The Engaging Brand

When is a Conversation not a Conversation?

Just had an interesting conversation with 2 people who have just had what they call "a conversation". Interesting because both believe they are right, both believe the other "didn't get it", and both believe the other is an idiot! Not sure that is what I would call a conversation because

• Conversations do not happen when you are consumed with emotion.
• Conversations are based on the art of listening not the art of talking
• Conversations are about both of you learning from the other, not one teaching the other.
• Conversations do not occur when interruptions are happening....that is just confirmation there is hearing but not listening...
• Conversations are never about getting to one truth, they are about understanding each others truth

We often confuse discussions, shouting matches, debates .... with conversations. Business thrives with conversations - leaders to followers, brand to consumers, suppliers to company etc Conversational marketing follows the same principles

Want to add money to your bottom line? Here is a secret recipe - profit comes through people communicating....communicating to create value in each others lives, whether inside or outside of the organisation.

Power of Conversations, Power of Learning

World I love you, truly love you...I have had the best day interviewing people for the podcast (Watch out for an interview with a business psychologist, Alison Hardingham on conversations and with Bob Burg on The Laws of the Go Giver over the next few weeks...)

My mind feels inspired, feels full of ideas...why? because these people were beacons of how important giving is, in relation to the art of inspirational leadership....some thoughts

1. Is life really a learning event or an unlearning event...unlearning all the bad habits that we pick up during our life?
2. Conversations work when you want to learn from the other person, not teach or inform the other person
3. No one can waste your time. Only you can waste your time.
4. The most valuable gift you have to offer is you.
5. How speaking to people - really listening to what they are saying - expands your mind...it is like a personal mind massage.
6. Social media is not about merely "joining the conversation"...it is about listening then adding value to the conversation.
7. The actual price relates to the tangible, the perceived value relates to the intangible.
8. When you receive graciously, you are indeed giving...giving respect to the other person, giving the chance for other people to create value. Don't underestimate the power of receiving.

My personal goal each day is to try and fill another brain cell - I find it a challenge to think that we only use 5% or less of our brain...I hate wastage so I want to fill it with as many experiences, events, emotions, information as possible.
Learning to the brain is the ultimate personal training system...turning muscle into real life experiences

Conversations Start Inside the Company

I like to think of a brand as a triangle - company, employees, customers. All have to feel the values of the brand. All have to understand and trust in the brand. All have a role to play in developing the brand.

The strength of the customer has increased, with the power of social media. They have a voice now, as we say they always were having the conversations but locally, now the reach is global. People say companies should join in the conversation. Mmmm I have some concerns about ALL companies.

If the company is not developing the conversation internally then do they have the skills externally? Conversations happen between people:- employee and customer, customer and company, company and employee. If the company ignores the internal conversations, then the triangle will not be formed. So a question I would ask any company is

"Do you have strong internal communication and dialogue that will support the external push to the customers?"

Now, no company is perfect! However, if communication and conversations are not valued internally then they will not be authentic externally.
I will post tomorrow my top tips for developing communication internally....but would love to hear yours - you see dialogue at work :)

6 Tips on Facilitating a Conference

I had the pleasure this week of speaking at the Prowess conference and seeing a real professional - Maggie Philbin -  in action, on how to bring a conference together and facilitate thought provoking sessions. (I have asked her to come on the podcast, so keep your fingers crossed and watch out for some in depth tips!)

But here is my take on how she engaged the audience

1. She clearly understood who the audience were and what value they wanted from the conference. She had researched the topic and shared her knowledge openly.
2. She shared stories of her own TV career to connect emotionally with the audience.
3. She ensured that the stars of the show were the speakers...she facilitated rather than managed.
4. She took time for people in between sessions, she connected with the attendees at each opportunity to understand more about them, more about what value they were getting from the event and more about what they wanted from future sessions...knowing that a word with her, was special to them.
5. She linked the sessions, often through personal reflections or stories. You felt that she was putting a jigsaw together in front of your eyes.
6. She smiled. This sounds a little strange but remember smiles are contagious and that set the tone for an incredibly friendly event.

When we are in business, we often mistake facilitating with managing. The skills are completely different...and it is wonderful when you see great facilitation in action.

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

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!

Connecting Through Skypephones

Being away from home and struggling to get internet connections I realise how as an individual I rely on connections.....I have been trialling one of those Skypephones. After my trial and tribulations with Virgin, the wonderful guys at 3Mobilebuzz gave me one on trial. Great way of connecting with potential customers....see the ones with a problem and offer help....show your understanding of the issue. Well done guys....you engaged me as a customer!

The bad news first, the handset is quite small and although I am fine, my 'other half' finds it difficult to get to some of the keys, the signal strength has varied a lot and often I have needed a couple of attempts to connect. Also,the benefit is obviously when your friends are on Skype but I have found few of the people I would ring on a regular basis on Skype!

The good news...saved money using Skype, great benefit for business work. The connections have been excellent and often better than 'normal calls'. Handset is so light and small, despite having to carry 2 around at the moment...I don't notice I have it. Screen is really clear and strong so despite being smaller it is easy to see. For travelling I think this is superb, and I would definately use one on the road.

Now all I have to do is get more of my family/friends on Skype! Going to try out the camera this afternoon...say cheese now!

It's not the result, it is the perception in communication

I love this story. I love the optimism. I love this as an example of - it's not what you communicate, but how you communicate it.....

A company held a summer picnic, which included a hotly contested softball game between two departments that had developed a rivalry over the years. They played only this one game every summer and argued over it the rest of the year.

This year Dept A won, but Dept B posted this on the bulletin board "Dept B is proud to announce that following this year's softball game, we finished in second place, having lost only one game all year. We also offer condolences to Dept A which finished next to last , having won only one game the entire season!"

I love it, why because it shows that no matter what happens in business - it is how you take the positive forward as motivation for next time. Bit like that age old question "What do you do when all else fails? Try something else!"

Join the Conversation - To regain control

I often get asked about social media and asked to explain "How to create a conversation"...Mmmm the bad news is that the creation has already happened, the conversation has already started, if you are not part of it don't think that it isn't happening, it is....in the corridors, in the pubs, at home, anywhere customers or employees are interacting with family/friends.

The question is not whether you should start the conversation, it is why on earth would you not want to! You never had control, honestly...you were not present at the majority of discussions..but now with the internet tools you can start to be part of some of those discussions...you can see what people are saying about you, you can join in..you can help clear misunderstandings, help take the conversation forward in a positive way. In the old days, the conversation was not as far reaching..now the conversations about you and your company are global...that is a power that you need to plug into

I would never ban the use of web 2.0 internally, reason being that I don't want a reputation of being a backward, controlling company ...I want the company's talent to use web 2.0 to take the company forward, to reduce costs, to increase brand visibility etc  Web 2.0 is now a marketplace in itself, it is where your consumers are...it is where your potential employees hang out...why would you not want to connect with those people, why would you ban the new marketplace?

Main reason people give is that their people abuse it, then the question is why are they finding their work so disengaging, why are the managers not managing, leaders not leading...web 2.0 is not the problem, the lack of motivation and management are the problem ! Blocking Web 2.0 in that situation will not remove the disengagement, they will find something else to keep them entertained. Answer to that of course is to listen to The Engaging Brand podcast and inspire them....:)

3 Ways to Bore Your Audience Really Well

Just in case you are a vibrant leader who inspires people to believe in your dream, and cannot understand how to disengage people...

1. Ensure that there is no energy in the voice...keep it beautifully monotone. Helps people to sleep in the audience and catch up on the sleep that they missed out on last night. They will appreciate your thoughtfulness.
2. Keep asking mundane questions that add no value to the audience or the content. Great way of showing that you have not got a clue of what you want to say and are just filling in. Stops any confusion from people who may have thought you were knowledgeable...
3. Read straight from the small text on your slides...ensure that there are far too many words on each slide with no pictures. This ensures that people do not get tired out by writing notes on what you are saying...leaving them fresh for the party later.

When you are communicating as a leader, it is a way of refueling your team, refueling the ideas......your role is to create that spark, create that energy which will fuel the growth. Do you refuel people, or do you drain their emotional tank?