Ironically, the uncertainty and disruption we currently face are part of the reason why it will be so powerful. In this post, we’ll talk about how to navigate it effectively.

Regarding uncertain times: the successful leader and motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, liked to say that he could predict the future with pinpoint accuracy. Whenever he sat in a board meeting, and someone asked him what he expected in the years ahead, his answer was always the same:

Expect there to be opportunity mixed with difficulty.

Given that insight, it’s likely this new study by Pew Research Center reads as credible and accurate: Of the 915 experts surveyed, 47% predicted the future would be worse because of tech.  41% said it would be better.

Regardless of which of those two camps you fall into, you have to be asking yourself how to best prepare.

Some of the issues brought to light in the Pew study are not encouraging. It’s a reminder that when it comes to choosing between optimism and pessimism, the best choice may be neither. Be a realist.

The threats are real, but so are the opportunities that will undoubtedly emerge.

We recommend three areas of focus

To achieve small biz digital marketing leadership, narrow in on:

1. Digital lifestyle enhancements
2. Security concerns
3. Trustworthy digital information sources

Side note: The tone you create as a trusted resource is foundational. Consider it like the set of your sail as you navigate the calm/choppy waters ahead. It all begins and ends with trust.

1. Get ready for a ‘tele-everything’ world

No need to explain this one, right? ZOOM is a front runner in this new digital-everything world.

And COVID-19 has been a pivotal driver of society’s acceptance of online resources – or digital lifestyle enhancements. Healthcare providers have adjusted quickly by offering tele-visits for patients and doctors. For many, this eliminated their biggest concern almost immediately.

For example, someone who struggles with Auto-immune Disease cannot afford the risk of a crowded doctor’s office for their monthly visits.

You may be wondering what this has to do with you and your small biz digital marketing leadership. Here’s what: be prepared to offer the convenience of a digital experience on the fly. For example, if you’re a construction contractor who builds pergolas, you can arrange a tele-visit and do it as you’re speaking to the client, by asking them to switch to a video call and show you around the planned pergola site.

To do this effectively, you’ll have to practice and get comfortable with the tech. But it’s worth it if you consider it from the client’s perspective (which we always should, right?). The customer gets touchless contact and quick answers to their questions.

From your point of view, it means less time driving and more time selling.

2. What does Tom Cruise have to do with this?

Security is a major theme in the Pew study.

It’s hard not to be a little spooked by the “deepfake” Tom Cruise videos generated via Artificial Intelligence. They are a stark reminder of the security concerns that grow along with the ever-growing capability of technology. The reality is it’s become naive to ignore digital security or simply provide the minimum.

So, how do you address this uneasy undercurrent around security?

While, it’s a no-brainer that you implement the processes that protect your customer’s online security, building trust by the way you do business can be every bit as powerful.

For example, be a risk absorber. Think through your sales process – again from the customer’s perspective – and see where you can reduce the risk. Little things can make a big difference. Consider guarantees – everyone offers them, but not everyone takes the time to emphasize them. And fewer still develop guarantees that are unique and generous.

Here’s a great example from a company that sells information products:

I recommend that you NEVER buy anything that isn’t 100% guaranteed. And with this homestudy you get our ‘Smiley Guarantee’. Which means that if you decide all this information is rubbish, you can literally email us and we’ll give you all your money back. With no questions asked. Email me within 30 days for a complete refund. And I’ll be happy to refund your money with a smile.

Can you see how this minimizes the risk and increases the prospect’s sense of security about doing business? Securing the relationship, not just the technology, is how you will differentiate yourself in the future and create predictable success.

3. Only fools and foreigners try to predict the Texas weather

One could say something similar about this unpredictable tele-everything, deepfake world we now live in.

Business realities can change in an instant, but you can be a trustworthy source of digital information for your prospects and customers by providing a transparent, reliable, and unique experience.

Do it with empathy, and clients will see you as far more than a service provider. You’ll become a TRUE partner.

The future will continue to unfold with its difficulties and opportunities. Why not make others’ difficulty your opportunity to lead with trust?

By the way, we recommend you spend some time reading the PEW study and would love to know your reactions to it.

And pay no attention to those deepfake Tom Cruise videos.

The post Three Focus Areas for Digital Marketing Leadership in Uncertain Times appeared first on Platform Creator.

As an online platform creator, helping companies with social media, media planning and buying, website design and SEO in the Dallas area, 2015 was a year in which we played a lot of Wack-O-Mole. We spent a lot of time fixing things, but spent little time building. We’re pledging to change our mindset, by creating productive habits, casting a new vision, and chasing after trouble. To start building something great, 3 keys need to be cut:

• Habits
• Vision
• Mindset

Habits are hard to change. But, discipline is not the key. We’ve seen how upward of 90% of New Year’s Resolutions are broken within the first month. You might ask about the research on that stat, but we just made an educated guess based on personal observations. That’s a bad habit we need to break. Seriously, though, you are already completely disciplined in your current routine, even if it’s an unhealthy one. We’ve read that it takes 21 days to start a new habit. So, why try to start 3 or 4 new habits or resolutions at a time, when failure is likely? There is a productive place for failure, but not in continually setting unreasonable expectations. Try doing one new positive thing for 21 days.

• Simple Changes to Better Wellness
• Small Measurable Changes Over Time (Kaizen)

Vision: Where There is No Vision, the People Will Perish. Likewise, when a company has no vision, it too will perish. Many companies claim to have open door policies and claim that ‘We want you to bring truthful answers to meetings’. However, they continue to lack the qualities of casting real vision. Three fatal mistakes companies make when attempting to create vision are:

• Employees are punished for speaking truthfully or openly discussing potential problems.
• Management does not value employees’ input.
• Management does not trust employees to make mistakes.

If you want a culture of growth and trust, you must be willing to be vulnerable and open to change. Gossip is not productive, but having an open discussion with input from a variety of different employees is valuable. If you trust, even an intern, with making mistakes that might not be costly in millions of dollars, but maybe hundreds, it can create a real proving ground for growth and employees embracing the vision of a company. Give ownership to all levels of employees and they will feel like apart of the vision. You want to build a team of advocates not gossips.

Part of casting a new vision starts with creating a new mindset.

Here’s how trouble-making expert, Mark Modesti, helps frame the mindset.

“Here’s what I mean: Our lives – personally and professionally – are shaped by the problems we take on. As a salesperson, one of my objectives is to challenge my clients to take on the problems – the trouble—that will transform their business.

I think trouble gets a bad reputation – undeservedly so. Trouble is actually an in-your-face kind of friend. If you don’t look for it, it’s going to come looking for you.

In my experience, I’ve found there are two different mindsets that determine how people deal with the trouble that comes their way – and the trouble they choose to go after. There’s the fixer mindset and the builder mindset.

Truth is, none of us can just be one or the other. But to me fixers are often caught up with just keeping up. I think we all get in this mode from time-to-time where we’re constantly playing whack-a-mole with our problems.

Builders are a little more interested in measured, focused impact. They look for the opportunity to swing big.

So, which are you? Fixer or builder?”

Troublemakers Who Were Willing to Swing Big:

Abraham Lincoln Embraced Opponents to Form His Inner-Circle

• Abraham Lincoln’s Cabinet Selection
• The Power of Lincoln’s Message

Founder of Netflix Visits Blockbuster Offering to Run the Blockbuster Brand Online

• Former Blockbuster CEO Tells His Side Of Netflix Story
• What Startups Can Learn From Netflix

TOMS Shoes Founder Started Something That Matters

• TOMS Shoes One for One Model
• Start Something That Matters

Whether you’re building an online platform filled with SEO, social media, website design, media planning and buying or building a service company or brick-and-mortar storefront, put down the Wack-O-Mole hammer for just a minute and think about what kind of company you are building. What is your vision? Do your employees embrace it and repeat it to others. Do you run away from trouble or tackle it? Are you a fixer or builder?

Part of this blog was reposted with permission of Longitudes, the UPS blog devoted to the trends shaping the global economy.

The post 3 Keys to Building Something Great appeared first on Platform Creator.

So at some point in life we traded what we wanted to do when we were nine for what we thought we needed to do in our teens, twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. The progression was gradual for most. Maybe you got married and had children in your twenties and the dream to start your own shop slowly faded.

It’s not easy to raise a family, work full time, go to school, and work on your dream project, let alone even think about what it would take to launch. It’s great to pour your life into another person; feeding, clothing and loving them, and teaching and guiding them to a better life.

But, what kind of example are we setting if we are teach our kids, co-workers, and friends ‘I just don’t have time to pursue my dreams?’

Have you caught yourself saying and thinking?

• I don’t have time to work out.
• I always wanted to start a blog, but I don’t know how to get started.
• I’ll like to eat healthy food but it takes too long to cook.
• I’d like to find a better job, but I don’t have the skill set.
• I deserve a raise or promotion because I’ve been here longer.

Prioritize

If getting the right job, a promotion, or starting a new business is really important to you, make getting that job more important than catching up with your favorite TV programs. You can do it! If you just cut a couple hours out of your TV viewing per week and worked online developing a new skill, in a matter of a few weeks, you could launch ahead of the average person in your industry. Want to be a thought leader? Don’t wait for your company to train you. Train yourself. Udemy has over 16,000 courses online. It’s excellent to put God and family ahead of career, personal branding, or business ownership. However, you could become who you wanted to be when you were nine by simply putting ‘take daily steps to start a new blog’ or ‘sign up for flying lessons’ or ‘I’m going to work out for 30 minutes today’ in front of ‘watch more TV’. Leisure is important. But, maybe we should delete it from our top 5 list.

Direction Matters

Fred Smith, Sr. responded to questions about goal setting with the comment: “Direction is more critical than goals.” He would often ask people, “Are you satisfied with the direction you are going?” You may be moving in life at a rapid pace, but in which direction are you moving?

Many people think that in order to land their dream job, attract the ideal client or secure that great promotion, it just takes hard work, dedication and expertise. In part, that’s true.

Lida Citroen

Lisa goes on to tell the importance of listening to your target market to find out what their needs are and how to meet those needs in a way that makes you irresistible to your target audience. It’s about creating your personal brand.

Create Your Personal Brand

It starts today; start making one difficult decision today. It will pay off dividends for the future. In the end, the sum of the difficult decisions you make will shape your legacy and your brand.

• Instead of sharing photos or stories about your family, spend fifteen minutes listening to a colleague, supervisor, client, family member. What are their needs? What do they believe? What are they concerned about?
• Instead of promoting your services or your company’s features and benefits, share or promote someone else’s ideas.
• Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (Matt 6:3b). Help others without trying to get attention for yourself. Why? It’s the right thing to do and it will help you focus on helping your clients get better results instead of how you will benefit from it. The good news is that if you’re clients are gaining profits, they just might have more money to spend with you.

What is the one difficult decision you can make today that will help enhance your personal brand?

The post Are You Who You Want to Be? appeared first on Platform Creator.

So after a few prods, I decided to attend. After all, it’s hard to say ‘no’ to Bob, one of the most-connected, kind, and intentional men I know. I’m glad I did and I would encourage you to attend as well.

There is something magical about attending an event that connects people live from places around the world.

Hearing the infectious laugh of the influential and peaceful Bishop Desmund Tutu, live from South Africa, or internalizing the inspiring story of former advertising executive, Laura Schroff’s encounter with an 11-year-old panhandler, or connecting with Braveheart’s screenwriter, Randall Wallace’s testimony. In a word, it’s a powerful and welcome attack on your senses.

If your leadership is not all about you it will live beyond you.

–         Andy Stanley

Leadercast is focused on building Leaders Worth Following.

Leadership is not reserved for those with a ‘C’ in their title. We need better leaders in our communities, businesses, organizations, and in homes across the world. Leadercast exists to serve individuals and organizations across all sectors who want to become intentional about raising their standard of leadership.

Leadercast believes that certain behaviors serve as the framework of a leader worth following:

• • Simplicity – brings clarity to the complex.
  • Creativity – fosters an atmosphere that allows others to dream.
  • Bravery – possesses a posture of unrelenting boldness.
  • Beyond You – leverages influence for the sake of others.
  • Insight – resolves to consistently do the wise thing.
  • Vision – moves towards a preferred future with little deviation.
  • Culture – architects the conditions to win.

Leadercast exists to positively change the way the world thinks about leadership.

The 2015 theme — The Brave Ones — challenges leaders to lead with a sense of Bravery, possessing a posture of unrelenting boldness. Join Atlanta’s best leaders at Leadercast Live on May 8, 2015 and discover what it means to be a leader worth following.

Now I can stay focused on SEO, Social Media, advertising, and blogging. But now, I can focus with better simplicity, creativity, insight, bravery, and vision, in a way that connects with and serves our culture for the sake of others. I’ll see you in 2015 in Atlanta or maybe from a satellite event in the  Dallas, Ft. Worth Area!

Thank you for the invite, Bob. Want to get to know Bob? His blog is www.leadingwithquestions.com.

The post Key Behaviors of a Leader Worth Following appeared first on Platform Creator.