Gary Vaynerchuk explains how Google recently changed it's search algorithm. This is a HUGE shift, it's not a fad. Social media continues to evolve and disrupt...and it's getting deeper. Imagine how search will change now that it is becoming more and more social? If you haven't gotten involved, you are way behind. The ROI of social media will take six months to a year. The major investment is in your time. It's a process, so don't treat it like a project. Be patient, many have given up because they got into it thinking they were going to make $$$ right away - this kind of approach is completely wrong. You have to build relationships and gain trust before you can start selling your stuff. Once you've carefully invested the time and proven that you care, you will begin to see the sales come in from your social media efforts. Trying to sell and push products before relationships are established is just spamming and it's tacky. The best advice I can give is to get into social media to listen, learn, and share. Be generous, respectful, and kind. Share your personal story, opinion, expertise, and spin on the issues that affect you. Trust me, if you share meaningful content people will listen. Everyone loves a good story. It takes time to build a tribe so get started. Listen+Learn+Share.
I've been enjoying these amazing TED Business Talks on my awesome new LG Tone Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headset with my iPhone 5 on my 19 minute drive to work. It's so refreshing to gain such amazing insight and knowledge every morning before I dive into work. Here are three perspicacious talks I hope you'll take the time to listen to this week
Thanks to Inc. columnist Jeff Haden, job candidates now know how to nail their next interview. In my opinion, the two worst things a candidate can NOT do are: - Show up without any questions of their own.
- Spend any time researching the organization and its strategic environment.
Jeff provides the three best questions any great job candidate should ask: - What time do you expect me to accomplish in the first 60-90 days? This shows that you want to hit the ground running. You don't want to waste the first few weeks or months "getting to know the organization" like a lazy government cog.
- What are the common attributes of your top performers? This is an excellent way to see if you're a good fit in the organization. It also communicates, "Hey, I want to be a top performer."
- What are the few things that drive results for the company? The best prospects know that in order to be successful, the organization needs to be successful too. Every worker must have a positive ROI...or what's the point, right? This communicates that you are a team player.
Read the full article here. Beyond just job interview, these principles apply to any organization you want to be involved in whether it's a professional association, volunteer group, or exclusive club. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. They way to show that you care is through careful and deliberate preparation.
 I'm particularly fond of sentences that start with, "You should..."
Actually, the truth is...I'm not. Neither should you. I recall a moment when I should on a coworker. I said "You should develop this product line." He replied, "I should do a lot of things."
I know what I would do in a situation, but I'm not you...and you're not me. I know, you know, and we all know that each of us would do different things in a given situation. So let it be, or present it in a different way. When you should-on someone you're just stressing them out. We are all busy and have tremendous workloads these days.
If you really believe in your idea and you're not just spouting off some worthless idea, then here's an alternative to dropping a big should on someone:
"I think this (insert your idea) would be a good idea, would you be interested in working on it with me?"
Paul Mitchell the School has a great culture. For the most part, creative students are excited to be there and they all have a million ideas for marketing, service, parties, events, hair styles etc. When a student comes up to a learning leader with a great idea and begins to should on them, the reply is, "Would you like to be the 'Creative Master' over this project?"
The ball gets passed back to the person with the idea to work on. If it's really worth it then they'll make it happen and hopefully ask for help. Ideas are great, we all have ideas, but it takes hard work to make them happen a reality...hard work that most people are not willing to do.
It's critical to be mindful that the people you lead come from all different faiths and backgrounds. I think as leaders we need to be reminded of this because we can forget and think ourselves above others.
A great way to ruin a relationship is by ignorantly attacking what someone else believes. Here's an example of how not to do it: I'm going to bet that Brandon Flowers has forgiven Richard Dawkins by now. What if they worked together? What if Richard was Brandon's manager? After this uncomfortable exchange do you think Brandon would look forward to coming to work and collaborating with Richard? Do you think he's going to enjoy sharing his ideas in meetings with him? Here's some advice: Don't be a bonehead. I wish managers would actually take the opportunity to lead and not focus on who's right and who's wrong. Imagine if their focus was on building bridges, coming together, and focusing on common ideas, interests, and beliefs. This is how one moves people forward in a position of leadership. The point is not to focus on what divides us, but rather what brings us together. Management must not think themselves above their employees. Focus should be on leading and seeking that higher ground so they can lift others up. At the heart of what they do must be service - giving, serving, coaching, and providing an example of how they want their people to lead, follow, and work. People will follow your example over what you say. I challenge you to be openminded of what other people believe, or don't believe for that matter. We are so fortunate to live in a country where we have this right and we should never take it for granted. Besides, listening to what others believe does not mean you have to believe it too. Take the next opportunity you get to share what you believe with someone, find out what values you share and what principles you agree on. Chances are you have more in common than you thought.
 You need 'something' from everyone you deal with, from clients to coworkers...vice presidents to supervisors...constituents to shareholders...friends to family...AND guess what? Everyone has biases, attitudes, and expectations. When you're dealing with someone you need 'something' from I recommend you adjust your worldview in order to reach them. This is a more effective approach than assuming everyone sees and hears the same (or different) thing as you. In a recent blog post, Seth Godin compared two very common worldviews that I'd like to touch on: BATMAN: He comes to the world angry. His origin story is filled with vengeance and revenge, and in his iconic backstory, he is the merciless enforcer of right and wrong. Batman-types see the world as a zero-sum game, and battles are either won or lost.SUPERMAN: He comes to our world with his gifts and sees his life as an opportunity and an obligation, one that he embraces. Superman could easily kill all the bad guys in a heartbeat, but he never does. For him, every challenge is an opportunity for healing. He believes in redemption and finds pleasure in using his gifts to help others.Picture yourself pitching a product to a room filled with Batman personalities. Now, how are you going to adjust what you planned to say? Speaking to this group will be tremendously different than speaking to a group of people who are more like Superman - advantaged and benevolent. There are many types of people with a variety of worldviews. It is impossible to have a healthy working relationship with people you need help from (and who need your help) if you do not adjust your worldview or attitude or biases or expectations. I hope you will work on your flexibility (think Spiderman), because as you do, you will increase the likelihood of reaching more compromises and getting help from other people.
Project Based Learning is where critical thinking, collaboration, and communication meet.
The easy way to teach would be to have students memorize information that could easily be Googled. Hey, it meets the status quo.
Or students can solve problems. Give them a project to work on, something they can experience and they will never forget the lessons learned.
In a world of information overload, it's nice to get some visuals in with all those numbers. I despise pages upon pages of statistics and raw numbers...but put some cool graphics in there and my opinion changes as does my attention span. In this TED talk David McCandless turns complex data sets (like worldwide military spending, media buzz, Facebook status updates) into beautiful, simple diagrams that tease out unseen patterns and connections. Good design, he suggests, is the best way to navigate information glut -- and it may just change the way we see the world. Data is the new Soil.
When you tell someone your goal, you can experience what's called a "social reality." The mind is tricked into thinking that you've already accomplished the goal and therefore after you've felt the satisfaction from saying it aloud, you are less motivated to do the hard work to really reach the goal.
But wait? I thought you were supposed to tell your friends your goals? Sorry, stop doing it. Scientific study trumps conventional wisdom on this one. Look at this TED talk by Derek Sivers and learn more.
Resist the temptation to announce your goals. Delay the gratification. I know it feels good to say what you're going to do, but imagine how you'd feel if you waited until you'd actually reached it? Make no mistake, the mind can mistake talking for doing.
When I took my first stats class I absolutely hated it because nothing made sense. It was like learning a new language: confidence levels, mean, correlation, standard deviation, poison, probability, z-score, binomial distribution, regression etc.
While I was preparing to fail the class something literally clicked in my brain and I managed to pull off an A that semester.
But beyond digesting statistical methods and tools...I learned something far more important. It can be summed up in this quote: Or just throw out some made up numbers: I've realized that there are three types of lies: I've also realized that sometimes people want you to lie to them, right?
My job is a tenure track position, so I have 5 years to prove I'm awesome before I can be promoted. This will be no problem because I am awesome...but I was recently told by a superior that I should include statistics in my promotion and tenure documentation and to "create charts and graphs that show the numbers going up." Well, if I'm going to be judged by the statistics I choose to provide then this is going to be fun!
My tenure committee may end up seeing a graph like this: And maybe a few like this too:
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