Sometimes its hard to listen to someone telling you the truth. Deep down you know they’re right, and that’s why you don’t stop them in their tracks. You know you need to hear it even though you don’t want to. It’s good for you.
The reality is that we often need to have our perceptions reset, and that means we need to listen. It also means that we need a network of closely trusted peers that can tell us we’re full of it, and be able to remain close because of it. If you don’t have that kind of network, then you haven’t been working hard enough in your personal social networking efforts.
Learning that the great idea you have is crap, or simply needs a few easy tweaks is as important as the ideas themselves. The ability to listen to people who care about your success and take that knowledge forward to make what you do better is a learned skill that true professionals embrace at every opportunity.
One of the things I learned from SXSW this past week was that I had been neglecting a portion of my network. Many of the people I had connected with years ago, I hadn’t kept up with and my future has been impacted because of it. That was my realization of truth, pointed out by a friend while in Austin. It’s not a mistake I’ll make a second time.
Now, what have you learned this week from a friend?
The amount of time I’ve wasted of the last several months not creating content for this blog is simply silly. When we all have so much to share and so much to say, why do we find it so hard these days to create content for our blogs?
We’re so connected to nearly instantaneous interactions on Twitter and Facebook, or IM & Skype that we forget how groundbreaking a blog actually is. Our nuggets of wisdom have been shortened to 140 characters or less and thrown into the rushing stream of status update consciousness.
Yes, this knowledge is out there, shared, and searchable, but how does it track back to what we represent to other folks?
I keep thinking about these things as I miss the opportunity every week to write content for this blog and share things I’ve learned or that I think would be useful to other people. That’s the frustration I’ve had with Twitter and other status update services or tools.
I know I’m not alone in this, many I talked to at SXSW this past week had similar comments, and we’ve read this online from many others. What I want to do is to get back to a regular blogging schedule where I’m sharing things I’ve learned through the week. There’s so much going on all the time, and it’s a shame not to be able to create content around that knowledge.
At least, this is one of many things that SXSW woke me up to. The rest I’ll save for more posts.
It’s amazing, sometimes, how easily we forget how big, how expansive our country is. The time it takes to drive across one state or another is not inconsequential and each time the scenery is worth paying attention to. The diversity of the landscapes always impresses me.
From the sweeping agricultural plains to the industrial and commercial centers of urban life, to the majestic mountains or coastline it never ceases to teach. Every trip I take, I learn something new. Either about the area I’m visiting, or the region I’m traveling through, the history and culture of the area presents a new opportunity to learn more about my fellow countrymen. It gives me a better idea of how the things I do fit into the world, and how we all relate to each other.
The other thing is the opportunity to travel across rather than over. While flying is faster, it’s certainly not rewarding. The hassles of security stops and checks is inconvenient, especially with the false sense of security it provides. Traveling on the road can be much more rewarding if you have the time. You get to see the country, meet the people, and experience the contours of the land, something that’s lost at 40,000 feet.
Another perspective is the people. You learn so much from the characters you meet and where they’re from. It can help look at things from another angle and learn what kinds of perceptions exist and why. These help us build better products and provide better services. Not just because they’re cool, but because they are useful. Because people need or want them.
I write this on the return leg of a road trip to South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, TX. Over a week on the road getting a full dose of fresh perspective has reset my direction and attitude. The results are the only thing left to focus on, and I need to thank this experience and the trip itself for the bulk of that new thinking.
Have you done a long distance road trip lately? What have you learned that can help others?
Ok, it’s my first day at SXSW, and I’ve already run into about 10 online friends in the first hour here at the Austin Convention Center.
I decided to start the day in the Bloggers Lounge, which most of the folks I’ve connected with online over the last many years. The lounge is set up with wired Internet and power for everyone who comes in, and there’s a bookable space for podcasting and videocasting or recording shows.
Altogether, it’s a great resource for bloggers as they create content and network with each other.
I’d like to take a minute and tell you a bit about the concept of Behind The Firewall and what this project is about.
Behind The Firewall is an ongoing project of Arik Hanson and myself to explore the uses of social media inside companies. Our goal is to uncover the ideas, recommendations, solutions, and experiences of internal communicators, marketers, collaboration experts, team & project leads, and really anyone who is working to empower their organization through the use of social media.
There are always challenges in doing something new. Inside a large corporation, we run across a number of things that can keep innovation from occurring, or at least, minimizes the change brought about by innovation.
Social media is one of those combination’s of skills, tool-sets, and creativity. It challenges the accepted practices of the old guard and makes companies (i.e. groups of people working together) uncomfortable.
Perceptions
Of course, a discussion of the challenges of social media within an organization has to start somewhere, and one of the most critical things folks will run across is it’s perception. Many people already have an idea of what social media is, what it’s used for, and who uses it.
Of course, the problem with perceptions is that they’re often wrong. It’s your first job to start either changing the perception, or more importantly, setting them. People usually will give you a chance to explain something new before really making a judgment call on it. Give them the wrong impression, and you’ve then set a perception about what you’re doing that you’ll have to work hard to overcome. Take the time to really understand who you’re talking to before trying to tell people about what social media can do.
Culture
Another challenge to exploring corporate social media use is the culture in that company. Many conservative organizations have very rigid structures, several management levels, and an entrenched bureaucracy to deal with. Overcoming this impediment takes time, once again to learn the culture and how it works.
The opportunity in this should be to make connections to the influencers in the company. These folks are usually more open to new ideas, and can often be approachable, even if some of their team says otherwise. Most people that gain attention inside any organization have good ideas and management pays attention to folks with good ideas. Work on developing a relationship with these folks because they have the potential to become your most powerful advocates for change.
Education
This is key and one of the more important things to focus on. When given the chance, always try to educate rather than preach – we all hear enough hype and buzz already. Education on the value of social media is crucial to gaining trust on the topic with middle management. Keep the explanations simple, to the point, and most importantly, relevant to either the business or the manager’s scope of responsibility. Anything more than that can sometimes confuse the point you’re trying to share.
Secondly on the point of education, make sure to keep it short. Don’t expect managers to appreciate a two hour or longer training session. If you can’t communicate that in an hour, you’re being too verbose. Actually, figure only 30 minutes for a 1 hour session because of the overhead of training managers.
More to Come
Of course, there’s much more to it all and even the points talked about here offer themselves to additional detail and discussion. I look to continue delving into the challenges & opportunities of bringing social media inside companies, behind the firewall.
Behind The Firewall is an ongoing series of blog posts, Twitter chats and more. Created and lead by Arik Hanson and Rick Mahn, these discussions explore the world of the social web inside companies & organizations, “Behind The Firewall” if you will.
Knowledgeable entrepreneurs do it all the time, why shouldn’t you?
We all know many knowledgeable people who help us navigate the pitfalls of career and life. Many times it’s family, friends and co-workers – of which there’s nothing wrong with listening & learning from.
However, what if you seek out and select new or additional influencers to augment what you’ve inherited by default? Basically, what if you got to select who you get to learn from? Why aren’t you doing this already?
Every day we’re interacting with people who have something to share. If they’re not sharing ideas and thoughts that move us forward, what inspiration or feedback are you getting? Look closer, I believe there is something more there than you expect.
I suggest that you get out and start connecting with peers and experts in your field. (That’s called networking to you and me.) In the end, you’ll find folks who want to work with you, share with you, and learn from you. That’s the reward by the way, transfer of knowledge, sharing of experiences, the ability to learn form others experience and make something better with them in the end.
Sometimes its hard to listen to someone telling you the truth. Deep down you know they’re right, and that’s why you don’t stop them in their tracks. You know you need to hear it even though you don’t want to. It’s good for you.![wordjam #2 [read and create] by the|G|](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_lossy,ret_img,w_240,h_180/https://rickmahn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/3709881283_05229464f33.jpg "wordjam #2 [read and create] by the|G|")
You must be logged in to post a comment.