Last week, I had the pleasure of listening to Lon Safko, co-author of the Social Media Bible speak to a group of counselors from SCORE and the SBDC as a prelude to Greater Phoenix SCORE’s Social Media Event this January 14th and 15th.
During his presentation, Lon kept emphasizing the reasons, excellent ones BTW, that businesses need to pay attention to and utilize social media. And repeatedly he punctuated his message with a continuing theme…Oh Yes! It’s FREE!
But is it?Continue reading
Each year in January, I try to plan my calendar to meet with friends in the first two weeks. I have a diverse group of friends ranging from entrepreneurs to folks from corporate America, from local community volunteers to national leaders, and from neighbors to old school chums.Continue reading
One of the most important jobs of a leader is a simple one.
Say “Thank You” and recognize the hard work of others.
This photo, taken a number of years ago, popped up on in my son’s Facebook stream the other day. It had been posted by his friend Nick Roa and it reminded me of an important lesson that applies to leaders of all ages.
At the age of 13, my son Christopher was having a blast playing on his travel hockey team. His coaches instituted a great practice of having the players take turns saying “thank you” to the wait-staff in the restaurants where the team would gather with parents after each game. One night in Tucson, the boys voted for chicken wings and Hooter’s for dinner after the game. So that evening, young Chris had to stand on a chair, surrounded by beautiful women and make a speech thanking his team mates for a game well played and the ladies for their hard work. He did a great job. (It’s not everyday a leader gets to make a speech standing on a chair in a crowded restaurant surrounded by a bevy of beauties.)
There are a myriad of opportunities to say “Thank You” and even more ways to do so. Here are just a few:
As 2009 comes to a close, many of us may feel that we have less to be thankful for than in other years. But, if you start to think about it and look for opportunities and ways to say thanks, you will find that they are all around you and that when you start looking for them – you’ll feel better about yourself AND get better results at work, at home, and in your community. Now that is something to be thankful for.
So, “Thank You” Reader – for stopping by. Stay tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
Do you love sharing original ideas with others? Have you found that when you do conversations start and collaborations form?
For over 15 years, one of my favorite friends to talk with and work with is Clay Stubblefield of AZWebcasting.
Clay is the ultimate professional and so creative. One of his creations is MeetTheTweets, showcase of videos introducing us to people we hear from on Twitter.
One of my creations is a little project called #BeOriginal – a place on Twitter where friends share their Original Ideas.
We thought it would be fun to combine them, creating #BeOriginal Week on Meet The Tweets. So we put instructions out on the #BeOriginal Blog and let some of our #BeOriginal Contributors know where to find them.
And, since I am ‘the original #BeOriginal’, I created a little video message to kick things off.
Here it is. Let me know YOUR thoughts. And don’t forget to be on the look out for new great videos from other Originals. Just follow @MeetTheTweets on Twitter so you do not miss any.
Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
In literature, as in legend, there have been many great quests. One in particular that has captured imaginations, for over two thousand years, is the search for a simple cup used in a great tale of transformation. Yes, The Quest for The Holy Grail.
This quest has been the inspiration that sparked great literature, epic poems, and motion pictures running the gamut from Monty Python to Indiana Jones.
While my quest is not one of such mythical proportion, as I sat pondering how to share my plans with you, the legend of The Holy Grail leapt to mind.
I am, together with a valued group of friends, looking to acquire a controlling interest in a very particular company. Our search and the legendary quest have more than a few things in common. In both cases they combine Innovation, Leadership, and Growth to create Lasting Value. These are my personal passions. There is nothing like the feeling you get when you discover something with true potential and then do what it takes to Make It Great.
This year, I have been working with a small team of friends and advisors to search out really cool deals. We’ve found some great ones, but not the right one. Not yet.
Along the way, I have gotten much more active in connecting to friends old and new via a range of social media tools.
However, it all came together when I was having lunch last week with Morris Callaman at a beautiful resort nestled against a mountain in Paradise Valley called Montelucia.
Morris asked –
“Joan, what do you think about expanding this search and inviting your social media network to participate? You could literally ask for help crowd-sourcing this acquisition search.”
And that’s how it started. So, here I am asking if you will help me locate the company I would like to lead next. If so, then what follows are some of the criteria we find necessary to successfully recognize our “grail” when we find it. Ready? OK. Lets discuss a little detail around what this company is, and perhaps even more importantly, what it is not. An ideal company will be one where we can combine Innovation, Leadership, and Growth to create Lasting Value.
Innovation in my book is doing something in a new way to make life better for the people who matter most to us – in this case employees, customers, investors, and strategic partners. It is a company with a product or service that can transform an industry or niche. For example, my friend Amilya Antonetti changed the way we look at soap in her quest to save the life of her son and now she is on a quest to help other entrepreneurs ask the right questions, get the right information and the things they need to succeed.
Criteria #1: A product oriented company that will transform its market by creating new value through a better way of doing something(s).
Unlikely Fits: Singing pop bottles, Presidential Pet Rocks, the corner store, or the next great social media tool. While there may be lots of investors looking for these, I am not one of them.
A great idea only gets you so far before it needs more. In this case more is the ability to see the future direction of the company’s journey and to predict and obtain what it will need along the way. Many a great new company has lost crucial momentum when the leader that led the way for the first stage of the journey is not ready for the next stage of that steep uphill path, which many entrepreneurs forecast and yet few would want to travel alone.
The prize we seek on this quest will have a founder and a team that is looking for a new guide as they begin the climb to revenues and profitability so that everyone, employees, customers, investors and strategic partners alike, benefit from the next stage in the company’s growth.
Criteria #2: A dedicated team in search of experienced leadership and resources to help them successfully move along the growth path.
Unlikely Fits:
The company must have solid growth potential and demonstrate how it could scale to provide a more than reasonable return to the investors.
Growth curves come in all shapes and sizes. There’s the steady incremental growth of a mature business, the graceful leaps of the Gazelles, and the inevitable ‘Hockey Stick” that appears over and over at every venture conference I have ever attended. Yet, in the real world, it’s not the pretty charts and pictures that matter, it’s the foundational elements that make a transformational company stand out. Some Gazelles grow to be great companies, while others rapidly run out of steam after the initial burst of growth. Hockey Stick Growth Curves can be ‘the big pay day’ or they can simply be a sign of a business in danger of snapping under the pressure of too much, too fast.
Criteria #3: The best true indicators of growth potential are not charts and graphs, but rather how does the company (or product) provide a solution that is usable by a large number of people and BETTER than substitutes (or lack thereof)?
Unlikely Fits:
And in the end, building a great company is more than just creating a widget, jobs, or shareholder value.
Criteria #4: It’s creating something to believe in, and be proud of, for the people who matter most to us (employees, customers, investors and strategic partners).
Unlikely Fits:
Of course, there are at least two BIG differences between my quest and the search for The Grail of legend. One, I know that I’m going to find what I am seeking, and Two, this is more than a personal journey, it is also an experiment in the power of social media. So, if you’ve seen this company please let me know. You can always leave me a note here, on my blog or, if you want to keep it confidential, you can also contact me by clicking here.
As long as we are on the subject, if you happen to be looking for a company too, just let me know what YOU are searching for and I’ll be happy to pass along what I may find for you along the way. Unlike the fabled Holy Grail, there is more than just one great opportunity out there.
Thanks for stopping by. Stay Tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
P.S. One of the best parts of this journey is connecting, engaging, and being inspired by fellow entrepreneurs. On Thursday, November 12th in Phoenix Arizona I will be doing just that at AZEC09. Who knows maybe I will see YOU there and we can chat.
I was scanning some articles online this morning when I cam across a fun one at How Stuff Works titled 23 Must-Have Toys from the 1950s and Beyond. So I decided to check it out. Of the 23 ‘must haves’, only Strawberry Shortcake never made it into either my or my children’s toy collection. But it was the Cabbage Patch Kids that brought back the memory of how one innovative toy really drew a crowd.
Xavier Roberts was a teenager when he launched his Babyland General Hospital during the 1970s in Cleveland, Georgia, allowing children to adopt a “baby.” In 1983, the Coleco toy company started mass-producing these dolls as Cabbage Patch Kids. Each “kid” came with a unique name and a set of adoption papers, and stores couldn’t keep them on the shelves, selling more than three million of the dolls in the first year.
It was just before the Christmas holidays in 1983, and my fiance Chris worked at Coleco, home of the Cabbage Patch. EVERYONE was trying to get their hands on the little darlings – even employees. The company had to even hold a lottery for employees to be able to purchase them. So after months of lotteries, we had a small collection of six Cabbage Patch Kids ready for adoption.
I really did not give it too much thought when I lined up the ‘Kids’ on the back seat of my car and left my home in South Windsor, Connecticut on a Saturday afternoon to drive down to see our families in Danbury, Connecticut. But I got a real lesson on what it is like for an innovation to draw a crowd when I stopped at a McDonald’s along the way to get a Diet Coke. The young girl at the drive thru window saw into my back seat, and exclaimed!
WOW! Where did you get all those Cabbage Patch Dolls!
That’s all it took. Before I had even been given my cup, my car was surrounded by Moms, wallets and checkbooks in hand, asking me what it would take to sell them “Just One.” I explained that they were gifts and that they were not for sale, but finally the manager had to come out and move the eager Mommies away – before I could put my car in gear and make my escape from the drive thru. I learned a lesson that day…
When an innovation capture’s the public’s imagination – it draws a crowd.
Over twenty-five years have passed and I have seen many innovative new products come and go. Some are just a passing fad, but others have real staying power. As an investor, I look for those companies with inventions or solutions that can make life better in one way or another. Products or services that capture the imagination and can, with the right resources, literally draw a crowd in their chosen marketplace.
Some of these companies have been in technology – like when Bernie Vonderschmidt, the first Chairman and CEO of Xilinx, shared his vision of the next generation in silicon technology,the FGPGA, or when Dr. Michelle Hanna of RiboMed helped me to imagine a day when we could detect and treat diseases like cancer BEFORE it was too late and our loved ones were suffering. Others have not. But none of the innovations I have invested in have been toys. Perhaps because I never got over the experience of being ‘mobbed by Mommies’ at McDonalds.
Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
Is your Twitter account starting to look like the house of that little old man down the road who never weeds his yard and never throws anything out?
Is it full of clutter, empty boxes, things that are broken, or that you never use.
Do you still have people on your Christmas Card List that sent you a card in 1995 and you have not heard from since?
Perhaps when you read this, you may think I have taken a page from Oscar the Grouch, but there are times when you need to bite the bullet and Clean Your House.Continue reading
The greatest message in the world will have no impact if no one is listening. This is not exactly a new concept. But if you forget it, you can get into BIG trouble.Continue reading
Sometimes the best innovation can be as simple as doing the right thing.Continue reading
Leadership is a popular topic. The role of a leader is one that many aspire to. Books and articles tell us that we need to be helping our children, our employees, and others around us to become leaders.
But what is a leader and why do we follow them? For following is a key element of a leader’s definition.
You are not a leader,
if no one is following you.
If only there was a key we could press to make a great leader and cause others to choose to follow. Unfortuantely, there is no one answer or simple magic key to press. Most would agree that the road to leadership is a journey. You are not born a leader, you BECOME one.
Leaders do not stand alone on top of the mountain looking down upon their followers. They are part of their communities. We follow them because, by listening to what they say and watching what they do, they take us to a better place. They lead the way for us and we follow their footsteps.
When words and actions are authentic, congruent, and consistent, we feel secure in their leadership and in our following. We know what we can expect from them and as followers we trust them to lead us in the right direction. When our leaders get lost or confused, which often happens, leaders are human after all, some followers will drop away, while others will rally around to help a trusted leader get back on track.
Leaders act as catalysts, as agents that provoke or speed significant change or action within their communities, their businesses, or whatever their sphere of influence may be. They do not act alone, but bring things about in concert with others. They inspire others to think, to act, to do, to change.
Leaders are innovators. They find new ways of doing things that make life better for their followers and for those around them. Leaders understand that the most traveled path may not always be the best one. They take the time to explore the options – old and new – to find the best way to travel towards their chosen destination.
Leadership may be immune to the passage of time, but leaders are not. Leaders come and leaders go. That is why true leaders develop future leaders. They know that being the sole leader in any group is a lonely job – but when you lead in the company of leaders, the journey get’s shorter, and the road you travel less difficult. And most important of all, that when your time as a leader is through, there are others ready and able to continue the journey.
Leaders excel in putting the needs of the whole before their own. It seems at times this gets forgotten. And these are the times when we see leaders get into trouble. We’ve seen it in politicians, in the kings of industry, with sports heroes, and in the Mom at the PTA. When the person in front stops caring for the people behind them – sooner or later – those people will be gone. And without followers, you are a leader no more.
They issues orders – when they have to – and sometimes they do. But more often than not, direction is provided through stories and shared experiences. They lead the way through instruction, by demonstration, and sometimes by the simple act of taking another by the hand.
so we can share them with others long after the leader is gone. Take a look at the list of the best selling books of all time. According to Wikipedia, the list of best-selling books includes in it’s top rankings the books on spiritual leaders: The Bible, Qur’an (The Koran), Book of Mormon, and The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. They are joined by the writings of a political leader – agree with him or not – Chairman Mao knew how to leverage the printing press with his Little Red Book, a manual for raising young leaders, Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship, and fictional journeys of life and leadership including A Tale of Two Cities, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit. Shakespeare of course wrote stories of leaders and leadership too. But since his were plays, not books originally, they did not make this particular list. But it is not just the beauty of his words that made him immortal, it was the stories of leaders, of emperors, princes, and kings – be they mortal or fairy – that have stood the test of time.
From the beginning of human time until its end, there will always be a place in this world for leaders. We need them in our homes, in our businesses, and in our communities. We need them to get things started, to help us along the way, to instruct, to inspire, and at times to console.
Yes, the world is looking for leaders.
Are you ready to make the effort – every day – to BECOME one?
Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
