Month: February 2012

Is It Time to Recalibrate?

The topic was branding. I had already sent in my registration fee. But the meeting was at 7:30 a.m. and the day before was a long work day. This day was promising more of the same. I should skip the meeting.

Then I decided the topic and the networking were probably just what I needed to recalibrate so I went. I networked and made a few key contacts. The speakers were great. I might hire them for some work. I may also reach out to them to see if they will speak to another group with which I’m involved.

I returned to the office rejuvenated and recalibrated. The day’s challenges no longer seemed so daunting. I looked at my assignments with a fresh eye.

What do you do to recalibrate and get back into your groove?

Do you whine? Do you overeat? Do you shop? Most of us do at times, but the important thing is to stop and check your roadmap so you don’t get lost.

For me attending a morning networking meeting was just the ticket. What keeps you on the path to success?

4 Steps to Running a Successful Meeting

When you hear the word “meeting” do you groan?

Many people do, and they shouldn’t. Meetings are intended to allow a group to do something that couldn’t be done alone. Meetings allow for communicating, administering and deciding.

The problem is often in the structure and length of the meeting. I attend many meetings. The most successful ones have five key elements in common:

1)      They have an agenda

2)      They start on time and end on time

3)      They stay on point

4)      They have action items for follow-up with identified due dates and responsible parties.

Agenda An agenda provides purpose and structure to the meeting. Distributing the agenda in advance of the meeting enables participants to prepare. For the meeting organizer, it provides focus and direction.

Time Meetings should start on time. It’s disrespectful to those who do arrive on time. If you are known for starting your meetings on time (and not repeating what you already said to the late arrivals), people will show up on time. Why should you start on time? So you can end on time. People have busy schedules. It’s important to respect that they have other commitments. I serve on several boards. I’ve met some great people and enjoy catching up with them. The time to do that, though, is before or after the meeting. Not during.

Stay on point It’s easy for meetings to derail if the discussion goes off point. Use the agenda to stay on track. Summarize key points and ask for agreement. Acknowledge constructive contributions.

Action items Most meetings are intended to bring about a decision. If it does, the next step is to determine a due date and who is responsible for implementing the decision or next step. Too often, that piece gets left undone and the next thing you know, you’re having another meeting to figure out.

Bonus Here is a bonus tip for running a successful meeting: Be sure to thank members for their participation and contributions.

Super Bowl Ads Score

Commercials are a fun part of the Super Bowl. In fact, the commercials are so popular that they’re now getting plenty of airtime on the Internet and way in advance of the game. You can vote for your favorite, share it with friends and still be able to get another serving of wings before the game resumes.

If you want to now more about the ads, AdWeek wrote a great piece.

One of my favorites is Honda’s take on one of my favorite movies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Be sure to watch it to the end.

After the big game, let me know what your favorite commercial was.

3 Ways to Improve Your LinkedIn Profile

The other evening I was approving members for the NFPW group on LinkedIn and deleting some individuals who are not members of NFPW. The NFPW LinkedIn group is a closed group, meaning it is open only to members of NFPW.

For a communications group that seems a bit odd, but we had to do it because we were receiving so many solicitations. Many of the conversations had nothing to do with communications and the mission of NFPW.

I realized as I was checking names that it would be helpful if members included a profile picture. I may not have had conversations with everyone I come in contact with at national conferences, but I do have a good memory for faces. Also, because it’s a professional site, I’m left wondering why a person doesn’t want their photo included.

That led me to think what else you can do to improve your profile.

Post at least once a month. Speaking of conversation, I often hear, “I don’t have time to be on LinkedIn every day. It’s hard enough being on Facebook.” No one is saying you have to update every day on LinkedIn. Providing an update every few weeks is good because when you update your profile, an update is shared with everyone in your network. It’s a good way to get yourself noticed. If you blog or tweet, use a widget to automatically pull in your posts or tweets so others can see what you are saying.

Explain what you do. When you share your career highlights, provide more than your job title. As with any resume, you want to describe your role and explain how you helped your organization. This will help set you apart with all the other members who have the job title of “reporter” or “communications specialist,” for example.

Grow your connections. Each time someone hands you a business card, update your LinkedIn connections by adding that person. It’s an easy way to keep up with your contacts. Once you have several connections, join LinkedIn groups, including NFPW. It’s a simple way to meet other relevant contacts.

Who are you going to link with today?