About Social Media Today
Do it right
There is too much information about Internet marketing for most to digest. Decisions based on real world situations and expectations are needed more than ever. If Internet marketing is right for you, then execute it in a way that makes it stay right. Doing it just to do it will not work.
It’s all about you know who
When I think about who I spend most of my time with, it’s entrepreneurs. When I think about who really drives innovation, it’s entrepreneurs. When I think about the core of any entrepreneurial community (or ecosystem, or whatever you want to call it), it’s entrepreneurs. When I think about the history (and future) of innovation in the US, it’s all about entrepreneurs.
Those Congressional critters…
The self-righteous feigned outrage of our congress critters over the AIG bonuses is enough to make a grown man barf. Coming from 535 men and women who waste more money every day before they brush their teeth than the AIG executives got, it's just not very convincing. These folks were so frantic to push through the bill that provided the cash for these bonuses -- and that in fact specifically protected them -- that they refused to wait an extra day to let anyone read the bill that was written in secret in Congressional back rooms.
Beware the strawberry-flavored ones
Business partners come in different flavors, like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. There are active partners – the ones who are toiling at their desks and have rolled up their sleeves with you. There are silent partners – often the ones who have given your company a shot of well-needed capital, and hang back to see how well you grow their investment. And then there are the very silent partners – the ones who sit on the sidelines and watch your progress, with their hearts and hopes in their mouths. Those are your spouses, family, and significant others. Their support (or lack of it) can have a major impact on our businesses, too.
What? Me innovate?
Most small businesses do not describe themselves as innovators or use the term "innovation" to describe new products, business processes or methods. Instead small business owners and managers use words like tweak, adjust, improve, fix, etc., to describe innovative practices and even innovative new products.
More than the money
Success is not just about creating wealth. While that is part of the equation, it cannot be the sole function we play. Entrepreneurs must also understand the role that they and their employees play in building communities and society, and the impact that they can have in shaping our culture. I believe that this understanding is the first step on the road to creating a true sense of what it really means to be a business professional and to begin to grasp the immense weight of the responsibility entrepreneurs have to our society.
If the thrill is gone…
Think about your job, your purpose, your mission, your vision for your life. Then listen quietly. Is that BB King's “The Thrill is Gone” playing in the background? Now, you're wondering if it's been there, playing, for awhile... and you just haven't heard it? Until now. And now you've taken the first step. You're aware. And the next step will probably be... anger, frustration, agitation, impatience. Good. Use it. Fire that puppy up. Use it to light a path back to your passion.
Slip sliding away
Opinions on the nature of business leadership frequently include mention of ethics, much in the same way that critics of medical education bemoan the lack of bedside manners among doctors. As long as ethics are viewed as a voluntary market externality, we're never going to see enough ethical business practices to overcome the ever-present tendency for economies (and societies) to slide into amoral muck.
—Jonathan Salem Baskin: “Ethics Are Worthless”
And you are?
One of the uncomfortable truths that social media is hoisting upon us is that the clear separation between our personal and professional lives that most of our parents enjoyed during their careers is now nothing more than an illusion, if we even try to keep up the facade.
