Disqus - Friends of rachelfinder

Re: Social Media Isn't a Job? I'm Not So Sure.

Mike Brown — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:27:32 -0000

You're absolutely right Scott that a strategic perspective is the foundation for a social media effort that can have a sustaining impact.

At a B2B social media discussion a couple of weeks ago, it was apparent from the questions of "where" social media should be "owned" that these major B2B brands were struggling with the idea that social media responsibility doesn't fit nicely into a box on today's org charts.

Stepping back from the roundtable discussion, I forced myself into three criteria which seem to be necessary for people that take on social media responsibilities in corporations:

1) Ability to always be on message for the brand, which implies effectively linking brand strategy to messaging
2) Appropriate sensibilities for social media channels
3) Diverse communication skills that work across various social media channels

Sometimes those people are in marketing communications, but you may find them in other part of the company as well.

Re: Research Review Week – Keep Going!

Mike Brown — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:54:07 -0000

jhenning said...
Great analogy. I am convinced excellent research is as much about sound analytical technique as it is about creative insights. The researcher provides data without creativity. The consultant often provides creativity without data. Only the strategist is able to offer both.

October 14, 2009 9:22 PM

Mike Brown said...
Thanks for the perspective Jeffrey! I really like how you've framed up the mix of creativity and analytics as indicating the balance between researcher, consultant, and strategist. I'll be incorporating it (credited of course) into presentations on this topic. Mike

October 15, 2009 5:37 AM

Re: Musings on Creativity + Innovation in Business – Guest Post by Meghan M. Biro

Mike Brown — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:00:41 -0000

Anonymous said...
Great post, Meghan. I agree completely.
gl hoffman
www.whatwoulddadsay.com
October 8, 2009 7:09 AM

Meghan M. Biro said...
@glhoffman Thanks much GL - glad to hear.

Engage your creativity this week. (every)
October 8, 2009 7:50 AM

AJ said...
Both creativity and innovation drive a business forward, and every employee should work on their own to develop both qualities in themselves and at work. Excellent suggestions for creativity boosters (interesting that all four are an integral part of my life, albeit subconsciously).

October 8, 2009 12:51 PM

Mark L. Fox said...
Megan,

My name is Mark Fox. I came across your blog here on innovation. I thought you might be interested in my latest book called "Da Vinci and the 40 Answers" it is all about creativity and innovation in business.

The book is out in soft cover. You can learn more about me at www.slyasafox.com

Let me know what you think of the book.

Thanks

Mark L. Fox
http://www.slyasafox.com
October 9, 2009 5:38 AM

Meghan M. Biro said...
@AJ Always nice to hear from you AJ. Appreciate your thoughts. Subconscious still plays an important role-you can draw from that place. Try some of the suggestions and please let me know if helpful.

@MarkLFox Interesting Mark. I will check it out. My right hemisphere dominates at this time in my life. I'm giving my left time to get to know me better-we are developing another level of appreciation for one another. :) We have the capacity to engage either side it's just a matter of how much energy it takes.

October 9, 2009 7:58 AM

Re: Write Shorter

Mike Brown — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:22:14 -0000

Julia Wooster said...
Great idea! People are so busy. A client once asked me about longer blogs. I suggested she give the high level stuff in her blog with a link to a page on her web site with the detailed information. That way all readers got the gist of what she was trying to say and those who wanted more detail had the opportunity to click to read the rest.
October 12, 2009 10:03 AM

Mike Brown said...
Thanks for relating the advice to your client Julia! Headline writing is becoming a broadly required skill. For me, being active on Twitter has really helped focus my attention on short writing.
October 15, 2009 5:47 AM

Re: Creative Quickie – Flip Out a Creative Block

Mike Brown — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:41:16 -0000

2 comments:

Leslie said...
And it doesn't have to be a video camera...even your phone camera will do if that's all you have. The key is always having something with you so the moments aren't missed.
October 19, 2009 7:21 AM

Mike Brown said...
So do yourself a favor and check out Leslie's photos - they're wonderful! And want my suggestion? Hire her for photos you need for your blog or presentation! http://www.flickr.com/photo...
November 7, 2009 7:45 AM

Re: Make Mistakes Week

Mike Brown — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:29:59 -0000

2 comments:

Arnold Beekes said...
Mike, thx for your openness and vulnerability.
Do you need some support or just a sounding board?
You are very welcome!
October 20, 2009 7:34 AM

Mike Brown said...
Arnold - Thanks for the offer of help. As we get into the coming weeks, I'd love your ideas & comments as the next phase of Brainzooming unfolds!
Mike
October 25, 2009 5:58 AM

Re: What’s He Doing?

Mike Brown — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 14:47:57 -0000

8 comments:

stephaniesharp said...
Mike, wishing you all the best in your new endeavor! Recessions can actually be a good time to start a business. I started mine during the 1991 recession. :)
October 25, 2009 11:27 AM

Dave J. said...
What's he doing, indeed! Zooming ahead, good luck!
October 25, 2009 12:41 PM

Joan Koerber Walker said...
Mike - When I left a great job in the 'corporate world' to start my own business back in 2002, lots of friends asked me if I was crazy. But looking back, I would not change a thing. Good luck on your new adventure and on the next stage of Brainzooming's growth! I'll be watching and rooting for you!
October 25, 2009 2:36 PM

Paul B. Smith said...
Mike, you are one of the brightest guys that I have had the pleasure to work with. I wish you all the best and if I can help you at all, please feel free to contact me.
Best Regards,
Paul B. Smith, pbjssmith@yahoo.com
October 25, 2009 2:59 PM

kevin fullerton said...
Congratulations Mike. You won't regret it. I never have. I look forward to seeing what you do next.
October 25, 2009 3:20 PM

Larry Gould said...
Mike,
It's the "brain" side I might need. Interested in some brainzooming/brainstorming about FHSU marketing and positioning at some point? Maybe there's a new career in higher education strategic management? I'll call you at some point.
October 27, 2009 4:29 PM

Jeff Hurt said...
I'm excited to watch your new business grow and flourish. Here's to great new opportunities, fields of revenue and new brain zooms!
October 28, 2009 4:15 PM

Mike Brown said...
Thank you all the new and old friends leaving comments. It was a great first week - as hectic as anything previously (which I like)! Now, there's lots of weeks ahead to keep the old brain zooming!
Mike
November 7, 2009 7:39 AM

Re: Personal Branding Ideas When You’re 25x 2.0

Mike Brown — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:07:46 -0000

1 comments:

Kristen Saunders said...
I also had the opportunity to attend PRSSA Day, and would like to share that Mike so humbly left out how he has successfully implemented many of Dan's suggestions through his Brainzooming blog.

Dan continually mentioned the need to brand yourself through social media (Facebook, Twitter, personal blog, Web site etc.) using your full name. However, when you have a more common name you are given more of a creative license to make a name for yourself.

Props to you Mike for your success at personal branding through your blog!

Best,
Kristen Saunders

October 28, 2009 9:38 AM

Re: A Reflection

Mike Brown — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:30:02 -0000

4 comments:

Emma said...
Excellent, Mike. (I may or may not have teared up a little.) Have a great time in Chicago!
October 30, 2009 10:26 AM

Joyce said...
Wonderful questions to reflect on Mike. Looking forward to following you on your new career path.
October 30, 2009 5:41 PM

Keith Harmeyer, SmartStorming said...
Really great post, Mike. Thanks for this. Value-based relationships are everything. And they rarely last forever. It's such a strong, healthy way to view the importance of transition. More value for everyone involved. Bravo!
Keith Harmeyer,
Principal
SmartStorming: Advanced Training in Innovative Thinking

October 31, 2009 10:03 AM
Mike Brown said...
I appreciate your well wishes and comments. Goodbyes are tough, yet you have to anticipate the positives that will come after them.

I really do try to use these questions as a check to make sure I'm investing in those people who care and will help themselves the most from that investment. It's such a blessing to have worked with so many great people, including all the buttheads listed in the video!
Mike
November 7, 2009 7:37 AM

Re: What Are We Trying to Say?

Mike Brown — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:41:41 -0000

2 comments:

TODD SCHNICK said...
Very helpful. Thanks!
November 2, 2009 5:35 AM

Mike Brown said...
Glad this was helpful for you Todd.
Here's an interesting link in the other direction: create a cumbersome academic sentence! Just picked this up off Twitter via @trachandler and @c4lpt. http://bit.ly/2dm7AA
Mike
November 7, 2009 7:32 AM

Re: A Whole Brain Network of Great People

Mike Brown — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:50:53 -0000

2 comments:

Leslie said...
Mike, I'm sorry I wasn't able to make it that night...sounds like a great time!
November 3, 2009 6:29 AM

Mike Brown said...
Leslie - No problem Leslie, and thanks for attending the Social Media Club of KC breakfast. Looking forward to going to others in the future!
Mike
November 7, 2009 7:31 AM

Re: Creative Quickie – Take Some Time

Mike Brown — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:49:43 -0000

1 comments:

Breakthrunow - inspire.collaborate.sustain said...
Thank you for this post.
Joseph
November 4, 2009 5:29 AM

Re: The Frost & Sullivan Marketing World 2009 Event – Joe Batista

Mike Brown — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:16:39 -0000

2 comments:

Jan said...
Happy Anniversary! Here's to a great year 3!
November 10, 2009 7:55 AM

Mike Brown said...
Thanks Jan - and you have your second anniversary coming up as well! Who'd have thought we'd still be going?
Mike
November 11, 2009 5:49 AM

Re: How Systems Thwart Service

Mike Brown — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:33:38 -0000

It's both great and challenging with Southwest. It's set up a very definitive system designed around its efficiency. It's made modifications to expand its target customer, but it very much manages customer behavior to its advantage, with the typical benefit of frequent, on-time flights at a reasonable cost. It does mean though that piece of paper's really important, unfortunately.

Re: Domino’s, Conan, and 3 Fundamentals for Communicating Big Brand Change

Mike Brown — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:00:36 -0000

Great to hear from you Vince.

A burning platform is a fundamental part of creating change. Shouting "Fire!" to the end customer certainly adds drama, but it also raises the expectation you'll have a lot of water to dump on the fire. Sounds like your son's reaction was that Domino's had more of a squirt gun than a fire hose!

Re: What’s in a Name or Where Did Brainzooming Come From?

Mike Brown — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:20:27 -0000

Thanks Leslie and thank you for being a loyal reader (and photographic contributor) throughout all the blog's incarnations!

Re: 8 Ways Social Media Benefits Events

Mike Brown — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:24:53 -0000

Thanks Jeffrey for the additional comments relative to the AMAMRC experience. I'd forgotten about recruiting team members right out of the Bootcamp presentation to participate. It was an interesting learning arc from BMA to AMA, realizing that as long as we had everything covered, it was a lot easier to let the team create what it was doing. It was a great group with a lot of creativity!

Re: Framing Your Social Media Efforts

Mike Brown — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 08:37:39 -0000

Chris -

This framework is helpful for organizing social media activity.

A variation we've recommended at the start of a social media effort, particularly for individuals and small businesses, is to two-step publishing. It's helpful to create content that isn't published right away to get a feel for the nuances of communicating in social media channels. It's also helpful to get some content in reserve. For instance with blogging, the recommendation has been to figure out a likely posting frequency, and then to write a month's worth of posts before publishing. Doing this provides practice and a small stash of material for when time pressures are too great or creative juices too low to publish on the regular schedule.

Re: Pink's Grammy Showstopper and the Creative Process

Mike Brown — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:12:55 -0000

As you note, there's research and there's the real world.

Part of the challenge in seeing value in brainstorming may be an expectation of every idea being good or even implementable. This perception is certainly fostered by "rules" shared at the start of most brainstorming exercises. These rules, however, set up divergent thinking. That's when strong facilitators ensure a focus on the maximum number of ideas, with minimal explanation and judging. Tools (as simple as writing the ideas down) help prevent them disappearing in a fog.

Ultimately though, judgment isn't thrown out. It's only suspended during a good divergent thinking session. Then, the switch has to be made to convergent thinking where ideas most certainly need to be judged. In practice, maybe 10% of the ideas live for further consideration, and still fewer for implementation.

Sure the process can seem unruly and unproductive. But for anyone who's tried to sit at their desk by themselves to think up creative ideas, it's a tremendously beneficial process to go through.

Re: The Two Biggest Mistakes in Social Media

Mike Brown — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:15:18 -0000

Thanks for the feedback. Hal mentions patience and being deliberate - both are qualities which can be hard to fight for these days, especially in regard to social media. Spend any time on Twitter, and it's easy to get a real sense of peer pressure and one-upmanship that can be very distracting.

Kiesha's point about poor design and the possibility that someone prominent finds their way to it was an angle I wasn't thinking about in the post. My perspective was more of a massive gap, not simply failing to live up to potential.

And Brandon, I liked the idea that even feeling like nobody's watching you still indicates too much focus on yourself. That may solve a variety of life issues that I've wondered about. Thanks for going above and well beyond social media in offering a life insight!

Re: Are You Facing a Creative Imbalance?

Mike Brown — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:22:56 -0000

I picked Sunday as my day to try and stay away from writing. It worked pretty well and did serve as a mental refresh. The only challenge was trying to tackle getting receipts organized for tax season. I could have done without that!

Re: I Finally Got to See Chris Brogan Live

Mike Brown — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:19:33 -0000

Thanks Jennifer, but don't let this post stop you from blogging on it too. There were too many great break out sessions to attend them all, so it would be great to hear what other insights you walked away with.

Re: I Finally Got to See Chris Brogan Live

Mike Brown — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:26:09 -0000

Great to catch up with you in person too Alex!

The thing that was great about this event and the attendess was with so many people in transition in their careers, it seemed like everyone you met provided an opportunity to both learn and to share your own perspectives. I talked with Lindsay Shannon of Concera Media at the networking reception. He started his business with a partner last year, and it's going really well. Not only is that great news for them, it's reassuring to know others are finding success in new roles!

BTW readers - Alex has written an e-novel called "Pilate's Cross" that you should check out!

Re: I Finally Got to See Chris Brogan Live

Mike Brown — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:26:40 -0000

Thanks for your kinds words Sara! It was wonderful to meet you yesterday, and do pass along congratulations to the KCIABC planning team!

Re: Domino’s, Conan, and 3 Fundamentals for Communicating Big Brand Change

Mike Brown — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:43:13 -0000

Sorry everyone, but NBC pulled all of the Conan video from its website and Hulu: http://www.tvsquad.com/2010...

Will try to find another link to this great closing video from Conan, but not holding out any hope.