Dig Deep Thinker

I Love, Therefore I Recommend (a Net Promoter Love Story)

Posted on March 17, 2010 by Kelli Schmith

The ultimate question: would you recommend us to a friend?

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been studying the works and theory of loyalty expert Fred Reichheld. Founder of Bain & Company‘s loyalty practice, Reichheld pioneered the quantifiable connection between loyalty, profits, and growth (see Net Promoter Score).

Midway through Reichheld’s book The Ultimate Question, I tested my own consumer passion. What brands, products (or experiences) do I purchase and recommend to other people? I self-imposed a five minute time limit, and the following 13 faves emerged.

Here they are (in alphabetical) order along with at least one reason I’ve recommended them. It shouldn’t take you long to figure out that I’m a multi-tasking career mom. At the end of the list you’ll find a handful of useful links about customer loyalty and NPS.

I have a secret reason for really, really loving Amazon.com Prime. As someone who invariably puts off buying gifts, the two day delivery keeps my reputation in tact. Shhh. Don’t tell my mother.

Borders’ Members Rewards program does what other bookstore program don’t. It draws me into the every week. Barnes & Noble will often run online-only promos, but I know my weekly Borders email will let me use the coupon in-store or otherwise.

I don’t love Burt’s Bees because it’s nearly 100% natural. Two of its hair care products work miracles on my fine-textured hair. When a girl finds something that her hair likes, there’s no breaking up that relationship.

Clorox, I love you for very specific reasons. #1, your packaging keeps the wipes from drying out. #2, you don’t leave my counters smeary. And #3, you’ve figured out how to make bleach smell good. Bravo.

Let’s face it — when you need a pharmacy, you aren’t in the mood to wait or jump through hoops. CVS does 3 things that other pharmacies (and discount retailers) haven’t mastered: #1, simple prescription drop off, pick-up and payment; #2, quick turnaround; and #3, highly personable (engaged) pharmacy and store staff.

Here’s all you need to know: DiGiorno’s Shredded Cheese looks and tastes like shredded hard cheese is supposed to. (Well done, Kraft, for segmenting your market’s tastes)

Any pre-packaged chicken that can fool my mother-in-law into thinking I made it, is a product I recommend to all my working-mom friends.

In the words of a Yelp reviewer, “If Bruce Wayne became a winemaker instead of a crime-fighter, he would have created Jarvis.” This small Napa winery gives tours by appointment only, and I rank it as a must-do. The tour experience is like nothing you’ve ever seen, and the wines are dee-lish (albeit not cheap).

I’ve tired a lot of exercise formats, gyms and trends over the last 20-ish years. Nothing has done more for my health, spirit, and gluteus maximus than Jazzercise. Ask my BFF @CaskeyChick, who is hooked thanks to yours truly.

I love my Keens so much that I photograph my own feet. Hey, we all do weird things. Seriously — Keens are groovy enough to stand out from a crowd, and if my summer pedicure isn’t just-painted fresh, you’ll never know (thanks to my Keens). It’s not just a girl thing either; my brother (an avid outdoorsman) won’t wear anything but Keen.

One product keeps me coming back to the Lancome counter every other month: Lancome Definicils mascara. I’ve used it for years and, without exception, have found nothing that comes close.

If you look at the Levenger catalog and only see paper, pens and leather — you’ll never understand what makes a Levenger customer tick. Every writer (and reader) deserves something from this cataloguer.

Go figure…after 7 years of trial and (all error), Tony Hawk Gummy Multivitamins are the only thing my son looks forward to taking. We’re so ga-ga about the sour HuckJam Gummies that I go out of my way to WalMart for them.

In the words of Michael Scott (The Office): “candles are the number one fastest growing product in the scent-aroma market.” That may be, but the only ones worth my money are Yankee. The scents are so realistic it’s creepy, and the burn time makes you forget that these things aren’t cheap.

Second Helpings and Good Resources:

A Different Way of Thinking (Steve Yastrow)
Be Irreplaceable (Steve Yastrow)
Net Promoter Blogs
Profit from the Core (Chris Zook) book
Loyalty Rules (Fred Reichheld) book
Net Promoter Score: A Primer video
Loyalty Acid Test Survey (free downloadable survey template)

Filed under: Business Management, Marketing | Tagged: Bain & Company, Brands, Consumer Products, Customer Loyalty, Fred Reichheld, LinkedIn, Net Promoter | 4 Comments »

Every A-Player Needs a Playbook

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Kelli Schmith

I recently worked on a project that included the creation of a Sales Playbook, and it sparked an idea worth sharing. What would happen if you created a Career Playbook that captures your methods for success?

Mindmap from Kelli's Playbook

Could you use it as a competitive advantage if you are job hunting? Perhaps you’re craving an opportunity to do and be more where you already work, and you want to prove you’re ready.

If a Personal Playbook did nothing other than map what makes your methods unique, would it be worth your effort?

My answer? Yes. Definitely Yes.

What Do I Mean By a Playbook?

Just as in sports, it’s a notebook containing narratives, lists and diagrams of the plays you have practiced. It is the blueprint for how you operate in business scenarios. This is the HOW, not simply the WHAT.

Your Playbook is a highly-personalized tool that reflects YOUR direct experience. It’s your reference, your bible, your go-to resource. It is your proof of concept.

Fast Company founding editor Bill Taylor wrote The 10 Questions Every Change Agent Must Answer, and in it he asked ‘What Are You the Most of?’ That is the guts of your Playbook. It’s the User Manual of what you do best. It isn’t your memoir or a journal nor is it a lesson book.

Your Playbook is a collection of YOUR tactics and best practices (not those of your favorite guru). It’s not a history book; it is a living-breathing body of knowledge about your methods and rituals.

Why Write a Playbook — More Than Just Intrinsic Value

No matter what type of thinker you are or whether your strengths are strategic or tactical, a Playbook will boost your market value. I came up with 5 reasons to do my own book:

High performers have a methodology. Own yours, because it sets you apart.
Methods and rituals do co-exist with creativity. Even the most spontaneous people are predictably spontaneous.
You can’t scale without process. When you articulate a scalable methodology, you will blow the door open for new career opportunities.
Prove to yourself that you are a repeatable success story and not just a tale of one-hit wonders.
If you want to jump industries, you have to prove you can transfer your knowledge. Your process makes that possible.

Brainstorm technique: Timeline your highlights of a key position.

The Content: Part Ritual, Part Process, Part Magic.

If you’re still with me on this idea, you may have guessed it is no small task to create. Let’s be real about this project: creating a Playbook demands an honest look inside of yourself and a fair bit of writing.

What goes into your Playbook? Simply put: any (or every) scenario that is part of your regular work life.

Here is part of the list I created for my own Playbook:

How do you (begin to) understand your customers?
How do you gather competitive intelligence?
How do you seek understanding of the formal and informal communication norms inside a company?
Where do you look for new ideas outside of the company?
Who do you turn to for advice?
How do you make an unforgettable impression?
What is your decision process?
How do you break down the walls of communication with people who are NOT like you?
How do you communicate most effectively (i.e. what do people need to know about the way you do it)? This includes all channels of media.
How do you cross cultural barriers?
What are the signals that you’re stressed or over-committed?
How do you know when you’re short on resources? What steps do you take to get what you need?
What feeds (and kills) your creativity?
Who is in your power base?
What motivates you? (don’t skip this, because you need to be very clear with your own boss about this.)

3 Ways to Start the Process

Replay your success reel. Think through your career in 5-year increments and identify the 1-2 remarkable achievements that stand out. What made those possible? What did you face, and (most importantly) how did you make it work?
Inside the pages of my separate Vision and Mission Book, an ongoing project.

Look at where you’ve prevailed against all odds. Your biggest lessons often come from there.
List the project or the job or the company. Explore how and why it didn’t meet your expectations (in some cases, maybe it did, but it fell short of someone else’s).

List your Always and Nevers. This is your sacred ground and the deal breakers. Know where you draw the line with colleagues and clients.

The good news is that you already have the content for your Playbook. The content is in your head, but in order to make it tangible, you need to invest the time and discipline to put it on paper.

Have you done something like this? I’d love to hear about it.

Great Additional Reading:

Do You Take Your Creative Rituals Seriously Enough? (Lateral Action)
Ritual in Business (The Free Library)
Nuturing (Sport) Expertise: Factors Influencing the Development of Elite Athlete (Queen’s University, Canada)

Filed under: Career | Tagged: Career, LinkedIn, Management, Playbook, Process, Success, Writing | 3 Comments »

What Do Marketers Need to Learn?

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Kelli Schmith

Marketers are a special bunch — sometimes creative, always colorful and occasionally maddening.

Weigh in on how marketers could do a better job of being meaningful at work (5 simple questions).

Survey: What Marketers Need to Learn

I will use the insight in an article for marketers who want to clarify (and improve) the value they bring to their organization. The article will also appear here on the Dig Deep Thinker blog.

Thanks in advance for sharing your perspectives!

*Poll conducted with Survey Monkey. No personal information is gathered.

Filed under: Office Life, Polls | Tagged: business, Business Strategy, LinkedIn, Marketers, Work | Leave a Comment »

Advice for Skeptical Execs: What To Do Amid Social Media Hype

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Kelli Schmith

Last week I had the privilege of being on a social media panel at TechPoint Indiana’s New Economy New Rules series. Fellow social media practitioners Kyle Lacy and Chris Lucas shared the stage as we kicked off the 3-part social media series sponsored by Barnes & Thornburg.

I’ve dedicated today’s post to the attendees who saw a flicker of relevance during the event and want to learn more. Read on if you’re interested in this:

Don’t Let the Hype Turn You Off
3 To-Do’s for Still-Skeptical Executives
Who to Follow on Twitter
Facebook Fan Page Examples
Good Reads and Second Helpings

Don’t Let the Hype Turn You Off

Hype Cycle

Business professionals filled the room thanks, in part, to relentless social media hype. Let me say – nothing juices an impassioned presenter more than a packed house of listeners.

Let’s be real, though; we may have delivered a thought-provoking conversation, but that alone won’t cause a shift in your business strategy.

The social web, like almost every innovation before it, is following a hype cycle. You can choose to disregard it as a legitimate strategy in the short run, but you won’t sustain long-term credibility without the social web. The other sure thing about a hype cycle: you can’t avoid the human emotional response as with anything new and novel.

Kudos for your healthy dose of skepticism, by the way. Hype cycles pose a danger to companies when employees rush in while the hype is hot and give up at the first sign of disillusionment. Twitter and Facebook illustrate the point. Too many companies threw out a page on each social platform without an ounce of understanding why they should or what to expect.

Great read: Why The Hype, an interview with Jackie Fenn, author of Mastering the Hype Cycle.

3 To-Do’s for Still-Skeptical Executives

At the end of the panel Q&A, facilitator (and Barnes & Thornburg partner) Marcus Chandler asked for parting advice. I kept it simple, although not necessarily easy:

Discard the notion that social media is just a campaign.
We won’t split hairs here over nomenclature. The point is, don’t write this off as Marketing’s newest distraction. Can Marketing shepherd the cause? Sure, but the social web is fast becoming the conduit to communicating in, out and through your organization. The social web touches every functional area of your business. Start by properly framing its potential and you’ll automatically raise your level of awareness.
Use social media personally.
Hey, this is just me and you talking, right? You really do need to get your feet wet, regardless of how or when your organization embraces the social web. Find a colleague who knows how to get you started on Twitter and LinkedIn. Still not convinced? Shoot me an email, because we need to have a chat.
Enable your employees to be social networkers (for business).
Easy does it — I know this gives you heart palpitations, but hear me out. There could be a dozen reasons why you’re not ready to actively market within the social hemisphere, but there is no excuse for turning a deaf ear to it.
Malware, loss of productivity, risk of litigation… hear ya, hear ya, hear ya. Let those be issues you address in a social media policy and with procedures. I implore you: do not use them as the nail in your customer loyalty coffin. Remember the coffee offer I made at NENR? It applies to this topic, too.

Who to follow on Twitter

When I confessed my Twitter obsession at NENR, I left out a critical detail, which is how I use it. Listen up, because it’s the same reason I want you to try it. I use Twitter to learn, share, and connect.

I use it with purpose, whether I’m listening in or contributing to the collective online sentiment. Oh sure, my personality and quirks are stamped all over my tweet stream. But I value my time, which is as scarce as yours. I don’t tweet without purpose.

To find people to follow, start by following people who share your passion around an issue or topic. Each link below will take you to a list of people who share an industry passion. Follow a few or follow them all. If none of these categories or people flip your trigger, shoot me an email.

Banks – 36 banks utilizing social media & Twitter in creative ways
Chambers of Commerce -450 Chambers and Boards of Trade
Colleges & Universities – 495 people from public and private universities
CPA Societies – 53 people; state CPA societies
Foundations – 200+ not-for-profit foundations
Hospitals – 160 people
Children’s Hospitals – 61 people (U.S.)
Law / Legal - 33 legal news Twitter feeds organized by subject, profession, and industry (incl. Tech, IP, Real Estate, Business, etc.)
Life Science Companies – 60+ people at life science companies that develop products for scientific researchers
Manufacturing- 54 people who tweet about manufacturing topics
Pharma - 15 people; major pharmaceutical companies

Become a Fan: Facebook Fan Page Examples

Likewise on Facebook, you can listen to people from a safe distance and without mortal risk to your personal or professional brand. Here are examples of businesses, government entities and non-profits that use Fan Pages to engage people with their mission and brand.

Chiropractic Wellness Center of Indiana
City of Carmel
Dell’s Social Media for Small Business (see how Dell uses this fan page to create useful information for a subset of its customer base)
Humane Society of Indianapolis
Indiana Running Company
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (Great example of showing off a community project with sponsor Katz Sapper Miller)
Marian University
Mayo Clinic (They are a great example within the health care segment)
Shriners Hospital for Children
United Way of Central Indiana
Town of Fortville
Young Audiences of Indiana

Good Reads & Second Helpings:

This has been a big dose of information, eh? If all of the above leaves you feeling overwhelmed or rolling your eyes, that’s okay. Your reaction is normal if not human. If these suggestions trigger a new thought or a flutter of interest, we’ve made progress.

Keep the momentum by reading, listening, and asking questions. And don’t forget to let me know how you’re doing.

As I said at NENR, I’m keeping my eye on you.

Facebook Pages, Groups and Profiles Explained (WebWorkerDaily) NEW
Facebook: Fastest Grower to Hit Mass Market – Facebook has beat the iPod, cell phones and traditional media as the fastest item or service to penetrate the mass market. NEW
Number Crunchers Find Social Media a “Tweet” Surprise – CPAs have begun using social media such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to co-ordinate continuous professional education.
How Social Media Has Changed Us

Yes, CEOs should Facebook and Twitter, too (Forbes)
Facebook Users More Productive (TechDirt)

Article PDF: send me a note using karmic (at) karmicboom.com, and I’ll send it to you via email.

Image Credit: Jeremy Kemp, based on underlying concept conceived by Gartner, Inc

Filed under: Social Web | Tagged: Facebook, Indiana, LinkedIn, NENR, New_Economy_New_Rules, Social Media, TechPoint, Twitter | 7 Comments »

Top 10 Ways I’m Getting Fit After the Holidays

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Kelli Schmith

Photo Credit: Horton Group

I’m intrigued by TwitterMoms (an idea that I sorely wish I’d had first), but this is first time I’ve joined in one of their infamous RamboAlerts. Today’s call-out for writers posed the question: What are your top 10 ways for getting fit after the holidays?

It’s a New Year, so what the hey! Oh yes, I’m shamelessly doing this experiment because it involves a carrot. If Lady Luck is on my side, I could randomly win a copy of EA SPORTS Active™ Personal Trainer.

Although I’d like to think my fitness tips will inspire you, I’ll sweeten the deal. If I end up being one of the 5 winners, I’ll post a video of me doing Jazzercise on YouTube.

Kelli’s Top 10 Ways She’s Getting Her Arse in Gear

7 good hours of shut-eye. The kicker: lights out by 11.
Have you read what Dr. Oz has to say about sleep? For one thing, it does more than just keep the ugly stick away. Now that I’ve rounded the 40-bend, I’m hell-bent on preserving every brain cell I can. Ditto on the importance of sleep for strength, resilience, and energy for my workout.
Water first. Breakfast second. Coffee third.
Despite my desperation for a cup of the hot stuff as soon as I roll out of bed, I put the java on hold until I’ve downed 8 ounces of the clear stuff. Ditto on a bowl of oatmeal before I pump caffeine into my veins.
Strap on a pedometer.
A step is a step is a step, so each morning I grab my pedometer before you can say “hit the snooze button.” The old business adage you can’t manage what you don’t measure applies to moving your feet. My goal: 10,000 steps (workout movement doesn’t count).
Walking my dog to the corner to pee.
Sure, it may not sound like much, but her bladder is tiny which guarantees a day’s cumulative 500-steps on my trust pedometer.
Jazzercise with my BFF.
Here’s the deal — I like to shake my groove-thing. I like to kick, wiggle, and do all kinds of ridiculous moves that would draw ridicule on So You Think You Can Dance. But no matter how many trainers, gyms or pieces of equipment I’ve used, I always come back to Jazzercise. It only took me 10 years to get my BFF to quit laughing at me and give it a whirl (she’s hooked).
P90X alongside my husband
Mmmmhmmm, that’s right. Ms. Infomercial Cynic must admit it: P90X rocks. My husband, who had 6 months of fitness under his belt, decided to give it a whirl, and I’m here to tell you that he’s a changed man. Heed the warnings, though, the program isn’t for newbies. It’s also not for people who gave up cursing as a New Year’s resolution.
Burned the baggies of leftover holiday goodies.
I’m a sugar freak. I admit it. So on January 4, I emptied out the containers of those delightful crunchy, sticky, sweet snacks. I’m still recovering from the pain of it.
Squatting properly.
In this case, I don’t mean a weightlifter’s squat (although proper execution of that is keenly important). I’m talking about everyday care and loving of your back. Mayo Clinic has a handy how-to for proper bending and lifting.
Clinching when I drive.
Instead of clinching my teeth or the steering wheel, I pump up the tunes and do isometric moves while I’m in the car. You’d be amazed at how many small, controlled moves you can do with your glutes and abs.
Stretching – a lot.
I envy Dara Torres for a whole bevy of reasons but mostly because she keeps a trainer on staff purely to keep her stretched and limber. But that doesn’t stop me from trying to be a wannabe Gumby.

Leave me a comment so that I can be sure to let you know if and when my YouTube exercise video clip airs. Here’s to Lady Lucky and properly-fitting workout pants!

Photo used under the licensing agreement of Stock.xchng.

Filed under: Inspiration, Uncategorized | Tagged: EASports, Fitness, Health, TwitterMoms | 1 Comment »

Chock Full of Goodness: 10+ Article Faves

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Kelli Schmith

Here are 10 share-worthy articles from 2009. If you care about communication, collaboration or leadership, dedicate your next coffee break to reading them.

The Value of Visual Thinking in Social Business – Slideshare (David Armano)
A Selection of 2009 Collaboration Posts (collected by Oliver Marks)
Stop, Collaborate and Listen: knowledge management has a brand new adventure (James Gurd)
Advice for Saving the World – Outside Magazine (Nicholas Kristof) FAVE
Media Heroes and Villains of 2009 (Trevor Butterworth)
Best of 2009: 24 social media experts interviewed (Graham Charlton)
The Social Customer Manifesto (Christopher Carfi)
PR Disasters That Aren’t (Shel Holtz)
This I Believe: A Manifesto for Web Marketers and Analysts (Avinash Kaushik)
Five Ugly Numbers You Can’t Ignore: It’s Time to Calculate Hiring Failures (John Sullivan)

It’d be a crime to leave these links out of my list of 2009 faves:

Blogging Starter Checklist (Rajesh Setty)

Filed under: Communication, Leadership, Marketing | Tagged: 2009, Blogging, Collaboration, Customer, HR, LinkedIn, Marketing, Media, PR, Social Media, Writing | 1 Comment »

2010 Advice: Feed Your Starving Staff

Posted on December 23, 2009 by Kelli Schmith

Whether or not you make New Year’s Resolutions, here’s a 2010 leadership resolution I challenge you to make.

Fix Morale.

Morale is a leading indicator of your team’s ability to deliver game-changing results. Take a good hard look at the individual and collective vibe among your direct reports. Have you fed their confidence or inadvertently starved them in the last year?

Relax, I’m not advocating lofty or poofy “love thy employee” initiatives. This isn’t about an HR-driven campaign. You don’t need posters, pom-poms or anything containing the words success, initiative or move my cheese. Workers don’t need you to announce one more motivational contest that you pulled out of a New York Times bestseller.

Simply pay attention to your people.

Give your employees thoughtful attention.

What is thoughtful attention, you ask? It’s any act on your part that shows you notice the small stuff. Below you’ll find examples that have worked well for me (as both the giver and recipient). Each action carries an implicit affirmation that your employee matters, not just to an organization but to you.

Tools that enhance their performance
Encouragement and reinforcement
Demonstration of trust

Things to give them = TOOLS

Magazine subscription (their pick)
Levenger gift certificate (don’t underestimate the power of a nice pen or a Circa notebook)
Subscription to an online resource (As a marketer, my faves are Ragan.com and MarketingProfs.com)
The Artist’s Way
Any book. (Better yet – send them to the bookstore and tell them to expense it)
Updated equipment or software (without forcing them to labor over a cost justification, for goodness sakes)

The littlest things can really make me feel appreciated…new stock photography or fonts, fun notepaper, even desk accessories can make me smile. ~Kim Brandt, marketing manager

Things to Communicate = Encouragement and Reinforcement

When you delegate a tough assignment, tell them in ADVANCE they have what it takes
Give them a card and in it praise them (Guys, if you do only one thing this year, do this.)
Scribble a short “atta boy” on a Post-it note (there’s nothing like it when an employees finds good news stuck to their monitor)
Leave a positive voicemail or email in the off hours (it’s a groovy feeling to know your boss is thinking positively about you in his off-time)
Take him or her to lunch and talk about what keeps you up at night. Be human.

A gift card to Starbucks and a thank you note for a great job. I will never forget that on my chair. Loved it! ~Travis Hall, designer

Opportunities as Things = TRUST

Send them to a workshop or a conference (give her an assignment to bring back one innovative idea that could spark change)
Give a change of scenery. Tell her to work at a coffee shop for the afternoon. Or library or anyplace that inspires her (home doesn’t count)
Proxy for you in a meeting (then ask for fresh feedback)
Ask for input before a company meeting or a speech (“What do you think your coworkers really need me to address?”)
Offer your full attention. Use a 1:1 and don’t put them on the spot. Set down the Blackberry. Find out what’s in their way and what they’d do to fix it if they were you.)

(My boss) is always happy to see me. He tells that he is glad I am part of the team, and he honors how important family is to my life balance. That means a lot to me. ~Brooke Green, business coach

Last but not least, Recognition 101:

Restaurant gift certificate (big enough for a splurge)
Birthday card (a real card — not a boxed corporate set. And, no, signing the group card doesn’t count)
Recognition of their hire date anniversary (These are recurring dates on my calendar, and I still send a note to a few of my former employees who were stars on my team)

Does it sound like work? I hope so, because it is. Good morale requires care and feeding like any relationship.

In the successful organization, no detail is too small to escape close attention. ~Lou Holtz

Here’s the good news, size doesn’t matter when it comes to thoughtful attention. The beauty resides in the detail. So wake up and start paying attention. Let me know if you need more suggestions.

Filed under: Leadership | Tagged: Leadership, LinkedIn, Management, Morale | 4 Comments »

5 Things Keeping Your CFO Up at Night

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Kelli Schmith

I’m not sure who sleeps less these days — the CFO who is micro-managing cash flow for survival or the CMO whose role, let alone budget, is discretionary. Regardless of what marketing role you play, you need to understand the mission-critical metrics that your CFO is watching.

Below are 5 questions your owner(s), bank, or board members expect your CFO to answer. Read the full article, 5 Quick Questions for your CFO, at the BoardSource website.

Are our cash equivalents truly liquid?
How many days in cash do we have?
What’s our current ratio?
What’s the status of our line of credit?
Are we going to make a profit this year?

Related Articles: Read more »

Filed under: Career, Marketing Operations Management | Tagged: business finance, CFO, LinkedIn, marketing budget | 2 Comments »

Despair Has Its Lighter Side

Posted on February 3, 2009 by Kelli Schmith

How can you not like a person’s whose Twitter bio reads “My job is to make you happy that I’m robbing you.” Read more »

Filed under: Branding, Retail, e-commerce | Tagged: Brand, Career, Despair Inc., e-commerce, Humor, LinkedIn, Pessimism, Valentine's Day | 1 Comment »

Deconstructing Your Failure

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Kelli Schmith

Career Grief sucks. There, I said it. It sucks — horribly.

I sat in a pool of it this past week, despite an astronomical EQ, a mad set of business skills, and growing demand for my work. That, my friends, is exactly why it torques my day. It rolled through at the most unexpected (and least welcome) moment, leaving me cranky that I still feel the aftershock of losing a job I loved.

Some days grief is like a spider web. You walk face first into it and no matter how much you spin and try to pull away from it; the tiny strands cling to you all day long.

Rather than wallow in a pool of self-loathing, I pinned down the source of recurring frustration. I confess that my departure felt like a failed mission — it’s one thing to admit defeat but altogether castrating when someone else calls the time of death for you.

A Sense of Failure at the Root of Grief

It turns out that I’ve been mourning a vital part of me that I left behind. That part of me is kick-ass brilliance and talent, and I’d be an idiot not to retrieve them. In order to do that, I deconstructed my (self-labeled) failure by asking four questions:

Did I attempt too much?
Where did I contribute to poor communication or incomplete information?
How did I dilute my own authority or weaken my team’s responsibility?
When and how did I permit “drop-in crises” to derail our primary mission? Read more »

Filed under: Business Management, Career, Communication, Leadership | Tagged: Authority, Career, Communication, Freelance, Job Review, LinkedIn, Management, Performance, Self-evaluation, Workforce | 3 Comments »

13 Sites for Human Interest, Business, Innovation and Emerging News

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Kelli Schmith

How are you keeping your company relevant in the midst of economic and social change? That’s not a theoretical question; in fact, it should be a component of your strategic plan.

Staying relevant takes observation, insight, and action. It requires you to look beyond the issues that impact this month’s billings. Ironically, it demands that you stay in the present, otherwise you may overlook the threats your customers face today.

Relevancy hangs out at the intersection of today’s problems and tomorrow’s opportunities. Elite communicators know how to place your company right in the middle.

Here are 13 websites that I rely on for fresh perspectives, ideas, and emerging news. Feel free to share your opinions of establishing relevancy and suggest other places that readers can look for inspiration.

Reuters AlertNet

News, information, and analysis for everyone interested in emergency relief. Run by Reuters Foundation.

Reuters AlertNet

EurekAlert.org

Searchable database of science-related press releases from research institutions, universities, government agencies and corporations. Calendar, resources and links. From the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

EurekAlert! - Breaking Science News

The Economist

Authoritative weekly newspaper from the U.K. focusing on international politics and business news and opinion.

The Economist

Benton.org

Works with other groups such as National Urban League, AOL, National Endowment for the Arts to help provide solutions for bridging the digital divide. Links to various foundations including Ford, Kellogg. Offers free on-line versions of reports dealing with technology and access.

Benton Foundation

Gapminder.org

Non-profit venture promoting sustainable global development and achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by increased use and understanding of stats and other data about social, economic and environmental development.

Gapminder.org

Journalism.org

An initiative by journalists to clarify and raise the standards of American journalism through research and education. (Project for Excellence in Journalism)

Journalism.org

Pew Global Attitudes

Unique, comprehensive, internationally comparable series of surveys that encompasses the current state of the world and important issues of the day.

Pew Global Attitudes Project

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Independent, non-partisan public opinion research organization that studies attitudes toward politics, the press and public policy issues. One of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center.

Pew Research

Gallup

Statistics, news and insights across all (national and global) aspects of management, economics, psychology, and sociology.

Gallup.com

Springwise.com

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Filed under: Leadership, Marketing, Research | Tagged: Benton Foundation, Brand Relevance, Commetary, Emergency Relief, Eurekalert, Gallup, Innovation, International, LinkedIn, News Source, Politics, Polls, Research, Resources, Reuters, Science, Statistics, TED | 3 Comments »

Take the WTH Out of Health Reform

Posted on January 17, 2010 by Kelli Schmith

For months, I’ve been shielding a dark and embarrassing secret. I feared cocktail parties, lunch conversations, pre-meeting chatter. The thought of being discovered nearly drove me mad.

I was, for all intents and purposes, a health care reform idiot. I felt confused, ill informed and grossly unprepared to assess either version of the proposed legislation.

Then, one day, I stumbled upon the headline that set me free:

You’re Not Stupid If You Don’t Understand Health Care Reform

Apparently I’m not the only dummy after all. I had wrongly assumed that a firm stance for or against reform was a sign that someone knew more than I did.

Once I began to probe, I discovered that’s not the case at all. Despite a general agreement that health reform is important, less than a third of Americans are closely following the debate.

If only I could revel in the fact that I’m not the only ignoramus.

I resolved to end my confusion and plowed through countless sites, articles, and rants. I went on a quest to take the WTH (What the Hell) out of the proposed health reform legislation. I was starving for information in real language sans, of course, political drama.

Rabbit Holes and Questions

My search triggered new questions for every answer it revealed. Despite my mission to dispel the mystery, I struggled to find straight talk on health reform. Just as I thought I had a grip on the debate, I’d stumble on yet another subplot wrought with sticky political innuendo. Ugh.

I no longer feel like a health reform idiot, but I’d hardly call me satisfied. As a marketer, I understand the holy grail of emotions. If we only feed on sound bites and snippets of partisan rage, we’ll remain dangerously ignorant.

Below you’ll find news articles and blog coverage that may make the proposed reform a little more digestible. Good luck!

Why The Health Reform Debate is Confusing (CBS) Very smart people are zoning out of the health care reform debate because they think it’s just too complicated. (July 2009)

10 Questions on Health Care Overhaul (Wall Street Journal) Janet Adamy’s excellent summary (July 2009)

What Health Care Overhaul Means To You (NPR) Click on the category that best fits your situation and see what the major proposals currently before Congress would mean for you. (Sept 2009)

A Consumer’s Guide to Health Reform (NPR/Kaiser Health News) Where things stand and how you might be affected. (December 2009)

Charting the Future of Health Care Reform (NPR) Organized in table format, this is a look at what the House has passed, the amended Senate bill — and where the two chambers may clash. Includes a “likelihood scale” of which components will ultimately pass. (December 2009)

See Where Different Healthcare Industry Groups Stand (Fierce Healthcare, based on a WSJ article) Oct 2009

Filed under: Citizenship, Health | Tagged: healthcare, health_reform, insurance, LinkedIn | 2 Comments »