It is interesting how people define business on LinkedIn...

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

"It's only Tuesday and I am having such a great work week. Enjoy everyone!"

"Sorry, but I am having difficulty understanding the context of this message as it applies to LinkedIn. Is it not better suited to Facebook and your friends who might care?"

"Thank you for your comment <name removed>. The context of my post is everyone can identify with how their work week is going and this is part of my social media strategy, as this is a social media platform. I'm a visual merchandiser so hence the engaging visual and hey, it's summer"

"LinkedIn is a business networking site. This is not an outlet for 'how peoples <sic> work week is going'. It is about education and insight NOT Fluff."

I will say with full disclosure that this post and exchange is real, and the person who made the initial post is my daughter; as you may appreciate I am working really hard to be constructive with what I'm about to say. (Add "winky face" emoji... unless you are reading this on LinkedIn, then please disregard as I understand it's for business only.)

I initially found out about this when my daughter sent me a text explaining she was a little upset. I will admit it took me a moment to suppress my fatherly instinct to PROTECT and DEFEND but quickly settled into a more "constructive mindset". My daughter is a very capable and industrious young lady so after a quick discussion I left her to her own devices. I then did what any good father would do; I stalked the person on LinkedIn.

He is an executive sales professional with extensive experience, solid picture and a face that commanded authority... all very credible.

Just then I happened to see one of his posts in my stream (as it was shared by a mutual connection); I just rolled my eyes and smirked as I realized what it was. This "genius" <insert sarcasm>, who called out my daughter for working her social media strategy and not understanding the LinkedIn channel, had just posted one of his company's product banner ads (without even bothering to add any personal content). Any credibility regarding this person's insight into "how to and how not to" use LinkedIn (and social media in general), evaporated.

A Question...

"How is my daughter's post on "How her work week is going" any different than this "genius's" banner ad post for office furniture?"

It isn't any different... other than my daughter's content was more socially engaging and arguably more aligned to the channel. What I find fascinating is how people take on the role of content police based on their interpretation of what business is (which I might add seems to be aligned with their domain expertise)... "Based on what I know about business and what I think LinkedIn is all about, I deem this inappropriate content and should be stopped!"

For the sake of argument and moving this along, let's say business is defined as the "building of relationships that directly or indirectly lead to revenue generation"... deliberately broad, but no less accurate I will wager. If your content is engaging, connects with people and supports the building of relationships with an end game to generate revenue (same as income) then it's business appropriate.

But is it appropriate for LinkedIn?

I guess it depends on what your social media strategy is (as part of your broader business strategy).

For my daughter who was looking for a job and developing her domain expertise as a visual artist, LinkedIn was just one of many channels that included her website, Instagram and Twitter to bring a holistic message to the market; for the genius who started all of this, I suspect LinkedIn is something he uses between meetings to pass the time.  

LinkedIn, like all social media channels is just a tool to be used as part of a larger strategy; I would like to suggest spending much more time learning how to use social media channels, optimize content you drive through the various channels, ensure it's aligned with your strategy, and stop spending any time questioning the business relevance of other people's posts. 

Look, if you don't like what you see in your stream scrub your connections or block those who just don't align with the content you want to see... if it's really, really bothering you, switch to a more affinity based platform like beBee where you can choose your interests.

Just have a strategy because if you don't, it doesn't really matter how you define business content.

iamgpe

PS: It didn't take my daughter long to get a job, thanks in part to her efforts on LinkedIn.

PPS: Left to her devices my daughter "blocked" the executive because she saw little value in what he was saying. I wonder if he knows?

A time capsule: Memories of developing successful sales teams.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

I was recently rummaging around my makeshift office* and came across a very neat stack of papers held together with a large paperclip; on further inspection I just started to smile. It was one of those smiles that come with grand memories, special moments, and one’s refection on personal growth.

This stack of paper span about five years and in its totality could be called a “Sales Team Development Program”; it represented the iterative events that started with a dramatic expansion of an Inside Sales Team, included the development of an inside sales training program, and finished with the creation of a development program that included the hiring, training and strategic deployment of outside sales representatives. It contained the original “pitch slide”, detailed sales reports, an overview of the development program, people metrics, insight into managing the Y Generation, performance dashboards, “hits & misses”, recommendation slides, and a picture of the original inside sales team.

It was the time capsule from a very exciting time.

As you would expect, there were ample revenue metrics... revenue to plan, revenue growth, revenue by person, etcetera (there are many ways to look at revenue data it seems), but what also struck me was the amount of information and thinking we had regarding people, their development, and culture - I have always believed “people are everything" but can't help wonder if my beliefs shaped the documents or vice versa... I suspect a little of both.

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Armed upfront with the competencies needed to be successful in the role, I would hire and on-board people who showed abilities to develop into those competencies, were effective communicators, would fit into the culture (team), and had the potential to be promoted (exported) into advanced roles. An effective hire was important.

As important as an effective hire was, development of that hire was imperative. 

Development is the socialization of behaviours and competencies that leads to a highly skilled team, higher productivity, low unwanted turnover and a culture of excellence. Each team member is taken through an iterative process of Assessment / Planning / Implementation and Rhythm to develop competency and behaviour; a positive impact would be seen as the momentum of competency success increased, not only with the individual but the overall team. I should point out when I say positive impact I'm specifically referring to revenue growth and over plan performance.

Some of the competencies evolved over the years, such as SPIN selling changing to PSS or calling out Revenue Plan Achievement in a clearer fashion (in the beginning it was part of Accelerating/Closing) but I never changed the framework for developing successful sales teams. It just seemed to work.

I get that people development is time consuming and can get in the way of "hitting the number" or the rigor of those weekly deep dive forecasting calls with finance, but as my time capsule has reminded me, a well developed team can make "hitting the number" much, much easier.

iamgpe.

* It seems my office is now wherever my laptop is but I still have a designated area for my printer and important files. As a note to myself, I should look through those files to see if they really are that important.

Bourbon versus Scotch.

The following is the original and the re-write can be found by clicking here.

I "discovered" Bourbon about two years ago and have been developing my palate ever since; along with that I have carried the presumption that everyone sees it as the finest of all the whiskeys, has the same enthusiasm for the amber ambrosia, and wants to raise a glass whenever the opportunity arises.

You know where presumption takes you? 

More or less the same place as assumption... and that brings you face to face with that ol' adage. *

Recently I had the opportunity to join a number of old friends for a weekend out of the city; an agenda of good food, relaxation by the water and at my insistence, bourbon tasting (because I am still looking for my "signature taste") - I have very obliging friends as each arrived with a different bourbon in tow. 

The tasting started in earnest the first evening after dinner with plenty of amateur commentary about bourbon, the odd "blind taste test" bet, and many life stories. It was in the middle of this I noticed someone was operating on an empty glass so I "enthusiastically" convinced him to pour another bourbon and join in. My "enthusiasm" continued as it became apparent he was not drinking. With that he looked at me, offered a frank and appropriate perspective regarding my pushy enthusiasm, took a sip and said, "I don't really like bourbon, I prefer Scotch". **

"Me, me, me... me, it's all about me, think like me, me, me; be me, me, me... you should all be like me, think like me... me, me, me..." Am I ever exhausting! (As well as humbled and embarrassed.)

You would think after all my years in sales and marketing, launching products, involvement with a focus group or two, and being someone who has always said listen for the needs of the customer, that I would have been able to "read the room" much better than I did. As I dissect why this happened (not in a neurotic way but more for intellectual understanding), I have to say it simply comes down to my enthusiasm. It was like an emotional blindness had occurred, preventing me from seeing anything else but my view on bourbon; accompanied by the enthusiastic belief that everyone else also saw it my way.

This story of "Bourbon verses Scotch" has now been added to my collection of pity stories, fables and metaphors that have come in handy over the years as I meander through business and life. Its lessons still ringing in my ears:

• It may be the best Bourbon ever made but there are people who just don't like Bourbon.
• Just because you "really, really like it" does not make other people "really, really like it".
• Ask yourself, "Is emotional blindness impacting your ability to see something for what it really is?" And then ask others.
• Look in the mirror and ask, "Is this about me?"
• Don't forget to ask the simple question, "Do you like Bourbon?"
• When someone says they like Scotch, serve them Scotch. There are some battles you just won't win.

The next time I see Kevin I will buy him a Scotch, thank him for his patience, and for giving me this story. I will have Bourbon... I really don't like Scotch.

iamgpe

* They say when you "assume", you make an ASS of U and ME.

** Three weeks earlier a group of us caught up for drinks and Kevin had a Scotch when we all had Bourbon. It was an $18 Scotch so I think it's fair to assume (see above) he's quite sure about his whiskey of choice. Interesting how I knew he liked Scotch but was blind to it.