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Gill South: Linking up online – now it’s about business, not just pleasure

Social networking sites such as LinkedIn offer a way to build professional relationships and boost your brand.
When you returned to your desk in the New Year, your email probably included a few invitations to accept new “connections” to the business social networking site, LinkedIn.

So far, LinkedIn may be something you have done the bare minimum with. Your name and photo is up there, a few career details, but that’s it. As for Twitter, you are yet to get to that. Facebook, you worry, is a bit personal, while TweetDeck or Twickertape are things you’ve probably never heard of.

Read the rest of this article by Gill South at the NZHerald

Rearrange the sections of your LinkedIn profile

The latest feature from LinkedIn is being able to rearrange your profile page. That means, you can put your recommendations under your summary if you so wish.

Woman of Power and Substance

Getting back into the swing of things after a lovely Christmas break is never easy, and it takes a few days to get things ramped up and moving again. I wanted to share with you some of the really great business people I have had the joy of meeting or working with this week, and fortunate enough to be seeing in the coming weeks.

Shanel Winning of Winning Eagar was a breath of fresh air and a real inspiration. A truly motivated and passionate woman, she simply oozed talent. Her business is psychometric testing, of which I knew a little, having done the tests in the past, and so I know the value of them, but what most people don’t realise, is how great the tool can be when used correctly.

She told me of a CEO she has worked with, who  put his team through the process, and the outcome has simply blown him away. Not only does he now know what type of people he has in his team from a mental point of view, but he knows how to talk to them, what each individual needs from him and, and how to motivate them going forward.

                                          He has found the process invaluable.

Presenter at Large is Amanda Fleming. Another great woman who has been in business many years educating companies and people on their presentation skills, personal development, communication and leadership. Her business card boasts “presentation skills for non conformists”, no PowerPoint here!
Amanda is a  sought after speaker and author, so take a look at her website if you feel you would like to learn more about your conscious evolution, you won’t be disappointed.

Another year over and a new one just begun…

So much has happened in history since John and Yoko recorded that song back in 1971.

Over the Christmas period I, like a lot of people read a lot. I am a great fan of Patricia Cornwell and have collected and read all of her books since she wrote “Postmortem” in 1990. Having read her latest book, I decided to go back to the beginning and start reading them again. It was almost comical, the things we take for granted now, like not having a mobile phone, and being able to be reached anywhere at any time, must have really hampered progress, as did searching through microfiche at the library because the world wide web did not exist.

To most of us, these things are just the norm, how did we ever do without them? And what will we have in 10, 20, or 30 year’s time that we haven’t even thought about yet?

 This year is going to be huge for everyone that wants it to be huge, and we have so many more tools available at our finger tips to use to help generate business. Online networking will become the norm, as it is for many already, but there are still skeptics out there that need educating on the why as well as the how.

For those that really want to get to grips with the new and additional way of doing business, good on you, because whilst others are thinking about it, their competitors are doing it.

Remember the workshops if you know anyone who hasn’t yet made a start.

Here’s to a great 2010, I raise my cup of tea to you all!

Run for inspiration

I am training for a bunch of half marathons in the coming weeks, and I can tell you it is already hard work, particularly after a couple of glasses of wine the night before. To train for a half marathon, I am running 5 days per week to give my muscles time to recover during the two days off, but I feel I need more recovery time. All my runs are over hills, there is no flat near me, so I’m feeling a little punished.

The same can be said in business.

The flat is the easy workout, it is the ups and downs that make us stronger and more focused because you can’t stare at the scenery when you are hurtling downhill and trying not to fall over, or slogging up hill, quickly running out of breath. When you are running on the flat, your breathing is rhythmic, the horizon is easy to see and you know what is coming, the tarmac simply moves under your feet like a treadmill belt.

Out on the road gives you time to cogitate ideas and see things differently, look at analogies like the one above and see just how much of life is very simple.

Out running, other runners greet each other with a quick “hi”, yet walkers are in their own little world. If I were a dog, and another dog came towards me, the first thing I would do would be to sniff and greet, wag my tail, and maybe we would move off together. Now, I’m not suggesting you run off with a stranger, but take a lesson from nature, say hello and be friendly. Try it next time you pass someone on the road or footpath, and say hi with a smile. You will feel great for it.

CEOs, Trust, and Social Media

CEOs can no longer ignore the potential of social media sites like LinkedIn and Twitter to support business growth. A company’s policy regarding these sites can be the difference between engaging staff, customers and prospects and leaving them cold. Are you missing out on sales and staff retention opportunities by limiting your staff’s access to these sites or, worse still, giving them access without knowledge?

Read the rest of the story on the NZ Herald and leave your comments, they would be very much appreciated!

Relationships are Unlimited

Today I find myself published in one of the great New Zealand business journals, Unlimited. I am thrilled.

I figured out that online networking, is the same as offline networking, so if you are wondering why your networking is NOT working, read the article on Unlimited. Here is a taster:

“I recently had a chance meeting with Craig Rispin, the American business futurist and innovation expert, and asked him how CEOs and business leaders can benefit from becoming more familiar with the business-oriented social networking site LinkedIn.

Craig said he regularly lands $10,000 speaking engagements through LinkedIn, and that his clients tell him his 370 recommendations on the site are his main selling point.

That seems impressive, but it got me questioning whether we have the same potential in New Zealand for business leaders to create commercial outcomes through the business social networking service. After all, we don’t have the scale of other OECD countries, so are overseas contacts relevant to our circumstances?”

In this day and age when we are constantly learning new tricks, and trying our hardest to keep up with new trends, we forget what really matters in business. Relationships. Without relationships, there is no business, and online networking or social media is just that.

Getting into the Christmas spirit

It is getting to that time of year again when we all look forward to a bit of a rest and spending some quality time doing the things we love and being with the people we enjoy. It’s been a real learning journey for me this year with public speaking, and next year promises to start off with a bang, so some well deserved rest for me.

I made a quick video for you which hopefully will knock your socks off and send you rushing off to make your own, a little gem of a website! Make your own at jibjab.com.

Get a fresh cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy.

How do you prefer to learn something you need to find out more of?

Is it a webinar or a workshop?

Please take a moment and click and vote on my poll here. http://polls.linkedin.com/p/67393/qftet

Thanks,
Linda