Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4

Even if you didn’t have a spam blocker, in your WordPress settings, if you set your comment moderation to “1″ link (found in Settings under Discussion), I find that catches a lot of spam.

Some spam is obvious of course when it’s a post full of links to who knows what. But they are getting craftier – many look like legitimate comments. But you can tell if you read them. Because even though it might say a lot of things, it’s not saying anything specific to your blog post. Though recently I have discovered some fake comment spam that can grab one word from your header (the blog title) and insert it into their fake comment. Usually reads kind of strange and when you see the link and email to a site selling fake Rolex or worse, then there is your sign.

I’ve seen many a blog with these fake comments – funnier still is when the blogger comments back or argues to the spammer. They either don’t know it’s fake or they don’t have a spam blocker installed.

My friend and coworker Cathy Stucker and I like to share favorite fake comments. Here are a few to give you an idea of what they might look like:

I added your blog to bookmarks. And i’ll read your articles more often! Before this, it would be possible for the government to arrest you just based on whatever you were saying, if they didn’t like it.

I precisely desired to say thanks yet again. I’m not certain the things I could possibly have undertaken without these creative ideas documented by you on that concern. It seemed to be a real traumatic dilemma in my position, nevertheless looking at this specialized tactic you dealt with that made me to weep with happiness. Extremely grateful for the help as well as trust you comprehend what a powerful job you’re carrying out teaching others with the aid of your blog post. I am certain you’ve never met any of us.

Geez, while you are creating upper-class content, mine is just “half-decent.” I feel like such a failure.

Some seem to be very philosophical:

Life is like a very short visit to a toyshop between birth and death.

I am an sweetheart of your website. Safeguard up the angelic work.

Use a spam blocker and have a good time reading the funny fake comments.

And remember, when you leave comments on someones blog post – make it good, mention specifics that you like or dislike. It’s more likely to be approved.

Long time Leisure Learning Unlimited instructor, Cathys “Blogging for Dollars” class is always popular. I’ve taken it – it’s great! She’s a great instructor, she covers tons of info so the class moves fast – be prepared!

Read more at the link.
2 classes coming up: July 21 and Sept 13 (2011).

What do you say when asked “What do you do?”

Most of us genericize what we do, put a lable on ourselves that makes us sound like everyone else in the business. At first contact – first impressions are key. How will we stand above the crowd and let our prospective customers know how great we are?

You have your business logo that is a symbol of your business – a “visual” logo that graphically “says the most with the least” (the basic principle of graphic design).

Expressing what you do verbally, “saying the most with the least” is your “Audio Logo.”

Creating the perfect audio logo is harder than you might think. Keeping it short and telling what you do and what problems you can solve for your customers is the key. Tell them just enough that they say, “Tell me more.”

Whenever I used to say, “I’m a graphic designer,” it just brought blank stares or a polite, “That’s nice.” But when I say, “I am a Business Image Developer and I help entreprenuers attract more customers by improving their image. I specialize in translating what they are trying to communicate to their customers so the customer understands and wants to buy!” That generated more interest! Saying I was a graphic designer was underselling myself because I do so much more than that and frankly, I don’t think many people understand what graphic design means.

Write your own and try it out at your next networking gathering. You will find that you continue to refine, change and focus it until you have the perfect “audio logo.” Then you will see the magic begin!

“Got Milk” is a slogan from the 1993 milk campaign. The tagline, “Snap, Crackle, Pop” will always be part of Kelloggs Rice Krispies started in 1932.

Compare “What can brown do for you?” (2005) to “When you absolutely, positively, have to get there overnight.” (1982) Obviously these are companies with an established brand awareness. But if your company is small and new, how would anyone know what “What can brown do for you” means? Could it be a consulting service or a ditch digger?

When creating your tagline and slogans, the process is a lot like choosing the name of your company.

Keep it simple in words that can be understood by the consumer. Keep it short and the idea clear. Make it descriptive and easy to remember, especially if you are new and have not developed your brand. And of course use them on every piece of promotional material you have.

Here are some taglines and slogans that have stood the test of time. . .

• “Good to the last drop” Maxwell house (1915)
• “When you care enough to send the very best” Hallmark (1934)
• “Breakfast of champions” Wheaties Cereal (1935)
• “A diamond is forever” De Beers Consolidated (1948)
• “Finger lickin’ good” Kentucky Fried Chicken (1952)
• “You’re in good hands with Allstate” Allstate (1956)
• “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking” Timex (1956)
• “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand” M&Ms Candy (1954)
• “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin” Charmin Toilet Paper (1964)
• “The quicker picker-upper” Bounty Paper Towel (1971)
• “Just do it” Nike (1988)
• “Got milk?” Milk (1993)

Look at some of those older dates! It shows how the good ones work with every generation. Have fun and best of luck writing your next tagline or slogan.

Here is a revealing exercise to see how you fare against your competition in business:

• Write a few words or paragraph that describes you and your services, your business, your product etc.
• Now think of your closest competition and cross off the words on your list that also describes them.
• Did you cross off all of the words?

When you and your competition offer the same product or service, what can you do to rise above the competition? How do you attract more customers than the competition? Offering lower prices is the first thing that many would assume. But don’t undersell yourself – if you believe in your product or service. We are in business to make a profit! Even those, like me, that love what they do so much they would do it for free, if they could.

In this age of instant gratification, lightening speed technology and cheap products – customer service seems to be the first thing to go when it comes to big business making a profit. I am always so pleasantly surprised when I encounter a business that excels in great customer service. Especially when it is consistent year after year.

Discount Tire for example. They fix a hole in your tire for free, because they know you will be back to buy tires when you need them. No matter how crazy busy they are, the employees serve you with a genuine smile, even if they are trying to close for the day. They have all of my family’s business because year after year, it never changes there. They all seem to enjoy their work!

My brother owns a water garden nursary. He is an expert in raising Koi, building ponds and water features. There is another store (in another town) that is more established and has full lush gardens to walk in. They were his closest competition because they sold pretty much the same thing. One of his first customers bought something small, under ten dollars. The next time he came in, my brother remembered him and called him by name. The man was amazed and told him that he had spent a couple of thousand dollars at that other store and they never even remember him when he goes back to that store.

John loves his business, really loves his customers and loves helping them with their pond issues. A woman came in with a little table-top fountain that she had purchased on ebay. It wasn’t making the “water sounds” that she had hoped. It was quiet, you couldn’t hear the water trickle down. That other store had sold her another pump. And it still didn’t make any nice gentle water sounds. John cut off a piece of small tubing and stuck it inside the water outlet hole, showing that the water just needed to “geyser” up higher. Instantly she had her water sounds and he didn’t charge her a thing. This is why the majority of his business came from referrals – his customers knew that to get excellent service and expert advice they go to Countryside Water Gardens and ask for John.

I was purchasing something at a local retail store recently and had to laugh as I was leaving. The young man that was at the register handed me my change and actually looked away, yawned with one arm stretched above his head as he said in a monotone voice, “Thank you, come again.” How can I believe what he was saying?

What customer service can you begin doing that you aren’t doing now? Love your customers, pay attention to them, offer informative newsletters on your web site, think of them when you run across an article they would be interested in, send hand-written thank you notes! The sky is the limit! Make a list, train your employees and start using them today.

Your customers will love you and come back for more.

I believe people don’t offer quality customer service not only because they don’t care, but because they don’t understand the business they are in. You can buy anything, anywhere, cheaper and faster, so why come to my store? The answer is because the customer not only feels important to my business, he really is! I’m in the business of solving problems not selling product. The customer IS my business.

John Howell – Countryside Water Gardens

On the other end of the spectrum, we can also take our work to commercial book printer and have it printed and bound just like the best selling paper backs on your shelves (they are “perfect bound”).

As a graphic designer, I often suggest to my customers that they need to write something. Even if it is a small booklet. It is a great marketing tool – it shows their customers that they are the expert in their field – its fun for the ego – and it really helps them to become focused on what their business is all about. Much like the enlightening process of writing a Mission Statement can do for a company. When you have decided to self publish, there are a few things to think about first:

1. If you write long hand or on a typewriter, or talk into a tape recorder – it can be transcribed by a transcriptionist onto a computer. If you tape your books, remember that transcriptionist’s work with different size cassette tapes. I have a transcription machine that uses “micro-cassettes”. So it might be a good idea if you know a transcriptionist that will do your work, check that you use the correct size tapes.

2. When the work is typed on the computer, it should be in Microsoft Word, or Corel WordPerfect, unformatted and without any images inserted. Unformatted means just stick with the font Courier 10 or 12 point or other common font. As a side note, the publishing houses want it in Word and in Courier. This is because each letter in Courier is the same width. The letter “i” is the same width as the letter “m”. This way they know by a count of the pages how many pages it will be in their printed and bound form.

3. Hire a graphic designer to make your book look more professional than you could have imagined by formatting/designing the text and designing the cover. The designer should be able to get book printing quotes for you and work with the printer to make sure the final art files are from a computer program they use and in the “camera-ready art” format they prefer. Back in the old days, not so very long ago, it was called camera-ready because it was literally shot with a large format camera to make the negatives to make the plates that went on the presses. Later camera-ready meant it was on a computer disk and they made negatives from that. Today many large printing houses are switching to the advanced machines that go directly from the disk to the plate. No more film. It’s really incredible!Maybe you are familiar with working with printers and you want to produce the final art yourself and you have the programs. Take a look at other printed books on the same subject to give you ideas about formatting and designing your book. If it is a technical manual, see how other manuals are laid out. Do they have an index? A table of contents? If it is a novel, look at other novels you own. Where is the copyright information? Are there acknowledgements? How many title pages are there and is there a page for information about the author or is it on the back cover?

Only until the book is finished can you get a good quote. You will know exactly how many pages there are – to get the best quote, make sure you print in “full-signatures” of 16 page increments. When you know the pages and the paper that you will use, then you will know how thick the book will be. Then you can adjust the art on the book cover to allow for the thickness of the binding.

4. When getting quotes from printers, allow them to make suggestions. The same goes for the designer. This is their profession, they know what works and what looks good and what is professional. Some printers typical book is 5.5″ x 8.5″ is at least 30%-40% less in cost than a 6″ x 9″. One of the many reasons why you should use a printer that specializes in printing books. A printer that is set up to run 10,000 or more can’t give you a good price for 1000 books.

5. What’s your marketing plan? Now that you have a garage full of boxes of your book you will see that the easy part is writing the book. Self publishing requires plenty of work on your part. You would have to do a lot of work marketing yourself even if you went to a publishing house. But self publishing you get all the glory and all the rewards.

THE BASICS

Your business email messages are one more opportunity to project a positive, professional image for your business. Take the time to practice basic email etiquette, also known as netiquette.

1. The emails you send in business are a part of your branded image. How you write them and how you read and respond to them.

2. Use easy to read fonts like Verdana or Trebuchet MS at 10 points or more. The fonts in green below are common fonts on computers. They are all the same size – do you see how Times appears smaller? Just like in web pages, if you use any font that is not loaded on the viewers computer, it won’t show up like you intended, it will go to their default font.

3.Use formal letter writing form. Begin with a “Dear ____,” or “Hello ____,” use some sort of greeting – don’t just start “talking.”

4. Make your subject line simple while still identifying the content. This makes for easy scanning for message content in mailboxes and enables the user to find the message quickly when they are retrieving it at a later date.

5. Keep paragraphs short for easy reading. Using bullets or numbered portions help to visually get your point across.

6. THINK before you write. Carefully compose your email and your email responses. Think through what you want to say and write it as succinctly as possible.

7. Capitalize words only to highlight an important point or headline. Capitalizing whole words is viewed as SHOUTING!

Beyond the Basics

1. If you use a “signature,” create separate signature files for business and personal use. For businesses, add your contact information, web site and/or a line that describes your business. “Acme Widget Company – Celebrating our 25th year!” Think of the signature file as your electronic business card. Don’t know how to create a signature file? Search the web for instructions for the particular email program you are using.

2. Most of us are familiar with “CC” which means Carbon Copy – from the ol’ days of typewriters when they would use carbon paper to make a duplicate while typing one letter. But we also have “BCC.” Which stands for “Blind Carbon Copy.” Learn how to use BCC with your email program. (In Outlook Express you have to click “CC” before you can see the option of “BCC.”)
It’s important to use this option to keep all your other email addresses private – especially when sending to a list where everyone does not know each other. It is also a source where spammers can retrieve lots of addresses.

3. Since emails are not “in-person,” attempts at humor, irony and sarcasm may be misinterpreted. Your joke may be viewed as criticism by some.

4. Emoticons – those keyboard characters, viewed sideways, that convey emotion are not a substitute for clear and concise writing. Examples: smile, wink. Some email programs offer color emotions, even animated ones. Save these characters for your friends and family.

5. Get to the point quickly! The most important statements should appear in the first paragraph. Details can follow in subsequent paragraphs. Make use of bullets and short paragraphs whenever possible. The more succinct you are the more likely your message will be read, understood and acted upon.

6. If you ever receive a personal or business email that is “upsetting,” resist the temptation to fire off a quick response. If you have to reply, draft a response and let it cool off for a time before sending it. Re-read and interpret the original message and your response before you send. Or better yet, pick up the phone and address the issue in person. We tend to hide behind our emails and say things we normally would not face to face.

Actual email! Name removed to protect the "guilty" party. 10 Re's and Fw'd - this has to be a winner.

RE: Messages

1. Re:Re:Re:Break the cycle!
Sometimes while sending emails back and forth that cover the same content, we don’t bother to change the subject line. It’s appropriate for the first couple of emails, but after that take the time to change the subject line. You may still put “Re:” so it’s shown as a response – Then add a subject that applies to the content.

2. Quote only the text that will convey the context of your reply. This is especially useful when responding to a single point in a message. Avoid posting messages containing the entire text of a preceding article. Nobody likes reading a long message for the third or forth time, only to be followed by a one line response: “Yes, I agree.”

Re-read your message one last time, spell check and use proper grammar. You are representing your business and your written communications should reflect professionalism and show that you took the time to focus on your communications with the reader.

Sometime later I passed them again. I noticed the construction still had not started and several of the poor raw stumps had a cluster of new growth growing from their wounds. One in particular was quite bushy! I knew they were doomed but it occurred to me that it is a natural force of nature to not give up, no matter the odds. Are we so removed from the natural rhythm of the universe that we have forgotten that it should be easy for us not to give up?

Like most writers, I have several books in varying stages of completion.

I took this as a reminder to make the time to focus on at least one of them and get the thing finished! I meet a lot of writers and people that dream of being a writer. Mostly I meet people like me that have several books in the works. Then there are the diligent few who finish their books and publish them.

Do you have a book you want to write or need to finish? What part of the day are you most creative? Can you take 15 minutes or an hour of that time to write – every day?

I am most creative in the late hours. This week I have made myself stop working on my graphics business late at night, knowing the work can be saved for regular business hours. Each time it’s a struggle because I am in the creative flow and I don’t want to stop. But I think of those trees and it helps remind me to continue on. So I transfer that creative flow over to my book and write on!

Best wishes on your works in progress!

Such is the nature of a novel. Constructed with characters and problems and more characters and more complex problems, all connected and all together they form a complex complete story. Having trouble starting your novel, or having trouble finishing one? I become overwhelmed looking at the “big picture” of the novel when I should be just looking at the lines. Creating an outline for a story helps focus on the details and not the big picture. With an outline you create the beginning, middle and end. When you create all the lines in-between – - the “big picture” will take care of itself.

For your outline, on one page, jot down a line or two for each question:
1. What is your title? Come up with a title for your book, it can change later, but this helps define your book, brings it into reality.

2. What is your Synopsis? If you were to have your book already printed and bound – what would it say on the back of the book?

3. What is your Beginning? Introduce the main character and their issue/problem.

4. What is your Middle? Introduce others characters that are a positive/negative influence on more problems and obstacles.

5. What is your Ending? Conclude characters and problems.

Beside each of those answers, jot down a line or two for the in-between fill-ins describing characters, locations, more problems etc. From there you can start really filling in the blanks and turning it into a story.
Describe their “world”, the characters physical location or state of mind, time period etc. Enhance characters with character development, personality. Remember to use a lot of dialog. It becomes tedious to read, “he did this, she did that.” Enhance the problem/plot with sub-plots and further obstacles to overcome.
Lost your direction?Brainstorm – talk to yourself and ask “what if this happens, what if that happens.” Resolve the problems with an outcome that is better or worse than the original state. Filling in the blanks between the beginning, middle and end is like the fractal. With conversation, description, sub-plots and character development all connected, it creates an overall complex, complete image. Take care of the details and the big picture will take care of itself.
Recommend reading:

“How to Write & Sell your First Novel”  by Oscar Collier

Fun and easy to read, inspiring with lots of ideas