The Engaging Brand

Why the Web is my Queen Mary!

This next week I am going over to New York to speak at BlogHer and also attend the Blogger Social. Today I was thinking of Dad, who told me how he saved up his money when he first started in business and went to the USA on the Queen Mary.
This was a huge investment for someone from a poor background and who was trying to build a business with no financial resources. I asked him why he risked his money and he told me
"Anna, if you want to innovate you have to look beyond your own reality, your own world. You have to look for inspiration from places that you may believe have no connection. The art of innovation lay not in thinking but in connecting different ideas"

We are so used to having the web that I think as leaders we can be guilty of complacency. Do you use the web like maybe Dad would have done to...

• Virtually travel into different topics and look for ideas?
• Invest your time in developing not only the depth of your thinking but also the breadth of your thinking?
• Virtually travel into different cultures, different parts of the world and look for global trends.
• Virtually travel into different market sectors in the search of connecting ideas

Dad came back from the USA with a groundbreaking idea that saw him recognized as a pioneer in his area....he got his idea - that was translated into the farming world - from seeing how retailers were packaging their goods.
Would he have thought of it at home...probably not. We are lucky we do not have to invest our life savings into trips on the Queen Mary...we "just" have to invest our time, truly surfing the diversity of the web.

Free - The Ultimate Sale or Return Marketing Concept?

Free is the new black, according to Chris Anderson. I love this concept however with social media it is the distinction between free and valuable which we need to fully understand.

Let me explain. I remember my one bad boss saying to me "Anna, let me give you some free advice..." Mmm it was free because it wasn't valuable. It wasn't about my growth as a leader, it was about attempting to control my development at the time.

The problem for marketing indeed leadership, is understanding that free is about giving away something of value for nothing in return, in the short term. It is not about giving away something you don't mind to give away, not about giving away something that is not valuable to the recipient. It is about delivering something of value now, in the belief that people will engage with your service/product/brand and seek a greater experience.

Free needs a new understanding in a world that is affected by social media, a kind of take now, pay later if you want to....Maybe it is the ultimate sale or return! Sell now, return later to pay...

When I think back to the "free advice" it wasn't valuable because - I didn't want it, the value was to him not me, that advice was something I would expect from my leader...I wasn't expecting to pay!

The question is  -  Has your free element got significant value, not to you but to the recipient?

10 Business Skills to Develop Your Brand

Business is evolving and now being driven by the experience of social media. We hear each day that the customer doesn't buy into the message, they create their own message and share that through stories to their colleagues and friends.
As I work with leaders on how to develop this modern leadership, the challenge is for companies is to think again about the skills they need, the skills that they value within their companies. Over the last 10 years I think the needs have been changing

1. Data filters rather than managers of information
2. Relationship builders rather than people management
3. Asking the right questions rather than delighting in the right answer
4. Speed of thought and implementation then evolving, rather than seeking perfection on launch
5. Thinking of value rather than price and cost
6. Listening rather than talking
7. Distributors rather than collectors of information
8. Collaborative rather than command and control
9. Creativity across the whole brand experience rather than just the product
10. Brand storytellers rather than compilers of product benefits

The great news is that as our teams experience more and more of the web, these skills are being taught on a daily basis. These are skills are evident in how they interact outside of work. Our challenge within business is to free ourselves of how we were managed and evolve a new leadership based less on releasing the skills rather than stifling them.

Show #154 - Emotional Intelligence in Business Pt2

Show 154 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.

Galba Bright from the Turn Up Your EQ blog joins me for the second part of our talk about emotional intelligence. If you have not heard the first part of the interview on self management, self awareness and social awareness then well worth listening to that show first.

Today we talk about relationship management, how to read an emotional intelligence survey and more on the importance of self awareness as part of modern leadership. Here are the links that we mention over both shows

Brains on Purpose Blog

Make Emotional Confrontations Fun

Marcus Buckingham

Firms of Endearment

Primal Leadership

Emotional Intelligence

Working with Emotional Intelligence

I thoroughly enjoyed this interview, and if you have feedback for me on the show then 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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Change a Childs Life on 29th March!

Almost a year ago, I was approached by Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton - two superb marketers - and asked to be a co-author of The Age of Conversation.

It was a privilege to be part of such a great charitable venture. I later had the further privilege of interviewing them for The Engaging Brand podcast which is worth listening to on the Age of Conversation and  Collaboration.

The book had 103 chapters on a single topic, conversation. The proceeds went to Variety, the Children's Charity. It was a great success raising £1,000's for charity.

The success has promoted  The Age of Conversation 2, and  Chris Wilson has organised something special, he has suggested that we do one final push for AOC this Saturday, March 29 and bum-rush the book on Amazon.

If you'd like the full story on the plans, please read Chris's post about how you can help. I would ask anyone who hasn't bought the book to please buy the book this Saturday on Amazon (using this link) and tell everyone you know to do the same.The goal is to get the book to the top of the sales chart for the day (and to continue to raise money for Variety).

Remember if you're buying more than one copy of the book, please be sure that you order each one separately. When computing rank, Amazon counts orders placed, not individual copies. Lets help change peoples lives!

Are you doodling or creating a masterpiece?

I have been over to my mum's this weekend and we were reminiscing about Easter's with Dad. I remembered asking Dad before he died what he would change about his life...his answer was emphatic

"I would give my life to someone else, otherwise I would feel guilty about having the pleasure of living it again...then I would sit and watch how much they enjoyed it. Anna, you get one shot..make the most of it and never be afraid to share the joy with others"

I have had highs and lows in my business life....however I always remember it is not what happens to you...it is how you respond to it that matters. Your response does not just affect your mood but also of those around you.

I also asked Dad if he had any regrets...."Regrets?" he said laughing. "Regrets are for those who live in the past...me, I prefer to live for the future"

Each moment of your life, your career you are painting another dot in your personal brand story. Each smile, each response, each word  creates that picture for others to see.....are you doodling or creating a masterpiece for others to savor?

Brand Need to Be Emotionally Intelligent

The Engaging Brand podcast this week was the first part of an interview with Galba Bright on emotional intelligence. Now although this was a discussion about individuals and leadership, it got me thinking about how brands themselves need to be more emotionally intelligent. In fact isn't that what we are seeing with Starbucks at the moment?

• Self Awareness. Brands need to be aware of their values. They need to have a confidence in what they are about and what they are trying to achieve.
• Self Management. Knowing the brand values - how do they evolve them, keeping them fresh yet true to their beliefs. How do they show their personality, how do they build on their strengths....how do they manage themselves in a market of plenty?
• Social Awareness. How well does the brand understand the market, how well do they differentiate themselves from the competition?
• Relationship Management. How well do they manage the relationship with the consumers? Social media can be an important element in this process. But whether the brand uses social media or not, how do they manage the experience that consumers have in each interaction with you?

Emotional intelligence is relevant to more than leadership, it is about understanding the world has changed from a product culture to an experience economy. When you listen to the podcast, think about how emotionally intelligent your personal brand or your consumer brand is......it could be the difference between success or failure.

Childhood Dreams Can Come True for Business

Career choice is such an important part of motivation and personal satisfaction. I was speaking about social media to a group of people I asked

"As a child what did you want to do when you grew up?"

I asked the question because I think we lose track of our childhood dreams and I believe business is a lot more like our childhood dreams than we think..Let me explain what I said to their answers

Train driver - Absolutely. Choose your journey and keep the people on track for safe arrival at your destination!

Astronaut - Absolutely. Each day we should be shooting for the stars and making experiences that are out of this world.

Pop Star - Absolutely. Each day it is about connecting with your audience....consumers, employees, peers. Give them the "hook" of your business song so that they can talk about you and your company.

A mum - Absolutely. As leaders we need to give birth to ideas, nurture them through their life and guide our community through the highs and lows of life.

Nurse/Doctor - Absolutely. Business is about diagnosing problems and solving them. It is about taking the pain out of life. To be an effective leader monitoring those vital signs of pressure and energy are important so that you can address issues before they become fatal!

Business is a chance to live out our dreams - for me it will never be just a job, not when in my own small way I can help change the world.
My childhood dream was to be a golfer, though I was a scratch golfer I chose to go into business as it was "more sensible". But the skills I learned through golf...importance of rhythm, emotional self control (!), practice, the shortest route is not always the best, imagining the perfect shot before you hit it and of course no matter how well you play, you can always improve....have all helped me in the business world.

What was your dream?

Show #153 - Emotional Intelligence in Business Pt1

Show 153 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.

Galba Bright joins me today from the Turn Up Your EQ blog to talk about emotional intelligence. This is the first part of the interview and we talk about self awareness, self management and also touch on social awareness. In the second part, next week we will talk about relationship management. We talk about several books that I have read and are a great edition to your business book library.

Firms of Endearment

Primal Leadership

Emotional Intelligence

Working with Emotional Intelligence

I thoroughly enjoyed this interview, and if you have feedback for me on the show then 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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10 Ways to Be a Human Trigger

I love the idea of triggering thought. When I think of brands, leaders or speakers that I love, it is because they trigger thoughts in my head, they trigger ideas...they trigger a brighter future. I try in my speaking events on engagement, social media and leadership to trigger inspiration...isn't that what life is about?

We as human beings can create value in people's lives by acting as a human trigger

1. Trigger an idea about how to solve a problem by connecting thoughts.
2. Trigger ideas about how people can achieve success by relating your success story.
3. Trigger networking by introducing people.
4. Trigger belief by believing in people
5. Trigger happiness by smiling
6. Trigger ideas by asking more question than giving the answers
7. Trigger value by asking people how you can provide value in their lives
8. Trigger conversations by using and participating in social media
9. Trigger action by setting targets and goals
10. Trigger the concept of attracting talent by constantly searching for talent

When you think of your interactions with people, do you act as a trigger or a blocker of thoughts?