To end the week in our “7 Habits Series” , let’s have a chat with Phil Johnson, one of the best creative minds out there. When he’s not jetting around the country with clients, friends and other marketing luminaries he’s at home in his Cambridge office, just steps away from Harvard Square. And if you have the time on a Thursday afternoon, take a moment to listen to his agency’s weekly radio show on Social Media with Mike O’Toole and  Hugh Kennedy – There’s alway something interesting happening over there.

About Phil
I’m the CEO of PJA Advertising + Marketing. We call ourselves an ad agency, but we’re really interested in all the ways that people communicate with each other, and especially how new technologies are changing our experiences and behaviors.

1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
I’m a talent groupie. Nothing gets me excited like meeting someone with a great mind, a wonderful imagination, and better ideas than me. Sometimes I can’t sleep until I recruit them.

2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do?
Well at PJA, we all punch a time clock. Just kidding. I don’t know exactly when the workday starts. After I drop my son at school, I start thinking about business. But once I get to the office, I’ve got to check to see if there are any donuts in the kitchen, then put on some music, and play around with Tweet Deck. Next thing I know I’m writing stuff, going to meetings, and talking on the phone. I think that’s work.

3. What makes you efficient with your day?
It’s sad, but I’m just not efficient, but I’ve learned a couple of tricks. Every day, I jot down three things I absolutely want to get done. I’m always happy if I do two of them.

4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
I’m not a huge fan of traditional business books, but here are three books that I really like, and they are kind of about business:

Fast Company, How Six Master Gamblers Defy the Odds – and Always Win, by Jon Bradshaw. These stories reveal tons about entrepreneurship and human nature.

Stumbling On Happiness, by Daniel Gilbert. Understanding how we pursue happiness is very helpful if you’re in the business of influencing people.

Here Comes Everybody, by Clay Shirky. This book helps explain how all these cool web 2.0 technologies that we love are redefining society.

5. 3 things on your desk right now/ 3 things you can’t live without
Diet Dr Pepper
PJA note pads
My tiny Bose speakers.

Those things, and my MacBook, are all I need.

6. Habit you want to kick in 2010
I think I’ll start with trans fats and then move on to butter, sugar, excessive amounts of empty carbohydrates, and alcohol.

7. Habit you’d like to form  for 2010
I wish that all of us at PJA would connect to each other on a delicious network and get disciplined about tagging the content that fires up our imaginations. We’ve got a collection of really interesting people, and their collective knowledge is very powerful. I’d like to do a better job of harnessing it.

Back to the continuing “7 Habits” series with Connie Bensen. I first “met” Connie Christmas Day (or thereabouts) about two years ago when testing out Skype. Social Media waits for no-one, right? We struck up a conversation online, and have since stayed connected, (or have tried to!) through Twitter. Without further ado, Ms. Connie Bensen.

About Connie
I’m the Director of Social Media & Community Strategy at Alterian. I work under corporate marketing and have two focus areas: the social media strategy at Alterian & also providing marketing support for SM2 our social media monitoring tool.

1. What one trait or *habit* got you to where you are today?
Investing many hours in learning and giving back to others.

2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do and why?
My first item is to read email because I need to get centered for the day. Now that our parent office is in the UK their day is half over when I start mine, so I frequently start my week on Sunday evening.

3. What makes you efficient with your day?
I couldn’t live without Evernote. It’s amazing (and free!). It synchs across the cloud & my lists and information is always available no matter what computer I’m working on.

4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
Word of Mouth Marketing by Andy Sernovitz rates very high.

5. 3 things on your desk right now /3 things you can’t live without
a mouse (I can’t use a laptop without one)
pen & paper
on my desktop I NEED evernote, skype, Thunderbird, Firefox, Digsby

6. Habit you want to kick in 2009
One habit I need to change is working too much. And I’m starting to figure out how to not work on weekends, but it’s really hard (seriously!). I have an upcoming move & look forward to socializing more with friends.

7. Habit you want to form for 2010
I plan to get more exercise on a regular basis. Although January is over & I’ve managed to avoid it so far! :)

In Interview #12 of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers” we have Scott Henderson, an Indiana native (sorry about the Colts Scotty) and someone who will soon be moving east to Boston. Will Scott join Red Sox Nation? Only time will tell.

About Scott
Scott is Principal of  Rally the Cause and CauseShift.com-Game changing ideas for causes, companies, and charities.

1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
My delusional optimism has helped me jump off many cliffs without thinking of the reasons why not to do it. Most of the time, I do pretty well. But sometimes, I’ve had to be scraped off the canyon floor.

2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do and why?
I review my inbox, Twitter, and blogs to collect any action items. Then, I review the list of action items I created the night before and make sure I’m focused on the most important one before I start.

3. What makes you efficient with your day?
Scheduling my days in blocks of time when I’m not traveling. As much I can, I use the first half of the morning for planning, writing, and organizing, while the late morning is for phone calls and in-person meetings. Over lunchtime, I take about two hours to workout and eat. I structure my afternoons much like my mornings. In the evening after my son goes to bed, I will sometimes spend time writing and organizing because of the lack of interruption.

4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
I’ve learned more from reading Machiavelli’s The Prince than from any contemporary business book.

5. 3 things on your desk right now/3 things you can’t live without

MacBook Pro
iPhone
Headphones

6. Habit you want to kick in 2010
Checking email and Twitter as often as I do.

7. Habit you want to form for 2010
Spending more of my evenings away from the computer.

In Interview #11 of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers” series we interview Laura “Pistachio” Fitton- fresh from her first vacation in SIX years- welcome back Laura. If you haven’t already met Laura, it might make sense to listen to her tweets (disclosure, she tweets a lot) and read her book, Twitter for Dummies. Right now she’s in in the middle of her next entrepreneurial venture at One Forty.

About Laura
I am the CEO and founder of oneforty inc., which has been widely dubbed “Twitter’s AppStore.” We help people get more out of Twitter by discovering and sharing the most effective Twitter tools for their work and life.

1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
ADD. No really, I am constantly scanning the horizon and that definitely contributes to my uncanny (you could even call it excessive) luck.

2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do and why?
Check email & Twitter, usually via CoTweet.  Habit. It’s just no good if I dive into the day not knowing something really important that we’re going to want to respond to.

3. What makes you efficient with your day?
I really struggle to feel efficient. It’s pretty hard. But I am also coming to some peace with some of my chaos because I recognize how powerful an engine serendipity is when it comes to being able to act on really big opportunities that would have been impossible to plan, predict & work towards.

4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
Made to Stick definitely stands out in my mind because I am fascinated by which ideas catch on and which never do.

5. 3 things on your desk right now/3 things you can’t live without

A symbol of my daughters (in this case, their Christmas letters)

A smartphone (currently the iPhone, but I’m very open to trying others)

My MacBook. I brought it on vacation to Costa Rica and pretty much only used it for planning travel logistics and Skyping with my kids. I do have the self-discipline not to work when it’s not working time, but really my whole life is on this thing.

6. Habit you want to kick in 2010
Definitely fear. I can say with 99% certainty that fear has never led me to make a good decision. It’s really tempting to be fear-driven, but for me it’s always been counterproductive.

7. Habit you want to form for 2010
Getting more comfortable and facile with the GTD parts of my personality so I can grow professionally and strike a balance with the stochastic, opportunity-catching side.

Ok, Interview #10 of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers” series. Up today we have Scott Stratten who heads up Un-Marketing. With over 45,000 followers on Twitter, he always has something interesting to say, and being from Canada, he’s probably cheering on his fellow Canadians during the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver right now, right Scott?

About Scott
Scott is an expert in Viral, Social, and Authentic Marketing which he calls….Un-Marketing. When he’s not traveling the world talking about Social Media, he is being featured in the Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and CNN. Plus, he likes coffee.

1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
Strong personality. The ability to have an opinion and take a stand on it allows me to show my passion for a subject. If you don’t look like you give a damn about what you’re talking about, why would your market care? Don’t be afraid to tick a few people off.

2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do and why?
From bed, I check Twitter on my Blackberry, specifically the “@ replies”. Engagement is what my world is about so I want to make sure if someone reached out to me, I can get back to them. There is no point in using social media if you fail to be social.

3. What makes you efficient with your day?
Tweetdeck on laptop + UberTwitter on Blackberry + my assistant. I can be anywhere in the world and be in the middle of things, or be removed totally.

4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
Permission Marketing by Seth Godin. It was the first time I read about relationship marketing and have never looked back. I wouldn’t get off the plane until i finished it. Which was a little awkward.

5. 3 things on your desk right now/ 3 things you can’t live without
Guitar Hero figure, BlackBerry, picture of my son. All three help me function (well, not the guitar hero guy, but you can’t live without bringing the rock!)

6. Habit you want to kick in 2010
I fall victim to the shiny-object syndrome, where I always come up with new ideas. But the fact is, I rather not change it. I run the show because of this twisted brain, and outsource/hire my weaknesses.

7. Habit you want to form for 2010
I want to learn how to be a polite New York Times best-selling author in September, instead of a pretentious one. Only time will tell..

Ok, Interview #10 of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers” series. Today’s interview is with Paul Gillin, author of the
New Influencers and Social Media Speaker, Trainer, and  Content Marketing Consultant. One of my favorite “products” that Paul Gillin produces is his website “Newspaper Death Watch“. As a journalist with 25+ years of experience, he is especially tuned in to the evolving space around journalism and publishing.

1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
I suppose I have a knack for seeing where the puck is going, at least as far as media is concerned. I was trained as a journalist but quickly got out of general assignment work and into specialization in information technology, which was a pretty geeky field of the time. The timing turned out to be good, because in the early 1980s the technology went mainstream and I went along with it.

I got my first demonstration of the Internet in 1993, before there was even such a thing as a web browser. I knew immediately that this was the future of publishing and moved my interest and career in that direction years before that became fashionable. I also caught on to the idea that social media was going to revolutionize not just publishing but the way people communicate and was able to get a book into the market on that subject before the feeding frenzy began.

2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do and why?
I have a carefully tended list of RSS feeds from sources I respect on subjects relating to new media. I try to spend one or two hours at the beginning of each day browsing through new entries. I tweet a lot of those recommendations, which generates other conversations and awareness on Twitter. I also bookmark a great deal of stuff that may be useful to me later. It’s difficult for me to start a day without knowing what my most trusted sources are saying about my field.

3. What makes you efficient with your day?
I use the Google suite of applications for mail, calendaring and many of my documents. This means that nearly everything I write is searchable, which saves me from fumbling around for stuff. I also reuse a great deal of content so that letter writing is more a matter of assembling than creating new content.

My most productive tool, however, is Dragon NaturallySpeaking. It’s a voice recognition program that enables me to speak rather than type. I probably work two to three times faster and am able to write considerably more by speaking than I would if I had to type everything.

4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen

5. 3 things on your desk right now/ 3 things you can’t live without
Two of them are computers. I flip back and forth between them so I am constantly working even while waiting for a website to load. The third most useful item is the microphone I use to dictate into Dragon.

6. Habit you want to kick in 2010
Well, I would sure like to make it through the year without a cigarette, but I’ve already blown that one. From a business perspective, it’s a tendency to take on more than I can handle and then having to work 16-hour days to meet my obligations.

7. Habit you want to form for 2010
Doing a better job of following up and staying in contact with people. I value relationships but I’m so busy that I tend to let them lie fallow until I have a reason to contact someone. I would also like to get back into playing the trombone regularly. I was an avid musician through high school and college but put the instrument aside many years ago. It beckons to me but my ability has deteriorated so badly that it’s frustrating even to try.

photo credit: CC Chapman

Ok, Interview #8 of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers” series. Today’s interview is with none other than Christine Major.  When she’s not knee deep in Social Media, she’s quite the  stand-up comic! If you have some free time, check out Christine doing her routine here at the Comedy Connection…

About Christine
I am the marketing communications manager for Awareness located in Burlington, Mass. Our social marketing software powers online communities for brands such as Kodak, ASOS and JetBlue. I like to consider myself to be a serial networker (thus the name of my blog). This means I get out there, a lot, and love to get people together through the several offline events I plan in the NH and Boston areas.

1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
Positive attitude. I truly believe that having a positive attitude through life can get you through anything. During even tough times, I always try to see the positive.

2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do?
After going through my email, I always review my to-do list for the day and figure out what I am going to accomplish that day. I love lists and I love crossing things off my list even more.

3. What makes you efficient with your day?
Our marketing team at Awareness has recently implemented an agile marketing process. You may be familiar with agile if you are in engineering and we applied the same process to our marketing activities. We meet as a team on a daily basis, go over activities completed from the day before and discuss what the focus will be that day. This process helps us all stay on task while allowing us all to see what everyone else is working on.

4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
I really don’t have a favorite business book – at least not yet. I am reading several now and recently finished GaryVee’s CrushIt which I felt was a great motivational book and validated my belief that if you aren’t happy in your current situation, then you have to change it.

5. 3 things on your desk right now/or 3 things you can’t live without
My MacBook, My iPhone and my laptop

6. Habit you want to kick in 2010
I would like to try to actually get out of my chair and go to the gym at lunch time. I can’t tell you how many times I have brought my gym bag into work and said to myself “this is THE day I am going to workout at lunch” and every single time that bag just sits there. Hey look, it’s there right now….

7. Habit you’d like to form for 2010
Slowing down. Like many people, I am typically working on several projects at once. Sometimes if you just slow down a little you can actually be more productive.

BONUS: A picture of Christine’s office- what makes her so efficient!

Ok, Interview #7 of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers” series. Today’s interview is with Steve Garfield.

About Steve
Hey this is Steve Garfield from SteveGarfield.com I’m author of the book Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business, and founder of Boston Media Makers. Through speaking and consulting I teach people how easy it is to put video online.

1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
My favorite habit is Stephen Covey’s ’seek first to understand then to be understood.’ I love learning things and then sharing what I learned. I’ve been doing that for years, in person and on my blog, and that led to writing my book.

2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do and why?
First of all I have say that actually don’t have a work day our work schedule. I’m working all the time so I could be working maybe 4 AM, 6 AM, 8 AM. Time doesn’t matter. First thing I do check mail, then check twitter.

3. What makes you efficient with your day?
What makes me a fission is a deadline so for example if I’m editing a video I know I have to get it done by the end of the day I will focus on getting that video done and what I do is try and exclude watching all types of social media.

4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
My favorite business book of all time is 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen Covey. I love that book and I try to be values based and as I said earlier, seek first to understand then to be understood.

5. 3 things on your desk right now/ 3 things you can’t live without
Three things on my desk so the first thing right front of me MacBook Pro totally runs everything I do all day long every day. Second thing is a nice external hard drive. I finally found a good one. I like it to Seagate external FireWire drive and the other thing that I love that I have a my desk is Sharpies. I love keeping lists and then crossing things out when I get them done with a nice black line big thick black line

6. Habit you want to kick in 2009
I want to get rid of this insane check-in check-in everywhere.  It’s crazy.  What would love to see is new technology that would auto check me in.

7. Habit you want to form for 2010
The habit I want to form in 2010 is actually get out of habits. I’ll look for some new opportunities or new things are are new ways of doing things . I’m going to try and keep an open mind on new possibilities and then try and stop the pattern of doing the exact same thing over time. Otherwise I love what I’m doing and look forward to new opportunities in 20-10. I’m not going to call it 2,010 either. 20-10!

BONUS- here’s a picture of Steve in his office…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/376681198/
Photo credit-  Melanie Stetson Freeman

Ok, Interview #5 of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers” series. Today’s interview is with none other than Jim Long, NBC cameraman for the White House.

About Jim
Jim is a self described “new media soul trapped in an old media body” or a “human satellite truck.”  When he’s not flying around the world covering the President and White House News, he’s running his own business, Verge New Media. If you happen to track him down, ask him about his hair-rising trips to Afghanistan aboard one  of the Air Force’s “doomsday planes.

1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
I don’t know if I can peg my success today on just one trait.  I believe that it is my persistence, my fierce dedication to my craft and client, and the faith that exceptional work will lead you to personal success – it’s these qualities that have gotten me where I am today.

2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do?
The start of my day is linked to the ebb and flow of news.  Some days are planned out, other days we’re putting out fires.  I’ve learned to expect the unexpected, but i generally start my day loading up my camera, then logging in to Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare

3. What makes you efficient with your day?
Efficiencies in my newsgathering role are less dependent on web technologies than many other jobs;  yet every assignment requires that I make judgements about how much, and what type of gear I need to bring to bear to the task.   Paramount in this process is the question: “Could I get on the air with what I have with me?”  Beyond the camera, blackberry has become indispensable.

4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
The Long Tail”  has put the current state of my business in perspective, putting a fine point on the opportunity and uncertainty media and other businesses face.

5. 3 things on your desk right now/ 3 things you can’t live without
Sony HDW F900r Video Camera
iPhone 3G, Blackberry World Edition
Powermac G4 1.67Ghz

6. Habit you want to kick in 2009
I’m terribly disorganized,  I need to work on that.

7. Habit you’d like to form for 2010

NOTE: for those of you who know Jim well, suggestions for a new habit for New Media Jim?

Ok, Interview #5 of the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Social Marketers” series.

About Christine
I founded PerkettPR in 1998 – we provide PR, social marketing and digital communications services to tech, healthcare and consumer companies worldwide. I’m addicted to lip balm and seashells, love dogs and my family, write a lot of blogs – everything from PR and marketing to parenting, fashion and marathon training – and am currently training to run the Boston Marathon in April 2010. I guess you could say I thrive on being insanely busy.

1. What one trait or habit got you to where you are today?
Intuition. I’ve learned to listen to mine more and more over the years – it’s almost always right both in business and in personal situations.

2. Your work day just started, what’s the FIRST thing you do?
The first thing I do when I wake up is grab my BlackBerry and read emails, including newsletters from top publications like Forbes, New York Times, Marketwatch, WSJ, PR Daily and Inc Magazine. After grabbing copious amounts of coffee, the first thing I do when I physically get into my office is prioritize my To Do list – urgent, today, ASAP.

3. What makes you efficient with your day?
Pressure. Knowing that others are relying on me makes me the most efficient. (However, I’m notorious for cramming every possible thing into every minute – which, while enabling me to get a lot done, often makes me late to meetings, which is a horrible habit.)

4. Your Favorite Business book of all time?
“Why Good Girls Don’t Get Ahead but Gutsy Girls Do,” by Kate White

5. 3 things on your desk right now/ 3 things you can’t live without
Coffee, Fast Company and way too many piles of paper.

6. Habit you want to kick in 2009
Taking too long to make tough decisions. This goes back to trusting my intuition. Also, being late! People who know me well will lie to me about what time things start – which sadly, gets me there on time.

7. Habit you’d like to form for 2010
Looking on the bright side of every situation and taking away one key lesson that can be applied to make the next situation better. Less complaining, more doing.

NOTE- for those who want to follow along in the Twitter conversation, and be updated when we post new entries use the #sm7habits hashtag