Great video above on the power of blogging. I find myself talking about my tiny little blog more than I ever thought I would. I blog to build my brand and make me better. The blog forces you to think and stay relevant. It is mental pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups all in one. When I discuss blogging, the conversation turns into why I believe that everyone should blog. The video above sums it up. I have been reading Tom Peters since high school thanks to my father, an entrepreneur. Peters’ statement in the video is powerful and compelling.
Great guest post by Monica Harrington at TechFlash. I also have some (limited) experience with Mike Maples. He was a board member of a previous employer. The “100% market share” mentality and culture there was pervasive and infectious. If you are not trying to change the world, what are you trying to do? That phrase kept me going many times on long flights and longer nights.
I attended the first speed networking event in Seattle this week and was pretty impressed. Take the speed dating concept and apply it to professionals. Before the event, I ranked my areas of interest, and they matched me up with 10 other professionals. Overall I was impressed. The people I met were professional, polished and knew why they were there. Most were actively looking to expand their professional networks and get new ideas. I know that I walked away with one or two new ideas, so it was worthwhile.
Coffee is a lot of things in Seattle. If you are an independent coffee house in this town you need to elevate and differentiate your game. Nice read in the Coffee City blog about Fremont Coffee. They have recently started roasting their own beans. What they have really started doing is elevating their core competency. As a fan of the peaberry, I wish them luck.
Solid read on the WSJ blogs on why you need to “ABC” “A, Always B, Be C, Closing” on you. Another great tidbit from over the weekend, “Do not focus on the role. Focus on you. If they are looking only for requirements on a job rec, you will be unhappy within 6 months — if you get the job.”
A few conversations on SaaS based CRM have recently centered on privacy. The SaaS problem regardless of solution is privacy and integration into core corporate systems. Always has been. Always will. There needs to be a dose of reality though. Cloud based e-mail is reality and many companies are moving that way. Those systems have the same or greater privacy concerns, yet that never seems to be the objection. Maybe if user adoption was higher on CRM systems, they privacy question would be moot.
Another read on Amazon’s private brands. I would love to think that the WSJ got inspiration from my earlier post Amazon’s private brands. Plus I re-learned that Pinzon is the name of the Spanish explorer who discovered the Amazon River. In reality, the new products and accounting for “general merchandise” are getting mainstream attention.
A solid read by my friend and former colleague Eric Heine on the Integra Technology Consulting Blog. Eric and I delivered a very large Siebel implementation in record time many, many moons ago. He is a true leader in CRM implementations and decries “package slamming”. To add my $0.02, user adoption is key in any type of CRM implementation, and a client will be as successful as they want to be. To slam in a package without the proper consideration for your process and your team does not make “sense or cents”.
Interesting read on the Verasage Institute blog on consulting. Check FORD – a model for consulting. The Findings, Options, Recommendations and Decisions steps bring to mind the keep it simple mantra.
Question: How do you know if you are overpaying for consulting?
Answer: If you ask the consultant the time and he asks to see your watch.
Gist makes the move from private beta to public this morning. I have been a beta user for awhile and think highly of the product. If you are in Sales, Sales Operations, Sales Enablement or just want your inbox to be more functional, try it out.
Check out my earlier posts on Gist for more details:
I am a technology veteran with a signature “Show the love,” philosophy to successfully create, build and deliver great customer relationship experiences.
