————————————————————————————————————-

It’s the dawn of a new year and I’ve been thinking about some of the goals I would like to achieve in 2009. I’ve set objectives before, bet never in a public forum…I wonder if publishing my targets online will help me focus more and improve my odds of success?

Most of my strategies for 2009 revolve around building my personal/small business brand through New Marketing and social media. Here is my list (in no particular order):

• Present my ideas and build brand awareness through public speaking. This will involve the following:
  • Develop one or two presentation topics
  • Blog about my presentation ideas and get feedback from my social network
  • Build a PowerPoint presentation and post it to SlideShare
  • Book at least two speaking engagements (paid or unpaid)
• Write and self publish a small business book. If your thinking about writing a book you need to check out Seth’s advice for authors
• Start using FaceBook. I’ve been really committed to LinkedIn and just started feeling my way through Twitter…I don’t want to do this half-assed so it’s a big step for me from a time perspective.
• Publish 75 blog posts. My goal when starting the blog was 1 post per week – that’s been manageable for me a good fit with my publishing objectives. This year I want to challenge myself to write more.
• Publish 100 comments on other people’s blogs. I read about 50 blogs, so 2 meaningful comments per week should be a reasonable goal.
• Publish 4 YouTube videos. I have  a couple of ideas, but this will definitely be a challenge!
• Schedule a minimum of 6 networking meetings. I really enjoy the process of building relationships – making a commitment to find the time to get tuned in with stakeholders will be a priority.

I’d love to get inspired by your list – If you feel like sharing, please post a comment. Thanks, and all the best for 2009!

Photo Credit: randihausken

————————————————————————————————————-

GM recently took out an ad in the Automotive News apologizing to the public and admitting to a series of strategic errors that have led to their current state of affairs. What are some of the lessons small business could learn from GM?

1. Quality

GM slogans rang hollow as they continued to allow their product quality to dip below industry standards. Quality is the common denominator – if you are in business, quality is not an option…you always need to deliver on that inherent promise to your customers.

Maintaining diligent standards is hard work, but you can’t build trust otherwise. Avoid the temptation to cut corners – you may get away with it in the short term, but eventually is will catch up with you, severely damaging your small business brand in the process.

2. Focus on Your Business

GM was a powerhouse in the 70’s and may have lost focus when agreeing to expensive union contracts in an attempt to bury their competitors.

It’s always good to understand your competition, the products they sell, their strengths and weaknesses, etc. But don’t become so focused on your competitors that you lose sight of your own small businesses vision, strategies and objectives.

3. Understand Your Market

GM lost touch with the market and continued to build more and more gas guzzling SUVs while consumers began to embrace fuel efficiency and started looking to more compact vehicles.

As a small business owner, it’s critical to learn about (and stay connected with) your target market:

• Use the internet i.e. blogs; social networks, etc. to stay up to date on trends in your industry
• Get out of the office and connect with customers and prospects in your market
• Invite clients into your feedback loop by forming “user groups”

4. Flexible Culture

A former executive suggested that “handling multiple problems simultaneously was foreign to the culture” at General Motors. One of the many benefits of being a small business is the ability to make decisions and react to situations quickly. As your organization grows, it’s important to retain your flexibility by developing a mechanism to recognize and address challenges.

One effective way to build a flexible, responsive culture is to give your employees a voice i.e. promoting open discussion, the questioning of convention, etc. and the power to make certain types of decisions. A culture that facilitates independent thought and empowerment can help build grassroots problem solving.

Example: By encouraging a customer service representative to recognize and solve problems during micro-interactions, your business simultaneously engages staff; builds brand equity; quells issues at their root; creates brand stories, etc.

Image: Thanks to Cameron Cardow for use of his editorial cartoon

Additional Resources:

Reuters Article

Globe and Mail Article

——————————————————————————————————————————-

David Armano doesn’t see himself as an expert – do you?

To me, experts are the modern day oracles. Authoritative figures that feed traditional and social media with quotes and sound bites that form the structure and framework supporting “news”. Sounds sort of cool, the public hanging off your every word – very Rock Star. Where’s the risk in that?

The danger of becoming an expert doesn’t lie in the label or how freely others bestow it upon you. “Expert” becomes a risk to your small business when you buy into the hype that you’ve reached the pinnacle of knowledge and it’s okay to stop thinking, learning and embracing new ideas.

Some of the Risks

• Tunnel Vision – perceived “expert” knowledge breeds laziness and the 360 degree view begins to seem like hard work. It becomes easy to know what you know and lose focus on all that’s new around you.
• Competitive Disadvantage – your competition will not stop learning new ways to engage customers, enhance products and services, increase market share, etc.
• Poor Decision Making – without new ideas, information and technology owners manage their small business in a vacuum and start basing decisions on static data.
• False Sense of Security – believing you have attained all the answers creates an arrogant business environment that can lead to a sense of entitlement and blind spots.

I think it’s fine to be called an expert, or to aspire to it’s PR trappings – But once “Expert” becomes a learning destination and not a continual starting point, you and you’re small business are at risk of becoming obsolete.