All employees need to feel their work contributes to and is valued by the organization. While leaders may express appreciation for an individual or group’s work effort, resource management programs sometimes unintentionally marginalize employee contributions. Doing so causes employee dissatisfaction, burnout, and unwanted attrition. Resource management and strategic planning programs must therefore be carefully constructed so as to not unintentionally marginalize employee effort.
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Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
I am NOT a LinkedIn expert, but I do have more than 15,000 LinkedIn connections. Do you?
I may have more visibility and notoriety than you do, but we are equal in exposure and linking possibilities. And 98.5% of my LinkedIn connections are the result of people wanting to connect with me.
I do not accept everyone. I click on everyone’s profile before connection. Many are impressive. Most are average or less. Some are pathetic.
How’s yours? How many connections do you have? How are you communicating with your connections? How are your connections helping your sales or your career?
Your LinkedIn profile is one more social media image. And you choose exactly what it is. When others search for you on Google, LinkedIn is one of the first links they click on. You have a chance to make a positive business and social impression.
THE GOOD: When I realized the business significance of LinkedIn, I immediately sought professional help. I hired Joe Soto at One Social Media to help me with the keywords, layout, and what to include on my profile page. He also recommended what and how to post.
It must be working. In the two years since I hired him, I have added more than 9,000 organic connections. Or should I say, more than 9,000 potential customers. Huge opportunity. At an acquisition cost of ZERO.
REALITY OF LINKEDIN: I receive requests to link and I also get messages. Some are very nice, some are self-serving, some are insincere, and some are stupid (very stupid). And ALL messages are a reflection of the person sending them. That would be you.
Here are some THINGS about LinkedIn to make you think, re-think, and act:
Your picture is NOT an option. Show a professional, but approachable, image. Be proud of who you are.
Have a LinkedIn profile that gives me insight, not just history. Not just what you’ve done, but also who you are. Your profile is your pathway to connection.
DANGER: DO NOT USE stock LinkedIn messages. It shows your laziness, lack of creativity, and overall lack of professionalism. Standard LinkedIn messages need to be replaced with your own. EVERY TIME.
If you’re looking for a job, or working a lead, tell me WHY I should connect. (Where’s the value?)
If you’re looking for leads, use the keyword feature (rather than the job title option) in the ‘advanced search’ link to the right of the search box. It’s free, and you’ll find hundreds of people in your industry or in your backyard that you never knew existed.
• Why are sending me an e-card on Easter? I’m Jewish, not a good move. Three words to ask yourself with any message you send or post: WHERE’S THE VALUE? E-cards are a total waste, unless it’s family.
If you’re asking me (or people) to join your group, TELL ME WHY I SHOULD.
If you’re asking me to connect you with a 2nd level connection, DON’T. The only way to ask is from 1st to 1st. And tell me in a sentence or two WHY you want to connect.
Asking for a recommendation or endorsement is BAD. If you’re asking your connections for a recommendation: DON’T. It is perhaps the dumbest, rudest thing on LinkedIn. Think about it, you’re asking people to “please stop what you’re doing and tell me about ME.” Two words: GO AWAY. If you have to ask, it’s probably because you don’t deserve. Think about that.
Don’t tell me you “found something interesting” in your group message, especially if the link is to join your MLM down-line or attend your ‘free’ webinar.
Allocate 30-60 minutes a day to utilize this vital business social media asset.
THE BAD and THE UGLY: Here are some examples of MESSAGES and INVITES I have received on LinkedIn. Hopefully they’ll make you think, re-think, and act…
BAD: Hi Jeffrey, My name is — with —, a leading — provider that helps organizations connect with their customers through email, mobile, and social networks. I would like to connect about a potential partnership to help Buy Gitomer, Inc. increase their interactive marketing ROI.
This is a typical self-serving (and deleted) message. Why not give me a tip, and ask if I’d like more like it? And stop using dead sales words like ‘ROI,’ and ‘helps organizations.’ Help me, don’t sell me.
DUMB: Hi All, As I continue to work on building my network, can I ask that you do me a huge favor and endorse me here on LinkedIn? I would be more than happy to return the favor and endorse you as well. Thank you for your support! (name withheld to avoid public embarrassment)
Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. Give me a break. Spare me. Beg someone else.
BAD AND DUMB: I got this in my message box (I get a few like this every week) (subject line) Your Opinion please. (name withheld) Supplier Business Executive
If you’re hoping for an endorsement or a recommendation on LinkedIn, or anywhere, here’s the two-word mantra: EARN IT!
LinkedIn is the business social media site of today AND tomorrow. Harness its power, do notabuse its options, and you will reap its rewards.
Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.
About the Author
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/JeffreyGitomer.jpg218156StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2013-04-29 06:07:132016-08-07 21:25:23LinkedIn is great for business – er, I mean SMART business.
StrategyDriven Professional Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques business professionals can use to accelerate their careers and personal goals achievement. These podcasts elaborate on the principle, best practice, and warning flag articles found on the StrategyDriven Professional website.
Episode 4 – Skills Mismatch: Business Acumen and Strategy Execution explores the importance of acquiring and maintaining business acumen skills as a key component of strategy execution. During our discussion, Rommin Adl, Executive Vice President and Global Partner at BTS USA, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:
business acumen and its importance to strategy execution
marketplace shortage of executives and managers with business acumen skills and the impact on companies with this skills deficiency
business acumen skills differences between executives and managers
actions that can be taken to close the business acumen skills gaps
trend towards and benefits of using business simulations over traditional classroom training
Additional Information
In addition to the invaluable insights Rommin shares in this podcast are the resources accessible from his company’s website, www.BTS.com.
About the Author
Rommin Adl is Executive Vice President and Global Partner at BTS USA, a leader in the development and delivery of high-impact experiential learning initiatives that drive alignment, mindset, and capability around strategic priorities. For over twenty years, Rommin has advised leaders at companies including Aetna, AT&T, GlaxoSmithKline, Honeywell, Humana, Time Warner, and many others on issues of strategy development and implementation.
Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
StrategyDriven Enterprises, LLC and NTE Solutions partner to provide energy industry executives and managers with asset lifecycle management and regulatory compliance advisory services.
StrategyDriven Enterprises, LLC and NTE Solutions have announced a partnership that will expand energy services to clients and prospects of both companies. The relationship combines StrategyDriven’s leading experience in asset lifecycle management and regulatory services with NTE Solutions’ capabilities in all aspects of power development, from engineering to commercialization.
“Utility leaders must find cost effective ways to replace aging assets, transfer knowledge to a new generation of workers, release currently unavailable capital, and optimize strategic operations and maintenance programs,” explains Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are excited about the opportunity to combine StrategyDriven’s experience with NTE Solutions’ capabilities. This partnership will create a more complete set of offerings that efficiently serve diversified generation utility executives.”
“StrategyDriven and NTE Solutions share a similar focus,” asserts Seth Shortlidge, NTE Solutions’ Chief Executive Officer. “We both aim to offer a variety of services that meet the growing needs of our clients and prospects.”
The StrategyDriven/ NTE Solutions team provides energy industry leaders with actionable performance improvement and regulatory compliance support in the areas of:
Strategic solutions
Risk management and compliance
Project development and management
Asset management and operational programs improvement
Performance monitoring and assessment
About StrategyDriven
StrategyDriven provides energy industry executives and managers with the planning and execution advice, tools, and practices needed to improve the safety, reliability, and efficiency of electric power generation and delivery. Our advisors are seasoned power and utilities professionals supported by tools and methods tailored to meet the unique needs of utility operations.
StrategyDriven refers to the family of organizations comprising StrategyDriven Enterprises, LLC. For more information, please visit www.StrategyDriven.com/advisory-services.
About NTE Solutions
Headquartered in St. Augustine, FL, NTE Solutions provides energy and infrastructure services across the United States and internationally. The team has expertise in marketing, development, engineering, legal and regulatory affairs, with executive staff previously holding leadership roles in major energy, legal, and construction/engineering firms. NTE Solutions’ project teams work collaboratively across disciplines to provide high-value solutions to clients in the power, water and oil & gas industries. For more information, visit www.ntesolutions.com.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.png00StrategyDrivenhttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngStrategyDriven2013-04-24 10:12:392013-04-24 10:12:39StrategyDriven Enterprises Extends its Energy Advisory Services, Partners with NTE Solutions
Organizational performance measurement systems are complex structures cascading vertically from the executive suite to the shop floor and stretching horizontally though many different functional workgroups. Consequently, the design of a performance measurement system takes on a high degree of complexity because of the numerous interrelationships between various organizational levels and workgroups and the cross-functional sharing of common metrics. Thus, it is important to employ a multidiscipline team to design the measurement system, one that includes representatives from all levels of the organization as well as each functional area.
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Nathan Ives is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.
https://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/OPMMultidisciplineTeam.jpg282425Nathan Iveshttps://www.strategydriven.com/wp-content/uploads/SDELogo5-300x70-300x70.pngNathan Ives2013-04-23 06:39:322020-10-24 16:28:51Use a Multidiscipline Team to Develop the Performance Measurement System