I asked for feedback from this mentor and got some solid advice. Was it earth shaking? No. It was honest and helpful.

Sometimes it’s hard to hear feedback. In the short run though it can help you grow.
Do you ask for feedback? Find someone you trust and give it a try.

Tools are cool. Email marketing and tracking. Listening on forums and networks. Connecting on Twitter. I hear about a new tool almost every single day. Sometimes I go and try them out. Other times, bookmark for later. If you are in business today and trying to connect better with customers, there are plenty of options. The amount of tools can be overwhelming.

I don’t know about you, but I can get caught up sometimes in the shiny new widget and forget about the most important resource: people.

What is behind all of these networks, emails, and blogs? Humans.

After tools and factories fade away, there will still be people.

What are you doing to remember people?

Image credit: batega

Life is good. Life is hard.

Remember the happy place? It helps me to have some practices to get centered and get rid of stress.

Here are some of my favorite places to get centered:

• Writing at a coffee shop. Coffee, pen and paper.

• Grabbing a beer with a friend

• Cranking the iPod and cleaning (yup sometimes it works for me)

When life is stressful or the crap hits the fan, what do you do? Where do you go?

Image credit: brightsea

Here are a few ideas for avoiding the delete:

• Watch your frequency. Don’t overdo it. Remind me and give me value, but don’t stuff my inbox

• Make it valuable. Share something that inspires. Give a decent coupon. Help me solve a problem.

• Avoid the clutter. If it’s not a simple message, I’m not going to give it any time.

What keeps you from deleting those newsletters?

Photo by: tico24

So, here’s my idea: start small mastermind groups of people that are interested in going deeper.

Let’s talk about metrics and ROI. Let’s figure out action steps too. And let’s support each other and share ideas.

A few challenges with starting mastermind groups:

- Trust is needed in order to let a small group of people give you feedback and learn together.

- Time is needed. Who has time for another meeting? There’s work to do, but this would be a commitment to going pro.

- Logistics need to be figured out. Where, when, and what if people don’t show? All good questions.

There’s not an institution to go learn social media from, yet. If we want 201 learning, we will have to make it happen.

So, who’s interested in a mastermind group?

I love coffee. I gotta have my daily coffee. The darker and stronger, the better.

I went through a drive through recently to order a coffee. I made my order, paid, got my coffee, and drove away. I thought that it was a pretty average experience. I did not feel more or less excited about this brand. It was just okay. I think the employee smiled?

Now, I’m not saying I need lots of chit-chat or excitement in the morning, but maybe some passion or interest in me the paying customer.

Consider how many impressions we have from various brands and marketers trying to get our attention. Lots. How many leave you with a positive and memorable impression. I’d say a few.

I bet I could ask my kids. We just spent 2 weeks more than normal watching t.v. with the Olympics. Even though we mute most commercials they have big opinion about the parts that are worth remembering or not.

Tell a good story. Get passionate about your customers. Leave a great impression.

Photo by: Kevin Krejci

Degrees and levels have been removed. If you want to connect with an author you can email them or have a conversation on their Facebook Page. If you want to voice a complaint to the CEO of your favorite brand you most likely can. If you are in a job transition you can do your own headhunting with creative search and networking.

The network for the most part is open and level. Take Tim’s advice and be generous. You will have all the connections you need.

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

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?

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?