Nana seems to be inspiring blog posts this week...maybe because as you sit here waiting for the inevitable, you think about life. Letting go is such a big part of life and yet we are not good at it....here are 10 random business thoughts we need to let go of

1. The idea that good is good enough
2. The idea that because it worked in the past, it will work in the future
3. The idea that because it didn't work in the past, it won't work in the future!
4. The idea that success in the past, guarantees success in the future
5. The idea that writing 'people are our greatest asset' fools anyone
6. The idea that large meetings will ever push the boundaries far enough
7. The idea that learning is only about books and exams
8. The idea that we are indispensable
9. The idea that doing the same thing in the same way will provide the breakthrough you seek
10. The idea that the words "Don't say anything" will ever work

The web intrigues me. It intrigues me because although people see it as a way of providing solutions...I think it is best when it provides the framework of a web - for you to fill in the gaps.  I tend to think that....

Engagement on the web is not about finding a solution but providing a web of discover

If you take Facebook for example...it is not an answer per se, it is an intriguing question which asks you to solve for yourself. What happened to, who do I know, who have I lost touch with....

The web for me is not about a solution because...rarely is there a generic solution which fits all. It is about providing enough of the answer balanced with enough intrigue to make the person want to know more...

I am sat tonight reading about strokes and what happens to the brain to try and understand what is happening to Nana...when I visit sites which are all about solutions, often they are too generic to be of interest to me - I want to understand Nana's stroke, not any old stroke! The sites which engage...provide the generic framework then intrigue me to follow paths of discovery. 

When you think of successful web 2.0 companies - Amazon, Facebook, Google......they all provide a two part engagement strategy

1. The generic solution - eg the book that I am searching for...
2. The intrigue - eg what other purchasers of that book also bought

Communication has always been the lifeblood of society and the need for communication never changes. Look at me tonight sat by Nana's bedside in hospital and every now and again despite her massive stroke, her eyes tell me she needs love, she needs comfort, she needs me to hold her. Her tool is not social media, it is her eyes than convey that emotion in a way which creates engagement.

Communication is vital and social media has in many ways made communication easier. My worry though is two-fold

• Because there are tools to make it easier, that does not make communication better. In fact I would argue that social media has almost commoditised it...to create a premium you must invest time and energy into not just the tools - but the message and the emotion.
• The tools - be it social media, letter, advertising, or even eye contact from a sick bed - doesn't matter....what matters is 'how you made me feel' I think people think of it more as e-motion...as in must move towards electronic messages, than emotion which is about engagement. 

If you don't feel in business then people will feel no loyalty to you

What is engagement? ...a question which I get asked often and this week I have truly understood the meaning of the word. For those who don't follow me on Twitter or Facebook, I have not being posting or editing podcasts as my nana had a massive stroke and I have been at her bedside since last Friday - not sure at the moment who looks worse me or her!

But during this time I have realised that engagement is just about two words....time and caring. The nurses have been wonderful here at Scarborough hospital, not because they have loads of money to spend on making us comfortable, not because of targets, not because of goals but because they provide time and they care. 

It is a wonderful lesson for business...it is not what you spend in terms of money on people which creates that emotional engagement it is the power of words, it is the willingness to invest time. What are the little engagement tricks?

• People remembering your name, remembering personal facts and talking to you about them.
• People coming and asking if there is anything you need, anything that will help you.
• People listening to your concerns even when there is nothing that they can do to stop nature taking its course
• People smiling and making you smile....even in these traumatic hrs laughter is a wonderful stress reliever.
• Friends making 3 hr round trips to bring you clothes..not because they have to, but because they want to....

I always get annoyed when people say there is no budget to spend on "engagement"...you don't need a budget, you need a heart and you need a passion to want to connect with people....as Nana herself used to say

"Money buys things, your heart creates relationships"

Learning happens, not only through reading and in classrooms, but in everyday life. This week I have had boiler problems (insert your own joke here!) and today a wonderful British Gas engineer came out, as always I got into conversation with him and found he had traced his family tree.

At this point he said something which made me take stock of leadership, of marketing, of branding...well of life. He said

"When you look back at your family tree, it is not what they did, it is how they lived which teaches you the most"

There were three lessons for me

1. You can learn from reading, from teaching but we should never forget how much we learn from life itself. Learning is about listening and understanding.
2. We learn more about ourselves, our products, our services by the 'how' not the 'what' but our time invested is often spent the opposite way round. We talk about what went wrong, what lessons have we learned, what do we need to differently....we also need to look at the how...to truly grow and learn.
3. If we are open to learning...we can learn from each person we speak to, each person we meet.

Life is short. When we deliver real meaning to the world, we have looked at both the what we can do and how we can do it. Learning isn't about facts in a sense, though they are important, learning is about how to apply what we have learned.

Show 270 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download anything - all explained at the end of the post and don't forget GotoMeeting hold your meetings online for just $49/mo. Try GoToMeeting FREE for 30 days

Today I have a fascinating interview with the wonderful Jim Clemmer who "for nearly 30  years have been inspiring action and achieving results in the area of practical leadership". For more learnings from the book you can sign up for a free webcast on December 3 here

We talk about concepts in his new book Growing @ The Speed of Change

• Why humans cannot cope with change
• What makes our own reality
• The link between change and quantum physics!
• How the dynamics of human relationships work
• Have we commoditised communication because of the amount of tools we have available?
• Practical tips on coping with change in your life
• How not to let other people to "should" on others - how to not let the expectations of others to affect our life.
• How our own self confidence affects how we can cope with change

Don't forget to subcribe to the show in iTunes or on the Blubrry site.

And a HUGE THANK YOU to all the listeners who nominated The Engaging Brand podcast as the BEST BUSINESS PODCAST!!....Don't forget to vote from the 13th November...at The Podcast Awards site.

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or join me on twitter.

How you can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click hear to listen to the latest marketing podcast

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

I believe it is our role in society, our connection to others which makes us special. That is why I love social media because it allows you to forge those connections, to develop relationships and to create your own personal brand. It allows you - the individual - to come alive through the value you deliver through your connections.

When you think about life, we matter because of what we bring to this world....we matter because of our relationships, because of our interaction with others.

Maybe what I should say is YOU don't matter, WE matter :)

Show 269 of The Engaging Brand leadership and marketing podcast is ready just for you. To subscribe or listen on your PC now - both for free, you don't need to download anything - all explained at the end of the post and don't forget GotoMeeting hold your meetings online for just $49/mo. Try GoToMeeting FREE for 30 days

Today I am talking to one of my favourite authors - Roger Martin. Roger really makes me think about thinking! If you have listened to the podcast interview with him on how we need to learn to hold opposing thoughts together at the same time, then you can listen here.

Tonight we talk about his new book The Design of Business

• Are the permanence of roles and job titles stifling business today?
• Life is a series of projects
• 3 stage funnel of design thinking
• How reinvestment of time saved is vital for design thinking
• Is the skills gap in management and leadership about finding the customer mysteries to solve or knowing the actions to take?
• Is there an optimum time between the stages of thinking?
• Do you need to be a design thinker to implement design thinking?
• Why the education system fails our society

If you have feedback for me on the show or topics that you would like me to cover then e-mail me at anna@theengagingbrand.com or join me on twitter.

How you can listen to the Engaging Brand

1) You can listen on your PC now without downloading any software just click hear to listen to the latest marketing podcast

2) You can subscribe to the show via iTunes or

3) If you use a different podcatcher then you can subscribe using the following  http://www.podcasternews.com/feeds/enbr.xml

Bonfire night is a wonderful night in the UK and one which brings families together. It will always be special as it was 6 years ago today we lost my Dad...so I thought I would share a little story...

I asked him about how to decide whether to join a company, he said

"Only join healthy companies, check if it has the dreaded CDAIC"

Looking totally confused I said "That sounds awful what is it...something contagious?"

He looked and said "Highly....and it needs to be guarded against at every turn...it stands for corporate diarrhea and idea constipation. ....some symptons are...

• When faced with decisions they get the runs
• When ideas are stuck in the system because doing the same is safer and more comfortable
• When the organisation is bloated because people don't manage poor performance

I often think the stories show why he could have never worked for anyone else but himself...or as he described his team....I think he may have been a little too honest for modern business :)

Miss you Dad...