High Tech Connect

Warmest wishes from all of us at High Tech Connect!

My life was changed by Steve Jobs. And my Grandma Hoshi.

I was an engineering major at San Jose State when I first saw a Macintosh computer. At the time, I was enrolled in a FORTRAN computer programming class that required middle-of-the-night trips to the computer lab to catch an open punch-card machine, then standing in line to hand over my rubber-banded stack of cards to a “computer operator.” The DEC computer filled half the sterile room, with a loud droning hum and intermittent card-shuffling sounds. Seriously? Punching in lines of code at 2 am and waiting 20 minutes to find out if I was right or wrong?

It was clear I chose the wrong major.

And then the Macintosh came to Spartan Bookstore. It was putty-colored magic and I wanted it more than anything, but it was far more expensive than I could afford. At our annual New Year’s Day family gathering, I was talking about this newfangled personal computer to my mother and grandmother. My mother rolled her eyes to let me know once again it was out of the question, but my grandmother heard my passion and went to get her checkbook.

She said, “I can give you money after I die or I can give some to you now when you really need it. Take this and go buy your computer.” I nearly cried. I was an early adopter.

Over the years I’ve owned every major model of the Mac: the luggable models, the jewel-toned space pods, the orange clam-shell laptop, the white desk-lamp model, all the way up to my trusty MacBook Air and iPad today.

The simplicity and intuitiveness sparked creativity in ways I never dreamed, including starting my own Mac-only business. I vowed I would NEVER, EVER have to use a Windows PC again and then I made it so at High Tech Connect.

In fact, several years ago I did buy a Dell laptop with Windows. It lasted four days before I shipped it back. It was either that or Child Protective Services would soon take my children for the stream of profanities they were exposed to at home. Not pretty.

Even my husband, a security sales expert for Cisco Systems, has been converted. He’s quite protective about his tools of the trade: MacBook Pro, iPad and iPhone. My children have all been forced to use Apple products by their mother, as well.

So when Steve Jobs died, I felt a gaping hole in my heart. This man had me giddy for every press conference, like an impatient kid on Christmas, in awe of his showmanship and breathtaking surprises. I suppose this is what it felt like for my parents when John Lennon died. It was far too soon for this much brilliance to flicker out.

Rest in peace, Steve. I am incredibly grateful to you and my grandma, for bringing joy, creativity and independence to my life and my company.

Tomorrow I will be a featured speaker at San Jose State University addressing members of the SJSU Student Organization Leadership Conference. I always love talking with students, and these will be especially fun sessions under the title, “I’m on the Edge of Glory…”

I’ll share advice with students on how to create a stellar career, truly rise above peers in their profession and get employers to go “gaga” over them.

Perhaps most importantly, I’m offering all attendees of my session a FREE mentor match. I’ll introduce them to a seasoned professional with whom they have common interests and can build a long-term collaborative relationship.

Read more in the press release below.

SJSU Student Organization Conference Release

After hearing a large project had been re-scoped and would not be moving forward through High Tech Connect, one of our consultants shared this:

“Someday we should shoot a little video for YouTube of freelancers scurrying around, frantically creating all the documents and preparing all the listed arrangements, then donning our space suits, screwing on our bubble helmets, and walking down the long corridor into the space center, getting strapped in ready for launch . . . . and waiting, waiting, waiting . . . . until our skin sags, our flesh falls away, and we die there. . .waiting.”

OK, it’s not that bad, but in this business you’ve got to play the numbers game. If you aren’t marketing yourself while doing billable work, one day soon there won’t always be billable work.

Working for yourself is rewarding, but only if you have The Right Stuff.

I’m tempted to write something profound, but honestly I just don’t have the time.  At least for the past month, and probably a bit longer than that, High Tech Connect’s telephone has been ringing off the hook and email stacking up in our inboxes.  –Really.

Hey, I read the news.  I know that the national / world economy is headed to heck on greased skids.  But my clients haven’t received the notice that business is supposed to be bad.  Yes, one particular client, a very large particular client, has been managing its way through some difficult times.  And I know that the unemployment rate is Way Too High.  And I know that between the War and the Economy Obama has almost burned through all his charisma.  But over here?  Our long-term clients are reinvesting in growth.  Our new clients are seeing bright and shiny opportunities.  And our consultants are starting to feel the love again.

I’m a member of a group called Vistage International, a networking / professional development group for CEOs, and one thing I’ve learned from the group is that the successful and heroic leader is the one who can see a way through that no one else can see.  Honestly, some days I’m not sure I can see three months into the future.  But as long as I’m connecting the right consultant with the right opportunity and following through to make sure the match is right — I’m solving the best possible type of problem.

I have three kids, and I have to admit while it didn’t “kill” my career, it became clear after the second child that something DRASTIC had to change. This BNET article suggests having more than two children hasn’t slowed women like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann and their big political careers — but not everyone agrees that having More Kids Won’t Kill Your Career.

Certainly, my three children may have altered my career from a traditional corporate trajectory, but I think the necessity of flexibility resulted in an even better, more innovative career.

And because I had three children in five year — and I loved what I do — I created a company called High Tech Connect. Over the past 14 years, my business has benefited hundreds of clients and consultants, connecting people who otherwise would not have found each other, generating millions of dollars in business.

Will three (or more) kids kill a career? Only if you think it will. And if you think you can, you can create an even better, more rewarding and prosperous career.

On the way home from a soccer tournament in San Diego we surprised two of our kids with a spontaneous stop at Six Flags Magic Mountain. After all, this park has some of the best roller-coasters in the country! It was an extremely hot and crowded summer day to hit a theme park, so Arielle and Jared — being my kids — had fun spotting grammatical errors and commenting about customer service…or the lack thereof.

“Mom, this is SO not like Disneyland.”

So the following day I asked them to do homework for my blog. Here is the list created by my 14- and 17-year old kids where Magic Mountain fell short of their expectations:

1. Only four stalls in ladies’ bathrooms so the wait lines were 30 minutes long. And no baby-changing table. Not cool for a huge park!
2. What’s up with the wrong themed music for specific areas? Mariachi music played loudly in the Panda Express outdoor dining area.
3. Not enough trash cans. Lots of trash on the ground in ride lines. You would never see that at Disneyland.
4. Non-people-friendly walkways. There was a steep, long hill up to one ride that was tough for our family to walk. What about people in wheelchairs, or with strollers, weight problems or bad knees?
5. No park people at the ends of lines. You always need people to tell you how long the lines will be or to answer your questions. There was also no sign to tell you how long the wait was at each ride, so we had to walk across the park to find out there was a 2-hour wait.
6. In 5.5 hours, we rode three rollercoasters, including the same one twice. Admission was $61 and then they want you to buy a Flash Pass for an additional $41-$99 to save wait time on major rides. How many families can afford that? Not fair.
7. The Purell dispensers by the food areas were all empty. You know how much gross stuff we had to wash off before we could eat that turkey leg? Oh yes, and wait for the bathroom line again? Ugh.
8. We had to go all the way around the park and down a big staircase (what about the people in wheelchairs and strollers again?) to get to the exit. Terrible all-over design.
9. The parking lot tram didn’t go all the way to the end of the parking lot. At the last stop our car was still parked 1/2 mile away. WTF?

I’m both proud and worried that I’ve tainted my kids for life, having turned them into grammar and customer service snobs. But I love that they have empathy for those less fit or fortunate, and how they already see where small details can make a huge difference on a customer experience.

And I hope whatever they do in life, they won’t ever lose sight of the people they’re truly trying to help.

I’m still hyperventilating. Over 14 years in business I’ve had only two office locations INCLUDING my spare bedroom at home. And then, last month I signed a 7 year lease for a “real” office space in a modern building with elevators and marble bathrooms.

Then the client calls stopped. Business screeched to a trickle, coincidentally right before the Big Move. Holy crap. Sleepless nights and anguished days dragged on with one nagging question: “What if I just made the hugest mistake?” Of course, new business is coming in again, and we’re thriving in an environment that will generate even more success. Still, even after 14 years as a profitable, successful business owner, it’s still a challenge to push past my fear of failure.

Sara Blakley was selling fax machines until she decided to cut the feet off her pantyhose. She invented Spanx. Of course, she didn’t exactly ride a rocket to success and fame and fortune.  It was two long years from the time she grabbed those scissors in 1998 to founding Spanx and then to today with 105 employees and a presence in 10,000 retail locations.

“When I cut the feet out of my pantyhose that one time, I saw it as my sign. I had been visualizing being self employed prior to this happening. It was my mental preparation meeting the opportunity in that moment.”

For me, living and working in Silicon Valley is the equivalent of getting an MBA in entrepreneurial chutzpah and prepared me for my own “ah-ha” moment.  After working on both sides of the freelance world, I knew lots of people looking for senior marcom professionals to work on long and short-term projects and I knew many more people who were a perfect fit for those projects.  I realized I could monetize my address book if I was willing to invest my own reputation and hard work.

But what if you move to a nice new building and nobody ever calls you again?

Sara says,

My dad encouraged us to fail. Growing up, he would ask us what we failed at that week. If we didn’t have something, he would be disappointed. It changed my mindset at an early age that failure is not the outcome, failure is not trying. Don’t be afraid to fail.

I didn’t have the early mental training like Sara, so I find strength in her words and encourage you to read the interview, prepare yourself to be a wildly successful person and seize the opportunity when it comes by.

One of my favorite surprises is when I walk into a coffee shop and run into half a dozen people I know. Suddenly, it’s a party! Sometimes, I’m running into clients, contractors, potential clients, perm candidates and sometimes all four at once. Instead of “just” neighbors or soccer parents, it’s a party/business meeting/networking opportunity. Just as long as I have the time to stop and schmooze, everything’s ok because I loooove to connect people.

One of the challenges in our ever more connected world is that social media is one, full-on, constant coffee klatch.  The party’s on, whether you’re ready or not. Sign into Facebook and all your friends might know you’re there … and ready to chat.  Sign on to Gmail and Yahoo mail and the same thing happens and the next thing you know, you might be involved in two simultaneous chat sessions as you’re trying to clean out your inbox.  And nothing much good is going on.

One of the blogs I follow, Freelance Switch, had a great article last week about how to use social media and protect your focus all at the same time. Here are some of the lessons to learn:

1. Have a plan
2. Track your time
3. Maintain fueling stations
4. Take breaks
5. Delay reactions

…and here’s a link to the entire post. Do you have a way to manage the social media firehose? I want to know. Pass them on and I’ll share them with everyone here.

With today’s announcement of the umi personal Telepresence from Cisco Systems, I thought again about the practice of teleconferencing and videoconferencing.

From my desktop (and now from my living room) I can meet with anybody, at any time. Conference calls, online chats and video conferences are just part of how we get business done these days. I don’t know about you, but every now and then I hear or see a faux pas that makes me think this brave new world we’ve built has some potholes we need to notice.

The New York Times business section had a terrific story, a “Miss Manners” guide to what to do and not to do while you’re at the virtual conference table (or if you have an umi, the living room). Here’s one of my favorite tips:

Q. During a teleconference no one can see you, so it’s common for attendees to hit the mute button and do other things while listening. Should you?

A. …Generally, though, it’s better not to do other things while you’re in a virtual meeting, because you could miss important information. “If you keep asking to have questions repeated or for clarification of what’s being said, you are essentially announcing to everyone: ‘I’m not really paying attention’ and risk looking very unprofessional,” Ms. Stack says.

And use the mute button to block background noise. Mr. Preston recalled a teleconference in which someone was eating a bag of potato chips. “You could hear it rustling during the meeting, and finally someone said: ‘Whoever is eating the potato chips, could you please mute?’ That’s embarrassing.”

Here’s a link to the complete story.

Justin Goldsborough is the social media guru for Fleishman-Hillard in Kansas City and has put some thought into social media (along with a provocative way of communicating his observations). On his blog this week, Goldsborough posts Calling BS on the twintern.

His post springs from Pizza Hut hiring an intern to manage its social media strategy and this sparks … well … a rant from Goldsborough that hiring an intern to manage social media is tantamount to hiring an intern to manage customer service. Take a quick look:

Would you ever put an entry-level employee in charge of your brand perception, advertising or customer service? That’s what you’re doing when you hire a twintern or someone who’s new to the professional world to manage one or more of your key online consumer touchpoints. Try putting that last sentence in a PowerPoint deck as your strategy and present it to your boss. Then let me know what the reaction was if you still have a job. [entire post]

At High Tech Connect, we’ve seen a dramatic surge in demand for consultants with social media skills and experience and we’ve drawn the conclusion that anyone in marketing MUST be fluent in social media.  But we’re also seeing an economic squeeze that’s driving the work to the millenials who may know how to talk social media but don’t have the more important skills of how to help a company create demand.

We’re watching this topic very closely.  What do you think?

I think it’s fascinating that some of us are already writing about how to revive social media programs. Imagine: second generation corporate social media programs just when most of our clients are thinking about how to either start their first.

Over at Web Worker Daily, one of our favorite ways to keep on the cutting edge, has a great post today:  6 Ways to Revive a Dead Social Media Channel.  Take a look at this great tip:

5.  Post consistently and relevantly. Another aspect of gaining back the trust of your connections is to show a commitment to engaging in and updating your channels. Jumping in once every few months appears haphazard and careless. If you don’t show you care, why should anyone else?

Here’s the link to the story.

Never having worked on Madison Avenue I don’t know if Mad Men is an accurate portrayal of the big life in advertising or just great, trashy entertainment.  Either way, the show has some great insights into advertising, marketing and … social media?

Adam Vincenzini, the senior communications consultant at Paratus Communications in London, has written a great post about the lessons Don Draper can teach us about social networking.  Here’s a great sample:

You are the product

People don’t buy things, they buy feelings. Feelings come from people. Therefore (drum roll) people must be at the centre of your social media marketing efforts. [more]

It’s a fun post and I learned a couple of things too.  So take a read and let me know what you think.

Joe Jonas with Special Olympian

We’re thrilled to share a delightful thank you note from our friend and colleague Kirsten Cherry, VP Public Relations & Communications for Special Olympics of Northern California & Nevada.

Kirsten was recently in a pickle and needed some expert PR help for a Bay Area Fun Run where Joe Jonas (of THE Jonas Brothers!!) was participating. Not exactly the kind of match we normally make here at HIGH TECH Connect, but who can say no to helping special kids, or letting Joe Jonas down?!

Whom did we know who could KICK BUTT for Kirsten and promote the heck out of this fabulous event? Our friend and PR goddess Heather Lowles.

Hi Rene-

Just a quick note to thank you for connecting me with Heather. Her talents, skill and energy were most helpful to me and Special Olympics Northern California as what was supposed to be a “small” event turned into something more significant with much different expectations.

Heather is all you said she would be, and much more. She is professional, results-driven and willing to jump into action at a moment’s notice. But, more importantly, it didn’t take long for her to get up to speed and become effective. Her persistence helped us get important media coverage in the South Bay – part of that was responsible for driving 300 participants to the race and raising $60K.

Most of all, I consider Heather a good friend and colleague after a mere 6 days together! I learned if you feed her gluten-free food and some wine, she might even be a friend for life, or at least she might be a swim buddy the next time I feel the need for an open water swim!

So, I leave you with my gratitude and the attached photo from the Joe Jonas Fun Run. No it’s not Joe, and methinks I need to let Heather tell you the story of the “clean bottle guy.”

– Kirsten Cherry, Vice President, Public Relations and Communications, Special Olympics Northern California & Nevada

Peter Shankman is one of the most important nodes on the Public Relations network. Shankman is the founder and proprietor of an email newsletter, HARO (Help A Reporter Out), a twice daily update about stories reporters are working on and helps public relations people connect the dots between what a reporter needs and their clients. And, by the way, this is a free service that displaced one costing hundreds of dollars every month.

Recently, Shankman made a post I think deserves your attention. Ever since the first issue of Fast Company back in 1995, and before that, in everything Tom Peters ever tried to teach us, we’ve been aware that we — you, me, him, her — are the brand.  In my case, my company and my personality are almost synonymous. What I’ve learned is that many marketing consultants don’t manage their own personal brand with the same energy and diligence as they’ve applied to their clients. And that’s the problem.

During the past 20 years the “company man” has become a fossil.  Today, every one needs to be a star — a super star — every day.  And no one else is going to manage your brand for you.

Here’s an excerpt from Shankman’s post:

It is no one else’s fault if your personal brand isn’t how you want it to be. It’s not Facebook’s fault. It’s not Twitter’s fault. It’s not LinkedIn’s fault. It’s not the fault of someone who wrote on your wall, or tagged you in a photo. [more]

Shankman’s post is scarcely more than what I excerpt, but I encourage you to follow him because whatever he has to say is important.

I didn’t learn how to code HTML in college. I didn’t learn how to put together an animated PowerPoint. And I didn’t learn how to edit video. But I did learn how to learn and that has served me well.

Wired magazine just published a list of what they call “Seven Essential Skills You Didn’t Learn in College” and I think you ought to take a look at it. Take a look at this excerpt from Wired’s course catalog:

Post-State Diplomacy

Why take this course? As the world becomes evermore atomized, understanding the new leaders and constituencies becomes increasingly important.

What you’ll learn: How to practice statecraft without states.
From tribal insurgents to multinational corporations, private charities to pirate gangs, religious movements to armies for hire, a range of organizations now compete with (and sometimes eclipse) the nation-states in which they reside. Without capitals or traditional constituencies, they can’t be persuaded or deterred by traditional tactics.

But that doesn’t mean diplomacy is dead; quite the opposite. Negotiating with these parties requires the same skills as dealing with belligerent nations—understanding the shareholders and alliances they must answer to, the cultures that inform how they behave, and the religious, economic, and political interests they must address.  [more]

Take a read and let me know what you think.

If it seems that your teenager is texting all the time, that’s because they’re texting all the time.

Nielsen.  You remember Nielsen.  That was the company that sent out the little books we would fill out with our TV viewing habits.  Now, the company is all up-to-date and is measuring interesting things like how we use the internet and how we use our cell phones. This week, Nielsen announced that one of its studies has yielded this interesting bit of data:

Female teenagers are sending and receiving about 4,000 text messages per month.  [Here's a link to the press release announcing this finding.]

Let’s do some math.

Let’s make a guess that the average text takes about five seconds to key or read.  (This is based on direct observation of a domesticated teenage girl. That’s 5 x 4,000 = 20,000 seconds.  That works out to 333 minutes and that works out to about 5.5 hours per month. This does not include the time it takes to think up the content of a text or react / process a received text. Riding the emotional rollercoaster of these texts takes a toll too.  I mean what if your BFF sez L8R but you find out she’s ROTFL behind your back about how your BF broke up with you in a Tweet. I don’t think the homework is going to get done that night.

Five hours a month of five second bursts of disjointed sub-textual communications.  The mind reels.

I’ve been one of the longest, most vocal advocates of people creating, nurturing, promoting their individual brand in the workplace. What I haven’t thought about as much is how employers manage employees who are actively building their personal brands.

Recently, the American Express blog, Open Forum, posted on that topic and it makes for some interesting reading:

It’s not unreasonable for employees to expect policies that allow them to continue to build their careers. In all likelihood, your employees will be looking for other jobs in a few years. Telling them that personal branding is not an option is just a way to speed up their decision to go job hunting. If you can make it a win-win situation, you may just wind up known as the small business owner who has snagged some excellent (and well-known) employees. [more]

It’s been my experience that great managers want their reports to be famous. In fact, excellent managers are actively helping members of their team become famous throughout their company and beyond.  –What’s your experience?

How to fail fast Sew ewe red threw awl for peaces of male? What’s wrong with the preceding sentence? Everything. How many of those words would have been caught by a spell checker? None. But these obvious errors are the problem. We still receive resumes from “principles” of agencies. If you are in the communications business, make sure your grammar and punctuation are right/write/rite, all right?

On or off the learning curve? New communications media: Fad or fact? It doesn’t matter. As a communication professional, you are obligated to learn new channels. Facebook? Twitter? LinkedIn? Blogs? YouTube? Are you still in denial about social media or did you jump in, learn from smart friends and suggest new ideas for your employer or client? Where are you on the adoption curve? Stay relevant. Don’t be a dinosaur. Just do it.

You are not your résumé. Your résumé is not a stone tablet documenting your career. Do you customize it every time to show the prospect you have exactly what she wants? Do you include links for your Facebook page, blog, Twitter account and LinkedIn profile? If you do not have a complete profile and recommendations on LinkedIn today, you do NOT exist to prospective employers and recruiters. Do you have a portfolio? Is it online and accessible 24/7?

Be responsive. How long did it take you to return my call or acknowledge my email? Is that how responsive you are to someone trying to give you a job? We are all competing in a global market and there are other candidates who are at least as smart as you, willing to do your job at a fraction of the rate and a lot more eager about getting the job done. Extra points awarded for responding quickly and providing valuable information. Instant disqualification for responding two weeks later with “I’m interested” and expecting someone to be impressed.

Listen more. Typically, your clients aren’t communicators. That’s your role and great communicating starts with great listening which leads to deep understanding which, best case, sets the stage for great thinking. So, listen. Probe with questions. Repeat back what you think you understand. You have two ears and one mouth. Use them proportionately.

“But I’m so experienced.” Your experience might be perceived as a price tag that puts you out of the competition. It can also be a great big “sell by” date indicating you need to be left on the shelf. Your experience might imply you don’t know about the latest, greatest marketing media (see above). Your experience might intimidate someone who graduated college 10 years after you did. And it might create the impression you’re too good for the job and will get bored and split at the first opportunity. Don’t assume it’s a good thing. Focus on results and value.

No whining. Life can be hard. Work can be hard. And a lot of things are unfair. But complaining about it doesn’t change anything except the perception that you can’t hack it. As Jerry Maguire says, “That’s not what inspires people.” People don’t pay a premium for someone who sees only half-empty glasses. Find a solution instead of finding someone to blame.

Think ahead. If you can’t play chess, at least play a good game of checkers and figure out what your client or manager wants next. I don’t know about you, but I get Big Points when I can anticipate what my spouse wants. Your client is the same way. If you earned a good result for the client, did you write it up so all your client has to do is forward it to her management? (And she might not do as good a job as you will.) Think ahead. Just one or two moves.

It’s not about you. There’s a very fine ego balance consultants need to strike with their clients. On the one hand, you are the Star Who Does Great Things. On the other hand, you’re equally attentive to the Little Things: you get the rental car, order the meal that’s just a little bit less expensive and listen with Total Fascination when she’s telling you about her cat (mom, ex, garden, shoes, etc.). You’ll hand your client breath mints and make eye contact to let him know he needs to take the mints. Your entire Reason for Being is to make your client successful and as a service provider you go to great lengths to make that happen. And you will be rewarded and your ego stoked when the client trusts you completely with their career and future.

A handwritten note: the gem of personal marketing. Who writes Thank You notes? People who know that the recipient might just tack it to the wall of her office and look at it every day as a constant reminder you are One Classy Pro. Anyone who refers a job lead or grants you an interview is worthy of personalized multi-media gratitude: email, voicemail, thank you note, Facebook wall post, etc. But when you write it, stamp it and mail it you always leave an infinitely indelible impression.

Keep your promises, keep everyone on track. Take notes. Flag action items. Send the action items to the people involved. Resolve any misunderstandings. Act on the action items. Report on the status of the action items. Reconvene and repeat. Simple? Yes. Effective? Absolutely. Common? Not at all. When was the last time you received timely minutes from a meeting? Or any recap at all from a meeting? Some one ought to be doing this and you have an opportunity to be the hero in this story. You are a communicator. Get it done.

Be interesting. Being an interesting person doesn’t compensate for you being unresponsive, not smart, or having out-of-date skills, but combined with great performance, being interesting makes you The Complete Package. Be involved in your community. Coach soccer. Play an instrument. Dance. Practice yoga. Volunteer. Sky dive. Write a book. Do a triathlon. If you are someone who is admirable, then you increase your chance of being admired.

Dress to impress. You can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can judge the cover by the cover. Are you dressed appropriately and with a sense of style? Are your shoes shined? Are your nails neat? Breath fresh? Glasses clean? Don’t make me be your mother.

Don’t touch the third rail. Politics. Religion. Sex. Do we really need to elaborate?

Pay it forward. Give and you shall receive. Leave an unsolicited Recommendation on LinkedIn. Share your contacts and resources with new colleagues or students. Send small, thoughtful news articles they might enjoy, or send something that made you think of them. Don’t be a stalker, and don’t expect anything in return. It will come back to you, tenfold, over the course of your career. Guaranteed.

Do you feel our pain? Are these tips a no-brainer for you? If so, you’re one of a few rare GEMS (Go-to Expert Marketing Superheroes) and we’d love to know you.

Need help and want us to send over somebody who “gets” it? www.htconnect.com

You’re an expert … in marketing, communications, or marketing communications. Not accounting. Accounting is one of those areas best left to a specialist, like performing an appendectomy or defending yourself against a felony charge.

- Can you write off your workspace in your home?
- Is your mileage deductible? Under what circumstances?
- Should you have a separate bank account for your consulting practice?
- Should you incorporate? What are the advantages?
- Can you use your SSN or should you open an EIN? What’s an EIN anyway?

These are important questions because one little slip and you might end up spending more time working with the IRS than with your paying clients. Why bother? Why take the risk?

But how do you pick an accountant short of turning to the person you sit next to in church? One of our favorite blogs, American Express’ Open Forum, has an excellent post about how to chose an accountant and here are some of my favorite tips from the post:

1. Look for a Good Personal Connection
2. They Need to be Reliable
3. They Should be Proactive

Fortunately, we were referred to our accountant Tammy by a mutual friend, and she’s been absolutely priceless to our business. Tammy delivers all three of these qualities: she’s become a dear friend and team member, she’s discreet and protective of our data, and she’s more like a strategic CFO than a number-cruncher. Tammy is a trusted adviser and we are extremely lucky to have her on the High Tech Connect team!

Here’s a link to the entire post.  Let me know what you think.

You just finished the easy part. You peered deeply into your prospect’s brain and read her thoughts to understand what she needs. You’ve presented a proposal that convinced her you’re the only person in North America who can deliver what she wants, when she wants it and at the price she can afford. And you negotiated the narrow, high straits of a contract. Now comes the hard part.

The project begins. The client has a clear expectation about what the deliverable should look like.  The texture, color, shape and size.  You’re the marketing communications person, not the client, and this puts you at a disadvantage. By definition, you’re the better communicator of the two, or you should be.

Then there’s the second scenario:  The client has, at best, a vague notion of what she wants but will let you know when she sees it and now you’re working in Nordstrom, hoping you have something on the floor she’s going to love. And that you don’t burn up so many hours letting her try things on that the project becomes hopelessly unprofitable.

Freelance Switch has a post you might want to read, A Method for Meeting Client Expectations.  I sincerely hope you don’t learn too many new things in this post because you probably need to be at a more advanced, competitive level.  On the other hand, you really need to have these lessons incorporated deeply into your consulting practice. For example…

On some instances, I’ve shown clients clips of my work to show them the different options in tone they can use; otherwise, they may think all copy is the same. For example, do they want short, punchy headlines? Do they want the content with bullets? Do they want things written in first- or third-person tone? I go right to the nitty gritty, because the more information you have, the better you can produce what the client has hired you to do. Just because they cannot articulate themselves doesn’t mean it’s a free for all–you have to know how to get your clients to express what they want. (And most of you know, that’s more than asking, “What do you want?”)

Here’s a link to the entire post. What tips can you share?

Other than being a customer, I’ve never worked in the world of fashion but I have the impression that it’s a very difficult business where personality counts almost as much as talent and being nice doesn’t always spell fame and fortune.

One of the exceptions to the rule, as far as I can tell, it Tim Gunn from Project Runway.  Maybe it’s because Tim was a teacher and then the dean of one of the world’s most prestigious fashion schools and worked with so many kids in so many different stages of their careers, but Tim never comes off as too catty or negative. Instead, he seems to be sincerely interested in being helpful, honest, but helpful.

Recently, Tim came out with a book, Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work and I haven’t read it yet but it’s on my list.  Copyblogger, a blog for writers that I pay attention to, recently published a riff based on Tim and his “make it work” attitude.  Take a look at this sample:

5. Carry on!

Great blogs don’t just happen — they’re built.

A fantastic blog is crafted, just like a fashion collection that shows up on the runways. Designers and artisans spend hours painstakingly creating each piece that makes up the collection, and they all work together.

It amazes me that Tim Gunn isn’t a blogger, because he truly knows how to make it work. So if you’re looking to build a blogging empire (or simply one that makes you proud of what you’ve built), remember that it’s all about community and critics.

Your community needs to be built and nurtured. Your content needs to be shaped around their interests and desires. They’re the ones who will buy your stuff and wear it proudly.

Your critics will give you things to think about and ways you can improve. While some will be full of hot air and in love with the sound of their own voice, if you listen hard enough, there will be some pearls of wisdom worth stringing together.

And pearls go with everything.

Here’s a link to the post.  Let me know what you think.

Remember Howard Beale in the movie Network?  The year was 1976 and Faye Dunaway and William Holden were the big, sexy stars of the day. (Just to put this into a chronological perspective, Kate Hudson was minus three-years-old at the time.) Anyway, even though I was in diapers at the time, the movie made a deep impression on me and I recently read something that made me think about the famous “mad as hell” scene.

I was reading Erika Nepolotano’s blog. You might remember Erika if you used to shop at T.J. Maxx in Denver. She was the redhead. Erika made a successful career transition from gadget store clerk and waitress at TGIFriday to a copywriter. Really.

While I don’t always agree with her opinions (and don’t approve of some of her language), Erika has a sense of style and level of energy that’s hard to match. Essentially, Erika can get mad. Really mad. Redheaded mad and she shows no mercy and asks for none in return. Sometimes I wish I could be so ballsy. Recently, Erika attended DEMO in Denver and totally lost her cool about the buzzwords bandied about and here’s a sanitized snippet from her blog. Communicators, take note:

You and your buzzwords. They’re meaningless. They’re the uncooked spaghetti of marketing-speak: you throw them out there and they don’t stick, they just fall to the floor with a pathetic splat. And it’s because they no longer have meaning.

…Here’s an idea: if you’re going to tell me about your product or service, tell me how it solves my problems. I don’t care HOW it does it. I want the hook. The reason I’d push over a pregnant woman standing in line in front of me to be the first one to taste what you’re cooking. I could give three fine frog hairs if it’s an innovative software that integrates my content to provide an overarching, game-changing perspective.

…Why do we even bother with buzzwords? Do they make us feel smart? If anything, they make us look pretty dumb for using the same nonsensical speech as everyone else. To make yourself stand out from the crowd, why not do yourself a solid and actually talk about solving problems instead of playing a zero-sum game of monkey see, monkey do?

…I’m never afraid to be the a@(#**@e. My gig as a writer is words. Which is why when companies and potential clients inevitably ask me what I do, it’s easy.

Here’s a link to her entire post and you’ve been warned about the language, right? And let me know if you think Erika is channeling Howard Beale.

At High Tech Connect we see hundreds of résumés a year and to be honest, most of them stink.

What’s really troubling is we work with professional communicators and marketers who should have mastery of the English language and know how to package themselves. So if your entire career is summarized in one document, listen to Karen Burns, author of The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl, Real-Life Career Advice You Can Really Use.

Before you send that résumé out, check it for buzzwords. Like “team player.” Or “detail-oriented.” Or “accustomed to fast-paced environments.” They make your resume look like everyone else’s. And they’re probably not among the keywords employers search for. The best way to sell yourself is to show, don’t tell. Explain your accomplishments rather than spouting them off in trite ways.

So check your résumé for these buzzwords and phrases. If you find them, replace them—or at the very least, elaborate upon them—with real-life, specific examples:

1. Team player

2. Detailed-oriented

3. Proven track record of success

4. Experienced

5. Excellent communication skills

6. Leadership skills

7. Go-to person

8. Managed cross-functional teams

9. Exceptional organizational skills

10. Self-starter

11. Results-oriented professional

12. Bottom-line orientated

13. Works well with customers

14. Strong negotiation skills

15. Goal-oriented

16. People-person

17. Dynamic

18. Innovative

19. Proven ability

20. Top-flight

21. Motivated

22. Bottom-line focused

23. Responsible for

24. Assisted with

25. Skilled problem solver

26. Accustomed to fast-paced environments

27. Strong work ethic

28. Works well with all levels of staff

29. Met (or exceeded) expectations

30. Savvy business professional

31. Strong presentation skills

32. Looking for a challenging opportunity

33. Cutting-edge

34. Multi-tasker

35. Proactive

36. Seasoned professional

37. Perfectionist

38. Highly skilled

39. Functioned as

40. Duties included

41. Actions encompassed

42. Best-in-class

43. Strategic thinker

44. Trustworthy

45. Flexible

46. Works well under pressure

47. Quick learner

48. Partnered with others

49. Results-focused

50. Out-of-the-box thinker

What other trite, useless words or phrases make you cringe on a résumé? Share them with us, please!

Richard Branson needs no introduction.  The founder of Virgin Records, Air, Cellphones, Everything — Branson is a successful entrepreneur by any measure so, when he has some advice, I’ll listen.  In a recent article on American Express’ Open Forum site, Branson shared his experience about time management, taking time off from work and success.

The challenge of making time for one’s family is equally tough and closely linked to the need to let go. To many just starting out in business, the difficulty of simply surviving can make striking a balance between work and family seem impossible, but spending time away from work is important to helping you maintain perspective on the challenges you face, and thus to the future of your company.

I employ two solutions to help achieve a balance, though they may not be possible for many people. Ever since I first moved into the houseboat, I have always tried to work from home in order to stay close to my family. When our family became too big for the houseboat, we moved to a house in Holland Park in London, and we now live on Necker Island, in the British Virgin Islands.

Second, I took my family on business trips, especially when the children were younger. This meant that we did not spend too much time apart and I would often see them when the children wandered through meetings — a welcome distraction from the worries of the business world. It is amazing how the bright smile or questions of a child can help relieve even the most stressful situation.

I’m not entirely sure about taking my family on a business trip, but we shouldn’t argue too hard against success. I think the warm breezes and shrimp ceviche of Cabo San Lucas are calling me right now.

Here’s a link to the entire article.  Let me know what you think!

Marketing communications people, almost be definition, are gregarious and quick to socialize with … well, almost anyone.  Even professional schmoozers might be a little bit picky about who they’re hanging with. Freelance Switch, one of our favorite blogs, has a great post about spending time with clients as well as friends.  Here’s a sample:

We are all more comfortable hanging around with people who are like us. It is a lot easier to pop into a discussion with other copywriters, or other web designers, or other management coaches, than it is to get engaged in discussions with a group focused on manufacturing, or financial services, or small business strategies.

But there are many, many benefits to making the effort to “move in” with your target market, to become at home in their world:

* Get advance intelligence. If there are changes coming to your clients’ industry, if there are going to be shifts in the way they do business, you’ll learn about it much more quickly from them than you will from either your peers or from the media. [more]

Getting advance intelligence about your clients’ business is priceless.  It might tip you off that there are new opportunities, or it might give you the ‘heads up” that it’s time for you to reinvest in your new business efforts.

WHAM?  The 1980s pop duet of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley? And… they have something to teach us about freelancing? Hey, it wasn’t my idea.  I found this on the blog, Freelance Switch (which I highly recommend.)

It isn’t any entirely serious post, but it has some very important lessons. Try this:

Wake me up before you go-go

Wake me up before you go-go
Don’t leave me hanging on like a yo-yo
Wake me up before you go-go
I don’t want to miss it when you hit that high

I discovered quite quickly in my freelance career that clients can often leave you hanging or pull you back and forth like a yo-yo.

Thanks to WHAM! I now make sure that clients stay in constant contact and “wake me up” before they go-go.

I’ve also found that staying in regular contact makes for a lot less disappearing clients and whole lot more offers to “take me dancing tonight.”

Here’s a link to the entire post.

During the past couple of weeks we’ve seen a volume of concentrated active searches that might indicate the worst of our economic mess is behind us — we hope.

Whatever the case, we’re beginning to hear reports from people and organization that there are some particular areas where demand is going up. WebWorkerDaily reported back in October there’s an increasing demand for writing. Of course, our own experience is that there’s a constant high demand for great writing as this is a rare, premium skill. WebWorkerDaily spoke with an online freelance job board and found out that these particular writing skills are in high demand: article writing, copywriting, content writing, ghostwriting, academic writing and technical writing.

But one important trend we’ve noticed is the rise of social networking plus executive visibility. This requires a specific type of writing. Through the careful application of an experienced and talented writer, CEOs can dramatically increase their own brand as well as the brand and search engine optimization of their company.

Providing cogent thought leadership and crafting compelling stories is an ART, and several of our expert consultants provide this expertise for Cisco and NetApp executives right now. These are far more than product collateral writers, web content providers or editors on the hunt for typos. They are true masters of communication who can write for internal and external audiences worldwide with the singular voice of an executive.

If you are an executive with vast responsibilities and little time for writing, you know the value of authentic, informative and easily accessible communication with your constituents. Whether it’s a speech, video script, blog, contributed article or global team email, we can help.

Click here and we can have an exec comm pro ready to write for you within 24 hours. Really.

At the risk of sounding pedantic and grumpy, I’m constantly amazed how marketing communications professionals can do a such a poor job of marketing themselves. Then, the whole self-marketing communications problem is exacerbated as more and more people work remotely. Distance can breed low awareness or, worse, lack of appreciation.

Gina Trapani has thought long and hard about these issues and her insights have come to the attention of Fast Company who has given her a platform. One of her most pithy, accurate insights appears above:  How Telecommuters Stay Close.

Trapani does an excellent job of running down the different ways to use technology to stay close but doesn’t overlook the human touch such as making sure you visit everyone, and that means everyone, when you do make your way to the client’s office.

What are your tips for staying close from afar? How do you stay top of mind even if you’re in another time zone?

Everybody wants to know what’s going to happen next, including members of the Public Relations Society of America.  For its end of the year look ahead, the organization looked into its crystal ball (actually, the newsletter editor checked with some of its more vocal members) and came up with Eleven Trends for 2011. This is what they discovered:

1.  Reputation Management Meets the “WikiLeaks Age”

2.  A New Data Deluge:  Opportunities Meet Analytical Challenges

3.  Here an App, There an App

4.  We’re Back in Business!

5.  Measurement Comes to the Forefront

6.  Wanted: Engaging Storytellers & Well-Written Content

7. Value of Public Relations Continues to Rise

8.  Transformative Online Practices Mature & Grow In Value

9.  Old Practices Come Back Into Focus

10.  Sharing of Resources In a Tight Economy

11.  Finally … Something That Won’t Change

My favorite prediction is the one that says things will stay the same, prediction #11.

The overuse of e-mail and technology to hide from reality. Leaders will continue to hide behind technology when dealing with tough issues. Our ego and desire to stay away from conflict will mean we continue, at times, to choose a method of communication that feels better, but won’t be as successful, and in the end, will waste valuable time. It might feel good to send off an angry e-mail, but passive-aggressive conflict on e-mail escalates faster and lasts longer.

People, including professional communicators, have come to hide behind veils of email, IMs, Facebook likes and Twitter updates. Text can be shaped into wondrous creations of enduring beauty but are a poor substitute for the sound of an earnest voice, firm handshake and sincere eye contact.

What do you think?

Jay Baer and Amber Naslund just published a book call The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter & More Social and, as you can divine from the title, a good part of their book as to do with social media.

Fortunately for you and me, Baer and Nasland practice what they preach and are offering the first chapter of their book as a free download on their Facebook fan page.

One area the authors delve into is the role of social media in a crisis. Many of our contractors have ample experience helping clients through a crisis and even have some experience with using social media in a crisis. Our own experience is that social media doesn’t really change best practices, but it does change the pace of response and the number of tools available to a communicator. Here’s Baer and Naslund’s list:

Acknowledge the crisis. Most people who are in a relationship should understand this one. If your spouse has a problem, then don’t waste your time telling aforementioned spouse there isn’t a problem.

Fight social media fire with social media water. In other words, fight the fight where the fight is happening.

Be sorry. That doesn’t require an explanation, does it?

Create a FAQ. This is a great time management technique and a great way to make sure the communications team is on the same page.

Build a pressure-relief valve. Make sure the public has a way to vent their frustrations…

Know when to take it offline.  …Up to a point. Don’t be the one of own and operate the forum that’s all about punishing your client.

Arm your army. Good communications start at “home” so to speak, and a good tool is only as good as how widely it’s distributed. Make your your entire communications team is well-equipped with the best information tools.

Learn your lessons. Capture, in real time and in retrospective, what you learn and how you’ll apply it next time. Next time? Yeah, there will be a next time.

You can’t help yourself. Communications professionals, by definition, must manage information overload.

You use all the right tools: filters, aggregation, synthesis, summary, etc. And sometimes it’s easy to forget that “normal” people don’t share your media consumption habits. Along with organization and creativity and experience, your ability to synthesize massive amounts of information is one of your most important “value adds” to your clients.  And protecting your clients from information overload is a very valuable service you provide.

McKinsey & Company, one of the world’s best known and most respected management consultancies just published a paper on how executives can best manage information overload. Take a look at the article to figure out what you’re doing to help your clients manage their professional information tsunami.

One of the things in the article that I find most interesting is what the authors describe as The Perils of Multitasking.

The perils of multitasking

<snip>  It helps us feel, at least briefly, that we’ve accomplished something—even if only pruning our e-mail in-boxes. Unfortunately, current research indicates the opposite: multitasking unequivocally damages productivity.

It slows us down
The root of the problem is that our brain is best designed to focus on one task at a time. When we switch between tasks, especially complex ones, we become startlingly less efficient: in a recent study, for example, participants who completed tasks in parallel took up to 30 percent longer and made twice as many errors as those who completed the same tasks in sequence.  <snip>

It hampers creativity
One might think that constant exposure to new information at least makes us more creative. Here again, the opposite seems to be true. Teresa Amabile and her colleagues at the Harvard Business School evaluated the daily work patterns of more than 9,000 individuals working on projects that required creativity and innovation. They found that the likelihood of creative thinking is higher when people focus on one activity for a significant part of the day and collaborate with just one other person. Conversely, when people have highly fragmented days—with many activities, meetings, and discussions in groups—their creative thinking decreases significantly. <snip>

<snip> This effect is familiar too: who hasn’t struggled against the urge to check the smart phone when it vibrates, even when we’re in the middle of doing something else?

Take a look at the entire article. Better still: Read it, figure out how you want to put it to work and then give it to your clients—with a summary and your recommendations, of course. You’re welcome.

Link to McKinsey, Recovering From Information Overload

Did you feel that? That sudden surge and rumble? We did. And, it may not just be here in Silicon Valley. The whole economy might have just turned the corner.

Business at High Tech Connect is up, up, up and, apparently, we aren’t the only one. Online freelance marketplace Elance just released its Q4 2010 highlights and is reporting both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter growth — during a quarter that is normally slow.

For the fourth calendar quarter of 2010, Elance reports employers spent $27M through its service for freelance work. Compared to the previous year, that’s a 44% increase.

As if that isn’t impressive enough, here’s the kicker: Growth from Q3 to the normally slower Q4 was 11%. Let’s be sure we see that: During Q4, normally the slowest quarter of the year, the spend on freelancers through Elance grew 11% compared to Q3.  Thanksgiving? Christmas? Bah, Humbug! Perhaps Dickens’ Christmas Carol gets turned upside down this year and the best gift we could get is the chance to work.

At High Tech Connect our consultant placement business is booming — so much so I had to cancel my planned Week Off this week. (It’s far more fun to make magic for my clients than tackle neglected closets and household repairs.)

Clients: Can’t live with them. Can’t pay the mortgage without them. It isn’t easy and that’s why it’s called work.

One communications consultant I know likens the discipline as that like working as a veterinarian. The vet deals with animals ranging from the parakeet to the potbellied pit and the myriad of dog and cat breeds in between. Here’s the best part: None of the vet’s patients can tell the vet where it hurts, how bad it hurts or, in general, what’s wrong. And that’s why some people maintain it’s harder to become a veterinarian than a medical doctor.

Do you see any similarity with clients? Let’s not go there.

Smashing Magazine, one of our regular reads on the web, recently ran an article entitled, Turning All Clients Into Dream Clients (or Common Client Difficulties) and you should take a look. In a nutshell, here’s their advice:

• Doesn’t Know What They Want
• Feels Left Out of Process
• Changes Mind Midway
• Doesn’t Understand Web Design
• Doesn’t Provide Enough Information
• Expectations Are Too High
• Struggles to Pay on Time

Complain, complain, complain.

Look: Here’s my point: You are working, for the most part, in the communications business and, by definition, are supposed to be better a communicator than your clients. That’s why they hire you in the first place. All the complaints listed above are just the table stakes required for you to even think about playing the game at the big table with the high rollers. If what Smashing magazine has outline above is the stuff that makes you crazy, then you need to get with a career counselor before you waste any more of your precious time … or that of the clients. Really.

What do you think?

Bless you, Ogilvy, for creating true art in advertising and reminding us it’s never too late to make our dreams come true. WOW.

Did you watch the Academy Awards?  Then you probably noticed Francis Ford Coppola accept the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the award given to “a creative producer whose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production.”

Beside creating some of my favorite movies, Coppola is also a source of personal and business inspiration for me. I just finished reading an interview with Coppola and want to bring it to your attention.

The interview is in a new blog called The 99 Percent, a blog that describes itself as “It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.” (My type of motto.) Coppola has learned a lot about a lot of different things: making movies, making wine, publishing a magazine, running a restaurant and so much more.  Throughout all his different endeavors runs a bright red thread of quality, one of his trademarks.  Here, he reveals how he weaves quality throughout all he does:

What I learned, which is a simple idea, is that if you hold out with your vision a little bit, it’s like a cake being put in the oven. The scene doesn’t work immediately, you have to bake it a little bit. It’s unfair, when you begin to create a shot, say, or a scene, that it’s going to immediately be like those beautiful scenes in the movies. It needs a little bit of time to mature. It’s like taking the cake out without letting it be in the oven for more than a minute. … So you have to be patient, and then slowly everyone starts to see that the ideas are right, or make the corrections. You have to battle the lack of confidence by giving the scene the chance to solidify. [read the rest of the interview here]

This is the insight:  Time. Taking time. Using time. Throughout history, time has always been one of our scarcest resources, but, in our current age, we seem to be traveling at an unprecedented velocity with ideas and innovations circling the globe literally at the speed of light and feel pressed to perform faster and faster.

But whether we’re sending an idea over the internet or written on parchment and entrusted to the captain of a clipper ship, the important thing to remember is there may be a very important difference between the speed of ideas and their quality.

If you aren’t following Om Malik, you need to start…NOW. Not only does he bring a ton of insight to the world of high tech, he’s a savvy business man and has build a small publishing empire that includes one of our favorites, WebWorkerDaily.

Earlier this year, he published an article by Celine Roque on how you can become more productive, or, as she defines the problem…

On days where our tools, skills and energy come together, our output seems to flow seamlessly. On other days, though, no matter how many tools we use or how many cups of coffee we consume, something seems to be blocking us from getting anything done. On our worst days, we can’t even get our work started.

In other words, anyone who’s a knowledge worker spends their working moments somewhere between two states: choke and flow.

What’s so great about Celine’s post is that is draws from a variety of different sources and then fits them all together like puzzle pieces revealing an unexpectedly beautiful picture.

A simple way to put it is that if we waste our brain’s resources over-thinking how we’re going to do something we normally do well, we don’t leave enough brain power for the creative act itself. So instead of dwelling on unnecessary details, maybe it’s better to remind yourself that you’ve done this work before and trust the instincts that you’ve honed over the years.

But getting to the flow state requires more than alleviating pressure. It means we should sit down and work long enough to get to the point where our vision of the work is clear and we’re not distracted by anything else. But working on the web gives us easy access to hundreds of distractions. How do we avoid giving in, especially when being distracted has become a habit? [more]

I highly encourage you to take a look at the article. She cites at least a dozen different sources and attaches at least three different reports to her post free to download.

Think flow. Go with it.

Many of our clients ask High Tech Connect to find them writers, people who have a particular knack for lining up one word after another into sentences and paragraphs that explain and persuade. It isn’t easy work, especially when when most of our clients are inventing new technologies never before seen and scarcely imagined. It’s hard work and it takes a particular talent.

In a recent post about Francis Ford Coppola, we learned that he believes time — taking time — is an important element of the creative process.  According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, there are different lines of thought about how much time and effort Shakespeare spent on his writing.

According to the editors of the first folio, “What he thought he uttered with that easiness, that we have scarce received from him a blot in his papers.” The author of the article in the Wall Street Journal, Stephen Greenblatt writes,

The notion that Shakespeare rarely revised his work makes perfect sense. Here, after all, was a man who wrote, on average, two plays a year, acted in his own plays and those of others, penned sonnets, and helped to run a theater company, to say nothing of his many other business interests. The original manuscripts have all long disappeared, but biographers have endlessly repeated the claim that they were “unblotted.” After all, where would Shakespeare have found the time for rewriting?

Greenblatt explains that scholarship reveals Shakespeare was a compulsive reviser, ever in search of the more perfect turn of phrase.  And he concludes that one of Shakespeare’s other gifts — beyond mastery of the language and a narrative genius — was his ability to make it look as if writing was easy for him.

In business, the creative process is almost inevitably a collaborative effort and, when a team is at work, it’s important to know — and believe — that certain positions and assignments are covered by the best possible talent.  The writer who appears to be struggling is … struggling … and is probably pulling down the vibe for the whole team. So, for all you writers out there: sweat out the details, but never let your clients see you perspire.

Marc Cendedella, founder and CEO of TheLadders.com, probably thinks more about job hunting and interviews than most people currently drawing a breath.  Before he founded TheLadders, he was a senior vice president at HotJobs. (And, he’s a graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale — just saying.) Cenedella was recently interview in The New York Times about the art of the interview.

Here are some of my favorite snippets:

It became a matter of figuring out how to build a team and share with them what inspired me to start the company. There’s a quote from the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that really spoke to me. It says, “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” So the management style that I have is first, share your passion.

<snip>

Being a manager also isn’t about trying to become perfect. You’re not going to stop making errors. But it’s about having a mature appreciation for the fact that you’re a flawed human being. Probably everyone around you is a flawed human being. What are your flaws and how are you going to manage around them? What are your strengths? How are you going to optimize those?

<snip>

When we do something good, we come together and we celebrate. In baseball, a guy hits a home run, goes around the bases, and all his teammates come out and they give him a high five, and that’s awesome. And then every time somebody hits a home run, they do that. In business, people tend not to do that enough, so when we achieve a goal, we have to go celebrate. And there are two reasons why we need to do that. As human beings, we’re not emotionally and anthropologically different from who we were on the plains of Africa 100,000 years ago. We need to feel that hey, I’m in a community.

<snip>

Having to work through college and then waiting tables my last two years of school was hugely helpful for me in terms of understanding that O.K., maybe theoretically you delivered the plate on time, and maybe theoretically you did what was right. But at the end of the day what mattered were the tips and how happy people were and how much you entertained them or didn’t depending on what they were looking for. That’s what’s important.  [more]

What lessons have you learned from being a leader?

One of my favorite Silicon Valley figures is Guy Kawasaki, founder of Alltop.com and the original developer “evangelist” for Apple’s Macintosh. Here’s a clip of Kawasaki explaining Steve Jobs’ vision of an entirely new computer platform and how consumer research and market experience had absolutely nothing to do with it.

You have a great relationship with your manager, right? You have a solid line of communication. You even socialize every now and then. You think every thing is OK. But what’s going on in the subtext?

SmartMoney (a Dow Jones publication) recently published a great story, Ten Things Your Boss Won’t Tell You. Here’s a doozy:

4. “Your kid? Your problem.”

By now it’s common knowledge that women earn less than men – about 81 cents for every dollar. Having a kid hurts women’s earning potential even further. The so-called “mommy penalty” may manifest in many ways: A mother may get passed over for a promotion because the boss thinks she takes off too much time to care for her kids or that she’s more concerned about the family than her career. A mom may get overlooked for high-profile projects because the boss fears she won’t devote enough time and energy.

Those are hard slights to quantify. Not so for the penalty faced by women who take time off to raise a child – even for a period as short as 18 months. Women with M.B.A.s who left the workforce for a year and a half to raise children make 41% less than men with the same degree; female Ph.D.’s make a third less; lawyers, 29% less, and doctors, 16%, according to a 2010 study by Harvard economics professors Claudia Goldin and Lawrence F. Katz. “Business occupations place heavy penalties on employees who deviate from the norm,” Goldin and Katz write in the study.

I’m not saying this is fair. I am saying this does exist and goes unspoken in many environment and can work against you.

Please take the time to read all 10 and think about what your boss is — and isn’t — telling you.  –And let me know what you think.

“A soul-destroying defeat.”

Ever have a day like that? Some days I wonder why the heck I ever started my own business. Clients don’t want to pay. Consultants miss the mark. Taxes and insurance claim cash flow faster than we can make it. And some days are far worse, where your personal character and integrity suffer direct hits.

How do you get up AGAIN after another brutal defeat?

Irina Krush is the three time U.S. Women’s Chess Champion and won her first title when she was only fifteen-years-old, so she knows a lot about winning — and losing — and how to deal both success and failure.

I think that one of the main things that chess teaches you is how to be resilient in the face of defeat because a chess player faces so many defeats throughout their career all the time. So I must be really able to bounce back and know how to deal with that or you’re not going to get very far in chess. And obvious, you know, that’s a quality that’s very useful in life in general.

The trick for me actually was realizing that, first of all, beating myself up really hurt my subsequent results and basically I was jeopardizing my whole tournament because of one game. … Nine games is a normal tournament, so you can’t really sacrifice your whole tournament than because of one lapse; one low moment.  You have to value your endeavor. You have to put yourself in a position where you can do your best over the course of nine games.

So once I realized that if I wanted to beat myself up about this result, about what I did, I can do this after the tournament. I would allow my ability to do that afterward, like when it no longer matters. If I beat myself into a pulp psychologically after the tournament that’s okay because I have no more games to play. But of course, I mean, that’s a trick because once a few days pass, you’re never going to do that anyway. So even if I was going to, even if I wanted to basically after a few days pass you’re just not really likely to be in that state anymore.

How does wine figure into Irina’s winning formula? Watch this video:

I’ve written here before about the power of thank you notes but it’s time to revisit the topic because I just opened one of the best follow-up thank you notes I’ve ever received.

Working with some of the nation’s top marketing communications professionals, you might think I receive a constant stream of well crafted, even artful follow up correspondence. Or maybe just thank you notes that are spelled correctly.

If only it were true.

It’s truly scary how many notes I receive with typos and grammatical mistakes from professionals in a line of work where perfect copy should be table stakes. This doesn’t build my confidence in them and probably gets in the way of me connecting them with one of my clients. But, what about that thank you note I just mentioned?

My son is a freshman at USC and one of his fraternity brothers is interested in a marketing career, so — like mother, like son — my son introduced him to me. I looked at his resume, gave him some tips and then introduced him to someone I know who’s experienced in sports marketing, the area of marketing he wants to pursue. In return, I received a lovely voicemail message and a five paragraph thank you note that covered…

1. The thank you
2. How he wants to stay in touch with me
3. A reminder of his amazing experience and qualifications
4. Appreciation for the introduction I made for him
5. A compliment about my son, the quickest way to a mother’s heart

I’m sure I’ll hear from this young man again and when I do, I’ll remember how he’s smart — and savvy — and I’ll be happy to give him a hand.

Do not underestimate the power of a well-crafted thank you.

The High Tech Connect World Headquarters is moving for the first time in 11 years. Whoo hoo, right? Very exciting and certainly a reasonable endeavor with proper planning, yes?

And then, Murphy shows up..

Here are five things we learned this week while preparing for our Big Move:

It’s who you know.

Sure, you can do it all on your own, but you really don’t want to. Over the years, you’ve probably built relationships with people who know more than you (if you haven’t, get cracking!), and these people will be worth their weight in great advice. From painting to cabling to finding a new location that best suits your You-ness, these outsourced resources will SAVE YOUR SANITY. If for no other reason, they will stop you from trying to reinvent the wheel and realizing with horror that you actually didn’t need a wheel in the first place.

Anybody home?

There may be phone jacks in the walls, but that doesn’t mean they’re connected to anything, anywhere. Power outlets don’t always provide power. It’s so simple and obvious you might just overlook its importance.  It’s far better not to assume. If necessary, get on the phone with your telecom/data service provider and ask a technician to walk onsite and confirm everything before the service cut-over. Really, who would assume all the cabling was removed by the last tenant when they vacated? When it comes to preventing last-minute, unexpected costs, basic utilities should be at the top of the list.

How many cooks in the kitchen?

There is a fine balance between asking your team for their input, and asking for the opinions of the ENTIRE team. Yes, it’s tempting to post “Kelley Green or Forest Green accent walls?” on Facebook, but you will find yourself rapidly having to (rightfully) rebuke your friend’s suggestion of “Company X’s Aquatic Dreamscape Blue,” and possibly losing what other help they might offer! Every aspect of a move does not require universal consensus. Recognize that sometimes it’s just your job to make a decision whether others like it or not.

Start early, steady pace

When you’re moving, everything seems to take FOREVER to get started and then suddenly you’re moving TOMORROW. Make a simple calendar of target dates and benchmarks and drive that sucker hard. If your move is well-planned and you’re doing it right, you will actually be a little bored. That’s great! That means you can still do your actual work instead of panicking over those three file drawers you haven’t packed up yet. Stuff happens, movers are delayed and contractors are confused. Point yourself in the right direction, keep steady yet flexible and you’ll get there with minimal drama.

Breathe deep and roll with the punches

Even if you plan everything, something’s almost guaranteed to go wrong. Yes, we go through life with that motto, but when you’re paying three or four per hour, every minute counts. The absolute worst thing you can do is panic. If you’re watching the world crash down, take a walk around the block or count to 10 and breathe. You need to move past “How the hell did this happen?!” and dive into “Let’s figure out how to fix this.”

May your own move be drama-free!

If misspelled and grammatically incorrect comments infuriate you as much as us, check out this brilliant solution proposed by Matthew Baldwin.

Fabulous infographic from the good folks at Colorado Technical University, with pretty much everything you need to know about updating your resume for 2011.

Fonts, format and Facebook. This is not your father’s parchment resume anymore.

Click this link and pass it on!