apply. Strategically, they are trying to find new ways to take advantage of market opportunities, and most expect to be running their businesses more aggressively in 2010 than they did in 2009. The study also examines small business attitudes towards planning, employee retention, marketing, and the impact of economic stimuli on their operations.
SUMMARY: Having survived what may have been the most turbulent and confusing 12-18 months they’ve ever faced, small business owners are hoping that the hard lessons they’ve had to face will provide them with the discipline and control necessary to help ensure their success.
According to the U.S. Small Business Outlook 2010, conducted by Forbes Insights in association with financial services provider CIT, small business owners are working harder and longer than ever before. The good news: they also feel they are now smarter about running their businesses and are better leaders.
Small business owners also feel they are operating in a new economic reality, one where the old ways of doing business no longer apply. Strategically, they are trying to find new ways to take advantage of market opportunities, and most expect to be running their businesses more aggressively in 2010 than they did in 2009. The study also examines small business attitudes towards planning, employee retention, marketing, and the impact of economic stimuli on their operations.
So You Want to Open a Restaurant?
Anyone who regularly reads this blog knows that I love entrepreneurship…and love food. Here is an interesting link between entrepreneurship and food and it’s found in the NY Times. They have a blog running in their business section that follows an entrepreneur who wants to start his own restaurant. The blog is written by Bruce Buschel and it’s part of the You’re the Boss blog series. And if you’re ever thinking about uttering those magic words, “Let’s open a restaurant,” you owe it to yourself to read these posts. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting you not do it…just read ‘em to help prepare for some of the trials ahead of you.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Social Media and Fed Ex
Dwain DeVille (Biker’s Guide to Business) sent over this article by Matt Ceniceros (FedEx’s Global Communications Manager of Media Relations) on 5 Things FedEx has Learned about Managing Relationships through Social Media. Right now, there is a lot of shouting out there in the media space about HOW YOU MUST RIGHT NOW GET INVOLVED WITH SOCIAL MEDIA OR YOU AND YOUR COMPANY WILL DIE! I like this piece because it provides some thoughtful ways that using social media can really help our businesses. This was posted on American Express Open Forum which is a neat resource for entrepreneurs.
Ninety-six percent of Gen Y has joined social networks. Nearly half of Internet users read a blog at least once a month. More than six in ten small businesses use social networks to answer customer questions.With statistics like this, you can see why FedEx has utilized social media – blogs, Twitter, online video, and social networks – to speak with our audience. Social media allows a large company like FedEx to act like a small company – interacting with customers in a personal, immediate way. As a member of the FedEx media relations team, I tweet and blog, help internal bloggers create and manage posts, and handle other elements of our social media activities. I’d like to share five key points we’ve learned about managing relationships through social media, because I think the lessons are applicable to companies of any size.
Social media expedites your ability to intelligently gather information.
Managing relationships effectively hinges on gathering information about feelings, perceptions, reactions and customer sentiments. Tweets, blogs, and social networks give you immediate access to focus groups in real time. A response to one of our blogs inspired the successful FedEx Office Free Resume Day this March, where we printed up to 25 resumes at no cost for job seekers. In days past, you might go to a Chamber of Commerce mixer and stroll around listening for a pertinent conversation to join. Now you can join those ongoing conversations anytime with Facebook, twitter, and LinkedIn. Social media provides an efficient and streamlined way to gather information intelligently and apply it quickly to your business.
Social media humanizes a company.
We’ve found consumers enjoy stories of events and activities taking place around our company, focusing on the FedEx team members involved. Many of our most popular social media activities are highly personal – like blogs about how ten FedEx drivers were finalists at the National Truck Driving Championships or about our efforts to rescue 500 dogs and cats from a Kentucky flood. Social media is a way to personalize your brand and make it accessible to the world. A photographer’s online samples can really come alive with a blog explaining how she made a trio of young kids sit still and smile by singing a song. Simple things like that begin a dialogue, cultivating and deepening relationships.
Social media allows you to engage in in-depth conversations.
Social media is about sharing not selling. We try to provide information and resources that are of genuine value. Our FedEx Citizenship blog, for example, allows some of brightest minds at FedEx to provide their insights into how culture, people and policy affect global commerce. Around Mother’s Day, we invited mom bloggers to tell how our services connected their families. The goal of all this is to engage people in conversations, let influencers help tell our story, and introduce transparency into how, why, and what we do in the citizenship arena. This shows customers a more complete picture of FedEx as more than a delivery company, tying that “human element” back to what we do as a business. Participating in social media allows businesses to both inform and influence the conversations.
Social media uncovers opportunities fast.
Social media tools help businesses identify and realize business benefits of real – time conversation search, along with the opportunity for immediate and direct connectivity and response. Every day, I use a free application to automatically search Twitter for entries related to the FedEx business – as a result we’ve gained customers who were asking questions about how to ship products or who expressed frustration with the shipping experience. On one occasion, I saw such a tweet at 9 a.m., our salesman arranged to meet the customer at 11 a.m., and by 3 p.m. their packages were in our trucks heading to their destination. No way could that have happened so quickly without social media. I’m not in sales, but it helped to facilitate a dialogue with the sales organization to provide a positive customer experience.
Social media simply takes you back to basics.
"Social media” can seem like a complex world of diverse and daunting technology. But the technology is fairly easy to learn if you spent some time with it. Social media is really just another channel to tell people about your business. If you read any of the top online influencers like Chris Brogan, Mack Collier or Dan Schwabel they all give insights on how to be “social” and personal online. They tackle many of the issues we have in face-to-face communication, but how to translate the learning’s online. So ask yourself, is my goal to generate immediate leads or keep in touch with existing customers? Your answer inevitably suggests what type of social media channel to utilize – be it a short tweet, lengthy blog or online video. Or perhaps a mix of social and traditional media outreach to reinforce and compliment each other. Social media takes work. But from the energy and focus has paid off by enabling stronger and deeper relationships. If you want to share some ideas, let me know -- I’m always ready to discuss, tweet and listen.
Ninety-six percent of Gen Y has joined social networks. Nearly half of Internet users read a blog at least once a month. More than six in ten small businesses use social networks to answer customer questions.With statistics like this, you can see why FedEx has utilized social media – blogs, Twitter, online video, and social networks – to speak with our audience. Social media allows a large company like FedEx to act like a small company – interacting with customers in a personal, immediate way. As a member of the FedEx media relations team, I tweet and blog, help internal bloggers create and manage posts, and handle other elements of our social media activities. I’d like to share five key points we’ve learned about managing relationships through social media, because I think the lessons are applicable to companies of any size.
Social media expedites your ability to intelligently gather information.
Managing relationships effectively hinges on gathering information about feelings, perceptions, reactions and customer sentiments. Tweets, blogs, and social networks give you immediate access to focus groups in real time. A response to one of our blogs inspired the successful FedEx Office Free Resume Day this March, where we printed up to 25 resumes at no cost for job seekers. In days past, you might go to a Chamber of Commerce mixer and stroll around listening for a pertinent conversation to join. Now you can join those ongoing conversations anytime with Facebook, twitter, and LinkedIn. Social media provides an efficient and streamlined way to gather information intelligently and apply it quickly to your business.
Social media humanizes a company.
We’ve found consumers enjoy stories of events and activities taking place around our company, focusing on the FedEx team members involved. Many of our most popular social media activities are highly personal – like blogs about how ten FedEx drivers were finalists at the National Truck Driving Championships or about our efforts to rescue 500 dogs and cats from a Kentucky flood. Social media is a way to personalize your brand and make it accessible to the world. A photographer’s online samples can really come alive with a blog explaining how she made a trio of young kids sit still and smile by singing a song. Simple things like that begin a dialogue, cultivating and deepening relationships.
Social media allows you to engage in in-depth conversations.
Social media is about sharing not selling. We try to provide information and resources that are of genuine value. Our FedEx Citizenship blog, for example, allows some of brightest minds at FedEx to provide their insights into how culture, people and policy affect global commerce. Around Mother’s Day, we invited mom bloggers to tell how our services connected their families. The goal of all this is to engage people in conversations, let influencers help tell our story, and introduce transparency into how, why, and what we do in the citizenship arena. This shows customers a more complete picture of FedEx as more than a delivery company, tying that “human element” back to what we do as a business. Participating in social media allows businesses to both inform and influence the conversations.
Social media uncovers opportunities fast.
Social media tools help businesses identify and realize business benefits of real – time conversation search, along with the opportunity for immediate and direct connectivity and response. Every day, I use a free application to automatically search Twitter for entries related to the FedEx business – as a result we’ve gained customers who were asking questions about how to ship products or who expressed frustration with the shipping experience. On one occasion, I saw such a tweet at 9 a.m., our salesman arranged to meet the customer at 11 a.m., and by 3 p.m. their packages were in our trucks heading to their destination. No way could that have happened so quickly without social media. I’m not in sales, but it helped to facilitate a dialogue with the sales organization to provide a positive customer experience.
Social media simply takes you back to basics.
"Social media” can seem like a complex world of diverse and daunting technology. But the technology is fairly easy to learn if you spent some time with it. Social media is really just another channel to tell people about your business. If you read any of the top online influencers like Chris Brogan, Mack Collier or Dan Schwabel they all give insights on how to be “social” and personal online. They tackle many of the issues we have in face-to-face communication, but how to translate the learning’s online. So ask yourself, is my goal to generate immediate leads or keep in touch with existing customers? Your answer inevitably suggests what type of social media channel to utilize – be it a short tweet, lengthy blog or online video. Or perhaps a mix of social and traditional media outreach to reinforce and compliment each other. Social media takes work. But from the energy and focus has paid off by enabling stronger and deeper relationships. If you want to share some ideas, let me know -- I’m always ready to discuss, tweet and listen.
Monday, February 15, 2010
IP Law for Startups
In reading through the Ask the VC blog, they mentioned an interesting new blog related to the law and the entrepreneur that’s called IP Law for Startups: Lessons on trade secret, trademark, copyright and patent law for entrepreneurs. Its author is attorney Jill Bowman and she puts it, “Most law blogs speak to other lawyers. That’s not the case here. My goal is to speak to entrepreneurs and explain intellectual property law issues in clear, easy to understand language—at least to the extent possible given the nature of legal mumbo jumbo.”
Given that the recommendation comes from Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, it looks like a blog that we should be reading.
Given that the recommendation comes from Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, it looks like a blog that we should be reading.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
"Craigslist is Where It's At."
In doing some reading of the Sunday newspapers on the internet, it made me think back to the article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal by Bill Wyman, “What Newspapers Can Learn from Craigslist.”
Now I’m a big fan of Craigslist, and lots of entrepreneurs I know are also fans. My daughter started a neat little business thanks to Craigslist while another entrepreneur a couple of weeks ago summed it up with the words, “Craigslist is where it’s at.”
Take a read of what the author is saying about newspaper websites and nod along saying ‘yes sir’ as you do...because Wyman is right on target. Here is a segment that I particularly liked:
The stories are as a rule stuffed into a cramped space in the bottom middle of the page, hemmed in by myriad other links, devices and widgets arrayed in columns to either side. Headlines, forced to fit in those tiny spaces, are often as awkward and telegrammatic as print ones.
Even after the reader clicks on a story, the site then offers up more of the same: A frame inside the browser window, unwanted navigation elements, links to any and every possible department of the site, placed above, to the left and to the right of the actual prose. As for that prose, it could be a 400-word reported piece, a lacerating editorial, or a recipe for pumpkin pie. It doesn't matter—it will always be trapped in that small well, suffocated by the weight of the widgets, links and navigation around it.
I'm not talking about ads. It is a cranky consumer who can't grok the reason for an ad next to a story. I think many readers, like me, would gladly swap their prized Adblock Firefox add-on for one that would keep the ads and instead eliminate all the non-content elements of the average newspaper Web page.
Ultimately, I would like about 99% fewer navigation links on the page, but will settle for 90% fewer. For that service, a newspaper site can hit me with all the ads it wants, or charge me any amount of money. But until it provides this simple and I think obvious service to readers, one can't help suspecting that a newspaper's approach to the Web is incomplete.
Now I’m a big fan of Craigslist, and lots of entrepreneurs I know are also fans. My daughter started a neat little business thanks to Craigslist while another entrepreneur a couple of weeks ago summed it up with the words, “Craigslist is where it’s at.”
Take a read of what the author is saying about newspaper websites and nod along saying ‘yes sir’ as you do...because Wyman is right on target. Here is a segment that I particularly liked:
The stories are as a rule stuffed into a cramped space in the bottom middle of the page, hemmed in by myriad other links, devices and widgets arrayed in columns to either side. Headlines, forced to fit in those tiny spaces, are often as awkward and telegrammatic as print ones.
Even after the reader clicks on a story, the site then offers up more of the same: A frame inside the browser window, unwanted navigation elements, links to any and every possible department of the site, placed above, to the left and to the right of the actual prose. As for that prose, it could be a 400-word reported piece, a lacerating editorial, or a recipe for pumpkin pie. It doesn't matter—it will always be trapped in that small well, suffocated by the weight of the widgets, links and navigation around it.
I'm not talking about ads. It is a cranky consumer who can't grok the reason for an ad next to a story. I think many readers, like me, would gladly swap their prized Adblock Firefox add-on for one that would keep the ads and instead eliminate all the non-content elements of the average newspaper Web page.
Ultimately, I would like about 99% fewer navigation links on the page, but will settle for 90% fewer. For that service, a newspaper site can hit me with all the ads it wants, or charge me any amount of money. But until it provides this simple and I think obvious service to readers, one can't help suspecting that a newspaper's approach to the Web is incomplete.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Meet SOTUS
No matter your political persuasion, you’ll find the following short column from today’s Wall Street Journal fun to read. It describes SOTUS…the straw man of the United States…and the article is entitled, “I’m the President’s Trusted Counselor.”
By NOAM NEUSNER
Some people get quoted in presidential speeches by writing heartfelt letters to the president about personal loss, or by doing something heroic, like landing a plane in the icy Hudson River.
I just sit in the Oval Office, and mouth off to President Barack Obama, one inanity after the next. And sure enough, my words—word for word, mind you!—show up in his biggest speeches.
Who am I? Sotus—Straw man of the United States. I'm Mr. Obama's most trusted rhetorical friend.
In his speeches, Mr. Obama says there are "those" who suggest we "can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures." He suggests there are "some" who are content to let America's economy become, at best, "number two." He says that on health care, "some people" think we should do nothing.
Listen, there is no "some people." He's just quoting me, Sotus.
Why, just a few weeks ago, I said: "Hey, Mr. President, you know, why don't we just fight tired old battles, run up the deficit, and, you know, just chuck common sense to the wind?" Imagine my thrill when I heard Mr. Obama during the recent State of the Union: "Rather than fight the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades, it's time to try something new. Let's invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let's meet our responsibility to the citizens who sent us here. Let's try common sense." Ouch, Mr. President, you got me there!
And then there was the nice talk we had right before that historic January afternoon, when he was sworn in. I turned to him and said: "Mr. President-elect, our system of government can really only tolerate small plans, and limited ambitions." Think how good it felt to hear my own words echoing across the Mall: "There are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done." Good one, Mr. President!
A few days later, as we were shooting baskets, I said: "Mr. President, you know, I think that in the face of the biggest financial crisis in three generations, you should really do nothing."
And sure enough, at a press conference on Feb. 9, 2009, he quoted me: "There seems to be a set of folks who—I don't doubt their sincerity—who just believe that we should do nothing . . . I don't think that's what the American people expect, is for us to stand by and do nothing." They don't? Guess I lose again!
And you know, I'm not just about policy. I also care a lot about presidential leadership. My preference: Go slower. Do less. Don't try so hard. Don't care so much. Don't be so bold.
Conservatives cry foul when they hear me quoted. They can't imagine anyone is saying the things that Mr. Obama stands up as arguments that he proceeds to knock down. Of course, they haven't met Sotus.
Some say Mr. Obama should make a stronger case for his opponents' positions than his own. The cynics think straw-man arguments by definition prove that the speaker has no proof or logic on his side. Some would force presidential speechwriters to choose between a nifty setup for a zinger and boring rhetoric that puts audiences to sleep.
See, this straw man thing is pretty easy. I just rattled off three of them. Maybe I need to give some of this material to the big guy. He's been saying he needs more material on false choices.
Mr. Neusner is a principal with 30 Point Strategies and was a speechwriter for President George W. Bush.
By NOAM NEUSNER
Some people get quoted in presidential speeches by writing heartfelt letters to the president about personal loss, or by doing something heroic, like landing a plane in the icy Hudson River.
I just sit in the Oval Office, and mouth off to President Barack Obama, one inanity after the next. And sure enough, my words—word for word, mind you!—show up in his biggest speeches.
Who am I? Sotus—Straw man of the United States. I'm Mr. Obama's most trusted rhetorical friend.
In his speeches, Mr. Obama says there are "those" who suggest we "can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures." He suggests there are "some" who are content to let America's economy become, at best, "number two." He says that on health care, "some people" think we should do nothing.
Listen, there is no "some people." He's just quoting me, Sotus.
Why, just a few weeks ago, I said: "Hey, Mr. President, you know, why don't we just fight tired old battles, run up the deficit, and, you know, just chuck common sense to the wind?" Imagine my thrill when I heard Mr. Obama during the recent State of the Union: "Rather than fight the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades, it's time to try something new. Let's invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let's meet our responsibility to the citizens who sent us here. Let's try common sense." Ouch, Mr. President, you got me there!
And then there was the nice talk we had right before that historic January afternoon, when he was sworn in. I turned to him and said: "Mr. President-elect, our system of government can really only tolerate small plans, and limited ambitions." Think how good it felt to hear my own words echoing across the Mall: "There are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done." Good one, Mr. President!
A few days later, as we were shooting baskets, I said: "Mr. President, you know, I think that in the face of the biggest financial crisis in three generations, you should really do nothing."
And sure enough, at a press conference on Feb. 9, 2009, he quoted me: "There seems to be a set of folks who—I don't doubt their sincerity—who just believe that we should do nothing . . . I don't think that's what the American people expect, is for us to stand by and do nothing." They don't? Guess I lose again!
And you know, I'm not just about policy. I also care a lot about presidential leadership. My preference: Go slower. Do less. Don't try so hard. Don't care so much. Don't be so bold.
Conservatives cry foul when they hear me quoted. They can't imagine anyone is saying the things that Mr. Obama stands up as arguments that he proceeds to knock down. Of course, they haven't met Sotus.
Some say Mr. Obama should make a stronger case for his opponents' positions than his own. The cynics think straw-man arguments by definition prove that the speaker has no proof or logic on his side. Some would force presidential speechwriters to choose between a nifty setup for a zinger and boring rhetoric that puts audiences to sleep.
See, this straw man thing is pretty easy. I just rattled off three of them. Maybe I need to give some of this material to the big guy. He's been saying he needs more material on false choices.
Mr. Neusner is a principal with 30 Point Strategies and was a speechwriter for President George W. Bush.
A Different Viewpoint on Entrepreneurship
OK…I’ve stopped laughing so now I can type out this post. I just finished reading an interview in the NY Times with George Cloutier who is the founder and CEO of Amercan Management Serices…and he has some things to say to all of us entrepreneurs. The article is “Fire Your Relatives. Scare Your Employees. And Stop Whining.” From the article:
It’s not the economy, stupid, it’s you. So says George Cloutier, author of “Profits Aren’t Everything, They’re the Only Thing” Mr. Cloutier, the 63-year-old founder and chief executive of American Management Services, specializes in advising small and midsize businesses and turning troubled companies around.
His advice is to put profits above all. Always pay yourself first. Shock your laggard employees. Don’t accept excuses. His ax falls on trade shows (“they’re just a flimsy excuse for a paid vacation”), sweat equity (“I call it working for nothing and being a fool”) and teamwork (“vastly overrated”). And if you ever apply for a job at American Management Services, don’t mention that you like to play golf.
While there are things in the interview that I do agree with, in the above short paragraph, there are six things that I totally disagree with and others that made me just laugh out loud. Take a moment, read the interview, and get ready to laugh.
It’s not the economy, stupid, it’s you. So says George Cloutier, author of “Profits Aren’t Everything, They’re the Only Thing” Mr. Cloutier, the 63-year-old founder and chief executive of American Management Services, specializes in advising small and midsize businesses and turning troubled companies around.
His advice is to put profits above all. Always pay yourself first. Shock your laggard employees. Don’t accept excuses. His ax falls on trade shows (“they’re just a flimsy excuse for a paid vacation”), sweat equity (“I call it working for nothing and being a fool”) and teamwork (“vastly overrated”). And if you ever apply for a job at American Management Services, don’t mention that you like to play golf.
While there are things in the interview that I do agree with, in the above short paragraph, there are six things that I totally disagree with and others that made me just laugh out loud. Take a moment, read the interview, and get ready to laugh.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Deadliest Catch Star is Dead
When I can’t watch football or hockey, a TV programs that I love is Deadliest Catch, which is a story of a bunch of entrepreneurs who try to keep themselves afloat (literally) in the fishing industry. For those of you who follow the show, according to the NY Daily News, “Captain Phil Harris, the cantankerous, chain-smoking crabbing boat boss who became a household name on Discovery's hit series "The Deadliest Catch," died Tuesday. He was 53.Harris had suffered a stroke Jan. 30 while in port off-loading his ship the F/V Cornelia Marie in Alaska. He had been hospitalized ever since.”
It was hard not to like Phil…he was the guy who was always barking orders, but who also had a loveable side. A couple of seasons ago, he broke down in tears after rescuing one of the crew members who fell overboard into the freezing ocean.
It was hard not to like Phil…he was the guy who was always barking orders, but who also had a loveable side. A couple of seasons ago, he broke down in tears after rescuing one of the crew members who fell overboard into the freezing ocean.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Blogging? Why Should I?
I'm a big fan of the book Groundswell...I made sure to give out around 75 copies last year to judges in our Panasci Business Plan Competition and the Capstone Competition. Based on the comments from the judges, they also enjoyed the book and the issues it raised regarding thinking about your social media media strategy before you jump into the deep end of the pool.
From a blog post of yesterday from the folks who wrote the book.
Why our analysts blog at forrester.com
by Josh Bernoff
I'm not a corporate spokesperson for Forrester. But as a prominent social media analyst here, I wanted to comment on the recent discussion regarding our policy on analysts and blogs.
Forrester is and has always been a leader with analyst blogging. Charlene Li started this blog you’re reading in 2004. We love blogging. And many of our colleagues that came from Jupiter, the company we acquired in 2008 are also avid bloggers.
The Forrester management team needed to make a decision about analysts and blogging -- on our site or off. I didn't make that decision, but I did advise the management, and I agree with the decision we made. What people need to understand is that Forrester is an intellectual property company, and the opinions of our analysts are our product. Blogging is an extension of the other work we do -- doing research, writing reports, working with clients, and giving speeches, for example. As Sting said, "Poets, priests and politicians/Have words to thank for their positions." Analysts, too.
Think about other companies that employ writers and creators of opinion and analysis, like newspapers and magazines. Where do you find David Pogue's posts about gadgets? On the New York Times site, since that's who employs him to do those reviews. You won't find Katie Couric's posts outside of CBS , either. Why not? Because of the confusion that would arise. You know when David and Katie talk, their opinions are part of the content they create for their employers, who are in the content business.
Companies in the information and analysis business are not the same as other companies from this perspective. There are many good blogs by executives and other workers in all sorts of companies, and we certainly believe such companies should allow their employees to blog, subject to the usual rules about not disclosing confidential information, etc.
But for Forrester, it serves our clients better to be able to get to all our blogs from one place, and to know the opinions of analysts that they see are part of the other opinions they read in our reports, in press quotes, and in everywhere else we talk.
Forrester does not yet have individual analyst blogs on our site, but that's coming quite soon. This is why it's so ironic to read comments that "We don't let analysts have individual blogs" or "Forrester should read Groundswell." I cowrote Groundswell, and I believe our policy is the right one. Groundswell says that your employees will be blogging -- it doesn't say that content companies should have their content creators blog anywhere they want. If you're creating content for a content company, that company ought to host your blog.
We’re not stopping analysts from blogging about stuff unrelated to our analytical work. And they can Twitter all they want. And they can blog all they want, about anything relevant to their jobs, right here on blogs.forrester.com. I count 23 blogs there. Some of them are pretty good.
Our analysts will still be blogging here at forrester.com. We're improving the platform to make it easier for analysts to have their own space, and we expect more analysts to be blogging here more often than ever before. You're welcome to take issue with our opinions. But rest assured, you will be able to read those opinions, and we can be just as analytical, provocative, and interesting here at forrester.com as anywhere else on the Web.
From a blog post of yesterday from the folks who wrote the book.
Why our analysts blog at forrester.com
by Josh Bernoff
I'm not a corporate spokesperson for Forrester. But as a prominent social media analyst here, I wanted to comment on the recent discussion regarding our policy on analysts and blogs.
Forrester is and has always been a leader with analyst blogging. Charlene Li started this blog you’re reading in 2004. We love blogging. And many of our colleagues that came from Jupiter, the company we acquired in 2008 are also avid bloggers.
The Forrester management team needed to make a decision about analysts and blogging -- on our site or off. I didn't make that decision, but I did advise the management, and I agree with the decision we made. What people need to understand is that Forrester is an intellectual property company, and the opinions of our analysts are our product. Blogging is an extension of the other work we do -- doing research, writing reports, working with clients, and giving speeches, for example. As Sting said, "Poets, priests and politicians/Have words to thank for their positions." Analysts, too.
Think about other companies that employ writers and creators of opinion and analysis, like newspapers and magazines. Where do you find David Pogue's posts about gadgets? On the New York Times site, since that's who employs him to do those reviews. You won't find Katie Couric's posts outside of CBS , either. Why not? Because of the confusion that would arise. You know when David and Katie talk, their opinions are part of the content they create for their employers, who are in the content business.
Companies in the information and analysis business are not the same as other companies from this perspective. There are many good blogs by executives and other workers in all sorts of companies, and we certainly believe such companies should allow their employees to blog, subject to the usual rules about not disclosing confidential information, etc.
But for Forrester, it serves our clients better to be able to get to all our blogs from one place, and to know the opinions of analysts that they see are part of the other opinions they read in our reports, in press quotes, and in everywhere else we talk.
Forrester does not yet have individual analyst blogs on our site, but that's coming quite soon. This is why it's so ironic to read comments that "We don't let analysts have individual blogs" or "Forrester should read Groundswell." I cowrote Groundswell, and I believe our policy is the right one. Groundswell says that your employees will be blogging -- it doesn't say that content companies should have their content creators blog anywhere they want. If you're creating content for a content company, that company ought to host your blog.
We’re not stopping analysts from blogging about stuff unrelated to our analytical work. And they can Twitter all they want. And they can blog all they want, about anything relevant to their jobs, right here on blogs.forrester.com. I count 23 blogs there. Some of them are pretty good.
Our analysts will still be blogging here at forrester.com. We're improving the platform to make it easier for analysts to have their own space, and we expect more analysts to be blogging here more often than ever before. You're welcome to take issue with our opinions. But rest assured, you will be able to read those opinions, and we can be just as analytical, provocative, and interesting here at forrester.com as anywhere else on the Web.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Helping Our Disabled Military Community
At the Whitman School of Management, we’re launching a new program which will help the caregivers of wounded military veterans or surviving spouses of folks who gave their life in the service of our country... and who want to start their own business. Here’s the official word on the program:
The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans’ Families (EBV-F) is an education and training program offered by the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. The program leverages the flexibility inherent in small business ownership to provide a vocational and economic ‘path-forward’ for military family members who are now caregivers to a wounded warrior - or for the surviving spouse of a military member who gave his or her life in service to our country. The EBV-F program integrates training in small business management, with caregiver and family issues, positioning the family member to launch and grow a small business in a way that is complementary or enhancing to other family responsibilities.
Modeled after the existing Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) initiative, the EBV Families program will be offered without any cost to accepted applicants. The Whitman School of Management will launch the first EBV-F program in November of 2010. Applications will be accepted beginning in April of 2010.
More to follow, but if you know of someone who might be interested in this outstanding and FREE program, send them my way and I’ll get them the information they need. This is a FANTASTC program.
The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans’ Families (EBV-F) is an education and training program offered by the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship at the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. The program leverages the flexibility inherent in small business ownership to provide a vocational and economic ‘path-forward’ for military family members who are now caregivers to a wounded warrior - or for the surviving spouse of a military member who gave his or her life in service to our country. The EBV-F program integrates training in small business management, with caregiver and family issues, positioning the family member to launch and grow a small business in a way that is complementary or enhancing to other family responsibilities.
Modeled after the existing Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) initiative, the EBV Families program will be offered without any cost to accepted applicants. The Whitman School of Management will launch the first EBV-F program in November of 2010. Applications will be accepted beginning in April of 2010.
More to follow, but if you know of someone who might be interested in this outstanding and FREE program, send them my way and I’ll get them the information they need. This is a FANTASTC program.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Ten9Eight Shoot for the Moon
Last night before Chris Gardner’s class here at the Whitman School, he told me about a new movie on youth entrepreneurship. Then this morning, in a phone conversation with Phil McNeill of Virginia, he tells me the same thing. When two guys like this tell you to do something…well, I just have to pay attention.
Take a look at Ten9Eight Shoot for the Moon. It’s a wonderful story about inner city youths and a business plan competition. It’s being shown on Sunday (yes, before the Super Bowl, so it won’t interfere) on BET at noon. Take a look at the trailer, and then set the TIVO and make sure you record it. Or as the columnist Thomas Friedman put it: "Obama should arrange for this movie to be shown in every classroom in America. It is the most inspirational, heartwarming movie you will ever see."- Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times, January 23, 2010
Take a look at Ten9Eight Shoot for the Moon. It’s a wonderful story about inner city youths and a business plan competition. It’s being shown on Sunday (yes, before the Super Bowl, so it won’t interfere) on BET at noon. Take a look at the trailer, and then set the TIVO and make sure you record it. Or as the columnist Thomas Friedman put it: "Obama should arrange for this movie to be shown in every classroom in America. It is the most inspirational, heartwarming movie you will ever see."- Thomas L. Friedman, The New York Times, January 23, 2010
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