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Training the “Educated” Consumer

Do we educate the consumer or train those who do, or should that even be the case? Now, the rest of this article is commentary and reaction to that question, hopefully to give us all something to think about. Anything you buy today you need to research on the internet and still you could buy …

Buffer Puts on a Clinic in Crisis Management After Hack

This is how you do crisis management right Buffer, the popular social media sharing service beloved by power users and community managers, put on a clinic in crisis management after its service was hacked October 26th. Shortly after some Buffer users began to see spam posts go out from Twitter and Facebook profiles connected to …

Don’t Get Caught By the Peter Principle

A reader asked for leadership advice on this situation. “A new position, which will be a promotion, has just opened up in my business unit. It sounds very exciting even though I haven’t had much experience in that kind of responsibility. But I have a good track record and colleagues are urging me to go …

Defining Use Cases And Workflow Diagrams

Use cases and workflow diagrams are two essential practices or methodologies that will effectively demonstrate a functionality of a product. To understand their value, they have to be defined. Use cases are a way to show how a user, consumer, or customer can utilize, or operate a product or application. It systematically details the reason …

The Combined Federal Campaign — The Rule of 7 is now The Rule of 21

In marketing and media awareness terms, the “Rule of 7” states that before a customer or donor actually makes a purchase or a gift, they need to be “touched” in some way before they will act. “Touched,” means contact by: a piece of mail, an email, a radio discussion, an advertisement (print or electronic), a …

How to Make More Money

Chris Brogan offers a course for folks who work hard online but don’t make the money they hope to make. It’s called “Mastering the Digital Channel.”

Proving Reputation is Your Most Valuable Asset

Protecting your reputation is a prime crisis management concern We’ve said for years that reputation is an organization’s most valuable asset, an assertion backed up again and again by real-life experience. In his Managing Outcomes newsletter, our friend and colleague Tony Jaques recently shared two real-world examples which directly support this belief. Here’s a quote: …

Five Ways to Maintain Control During Meetings

Once you have a group talking, and conversations become lively, conflict and lack of control can eat up valuable group time. Here are five guidelines you can use to maintain control without becoming heavy-handed. 1. Set group rules early on. Let the group know everyone should have a turn to speak, and that no one …

Checklist: 8 Tips for Transforming Virtual Meetings

While Richard Smith and I wrote CLICK: The Virtual Meetings Book, we received many questions on quick and easy ways meeting leaders can prepare for and begin virtual meetings on the right track. Here are 8 practical tips to help you prepare for and start virtual meetings to completely (yet easily) transform your outcomes.

Your (Leadership) Role in Establishing Goals

As a leader in your organization, part of your role during strategic planning is to help establish goals that provide a foundation for the rest of the plan. It is important that you ensure the foundation is solid. Here are 4 responsibilities your role requires in ensuring the goals established are strategically developed and aligned with the plan.