The Engaging Brand

6 Tips to Become a Business Superhero?

I was interviewing Ian Buckingham today - watch out for a great 2 part show next week on brand engagement - and I was bowled over by something that he said during the interview

"Everything starts with a story, think of the journey that a superhero goes through....."

Now with a mind like mine that phrase stuck and the more I think about it, the more I really love that idea.

In his book, Brand Engagement, he talks more about it, but in your career do you follow the Super Business hero guide?

1. Do you have an understanding of the reality of the business NOW?
2. Do you understand what and why things need to change?
3. Do you know how to change the world?
4. What are the obstacles that you will have to overcome?
5. Do you believe in your (and those around you) ability to change the world for the better?
6. Do you know what success will look like, and how it will feel for everyone?

We all have the ability to be mini - superheroes...we all have the ability to "make a dent in the world"...we all have the ability to be a force for good....what we need is the belief, the bouncebackability, and the willingness to risk creating the opportunity for change.

So tomorrow, I am not asking you to wear you underwear over the top of your trousers, just believe that ordinary people like you and I can achieve extraordinary things when we believe 100%.

Do you inspire or expire the flame of passion?

I have just shared with The Engaging Brand Facebook members a little story...

This Christmas I received a card from someone who used to work with me, they said

"It may have been a while since I worked for you but I still gain my inspiration from your leadership. You gave the vision life, you set the standards on values...I never worked so hard, but never enjoyed my work so much. We miss you."

Firstly. how time plays tricks with the mind of your former direct reports!

Secondly, it made me think about how near inspire and expire are in spelling, but in reality how huge the difference is to in the lives of people.

So what expires:- lack of focus, lack of direction, lack of freedom, too many meetings, too many cc emails, too many chiefs and not enough indians, lack of consistency, lack of promotion based on performance, too many initiatives, too much data and not enough meaning etc

It is our choice to be seen as an inspirer or 'expirer' of passion....when you get to your desk look at the day ahead...how much time are you spending on inspiration instead of energy drainers, energy expirers?

The best bit is that the letters which are different in the words,  make up the word INSEX! Now there's passion!(Note to Anna watch out for the Spam on that one!)

10 Social Media Tactics for Finding Talent

We all know how hard it is to attract talent, actually I should say the right talent! This is another area that if I was still a Group HR Director I would be looking at closely. Here are 10 social media recruiting tactics I would be thinking of employing

1. Use Twitter to advertise talent gaps - it is the ultimate friend recommendation.
2. Use Facebook to create a company page, showing why talent should entrust their career with you. Create a story around their career with your brand.
3. Use Google Reader to cover your industry area...be searching for talent through RSS feeds. Blogs/Podcasts are a shop window for personal brands.
4. Use social media on your site - For example, an interview from a board member to say why talent is at the core of strategy, a video of the environment.
5. Use a wiki for FAQ on recruitment
6. A bar camp for people wanting to know more about your industry (not your company)
7. A podcast helping recruits to understand how to build a career from leaving college/university.
8. As with Microsoft, encourage blogging from within to show the talent, to show the openness, to engage with future consumers of your employer brand.
9. Use networking sites such as Linked In, Facebook to find talent.
10. Sponsor a podcast which attracts the talent you are looking for...if you want designers choose a creative podcast...

You don't need a large budget for recruitment, you need a passion for reaching the right people...

Show #140 - Putting People at the Heart of Strategy

Show 140 of The Engaging Brand podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download anything - it is all explained at the end of the post.

Today I talk with Lewis Green who has just written a book called Lead with Your Heart. Lewis talks about

• The link between engaging people and increasing profits.
• The importance of putting the customer at the heart of your strategy, and giving employees the freedom to deliver a great customer experience
• The importance of recruiting to values
• The importance of connecting your business to good causes to connect with your consumers.

If you would like to listen to the first interview with Lewis on Corporate Social Responsibility then click here.

In the meantime, how much do you put people at the heart of your personal brand strategy, how much do you put people at the heart of what you want to achieve in your business?

If you have feedback on the show, feel free to record an audio message by clicking on the recorder on the side of the blog, e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or hop over to Facebook group for The Engaging Brand.

How can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click here and it will take you to the blubrry page. Then press the play button!

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

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Be Better Than Better Rant!

Occasionally I have a rant about a word - time for me to try and encourage another word to be banished from our leadership mouths!

I hate the word "better"....I found myself saying it yesterday and realised that it meant nothing really. "That's better" is such a mediocre comment...'better' than what? Or are you actually saying "It is better (but it is still not right!)"

So here is my pledge to the world

1) When I mean better in a good sense, I will use something like - "I love it", "Superb", That is it, spot on" "Proud of you, that is a fantastic piece of work"

2) When I mean better than last time, however still needs work, I will use - "That is an improvement, well done now lets see how we can....."

I often say I hate mediocrity and I do...Do you think Steve Jobs aims for better, or do you think he aims for sexy, great, coolest product in the world.... I want to aim for superb not better, I want to inspire those around me to want to be great, not better.....As leaders, as business people we have the power through our words to inspire, evoke emotion, motivate and engage, we need to use 'better' words than 'better' to do that!

Rant over....feel BETTER for that!...Oops

The 2nd Age of Conversation

As many of you know, I was delighted to be part of the first Age of Conversation with Drew Mclellan and Gavin Heaton. In fact I interviewed them on The Engaging Podcast about the lessons they learned on bringing together a global project which was a fascinating insight into the world of collaboration and social media.
 

The call has gone out for the next project and I love the idea of the internet coming together to share, to collaborate and explore a topic to help others develop their thoughts and their thinking. Up to now there are many people who have signed up
Angela Maiers, Drew McLellan, Luc Debaiseieux, Ryan Karpeles, Greg Verdino, Lori Magno, Gavin Heaton, Connie Reece, Anna Farmery,  The Kaiser, Katie Chatfield, Tim Jackson, Doug Meacham, C.B. Whittemore, Becky Carroll, Gordon Whitehead, Daniel B. Honigman, Daria Rasmussen, Jay Ehret, Jasmin Tragas, Jamey Shiels, Organic Frog, Bill Gammell, Nathan Snell, Stephen Landau, Stephen Collins, Stephen Smith, Mark Earls, Steven Verbruggen, Neil Perkin, Brett Macfarlane, Dino Demopoulos, Chris Wilson, Asi Sharabi, Mike Sansone

This is a hugely worthwhile project - with all money raised going to Variety: The Children's Charity.

If you want to know how you can contribute then check out Drew's post here

Feeding the Conversation

Conversation is not new, conversation has been at the heart of society since...well forever.Yes, the internet has taken the conversation from a local to a global base but conversation has always been powerful.

Why I firmly believe that as leaders,as advocates of our brands we should never be fearful of the conversation is that the richness of an idea comes from the conversation. I think that we develop as leaders by feeding the conversation.

I was very lucky that at home Dad loved nothing more than having a discussion, of explaining, of talking to me about the world. He didn't prevent me from having a different opinion...he would talk about the different points of view and let me make up my own mind.

The lesson for me was that because he didn't force his opinion on me, I trusted his opinion. He trusted me to listen to both sides of an argument and form my own judgment on what I believed in....that was back in the 70's and 80's. The irony is that experience from 30 years ago, is allowing me to love social media and love "engaging" with all the generations now. So I was trying to think about how Dad did feed the conversation

• He trusted in my ability to understand the arguments
• He was open to discussion
• He was not afraid of me holding a different viewpoint, he used to say "That's fine, and always remember a leader must learn to respect there are two viewpoints and find a way of working together"
• He saw my views change as I matured and never once said "I told you so"
• He reveled in the fact that the world was made up of unique people with unique thoughts...he never feared it, he loved it.
• He was very clear if it wasn't a discussion - like what time I needed to be in from a party. He would say "the time is non negotiable". He also made the consequences clear if I broke the non negotiable contract. Then he said the choice was mine...

Conversations can be emotional, but they should never be feared as part of business. Silence is a much more worrying noise!

Show #139 - Owning Your Brand

Show 139 of The Engaging Brand podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download anything - it is all explained at the end of the post.

Mike Wagner from The White Rabbit Group joins me to talk about branding and the importance of owning your brand. He talks through his approach of making promises and ensuring that they are followed through within the business world. This show really made me think about what promises we make as leaders - to ourselves, to our teams and to our consumers. Do we really live each day taking responsibility of delivering against those brand promises?

This interview was based on a blog post on The Engaging Brand called Why Business Leaders Should Love 2008

If you have feedback on the show, feel free to record an audio message by clicking on the recorder on the side of the blog, e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or hop over to Facebook group for The Engaging Brand.

How can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click here and it will take you to the blubrry page. Then press the play button!

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

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Is there such a thing as a Leader's Bum?

I had the wonderful pleasure of passing a local building site and seeing many builder's bums on show, it made me think about the business world.
You have heard of a builders bum, but as leaders we are builders as well. We are building a vision, we are building relationships, we are building a talent pipeline. As leaders we need to set a professional example so how do ensure that we do not let our standards drop and start to show off our own "builders bum!"

We need to keep an eye out for

B = Boundaries vs Walls.People need boundaries to work within, especially with regard to values. But be careful that these boundaries do not restrict creativity, restrict dialogue, restrict forward thinking. Boundaries should be there to create focus not destroy growth, both in terms of products and talent.

U = Unilateral decision making, unilateral views. They are damaging and takes your eyes off impending issues and risks. More than ever people have a need to be part of the process. They do not have to agree with your decision BUT they do need to understand it.

M = Monotone. Monotone messages, monotone communication create lethargy. Make sure that you use words that inspire, that create stories, that ignite dreams in those around you. You do not have to be an extrovert to be passionate, you do need however to believe in the vision and translate that passion through your words.

By ignoring the above dangers, just like the builders I saw, cracks(!) will appear in your business, before you know it.......funny how there are always lessons in everyday life!

There is an Irony of the US Interest Rate Cut

Is it just me that finds cutting the bank interest rates, actually improves the value of business!

Now of course I understand why, however I think somehow we should point out this is just a financial adjustment.I think too many companies take this too literally extending beyond the financial markets to the talent markets.
If you want to create real, long standing value in your business......your leaders should have a desire to increase the interest rates of the employees...

....and just like money, you will find that the more investment that you put into talent...then the more interest you receive from the people around you. In turbulent times you may not be able to do much about the global financial markets but you can take responsibility for the return from your own talent fund.