Morning Standard Operating Procedure (TMI Category)

This post may fall under the TMI category. What do you do first thing in the morning? I mean after you pee. For most people it’s check their iPhone for Facebook and Twitter updates. And that’s before they brush their teeth.

Airline pilots use a Standard Operating Procedure before each flight. They check their plane from top to bottom to ensure that they’re ready to fly. Developing your own SOP is a good idea. You already have one, by the way,  whether you realize it or not. It was the answer to the question I asked you above.

Every morning (after I pee) I get in the shower and while I’m washing my body and shampooing my hair I recite out loud the thirty principles outlined in Dale Carnegie’s book “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. Then I do it again. Then I recite out loud the “Self-Confidence Formula” outlined in Napoleon Hill’s book “Think and Grow Rich”. And then I do it again. Yup. Out loud. Twice. Every morning.

That usually takes me up to right about the time that I’m ready to get out of the shower. Yeah, I’ve been reciting these things for so long that I can do it pretty quickly, but I don’t rush it. Even though I’ve repeated these things thousands and thousands of times (and I often repeat them on stage too) I focus fully and concentrate on the words. I don’t just recite them without thinking about the meaning. And that’s the key. It’s not that I’ve got all this stuff memorized. You’d have them memorized too after repeating them thousands of times (there’s a lesson there). The question is whether it’s making an impact on you. And by extension the people around you.

Start the morning by developing your best attitude. Your day will reflect it. And your life will be a lot more fun and positive. What can you do to ensure that your head is on straight before you head out the door?

 

Happy People

Happy people are better clients.

Happy people refer more business.

Happy people perform better work.

Happy people are a joy to get together with.

Happy people spend more and are repeat customers.

Happy people become raving fans.

Happy people make life a lot more fun and profitable.

And yet so few people invest time in studying how to make people happy.

Become a black belt in happiness creation.

You’ll be happy you did.

Most Social Media Questions Aren’t Social Media Questions

After speaking, training, and writing books about Social Media for over nine years, I can completely assure you that most questions people ask regarding Social Media aren’t Social Media questions. They’re relationship questions. They’re also networking questions, but I’m gonna include networking questions in the relationship category.

When you were learning to drive you probably didn’t ask many questions about transmissions and brake calipers. You probably asked questions about traffic signals, signs and speed. You don’t need to be an auto mechanic to drive a car.

Connecting with people on Social Media platforms is just the first step. Not the last, as a lot of people think. Now the relationship begins.

And this is when your character shows up. If you’re someone who’s just collecting “Likes”, “Follows”, and “Friends”, you’re in deep doo-doo, because after they connect with you, you have no idea what to do next. And no, the answer isn’t “Sell ’em something.” People don’t like feeling like a commodity. Do you?

Study relationship skills. Any idiot can teach you how to use Social Media for marketing, branding, and blah-blah-blah, and many idiots do. Social Media for relationships is a different animal. And if someone doesn’t know how to build, enhance and maintain relationships offline, tell me how they’re gonna know how to do it online. They won’t. They’re out of their league.

Yes, learn the basic mechanics of Social Media sites and then double down on relationship skills. You’ll never worry about where to find your next job, client, project or opportunity again. You’ll be a mosquito in a nudist colony.

Follow Friday Everyday

Those of us who use Twitter a lot are familiar with the hashtag #FF, which stands for Follow Friday. On Fridays, many people tweet #FF followed by the Twitter handles of people they’re recommending that their followers should also follow. Got that? It’s a nice way to pay it forward and drive visibility to people you see value in who your followers may have never heard of.

Don’t think you have to wait for Fridays to promote other people. And don’t think this only has to do with Twitter. Be a “Do It Now” person. If there’s someone you think deserves some recognition, do it now. Sure, wait until Friday to do the whole #FF thing, but don’t be afraid to post something on your Social Media platforms letting people know that you consider this person to be awesome.

The only recognition that many people get in life is when they screw something up. And they usually already know they screwed up and they don’t need someone reminding them of it. Take a different route. Sneak up and catch people doing something right. And then let other people know about it.

Follow Friday is Twitter’s way of paying it forward. Paying it forward on a daily basis whether online or offline is a great habit to develop. And you don’t have to wait until Friday to do it. Spread the love. How will you pay it forward today?

Share Your Unique Voice

We can’t outrun our character. And that’s a good thing. In a more and more interconnected world, when we sincerely strive to add massive value what goes around comes around.

A lot of folks think they have to “be” a certain way on Social Media. Here’s the nine-hundred pound elephant in the middle of the room: if you’re trying to present yourself as anything other than what you really are, you will be found out very quickly and any knowable, likeable, trustable traits you’ve been attempting to present will be shattered.

You’re unique. Just like everyone else. You were designed a certain way and to attempt to be anything that you’re not is a lesson in futility. Be what you are while continually getting better at being you.

Share yourself, what’s interesting to you, your passions and your enthusiasm. That’s your unique voice.

The Simplest Success Formula Ever

Step One: Clearly define what you want to have, do, or become.

Step Two: Do the work.

The irony is that 95% of the population never does Step One. Complete Step One and the work is a pleasure. It’s actually not even work at that point. Work is doing something you don’t want to do, when you don’t want to do it, with people you don’t want to do it with, for unsatisfactory compensation. Why would you do that? ?

You Are What You Tweet

In regards to our bodies, we know that we are what we eat.

In our conversations, we know that what’s in our thoughts eventually comes out of our mouths.

In Social Media, we can’t out-run our character.

You are what you tweet.

On Twitter, are you tweeting things of value that help, inform, educate, and encourage people?

And then are you engaging with those peeps to create mutually beneficial, win-win relationships?

It will serve you well to remember that people have always been able to figure you out by what you say and what you do.

Social Media just allows people to identify the Value Generators much, much more quickly.

Tweet well.

 

Flex Your LinkedIn Muscles

We all know that anything that’s not used, gets flabby. This applies to your body, attitude, and your LinkedIn account.

With over 150,000,000 LinkedIn users, the average user being over 40 years old, and the average user earning over $100,000, can you really afford to let your LinkedIn utilization become flabby? This is an extremely desirable group of folks to network with.

Just like you should do some exercise every day, you should spend 15 minutes on LinkedIn every day.

Before you check your email in the morning, spend 15 minutes on LinkedIn seeing what’s happening with your network connections. Who’s got a new job, who has posted a new Profile picture, who has just received a Recommendation from someone?

There are so many ways to stay in touch with your connections and to add value and appreciation to their lives.

When we don’t exercise, it shows. And when we don’t flex our LinkedIn muscles, it shows too. It shows by being out of work for a long time, lack of referrals, a hardening of the attitudes and lots of other signs that you’re surviving but not really living.

Please feel free to send me a LinkedIn connection request. I have over 20,000,000 LinkedIn connections, and when I accept your invitation it will add between 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 connections to your account. Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, Joyous Hanukkah, and Glorious Festivus. Festivus is for the Seinfeld fans.

Get in shape, baby.

 

 

Be An Encourager

The only time most folks get any recognition is when they screw something up. And most of the time they already know they screwed it up and don’t need someone else shoving it in their face.

I’m no management guru, but I know one thing that will help people perform better and make them feel better about themselves and also about you. Sneak up and catch them doing something right.

And even if you’re not catching them doing something right, a little encouragement goes a long way. Let people know that you believe in them and make sure you’re sincere about it.

Who can you encourage live in the flesh today, and also on Social Media platforms? It takes so little to spread a little sunshine and the return for doing so (for everyone involved including you) is so large that it’s pretty much a no-brainer. Encourage people.

Who Are Your Five?

Years ago, a man I respect a lot told me to identify the five people who I spend the most time with, and add up their incomes. He said that my income would be about the average of the five. And when I did what he suggested, I found out that he was right.

This works with a lot more than money. Observe the attitudes, family relationships, health, and spirituality of the five people you spend the most time with and you’ll probably find that the corresponding areas of your life are probably also the average of their’s.

And you don’t need to be physically with these people all the time. Who are you hanging out with on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc?

This is very good news. Because you get to choose your five. Is there anyone you need to remove from your five? Is there anyone you need to add to your five? Choose wisely.

 

Opt-Out Of The Negative

We all receive email, newsletters, sales pitches and other forms of communication that we can opt-out of. We opt-out because we have no interest in what the person is sending our way. Sometimes we even wonder how we got on their list in the first place.

When people around you start being negative, start complaining, moaning about the weather, the economy, the Democrats, the Republicans, Kim Kardashian, their lazy spouse, the crappy traffic, or whatever, just opt-out.

Say politely, “My well-being, my family’s financial stability, my closest relationships, and my long-term success is dependent on my ability to focus on the positive and this conversation is putting everything valuable to me in jeopardy, so I must politely remove myself from the discussion.” And then smile and walk away.

You’re too special to get bogged down in that crap. Life is too short to focus on the negative. You’re not in denial that there are rotten things in the world to talk about, you’re just choosing not to participate.

You may find that some of the smallest changes you make in your environment make the biggest changes in your life.

Social Media Is About Speaking To People Individually

Disclaimer: This post may sound like a rant, but it’s not. It’s a simple interpersonal tip that will produce massive results for you.

I see a lot of people post things on Social Media platforms that have words in the message like, “Good morning everyone!”, “Hey folks….” and “Thank you all.”

People who use Social Media most effectively understand that they’re talking to people individually. And they communicate as if they are speaking to just one person. Because they are.

Remember that adults are just kids with long, hairy legs and that a lot of people feel the need to puff themselves up (due to their fragile self-images) and want to look like they have a massive following and that they’re important. So they’ll use verbiage that sends a message that is intended to look like they are communicating with masses of folks.

The irony is that the folks with some level of influence tend to get those followings because they make people feel special and create an intimacy in their communications.

Focus on Social YOUdia, not Social MEdia. Speak to people individually. That’s how true relationships are created.

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Timely Follow-Up Will Always Be Important

We’re all running faster than we’ve ever run before. And when we’re cruising at Mach 5 with our hairline on fire things tend to fall through the cracks.

With the ever-increasing amount of LinkedIn connection requests, Facebook posts, tweets, and a million other things including email that come at us every day, it’s easy to get backed up. Social Media Constipation.

It’s still important to get back to people in a timely manner and it will always be important. This is something that I work on on a daily basis. Sometimes I’m on top of my communications and sometimes I’m backed up. Way backed up.

It would be easy for you and me to use the “I’m so busy” excuse. But that’s a cop-out. We make time for the things that are important to us. And our relationships are very important. People may forget what we say, but they never forget how we make them feel. And making them wait in limbo for a reply doesn’t make them feel good.

I’m committed to getting better at this. How about you?

Let Other People Toot Your Horn

There are a lot of self-professed “Social Media Guru’s” out there. I think that many people call themselves guru’s because they can’t spell “charlatan.”

When you deliver massive value, the word gets around. All things being equal, people do business with and refer business to people they know, like, and trust. Not people who call themselves “guru’s.”

It’s kinda like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are….maybe you’re not.

Someone tooting their own horn is actually telling people a lot more about themselves than they realize. And it’s not a good thing they’re telling about themselves.

Add massive value. What goes around comes around. Let other people toot your horn. Do awesome work and they’ll toot your horn all day long. Don’t worry about the tooting. Just massively deliver the goods.

 

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Ask And It Shall Be Given Unto You

There’s an old saying in the sales biz that goes, “You no ask, you no get.” And it’s an old saying because it’s true.

There’s an even older saying from a pretty famous book that goes, “Ask and it shall be given unto you.” This is the positive version of the old sales adage.

When you meet people in person or on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or wherever, ask them how you may help them in some way. And if you’re in a position to help them, do it.

What goes around comes around. But don’t offer to help people so that they’ll owe you. Do it because it’s a reflection of your giving nature and pay-it-forward attitude.

Timid salespeople have skinny kids.

This isn’t necessarily about sales, but really about human relations. Not offering to help people doesn’t serve anyone. Not the withholder nor the withholdee.

Your success may be as close as your next offer of assistance.

Don’t Be A Drive-By Social Media Connector

It’s nice to have a lot of Friends on Facebook, Connections on LinkedIn and Followers on Twitter, but don’t let the numbers fool you. Every connection regardless of the Social Media platform is an opportunity to add value to someone and to create a mutually beneficial, win-win relationship.

Many people are “drive-by connecting” with people. They’re just trying to increase their numbers in an egotistical manner. This isn’t everyone by any means, but it’s certainly a lot of people. Just look at the evidence.

A drive-by connection is someone who “friends, connects, or follows” and they’re then off to the Social Media Witness Relocation Program. You never hear from them again. Nothing, nada, bupkiss, goose egg.

When connecting with someone, send them a personal message acknowledging them and asking if you may help them in some way. You may be surprised at some of the wonderful replies you get. Most people are nice if you’re nice to them. And huge doors of opportunities swing on tiny hinges.

Don’t be a drive-by connector. If you’re going to connect with someone, then connect. At least stick your virtual hand out and say hi and offer to start a relationship. The right people will reply and then you’re on your path to many mutually beneficial, win-win relationships. And that’s a sweet way to live.

It’s Never Been Easier To Get Better At Whatever You Want

There’s never been an easier time than now for you to get better at whatever you want to get better at. And nothing has really changed over the centuries in terms of figuring out how to get better. Determine what you want to excel at and find the resources that will teach you how to get better.

In the old days, you’d go to the library or subscribe to some pricey journal on your field of interest. Now, with the internet, Social Media, blogs, etc. you have an almost unlimited number of resources available to you.

I suggest that you find people who are really good at what you want to get better at. Friend them and/or like their Fan Page on Facebook, invite them to connect with you on LinkedIn, and follow them on Twitter. You’re not stalking, you’re learning by observing. Watch what they post. Study their content. They’re probably giving you the information that not too long ago you would have had to pay big money for. And now, most of it is free. In a good economy, free is good. In an economy as it says in the good book, “an economy that sucketh”, free is really good.

There’s no excuse anymore for not becoming great at whatever you want. And don’t use the time excuse. Everyone has 24 hours in their day. We invest our time in whatever is important to us. Decide to get great at whatever you want. You’re a kid in a candy store.

 

Who Did You Touch This Week?

While success is composed of a number of things, it’s pretty much agreed upon that our long-term success will be dependent on our ability to build and maintain relationships. The best kind of relationships are mutually beneficial, win-win relationships.

Friday is a good time to look back over your week and see who you’ve interacted with and whether you’ve added value to everyone who has crossed your path. Take a few minutes and look back over your calendar for the week. See who you communicated with whether in person, by email, or perhaps on Social Media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Was your interaction positive? Did it add value to the other person? Did it lead to a stronger bond? Did you offer help in some way and pay it forward?

If not, pick up the phone or drop an email to the person and let them know that you’re thinking of them and you want to build a stronger relationship with them and ask them how they would like to see that happen.

If you did have a great interaction with them, pick up the phone or drop them an email letting them know that you enjoyed your conversation or meeting and that you’re looking forward to seeing or communicating with them again.

It takes so little to be above average. Don’t treat relationships willy-nilly by leaving them to chance. Your success depends on it.

Gain Client Engagement By Being Engaging

We hear a lot in the business world about gaining client/customer engagement. I’m a simple country boy, and although I did grow up in New Jersey, I think there were more cows and horses in my home town than people. Client engagement is a fancy word for happy, repeat clients. KISS : Keep It Simple Sweetie

Folks can keep their metrics, analytics, NASA computations and so on. I’ll stick with what Dale Carnegie taught years ago: “You can make more friends in two months by becoming genuinely interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.”

Engagement is not about advertising, spamming, stalking or any other intrusive ways of dealing with people. The easiest and fastest way to gain engagement is by being engaging. Let me repeat that, the easiest and fastest way to gain engagement is by being engaging. I just saved you over $100,000 in a marketing degree. Maybe next time you see me, buy me a glass of wine. I like New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs.

Being engaging is about taking a sincere interest in other people and letting them know that you appreciate and care about them. And it better be sincere. People are pretty smart and they know when they’re dealing with a real person and when they’re not. Be real. Be sincere. Show appreciation. Be engaging.

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Get Back To The Basics Of Social Media

I’ve been off the road for a little bit and I’ve been getting back to the basics of connecting with people. Even though I speak all over the USA and internationally on a weekly basis on the subjects of Social Media, Networking, Personal Development, and Relationship Building, it’s easy to fall out of the habit of connecting with people like we should.

What if every morning you got up a little earlier and checked in on your LinkedIn account to see who’s changed their photo, updated their profile, started a new job, joined a new group, received a recommendation or any of a ton of other updates that LinkedIn can provide you with. And then what if you sent them a brief personal message congratulating them or at least acknowledging that you’re interested in their success?

What if you also looked at your Facebook account and congratulated your friends on their birthdays, acknowledged their kids’ achievements, liked their pictures, and engaged in conversations with them?

And what if you looked at your Twitter account and took a few minutes to find some new interesting people to follow? What if you sent a few direct messages to the people you’re following letting them know that you appreciate them? What if you retweeted some of their tweets and gave them more visibility out in the Twittersphere?

These are very good practices to get into. And they’re profitable. Let me be very clear here: you don’t do these things so that people will owe you or because you have some ulterior motive like bugging the crap out of people so that hopefully they’ll buy from you or hire you. You do it because it’s the right thing to do. And ironically, the money and the opportunities show up. All things being equal, people do business with and refer business to people they know, like, and trust.

What are you doing to develop your “Know-Like-Trust Factor”? Get back to the basics. Invest a little time everyday in your relationships. You’ll be so glad that you did.