Many of you may not recognize this photo of Mike Schneider because he spent the better half of the fall growing a moustache for “Movember“. Now that he’s clean shaven, he is setting his sites on bigger aspirations, like being one of the Top 20 Karaoke singers at SXSW’s “Cog’aoke 2“. While he’s not mastering the art of social marketing and more, he’s QUITE the entertainer, and likes to “sing in the shower and in the car and on stage and at the mall and in meetings and on the phone”. If any of you are reading this and heading to SXSW, please vote for him.
On to interview # 17 of the “7 Habits Series“…
1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
Fearlessness. I am just not smart enough to understand that there are things that cannot be done and that I should not be able to do them. I rarely shy away from a challenge and do not accept “no” or “can’t”. I heard those a lot growing up in the Midwest. I wanted to learn Chinese as a kid and I remember people telling me “that’s impossible”. One day I just decided that that line of reasoning was something that I could not tolerate and that if I wanted something, it would be better to take a risk and make it happen.
2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do?
I think. I start in the shower. I also think in the car, preferably with some new modern rock blaring. I let my schedule whirl around in my head a little bit and usually a few good ideas fall out from between the dates and times.
3. What makes you efficient with your day?
Efficiency. The bar is set very high for me. My efficiency role model is my best friend, Gregory Ng I’ve never seen anyone ideate, create and deliver like that guy. Assuming I’m somewhat efficient: devices, gadgets and software help me attain efficiency. I love the shiny. Evernote, a tool that syncs thoughts, notes and audio clips between devices is one of my favorites. I am using it now because I suspect I won’t finish this task before I have to move on to the next. If I cannot, maybe I will bang out a few questions from my iPhone later. DropBox is brilliant for sharing. Heaven forbid I ever forget my machine at work (power cord is another story), but if I do, the most important files are accessible via DropBox from any machine. As a look-ahead guy, I am aching for a tablet. I can imagine a bunch of ways that will make me more productive, particularly in sharing concepts in groups and in content consumption.
4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
That’s like asking my favorite song of all time. I will not be able to answer with just one.
The Art of War.
Groundswell has a few good points.
Wisdom of Crowds and Black Swan are also highly worthwhile for any measurement / experiment junkie. Empirical thinking for the win!
And of course I enjoyed #Crushit by Gary VAY NER CHUK.
5. 3 things on your desk right now/ 3 things you can’t live without
Flip/Zi8
iPhone
moleskine
6. Habit you want to kick in 2010
If I can do something, one of my tendencies is to go ahead and assign the task to me. That’s not always good.
7. Habit you’d like to form for 2010
Balance. A little less work. A little more family, friends, beer and modern rock. Oh. Flossing. I need to floss regularly.
If you are a small business on a shoe-string budget, look no further than Duct Tape Marketing. Today’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers” continues with
the 7 Habits of John Jantsch.
About John
John Jantsch is a marketing and digital technology coach, award winning social media publisher and author of Duct Tape Marketing and The Referral Engine
1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
Paying attention to what’s going on around me and writing about it daily
2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do and why?
Coffee – I have a routine of sites, email, engagement, Twitter, etc that I run through – I guess it’s part of my overall systems approach
3. What makes you efficient with your day?
GTD and Central Desktop – I’ve always been a list maker
4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
The Practice of Management – Peter Drucker – although it may not seem like it, it’s the best marketing book I’ve ever read
5. 3 things on your desk right now/ 3 things you can’t live without
24″ Monitor, Moleskin notebook, Jug of green tea
6. Habit you want to kick in 2010
Coffee
7. Habit you want to form for 2010
Increase Yoga and running practices
Remember when you first heard about LinkedIn and signed up, thinking it would be convenient to have your resume online? And remember how you haven’t spent much time there since?….
You can wring so much more use out of our profile than you think; here are 10 tips to get you started.
1.) This tip could be an entire post on its own, but thinking about reordering your profile to highlight your best attributes.This is like getting getting dressed up for a big event. Horizontal stripes are bad, unless you want to accent width…LinkedIn started offering reording earlier this month, and there’s a handy video guide with tips on the company blog.
2.) You may have synced your blog feed with your LinkedIn profile, but did you know you can add video too? LinkedIn added a video application last spring, and its’ been generating a lot of buzz since, though the concept of video resumes has been around for a while. Reel Social Media has step-by-step instructions (with its own handy video guide). Important to remember: just becaue you can, doesn’t mean you should. Adding video is great for showcasing artistic talent, past speeches or presentations you’re particularly proud of, or could be a unique way to add reccomendations. Five minutes of you answering your own interview questions isn’t a good idea.
3.) LinkedIn also lets you tag your contacts with unique labels. Want to walk up to the speaker you just heard at a conference but can’t remember how you’re connected? Scroll through your tags and jog your memory.
4.) Be active. This sounds like a no brainer, but bear with me: how many of you check the site when you get a notification about some connection making another new connection, scan your profile, then log out? LinkedIn and social media are changing the way people communicate and the way people find jobs – if you’re not a frequent participant in that conversation, then no one knows just how many interesting things you have to say. Don’t get left behind.
5.) Use LinkedIn to drive more traffic to your own website, specifically the qualified traffic that will add content and conversation to your growing community. The gist? Make connections, first by linking yourself to people you know, then by answering the questions of people you don’t. And by joining groups that cater to your niche.
6.) Or start your own group. Lewis Howes, who literally wrote the book on LinkedIn, has a lot to say about this. Groups on LinkedIn are the same as groups on Facebook. Use them to show your support for something or to meet others who think the same way. Lewis recommends that you should use LinkedIn to not just connect with people you know, but with EVERYONE. It’s the equivalent of walking up to a stranger and introducing yourself.. Just write a well crafted introduction, and don’t worry about tripping and falling on your face as you make your way toward someone to shake hands; remember, all your accomplishments are published for the world to see too.
7.) All of this advice is useful, of course, for someone trying to get a job. The bottom line is that LinkedIn makes it easier than ever to network continuously. Regardless of whether you are employed or not, you should be on LinkedIn as often as you’re on Facebook, creating a strong network that can support you when you need it.
8.) And because social media is sometimes about stoking egos, you can also see who’s viewed your profile.
9) You may have seen that you can upgrade your LinkedIn account, for a small fee… I just signed up for a premium account last week. We’ll see. (There is some good commentary here)
10.) LinkedIn is a great place to figure out WHO you are, WHAT you want out of your career, and HOW you can get there. Howes continues to list a few good questions to ask yourself when you are setting up a profile.
Your thoughts? How do you like to use Linkedin?
