Are you a good follower? What we learn from our GPS

Moving to a new area is both fun and challenging, but how do you go about learning your way around? Before the GPS, you talked your friend into talking you through a map, map-quested directions before you left, or just drove around until you got good and lost.

Today, GPS devices are common and inexpensive and it can be easy to rely on one without getting to know the area on your own. The key to GPS navigating, however, is to actually follow the directions given.

Why do I say that? My boyfriend fancies himself "the navigator." Drop him anywhere in the world with a map, and he'll plot a way (if not an incredibly unusual way) out. At the same time, he is terrible with the GPS because he never trusts that it is correct. He always second-guesses where it is going and if it is accurate. The result is that while I'm driving, he either changes the destination to make it go his way or directs me to ignore it. When I drive alone, I get everywhere just fine; when he comes along, I tend to make U-turns and wait for the GPS to re-plot my route.

When I was returning from the gym today, it occured to me that the real problem is that he doesn't trust the GPS enough to follow its directions -- and that is a common problem for a lot of people.

As a trainer and lecturer, if my audience doesn't trust in what I am saying, they are likely to second-guess or become misguided. I had this issue during a training in Florida in March. Several members of the audience were so busy trying to guess what I was going to say or simply draw the attention to their own knowledge that they missed some of the message that I was conveying. Much like my boyfriend and the GPS, they assumed their knowledge was already greater than or more extensive than the trainer they had signed up to see. It made for a very rough start of the training.

Only when they audience began to accept that they could learn something and follow the trainer, did we actually make progress.

So what did I learn from my GPS?

1. To be a good follower, you have to trust who you are following.
2. To have good followers, you have to gain their trust.
3. If you aren't willing to trust, you may miss valuable information and unnecessarily extend your learning.
   

Moving cross country

I've been off of here for a while, making some big life choices. So after 11 years in New York, I've decided that I am going to move to California and try some new things.

For those on Twitter, I will be tweeting as a I travel from my iPhone. You can follow the trip (where there is reception) across the US North by following:

http://twitter.com/shonda_ranson

Move starts May 15, 2009. We will be heading to West Virginia first to see family.

Cause-Related Web Sites are Springing Up Everywhere

Wired.com had an article called "Yes, We Plan: How Altruism and Advertising Could Change the World" http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/03/yes-we-plan-how.html that talks about an alliance between the marketing people of Axe and a programmer who want to put together a cause-related site for the social good that lets people know that even one small step can make a big difference in helping the world. They are calling it IfWeRantheWorld.com and the article was run before the website was even developed (to date, the only thing at the URL is a contact email).

The comments that poured in, included URLs for other sites that do something similar, so I thought I'd put them all on in one place:

• Extraordinaries http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/009516.html

• Social Vibe http://SOCIALVIBE.com

More to come...

Learning from Failed Deployment

So the Metro group decided to put out a survey and use the new Google Docs tool to create and deploy. They survey looked great and I had a friend in California test it out. Everything seemed to work.

The embed function was failing due to site code-stripping, so we had to send it out as a copy and paste link; HOWEVER, the link was long and wrapped to a second line. The result? every place we posted the link for deployment, it cut the text off after so many characters.

Suddenly, a flood of announcements came in about the error in the survey link.

What we learned:

• Long links suck
• Triple-check cut & paste
• People are actually reading our emails!
• More responses came in from Facebook than our direct campaign
  
• TinyURL doesn't like google doc links
• Facebook doesn't like google doc links

Marketing through corporate sponsorship

Submitted by Past World President Scott Greenlee: FYI, another great article appeared on the JCI Website (on one of my favorite topics) on Corporate Partnerships. I hope that you are checking the website regularly and sharing it with your members/chapters. http://www.jci.cc/news/en/13051/%3Cb%3E9-Ways-to-Find-Local-Sponsorships%3C/b%3E There are training materials on this and many other topics on the site as well – and I have a bunch if you cannot find it in other places. Thanks! Scott Greenlee 2007 JCI President Click on "Read More..." for a recreation of the actual article. 9 Ways to Find Local Sponsorships It pays to have partners. Don’t let a lack of funds keep your project from reaching its full potential. Partnering with corporate sponsors magnifies the impact of JCI projects as Local and National Organizations create positive change on the local level. "Sponsorship is the key to moving forward,” says Sponsorship Consultant Jill Larson. “JCI can offer an amazing amount of value to partners. Companies want to support charitable causes. And we can help get them there.” But, what’s in it for them? Aim for partnerships instead of sponsorships. Think in terms of what value your Local or National Organization offers to the potential partner as a network of young active citizens. How will the partner benefit from their partnership with you? Then, connect the value JCI offers with a need your organization can satisfy in a corporation to create a partnership that is mutually beneficial. Local sponsorships are everywhere. Here are some pathways to help you find them: 1. Work Your Network Identify potential partners by brainstorming with the members in your Local or National Organization. Develop extensive lists of contacts to explore. 2. Do Your Research Research potential partners to find the common ground among their passions, social or economic endeavors, and the JCI Mission. The more you know about each company and their existing community outreach strategy, the more you can tailor you campaign to meet their needs. 3. Develop a Relationship People like to know who they’re working with – corporations are no different. Turn to your personal networks because approaching strangers is far less effective than talking to friends. Demonstrating your commitment to the relationship will earn you the right to ask for support. 4. Share the JCI Story Tell your potential partners about JCI, including details of how JCI creates positive change in your community. Focus on the JCI Mission and how it reflects on the company’s image. 5. Take Action – Ask! Write customized proposals that show concretely what a partnership with JCI will provide to your partners. Emphasize the unique mutually beneficial relationship JCI offers, including details and bullet points of what they will receive from this partnership. 6. Recognize Sponsors for their Contribution Companies choose to partner with JCI to gain publicity and recognition in the community. Give them what they paid for by including their name and logo in marketing materials and thanking them publicly. 7. Maintain Relationships Sustain an ongoing dialogue with your partners to make sure they know their support is valuable. Send immediate thank-you letters and periodic JCI-related news to ensure you stay in their minds. 8. Talk About the Impact Keep partners informed of project results and show how their contributions made the project possible. Make it clear how their sponsorship money made a difference. 9. Share Successes Tell JCI World Headquarters, your National Organization and other JCI members about your successful partnerships to exchange ideas. Submit your project to the Awards Program to stand up and be recognized. Check your editing deadlines at the Awards Web page . Look for a more complete guide to sponsorship in coming weeks.

Attracting quality in a recession

Adage posted an article about attracting quality talent to agencies during a recession (http://adage.com/talentworks/article?article_id=134109) and I felt that many of the same principles were true for any business or organization.

• First, job security is going to be the number one priority -- not how much fun a place is to work.
  
• Skill-building and experience will be more important than additional social activities.
• Careers will be cool again, instead of job hopping every few years

"Millennials, who have never experienced an economic downturn of any magnitude, also are saddled with more debt than any previous generation. With most employers waiting until at least the second or third quarter of this year to evaluate the economy and subsequent hiring, those under 30 are in a tenuous position but not without leverage. They bring the technology and social-networking skills critical to agencies and their clients. They also represent a demographic that still has tremendous buying power and significant brand influence."

The Junior Chamber began just before the Great Depression, in the 1920s, and continued to grow steadily through the 1930s, during the last major US recession. Perhaps the best course of action to marketing to new members is returning to the basics.

Inauguration Madness

If you ever wonder if the internet is reaching older demographics, I only have to look at my aged secretary, who can barely manage to print a Word document without incident, but was able get streaming video of the Obama inauguration (and was shouting out updates on what people were wearing).

As Obama pledges to make the White House go tech and is fighting for his Blackberry, the University Hospital where I work is providing links to all employees to watch from their desks and projecting streaming video in cafeterias for those who don't have a computer-based job. Forget the racial part of making history -- the new regime is also making pr, marketing, and tech history.

From Adage today (http://adage.com/bigtent/post?article_id=133905):

Unlike most news that breaks with no advance notice, Inauguration Day has had more lead-ins, promos, custom graphics, web alerts, analysis and star power than any other event in U.S. History. And if actual viewership of the event even touches the amount of anticipation, then the number will far exceed last years 2008 Super Bowl record of 94.5 million people. With an estimated 1-2 million people in attendance, hundreds of thousands of party celebrations at venues, churches, and schools across America, everyone is getting involved in Obama-mania (even criminals!).

Because the inauguration will be broadcast simultaneously on all of the broadcast networks, as well as on the cable news networks, in addition to online streaming, I am not sure if Nielsen will ever be able to estimate the total viewership tally, so maybe it will ever really be known. But I can tell you this: It will dwarf this year's Super Bowl on Feb. 1. Take in the international audience and I wouldn't even know where to begin to tally up the viewership for today's events.