The Flurry Blog

We are all enjoying changing workplaces. Some of you are working from home a few days a week.  You may even bring your dog to work. Thanks for the hair by the way. (just kidding, I love dogs). We all are benefiting from the changes in the workplace. Bob Cratchit would be envious.

The man with the boots at zappos

Why is it then that some leaders are openly embracing these changes behind office doors but try to portray a different culture to the outside world.  They go to length to hide behind a facade of old school professionalism. They want the outside world, including clients and customers, to think that everything is ties and cubicles all around.  This is a result of fear.  What if our customers think we are slacking off?  What if any sign of staff enjoying their work comes across as lackadaisical?  Fear is driving survival. I stumbled upon one of my new favorite quotes today re-reading Seth Godin’s Linchpin.  “Survival and success are not the same thing.”

So what? As long as you are the best in your industry and your services are remarkable, none of it matters.  Loosen up. Show some skin (or boots). You might be surprised.  You might even get lucky and blow your competitors away.

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Growing up I learned a great deal about how things worked in the physical world from working outdoors with my father. Most days we would have at least a few hours to work on our property using a bright orange Kubota tractor. My job was linchpin keeper. If you change a part in the machine, you have to make sure you replace the linchpins or the whole thing will eventually fall apart. Seth Godin’s latest book is entitled Linchpin. A linchpin is indispensable and this title instantly made sense to me.

Linchpin is his 12th book. This one impacted me almost as much as his ninth book The Dip. In his most recent book, Tribes, he encouraged us to lead. In Linchpin he goes further, pleading with the reader to be the indispensable member of a tribe.

In our society linchpins are those individuals that hold things together. Yes, organizations might succeed or thrive for a while without them, but eventually as pressure is applied and structures are tested, things will fall apart. Mr. Godin clearly illustrates that we are in a critical time of history. The age of cogs and factories worked for a while, but everything has changed. A new breed of worker and leader are now required. We need linchpins to solve our problems, keep us connected, and inspire us with art. People who are linchpins are creative, good at connecting with others, and able to see solutions like no one else. They truly are indispensable.

As Seth Godin explains this concept to his readers, he turns their minds upside down in order to convince them that they are in some way capable of being one. It can be a bit disconcerting that he refrains from handing us a roadmap, since we are a society reared on self help books. Instead, he explains how we got here, criticizing the public education system for creating cogs to fill factories and consumers to buy what they produce. He quotes Woodrow Wilson in his argument that we get exactly what we focus on. In the end we wind-up with drones that do what they are told.

There is no shortage of pundits today that criticize the flaws of our education system, but few will offer a solution. He challenges teachers to inspire student to think instead of follow rulebooks and ace tests. He even goes as far as telling us to give ourselves a D for the rut we have fallen into.

In his chapter titled The Resistance he leaves the reader very unsettled and challenged to no longer be ruled by anxieties and everything that holds us into complacency. Throughout the book I could not help but reflect on the story told in the movie Apollo 13. Three linchpins stand out, each one indispensable to the mission. Astronaut Ken Mattingly puts away his frustration from being pulled from the mission to spend hours in the simulator to solve a problem and bring his friends home. Nasa Engineer and master innovator John Aaron works endlessly with Mattingly. In the film Gene Kranz played by Ed Harris makes the ultimate call for his linchpins to do what they do best, “Let’s work the problem people. Let’s not make things worse by guessing.” We love stories like this because we don’t really grow up hoping to be conveyor belt operators or stuck in cubicles doing meaningless work. We dream of changing our world.

Linchpin could be Mr. Godin’s greatest work so far. He treats the subject with history and sociology as well as a compelling mix of fact, story and philosophy. Using examples that will both shock and inspire, Linchpin leaves you feeling like you have no choice but to reassess your current situation and make the changes he so eloquently urges us toward.

I want to hear about linchpins you know. Leave a comment telling me about them.  I will choose my two favorite stories and send the authors a free copy of Linchpin. I can’t wait to read them. I will announce the winner in a few days.

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What goes through a marketer’s mind that makes them hire a booth babe? I can just imagine.  “Our product is a bit boring so let’s throw some sex at them.”  In the long run it does not pay off.  It is a leftover from traditional advertising.  It cracks me up to see men talking to scantily clad beauties as if the girl was an expert on the product.  Yeah, the customer will remember you but probably not what you were selling.

Here is an idea. Instead tell me a story, engage me in conversation, build a relationship with me.  Most of all let me use your product.  That is how you will make a lasting impression.  Your goal is to gain and hold the attention of your followers, not for two seconds via human billboards.

*Image in gallery above used under creative commons license : flickr user nDevilTV

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Every time I head to a conference or trade show I have that first impulse to make detailed lists of talks to see or booths to visit. It is easy to quickly build the trip in to an itinerary and rigid schedule. I have learned from past trips that the connections, memories and lasting results rarely come from attending a talk or seeing a new gadget. They come from the people you meet. The conversations over dinner and the surprises you could never predict are what give us a return on the time and energy spent traveling to these shows. I am writing this on my way to the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. With over 100,000 attendees and 20,000 exhibitors there is no way I could even begin to schedule this trip out. All I know for now is that we plan to meet with good friends and make new ones. What comes of that is a mystery.

An update: We toured the Zappos facility and spent several hours over great food with Clay Hebert, Chris Nordyke, and Donovan Roberson.  Our conversations were genuine and enjoyable.  If it is not about the people you meet, you might as well save your business money, your family the time away, and stay home.

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I  am always surprised to discover what people value most in a blog post.  You never know what people are going to enjoy reading and thus comment or spread.  I really find it amusing that some of the posts that were actually knee jerk reactions, written in a few moments, actually ended up being the best conversation starters.  So here are my posts from this year that had the most conversations.  After all it is simply about community.

• Filtering Your Tweets
  

This one was interesting.  I never realized this would be a hot topic.  I still believe we need to have our own filters.  I still use the ones mentioned here.  @lessallan ’s response and reaction blog post was the most interesting.

• Folding when the taking is still hot.
  

I was accused by a friend of using scare tactics to get restaurants to use new media in the midst of the downturn.  That really was not my intention.  I came from a restaurant family.  My father started his career way back with Sambo’s in Santa Barbara and eventually founded Shari’s Restaurants.  Restaurant owners have a special place in my heart and the tools at their hands are simply amazing.

• A guide rather than an expert: navigating social media
  

This is probably my favorite post from the year.  With the glut of “experts” we are all getting good at spotting the snake oil and those that sell it.  Luckily I have been able to become friends with people who are genuine guides.  We are even talking about starting a Social Media Brigade of sorts.

• All the news that’s tailored to read
  

Getting my news in a way that I feel is efficient and effective is still a work in progress for me.  I am using google reader more these days, and I have to admit that I still get most of my articles from either twitter or facebook.  I trust my friends to bring me the headlines instead of CNN.

• Why Ning, Why Now
  

I continue to be passionate about tribes.  Helping others build community or find a nascent tribe is still what I enjoy most.  Ning is still the most powerful tool for organizations to mobilize their followers.  I am curious what will emerge in 2010 though.

Let me know your favorites.

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The kindness of strangers by Ed Yourdon used under creative commons license from flickr

I could go in so many directions with this topic.  This last part was the hardest for me to write. We have covered shutting up and focusing, but being a good listener eventually boils down to action.  Action indicates to the other person that you have actually heard them.  However, sometimes the best action is to do nothing.

So you have actually heard what the other person has said.  Now it is your turn.  Most likely they will give you a chance to act.  The action required of you depends on the conversation.  Did they ask your advice? Did someone post a blog and end with a question?  They are prompting you for a response, so turn up the value meter and act.  We all have something to say, but is it of any use?

I asked one of my best friends and mentors, Rick Herbert to chime in on the topic and he nailed it.  Here is what he had to say:

So Action – To Act or not to Act, may be trite but true… does this conversation provoke or require more than words? Is there something I need to do, for this person with whom I have been listening? After hearing their point of view, their concerns, their information, what do I need to do? Purposeful action is determined in the context of the conversation.

Converstaion – convesari is the Latin root.  It means “to live with,” “to keep company with,” “to dwell upon,” “to move to and fro,” and “to turn oneself about.”

Since Conversing is much more than words, we must listen to one’s life and internal movements in order to engage in their lives… we determine our purposeful response based partly on their life and words and partly on what we choose to say, to do or even merely to be in the context of that information.

I have been moved to tears because of conversation.  I have been moved to acts of charity or compassion due to conversation.  I have chosen to become a different person based on what I’ve seen and heard in others.

Purposeful action – always! Regardless of my awareness of reasoning, there is always some compulsion…

Wow, I could not have said it better.  Thanks Rick.  So there you have it. Act.

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We have all had it happen to us (and I am guilty of doing it to others).  You are at a conference where you have just been introduced to someone, or you are having coffee with a friend. They ask you a question and before you get far with your response they are looking over your shoulder past you, scanning the room for someone more interesting, powerful or better looking. Sometimes it happens between friends. It is just rude.

The most important person in the world is always the one right in front of us. We have to focus.  Without it we are not listening.

My son is into astronomy and we found this great site that allows us to look through live powerful telescopes around the world. Every time it aims at a star cluster or galaxy it takes about 3-5 minutes before the faint light can be gathered and the details of the object come into full view.  Suddenly colors emerge and its shape becomes defined.  It’s the same with people. You will never really hear them or learn from them if you don’t take the time and focus on what they are saying.

A friend recently helped a speaker put on a weekend retreat.  At dinner before the first session the speaker asked my friend to tell him a bit about his story.  What my friend noticed was this man’s intense focus.  He listened to my friend as if he was the only one in the world for that moment.

If we take the time, we will be surprised how fascinating every person we meet truly is.  Without focus we will constantly be missing out.  How many relationships could you build, what trust could you establish by applying this simple principle?

If you missed it here is the first part in the series: Shut up, stop talking and really listen.

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That is something my mother always taught us not to say.  It fits here though.  I find that the best listeners are quiet. To some people (I’ll admit I am one) they seem to not be interested in what we are saying.  We are accustomed to others interrupting us as well as diving in to the joint-pontification we all easily participate in.  Really though, they know when to shut up and listen.  If you watch they are often nodding or offering small interjections, showing us they are tracking with us.  Whether you are communicating in a marriage or friendship, the first key is putting a stop to both the flow of your own mouth as well as your mind.  Have you ever been caught not listening after someone has told you a story? I have, and it was usually due to the fact that I was either formulating my response or I was lost in the busyness of my thoughts.  Both of these quickly show we are not listening and usually form an opinion in the other persons mind.  It forms mis-trust and leads to walls in our communication.

In online communication it is important to stop and watch before you engage.  Read through a blog as well as the comments before commenting yourself.  Ask yourself (and this works in any form of communication) if your contribution will offer any value.  If not, then choose to wait or even move on to a more relevant conversation. You are a vital part of the conversation. You have great things to contribute.  Wait and listen first, shut up until you can’t stand it any longer.  Doing this allows us to get a clear picture. Once we shut up we can then move on to the next step. I’ll write about that next: Focus: interpretation and active acknowledgment. Of course this is a huge subject. As I post this series I want to hear your input and stories.

• Part 1: Shut Up: Stop talking and really listen

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Something I come across often is communication breakdown. Whether it is the workplace or online, communication is essential to building and maintaining relationships. We so easily can go about our day misunderstanding each other or simply missing out on the opportunity to make a new friend or strengthen the relationships we already have. I have found a few key principles that have helped me correct some bad behaviors, in stumbling through my own communication issues.

I have written a three part series on the most important part of communication, listening. While I am going to touch on three that I try to practice, I know there are many that I will not touch on. That is where you come in. Tell me some of your funny or poignant stories. I want this to be a chance to learn from each other. Teach us through your own learning experience. My first post will be “shut up: stop talking and really listen”. The second will be “Focus: interpretation and active acknowledgment”. The last one will be the most important and built from the other two, “Action: take it purposefully and make a change”. Keep reading for more details. I can’t wait to hear from you.

Part 1 Shut Up: stop talking and really listen

Part 2 Focus

Part 3 Action

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Be yourself, be remarkable, be unique. This past week I had the chance to meet a few people from Keen Footwear. Keen’s CEO gave the keynote at the Willamette Innovators Night (WIN) 2009 and did a great skit.  The main point of James Curleigh’s skit was to be an innovator…not an imitator.  I was first introduced to the company by a friend who had a great customer service experience. I am now a big believer in Keen and a recent convert after finding their shoes were the only ones that did not give me pain while I am recovering from foot surgery.  To say the least, they have left an impression on me.  When I came home that night from WIN 09, I posted a few things online about my experience. As I usually do, I look for  a company’s or individual’s twitter account to either engage them in conversation or reference to them in a post on twitter.  It took a bit of digging to find Keen on twitter since there was no link on their home page or blog.  This surprised me at first but, then again, Keen does not do things like anyone else.  I finally did find Keen.  They had one post and a little over 200 followers*.  Their single post is a request for feedback, a great start; “heard a lot about this twitter phenomena – want to know what the “tweeple” want us to tweet. Ideas and suggestions are very welcome”.  In true form they are asking their followers what to do next. So here is my suggestion. Don’t copy anyone.  I hear this all the time “I am on twitter now what”?  I tell people, “be yourself”. I love the movie Hitch. In it Will Smith plays a relationship/dating coach. He guides men through the dangerous world of relationships with women.  His tried and true method has been to drive out the individual and get them to conform to a few key principle that will land them the girl. Like any good PR pro, he teaches them to pose. What he eventually realizes is that true happiness comes when a woman falls in love with a man for who he really is (if he is genuine, kind and honest).  The same works for businesses and personal brands.  Be who you are and no one else (even if it is a bit ugly at times).  Anything else is posing.  A company like Keen has an amazing product to stand on (pun intended) and a great following to go with it.  All they really need to do is find that tribe and join in on the conversation that is already happening.  And like anyone, they are finding ways to reach out to their community with true innovation.

Don’t be mistaken.  While Keen has obvious fans, so do you. I just saw someone comment tonight on Facebook that they have no fans.  I beg to differ.  It might take some digging (not much on Keen’s part) but everyone, if they have a web presence, has some following . When it comes to finding great followers, you are your best researcher .  The ones that will shout the loudest will say the most via the web. We have the greatest search engines at our fingertips.  I look forward to Keen’s next move.

*Looking further I found Keen’s active twitter account @Keen_Shoes via Keen founder @MartinKeen

And a quick side note to Keen – don’t be like everyone else and hire a marketer with 10 years of traditional marketing experience…which would likely result in you doing exactly what everyone else is doing.  Invest in someone that will encourage and guide you in just being you (even if that results in still doing the “Q-tip”), help build on your incredible community, and encourages you to invest in continuing the tradition of developing remarkably innovative products.

Want to know more?

Seth Godin’s Tribes and Purple Cow
Using a social media framework to grow your tribe
Go watch Hitch

*Looking further I found  Keen’s active twitter account @Keen_Shoes via Keen founder @MartinKeen

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