Monthly Archives: August 2008

Aug26

The Privacy Issue – Social Networking

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The Privacy Issue – Social Networking

Earlier I blogged that I was in “social networking overload” and I meant it and mean it.  There is a definite series of advantages to Social Networking, and a definite series of DIS-advantages.  First and foremost is the control factor for PRIVACY.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/steering-between-unsocial-networks-and-social-spam/ The NYTimes Blog “Bits” talks about this eloquently.  And I will add a few of my pennies worth of opinion as well.

I do a lot of things, vocationally and alternatively, I do not always want all of my various skills and/or projects lumped together for the viewing pleasure of “whomever”.  My true circle of friends know that I am active in a variety of diverse interests, but a prospective client/employer may not want or need to know if I am an active amateur screenwriter or not. 

In fact it might hinder one’s employment possibilities if one was an avid skydiver and the firm looking at the profile was averse to risk-takers. (This is a hypothetical ONLY).  And believe me, many companies DO google and search on Social Network sites to see what you have been up to.  It would be good to be able to set up conditions for what people are able to see in the public arena, and levels of what people can see in the private arena. 

Some Social Networking Sites are looking in to how to do that, but just as for allowing communication – the whole ability to control who sees what and who can talk to whom, is a big issue.  And a techno-challenge.  Security is in the eye of the beholder, and we also have to figure out how to protect those who are too young to understand the predatory nature of some of our fellow humans.

It is a conundrum, and I am excited to see how it will be addressed.  In the meantime, remember “be careful out there”.

Aug24

Common Sense?

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Common Sense?

The older I get, the more amazed I am at how small the pool of practical behaviors known as “common sense” actually is.  Case in point – we recently facilitated the offer of a contract to a gentleman in another State to come and work for our client in this State.

This gentleman, with many years of experience, made a series of assumptions and did not communicate those assumptions to anyone in our company or the client company.  And in fact, because the client company was not totally organized, he decided to take a vacation during a week where we and the client thought he would be accessible from home and would participate in conference calls and emails.  He did neither of these things, and was basically AWOL for over a week. 

Now he is outraged that he was fired, outraged that his expenses are not getting reimbursed.  This bit surprised me more than the behavior leading up to the termination.

Texas is a state that allows people and companies to sever employment without cause. 

And most professionals communicate when they are planning on a vacation or will be in communicado for any period of time.  

The lesson? It is worth the risk of sounding condescending, to spell out everything to everyone regardless of their level of expertise or experience.

Aug8

Social Network Overload

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Social Network Overload

I think I have officially crossed the line of sanity with regards to Social Networking Sites.  I need a “Social Network Secretary” just to keep track of them all.  And I know I am not making best use of them – I’m not “working” them like the master networkers do.

If you think I am exaggerating here is a partial list of the sites I belong to, who are either self-proclaimed Social Networking Sites or have evolved in that direction:

  1. Plaxo
  2. Linkedin (and several subgroups of Linkedin)
  3. Brightfuse
  4. Myspace
  5. Facebook
  6. Brijj
  7. Ning (and several subgroups of Ning)
  8. Salesconx
  9. TooStep
  10. Konnects
  11. Xing
  12. Jigsaw
  13. GoodTree
  14. YourCause

I am drowning in emails asking for connections, adds, or to help find someone to fill an open job req.  And I am overloaded.  I love the concept, I do.  I just need to figure out how to manage it all.  And to that end, I invite suggestions and comments.

One must remember that even though they use the word “Social” in their descriptions and often have a lot of “Social” activity – the sites were meant to fill a functional need.  The tools are not universally compatible.  They allow you to plunder your MS Outlook contact list, but are not very easily downloaded back to that list (for example I fried the motherboard of my favorite laptop last winter and would have greatly benefited from being able to recreate my contact list on my new laptop). Some of the lists give you a certain amount of privacy, others let it all hang out – so to speak.

The members are as varied as the applications – some are avid “collectors” of connections – some do not respond to polite inquiry of any kind. 

At some point I expect that there will be a collapse of the sites, and one or two major players will emerge.  But I don’t think it will be the big guys that are in the ring right now… somewhere someone with a fresh approach and the ability to accommodate a variety of true networking needs will rise to the occasion and blow the others out of the water.

In the meantime, I am grateful for my rolodex – which is how I still keep track of my website memberships and passwords even in this electronic age.  I will continue to slog through the sites, looking for my Xanadu of networking.

ADDENDUM: 8/26/08 – http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/steering-between-unsocial-networks-and-social-spam/ This is the other big issue with Social Networking…well, one of the other issues.

Aug7

One for the Gipper

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One for the Gipper

Too often small businesses fly by the seat of their pants in terms of Operations – their focus is on “The Sale”, “The Placement”, “The Big Win”.  The pre and post-win activity is relegated to the lowest paying member of the staff.  Usually an Administrative Assistant who makes sure that all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed.  This person’s expertise in business, law, and hr codes is usually limited.  Their ability to negotiate, communicate, and set policies and procedures is likewise limited.  And so the person in that position – well meaning and trying hard to meet the needs of the business – often burns out and leaves.

Whether the small business experiences tremendous turnover in the admin slot – or whether they are just frustrated by why they cannot seem to break through a “glass ceiling” of sales/placements/wins – they are stuck there because of their inability to see how important the “details” are and to allocate resources to the areas that are weak.  

If you are on a sports team, your coach will tell you to play to your strengths and analyze the other teams weaknesses in order to leverage your strengths.  The coach will also analyze the overall strengths and weaknesses of his/her team as a group and seek to augment the “holes” by finding appropriate talent with those strengths to recruit to their team.  That is deemed good leadership.  Yet the “coach” of a small business “team” often tries to play all positions, and expects their team to do so as well.

Is it any wonder why so many small businesses suffer from “arrested development”?

What can be done to “fix” this? 

First, as with so many self-help programs – you must acknowledge you have a problem.

Then take stock – BE THE COACH – and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your TEAM.  Where do you need help? What strengths and skills are in your team that are not being utilized?  Where are there mismatches between resource and task?  Where are the holes?

Sometimes you will find that you have big gaps in the strengths needed and the resources to provide them.  Here is where you really can shine as a coach – because not all teams have all the strengths they would like to have, but a good coach can still direct his/her team to win by playing to the strengths present and minimizing the losses.  

Remember it is okay to know what resources you will be looking for in the future, it is understood that not every team will have ideal conditions, resources, and members. This way you have a PLAN.

To get out ahead of your competition, you have to understand what you have to work with, and make best use of it.  And you have to know what you need, so you will recognize it when you find it.  For Example: knowing you need a strong office manager, means knowing what that person will be doing, the skills and strengths needed for the job, and how that person will interact as part of your team.

Aug6

Natalia Corres Speaking at the Writer’s Guild of Texas in Aug. 2008

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Natalia Corres Speaking at the Writer’s Guild of Texas in Aug. 2008

Okay, this is a shameless plug – not just for myself but for the Writer’s Guild of Texas, a wonderful group supporting the efforts of local authors/aspiring authors.

I will be speaking on August 18th, 2008 at the Writer’s Guild of Texas meeting:

The WGT meets on the third Monday of each month from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
in the basement conference room of the Richardson Public Library,
900 Civic Center Drive, Richardson, Texas 75080.
My topic is “So you want a website…now what?” a brief primer on the joys of setting up or having set up a website for your promoting pleasure.  Hope to see you there!
Aug1

I know a secret…

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I know a secret…

I know a secret about people.  All people.  Yep… even about people I don’t know and will never meet.

Want to know what it is?  Promise not to tell?

People always do what is most important to them.  Always.  They don’t always think of it in terms of what is important or not – in fact it is mostly a subconsious activity – but you can always tell what is important to them by what they actually do.

Did I confuse you? 

Here’s an example – a friend begs you to let them “help” you move, you need the help so you jump on the opportunity and then – they are 30 minutes late, pack all your crystal without bubblewrap, and spend most of their time on the phone with their (fill in the blank).  What was the part that was important to them?  Making a show that they wanted to help. And talking to whomever it was on their Blackberry.  If you were to confront him/her with the half hour wait, the lack of care in packing or the fact that they spent most of their time gabbing instead of helping he/she would be taken aback at your ungratefulness.  Yet you come away from the experience not terribly happy for the “help”.

Another example: Your friend asks YOU for help, and on the appointed day reschedules, and then reschedules again. And a third time.  What is really important to that person?  Whatever he/she is doing instead of getting your help with whatever it is.

I don’t think any of us set out to disrespect each other or to compromise our own priorities – we are all caught up in looking good, and giving good impressions and sometimes lose track of what we are truly feeling or wanting to do.  And if you really DON’T want to pack but have offered to help – your deep down desires will surface in some form or another. 

The trick is to be consciously prioritizing and balance the things you want to do in your forebrain where you understand what is going on instead of being lead around by the id without the ego or superego catching on.

Perhaps the essence of zen is to blend the three and have them communicate effectively with each other so that your own inner self is in full knowledge of what you want and why.

Then again, maybe it really is a smile on a dog.