The Engaging Brand

How To Use Social Networking To Stop Riots

I feel passionate about how social media gets potrayed in the media when an awful event happens. The headlines around the London Riots are about how social networking 'caused' the riots.

Sure bad people will abuse good things. Sure lazy employees will abuse the time spent on Facebook. Etc etc

But the answer is not to restrict social media. That to me is the equivalent of removing all phones because you often get a crank caller! The answer is to address bad behaviour and use social networking to organise the good citizens to defeat the bad!

Instead of allowing social networking to be owned by the bad guys, why not good citizens reclaim it. There has been many great uses of the web during the riots - calling out rioters, organising street clean ups, informing people.

Social networking is a community - we can choose whether it is used for good or evil. I would love the governement to say

"We are not going to let the bad guys own social networking, we need to think of ways that we can use social networking to thwart the bad guys, to help rebuild our communities and to bring government closer to the people"

The interesting thing is that the rioters say 'the don't feel listened to', political speeches aren't going to change that...but twitter, facebook etc just might!

image from BBC

How to Be A Better Person

There is one tip that Dad gave me when I was younger which I always try and live by...some days better than others I hasten to add!

But Dad used to say your job as a human being was

"Discover who the other person is....and discover their possibilities, then help them achieve it"

As a parent, as a friend, as a leader, as a manager....I think it is a wonderful philosophy. It is not about who they are NOT, it is about who they ARE....because that is what makes them special.

Image courtesty of Suga-Lumps

Show 347 - Read This Before Your Next Meeting

Show 347 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen for free, you don't need to download anything and all explained at the end of the post.

Al Pittampalli joins Anna Farmery to talk about meetings. Al wrote a guest post titled 6 Tips to Reinvent Your Next Meeting. Al has written Read This Before Your Next Meeting for the Domino Project We talk about

• What is a meeting culture warrier? 
• Why do we have meetings when most people seem to hate them!
• Why you should make the decision BEFORE the meeting!
• How you can make a meeting truthful and more engaging...
• How the world has changed in communication tools and how that needs to be reflected in meetings.
• The benefit of publishing a meeting, a discussion for EVERYONE to hear
• What does the perfect agenda look like!
• Encourage conflict to check the decision
• The importance of making A decision rather then THE decision
• Understanding the spectrum of decision making as a leader
• What makes a true democracy in a business?

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or join me on twitter. Or leave a message at The Engaging Brand Fan Page or join me on Google+ for a huddle!

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Abraham Lincoln on Sincerity and Social Media

Abraham Lincoln once said

"If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend"

No truer word has been spoken, and how apt all these years on when we apply it to social media.

So often company's say - "Anna, I have been on twitter for a week now and blogged for a fortnight....but can't see it is doing any good"

Sincerity doesn't come in the short term. Sincerity cannot be bought. Sincerity is not what you say as much as what you did...and how you made me feel.

Sincerity is about consistent behavior in the long term.

Sincerity is about knowing what your brand stands for and revealing it in each interaction on the web...from you landing page to your tweet.

Sincerity is not about speaking about yourself, but about listening to others.

Sincerity is about being true to social media values...when was the last time you left a review for a favourite podcast, a comment on a post, a 'like' on Facebook....how much do you share, how much do you value the interaction and time for others?

Great social media is build on the rock of sincerity, don't let waves of ego and the pressure of work - wear it down:)

10 Questions To Ask When Stuck In A Rut

On podcast 330 I interview the wonderful Michael Gelb on Lessons from Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci is an enigmatic character who intrigues me as he was both a scientist and an artist....

Anyway reading How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci (again!) I wanted to share the following 10 questions. I often coach people through ruts in their business life and although this is not exactly what we talk about...it is a wonderful set of 10 questions if you are in a rut

1. When am I most naturally myself? 
2. What is the one thing I could stop doing, or start doing, or do differently, starting today that would most improve the quality of my life?
3. What is my greatest talent?
4. How can I can get paid for doing what I love?
5. Who are the most inspiring role models?
6. How can I best be of service to others?
7. What is my heart's deepest desire?
8. How am I perceived by: my closest friend. my worst enemy, my boss. my children, my co workers etc?
9. What are the blessing's in my life?
10. What legacy would I like to leave?

So the next time you are stuck in a rut, or even better 3 times a year check that you are making the most of your life with these 10 career questions

 

Social Media Is About 3 Things

Well almost!

I remember an artist called Ken Howard commenting

"For me painting is about three things. It is about revelation, communication and celebration"

And do you know I think there is art in social media, I think there is art in any communication and for both, the concept of revelation, communication and celebration is a wonderful model to use.

1. Revelation - any communication must have this element to engage their soul. Howard describes it by "revelation I mean giving people a way of seeing, revealing the world around them in a way they have never seen before, opening their eyes". Think how wonderful social media is for delivering the revelation.
2. Communication - this sounds obvious yet in Howard's words.."By communication I mean revealing the world with a personal language, speaking directly in an instantly recognisable style." This is in social media your branding signature.
3. Celebration - A simple word yet more complex in definition. Howard describes it as "We all suffer in our lives ..I want art to raise me above that.. I want it to celebrate life whether it be human dignity expressed by Cezanne, or the wonders of nature expressed by Monet. For me my main inspiration is light and it is through light that I want to celebrate my world." In social media I like to see this as the ultimate hope story. You describe the villain (the problem), you empathise with the victim (consumer) and then you deliver the hero (the solution). The solution is the hope...the light....your chance of bringing value to their world.

How to be more creative - 3 Tips

Improvisation is part of our everyday life. Yet people say they are 'not creative'.

But each one of us makes sentences each day, put words together  to express how we feel, what we are doing etc Speaking is improvising...it is creation which is in the moment and can be hugely powerful.

It reminds me of the saying...your voice is your strongest part of your body as it can cut people down or raise a whole nation...

We improvise, we create naturally....we avoid a puddle, we pin a blouse when the button falls off....we think of reasons why kids can't do that!

Creativity is inside of us, we just need to bring it to our work. We are like Michaelangelo in the sense of seeing it inside of ourselves and then through time and experience allowing it to release.

• Don't think about thinking....just think, forget what people may say, why it won't work and just let the thought out.
• Practice improvisation, practice allowing thoughts to surface like they do in your home life. Grab something off a table and think of 10 things it could be used for...no matter how daft eg a paperclip straightened could be a polevault for a fly.
• Play angels advocate rather than devils advocate...there are plenty of the latter around....but think of ways it could work

3 Reasons To Love Tension

To be creative....is to merge together opposite tensions.

To merge opposite tensions need to feel comfortable understanding tension.

To understand tension you need to feel tension.

To feel tension you must learn to see tension not as a problem but as an opportunity. It is an opportunity because

• Tension leads to a problem you can solve and create value a customer wants to buy.
• Tension leads to a problem as a person you can lead people through
• Tension creates emotion, emotion is a sign of life! Apathy is a problem, tension shows people care!

Tension can help us be creative but only if we see the opportunity and lean in towards the tension to seize that opportunity.

10 Thoughts on Life

My moleskine journal travels everywhere with me...here are some jottings which I have made over the last month from life, reading, socialising....

1. Ideas are so crucial after all they are what we can leave behind.
2. Billy Joel once said "Contentment is underrated, remember happiness is an extreme"
3. You learn over time that the truth is not always to be found in the facts but in the minds of others.
4. There are no absolutes in this world....only ideas.
5. "Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple...thats creativity" Mingus.
6. Funny how common sense is not common place.
7. Technology is an supplment to our lives not a replacement.
8. Experience should teach us when to make it happen and when to let it happen.
9. Satisfaction may be the most dangerous place.
10. Lying is a cooperative act. If you don't want to be deceived know your weakness. (Pagel)

Show 346 - Understanding your Power Genes

Show 346 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen for free, you don't need to download anything and all explained at the end of the post.

Today would have been Dad's 87th birthday, so it is ironic that I am talking about how childhood can influence your leadership style. Maggie Craddock joins Anna Farmery to talk about Power Genes and you can find more of her work at Workplace Relationships. We talk about

• How helping people think strategically is not enough when power is involved.
• Is how we handle power...genetic or conditioning?
• As the makeup of the family background changes, does it affect the kind of leaders we produce?
• What style of leaders are the new generation?
• What is the impact of the new generation on the business world?
• Is profiling people a good thing?
• Why do extremes come out when we are challenged?
• Do we truly have blind spots or are we just not wanting to accept our areas of development!
• Why we can be passionately resentful of peers...
• How understanding our power genes can improve your career.

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or join me on twitter. Or leave a message at The Engaging Brand Fan Page or join me on Google+ for a huddle!

How you can listen to The Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click hear to listen to the latest marketing podcast

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following RSS Feed