Voices - Episode 7: Elizabeth Riley

Elizabeth Riley is one of the most well connected people I know.  She knows how to network; she knows people; and she knows what it takes to run a small business.  Elizabeth and her husband Michael own the West Carrollton based business, Insignia Signs.

In a time and place where the business climate is difficult at best, Elizabeth’s business is enjoying continued growth, largely due to her hard work as a sales professional and her husband’s expertise in the sign business.

In this episode of Voices, I speak with Elizabeth about her secrets for running a successful small business, her involvement in the community, some of trends in her industry, and her outlook on the future of Dayton and the Miami Valley.

Elizabeth and Michael are a great example to two young people who are making things happen in the community.  They prove everyday that “hustle” is a valid and effective strategy for growth.   Thanks to Elizabeth for taking the time to do the podcast.   It was a pleasure.

Guiding Growth

For my money, the best regularly scheduled networking event in Dayton is the Dayton Chamber Breakfast Briefing.  Month after month, the series delivers top notch speakers, attracts a great cross section of community leaders, and offers a chance to break bread and sip coffee while enjoying the picturesque view from the top of the Kettering Tower.  Admittedly I am biased, as I am on the committee for this event.  Still, the reason I wanted to be on the committee was precisely because the event is so great. This past Friday, my feelings about the event were confirmed yet again, as Joni Fedders, President of Aileron, spoke to the crowd about the Fundamentals of Business.

For those who are not familiar with Aileron, it is the brain child of Clay Mathile - the entrepreneur who built the Iams Brand and later sold it to P&G.  He formed Aileron as a way to “help fuel private business and free enterprise, providing business owners with the tools and support they need to mature and succeed.” The company works with business owners to help them “lead and manage their companies, driving growth, innovation and jobs.” The company recently opened a new campus north of Dayton, where they conduct seminars and offer business leaders a quiet place to think, plan, and create.

So, getting back to the Breakfast Briefing, Fedders speech was very concise, yet was full of valuable information.  She walked through the elements of the basic model that Aileron uses to assess the health of a business.  I did my best to feverishly scratch out notes to capture her thoughts.   Here are some key take-aways from her presentation:

Professional Management - Aileron uses a term called “poof management” to describe the natural progression that often takes place as extremely talented technical performers suddenly find themselves in managerial roles.  Often that shift from doing to managing can be difficult, and it is important to realize that great performers on one level are not always natural managers.

Business Life Cycle - According to Fedders, most businesses fail because of poor management.  She stressed the importance of properly aligning the business with where it is in its life cycle.  Early on, businesses tend to be more entrepreneurial - bouncing from opportunity to opportunity to pay the bills.  As time passes, management should begin to focus on areas of expertise.  She emphasized the importance of establishing a board of advisers from outside of the firm to assist in this planning on a quarterly basis.  She suggested that these meetings should be at least 75% forward focused - with discussion around working on the business and not in the business.

Leadership - Joni discussed the idea that a key function of leadership should be to set the vision and then create an environment to move the business in that direction.  She also stressed the importance of leading by example.  “If the leaders are late and sloppy, how do you think the employees will behave?”  She went on to discuss the idea that leaders should engage in continuous learning, should be pivotal in determining strategy, and should ultimately serve as “Keeper of the Culture.”

Strategy - Fedders spoke about the importance of utilizing a decision making process that looked at the following: 1.) Reality - what are they paying us for today  / tomorrow,  2.) Focus - Where is the market headed,  3.) Competency - can we do it?     These elements come together to build a framework for producing a successful strategy.

Mission - She moved quickly through this point, but basically it revolves around “what are you trying to accomplish.”  It is important to create and internalize a formal mission so that everyone is clear as to what the ultimate goal should be.

People Development - This goes much deeper than training.  Fedders stated that this is really about engaging people, and empowering them to become better.  She asserted that this is key in creating long term growth.

Culture - “The way we do things around here.”  The idea of culture is so important.  Joni spoke about both the stated culture of policies and procedures as well as the actual culture of norms and customs.  Culture should be a visible trait, and can be a powerful way to differentiate a company from its competition.

Structure - When speaking about this, Fedders suggested that structure should very closely follow strategy.  It is the idea of creating an org chart to match where the company is planning to go.  Then finding the right people to fill the boxes on the chart.

Control - Lastly, Joni addressed the importance of control or measurement.  She stressed the need to examine the concepts of “are we doing waht we planned” and “is the market doing what we expected.”  Finally are the results in line with what we anticipated.

Joni then spent 20 minutes answering questions from the crowd.  Her responses were both candid and insightful.  This was one of the best Breakfast Briefings that I have been to, and I think that they are all excellent.  Joni Fedders did a great job of sharing information about her business and providing information to help those who came improve their own businesses.

The next Breakfast Briefing is on September 12th at the Kettering Tower in Downtown Dayton.  I hope to see you there.

Were you at the breakfast briefing?  What did you think?

Aileron – Meeting the life-long educational and developmental needs of entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives.

Leverage LinkedIn with RSS

What if your number one competitor took away your number one client?  How much would you pay to know that they might be in conversation with one another?  Well, if you use LinkedIn and combine it with RSS you can discover a wealth of information about your friends, your clients, and your colleagues that might have otherwise gone unnoticed - and it will cost you nothing.

Sure, you read the latest updates part of your LinkedIn home page when you visit, but what about the rest of the time.  Certainly much is transpiring while you are away - some of which is important to know.  Here is an easy solution - RSS.  You can very easily use an RSS feed, which is built into LinkedIn, to track each and every change that takes place in your LinkedIn network.  Then you can review and catalog everything at your leisure.

It is as easy as this.

• Go to reader.google.com and sign up for an account
• Go to your LinkedIn homepage
• Look in the address bar and click on the little orange (blue in Firefox 3) box with the dot and 2 lines.
• Subscribe to the RSS feed.

Now, every time someone makes a change you will receive an update, which will appear as an unread item in your RSS feeds in Google Reader.  Now, you can quickly scan through the entire list of updates in one or two minutes.

As you proceed through them, you can mark items of particular interest with a star.  This might apply for people who have been promoted or changed jobs - at which time you might want to send along a nice note of congratulations.

This aggregation of information makes it simple to generate intuitive information from your LinkedIn Network.  Whether you seek competitive intelligence, personal information, or just want to make sure who are keeping up with who knows who, RSS makes it easy.  Did your #1 competitor just connect with your #1 client?  Using this method would let you know.  Is your best employee looking to leave your company?  Again, this might give you some clues if that is the case.  Best of all, you might find out early enough to actually do something about it.  Personally, I can tell you of several people currently in the job market simply based on watching my connections.  They have not contacted me saying “I’m looking” but it does not take much to connect the dots when you pay attention.  This give me an opportunity to help them without having been asked, and to discover more about what is going on in the market in the process.

RSS has so many uses, and using a feed reader like Google Reader, Bloglines, or others can save you valuable time and deliver important information to you that would have otherwise been missed.  Give this LinkedIn tip a try and see if you feel more connected to your network.  I hope this helps.

Linking Up with LinkedIn Dayton

Today I was given the distinct honor of addressing the LinkedIn Dayton networking group at Champps in Centerville, Ohio on the topic of leveraging web based tools to build your personal brand.  I want to thank everyone who attended the event.  I hope you found it to be fun and informative. I know that I had a blast and made a number of professional connections in the process.

I was given this opportunity by responding to a call for speakers put out by Joe Durbin and Michael Morley, who organize much of the LinkedIn Dayton group’s actual face to face meetings.  This was the first breakfast meeting, and they sent out an email request for speakers, which I responded to immediately.  I thank them for allowing me to be the first, and hopefully not the last, speaker.

As for the content of the presentation, I offered my 2 cents on how to leverage the emerging web to build your brand and further your career.  I talked about my recent job changes, and the valuable lessons I learned about the importance of both knowing people, and more importantly, being known.  I have given similar presentations before, but have never related the personal history of how I even got into blogging and social networking relative to the crazy events of my life.

My message in a nutshell was this.  We live in a new age.  40 Years of “doing good work and getting a gold watch at the end” are done.  You have to take ownership of your life and your career.  Building a network plays a huge role in determining your ability to control your future.  This applies to all areas of life, not just finance.  The web makes it easier and more affordable to build your brand, and to leverage your strengths to create your future career.

I spoke about how individuals can leverage everything from Microblogs like Twitter and Plurk, to Blogs using Wordpress, Podcasts, Squidoo, Social Networks, and other free and easy tools to join the conversation and establish an area of expertise.  I tried to deliver enough explantion of these tools to make them understandable, without being too technical in how they work.  We discussed numerous ways to utilize LinkedIn, beyond just an online repository for contact information.  (Research Database, Employment Tool, Sales Information, Communication Vehicle, Information Source) In summary, it was a high level overview of a broad swath of web 2.0 tools that can benefit those who seek to leverage the web as a personal branding tool.

Blogging and social media have changed my life in so many ways.  They led me to my current job at LUCRUM - where we use blogs, social networks, wikis, and podcasts to build the company both internally and externally.  They have generated countless connections with other people around the globe, and put me in touch with some of the most brilliant minds on the planet.  I love what I do, and I am delighted that I not only get to do it, but that people are interested in hearing me talk about it too.

Thanks again to all who came to the event today.  If you have questions about anything I covered, or did not cover, in my presentation.  Please drop me a note.  I am happy to help in any way that I can.  I look forward to the next LinkedIn Breakfast, where I will get to eat, socialize, and enjoy watching the speaker.

David E. Bowman - LinkedIn

Help! I Need Somebody…

Do you live in or around Dayton, Ohio?  Are you interested in spending an hour or two per month making new connections and sharpening your professional skills - all while making a huge difference in the lives of people in need of help? If so, please consider volunteering to help the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio.

How can you help? The EFWO has numerous functional committees such as Marketing, Finance and Fundraising, Volunteerism, and Programming, which can serve to connect you with other talented professionals in your chosen field. This is a great way for young professionals to build connections and credentials, and for more seasoned practitioners to stay fresh. And, the time you spend, which is probably only about an hour or two a month, goes to help people with Epilepsy right here in the Miami Valley.

There are also numerous event committees in need of help within the EFWO. Currently, we are gearing up for the annual Mud Volleyball Tournament, July 12. This is an event that always needs helping hands because it is so much fun.  We are always in need of helping hands and creative thinkers, so if you are interested in lending a hand, contact the EFWO.  In addition to MUD, there is Wine and Jazz in November, Mardi Gras in February, and numerous other fundraising events - all of which need people.

If you are a seasoned professional looking to get even more involved in the community, consider applying to join the board.  We currently have a few open seats, and would welcome experienced leaders who are looking to contribute their skills to a great cause.  The process for this is understandably more rigorous than for joining committees, as the commitment and responsibility associated with being a board member is substantial.

Finally, if you just want to help out here and there - without being committed to anything - please volunteer to help our staff.  Like any good non-profit we run a lean operation, relying heavily on the kindness and generosity of others to get everything done.  There is an endless to do list, and a limited number of hands, so any time you can donate, even 30 minutes here and there, would be appreciated.

For more information on how you can get involved with the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Ohio, call (937) 233-2500 or (800) 360-3296 or visit us on the web at www.ohioepilepsy.org

Get Yourself Connected…

Thanks to Michelle Kaye at Battelle and Battelle, who brought me in today to speak about networking, social media, blogs, networking, and the emerging web to a number of her fellow employees as well as some of the employees of McGohan Brabender.  Originally the event was going to be held at Battelle and Battelle, but because of the large number of people who signed up, it was moved down the street to McGohan Brabender.   I was thrilled that so many would show up to hear me speak.

My presentation revolved around the concept of using the web to connect with others and to create and develop, as Tom Peters would call it, Brand You.  In addition to discussing some general concepts, I spoke specifically about tools like Twitter, Squidoo, WordPress, and LinkedIn - discussing how these tools could be used in conjunction with traditional items like hand written thank you notes and face to face meetings to connect with the world.   We live in a truly amazing time.  Never before have individuals been so empowered to learn, share, and grow both personally and professionally.  I appreciate being given the opportunity to share the little that I know with others.  It was my pleasure, and I hope that those who took the time to listen to me enjoyed my presentation.   Thanks for your hospitality.

McGohan Brabender - Welcome To McGohan Brabender

LinkedIn - Sales, Market Research… and Networking tool

Many people think of LinkedIn.com as sort of an Online Rolodex. Others might describe it as MySpace for business people or Facebook all grown up. While these descriptions are accurate on some levels, they are not painting the complete picture of what LinkedIn can offer to business professionals. There are numerous uses for the site that go far beyond basic networking and contact management. Notably, the site is a great tool for Sales Professionals and Market Research. I got the opportunity to present this concept to the Dayton Service Marketing Professionals group today at a meeting which was hosted downtown at Brady Ware. It was an excellent discussion, and I think people found it to be informative. I wanted to share a little of what we discussed here in this post.

First, LinkedIn is just as much “Google” as it is “Outlook”. What does that mean? Well, it seems to me that most users of the site typically think of it as online contact management - which in and of itself has huge value. I use the brand names to illustrate that idea. However, I am here to tell you that if that is all you are using the site for, you are missing out on a wealth of information - free information. LinkedIn is a rich and dynamic database, which can be searched, mined, and yield insightful and useful information to you and your business. It is a goldmine of marketing information, all of which is just a search or two away from you.

With over 20 million users, the site has information about companies large and small. Who is growing, who is shrinking, who is looking for help? All important information for sales and marketing professionals. You can determine quite a bit about a company and its future plans by simply looking at who is adding people and examining the skills they possess. It is all right there for you to view.

How else can LinkedIn help you get the cash register ringing? As a sales rep, the worst thing in the world is having to talk about “The fish on the wall” at your initial meeting with a prospective Client. Still, good sales people know the importance of building rapport, and engaging the prospect in a dialog about something other than business. “Get them to like you,” is often how this is described, and it is 90% of selling. It is also damn hard, which is why people get stuck on “hey, where did you catch that fish?” Pretty lame. Enter LinkedIn. If someone has a profile on LinkedIn, you can find out where they have worked, where they went to school, clubs and social groups they are engaged in, who they know, and who you know that they know. All potential conversation starters. Better yet, if you have a common connection, you can make a call prior to the sales meeting to do some research in advance of your meeting. This could create a very memorable first impression. For example, say you discover that your prospect is from Urbana, Ohio. You could bring along a bag of Mumford’s Potato Chips as a small but thoughtful gift. Your friend might inform you that this person is on a heart smart diet, in which case you might want to opt for some strawberries from Michael’s Berry Farm - an equally thoughtful, and slightly healthier idea. These are the silly little things that might just make the difference in getting the business. They might also get your name mentioned to others - an added bonus. This was an especially appealing idea for using this tool in a room full of marketing professionals who work primarily in the heavily regulated industries of accounting, law, and wealth management. Great actions are often easier to pull off in these industries that are great brochures and web sites. In the end, thoughtful gestures are more effective anyway.

Yes, LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool. You probably already know that. Still think about it a little differently, and possibilities begin to emerge for its potential. I will post more on this later this week. Are you using LinkedIn? How?