Archive for communication

writer’s block gets messy

November 19, 2010 blogging, life, personal, reflection No comments

Recently, writing has been like trudging through molasses. It’s been hard and heavy. It’s time to let my writing get a little bit messy. It’s uncomfortable and so outside my comfort zone. I’m a recovering perfectionist. Perfectionism always seems so stifling.

I know the tricks of working through (or avoiding writer’s block). They are invaluable to me and many others, but this isn’t going to be one of those posts.  This isn’t about breaking through writer’s block – it’s about experiencing it. It’s about allowing it to break me, and enable a break through.

overcoming hurdles and creative limitations by experiencing discomfort

We are often quick to want to push through and get to the other side of discomfort.  Whether we’re talking about writer’s block, a personal situation or professional one we try to get through uncomfortable or painful moments as quickly as possible. However, sometimes the really good stuff lives within those raw moments.

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developing a feedback loop

November 17, 2010 communication 2 comments

I am a firm believer in feedback. It’s something that was instilled in me as an important skill, both to receive gracefully and to offer honestly. Given my recent work and life transitions obtaining feedback has become a much more proactive process.

While feedback might not always be easy to hear it presents us with an opportunity to improve and change. Creating our own personalized feedback loop can be incredibly valuable, keep us on track, and focused on achieving all we aspire for.

observe what’s going on around you

Where does feedback come from? It comes from our friends, family, co-workers, managers, professional peers, or even the barista at your favorite cafe. Feedback cues are all around us we just have to listen. Each encounter offers insight into how we behave, work, and interact with others. Are there improvements that could be made to these interactions that would have better results or simply a more positive feeling.

ask for feedback from a range of people

Are you looking to improve a specific area of your work or life? Perhaps you’re interested in taking personal stock of your strengths and reveal areas of improve. Human beings are dynamic and therefore we need feedback that’s multi dimensional. Feedback should come from a group of people that are representative of our own dynamic nature.

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how to work smarter – and be happier

October 6, 2010 communication, work No comments

[Originally posted on CurrentMom]

Monday through Friday we are on a very strict schedule. Up at 6 o’clock, my husband and I juggle showers, breakfast, coffee, and getting our almost seven month old ready for the day.

On a good day I have about eight hours of uninterrupted work time available before picking up my daughter, my husband coming home, and jumping into our evening routine. Am I a frazzled working mom? Nope, but I am an efficient one. We can all benefit from tips on how to work smarter (and a chance to gain back some sometimes lost sanity).

I know my priorities, both personal and professional, and what I want out of each day. I want to produce good work for my employer and push my career forward as well as spend quality time with my daughter, and relaxing evenings with my husband. Therefore I work smart.

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intern wrangling and social media execution

June 17, 2010 communication, social media No comments

“Oh we’ll just give it to the intern.”

We’ve probably all said this once or twice in our careers. And really, why wouldn’t we? Interns can be a great resource and many companies eagerly await summer to tackle outlier projects. But you might want to think twice before you pile up that new summer intern’s plate with Facebook, Twitter, and full social media responsibility.

The bigger question is “who” should manage your social media presence. It’s not always an easy answer, especially when there are time and resource constraints. As a result, social media execution can sometimes fall too quickly, and too often, to interns – just check out craigslist to see what I mean.

Am I saying not to use interns in conjunction with your social media needs – no.
Can interns help to make social media implementation much more manageable – yes.
Can interns play a valuable role in execution of your strategy – of course.

What am I saying? I’m saying that it’s not necessarily in the best interest of your organization to hire an intern to develop, create, AND implement your social media program. As previously discussed, social media is a powerful channel due to many reasons, including its immediacy. Are you ready to hand over complete brand control, presence, and voice to an intern without a game plan?

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something worth listening to

June 9, 2010 communication, internet, marketing, social media, twitter No comments

There is a quite a bit of chatter about how companies should engage with online consumers within the social media space – including suggested service etiquette, rules of engagement, and how to simply listen effectively.

Social media has enabled a new channel for customer feedback. It’s more than just a one-way feedback opportunity, but rather the start of a two-way dialogue where the change process can be witnessed and the outcome quickly implemented. As a customer, how do we maximize this channel and these new dialogues to foster a valuable outcome?

Well, we could moan and vent about our frustrations via Twitter, Facebook or even Yelp, but does that offer workable substance. How is that productive? I mentioned in an old post that just because you have the means to tweet or voice your opinion online (and have a potential product/service grievance), doesn’t mean you should do so carelessly or without some thought to your desired resolution.

Samantha Ogborn wrote a great post, Social Media Karma: Why Your Voice Reigns that offers insight into how you (as a consumer) can effectively leverage and increase the value of your social media voice.

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