First Things First

You know how they tell you, during that speech at the start of every airline flight, that we should put the oxygen mask on ourselves BEFORE we help our child. This is a dramatic example of how we need to think about how our companies are organized. The point is that we need to make sure we are set-up correctly before we can help anyone else.

First you ... then your company:

The first thing is you. Make sure that you are regularly feeding and learning from the New Media opportunities a click away. Do not worry about becoming a slave to your LinkedIn or Facebook profile (you control them!) The trick is to make it convenient for your lifestyle with browser shortcuts and mobile phone apps. I am happy to share the tools that work best.


This is what I have been telling Marketing and Advertising professionals: It is great to be aware that “fish where the fish are” means to reach out to your audience where they already are (like with a content-rich, portable affiliate Widget or Facebook app)… and NOT only per$uading them back to your site.

Try this... BE THE FISH. You (yes you) must experience what your audience can and will do – Experiment. Txt, Blog, Twit, Stumble, Digg… at least watch what happens when you click on one of those ridiculous banner ads and buy something.


The second thing is the organization of your company
. How are you directing your employees, partners, and customers? How are you empowering them to want to take independent action to enjoy their job and add value beyond their job description? Are you using the new efficient tools to make this easier? Are you incorporating the entrepreneurs method? ... where you can be innovative while staying lean and focused.

The pie-chart below is from Jeremiah Owyang's Forrester report about how companies are adopting a more "Social" form of hub-and-spoke organization for success. He suggests, "a cross-functional group that represents multiple stakeholders across the company assembles in the middle of the organization. The hub facilitates resource sharing and cross-functional communications."

(Click to enlarge)

Let's discuss your next steps because it is, of course, difficult to make the changes to implement and maintain this structure. Your commitment will strengthen by seeing the value and efficiencies of your personal participation in New Media.