As we all become more and more connected, we’re finding that it still takes time to build relationships. We have the ability to learn tremendous amounts about people from a distance hiding behind our computers. I’m not talking about stalking here. Stalking is trying to find out something about someone that they don’t want you to find out about them. I’m talking about looking at their Social Networking profiles and figuring out who they represent themselves to be and determining if this is someone you’d like to connect with. We can add connections with lightning-like speed, but relationships still take time, and always will. Just because you’re connected to everybody and their brother doesn’t mean that you have a relationship with everyone and their brother. And it doesn’t mean you should have a relationship with everyone and their brother. You can’t. There just isn’t enough time in one lifetime. So …
Here’s to a Blessed 2011!
Well, we made it. For many folks, 2010 was somewhat of a nightmare. Unless you were living on an island somewhere with a volleyball named Wilson, you know what I’m talking about. 2010 is behind us, so let’s start 2011 the right way. Let’s be thankful for all that happened in 2010. Even the crappy things. Gratitude wakes us up and helps us realize that it’s not what happens, but how we handle it. If you’re only grateful for the good things that happen, is that really gratitude? Gratitude is an attitude. It’s the attitude that no matter what happens, it’s all a lesson and something we can learn from, even if it’s learning what not to do. That’s called wisdom. You can get bitter or you can get better. Let’s start 2011 with the attitude that everything is a blessing, even if we don’t realize it at the time. …
How to Politely Decline a LinkedIn Recommendation Request
Having a robust LinkedIn Profile which portrays you and your credentials in the most favorable light is a must-have in today’s competitive business world. Having a robust LinkedIn Profile which includes Recommendations from clients, co-workers, managers, former co-workers and employees, etc. differentiates you from others in your profession. As more and more people are realizing the power of LinkedIn, people are learning that they can and should be asking for endorsements to add to their Profiles. The key thing to remember is that it is not appropriate to ask for a Recommendation from a person who is not in a position to recommend you. Most people don’t fully understand how to use LinkedIn most effectively and they are sending out a blanket Recommendation Request message to all their 1st Degree Connections. When you are not in a position to recommend someone who has sent you a Recommendation Request give them …
Thoreau Was Right
“Men have become tools of their tools.” -Henry David Thoreau Thoreau wrote those words a long time ago. And I’m sure they were appropriate back then. And we all know that they’re very appropriate now. There’s a current cell phone ad that points this out brilliantly with people banging into each other and tripping over things while they’re staring incessantly at their cell phones. When did it become acceptable to ignore people and become obsessed with electronics? I don’t claim to be much better than anyone else when it comes to electronic addiction, but I’m getting a lot better. I had to hit bottom before I was ready to come back up for air. And that’s a lot what it’s like – fighting for air. With every new gadget, app, and toy we’re fighting for air, also known as concentration. It may serve us well to set boundaries for our …
Social Media Update
What a year it’s been for Social Media. The nature of Social Media is that it’s changing very quickly – actually day to day. Even if you work in Social Media it’s difficult to stay up with all the changes that are happening. Let’s take a look at some of the things happening on “The Big Three”, commonly referred to as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter as we approach the end of 2010. LinkedIn LinkedIn has really been upping their game lately. There are now over 85,000,000 people with LinkedIn profiles worldwide. The average LinkedIn user is 41 years old and earns $107,000 a year. This is THE Social Networking site for professionals. Recently, LinkedIn has turned on some new bells and whistles on a number of places on the site. On the Company Pages, you now have the ability to add marketing materials, descriptions of products and services and client …
Everything is a “Tell”
Some rights reserved by I Feel Toast Being originally from Jersey, I have some Jerseyisms in my speech that will probably never go away. One of those Jerseyisms is the word “tell.” This is also a Vegas expression. There are few things I enjoy more than watching and listening to people. When I speak in Vegas, I love spending time in the casinos. I don’t spend money in the casinos but I do spend time there. You’ll often see people at the gambling tables wearing dark sunglasses and hats. They’re not doing this because they’re trying to be fashion icons. They’re doing this to hide their “tells.” Tells are things that give us away. They’re clues. And we’re giving them away all the time. Women tend to pick up on tells quicker than men. Not trying to be sexist here, but let’s face it…women just tend to see things coming …
Adults are Just Kids with Long Hairy Legs
There are few things I enjoy more than people watching. I can sit for hours and watch people. When you watch people you learn a lot about them. Like how some people are very comfortable in their own skin and how others try hard to be something they’re not. Isn’t if funny how we sometimes think we have to act a certain way? I’m writing this in a kid’s indoor amusement park. It’s a place that Karin and I sometimes bring the kids and today my son is here for a classmate’s birthday party. I’m sitting in the large dining room catching up on some email and watching people. It’s pretty funny. You see the parents that are trying to look like they have it all together and you see the parents that are relaxed and having a lot of fun. I think that we parents can learn a lot …
Don’t Forget the Social in Social Media
Social Media is sweeping around the world extremely quickly. You can't go anywhere without hearing about Facebook or seeing a LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter logo on something. It's an amazing time to be alive. Our kids who are growing up with this don't know any different. This is just the way it is. And it's not going away. Some people are using Social Media in stealth mode, meaning they're observing and not engaging in online conversations. Actually, stealth mode is a very powerful tool in your bag when you're keeping tabs on your competition and watching what people are talking about. This information can be very valuable to you if you're thinking about launching a business or introducing a new product or service. But don't forget the social in Social Media. Many people are hiding behind their computers. I've heard it said that this is a very lonely …
LinkedIn Ups Its Game
For a long time LinkedIn has been quietly working on the sidelines of the Social Networking scene. Actually, it hasn't been, it's just seemed that way to many people. I was fortunate to start using LinkedIn in the summer of 2003 shortly after its launch, and it's been very interesting to see LinkedIn change and morph over the last 7 years. I've seen an increase in the adoption of LinkedIn by business people especially over the last 24 months. For a number of years I felt like I was the lone voice in the wilderness telling people that they should have a LinkedIn profile for job searching and many other business purposes. Many people looked at me kind of oddly and thought I was making a big deal out of this LinkedIn thing. They're not thinking that now. I wrote a blog post in June announcing that LinkedIn had just …
Gratitude is the Attitude
Gratitude is the Attitude These are times when a lot of people are unsure of the future and downright scared. The media doesn’t help instill much of a feeling of confidence, either. Like a garden, we tend to get more of what we plant. So, if we’re planting fear in our minds we will get more of it. I’m not suggesting that we stick our heads in the sand and live in denial that these are difficult times. Hiding from reality just delays the inevitable. I’m suggesting that even while we’re dealing with the daily barrage of negative, we should look for and appreciate the good things that we have in our lives. Of all the tools to combat depression, anxiety, negativity, and physical or emotional illness, gratitude is the most effective – and the easiest – method. Many people have taken up certain practices like yoga, exercise and better …
Little Things are Indicators of Bigger Things
UPFRONT DISCLAIMER: Kevin Knebl is not a psychologist. The information in this post is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This information is provided for your general information only. Kevin Knebl does not give medical or psychological advice or engage in the practice of psychology or medicine. Kevin Knebl under no circumstances recommends particular treatment for specific individuals and in all cases recommends that you consult your physician or local treatment center before pursuing any course of treatment. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk. We all do certain things on a daily basis that enable us to make a living and enjoy our lives. There are also many things that we do on a daily basis that may not be serving us very well. Let’s talk about these unproductive things briefly in the hope of reducing …
A Very Effective Appreciation Marketing Strategy
In this fast paced Web 3.0 world, there are some time proven strategies that are even easier to implement now than they were back when an eight-track player was state of the art technology. People who take the time to learn about their prospects, clients, referral sources and networking partners win over the people who don’t. Only every time. For years I’ve been telling my audiences to learn about The Mackay 66. Harvey Mackay is the owner of an envelope company and he’s always taught his salespeople to use what he calls “The Mackay 66”. It’s a simple questionnaire that you populate over time as you learn more about your prospects and clients. Everything from where they went to school to what status symbols are in their office to their favorite drink. Here’s a downloadable PDF of The Mackay 66: http://www.harveymackay.com/pdfs/mackay66.pdf Gathering this information is doing your due diligence. You …
How to Make People Feel Appreciated on 10 Minutes A Day
People who succeed know that “all things being equal, people do business with and refer business to people they know, like, and trust.” So how do we grow our “Know, Like, Trust Factor” or what I call our “Like-Ability”? One way to do this is to compliment people. And to do it sincerely. For most people, the only recognition they receive is when they screw something up. And ironically, most of the time they already know they screwed it up and don’t appreciate other people reminding them. Any mediocre manager can point out what people have done wrong. As Dale Carnegie said,”Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain. And most fools do.” There’s a huge difference between a manager and a leader but we’ll save that for another post. In order to make people feel appreciated….ready….wait for it….appreciate them. Rocket science, huh? I’m not smart enough to learn Harvard Business …
Passion Gets Your Attention
I was lying on the bed last evening surfing the channels while Karin was making dinner in the kitchen. I don’t typically watch a lot of news, but as I was passing the news with Brian Williams, he was interviewing someone and I stopped on the channel. The reason I stopped was because the person he was interviewing was exuding passion. And not the trumped up kind. This guy was sincere. His name is Geoffrey Canada and he is the CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone. This guy is passionate about helping kids. It is oozing out of him. I like that. You can tell that this guy walks his talk and you don’t see that every day. It was interesting to observe his style and Brian Williams’ style. Brian is cool and reserved as you would expect of a newscaster. Geoffrey was wearing his heart on his sleeve and …
How’s Your Like-Ability Factor?
All things being equal, people do business with and refer business to people they know, like, and trust. True as gravity. Always has been and always will be. We know this intuitively and yet so few people take the time to increase their “Like-Ability Factor.” I think that people would invest the time to increase their Like-Ability Factor if they knew the returns that it would provide them. Our likeability isn’t about insincerity or manipulation. At least not the way that most people think about manipulation. Actually, if you look up manipulation in the dictionary, it means “to handle skillfully.” I’m guessing that most people would love to be handled skillfully instead of treated poorly. It’s a no-brainer. We are programmed to think that the more degrees we have and the higher up the ladder we climb the better off we are. I don’t know that that’s accurate. Our likeability …
It Takes So Little To Be Above Average
We hear in the media that opportunities are scarce and that these are tough times. Yes, they are tough times but there are ways to position yourself more favorably for opportunities. And some of the best ways have nothing to do with advanced degrees. I’m a big fan of common sense. And while I don’t claim to have the market cornered on common sense (just ask my wife), I have learned some things over the years. I think that one of the best ways to attract success is to do just a little more than the next guy. This is so easy that it’s almost laughable. Most folks are doing just enough to not get fired. They’re pretty average. Now, don’t think that this is a value judgment on people, it’s an observation. Everyone has worth as a person but many people act like they don’t realize it. We tend …
Be Enthusiastic And Attract Success
When we are kids we tend to have a vibrant appreciation of life. Sometime between being a kid and being an adult that sense of wonderment gets stifled for most people. That’s unfortunate, since adults are just kids with long, hairy legs. What does this have to do with networking or business? A lot, actually. All things being equal, people do business with and refer business to people they know, like and trust. One of the key words in that statement is “like.” People like people who take a sincere interest in them. People like people who are happy. People like people who bring joy to other people. People like people who are likeable. Notice that’s “like-able”. When we’re enthusiastic, others tend to become enthusiastic also. Enthusiasm actually means, “God within”. But we’ll leave that for another post. Act enthusiastic, be enthusiastic. I’m not talking about bouncing off the walls …
Appreciation Makes The Difference
Learning to develop an appreciative attitude and expressing appreciation is a very important life skill. Being appreciative shows that we have an attitude of gratitude. In today’s busy world we sometimes forget how much we can be appreciative of. All we have to do is open our eyes to all the blessings that surround us. We’re mosquitoes in a nudist colony of abundance. When we don’t appreciate the blessings in our lives we probably have also forgotten some of the interpersonal niceties that make life easier. Things like saying please and thank you. As simplistic as it may sound, these simple words can work wonders in our lives. Our parents taught us these things for a reason. They’re a form of politeness and also a way to attract things into our lives. We get what we give. So when we are appreciative of other people they are appreciative of us. …
Do You Have Customers or Friends?
In business as in personal life we know that we should stay in touch with people. The old saying “Out of sight, out of mind” is really true. That’s why it’s an old saying. We do forget about people that we don’t see or hear from frequently. In a more and more hyper-competitive, over-caffeinated, Crackberry, 24/7/365 world it’s easy to lose touch with people and most people do. Many people are looking for ways to keep their name or their company’s name in front of people. My simple philosophy on this is “Be a friend.” Now before you think this is some starry-eyed, kumbaya, group hug post let me point out something. For the seriously jaded folks that think “we just have to keep pitching our product or services all the time”…how’s that working out? I’m guessing not so good. What’s that definition of insanity again? “Doing the same thing …
Keep Your LinkedIn Status Updated by Adding Value
On LinkedIn you have an opportunity to communicate with your Connections called a Status Update. This is a box on your LinkedIn Profile where you can post things. When you log into your LinkedIn account you automatically see your Connections’ most recent Status Updates with the most current one at the top of the page. This is a great opportunity to keep your name in front of people in a non-stalker, non-spammer like fashion. In my opinion, many people are using Social Media in a way that’s not producing the results they desire. This is how many of them are using Social Media: “Buy my product, buy my product, buy my product, buy my product, the competition sucks, buy my product.” And then they wonder why no one buys their product. Who wants a non-stop sales pitch? I know that I don’t. These folks aren’t engaging in Social Media – …