Yet what about corporate blogs, where many of the tips given might not apply, or come up against everyone’s favourite, the Red Tape Roadblock?

Can generic tips apply to more organizational blogs?

Yes and no – depending on the company in question, and their willingness to experiment. This post is for those that might be willing to look at how their organization us using their blog.

Work Around the Legal Blocks

One of the biggest complaints I hear from clients (and colleagues) about blogs for organizations and enterprise is that the number of legal hoops they have to go through, just to get a post approved, means it’s not worthwhile to pursue.

By the time the approval comes, it’s too late to miss a hot time for a particular story, or opportunity. Fair enough – but if you’re missing out on a lead generation or business opportunity because legal is syphoning you, perhaps you have bigger company issues than jumping on a trend?

Organizations don’t always need to write things where legal minefields are visible. There are way more things to write about, that can receive instantaneous approval (if any is needed). These could include:

• Loyal customer or preferred client showcase / thank-you.
• Highlighting your great team.
• How your company came into existence.
• Cool innovations in your market that aren’t necessarily from you.

These are just some suggestions, but each offer a way to have continuous content without waiting for a dozen rounds of approval.

Use Video and Education

People are visual creatures. We like to see things, as opposed to just reading about them. So why do so many businesses not use video as part of their blogging strategy?

The great thing with video is that you don’t even need to have someone in front of the camera (although offering a face to the company is always a great way of humanizing it).

Video also makes it easy to offer an educational portion to your blog – how to use your online purchasing system, for example, or how to put together one of your products, as opposed to a fifty page manual.

The opportunities with video blogging for businesses is huge, and it doesn’t even have to be top-notch production. You can get a great set-up – camera, tripod, external mics, etc – for under $1,000, which in the grand scheme of things isn’t that much.

Allow Honesty

The reason social media is so popular with customers is because it allows a greater connection between them and the brands they choose to connect with.

Connect well, and the potential for lead generation and sales – as well as brand loyalty – is palpable.

Another reason social media is so popular is one word – honesty. There’s nowhere to hide online, and this is encouraging businesses to be better at how they deal with customer queries, issues and more.

Blogging’s just another facet of social media – so use it as such, and try and be honest in your blogging.

• Use it to admit to mistakes made by your company and how you aim to rectify.
• Correct false news stories and present the facts to back your point(s) up.
• Use everyday grammar as opposed to techy business talk, or creative talk (unless that’s specifically your audience).
• Accept criticism of posts, and reply professionally and honestly, accepting the critiques if they’re valid.

Again, these are just some of the ways you can make your corporate blog more interesting.

You could also share examples of how you help in the community; or support local charities; or encourage guest posts from your customers about their experience with you (although this may come under legal, for obvious reasons).

The point is, there’s a lot you can do with a corporate blog to stop it being just another dull news site. And you might just be pleasantly surprised how well your customers – existing and potential – respond to a non-dull approach.

How about you? If you’re a corporate blogger, what have you found that works? Or, if you’re a reader, what would you like to see more of in a corporate blog?

image: maxymedia

I’m personally of an open mind to this – I think it depends on the platform and the goals on it.

Maybe a CEO doesn’t want to blog, but still wants their ideas to be heard; or maybe you have a brand account but while you’re running the business, someone else is managing your Facebook Page updates, based on your requirements.

Agreed, ghost writers will never have “you” down to a tee – but they also have their place. However, like anything where you give up personal control, there are also dangers, as this thread on Mark Davidson’s Twitter account shows.

Be interesting to see the response from Mr. Davidson on his return….

Then again, at least the ghost writer gave some useful advice at the end, so maybe it’s not all bad..!

(Hat tip to Ann Marie van den Hurk for the heads-up on this.)

I’ve seen a ton of criticism about social media and what it can and can’t do. People and companies are quick to jump in and castrate those of us using the medium as charlatans and maggots.

Generally the excuse is any one of the reasons above, amongst others.

Most times the biggest complaint is that “social media isn’t working for us”, and because of that, social media is automatically a crap shoot.

But maybe those doing the loudest complaining should take a long hard look in the mirror and ask why it’s not working. Because I’m pretty sure that it’s not because of the reasons given at the start of this post, but a far simpler one – your social media strategy sucks.

And here’s why.

Blogs and Books Are Your Education

You read a ton of blogs. You follow all the big names and hang on their every word, gleaning nuggets of wisdom and tips and real-life examples of companies that “did social media right”. Then you take these posts and use them for your business, or product, or team.

And then get all upset because the advice didn’t work for you. But are you really surprised?

A blog post isn’t a strategy. A blog post isn’t a campaign measurement stick. A blog post isn’t a research and development program. A blog post is just a drop of water in a bigger pool of ideas that bring a strategy to life.

A blog post isn’t specifically written for you, either – it’s a generic cover-all that can apply to thousands of other readers, some of whom will be your competitors. So why would you replace specific with generic?

As for these never-ending social media books that are hitting the marketplace at the rate of what seems like one a week? Many are just regurgitated blog posts with a new introduction anyway, so all you’re doing is doubling your chance of failure.

Forget generic – start thinking specific.

It’s Not Strategy If There’s No End Goal

What’s your end goal with your social media activity? What are you looking to get out of it?

Brand awareness? More eyeballs on your company blog? Sales? Customer service satisfaction levels up? Head hunt new employees? None of the above?

If you’re going into social media without an end goal in mind, why are you even going in? Where’s the benefit? Is it because your competitor is doing the Twitter and they look like they’re having fun and getting people talking to them?

Great – but what’s being said between your competitor and these people? Is there an end goal there? Is it simply building relations on another platform, much like having open days at your workplace and inviting the public in?

Whatever it is, if you’re not getting any results it’s because you haven’t set any results up to be met.

• Ask how many connected conversations it’s going to take to turn into one sale.
• Ask how many products you’ll have to give away via a blogger outreach program to raise awareness, positive sentiment and actionable intent on your audience’s behalf.
• Ask how many people you’ll need to man the social phones and react to hundreds if not thousands of questions being thrown at you.
• Ask what your cut-off date is and what happens next – cut and run or adapt and conquer?

Every single thing we do in life has an end goal. The difference with life is that our very end goal we have no choice in. But in business, you do. Set your end goals out and work strategically toward them.

You Don’t Believe

You’ve used print and radio ads for longer than you can remember. They must be working, because you’re still in business. Besides, everyone reads newspapers or listens to the radio – you have a guaranteed audience. Can the same be said of social media?

Well, yes, it can, with targeted audience marketing. But let’s forget that for now, because you don’t believe you can target success in social media. You don’t believe you can bring in sales with social media, or improve your business practices, or customer satisfaction level, even though there are plenty of examples of these and more.

Simply put, you don’t believe in social media. And as that wise little guy Yoda once said, that is why you fail.

Sure, you’re tweeting. Yes, you’re Facebooking. Yes, you’re being Linked In. But your heart’s not in it. You’re not in it. You’re only here because others said you should be.

But you know, maybe you don’t need to be – social media isn’t for everyone. It is for everyone’s customers, but then there’s a whole other approach you can take for that.

So stop wasting your time. If you don’t believe in something, are you really going to put your heart in it? No. Plain and simple.

Believe or leave.

It Doesn’t Need to Be This Way

I could run a ton of other reasons off why your social media strategy sucks, but I think you get the gist. Some of it might be you, the complainer’s fault; some of it might be your boss and his or her whip cracking on you.

But it’s not a lost cause. It doesn’t need to be this way.

Everything can be turned around; all courses can be plotted again and new directions taken when an obstacle or turbulence kicks in. Just because you think it sucks now doesn’t mean it can’t suck a whole lot less in a fairly short amount of time.

• Stop acting on what works for others and build for what works for you.
• Take advice with a grain of salt and ask if that great post is really talking to you, or just talking (albeit greatly).
• Write your own books. They don’t need to be physical – successful campaigns are books, just in a different format.
• Think with the endgame in mind, or don’t play the game, period.

Bad strategy sucks, not social media. But then isn’t that true for everything?

image: JKonig
image: successfromthenest

So, lots of uses and definitions, depending on who you speak to.

Yet there is one area where all the definitions can come together and agree on, and that’s the area of social media myths. The claims from people that should know better, either for a hidden agenda or a lack of foresight.

So, here are a few social media myths that we can probably all agree are out-of-date thinking at best, and dangerous advice at worst.

Social Media is Free

Bzzzzt (insert noisy buzzer sound here). This one’s been doing the rounds for a while now, and still seems to pop up, even though everything points to the complete opposite. So let’s make it simple – social media is not free.

Yes, the tools are free (unless you have the premium version of something like Hootsuite or pay for services like Socialbase). And, no, not everyone will be looking at the cost investment from the example linked to above.

But even if you’re a small business user or solo entrepreneur using social media to help raise awareness of your brand through interaction, you have to invest a serious amount of time for any traction to begin. So take whatever salary you give yourself, deduct the man hours you put in by the financial cost of this, and that’s the bare minimum of how much social media is going to cost you.

Add to that any advertising on the likes of Facebook Ads and LinkedIn Advertising, and then how you’re going to integrate all your online stuff into your everyday marketing and promotion, and the costs start to add up.

Sure, you can bootstrap your way around social media – but free it ain’t.

Social Media Levels the Playing Field

One of the pros of social media, according to many of its most vocal proponents, is that it levels the playing field. This comes from the viewpoint that it allows the consumer – who never had much of a voice before – to air their grievances in a far more public forum, as well as have access to leading players at these brands.

The belief is that this now means the brand is no longer in control, and the little guy is now the giant. And it’s true – social media does allow the consumer to be a bigger part of the business decisions being made.

Yet there’s also the flip side for businesses. A lot of social media purists will say that small businesses and solo practitioners can compete with the huge corporations and the big agencies, because the tools are the same for everyone.

Except they’re not. A corporation with a $10 million budget for research, strategy, implementation and measuring is going to have a heck of a lot more at their disposal than a small business with $10,000 to play with. And then the scale factor comes into play – can a one-man band (or even a two or three-man band) monitor and respond to social interaction the same way a dedicated team of fifty can for the bigger guys?

The simple answer is no. So, yes, social media can level the field somewhat – but then it also means you have to get new machinery to keep it level, and that’s still beyond the capabilities of many businesses.

You Need the Voice of the Influencers

Like any eco-system, social media has many layers, and at the forefront of these layers are the Influencers. Usually these will be early adopters in the space, and they’ve become influential for identifying trends and looking at how these tools can be used for business.

The problem is, influence is based on relevance, yet many businesses still try and get the Influencers to talk about their products, regardless of whether they’re experienced in that brand’s niche or not. The mindset is that the Influencer has over 100,000 Twitter followers, or tens of thousands of blog subscribers, so it’s an easy “in” to that audience.

Except it’s not.

Because nine times out of ten (not a scientific figure), the Influencer will only share your brand or product for reward. Hard cash, or a large amount of swag. They’ll write about you once, and then move on to the next brand. Because they’re (usually) not invested in you.

But your brand advocates are.

The ones that write and talk about you every day, both online and offline. The ones that truly have your best interests at heart, so they’ll offer you honest feedback on how you can improve. Compare that to the Influencer who thinks your product is great, now just pony up the greenback.

The Influencer may get you a quick buzz, but longevity and success very rarely come from a fire sale. It does come from having an army of advocates and loyal customers, though – look after your advocates and they’ll look after you better than any Influencer can.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that social media has changed much of the business landscape, and continues to do so. And with potentially game-changing products like Google+ entering the fray, the real fun could just be beginning.

We just need to make sure we’re keeping a level head at what social media can, and doesn’t, offer. If history has taught us anything, it’s that hyperbole is very often the precursor to, “Remember so-and-so?”…

image: Luminis Kanto

They were the first smartphone company I used when I finally stopped being a technophile, and they have – in my mind – one of the best features on any smartphone, with their instant message BlackBerry Messenger option, or BBM.

And yet…

They seem to have lost their way a little in the last 12 months or so. What was once a company offering huge innovation, and enjoying a large audience within the enterprise world, now seems to be playing catch-up with not only their (recent) biggest competitor, Apple, but the new guys on the block in the shape of Google and their Android system.

In a way, the RIM of today kind of reminds me of video games company SEGA in the run-up to when they dropped out of the hardware wars back in 2001.

Confused Hedgehogs and the SEGA Example

When the video games industry was at its peak back in the late 80′s and early-to-mid 90′s (prior to today’s billion dollar industry), SEGA enjoyed huge success with its Mega Drive/Genesis (depending on your country) system.

The Mega Drive was the first real 16-bit home video game system, which basically meant it was graphically head and shoulders above other home systems like the Nintendo NES and the NEC PC-Engine. From the moment you powered up Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega’s mascot to combat Super Mario), the Mega Drive screamed next generation. Video gamers lapped it up and it was SEGA’s most successful console.

But then they got confused and lost their way. In a bid to compete with Nintendo’s new Super NES and the imminent arrival of the much-vaunted 3DO system, SEGA released some questionable add-ons.

The SEGA CD and the 32X were bolt-ons to the core Mega Drive unit, but were woefully thought-out. This resulted in a lack of any quality games, and the systems essentially tanked.

Because of this, SEGA’s reputation was hurt, and when they released the true successor to the Mega Drive, the Saturn, sales were poor. It didn’t help that Sony had arrived and attracted a much wider audience with its new PlayStation console. SEGA never recovered.

Their last hurrah was with the Dreamcast – still one of my all-time favourite consoles ever. Yet because of the failings with the SEGA CD, 32X and Saturn, not to mention Sony’s continued dominance and Microsoft’s arrival into gaming with the Xbox, SEGA’s glory days were over.

The Dreamcast was their last piece of hardware, and they switched to game development only in 2001.

SEGA had been the leader when it came to innovation and coolness. But with a lack of focus, and what were perceived as rushed releases to compete with their competitors, they lost all but their most hardcore fans to the new kids on the block.

Sound familiar?

Mobile Mash-Ups and the RIM Example

RIM has always been big with the enterprise market. The security on their hardware means business people can access documents and store important information, and feel pretty safe in the knowledge it’ll be hard to breach.

Additionally, they made it easy and cool to be connected to your office while not physically being there. Their email suite and ability to share documents like Excel and Powerpoint was a big factor in their early success. They knew their market and played to their strengths.

Then Apple arrived.

The success of the iPhone made a lot of people question the need for a BlackBerry. The iPhone had a huge amount of apps – some free, some premium – that could essentially replicate much of what the BlackBerry did.

Additionally, the touch screen option was cool, as was the ability to play mini-arcade games and (perhaps most importantly) sync all your iTunes songs to your iPhone. Simply put, Apple made mobile handsets really cool.

Added to the iPhone threat, Google announced their entry into the smartphone market with their Android operating system. This would allow multiple manufacturers to make a smartphone, and Google would make its software available across these platforms. And, importantly, they made many of their apps free, which took on both RIM and Apple.

So successful was this approach, Android is now the leading smartphone platform in the U.S. While RIM is currently second, their market share is falling while Apple’s is growing, and many analysts expect RIM to drop further in the hardware “war”.

To combat the popularity of the Android and the iPhone’s touch screen, RIM released the Storm and then the BlackBerry Torch, which mixes the QWERTY keyboard of “traditional” BlackBerry handsets with a touch screen option.

A lot of business owners I know aren’t too keen on it – they feel it’s not enough of a touch screen experience to match the iPhone or Android, and they still prefer the hard pad keyboard. And some reports would suggest that the Torch simply hasn’t excited the consumer market in the way RIM would like.

And then there’s the tablets…

Small Is The New Big?

Building on their iPhone success, Apple released the iPad and it was a huge success. This bridged the gap between a smartphone and a full-size MacBook or laptop, and both consumers and business users loved it.

With the tablet market expected to grow exponentially throughout 2011 and into 2012, not being part of that – and allowing Apple to own the space – would not be a smart move. Enter RIM with their PlayBook. Taking a direct swipe at Apple, the PlayBook is smaller (so meant to be more compact for travellers), as well as compatible with Flash – something many iPad users missed from their platform.

Initial reports were fairly positive, with the feeling that – finally – RIM had a product that would punch Apple in the face.

Then RIM announced that for the first version of the PlayBook, if you wanted to use the secure RIM email service, you’d need to tether your existing BlackBerry to it. Huh? There was also no 3G option – you can only get that with an additional app.

Cue a bit of backlash.

Having messed around with the PlayBook, it’s a smart little piece of kit. But the emphasis is on little. At 7-inches, it’s less than the standard 10-inch plus of other tablets. And with a large border frame around the display screen, it seems even less of a jump in size from the iPhone or Android that I use, the Samsung Galaxy.

This has many folks asking where the PlayBook will find its audience. Will they take away consumers from Apple, or will they build on their enterprise offerings that made the BlackBerry so successful? But how well will a smaller screen go over with business users looking to show slideshows and presentations?

The SEGA and RIM Mirror Image

I don’t know – I see so many mirror images between RIM and SEGA.

• Leading innovative platform, resulting in (perceived) comfort zones with its userbase.
• New releases didn’t always offer huge differences in previous versions.
• New competitors perhaps not taken seriously enough. Again, the comfort zone comes into play.
• Slow to react to changing landscape.
• Bolt-ons to compete with competitor features.
• Do we go after the consumers or solidify our hardcore fans?

I’m sure RIM and their long-term fans will disagree. After all, it’s their baby and who cares what one blogger thinks.

But I’m also a fan of RIM, and it’s sad to see such a great company seemingly falter when they should be charging. And I know other BlackBerry fans feel the same. It’d be a shame to see them follow the same route as SEGA, and just become an operating system and app developer.

SEGA let the others take up the mantle. What’s your thoughts on RIM and BlackBerry doing the same?

Much has been said about marketing on Google+. Both of us have been intentionally conservative about marketing on the new network due to a statement from Google+ specifically asking business and brands to wait until it formalized its business offering.

This offering is rumored to include an open API for applications and data usage. Yesterday, a confirmed report from KCET-TV in LA surfaced that Google+ community managers are enforcing the brand “no fly zone.”

To date, ABC News Radio, LAUNCH and Boing Boing have all been removed, or have voluntarily taken down their Google+ profiles. In the face of complaints about brands being unceremoniously dispatched, community managers have indicated that Google+ will focus on optimizing community interaction between people first.

Both Bonsai Interactive and Zoetica represent real brands, corporate and nonprofit. We are posting this advisory to provide clear guidance for our clients and network on how to approach Google+ during this interim phase:

1) Do not invest in formal brand marketing on Google+. As we have seen, Google+ is now policing its network and you risk losing your entire time investment. Further, until the business offering is created by Google, no one really knows how corporations and nonprofits can successfully navigate this new social network. In essence, until Google+ for business is released efforts are likely to be all for naught

2) Do experiment on Google+ and learn how the network works using your personal profile. It’s too soon to formally say that Google+ will be a significant consumer network, but with reports of 18 million followers and growing, momentum indicates the network is succeeding. Further, as demonstrated by its policing of the network, Google is clearly focused on community first. Becoming knowledgable through participation on Google+ is prudent at this point.

3) Be wary of marketing services firms and individuals who are seeking paid fees for Google+ marketing insights. Again, per the first point, no one really knows how to market on Google+. Investing financially in Google+ is not a good use of resources until finite offerings are available. Ethically speaking we would not charge our clients for advice and strategies in the face of such uncertainty.

Google+ is starting field trials with brands in the immediate future. As Google works through the kinks and formalizes its offering, it is a great time to become comfortable with the social network.

Many of our fellow bloggers are openly sharing their insights and learning together in a fashion we have not seen in years. Enjoy this time, friends. This kind of new social network launch is unprecedented.

Update 21 July 2011 11.41am: NBC News is the latest to remove their Google+ profile.

image: Sean MacEntee
image: KCET-TV 

There’s all sorts of smart, but only one that counts. It’s not high school diploma. It’s not college degree. It’s not university PhD.

It’s experiential smart.

Your experience. Your knowledge. Your ability to act. Your ability to react. Your ability to pro-act. It’s your fluidity. Your flexibility.

Your awareness that smart is not not being dumb; it’s not being the dumbest.

Smart marketers see an opportunity before the opportunity presents itself.

Smart sales close the deal before the meeting.

Smart customer service prevents the issue before it leaves the manufacturing plant.

Smart human resources see through cubicle walls.

Smart public relations knows it’s not the story.

Smart comes in many guises, but the real smart? That’s what the smart folks have already figured out. Have used. Have profited from. And have moved on.

Smart is not last year’s model. Smart is not yesterday’s news. Smart isn’t even tomorrow’s headlines.

Smart – real smart – is all the stories you never see until they’ve happened. But you made them. And now you’re telling new ones as everyone else regurgitates yours.

So. How smart are you?

photo credit: Nina Matthews Photography

Fact – because of this mindset, too many businesses are potentially missing out on extra business that could mean the difference between staying afloat and going under. So why the problem?

One of the main reasons is that businesses – whether it’s the CEO, top-tier management or otherwise – are looking at social media as an individual medium, much like PR or marketing.

This is where the cracks start to appear. Social media benefits companies the most when it’s used as part of an integrated campaign.

Social media is also perfect for reaching out and connecting with your audience, as opposed to just selling them something. Sure, you’re still selling your brand or product – but this time, it’s in an “encouraging to ask questions” approach instead of “this is us and you’ll like it” one.

Accepting that social media needs to be approached as an integrated strategy rather than a standalone campaign is the first step businesses need to take. After that, the job gets a little bit easier.

Define Your Audience

Just like any market or product, social media is made up of different audiences. As a business owner, you wouldn’t launch a new product onto a more traditional marketplace without some in-depth market research first – don’t ignore this on social media.

Knowing your audience is key to succeeding in business social media. You need to know if your audience are participants or promoters. Why the need to differentiate? Simple -

• Participants are social media users that may use numerous social media sites and applications, but don’t really “take part” in the medium. They’re like the visitors to your business website that may purchase something and then interact with you no further. There’s nothing wrong with this – but as a method of expanding your brand, you may need to look elsewhere.

• Promoters are the users that like to share information – whether it’s recommending something via Twitter or their blog, if they come across something they like they will pass that information on. This is where your use of social media can help build your name. Just remember that social media works both ways. Don’t try and cheat the system – give back just as much (more, even) as you receive.

Have a Clear and Defined Goal

Another area where businesses are failing to adapt social media to their needs is that they don’t have a clear goal on what they want to achieve. Many hear the phrase “social media” and immediately feel they need to be a part of this buzz, jump straight in without any forward thinking, and are then disappointed with the (lack of) results.

Ask yourself who you want to connect with and why, and then research the areas of social media that are most relevant to your needs. Demographics are one of the key points of knowledge for any campaign – make sure you know where your demographics are playing online. A social map can help here.

Again, though, don’t try and play the system – cheaters will soon be found out, and your brand can suffer irreparable damage if seen as merely a self-promotional company on social media.

Tools of the Trade

Once you have your audience and your goal set out, you need to use the tools that will help you the most. There are numerous available, and this is where building your social media connections can help, by advising what ones they use and what results they achieve.

Some of the best free examples of business tools include Monitter (which allows you a view on Twitter discussions of keywords); Google Alerts (giving you insight into what’s being said about you); and Social Mention (letting you gauge social reactions and reach to your topic or keywords and allowing you to jump in on conversations elsewhere).

Getting into social media shouldn’t be a hard decision for businesses to make – it’s either right for you or it isn’t. Social media is a long-term strategy, not  a short-term fire sale.

Understand that, and you begin to understand social media.

Image: fredcavazza

Thanks to our growth over the last 3-4 months, we have just taken on our first employee, as well as a second “unofficial” employee. Let us explain!

Our first official employee is Dan Wakefield. Dan had been interning for us earlier this year, and we were incredibly impressed with him. Even more so, now that he’s been let loose on extra client projects as part of his full-time position here. Dan joins us as an Account Manager.

Our “unofficial” employee is Lisa Kalandjian. Lisa has been working on a contract basis for Bonsai for a while, and has already provided web and social media design work that has led to immense praise from our clients (Lisa also designed Danny’s custom blog theme). So, it made sense that we’d want to solidify the relationship we’d been building.

From here on, Lisa will be the core web and graphic design arm of Bonsai, and will oversee our in-house resources on all projects. You can see some of Lisa’s work over at our portfolio. Lisa’s commitment to Bonsai means her own design agency will be taking a back seat as Lisa concentrates on Bonai clients, and we’re really grateful to her for her decision.

We’re really excited to be sharing this news, and we hope you can join us in wishing both Dan and Lisa a warm welcome to the Bonsai family!

1. You don’t revisit your business plan regularly to re-align your current needs.
2. You have one way and one way only to contact you.
3. You advertise once a week with no surprises.
4. You silo your teams.
5. You don’t see the people, just the numbers behind the people.
6. You haven’t updated your website since 2004.
7. You offer just one payment option.
8. You cut corners on investment.
9. You don’t measure results properly.
10. Your reinvestment budget pays for your weekend cottage.
11. Yours is the only voice in the company.
12. You think automated phone trees are the best thing since sliced bread.
13. You don’t consider social media.
14. You ignore the smaller fish for the blue whales.
15. You’re recognizing the compartments of this list you’re currently reading.

Any to add?