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.
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.
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.
