Month: September 2016

10thHuman: is momentum in business real?

Momentum is defined as the impetus gained by a moving object. It is a principle, a vector quantity of the product of mass and velocity. It is a quality often given to politicians, athletes, brands, stars and businesses.

The question on my mind tonight is, is it real?

There are many thousands upon thousands of words out there talking about the concept amongst businesses.

I believe it is a real concept but that we make our own momentum.

Momentum is the focused application of your battle rhythm. The focused application of your minimum, mandatory processes. The focused application of a framework to develop your battle rhythm.

Then, execute.

And, execute again.

And, execute again.

Have you asked your ten questions?

cooltext204249260347548I’m currently reading The Ultimate Guide to Link Building and found a gem within the first few pages (several, actually).

For today, I’d challenge you to ask yourself ten questions your web presence answers for a consumer.

What are ten reasons they’d visit your site for? 

If you can’t provide ten, it may be time to examine your communications strategy.

What are your value adding links?

image from pixabay
image from pixabay

“A business or product can be understood as the sum of it’s value adding links.”

– Jay Samit

For me, this quote inspires me to daily ask myself, what are your value adding links in my business/product/network? 

Why is this an important question to ask?

If you don’t know where you are adding value, you cannot focus your efforts on those parts of your business. 

It seems to me that a critical part of a successful enterprise is knowing where you adding value, especially in an age of scarce resources (money, attention, time).

10thHuman: On blogging and ‘leaving a trail’

image from pixabay
image from pixabay

Last week, I posted about the idea of developing a sustainable battle rhythm as a career decision. Seth Godin indicated he viewed his habit of blogging daily as one such decision he’s made.

I wanted to share another component of the conversation. Blogging, Godin says, “leaves a trail.”

What possible benefit could an entrepreneur derive from such an activity?

There are several that I can think of:

  1. It helps to document your thoughts and ideas. This blog, 10thHuman.com, is the formal implementation of my professional journal.
  2. It demonstrates authenticity and commitment to your ‘tribe‘. People following your posts are able to glean insight into your character and positions.
  3. It establishes credibility. In my profession as a Realtor®, I post content videos on YouTube and write “From the inbox:” posts in response to questions I think are broadly applicable to consumers. It’s my hope and intent to help inform consumers and clients about the market and industry. In doing so, I hope to earn their business.

What would you add to the list?

22 September edit 

I have been thinking about this a lot recently and would add one more item to the list, for now. That is, if you blog the platform is YOURS. Some of the systems out there, like Facebook or WordPress, are promoting the idea of blogging within their system. Facebook also penalizes the sharing of external links in terms of reach. However, in this lies the very reason not to abandon your platform.

Other systems will come along. Facebook WILL be disrupted. If you’ve maintained your content on your own platform, you alone control the disposition of the same.

Just something to consider!

10th Human: Does theory matter?

image from pixabay
image from pixabay

In a world of results, results, results does theory matter?

I would suggest the answer to this is, “Yes.”

Language is a lens through which we view the world. Language is a framework. If we strive to inform and improve that framework through the study of theory in our given field(s), it seems to me it only helps. Of course, to achieve results one must Act on the theory and framework they’ve developed.

P.S. In doing a little light reading on this topic, I came across this fascinating article on words and their impact on our brains.

 

The Internets: The wealth of human information at our fingertips…

network-1433045_640Have you paused recently to consider that we, the human species, have developed a network that is simultaneously:

  1.  the distributed repository of the wealth of human knowledge
  2.  connects everyone with access to everyone with access

The potential of this network extends far beyond sharing awesome memes (though this is arguably a critical function).

Today’s link is a list of 14 resources compiled by Mental Floss that run the gamut from serious (learn every language on Earth and helping feed the Earth) to the lighthearted (access old school video games).

All powered by the Internet.

10th Human: A sustainable battle rhythm is a career decision

20160731 OODAI had an hour drive in the car this morning and chose Tim Ferris’ podcast with Seth Godin to pass the time. There were a solid dozen ‘nuggets’ I jotted down for future follow up and thought but I want to share one with you today.

When asked about his habit of blogging daily (a decision I’ve recently begun here), Mr. Godin referred to this as a ‘career decision’. This was an intentional decision on his part, one of 5 or 6 he has made in his career, he stated.

That really landed with me. I use the language of a “battle rhythm” in my business (twenty years of military service left me with a lingering affinity for the lingo). A concept I’ve been struggling to articulate concisely for a little while is the why of having a sustainable battle rhythm is so important. It seems apparent that a business owner wants to have this because consistency and reliability build brand trust. However, Seth’s phrasing of a daily habit like blogging as a career decision really stuck with me.

In sum, having a sustainable battle rhythm is also a career decision.

P.S. I should probably define what I mean by battle rhythm. My definition here is: those minimum, mandatory tasks you do on a continual basis to maintain your business.