Line or staff? [Shared article]

Here's an article I came across which I thought was worth sharing with you:
The most urgent jobs tend to be line jobs. Profit and loss. Schedules to be drawn and honored. Projects to deliver. The line manager initiates. The line manager delivers. Staff jobs are important, no…

http://ift.tt/1ulwBMJ

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"But why aren't you hysterical?" [Shared article]

Here's an article I came across which I thought was worth sharing with you:
I wonder if this has always been true: When things start to go awry, we get frustrated at leaders (or employees or co-workers) who seem to be calmly considering the options and doing their best work…

http://ift.tt/10omqzF

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Your success is their success.

The reason for that previous piece, was from a recent chat with a friend who was pencilled in for a one-to-one with their line manager to discuss 'future plans and career aspirations'.* 

Enthusiastically, they told me they were going to mention that after three or four years in their current position they were getting restless and felt ready for that promotion. Playing devil's advocate, I pushed back and asked what role would that be? 

After a few minutes of head scratching, came the slow realisation they were going into this meeting without any objective, outcome or clear plan in mind on how they would move to that next level. What a scary thought.

All to often, I have met people who sleepwalk through a "career" by taking each day as it comes and only living in the moment. Or they under-value themselves and simply don't actually ask for that promotion. Or are too proud to take on that Mentor. Or too lazy to reach out and offer their help. Or too shy to network. BALLS!

Your career is too important to leave to others to decide for you. Or worse, to be ignored completely. You're worth way more than that.

* Bonus tip: EVERY meeting with your line minager should be around your 'future plans and career aspirations'. Whether it's the project you're working on, or those boring budgets or even an informal catch-up over coffee - just remember, your success is their success.


Give your career the goals and health check it deserves.

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Paying the interest on your lifestyle 'credit card'?

After months away from MyKitchenSync, just came across this post in my drafts folder. Perhaps it deserves the light of day...


I posted a tweet some time back which quickly got a few retweets and replies:



Over on Facebook, I followed this up with a more introspective view on the idea:
"Been thinking a lot about mortality and lifestyle recently. A colleague was cleared of cancer by his doctor last night while another family friend was given just 12 months to live by his.
This morning I received news that a dear friend is recovering from a sudden stroke after having dinner with Mrs. K. only a few nights previously in Kathmandu. 
Even here on Facebook I have 3 or 4 friends in my list who are actually gone long before their time - their pages remaining as a tribute. 
If you smoke, drink, make poor diet choices or balk at the idea of exercise - good for you. Enjoy it. After all, it's your life.
But be prepared NOT to see out that retirement. Be prepared for NOT watching your children or grandchildren grow up. Be prepared for leaving your friends and family to wipe away tears of regret and sadness at your lost potential.
One day the interest on that lifestyle 'credit card' has to be paid back. Start today. You owe it to yourself."

Three  four years ago I gave up alcohol. Two three years ago I took up running as a ‘quick' way of losing weight (and it worked as I now carry about 12Kgs 18Kgs less around with me all day). Giving up sugar is next on my list and will be my biggest hurdle yet. [It is.]

To try and build on this momentum, I have also recently been toying with the idea of adapting a more vegetarian and, dare I say it, vegan lifestyle. That might be a step too far just right now (since it will be a family decision), but my point is change IS possible.

So many industry leaders talk up their belief in 'business transformation’, 'change management’ and ‘driving innovation’. And they believe it. Really they do. But how many put the same level of planning and investment into their own lifestyle. 

We know what happens to a car when you don't look after the engine, so why put a business or retirement plan in place where you're not around to reap the reward.

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You mean I ran 2500Kms! Now that's a milestone. #nikeplus


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Tapping back into My Kitchen Sync

"MyKitchenSync!! Where have you been?" A seemingly silly question the other night from someone who, like me, spends an inordinate amount of time reaching out and building communities on social media. They even joked that I might have left the country. Whoa! For a guy who is ALWAYS connecting on social media, this was certainly a wake up call.

The irony of course is that just as I took up my exciting new role as Social Business Manager at BaxterStorey, my own personal social presence dropped off the radar for longer than I had anticipated. 



One of the key reasons for this was to do with focus. On the 3rd of February this year I was handed an iPhone for my job and some passwords. As I logged in to take a look under the hood (dashboards, stats etc.), the reality of tweeting out as our company brand began to weigh on my mind. "OK.... where do I start? What do I say? Who am I talking to?" Answering these questions was going to help me find that tone and voice that would bring the brand to life in an authentic, professional and relevant way. I also wanted to ensure we displayed a sense of fun and personality. A tall order perhaps.

With so many different stories, perspectives and audience stakeholders, I knew the only way for me to create an authentic brand persona was to immerse myelf fully in our conversation on Twitter (and other channels, but Twitter is acutely 'in the moment'). This consequently meant that my own personal brand (known as MyKitchenSync to most people outside Facebook) was left to wither on the vine somewhat. 

Anyone who knows me will know that running is very therapeutic for me, and I had been giving this some real reflection to understand the bigger picture. Here's how I see it...



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Running allows me to reflect, recharge and re-focus. Like this chap... #nikeplus


Many business and thought leaders will extoll the value of maintaining a good work-life balance if you are to 'go the distance' in life. And right now, I am very happy with the world we have created as a familly so we can enjoy that sense of well-being and satisfaction. 

In a virtual world however, I have found that being paid to do 'social' really challenges this principle in a complex way. The very nature of being on social means developing an actively expressive personal brand, a sort of 'shop window' for your personality if you will, through which many people see and interact with you online. 

The dilemma comes when you open up a second 'shop window' to showcase that business brand you are paid to represent. Now you have the dilemma of two windows showcasing two narratives to two audiences. The question is, where does one end and the other begin? This conundrum was a real challenge for me at the outset, so I decided to just focus on the business one until I got that right and worry about the juggling later.

Over time, my tweeting and writing as and for the BaxterStorey brand has become almost second nature and this has alowed me to work towards finding that 'virtual work - life balance' specifically in relation to my social presence.

So here I am back in MyKitchenSync and commiting a few words of personal introspection to make up for the long absence.  Over the next few weeks I am hoping to share a few thoughts and perspectives just to reconnect with my personal community on social. It's time to start separating out my own worldview, away from the work persona that I passionately live and breathe every day.

If I get it right, then 'MyKitchenSync' reconnects with a hugely important community in my life. If I get it wrong however, then learning from those possible missteps will help me put a case study into my training workshops for others to learn from. 

Not giving it a go however, would be the biggest mistake of all since you are defined by your community. This is true in business, in play and in life. What does your community say about you?


Please feel free to leave a comment. And if you enjoyed reading this you may like other related posts listed below. To receive future posts don't forget to subscribe via email (just enter your email above), or by RSS, or why not follow me on twitter @mykitchensync.

Facebook Image Sizes: Everything You Need to Know (Infographic) [Shared article]

Here's an article I came across which I thought was worth sharing with you:
Popular Today in Social: All Popular ArticlesFacebookBy Jonathan Payne, Published January 21, 2014A graphic designer’s dream: the sizes of every Facebook image in one, easy-to-find…

http://ift.tt/1l4Y729

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10 Steps For Building A Social Company Culture That Propels Your Business [Shared article]

Here's an article I came across which I thought was worth sharing with you:
Anyone attuned to how social and mobile technology is changing business will have witnessed a clear cycle of adoption over the last few years. First, we saw B2C companies respond to consumer demands…

http://www.forbes.com/sites/simonmainwaring/2013/06/03/10-steps-for-building-a-social-company-culture-that-propels-your-business/

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How Brand Storytelling Helps Enterprises Go “The Extra Mile” [Shared article]

Here's an article I came across which I thought was worth sharing with you:
Emerson’s chief marketing officer since 1999, Kathy Button Bell has overseen a massive rebranding effort that dropped the “electric” in the company’s name and brought 35…

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/01/brand-storytelling-enterprise-business-excellence/

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How much does it cost you to avoid the feeling of risk? [Shared article]

Here's an article I came across which I thought was worth sharing with you:
Not actual risk, but the feeling that you're at risk? How many experiences are you missing out on because the (very unlikely) downsides are too frightening to contemplate? Are you avoiding leading,…

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/01/how-much-does-it-cost-you-to-avoid-the-feeling-of-risk.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29

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2014 – The Embolden Years: Change agents lead the way for digital transformation

Brian Solis (author of 'WTF: What’s the Future of Business’) swaps predictions for what he sees as major trends and shares the top five areas that his Altimeter group will be focusing their research on in 2014. 

This is an excellent barometer of things to come, both this year and next, from one of the world’s foremost thought leaders in the subject of Digital Transformation and Social Business.

Companies that fail to keep up with the changing face of tech and customer experiences and expectations will be killed off by what he describes as ‘Digital Darwinism. I tend to agree with that philosophy.

A couple of quotes that really stand out for me in his piece:
"Everything begins not with replacing legacy systems in favor of shiny new objects, but instead with the recognition of how customer and employee expectations and values have changed.”
Also: 
"This work will create new roles starting at the top with someone owning the customer experience.... While seemingly trendy, this function will unite marketing, sales, service and also IT. New areas of expertise will also be necessary to support these new efforts ranging from experience architects to digital anthropologists to data scientists to cross media strategists."

Bringing the IT team into the wider Social Business, Internal Comms, Sales and Marketing conversation (I SOO can’t wait for these to finally converge!) is absolutely key to promoting transformation and innovation from within. 

Oh, and if all this sounds very technical to you, think about it this way: if a menu was updated in line with a restaurant’s IT policy, how often would you go back hoping to be delighted by something new?

Yeah, that.

Please feel free to leave a comment. And if you enjoyed reading this you may like other related posts listed below. To receive future posts don't forget to subscribe via email (just enter your email above), or by RSS, or why not follow me on twitter @mykitchensync.

Video: Foursquare check-ins show the pulse of cities including London

From Foursquare Analytics:
Every day, millions of people check in on Foursquare. We took a year's worth of check‑ins in Istanbul, London, Chicago, Tokyo and San Francisco and plotted them on a map. Each dot represents a single check‑in, while the straight lines link sequential check‑ins.
What you can see here represents the power of check‑in data — on Foursquare, every city around the world pulses with activity every hour of every day.


Foursquare check-ins show the pulse of London from Foursquare on Vimeo
.
(Hat tip to @DannyWhatmough of KetchumUK for sharing this on Twitter)

Please feel free to leave a comment. And if you enjoyed reading this you may like other related posts listed below. To receive future posts don't forget to subscribe via email (just enter your email above), or by RSS, or why not follow me on twitter @mykitchensync.

The Ignored Side Of Social Media: Customer Service [Shared article]

Here's an article I came across which I thought was worth sharing with you:
In some industries, such as banking, social media care may run up against regulatory issues as well. Buckridee gave some examples of the hoops her team must jump through. “To a lot of…

http://www.forbes.com/sites/knowledgewharton/2014/01/09/22014/2/

via Readability (This post was formatted automatically by IFTTT, so apologies if I haven't tidied it up yet. TK)

5 Books That Should Be On Every Content Strategist’s Holiday Wish List [Shared article]

Here's an article I came across which I thought was worth sharing with you:
During my career working as a journalist and content strategist, I’ve found that the most valuable and enlightening thing I can do is get inside the head of someone way smarter than me.…

http://contently.com/strategist/2013/12/17/5-books-that-should-be-on-every-content-strategists-holiday-wish-list/

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Work experience teen from Mirfield lands job at top London eatery The Savoy [Shared article]

Here's an article I came across which I thought was worth sharing with you:
A teenage cook is set for a glamorous career after landing a job at a world-renowned hotel.Michael Lalousis became a commis chef at The Savoy in London after completing a cookery vocational…

http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/work-experience-teen-mirfield-lands-6411491

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NASA Takes You Inside Apollo 8, Recreates Experience of Taking Iconic Earthrise Photo [Shared article]

Here's an article I came across which I thought was worth sharing with you:
When it comes to iconic imagery, there are few individual photographers who can best NASA. From the pale blue dot, to the blue marble, to the amazing photo of Bruce McCandless II floating out into…

http://petapixel.com/2013/12/20/nasa-takes-inside-apollo-8-recreates-experience-taking-iconic-earthrise-photo/

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Create the Perfect Facebook Page, Insights From Gary Vaynerchuk, and More in HubSpot Content This Week [Shared article]

Here's an article I came across which I thought was worth sharing with you:
Poring over the content we put out this past week at HubSpot, one word really stuck out to me. It wasn't some newfangled buzzword, nor was it a word that's particularly exciting or memorable. The…

http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/facebook-page-gary-vaynerchuk-more-hubspot-content-sr

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Soft tissue [Shared article]

Here's an article I came across which I thought was worth sharing with you:
Most organizations are built around three anatomical concepts: Bone, muscle and soft tissue. The bones are the conceptual skeleton, the people who stand for something, who have been around, have a…

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/12/soft-tissue.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29

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