Tim Bursch

A few things I notice about businesses that are thriving today:

• Transparency- dropping the walls of corporate facade and engaging directly with customers
• Trust- giving people (customers and employees) freedom to make the right choice
• Gratitude- taking time to thank each customer for their trust and business
• Focus- investing their time, energy, and resources in what they do best

What would you add?

Photo by: Orin Zebest

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I hope you had a good week. These posts inspired and made me think:

1. Leaders Can Be Human Too
2. A local social media call to arms
3. Why does your company have a cheap website?
4. Spam is not just email, it’s a way of thinking
5. Give life everything you’ve got, even when you’re winning.

What was the best part of your week?

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I was in a meeting this week and the presenters forgot to take the temperature. It was a demo/sales meeting. We were the potential customer.
They talked. And talked. And talked some more. I think I remember about 3 questions and a lot of irrelevant information.

The thing about selling and meetings is that you need to check the room. It’s about the other person not the presentation.

I have a few ideas on taking the temp:
-Look up. You know, don’t rely on your powerpoint or sales sheets.
-Notice the body language. Are people crossing their arms?
-Check for understanding and tracking. Does this make sense? What do you think?
-Ask more questions and shut up.

Been to any good meetings lately?

Tags: meetings.

I’ve been watching some of the Winter Olympics with my family. It’s inspiring and moving.

One thing that amazes me is that some of these athletes just win. For example Apolo Ohno has won in his sport, then tried Dancing with the Stars and won. Winner.

That kind of story makes me want to go further. And play bigger. What inspires you?

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Eat at Joe’s. Buy now. Turn Here. Fill up. Action words, telling me to do something.

Wanna get away? What’s in your wallet? Asking.

Is one better? I know there is a psychology behind both and each style works. Are you telling customers to do something or asking them to join your tribe?

I lean towards asking a question, mostly to start a conversation.

What do you think?

Image by: timparkinson

Tags: advertising.

I was listening to My Side of the Mountain in the car with my kids. If you don’t know the story, it’s about a boy that learns how to live in the mountains by himself.

One part of the story reminded me of the need for systems. The scene from his journal starts with something like this … boy gets hungry and it takes work to find food. Then he’s tired from all the searching but he doesn’t have a place to sleep. So he works on making a shelter and then he’s hungry again and so on. In his journal he wonders how prehistoric people got anything done! So the story continues on with him figuring out some daily systems and tools.

I think the same goes for business. You go looking for new business (hunting), working hard and getting tired along with finding business for today. Then a few leads come in and you’re overwhelmed. Same story of reaction until you do the hard work of creating a system.

Here’s the rub though, it takes extra time and energy to build the process while doing the daily work, but work that will pay off.

What part of your business is in reaction mode? What could you create to ease the pain? Any ideas to share?

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I was invited to coffee today with Jared Roy. We’d met online and had some conversation, but not face-to-face. Jared invites me and mentions a few other people will be there.

I have to admit my first response was okay, why do we need other people there? Then I thought more and realized this is genius. He just expanded all of our connections. I met 3 new people in one meeting, learned about their work, and started valuable new relationships. Jared added to THE network.

There is no question, we all need connections. Want more? Bring more people to the table. Literally.

Thank you Jared for your generosity and for challenging me.

What could you do for your next meeting?

Want to connect, just contact me. (I’ll be bringing more people.)

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Have you ever been sailing? It’s awesome. I’ve been to the Apostle Islands twice. Amazing.

One thing that I learned was you have to be attentive to the wind. You watch the water and the sky for where the wind is going. You listen for what angle you’re going into the wind. That whole sailing-directly-into-the-wind-thing still puzzles me. But it makes complete sense too. It seems like we went faster sailing at a slight edge into the wind.

What about resistance in life and work? It’s hard to move towards and yet it might be the best path.

In his new book, Linchpin, Seth Godin says to use resistance as a weather vane:

“When you feel the resistance, the stall, the fear, the pull, you know you’re onto something. Whichever way the wind of resistance is coming from, that’s the way to head–directly into the resistance.” (131)

Are you being attentive to the wind? Is it something to head towards?

Tags: linchpin, resistance.

I took my kids (son and daughter) sledding the other day. We are getting slammed with snow here in Minnesota. We were at a popular hill, and it was busy.

Here’s what I noticed: My kids make friends. They invited other kids to join them. Pretty soon they had a whole group sledding together, cheering each other on. I know it’s so simple, but I think this translates to social media (and business).

Rules for social media from my kids:
Be social. Ask people questions. Be friendly.
Be helpful. It’s not all about us.
Be inclusive. Invite others (yes even strangers) into your circle.
Be an idea person. Share your ideas. Collaborate.

Think back to the playground, or watch your kids, what would you add?

Image by: Clearly Ambiguous

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We watch the Superbowl most years. Usually to eat and hang out with family and friends. And the commercials.

We screen them for our kids and I asked what they liked best: Doritos. (2 years running)

Why: “They’re funny dad!” My kids tell the story of the Doritos commercials over and over. My kids are teaching me the simplicity of marketing.

• Tell a good story

• Be memorable. Don’t do something average. Throw things. Go crazy.

• Have fun. Business is serious enough, let’s have more fun.

What was your favorite ad and why?

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