Runa Heilung's Blog, page 14

3 Reasons You Should Add Wiselike To Your Social Strategy

Add another Social Media platform to my platform? Are you kidding me?

Facebook. LinkedIn, Twitter, Google +, Pinterest, Instagram, and a plethora of others. Why on earth would I want another one?

Ease of Use – Have your profile up in minutes, and start asking questions. Alternatively, you can also ask questions anonymously.
Expert Status – Position yourself as the expert you are. Use strategic headlines and skills tags to highlight your areas of expertise.
Expanded Platform – Every social media site has its plus sides and its drawbacks. Wiselike is perfect for someone who wants a go-to site where their expertise is on display.

 

Wiselike is a social platform. It works, like everything else, when you work it. Set up your profile. Start asking other people questions. Subscribe to them. Share on social! It will come back to you!

Check out my Wiselike Profile, and ask me a question or two. www.wiselike.com/michele-jennae

4 Terms of Engagement

From the archives 

Engagement is a term that is recently popping up in applications other than the military: “rules of engagement” and marriage: “we’re engaged”! Now the term in increasingly more often found in reference to business relationship development. So what exactly does engagement mean?

According to Wiktionary.com the French engager can mean to pledge or commit to, to involve, or to encourage, and the suffix ment is from the French mentum and means the result or product of an action (Online Etymology Dictionary).

CAUSE & EFFECT! To me this is poetic. Just as a marriage engagement requires two people to be committed to each other, engagement in business relationships also implies reciprocation among two or more parties.

Wiktionary offers 6 definitions of engager, but I will focus on 4.

to pledge, commit

Here you understand the value of this person and commit to them, to learning about them, what is important to them, what needs they have, and if you can help them in some way. You commence interaction.
to involve

Your audience begins interaction with you because of your active commitment to them, shown in your verbal and nonverbal, online and offline communication. Delivering value for the sake of delivering value is essential at this stage. This is not about selling.
to encourage

This made me think of the phrase, No one likes to be SOLD, but Everyone loves to BUY. This is where you motivate them through increased value to stay engaged with you or your brand. This value add might have a price attached, but they will not feel sold.
to enlist

This is the Active Stage where your call to action is heeded based on their response to the previous 3 steps. This is where sphere of influence becomes influenSPHERE* as they identify with you and your brand. They are now in varying stages of customers, clients, and raving fans. This is where  Return On Relationship  happens. (Thanks to Ted Rubin for #ROnR terminology!)

Click To Tweet

There are a lot of people really excited about Social Media these days because they think that it’s a short cut to engagement. While it IS an additional tool, it is NOT a short cut. I don’t think it makes the other Tools in the Toolbox (like letter writing) obsolete. The offline tools for building relationship STILL WORK. You still need a hammer to build a house, but now you can draw and share your plans online!

Social Media is another tool to add depth to our engagement, and it just may be MORE work, because we have to fight harder for people’s attention. But it is SOOOO worth it.

*influenSPHERE : n. [in-floo-uhn sfeer] the specific part of your network with which you are actively involved, currently and ongoing, and therefore have the most influence.

How do you engage your audience, clients, customers, influenSPHERE?

Candidate Traits: Rigor In The Workplace

As I was writing the post 7 Traits That Set You Apart As A Candidate, I recalled reading a story that perfectly illustrated Rigor, the 2nd of the 7 traits mentioned. Curiously this ‘story’ appeared in the book Lead With A Story by Paul Smith.

Rigor, as defined in the original Fast Company article that inspired my 7 Traits post, is the ability to take in evidence, integrate information from multiple sources, derive meaning from it, and make critical decisions quickly.

(Note: The 7 Traits are known as the Koru7, as they were developed by Kristen Hamilton of Koru, to define what a high impact hire might look like.)

Let’s get to the story, my paraphrased version. The original story is found in Chapter 20 of Lead With A Story.

Rigor in Market Research

A market research manager was looking to promote one of three talented researchers on her team. She would have like to promote all three but wasn’t able to at the time, so she gave each of them a challenge. As brand managers came to the research department often with projects, the challenge was to provide the best solution to the next brand manager who crossed their department threshold.

That brand manager’s challenge was that he had several new ideas for his brand, and was requesting a concept test in order to determine the best idea to move forward with.

A week later, the three researchers came back with their findings.

Researcher 1 developed a perfect test with a leg for each of the new ideas as well as a baseline leg for the current brand concept to compare. His test was designed for age, education and income and also had a target of respondents to adequately represent the diversity of the country’s population.

Researcher 2 determined that the new concepts were similar enough to to require separate testing. The biggest differences existed in the wording describing each concept, so she designed a test to identify the most convincing wording. This solution would be much cheaper to execute than tests for each idea, and make it easier to pick the winning concept.

Researcher 3 appeared not to have done their “homework”, producing no testing plans for the new concept. Hiss boss was surprised, thinking that perhaps he didn’t really want the promotion. He quickly countered by saying that he didn’t think the brand needed any more research and presented the reasons for his opinion. The current concept had already scored very high in concept tests, the advertising for it was well received in the marketplace , and consumer awareness was high. The issue with the brand seemed to be price point.

Researcher 3 suggested that the advertising budget be reduced by 10% after he found that the advertising had reached a saturation point. That savings could afford them a price reduction to the brand, making it more competitive, and actually increasing sales.

Who do you think demonstrated Rigor the best? While they all demonstrated it well, Researcher 3 excelled and was chosen for promotion. 

 

5 Hiring Qualities This Startup Founder Looks For

First, a little about the startup and the founder so you know why you should take note of the hiring qualities he’s looking for.

Kyu Lee is the founder of Wiselike.com, a question and answer site, where you can position yourself as the expert you are.

A terrifically navigable site, it is designed to get you rolling as an expert in about a minute. Upload a photo, an 85 character headline, a 120 character sub-headline, your social links, and the tags for your area(s) of expertise. It is easy to subscribe to your choice of experts, ask questions, reply, and share socially.

The site is still in Beta, at just over 3 months old, but Kyu Lee has already secured seed funding via GGV Capital to fuel its growth. Personally, I can see it getting BIG fast!

>>Check out his answer on Wiselike to the question How did you start getting connected with people in the VC space?

You might never apply for a job with Wiselike, but if startups are your thing, this is what Kyu looks for in a candidate. (His qualities in bold, my commentary in italics.)

That article I mentioned above couldn’t wait until tomorrow. HA!

1. Passion –  Call it passion. Call it grit. Startups, especially in the beginning, don’t typically represent an easy career choice. Not as founder. Not as employee. They spend many sleepless nights and long days working to push their business to a tipping point of acceptance in the marketplace and profitability. A Forbes article by Neil Patel says that 90% of startups fail so PASSION is a must!

2. Entrepreneurial spirit –  Fear of failure has to be non-existent. Entrepreneurs don’t like failing any more than the rest of the average Joes and Janes out there, but they know it is a part of the process, an ESSENTIAL part of the process. Having an entrepreneurial spirit means that you must be willing to take risks, and learn from your fail  – let’s call them setbacks.

3. Trustworthy –  Trust is essential. In any business really. But dishonesty can cause an otherwise successful entrepreneurial venture to crumble. 

4. Intelligent –  This one sounds easy, but thinking in the entrepreneurial, start-up space is no joke. Things change at the speed of technology. That’s not fast, that’s supersonic!

5. Culture Fit –  In my soon to be published parable on career traits, CHARGE: The Patchwork Rhino, the primary character learns about cultural compatibility. It’s less about diversity and affirmative action, and more about finding your place within what is potentially a crazy culture. Definitely not for everyone.

Are you startup employee material??

So if you do decide to get Wiselike, I’ve got an additional comment or two…..

It’s Friday and even though this is a FridayFive post, I can’t help but want to official launch #WiselikeWednesday! Engagement in Social Media is always highest Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the professional world, so let’s start a movement for Wiselike!

I’ll be posting here on my blog, on LinkedIn and of course on Twitter with the hashtag #WiselikeWednesday, and you can do the same! Share your profile on Wednesdays, Questions on Wednesdays, Answers on Wednesdays!!!

5 Strategies to Boost VISIBILITY For Your Brand

Joie Gharrity is the Voice of VISIBILITY, bringing insights from Hollywood to mainstream business. You’ll want to follow her like paparazzi for all of her Hollywood Insider information! Her Facebook group Branding for Professional Business Women is a great place to do just that. (Tell her I sent you!)

VISIBILITY Strategy #1: Develop a clear company branded “voice”

Joie’s “voice” is Hollywood and VISIBILITY (purposefully in all caps!) You might consider that yelling, but she’s got a message she wants you to hear, loud and clear!
VISIBILITY Strategy #2: Create a clear brand strategy marketing campaign

Consistency in communication allows your audience to connect with you much more quickly than randomness, even when it makes sense to you. This is something I am admittedly still working on. If you want to see it in action, watch Joie!
VISIBILITY Strategy #3: Leverage your social media business channels

Multiple platforms are available for you to spread your message far and wide. Which ones to use? Use the ones your target audience use, and the ones you are most comfortable with. Don’t hesitate to learn more about the social channels that intimidate you if your audience hangs out there.
VISIBILITY Strategy #4: Incorporate video into your professional brand

Technology advances are driving the popularity of video, and livestreaming is all the rage now with Blab and Periscope. At a minimum, YouTube or Vimeo should be integrated into your strategy, as people can relate to you in a more meaningful way when they can see your face, or impactful visuals.
VISIBILITY Strategy #5: Ongoing professional support

This is what Joie calls your Hollywood Crew! She says, “Surrounding yourself with professional support is important aspect of growing your company brand.”

The above is my commentary on Joie’s five strategies. To read the REAL STORY, head over to No. 113 Branding.

“Your company brand VISIBILITY in the marketplace is directly linked to your brands earning power.”

Brand Strategist, Social Media Influencer & Speaker

Joie Gharrity

No. 113 Branding on Facebook

No. 113 Branding website

Brand Sense is Not Nonsense

All I have to do to think about the importance of Branding is to look at my latest Driver’s License picture. The last time I was called in for a renewal, I was up to test in order to prove my aptitude with traffic laws in order to keep my license active.

What I did not count on was that they were going to take a new picture. I had always been so careful in the past to have my hair done, makeup applied, and even joked with the employee taking the pictures in order to have the most flattering DL picture. Not this time. I was completely unprepared.

I cringe every time I have to pull out my driver’s license now because I feel that it is such a poor representation of me. My brand, I think, is blemished.

OK, that may be taking the whole branding a bit too far, but it serves as a good metaphor. You have probably heard that “you are who you associate with,” but have you heard that “you are also what you associate yourself with”?

Some people think that brand is overrated especially for the individual, but I beg to differ, especially if that individual is representing themselves in any sort of professional endeavor. My way of thinking is that YOU are an entity, or something that exists as a particular and concrete unit. And your identity is the ID or identification of your personal entity.

The problem is that if you do not take the steps to define your Personal Brand ID (think of the Driver’s License fiasco above), it will be determined for you. I am sure you can think of times where you felt you were misrepresented, and you can probably think of steps you could have taken to avoid that misrepresentation.

My point is that whether you like it or not, someone is identifying (branding) you, placing you into a category, or multiple categories, which you may or may not wish to represent. Doesn’t it make sense then to plan ahead how you want to be represented?

Think of brand as more than a logo or icon. It is a set of values, a mission statement, a code of ethics, a particular focus, and these things can all be represented in the visual by colors, shapes, and styles, but ultimately your brand should be much more comprehensive.

Think of brand as a verb, not just a noun. None of the above – values, a mission statement, a code of ethics, a particular focus – is of any value unless you live them.

Watch for tomorrow’s post featuring the wisdom of Joie Gharrity of No. 113 Branding on increasing your Brand’s Visibility!

7 Traits That Set You Apart As A Candidate

7 Traits That Set You Apart As A Candidate – and it’s not your GPA!

Grit – By far my favorite. Grit implies that you are willing to dig in and do whatever it takes to get what you want (within moral guidelines and boundaries, of course). A company wants to know, not only that you have grit, but that your grit is applicable to their goals as well.
Rigor – Oh data overload. It’s not uncommon in our hyper connected world. The question is: can you take the data you are given and ask the right questions to arrive at a meaningful and critical decision?
Impact – Impact requires understanding how your own goals and vales align with a company’s goals and values and knowing how to organize priorities to achieve them.
Teamwork – Do you work well with other people? Can you function as a leader on one project and a willing member of the team on another? Can you respect the roles others assume or are assigned? Do you work well with other social styles, recognizing emotional clues?
Ownership – We’ve all been given lemons in life. What sets people apart is how they handle them. Making lemonade is a metaphor for looking for ways to make something positive out of what you’ve got. It doesn’t have to mean you own it forever, but while it’s yours, take care of it.
Curiosity – If you’ve got grit and rigor down, then you’d better have this one wrapped up as well. What else do you want to know about the industry, company, and people you’ll potentially be working with? If you don’t have any questions for your interviewer, it’s a huge red flag for them.
Polish – What you say and how you say it! Polish is all about communication. Oh, and don’t forget, how you look communicates a message too!

These seven traits were taken from a Fast Company article by  called THESE 7 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS WILL HELP YOU HIRE THE BEST PERSON FOR THE JOB. I’d encourage a read through of the article to get a perspective on what an interviewer is looking for after you’ve considered my interpretations of the traits and how developed they are in your professional life.

Candidate Profile “I Can Do This In My Sleep!’

I am super excited to share this story of what a CANDIDATE looks like, compared to an applicant, even though this is about a friend and colleague, not a client.

Meet Lany.

She is a business owner looking to transition into full time employment, but only because the perfect opportunity has crossed her path.

About 2 months ago, she had an epiphany while working with her client Athena Moberg, an up and coming powerful speaker delivering “Straight Talk and Strategies for Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse.” Lany’s epiphany was that she was completely satisfied working for Athena. Satisfied in the sense that this was challenging work, but completely fulfilling.

Fast forward a few weeks, Moberg mentioned to Lany that she knew of a job position she might be interested in applying for. Lany was not really looking to be a zombie in the workplace, but was intrigued. There was a highly successful speaker in South Carolina looking for an in-house event planner. Her business had outgrown the agency she was working with and they were looking to hire a dedicated person to handle her demanding events schedule.

Having worked with speakers in the past, 5 or 6 just in the past year, Lany knew that her epiphany had led her to the serendipity of this opportunity. Working with Athena Moberg had helped her to see just exactly what work was most fulfilling to her.

Lany applied for the job.

But not before scouring this speaker’s website, watching every YouTube video of hers, and thoroughly researching the geographic area she would be relocating to, should she eventually be hired. Lany says, “If I am going to go ALL IN, I want to know everything about who I am working for, where I am working…” She even researched the agency that had heretofore handled the speaker’s events.

Tomorrow morning, Lany boards a plane from Denver, Colorado to South Carolina where she will have her third interview. There are 3 other people interviewing for the same position.

Since hearing of this opportunity, Lany has breathed, eaten, and dreamed about this opportunity, the last one – literally. “I even dreamed I was hired.”

She says that she is committed to and excited about the potential relocation, having already researched the community she’d live in, right down to potential living spaces.

“Don’t get me wrong,” she says. “I know the job will be super demanding, and will probably mean sleepless nights and high stress. But I’ve done it before, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather do it than in a company I believe in.”

“I can do this in my sleep.”

Lany is an ideal CANDIDATE first and foremost because of her mindset. She is positive, but not blindly so. She is backing up her positive attitude with a ton of homework and preparation, not just for the interviews, but for the moment she is hired (hopefully), and her potentially upcoming relocation.

She has also hit all 3 Rs of the Candidate process Resonance (an exploration of self, identifying values, passions, skills, abilities, and qualifications), Relevance (what the employer is looking for – attitude, skills, motivation, dependability, culture match, etc.) and Relationship (developing meaningful engagement with every person she meets in this process).

*The 3 Rs are part of an soon to be published book by Michele Jennae called Candidate: How to Position Yourself As The Clear Choice For The Job You Want

Regarding relationship, Lany says she does it with “respectful intentions,” showing even in her resume that she labeled purposefully “Your Next Event Planner.”

Wishing you well Lany! May part 2 of this post share in your success!

The 4 Stages of a Successful Idea Launch

I suppose at the core, an idea is just a thought. The etymological root means archetype or model.

Ideas are EVERYWHERE! And usually they are not all that original. You might have heard it said, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

Sometimes you’ll have this most amazing thought about something, and then some time later, you’ll see it show up from someone else.

When this happens, our first thought is “Hey, they stole my idea.” Chances are they don’t know you at all, have no affiliation with you, but perhaps put the same two and two together, and then they launched THEIR idea.

You can do the same, but it requires putting in the work, before someone else does. The following acronym for I.D.E.A.  is a great way to remind yourself what it takes to launch your idea. ( I just love a good acronym!)

I is for INNOVATION:

Innovation is presenting something as new. And since nothing is new under the sun, we must innovate taking that archetype of model of another’s idea, thought, or brainchild and putting our very own spin on it.

D is for DEVELOPMENT

A good idea goes through several stages of refining, tweaking and molding. For an idea to be understood, it must also be simplified (a part of the development process) as well, because often an ideal will fail to take hold because of its complexity.

E is for EXECUTION

Idea execution is not just about getting that idea out to the public. It’s also about putting that idea to the test for viability and acceptability. Not all ideas are truly workable under current conditions. Acceptability in the marketplace is often slow going for something truly innovative.

A is for ADMINISTRATION

You’ve put your idea out there. But execution of your idea doesn’t mean your job is done. Now you must keep tabs on it. You might find that you still need to refine it. Promote it. See who your early adopters are for signs of acceptability. Keep pushing.

Did you like this article? PIN this image!

What’s your big idea? Where are you in the I.D.E.A. process?

The 5 P’s of Success

I don’t know how many times I have heard the phrase “Fake it ‘til you make it,” and thought, to myself, “Really?”

“Just put this uniform on and get out there on the field and act like you know what you’re doing.” I’d bet that no NFL football coach or Olympic gymnastics coach EVER said that to the members of the team they were charged with. EVER!

I imagine they would use a more reliable format that followed some logic, like the 5 P’s of Success for example.

Preparation
Practice
Positioning
Performance
Persistence

Preparation might include talent although it has been seen many a time that a less talented person who works hard and applies themselves often excels far above the person with natural talent who expects their talent alone to carry them. Preparation is homework, which doesn’t end just because we leave school. In fact, I think that if teachers really taught the value of study and research as it applied to life after high school, we would have a far more effective workforce. Most people may not realize it but even improv actors spend hours and hours preparing.

Preparation is also mental. It is a combination of positive attitude and commitment. No chicken exits on this roller coaster ride.

Practice is next. You cannot practice what you do not know. A football coach doesn’t just tell his players to get out onto the field to practice until he has shown them the plays, given them the drills. Once they know the drill, however, they spend hours and hours practicing sometimes only one play so that the timing and delivery is spot on.

Positioning is key as well, and often an overlooked part of the success puzzle. Let’s stay with the football analogy for a minute here and imagine that this particular play that the team has prepared for and practiced time and time again is a long pass for a touchdown. The timing and delivery could be perfect after all the hours of repetition, but if the team they are playing has a different playing style than they anticipated, the pass might not be the optimal one to score. This team might find it more effective if they pulled another play from their playbook that scored the touchdown with a ground rush. This is positioning. They would position themselves by determining their playbook ahead of time and by studying the team they were up against.

The performance is really where the rubber meets the road. Now there is an audience. It’s make it or break it time. Everything is on the line, including more often than not, MONEY! Here, all of the preparation, practice and positioning will determine whether that performance is a win or not. Can you imagine a serious football game played with a “fake it ‘til you make it” attitude?

Persistence might be the most important of all. Think about it, you can prepare, practice, position, and perform, and yet life is not a one-off. You might make a great play or a not so great play. You’ve got to get back up and do it all again. The game consists not of just one play. The season consists of not just one game. The streak does not come from just one win. Do it again. And again. And again. When you fail, do it again. When you succeed, do it again.

After investing many hours and loads of effort, you just might find yourself to be one of those lucky overnight successes!