Branding: it’s such a basic part of marketing, and yet it’s such an enigma. An allusive (illusive?) concept that most of us allow to remain in the clouds of theory rather than the rigors of practicality. I know I’ve struggled with it over the years, as you can see in the posts below.

1. The Best Branding Presentation I’ve Ever Seen
   It all starts here. This presentation by Marty Neumeier is really everything and the only thing you need to know about what real branding really is.
2. Rebranding Doesn’t Work
   “Rebranding is almost never the answer. Brand amplification and clarification is normally what companies should be doing.”
3. Segmenting is Stupid
   “Segmenting makes perfect sense when it comes to your customer list. It doesn’t make sense when it comes to your brand.”
4. Stain Your Brain
   “Isn’t that what we’re all trying to do as marketers? Isn’t that the best definition of branding, succinctly speaking? “
5. Branding is “the Difference”
   “I think “brand” is one of the most misunderstood, inconsistently defined words on the planet.”
6. Branding: a Product of Strategy
   “How are branding and strategy different? The answer, in short, is they are almost synonymous.”
7. Feeding Your Elevator Pitch with an Onliness Statement
   We’re book-ending this list with Marty Neumeier.  Yet another profound grasp on branding.

How about you? What is the key to your own understanding of branding? How do you most easily, most effectively define it?

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The way people run their business has changed a lot in recent years. This is especially true where marketing and promoting a business is concerned. Other than traditional advertising media, marketing is now being done mostly online. While you may already be aware of the importance of having social media pages for purposes of online marketing, what you may have failed to realize is that these pages aren’t likely to do you any good unless you also work on being found by your target market online.

Your Social Media Profile

Being found on social media necessarily starts with your profile. Whenever you create a page on any social networking site, be sure to provide complete details in your profile. Furthermore, make sure the details you provide are consistent across all social media sites you choose to promote your brand in.

The more information you provide, the higher your chances are of matching social media searches. It is also a good idea to provide a link to your company website on all your social media profiles. This makes social media even more useful as an online marketing tool.

Before you start setting up your profiles on social networking sites, it’s also advisable for you to sit down and plan your strategy very carefully. What particular sites will you be using? Why do you want to use these sites? What information do you plan to impart on each site? What keywords do you want your brand to be associated with? What do you expect to achieve on each site you choose?

Building your brand, improving search rankings, turning your target market into a community—each site should contribute in whole or in part to the achievement of your overall social media goals.

Make sure each of your social media profiles contribute in whole or in part to achieving your overall goals. Flickr photo by ePublicist

How To Get Found On Facebook

If you’ve been active in social networking sites, then you know that it can be a bit difficult to dig up your old status updates and posts. The good news is that social networking sites are now making adjustments to change this.  With the launch of Facebook’s graph search, it’s a good idea to include the following strategies in your Facebook Marketing campaign:

• With Facebook’s graph search you can now search Places by their categories, therefore, it’s important to define the same carefully. It’s therefore a good idea to choose one of the closest major categories listed, since that’s how Facebook defines page types.
• For business pages, the biggest drawback of graph search seems to be that one cannot search them by their categories. So, including relevant keywords in your Description and About Us sections has become all the more essential.
• For businesses in the restaurant space defining sub-categories as well as including all the food types they serve is also extremely important.
• Having a regular schedule for making status updates can improve your page’s visibility in your fan’s newsfeeds. Of course, making your presence felt on social media doesn’t mean you have to update your Facebook status five times every hour.  That would only put your fans off.
• Facebook’s new search feature also allows people to filter searches to view places that their friends have visited. This means if you are a local business you should encourage check-ins by providing your customers incentives for the same.
• Graph search has also made it easy for people to search for photos of their friends. Since, as a business page you can’t tag individual profiles, it’s a good idea to encourage your fans to tag themselves.

Be careful not to flood your social media pages with one update after another, as that might cause information overload. Commons.wikimedia.org photo by Bob Embleton

How To Be Found On Twitter

Social networking sites like Twitter allow you to view the hottest topics at any given time. It can be very tempting to join discussions on any of these topics so as to earn greater visibility for your brand or for a special promotion you’re currently running. However, there are certain important points that you need to keep in mind before joining any discussion:

•  It can indeed be a good idea to do that, especially if the trending topic has a clear connection to your brand or promotion.
•  Observe the conversations very closely before jumping into the fray.
• Don’t use any trending topic in your tweets without doing the necessary research. Some big brands have paid a heavy price for making this mistake. Kenneth and Cole for instance, posted an insensitive tweet about the #Cairo hashtag. Apparently, the person handling their twitter account wasn’t aware of why Cairo was trending in the first place.
• Make sure you join only general discussions that are obviously open to everyone. If a particular discussion ensues only among a number of users who seem really comfortable with each other, then an intrusion may not be appreciated.
• The Internet may be a public venue, but there are still cliques being formed here and sensitivities you need to consider.
• Participate in chats relevant to your niche and use appropriate hashtags. For instance, let’s say you have created a software for bloggers, then it would make sense for you to participate in #blogchat.

You’re trying to build a positive image for your brand. Surely, you wouldn’t want to start out by offending prospective customers, would you?

Likes, Shares, and Comments

The search algorithms of social networking sites are probably in a rudimentary state right now, since they’re just starting to incorporate search into their functions. These algorithms, however, can be expected to become more complex in time.

What’s important, though, is for you to realize that such things as Facebook Likes, +1s on Google+, shares, and favorites can improve your posts’ value in social media searches. It is therefore imperative for you to make sure your updates are compelling enough and your posts good enough for readers to like, share, or comment on.

The current search algorithms of social networking sites are still rudimentary, but they’re expected to become more complicated in time. Flickr.com photo by Nicola since 1972

One good way to earn likes and shares is to post content and updates that focus more on providing information rather than making a sales pitch.

People don’t go to social networking sites to be bombarded by sales pitches and marketing gimmicks. Be subtle in letting them know what you have to offer. Talk about a certain product or service in a manner where you’re offering them helpful information rather than promoting your business.

For example, if you’re in the food supplement business, post content about proper nutrition and the value of taking vitamins and supplements. You could also post trivia about certain nutrients as your status updates.

Once you’ve established a relationship with your audience, they’ll most probably click through to your website to learn more about the business.

Most Internet users use Google for search purposes and that probably won’t change anytime soon. However, people are also increasingly using social networking sites to search not only for other people, but also for hot topics.

As search increases in importance in social networking sites, people may soon start using social search function to look for general information. This is why it’s a good idea for you to start optimizing your pages for social search as early as now.

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Emma-Julie Fox writes for Pitstop Media Inc, a Vancouver company that provides SEO services to businesses across North America. If you would like to invite the author to write on your blog too please contact www.pitstopmedia.com

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15 minutes goes by in the blink of an eye.

Your day is likely a jam-packed array of back-to-back meetings, customer service, human resources duties, with a few moments crammed in for lunch and bathroom breaks.  You barely have time to devote to a personal life.  And you’ve avoided marketing duties because, quite frankly, who has the time?

The truth is that you can accomplish some very significant content marketing in a mere fifteen minutes a day.  Yes, in just a quarter of an hour you can garner new clientele, establish you and your business as an online authority, and create a pristine online reputation.  It might just be the best fifteen minutes you’ve ever spent.

By knowing where to concentrate your efforts, you can convert fifteen minutes—just 900 seconds—into the most profitable moments of your day.

1. Create original content
   Part of your efforts should involve creating quality content that will attract people to your website. It doesn’t have to be lengthy or involved. Effective content simply needs to catch the reader’s attention, inspire them to “click” on it, and, if all goes according to plan, it should motivate them to re-share your content on their own site or social media platforms.
2. Re-share quality content
   Becoming a curator of excellent content is another way to maintain a social media presence, generate attention, and reach out to other influential people.  Sharing someone else’s original content is a great way to show them that you appreciate their work, which could result in them checking out yours as well. Remember, however, that this is not an invitation to plagiarize. You must give credit to the originating author for their intellectual property.Re-sharing also provides you with the opportunity to comment on a topic of interest and encourage an open dialogue with others.
3. Guest blog
   Composing a guest blog for an influential site is a great way to network and become known as an authority in your field. Select blogs that relate to your industry, have a substantial following, and are known for high quality content. Ensure that you include a link to your company website in your bio and that you reply to any comments that your post generates.
4. Make it easy for others to share
   Ideally, you want others to spread your word for you. The best way to ensure this is to make your content easy to re-share. Make sure that your posts contain buttons for sharing on the most popular social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+. These buttons not only ensure that your work is attributed to you, but they also contain a link back to your original post—driving traffic back to your website.
5. Be generous
   If you want to grow an audience, you also have to join an audience. You need to comment on the blogs, social media posts, and websites that interest you and relate to your industry. Always be respectful in your interactions. Be generous with kudos such as “likes” on Facebook and “+1”s on Google+. This is a great way to meet new online contacts, create valuable relationships, and attract a larger following.
6. Imagine that your Social Media Forums are giant Business Conventions
   Conduct yourself online in the same manner that you would at a face-to-face meeting with colleagues and potential clients. Put your best foot forward, be polite, share ideas, show an interest in the people you meet, and be professional. And remember, that not every interaction should be an advertisement or attempt to “seal the deal.”

By engaging in a few quick, easy, and, oftentimes, enjoyable online activities, you can greatly increase your online following and establish a pristine internet image.  In just fifteen minutes a day, you can boost your business—and still have time for those much-needed bathroom breaks.

Kimberley Laws is a freelance writer and avid blogger.  She has written extensively on online reputation management, social media platforms, and well-known entrepreneurs such as Steve Wynn.  She clamors for attention at http://theembiggensproject.wordpress.com/

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Being productive and efficiently effective with your time these days is such a key differentiatioin, regardless of your business. To be truly, noticeably successful means your make truly, noticeably strides in being more productive. I struggle with it every day. I bet you do, too.

Here are some previous posts that could help you push your productivity forward.

1. The Easiest Way to Make Every Day as Productive as It Can Be
   Simply put, when I’m on my game, productively speaking, I follow the principle detailed in this post. It makes all the difference in the world. Good news is it’s easy to do. Bad news is that most of us don’t do it.
2. How to Determine the Cost of a Meeting 
   Most meetings suck. That’s a given. But few of us realize just how costly they can be. This formula will serve as a nice guide to help you make the most of your meetings.  
3. Could You Just Suck Less?
   Pressure to be great can sometimes be the biggest obstacle to greatness. Take it in stride. Don’t lower your standards, but also don’t paralyze yourself with the pursuit of perfection.
4. 4 Simple Words to Increase Your Productivity
   I’ll spoil it for you; the words are  delegate, eliminate, automate and concentrate. Are you doing it?
5. Off Your Plate
   If you manage a marketing team, this is the most basic productivity mindset you can take on. Get stuff off your plate and on to someone else’s.

What other tips do you have on staying your most productive?

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Whether you call it a destination page, lead capture page, or of course, landing page, the purpose of it is both simple and essential: it’s the page on your website where people first land after they clicked on your link in a search result. Here is where you make your business’ case, and hopefully convert a visitor into an actual sales lead.

Not quite the landing we’re talking about here

Okay, so far so good. But how do you make a landing page that will inspire people to respond, eventually culminating in a sale, as opposed to them shrugging unenthusiastically and wandering off? Here are some tips:

The Right Tools For The Right Job

First off, you need an application that will help you realize your vision and make it easy for you to create that perfect landing page. There’s a plethora of landing page design applications out there, but consider InstaPage, LeadPages, and IonInteractive. All of them are designed with the regular user in mind, not the web design professional.

Grab The Eye

We humans are a visual species, so you need to make sure that the graphics stand out. This doesn’t mean that you need to make a page cluttered and overly busy. Rather, choose colors that complement each other and are pleasing to look at. Embedding a video helps as well, as videos are very effective in attracting and keeping interest.

Be Fun

While there’s certainly the risk of going overboard here, remember that web surfers have short attention spans. You need to keep the reader’s interest. Try including some interesting facts or trivia about your business or the products you offer. Throwing in a little sense of humor, something quirky and amusing, snares reader interest, but again, you have that balance you need to strike between being entertaining and being professional. And by all means, be concise.

Be Informative

People are on your landing page. Great! Now, let people know who you are, what you offer, and do it in a way that won’t put people to sleep. Break up text with headers, and keep your words brief and to the point. Don’t make people wade through paragraphs of ponderous prose.

Brand Yourself

No, don’t press a red-hot iron bar against your skin. That’s a whole different kind of branding. Make sure your logo is prominent on the page, and for that matter, make sure the logo is consistently applied to all of your pages. What, you don’t have a logo? Get one made! Now!

Testimonials

So your company is awesome, your goods and services are awesome, and you, apparently, are awesome. Says who? Says you. This will not convince a discerning visitor, since of course you are going to think that your business is fantastic and worth frequenting. Have you any objective proof of how good you are? Does anyone out there aside from you and your family think that your business is great? If so, get those accolades and place them on the landing page. Just like a movie poster will have blurbs from reviewers, your landing page, which if you think about it, is the movie poster for your website and business, needs some thumbs up as well.

Make It Easy For People To Respond

This where you need a buy now button, or a field where visitors can enter their e-mail address or join up with whatever program you have running. People need the means to act on what they’ve read, and if you’ve created a compelling page, they will want to act. Don’t make it difficult for them to do, otherwise they’re out the door.

Create an interesting landing page, and people will do the rest. Excite and inform them, and good things will follow.

John Terra has been freelancing since 1985. His eclectic writings cover everything from computer games to exercise tips to personalities such as Steve Wynn.

Photo Credit: Photos.com

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Professionally, and even beyond, it doesn’t take long to see why networking is such a big deal. The leads, opportunities and partnerships you find among people you personally know and the people they know are truly astounding.

And yet, the act of networking doesn’t come naturally for most people. It scares some, while it baffles others. It’s intimidating to start the conversation.

But that’s because we too often focus on what we personally get out of the network, and not enough on what others can get from our network. We completely overlook the importance of making introductions. Become the person known for making good connections between others, and you’ll be one of the most appreciated people in the whole network.

On a tactical level, there is a little thought that should go into making a good introduction. One that gives the two soon-to-be acquaintances the best foundation to build upon, should they choose to.

Here are some tips on how I typically make introductions, especially via email:

1. Be clear on why you think they should meet each other. 
   The only thing these two people have in common to start with is you. So, be clear with each of them why you think they need to meet the other person. Is it a service? A common passion? An investment? Make it clear. Be specific.  It gives them a solid foundation to build on. 
   
   Something like … 
   Fred, meet John. He’s got a pretty interesting software program for email marketing that I thought might be a fit for what you’re doing right now.
   
2. Mention another commonality to make the first conversation an easy one. 
   Don’t flatter yourself: you’re not the only thing they need in common. Since you know them both, try to think of another characteristic they have in common. Did they attend the same college? Like the same authors? Do they have another contact in common? Breaking the ice like this make a first conversation extremely easy. It breaks down the natural barriers to talking to someone you’ve otherwise never met in your life.
3. Keep it light so they don’t feel too obligated. 
   To me, this is the real key. You have the power to completely set the tone here. You could be completely serious and polished, but that’s no fun. I like tossing in an inside joke or something goofy, typically about myself. It just gives them one more thing to laugh about together, allowing the guards to be dropped. I’ve mentioned before how a certain person has never beaten me in basketball before. It had nothing to do with why I was connecting them, but they still bring basketball up with each other to this day. 
   
   It also keeps it light, which means no one feels bound to do anything. It’s just an introduction, and if it doesn’t work out, at least they had a good laugh on it.
4. Leave it with them. 
   Finally, make it clear that it’s up to them to take it further. The ball is in their court. You got no skin in this game past the intro. Again, this lightens the load and doesn’t make them feel obligated to you, as a friend, in any way to make something work out. Partnerships are forged over time; you’ve simply helped accelerate a small part of that process.

So, as an example, an email intro I may make could look something like this:

Shane – meet George. He owns a pretty cool web design company that incorporates some sharp responsive design options that I think you may find interesting, especially based on some of the work you told me you have coming up. Plus, George is an Aggie just like you, so y’all can swap stories on your days in College Station. 

George – meet Shane. Shane and I actually worked together ten years ago, right out of college. Remember all those ’80s cover band stories I’ve told you about? Shane witnessed it all.

I’ll leave it with you guys. Not sure if there’s anything you guys could work on together, but thought you had enough in common to at least find out. 

bd

And that’s it. Pretty simple process, but it’s amazing what making introductions among others can produce for you personally down the road. The principles obviously apply when in person, but can be amplified even more so just by the synergy among everyone in the moment.

 Take the time to connect people well. Give them the best shot at actually making something happen.

Here are some other good posts on making introductions I came across. Give them a quick read, too.

1. How to Make Introductions Like a Gentleman – ArtOfManliness.com.
2. How to Make an Introduction – AmberTheBlack.com
3. How to Make 5 Networking Introductions per Day - AdriansNetwork.com

Photo credit here.

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Do you like likes?

Facebook started out as a means for college students to keep in contact with each other. A quick look at Facebook today shows how far it has moved (strayed?) from its original purpose. Now everyone and their grandmother, and their grandmother’s pets for that matter, are on Facebook. With all those eyes glued to the site, the clever entrepreneur must ask: “How do I take advantage of this?”

Check out these marketing practices for Facebook.

1. Keep it Real.
   The rest of the tips need to be done with this one in mind, which is why it;s being mentioned first. As a business using Facebook to increase visibility, it is incumbent upon you to make sure you or someone in your business actively monitors the page and updates it often, say, at least once a week, preferably more. Otherwise, you run the risk of ending up on a ripoff report. Visitors need to know that there are real people running the page, and that it’s not just one huge exercise in spam. If you don’t keep it real, people will steer clear.
2. Like Us On Facebook!
   Yes, this phrase is everywhere now, to the point where it’s an eye-rolling cliche. And yet still, there’s something to it, which is why it’s referenced so much. Link your business’ website to Facebook (and vice versa) and help strengthen your customer base by creating an easy link between your site and Facebook, which will help in creating one community. If you have a brick and mortar business, make sure people know you’re on Facebook. That may sound like a no-brainer, but it’s amazing how many businesses forget to mention that they have a Facebook presence.
3. One Big Happy Family.
   Speaking of communities, you can help nurture that community by engaging in dialogue with your customers. When people post praise for your products and services, go out of your way to respond. Create a status that invites people to respond; perhaps a question about what they’d like to see in terms of product. Put together a poll, either for fun or with an eye towards finding out what your customers want.
4. Tell All Your Friends!
   Word of mouth has proven time and again to be the most effective way of advertising. Come up with a promotion or contest that rewards people for telling others about your business.
5. Exclusivity.
   Everyone likes being part of the “crowd.” Create an exclusive group page where people can join in order to gain access to special deals, advance news on promotions and releases, and exclusive opportunity to enter contests. Granted, that takes a little extra work, but giving people the chance to be special and separate from the general crowd can pay off handsomely.
6. Give People A Peek.
   Cliches have been mentioned once before, so here’s another one; a picture is worth a thousand words. Make sure your Facebook page makes use of the photos section. Let people get an eyeful of what it is you’re selling. If you and your staff are feeling exceptionally brave, put up photos of your workplace. If you have videos, so much the better.

While there are certainly more strategies and tactics, this half-dozen is a good place to start, and is not too labor-intensive. Once Facebook users start seeing your page as simply another trusted friendly face and not just as some business wanting access to their credit cards, they become more receptive to your business message.

Byline: John Terra has been freelancing since 1985. Like the rest of the civilized world, he’s on Facebook too!

Photo credit: Photos.com

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When thinking about a brand, often times popular items we see in commercials or on the shelves of our favorite stores come to mind. This is primarily because the company has stayed on top of branding in the media, in the consumer marketplace, and online. What happens, though, when potential clients and customers begin searching for your personal brand?

Everything Done Online is Personal Branding

Whether people choose to believe it or not, when they own a business and use the Internet, everything they do online is part of their personal branding. This means that, when conversations take place or when information is shared publicly, people view that as how your brand is portrayed and carried out. Many people have lost their jobs due to what they have said or done online. Conversely, many people have received jobs or promotions do to how well they use social media and other online forums. So, even though there is a risk with mixing business with pleasure on social media websites and blogs, there are still benefits toward doing so.

Know Everything Everyone Sees

When a business monitors their online reputation, this includes using a major search engine to search for the business’s name. In addition to that, anyone’s name associated with the business should also be searched. That way, it is possible to monitor conversations to ensure professionalism is maintained and a good picture of the business is being painted. If there is negative information about the business or negative actions performed by the employees, business owners must address each of these issues immediately. This is one of the best ways to ensure the company is staying on track.

What if Nothing Shows Up?

When doing a search for the business name or names of the employees and nothing shows up, this is a red flag that the brand isn’t getting as much attention as it needs. When there are no conversations going on online at all, this is just as detrimental to the business as negative reviews or complaints. When businesses have social media profiles, these accounts must stay updated on a daily basis. Otherwise, the business will not remain active in the search engines. In order to receive top ranking, engagement must occur on a regular basis and link share must be happening. As soon as businesses notice they are not popping up on the radar, they must address the issue immediately.

Build Lasting Relationships

Another way of developing a branding strategy is by creating lasting relationships with those who follow your business through social media. It is important for businesses to create these relationships before they need followers to start sharing their links or information from their postings. Otherwise, followers will begin believing the company only wants to take from them without giving anything in return. That’s where trust comes in, and businesses who can prove they are trustworthy and reputable will develop lasting relationships with their followers. When these relationships are nurtured through continued engagement, then followers are more likely to provide positive recommendations to their friends and family members.

About the author: Jenn Greenleaf is a freelance writer hailing from the great State of Maine. She has written 1,000′s of articles for online and print media covering topics such as small business strategies, finances, and budget management. You can learn more her interests and career on Google+.

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When customers shop for goods and services, they don’t always know details about quality and value. They think they do, though, based on what they believe about a particular brand. The marketplace is ruled by customers’ mental and psychological associations with brand identity. This is why it’s so important to build a brand that resonates with the public.

Here are some steps you can take as a small businesses to help optimize your brand strategy and associate positive thoughts with it.

Create a Value-based Identity

People are motivated to choose offerings that fit their budget and seem to be made well enough to last. However, customers have a motivation that is even stronger than the desire for a good deal, and that is the desire to patronize a company that stands for something and reflects the customer’s principles. Choose a brand logo, slogan and overall identity that convey something meaningful. For example, the athletic wear company Nike values boldness and daring while amusement giant Disney values the dreamer. Those values infuse their marketing messages and are so intrinsic to their brand identities that they affect the kind of audience companies attract.

Be Personable

Customers want to connect with people, not corporations.  No matter how cute and perfect a logo or slogan is, nothing is as memorable as a personal, human touch.  The casual and informal atmosphere of social media sites and blogs is a great place for business owners to convey the personality of a brand by posting things with humor, wit and style. Photos from company events can also entice followers to identify and align with a company.  Community outings are another way for clients and customers to see the flesh-and-blood people behind the brand, whether they be employees or owners.  All things make a brand interesting and helps distinguish a brand from its competitors.

Engage the audience

It’s easy for audiences to detach from a brand when there is no interactive relationship. The best brands have a call-and-response relationship with their audiences. They solicit their views with surveys. They hold contests to provide free products. They show appreciation of regular customers with reward programs. They actually read and respond to questions that are emailed, posted online or sent by snail mail. They ask for feedback on social media and hire social media managers to keep Twitter and Facebook pages humming with activity on a daily basis.  This type of engagement draws in the customer.

Identify Your Audience

Just as the brand should not remain generic and faceless, neither should the audience. Transactions with the customer should include forms that quest details about the customers’ lives, such as: why the customer is using your products and services, what offerings they want that they can’t find, what they do for a living, what their hobbies are and anything else that will allow the company to pitch the brand in a customized way to different segments of the public.  This will allow your brand to offer advertisements and promotions that are targeted.

Create Trust

Sometimes in business, mistakes happen. They don’t have to be the downfall of a small company, but they will be if information is hidden and crises aren’t handled immediately and in an appropriate way. Customers trust companies who handle their mistakes well. That means that if products are sold with defects or services are done in a substandard manner, inform customers and promise replacements and do-over’s. Then, follow through on those promises. Sometimes, businesses won’t know about a bad customer experience until complaints are emailed, called in or even posted online for the entire world to see. Use Google alerts to find these occasions, post responses and get in touch with unhappy customers directly.  The good thing is that customers are as quick to post favorable resolutions as they are to post original mistakes.

Deliver the Superlative

At the end of the day, nothing beats delivering the best product or service with the best materials and the best price.  Customers demand excellence, and they are willing to tell their relatives and friends when they’ve found excellence. Small businesses who always do good work have customers who become spontaneous marketers, selling your wares through word-of-mouth in their personal networks and beyond.

About the author: Ray Nelson is a writer, a father and someone with an extreme passion in small business branding and marketing topics. 

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I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who thought they didn’t have a full load.

I bet you think you have a slammed schedule, with no room for one more thing. We all think that way. And though we may sometimes want to take on “busy schedules” competitively and see who has the busier schedule, the fact is we’re all busy, relatively speaking. We’re all looking for ways to be more productive.

That goes triple for a director with a team of people to oversee. You’re schedule might be busy, but when you’re managing teams of five, ten, twenty people, it gets downright hairy pretty quickly.

I know I struggle with it. Rarely a day ends that I’m not sick of emails, sick of phone calls, sick of meetings, sick of people. It doesn’t always last too long, but it’s inevitable, nonetheless. And with so many people depending on you to check this, approve that, meet here, etc., you can make it through a whole day doing everything everyone else wanted you to do and not a thing you wanted to accomplish.

That’s where a simple principle I call “the Army Slogan” approach helps out.

You may recall that the Army used to have a slogan that “we get more done by 9 a.m. than most people do in a whole day.” Not sure if that’s much of a benefit to get me to sign up for the army, but it is a killer productivity principle.

But rather than wake up to the sound of cornets at 4 a.m. and hitting the trail for a few miles, I simply twist the mantra to my liking to make sure I don’t waste the day. My version goes a lil’ something like this:

I’m going to get my most important to-do done by 10 a.m. so the rest of the day is gravy.

My not quite as catchy, but when I’m on a roll and doing it, it works.

When my schedule is normal, I can typically get most single key tasks done between 8:30 and 10 a.m. I also try to leave my schedule open until 10 a.m., partially to make room for getting these tasks done, and partially so I can caffeine up.;-) Then, as a stressful day ensues, I can at least rest assured that I accomplished that one key item.

As a leader of teams, sometimes that’s all you have time to execute yourself in a day. It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that your main job is to get things off your plate and onto your team members’, with clear direction. So the idea of getting one key item completed yourself a day could be  a revolutionary practice.

Of course, there are those days when your office time simply isn’t going to release the time between 8:30 and 10. For me, that typically means I’m starting early at home. Though I may lose an hour or two of sleep, it’s typically worth the price, especially on that drive into the office for a busy day, knowing I’ve at least knocked out that key task for the day before the day even starts.

I continue to gain new appreciation for productivity the more time I spend in a leadership role. How do you make sure you’re knocking out the important stuff on a daily basis?

Keys to this post:

1. Identify one key task that you want to accomplish on a single day.
2. Do everything you can to complete it by 10 a.m.
3. Clear your schedule through 10 a.m. if you can
4. If you can’t, get up early and have it done before you ever leave for the office.

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