What City is Best for Your Business, Your Life?
I just finished reading Richard Florida’s “Who’s Your City?” It’s a cool book that takes a look at the impact of where you live on your professional and social opportunities. Florida conducted research to understand what places attract entrepreneurial minds, how they do it, and its affect on the regions these places inhabit.
He also …
Avoid Using Your Employer’s Name in Your Twitter Account
Using your employer’s name in your Twitter account can be a little problematic for you for a number of different reasons. Unless you’re using an employee-specific account, you’re going to have problems if you use your employer’s name as part of your personal brand.
Let’s say you work for Lamplighters Lighting Solutions and you launch …
Making Small Talk
The top three fatal errors you can make as a leader are:
Failing to leverage your market position Negotiating with irrational forces Not articulating your vision with vigorThis “don’t” checklist works for business, consumer and personal brands. The deadly dangerous part is this: you have to be right with all three rules if you …
Personal Branding Interview: Jason Keith
Today, I spoke to Jason Keith, who is the senior communications manager at Vistaprint and runs the small business blog at Boston.com. In this interview, Jason talks about how social media can waste a small businesses time, tips for companies who want to build a brand in this bad economy, and much more.
You say…Day of the Dead
The top three fatal mistakes you can make in marketing are:
Underrating your competition (and failing to create a competitive advantage) Misunderstanding what your target market (audience) will buy and why Failing to repeatedly deliver a crisp, clear, consistent and compelling messageThis “don’t” checklist works for business, consumer and personal brands. The deadly dangerous …
Personal Branding Interview: Daniel Goleman
Today, I spoke to Daniel Goleman, who is an internationally known psychologist that lectures frequently to professional groups, business audiences, and on college campuses. Goleman reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times for many years. His 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence was on The New York Times bestseller list for a …
Follow the Bouncing Ball
If you’ve job hopped a lot, you’re in really good company. The average person changes jobs 11 times within 32 years, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hence, your average tenure at one workplace will be slightly below three years, as reported by economist Chuck Pierret who has followed 10,000 workers since 1979.…
Watershed Moments: 5 Stories of Personal Re-Branding After September 11th
Where were you on September 11th, 2001? It’s rare that such a specific moment can be remembered by an entire population, but such is the case with that day. As we approach the 10 year anniversary (hard to believe, right?) of such a horrific experience, it’s important to reflect on how our society has evolved …
Avoid Babbitry and Stand Out From the Crowd
Do you suffer from babbitry?
It means an excessive feeling of self-satisfaction. It also means small-mindedness, smugness, middle-class mentality.
But my friend, novelist Cathy Day, gave me the best definition of all: a person and especially a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle-class standards. The word comes from Sinclair Lewis’ novel, …
Networking Without Neediness
How do you meet people at a dinner or networking event? How do you approach a total stranger without coming off too aggressively or being seen as looking to make a contact to better one’s self?
Steve Boyle of No Excuses, No Regrets Basketball, asked me that question via email a few months ago, and …