You should seek to be equally valuable to your organization and your industry – that is, if you want to have the same impact in the real world as Jack does fictionally.  But while his character and actions are fiction, his personality and actions hold key lessons if you’re serious about changing the world around you.

How can you be the Jack Bauer of your company?

Break process when necessary to get things done. Processes are well and good for many things, but not much remarkable was ever done as part of painting by numbers.  If you see opportunity to do something amazing outside your processes, do it.  Don’t waste time asking permission, just do what needs to be done.  If you break a process to achieve your objective and succeed, the right management team would never be upset.  If they are you’re with the wrong team.

Believe in what you’re doing (and bring emotion to the table). A lot of people check their emotions at the door when starting their day.  You shouldn’t do this – especially if you are in a creative industry.  Your emotions, directed by the high road, can be a powerful tool of persuasion and allow you to execute far better than you would without them.  Believing in what you’re doing requires that you bring your emotions.

Fear nothing. I’ve previously promoted the notion you should fear nothing.  Just like Jack faced adversaries without fear, you too should embrace this in anything you do in your industry.  Fear is a dated emotion, having little relevance in modern society.  What’s the worst that can happen to you, really?

Be a strategist and tactician. It’s a potent combination to be able to not just develop effective strategic plays, but also put them into action yourself.  It is the rare strategist who is able to masterfully execute on the front lines and lead other tacticians to success.  Further, that individual will have greater respect from the execution team than anyone else on the management team who simply sits in their ivory tower.

Don’t seek recognition. If you notice something is broken, quietly fix it and move on.  You don’t need to bring it up to others that you’ve done it — if you’re committed to what you’re doing it’s not about recognition anyway, it’s about winning.  Those seeking recognition instead of actually caring about what they are doing don’t deserve to stay at your company.

Ability to persuade others to your line of thinking. If you’re serious about the idea of becoming a linchpin as the concept of this post implies, you need to get your unique ideas executed and change your organization for the better.  However, the extent to which you can evoke change on your own may be limited (especially if you’re in a larger organization).  If you can persuade others at targeted levels of the organization you will be able to bring big ideas into reality.

The rules don’t apply to you. Rules are for drones and if you blindly follow rules all day you deserve the position you’re in.  If your heart is in the right place and rules stand in the way of something, ignore them.  If it comes back to bite you later but the rule was absurd, say so and make your case why.  Again smart management team members want to see this – I would always rather work with a group like this vs. a team of robots.

Take risks, have contingency plans. You’ll never achieve anything of value without taking a risk.  Valuable things just aren’t easy to achieve — everyone else is already accomplishing the easy stuff, meaning none of it is rare or of extreme value.  However, along with taking risks, think several steps ahead and ensure you have a contingency plan available should the situation go awry.  Failure is always an option – be ready for it.

Fierce loyalty to those who matter. If you’re going to become the Jack Bauer of your company you’ll never get away with that sort of reputation unless it’s combined with loyalty.  But ensure your loyalty is to the right individuals, otherwise this can and will backfire.

Be irrationally committed. If you consider your work merely a “job” – you can never be as valuable a team member as someone who isirrationally committed to what they’re doing.

Have opinions, take sides. Standing on the sidelines is for the weak.  If you really want to be a key person at your company you need tohave opinions or take sides even if it’s not your job to do so.  Take a stance on things and the right people will respect you for it.

Be a jack of all trades. All industries have specific areas of specialization within that industry.  But you unlock an even more valuable and unique skill set when you study and become proficient at them all as opposed to only having knowledge of one area.  Interesting results always happen at the intersection.

Not everyone is going to like you. Inevitably, if you are doing things in a different or unique way, not everyone is going to like you.  You may even create some enemies.  But consider this a positive:  a nemesis can inspire you to live up to your potential and work with greater focus and creativity.  Competitiveness is a positive and should be embraced and leveraged.

Jack Bauer is a controversial character.  He did things others on the show didn’t understand, and even caused critical reactions in real life.  Not everyone liked him – but he got things done, solved problems creatively, was respected by those who mattered and ultimately did what he was passionate about.  Can you say the same thing about yourself?  Your team members?

When you see a compelling link or comment on someone’s email signature, do you click through? Do you include such links to direct people back to your sites, services or brand?

Here are a few ways to feed their need to find interesting stuff…

- Tweak your email signature. Your email signature, or Sig, should include links to all your online efforts. For example, my sig offers links to ChiefHomeOfficer.com website and Facebook fan page and Twitter feed, my GotWords.biz corporate copywriting site, even my band’s MySpace page. You never know what people are looking for, even (or especially) when they’re not looking for work-related content.

- Compelling sales copy, Part 1. My signature draws people in with key selling points. Here’s one example related to my journalism and corporate copywriting work…

________________________
Jeff Zbar ~ 954-346-4393
Journalism + Corporate Copywriting

If it’s Written, Spoken, Blogged, Tweeted,
in Ads, Brochures, Books, PR or for Google
You’ll find it at http://www.gotwords.biz

What the heck is JZ thinking?!
www.twitter.com/chiefhomeoffice
On Facebook
http://www.chiefhomeofficer.com

Got an Event in Need of Entertainment?
Have I got a band for you!
http://www.myspace.com/hybridrox

- Compelling sales copy, Part 2. My key selling points may change by intended recipient. Using Google’s Canned Responses (or signatures) feature, I have a half-dozen signatures that I can use, depending on whom I’m sending my email. The one above is the default. Here’s another for my Chief Home Officer subject matter expert efforts…

________________________
Jeff Zbar ~ 954-346-4393
The Chief Home Officer
Home Office & Telework Columnist,
Blogger & Subject Matter Expert

www.chiefhomeofficer.com
www.homeofficehighway.com
www.mydaddyworksinhisunderwear.com

What the heck is JZ thinking?!
www.twitter.com/chiefhomeoffice
On Facebook
http://www.chiefhomeofficer.com

- Peel & Stick Signatures. Depending upon the recipient, I will peel off or delete certain portions of my sig. If it’s someone I correspond with frequently, I’ll delete all but my name and phone number line. If it’s someone for whom it would be inappropriate to send my band pitch, zotz the band pitch. If it’s someone who wouldn’t need corporate copy, but might want to learn more about home officing, ditto. Flexibility is essential.

- Embed to Syndicate. On your website, embed the code to reveal your Facebook fan page or Twitter feeds. Serve your audience’s natural tendency to browse, poke around and generally noodle.

- Syndicate yourself. Beyond what’s on your Website or email sig, cross-pollinate your links across your other online media. All your websites or places where your work or name appears should be mentioned on your personal Facebook or your fan page. Content posted to your Fan Page should syndicate to your Twitter feed, which itself should include active hyperlinks back to your primary pages.

- Take it off-line. It’s not enough to have all this hyperlinking and cross-pollination on your online media. Create killer business cards that include your URLs, Facebook address or @Twitter accounts.

Inquisitive people are everywhere. Their minds are actively in “intake mode” as they surf. Feed their ferreting ways – and build your brand, online and offline, in the process.

According to John Gerber, founder of UpstartLegal.com, several clear signs proclaim when someone’s ready to become an entreprofessional. They include:

1. You are really good at what you do. You’ve been working in your industry for sufficient time to have gained the experience and autonomy to deliver a quality service without supervision. You know you can provide value to your clients, and you can do it your way.

2. You have a strong professional network. As a new business owner, it’s all about who you know and ultimately, driving revenue. You have relationships with prospects and referral sources who can connect you with clients. More importantly, you have the desire and skill to build and nurture those relationships. Those relationships, over time, build your business and revenue.

3. The startup dollars are in the bank. You have the funding you need to start the business and tie you over until the business covers your expenses, whether it comes from retirement fund, home equity, severance package, or personal savings. You have put together a detailed and conservative budget, so you know how much you need. You’ve also thought hard about how much you want to invest in case the business isn’t successful.

4. You’re tech savvy. Maybe you’re setting up a home office, or maybe you’re using social media to reach clients. You’ve talked to other small business owners about the products and services they use, how much they cost, and what they do if there are technical difficulties. On your own, you are going to have to leverage technology to your advantage. And…

5. You get that it’s a long term endeavor. You have the maturity to understand that starting a business is not a way to get rich quick. There are going to be highs and lows, and it may take years before the business makes the money you want. You know it takes planning, hard work, and stamina to succeed. And a bit of luck doesn’t hurt, either.

John Gerber, founder of UpstartLegal.com, works with entreprofessionals every day to help them legally start and protect their businesses.

We called a three local flooring companies. They came out, measured our bedroom, and matched some sample product to their prices. Then I called the friend of a friend. He went through the same process — and came in 20% higher than the next highest bid.

So, based on recommendations and an inspection of a previous job they’d done, I went with the middle of the three — NOT the friend.

When he called to inquire what we intended to do, and I told him the truth: He was out of the ballpark so I went with someone else — and saved about $300.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I told you I would have beaten any price,” he complained.

“You weren’t even competitive in the first place,” I said. “I don’t appreciate prospects beating me down on price, and I wasn’t going to do that to you.”

It’s a fine line in small business pricing policies and strategies. Do you price what’s fair — or what you think you can muster from a client? Similarly, when working with vendors, do you beat them down, or assume the best price they’ve offered is the best they can do?

Seth Godin had a take on this recently. He said that “the way you price expensive transactions is going to train your partners and customers in how to behave.”

Here’s what else Seth had to say…

“…Consider the real estate developer who calls up an electrician to re-wire a building. She uses this electrician often, and the estimate comes back at $18,000. The developer shops around and finds a similarly talented electrician for $14,000.

“Loyalty is great, but that’s a huge difference. She switches to the higher value choice. Indignant, the original electrician says, ‘why didn’t you tell me! I could have beaten that price.’

“The answer, of course, is, ‘well, why didn’t you quote me that price in the first place?’

“You might leave money on the table if you reward people for being loyal (and don’t make them shop around each time). I think it’s money well spent, because loyalty is worth more than a little more margin. If you train your partners to shop around, expect them to shop around.”

That friend-of-a-friend might not have gotten my job. But if he thought about it for a moment (which I bet he didn’t), he might have gotten a free lesson.

We’ll play tunes from the player over the PA before a gig or between sets to get or keep fans in the mood.

I went to play some tunes to the other day and my iPod’s battery indicator was in the red.

I searched the house for a charger, but my kids had them all hidden away who knows where (I had iPod cables, but no transformer that plugs into the wall). And my laptop was packed away, so I couldn’t charge the iPod through the PC’s USB.

Which left me with exactly squat as far as charging options for my iPod.

Except for one: My Belkin Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger [http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=400738 ] ($24.99).

The portable device features three AC outlets and two powered USB outlets. These are perfect for MP3 players and mobile phones (but, Belkin warns, the USB outlets are not USB hubs – meaning they will not connect two USB devices or transmit any data).

This device has uses beyond the garage-turned-rehearsal studio or other ill-powered space. To hear Belkin tell it, hotel rooms and airport terminals never seem to have enough power outlets to charge all the devices today’s traveler brings along. This charger adds outlets – and peace of mind – on business trips, vacations and garage jam sessions. It’s a little bulky for my travel purposes (a Targus four-plus mini power strip / surge protector is a permanent accessory in my laptop case).

But the Belkin is a compact, handy tool to have around. Among its other benefits are a nifty 360-degree rotating plug with 4 locking positions. Its mini-USB cable can charge virtually any USB device (including BlackBerry and other phones). It also has complete surge protection through all outlets – with Lifetime Product and $75,000 Connected Equipment Warranties.

So with the charger in hand, I was able to listen to tunes, while also charging my iPod. Now, I just need to find a way to keep this hidden from the kids – as I’m sure they’d add it to their hidden stash of commandeered chargers and devices.

1. Make it up. To me, the biggest joy of working solo is that every day presents a blank canvas upon which you get to paint your own vision. Solo newcomers are often eagerly looking for the one “right” path to make their business a success. In truth, there are many ways to reach your goal, and no hard-and-fast rulebook. We just make it up every day. It forces you to tap into your creativity, spontaneity, and spunk in ways that traditional W-2 roles seldom do.

2. Fail (and bounce) fast. Failure is an inevitable part of any business, but soloists are often hit particularly hard because of the permeable line between one’s business and self. What’s crucial is to patch up the scraped elbows and knees and get back at it — and the sooner the better. Trust me, we’ve all been there. No one travels the solo business path unscathed. It’s in the post-failure stage that you can discover what — and who — are really important to you, and what metrics define success on your terms.

3. Enjoy the journey. Like the experience of being a CEO at a major enterprise, the solo worklife can be exhilarating as well as incredibly lonely. If you look at your work as primarily a revenue generator and choose to become a hermit, you’ve lost out on 50% of the opportunity and 100% of the fun. As longtime readers of this newsletter know, community can be built both virtually as well as face-to-face. To generate that payback however, requires the investment of your time, and a willingness to reach out and connect. Fortunately, the options are abundant, and soloists are forging ties on a global basis these days.

Now, scientists say those of us who jokingly complain of “adult-onset ADHD,” or seriously wonder if we’re suffering the early stages of dementia or Alzheimer’s, may just be overwhelming ourselves with details.

USAToday took a look at the issue, and offered the tips below on how – and how not — to improve memory. The paper reported…

Be mindful. If you’re leaving the house and want to remember if you turned the stove off, pay attention and don’t get distracted. Watch what you are doing and you’ll remember you’ve done it, says psychology professor Nelson Cowan of the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Make it a habit. When you put your keys down, stop and say out loud, “I’m putting my keys on my dresser,” says psychology professor Mark McDaniel of Washington University in St. Louis. It makes you pay attention and allows encoding. Also: Put them in the same place all the time.

Create visual cues. If we forget to execute an intention, such as picking up a kid, it’s viewed as irresponsible. Some parents have even left a child in the car, and some children have died. They put the baby in the back seat, and it’s typically a parent who doesn’t normally take the child, McDaniel says. To help yourself remember to look in the back seat, put your briefcase in the back with the child or put the diaper bag in the front seat to create a visual cue, he says.

Focus on details. When you meet people at a party and they give you their names, focus on the name and nothing else, and practice using that name in conversation, McDaniel says. In saying the name back, it forces you to pay attention and draws the name out of memory.

Don’t rely on puzzles. Puzzles are not proven to improve memory, McDaniel says. Doing crossword puzzles makes you better at doing crossword puzzles; playing bridge makes you better doing that. These mental exercises help you get better at the exercise itself, but they don’t produce general benefit to memory, he says.

So I went hunting for a new printer. We’ve all done this before – more times than we care to recall. The problem with consumer electronics is the built-in obsolescence and anticipation of failure. Constructed of chincy metals and flimsy plastics, we’ve been preprogrammed to expect failure.

Short-lived printers are only part of what keeps printer companies in business. What really puts black ink on their bottom line is the cost of replacement cartridges. Look up “Loss Leader” in the Consumer Electronics Dictionary and a picture of a printer will accompany a definition that reads, “The process of convincing consumers that an low-price printer is a good deal – but hook them on reallllly expensive ink.”

Ink, it seems, is the Achilles’ heel of owning a printer. So, finding the right printer and having good print strategies is important.

Having bought a few printers in my day, I have a few parameters and guidelines for the buying process. It starts with a summary of my expectations. For example, some of the things I want are…

Auto-on. I had an old HP printer that used to lie in wait for me to his Print. Even if it was Off, it would spring to life and spit out my finished print job. My Canon didn’t do that; if I forgot to turn it on before hitting Print was a pop-up error message

Fast output. I’ve never been a big fan of output speed. But when I compare my old Canon’s 22 pages per minute with my new HP’s 32 ppm, I’m wowed. Add to that my new default setting of draft quality gray-scale printing, and papers just spit out paper like pulp from a mill.

Multiple cartridges. I’ve had printers with one color cartridge. If magenta drains first, the whole cartridge is kaput. So I make sure the carriage holds four cartridges (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). Also, before buying a new printer, I asked my printer-guy, Bob at Ink & Toner USA in West Palm Beach, what replacement cartridges cost for a particular model. Can they be refilled? Can he supply me with a steady flow of refills when my ink runs dry? This can cut 50% off the cost of replacements. An alternative is to use a service to ship empties to for refilling – though that leaves you with no cartridges while awaiting a return parcel (hint: have an extra set on hand to swap them out).

(The former tip also assumes you need color. If you only print in black, then get a laser printer. The cost can be lower and the output faster. Still, do your research before buying any model).

High-output cartridges. Manufacturers know consumers’ pain. A current marketing campaign from Kodak extols budget-conscious ink that can shave $110 a year off printing costs (based on four printed pages a day). The company also promotes its larger, “XL” cartridges.

Front loading. People worry about the “footprint” of a printer. I think vertical. My printer lives within a cabinet built into my custom desk. Precious little space exists for top-loading paper. So my printers always have front paper trays and output. OK, this is very specific to my home office. But the point is to consider your options before buying.

Wifi capable. “Networked” used to mean connected to the printer or print server via Ethernet cable. Now, wifi networked printers allow you to print from places where Cat-5 doesn’t exist – the bed, den, patio, the bathroom. Simple to set up and easy to use, this option turns printing into a “just-hit-enter” process as if you were at the desktop.

Such silly-simple printing also increases the likelihood that ink will flow through your printer like water through faucet. So . . .

Become the Gatekeeper. Sure, this has nothing to do with the actual purchase of a printer. But it’s about saving coin. Anything my kids print comes through my PC first. No way am I letting them eat through my profits by whimsy printing. And color? If it’s not for a grade, I hope you can spell, g-r-a-y-s-c-a-l-e.”

Put that sucker on a diet. Reset default print Properties to gray-scale and draft printing. This reduces the flow of ink used. I also set the default to “Black Ink Only” (if the settings are available), which can eliminate or at least reduce the use of color ink.

With my Wish List in hand (or on my phone’s Notepad), the next step in this exercise is to do some price shopping. I hit the office superstores to see what they have and what the going prices are. I break out the cell phone to shoot pix of the spec sheet for consideration later. I also visit electronics retailers and price clubs, and will search online for the specific models I’m considering.

Truth be told, I think I put less thought into buying our last car. But at least I have a printer that’ll serve my needs – and not bleed me, my inkwells and my wallet, dry.

Whether telecommuting for your corporate job, selling homemade crafts online, or practicing law from a spare room, you are responsible for protecting the personal information — such as names, addresses, birthdates, and Social Security and credit card numbers — of anyone you do business with.

No matter how small your operation, or even if you only occasionally work from home, your clients trust you to protect this data—and legislation in 46 states requires that you do so.

A data breach can happen when we lose a laptop with credit card numbers, unknowingly download a virus, or even leave open a file drawer containing paper records.

How should a business owner respond?

Businesses must notify clients whose information is compromised; a breach can seriously undermine their trust in your company. In addition to lost business, notification alone can cut deeply into your earnings: One small company with three employees recently spent $25,000 sending data-breach-notification letters to customers.

What steps should you take?

First, wall off your personal and professional lives. If possible, keep two computers, and don’t use your work computer for personal email, online shopping, social networking, or other activities that invite hackers in. Let your spouse and children know that your business materials—both digital and physical—are off-limits. Make sure they understand what’s at stake and how easy it is to accidentally reveal sensitive information.
Next, take a hard look at the data you keep, and safely purge everything you don’t need (cross-shred paper documents; use a wiping utility to permanently erase hard drives). Take what’s left and lock it up: Paper files can’t be password-protected, so they’re particularly vulnerable—keep them, as well as external hard drives and computers, in locked cabinets or rooms. Also…

- Keep computers, smart phones, and other technology secure and up-to-date.

- Use “strong” passwords with numbers, symbols, and characters; firewalls; and antivirus, anti-malware and anti-spyware programs.

- Encrypt files and emails using inexpensive software or the basic encryption built into most applications.

- Use the latest operating system and download recent security patches.

- Avoid wireless networking — it’s convenient but inherently insecure; if you must use it, skip the coffee shop network and use a mobile broadband plan with a trusted provider.

If you telecommute, work closely with your company’s IT and security departments to ensure your home office meets their standards for protecting offsite company data. Follow those protocols to the letter.

If you process credit card transactions, choose a payment application that’s fully compliant with current regulations and has good customer ratings. If you use a vendor for payments, do your due diligence; carefully read their conditions and privacy terms, and thoroughly research their reputation and any recent breaches.

It’s impossible to totally protect against a data breach, but you can be prepared. Learn which state laws apply to your business (these may be in states in which your customers live, not just where you work). Ask your insurance carrier about cyber-liability and data-breach coverage. Educate your employees and anyone who has access to your workspace and materials—including family members—about your responsibility. Know your company’s data breach plan, or have your own in place, and let your customers know what it is—your proactive approach is a great marketing tool.

Always remember: If the information you store is compromised, do what you’ve said you’ll do. Moving swiftly and confidently will restore your clients’ faith and protect your livelihood.

Matthew Cullina is chief executive officer at Identity Theft 911, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based provider of identity theft and data breach management, resolution and education.

The client said yes, followed up with the testimonial a week or so later, and I posted it to my writing site, GotWords.biz.

Why is this important? Because testimonials, referrals and recommendations are critical when looking for new business. They’re the highest form of Word-Of-Mouth Marketing. They’re powerful fuel when building Brand You.

No disrespect to Mr. Frost, but all this talk of taking the road less traveled belies one business reality: People say they’re pioneers. But when it comes to dropping money on vendors they don’t know, they hesitate. They don’t like making new paths in the in uncharted woods — especially if it may cost them money.

If they know someone else has been there first, invested hard-earned cash, and has lived to tell about it, the prospect is more likely to venture there themselves.

How can you get a referral? Ask.

If the prospect says No, ask why (I sense a Yes-No Decision Tree coming here…). If they say they’re uncomfortable promoting your work, ask why. Were you under the wrong impression about their appreciation for your efforts? If so, ask what you did wrong or how you missed meeting their expectations.

If they were OK with your work, do they have a policy against writing testimonials? If so, your request would die right there.

Do they not like to write – even a 50-word testimonial (which is just about the right length)? If so, write it for them, and submit it for their review. Nix the effusive accolades. Kind words with vivid descriptions of what you delivered are enough.

Be sure to include the person’s name and company (assuming they’re OK with being identified). Also link out to their site or a sample of the work you did for them. This form of marketing, after all, is a two-way street. Besides, in the online realm, inbound links are vital.

Once you’ve gotten the referral, post it to your Website. Put it in a widget that rotates testimonials on your WordPress.org site. Post it to your Facebook fan page. Syndicate it to Twitter. Tell the world.

Another client posted an unsolicited testimonial to his LinkedIn.

This isn’t about ego or grandstanding. It’s about building business.

And much as people say they’re pioneers, business is no place for the meek, timid, cautious or quiet. Since I’ve yet to meet a small business that ran a 30-second spot on American Idol, we have to use guerrilla tactics proven to deliver results. In this case, that means taking a well-earned testimonial, posting it to your site, and blasting it across all your social media sites.

If that’s the road less traveled, I’ll gladly travel it — and hope it makes all the difference.