Creativity Comes With Experience

Richard Branson, the billionaire debonair that broke the curve of every venture he pursued. He brought in something new in every venture, and then some. However, he does know that  creativity is also all about experience, since what is new now may have been introduced before already. To quote Richard, 'But the idea was basically the same, and though our competitors predicted that the "needless expense" would only hasten our demise, 30 years later out lounges are still winning awards -- and our competitors are still scrambling to catch up.' As Richard articulated in his article, the French have it right, 'the more things change, the more they remain the same.'

Read more of Richard Branson's article on Creativity: Richard Branson on Why Creativity Comes with Experience

New Tips in Using Linkedin

Linkedin has become the de facto social media platform for professionals. There's a lot of features that Linkedin can offer a user, and below is a few tips one can utilize:

• Use the Linkedin Mobile App: You can view view and update your own profile on the go, and view others as well. A very useful tool for business development purposes.

• Make use of company pages: A lot of people are not aware that there's a company page feature in Linkedin. By utilizing the company page feature, you can find its connections in Linkedin.

• Who's who in your alma mater: Do you want to find out where your alma mater stands out in the world? Linkedin makes it easier what your alma mater is up-to professionally, and re-establish past connections.

• There's Linkedin Labs, and a resume builder you can take advantage of: Linkedin wants you to optimize your profile, making you more employable and marketable, thereby achieving your objectives.

• Don't forget to add any volunteer work: Doing volunteer work and indicating that in your Linkedin profile will only increase your personal brand equity and marketability. It will lead you to opportunities through new connections established.

Networking: What you have to do to make that connection

Networking is not exactly rocket science, nor is it an entirely impromptu experience. There are still basics to cover in order to make a conversation an actual connection in a networking event. 

1. Get off your desk and be out there: There are a lot of networking events, or events with networking opportunities. Go out there to mingle and make a connection. You won't be able to do that at your desk in front of a computer. Face-time is still king in making a genuine connection.
2. Forget work, just talk: Don't ever pitch the moment you are introduced to someone in a networking session. Establishing a meaningful connection means that you have to have a conversation with a person. Don't make it 'forced'; just act naturally and have a decent conversation. You'll be surprise how it can lead to something fruitful in the future by being just a little bit casual.
3. Set mini-goals: Set bite-size goals, like meeting 2 new contacts for coffee in a week, or touch base with 5 new contacts within the next 2 to 3 days. Set 'small' goals that can fuel your sense of accomplishments towards your overarching goal of achieving your business objectives when making a connection.
4. Mind your manners: Having manners count a lot. Just being able to listen more can do wonders in attaining a positive reaction with a connection.
5. Be aware of your weakness: If you experience the occasional memory lapse of failing to follow-through with a connection, then make sure you set up a system to minimise it. Use an app to remind you, or develop a set of routine that will ensure of reminding you to contact who and what for.
6. Don't lose that business card: Ever experienced losing a potential connection because of being careless of where you put his or her business card? Make sure you place all your cards somewhere where misplacing it is minimised. Maybe you just have to be more diligent by keying the contact details in a database.

Four key considerations in writing mobile email

Do you want your potential customers to read your business email? Well, there are four key considerations in order to write an effective mobile email:

1. The precedence given to the Sender's name: make sure that your name appears in a format that won't make it perceived to be a 'spam'; make it neat and tidy
2. Keep it short: let's face facts, nobody has time to read long emails; I don't; so keep them short, the more pertinent and to the point, the better
3. Keep it simple: related to Point 2, keeping it simple makes the email easier to digest, and be considered by your potential customer
4. Create a sense of urgency: perhaps the trickiest to do without being seen as desperate; perhaps use words like 'exclusive now' and 'today's special offer.'

It's always been about the Content, and where to position in an online platform

Facebook did another revamp, and it seems that content positioning is foremost in their minds. Maybe some of the powers that be at FB HQ realised that they're loosing a lot of viewers from the next generation. Or it's possible that someone there realised that the number of 'Likes' is a piss-poor way of measuring social media marketing metrics. So they improved on the FB Graph Search. The fact that FB is popular as a marketing platform to non-mainstream industries, and that advertising revenue from 'big ticket' accounts like MNCs, loudly says a lot of how FB is perceived. FB wanted to position itself as an alternative, or even as a competitor to Google, to no avail. The fact is that FB is a social media platform for people to document the positive-side of their lives, and to snoop at what others are doing. Maybe improving its Newsfeed, and where Content's positioned will do.

The revamp may or may not usher in a 'new age' for FB, but it is on the right track, theoretically. 

Sales VS Marketing: The Original Game Of Thrones

Nothing new in the battling realms of Sales and Marketing. It's always constant warfare between the two, and it's nothing like the War of the Roses, but more like the fantasy setting of the Game of Thrones. You'll never see an organization where the two departmental 'realms' live peacefully side-by-side. Far from it, the conditions are always ripe for the situation to be a 'Forever War' situation, where the only way to drive the ratings is for peace to never come, thus the ongoing Game of Thrones' success. 

The fundamental problem between Sales and Marketing is always about the generation of positive leads and sales closure. The latter is supposed to mark the leads with the scent for the 'hounds' of the former to pursue with utmost fervor. The primary complaint would be for Marketing to mark the wrong leads, and that Sales is unable to lock on the scent of a good lead. It's a never ending problem sans an effective solution, except in the minds of Sales and Marketing theoreticians. 

Take a look at the infographic, and see if the proposed solution would actually work:

The Revenue Department: How the Sales and Marketing Teams should work in order to achieve the set KPIs and ROIs

The Sales Department is supposed to sell, whilst the Marketing Department is to market the brand. It has been tradition for the two departments to lock horns and butt heads; the end result is a wastage of effort. 

Why not combine both into 'The Revenue Department', where the over-arching objective is to generate revenue? If the generation of revenue is owned by the new department, and it is given the empowerment to implement the necessary means to achieve it, then it is only logical for the endeavour to actually work. The department has no choice but to make it work.