What does this have to do with that?

So you're looking at the image above.  What is your first reaction?  "What's the message?." "Hmmm, pretty clever."   "I don't get it." "Wow, that's pretty funny!" Whatever your conclusions or your final thoughts, the bottom line is this: it's an attention grabber.

Before you saw this, if someone would have asked you to create an image or even explain how high gas prices and internet slang can go together, what would you have come up with?

Well typically gas prices and internet slang don't automatically go together, so if nothing came to mind right away or maybe nothing at all - understandably so. But when you see the way the two were paired above, you have to give credit to the result: An unexpected and pretty creative and interesting way of combining the two.

In today's market the competition to woo the audience is fierce.  With the internet, now your next door neighbor, the driver next to you at the stoplight, or the shopper in front of you at the grocery store, can enter the market and sell their ideas to you just as easily as Proctor and Gamble, Nike or CNN.  So the question is: with more and more ideas, people and businesses crowding the market how do you stand out?

You do this by amplifying your ability to - present novel ideas, in unique ways, in unfamiliar territory (that adds value to the market).  Easier said than done - but doable.   As with the question asked earlier what do gas prices and internet slang have to do with one another?  The image created above (cleverly) givex you an answer to that question.  With gas prices being so high, you have to laugh out loud, say oh my gosh, and what the f&#@ - these prices are crazy!  Pairing together ideas that at first seem disparate is a great starting point.  Just a handful of years ago design and computers had nothing to do with the other. Now Apple has exploited this relationship and is one of the most innovative (and successful) companies in the country.  If in the mid 90's someone asked an audience of business people to put together this new thing called the internet and auctioning. . .how many would have came up with eBay?  

In today's market the need to do business in new, creative and innovative ways is imperative.  As indicated most recently by the financial market meltdown our conventional mindsets need recalibration to "business unusual".  Unusual ideas, creative approaches, and innovative thinking by seeing, how this over here has to do with that over there, will prove valuable in these changing and dynamic times.

5 kick ass ways to develop your brand

Developing your brand is more than creating a logo.  It's more than creating a tagline.  Its more than creating catchy slogans for ad campaigns.  As Marty Neumeier writes in his phenomenal book ZAG a brand is "a customer's gut feeling about a product, service or company".  Whether you are trying to build your business' brand or your own, it all boils down to this - your brand has to convey authenticity and value and people have to sincerely believe it.  This means that a lot of work needs to be done to create a brand that wins the hearts and minds of the audiences that you are striving to attract and maintain the attention of.

Over the course of this year Vosica has dealt with a number of entrepreneurs, businesses  and individuals who came to us looking for help with developing their brands.  Again and again it seemed that the same issues kept coming up.  So I figured that  I would share some remedies that we prescribed for some our clients (on the house).  

1.  Begin developing an "intention work" statement.  You may ask - "what is an intention work statement?"  In real estate the three most important things are location, location, location.  In business the three most important things are relationships, relationships, relationships - and when  developing these relationships you are able to create valuable and powerful networks when people know and respect what your intentions are.  You must be clear within yourself about why you are doing what you are doing.  Are you just trying to make a quick buck or are you trying to do transformative work? When you are clear about what your intentions are with the work you are doing it becomes evident who you are and what you are about to your colleagues and your clients - therefore laying down a powerful foundation for brand building.

2.  Be able to explain in three or four sentences what makes you and/or your work not different from everyone else but radically different (another concept from ZAG).  In today's market the internet has literally allowed the world to participate in the marketplace.  So now the world is our backyard and at the touch of our fingertips we can shop in Japan, easily discuss ideas with friends in Nigeria, or hire freelancers out of India.  Different is no longer good enough.  Your different has to stand up and demand attention. You are competing against the world. . .

3.  Know the top three trends in your field of work (i.e. technology, marketing, education) that are changing the course of how things are being done.  Being able to show a commanding knowledge of the market shows people that you know what's happening and why. This alone gets people's attention and, guaranteed, will create opportunities for you.

4.  Be able to answer this question - convincingly.  If you  or your company, all of a sudden, "ceased to exist" why would this be a tragedy?  If the services you provide can easily be done by another person or company then you need to re-think your business. People will invest time and money into you when they feel that you are offering something they need and you are providing a unique service that no one else can provide.  It's your job to show them this.

5.  Know the power in being able to acknowledge and be brutally honest about your personal weaknesses.  If you don't know your weaknesses - you or your business will not grow.  Dooming you to stay in neutral and going nowhere fast.  Understanding and being real with yourself about what you don't know and where you need to improve is invaluable when developing your business.  It is the difference between a long and successful business life or a quick blip on the radar - here today, gone tomorrow. 

Weight Training Your Conversation (Pt. 2)

5 tips to strengthen your conversation skills.

These tips are particularly useful during times when you are networking, engaged in casual conversation in a business environment (i.e a conference), eating a meal with colleagues or any other time you can think about when business, conversation, and relationship building are able to happen at a particular time.

1.  Ask questions.  This is particularly important when networking.  People get bored quickly when all someone does is talk about themselves (especially if the person's whole coversation is I, I, I, I, I,  - I saw this, I like that, I think this).  It seems like this should be common knowledge but you'd be surprised!  This is crucial because people absolutely love to talk about themselves and warm up quicker to people who:

       a.  Are interested in hearing what they have to say

       b.  Seem to genuinely want to learn more about them and what they do

       c.   Appear enthusiastic and energetic.

Asking questions makes you look like an engaging person with a genuine curiosity and THIS is very powerful.

2. Listen, and pay close attention to what they are saying.  Another great tactic in a networking environment.  I say this because VERY few people in conversations do this:

"Ok so if I heard you correctly what you're saying is this. . ."

Listen closely to their conversation and at a point when they may pause to take a breath or they have finished a point you do a quick summarization of what they said or you could pick an idea they were discussion to ask for clarification about.  This makes people feel good and it builds rapport.  Believe me people know when you are halfway listening to them and its a turnoff.

3. Have, in your pockets, a few facts and opinions to share during the conversation - that aren't your own.  When discussing an issue, an idea, a business trend, etc.  always bring to the table others ideas of what you are talking about to share. It lets people know that you aren't just an opinion person, or you only know your perspective.  It shows that you are thinking and looking at the issues from numerous facets.  It also allows you to gauge the ideas of others and find out where they are on the issue before you share your position. 

4. Do research and be informed.  Before talking to a business mentor, or networking, or talking to some colleagues know what's going to be valuable and pertinent so that you can be an asset to the conversation. This way when communication begins you are able to contribute intelligently to the discussion, get down to the crux of the issue and talk about only what is germane to topic that the conversation will revolve around.  In business arenas this is worth its weight in gold. 

5. Use analogies to bring understanding and clarity to your point.  Your conversation becomes powerful when you sandwich it in ideas and concepts that many people can understand.  How is what you're talking about like housework.  How is what you're talking about similar to driving a car.  How does what you're talking about resemble a boxing match.  When you are able to do this effectively people are able to relate to you and your ideas in multiple ways, and that's powerful!

Weight Training Your Conversation

So tell me what do you want to talk about? The weather? A problem at work you're having? The Olympics? Wait. Maybe you want to discuss this new killer idea you have that will take the world by storm! Whichever one of these it is that you want to talk about, I am sure that you don't want to people to just "hear" you but you want them to pay close attention to what you are saying.

Just take Paul Jay CEO of the The Real News from our previous post. His conversation is engaging. It’s passionate. It’s telling you what it is that he is about and what it is he is trying to do in a way that captures your attention.

Now whether you are an innovator trying to discuss your new breakthrough idea, networking to find a new job opportunity, or informational interviewing to find out valuable information about a particular field, your success will be determined in large part by how strong your conversational skills are.

In many ways conversation is an art and a science. Not many think of it like that but once you shift your thinking about it to this way you'll definitely see a different world when it comes to talking and discussions. Michael Jordan was a master craftsman when it came to basketball because he  perceived his "job" as an art and a science. Reading about it. Studying it. Practicing it. Performing it - again and again and again until he was proficient and absolutely dominant. He had a "weight training" program to build a strong, effective, and dangerously efficient basketball game that would dominate his competitors. It’s the same thing with Tiger Woods, David Beckham, or Roger Federer.

It’s the same with any endeavor anyone chooses to pursue. Be it car design, marketing, or teaching you have to see it as an art and a science and weight train in it so that you build strong and effective strategies to accomplish your goals. Now your objectives  can only be fine tuned when you establish and build a strong foundation. As a sports player that base is conditioning - being in shape. You can have all the dribbling, kicking, passing, and swinging skills in the world but if your body isn't prepared for the rigor -  you can forget it. In business that strong foundation needs to be conversational skills. You can have the best idea, the best product or the best service in the universe but if you can't have a great and/or effective conversation about it - you're done.
 
Now this isn't to say that you need to be a conversation guru in order to be successful.  But what I am saying is that being savvy with your conversation skills will alleviate many obstacles for you and in numerous ways will streamline your success in whatever endeavors you are pursuing.

Next post I'll discuss the top 5 strengths needed in order to have successful, effective and productive conversations.

The REAL News??

Over the last handful of years the advent of user generated content has transformed  and innovated the way we interact with the web.  Established businesses such as Myspace, Facebook, Youtube, Flikr (and the list goes on) have proven that the new paradigm, where  consumers and customers dictate what it is they want, is here to stay.  Ebay, Amazon, and Netflix are other businesses which have grown and prospered as a result of also harnessing this approach of leveraging the power of their users. This strategy successfully utilizes not only your ideas and opinions but those of the thousands upon thousands of other individuals who are looking for something that reflects the ideas of what you as an audience member wants and how to enhance that customer experience. 

Interestingly enough I was in a conversation with a good friend of mine who always brings to the table cool ideas, great insight and new perspectives to all of our discussions and she introduced me to the Real News website, which I found in many ways - revolutionary.  Not because it was going to have better reporters, or more interesting stories, or smarter commentary but because of their funding model - which as CEO Paul Jay states "will have no corporate funding, no government funding and no advertising". 

HUUUHH?!?!?

When my friend first told me about it my antennas immediately went up.  I LIKE IT!  But how the hell does that work?  I watched  the Youtube  clip and was seriously taken in by Jay's passion and this new concept of "real news".  One reason to me why it is so intriguing is because it puts an interesting twist on the idea of "user generated".  Take 6 minutes and watch the clip.  Maybe the REVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED. . .