As an analyst, I spend my days working with data, defining business requirements, calculating, pivot tables, graphs, and analytical work. With an underdeveloped right brain, I set out to figure ways to integrate my creative artistic abilities into my analytical work. It started out with a discussion with a friend over coffee about how she’s using her right brain and I’m using my left. We concluded that I should figure a creative outlet. With that, I went to Target and bought a classic Crayola 64 crayon box. It has yet to be used.

As a management consultant, I’m called upon to explain complex topics to executives and directors and to communicate results to the lay reader. My organic chemistry notes in undergrad were all pictures. I used a lot of picture to illustrate some convoluted concepts.

After stumbling upon a few websites through my regular blogs, I came across VizThink, a visual thinking community blog. After a few hours, I read all their posts and dug through each one.

• Dan Roam’s Back of the Napkin
• Dave Gray and Sunni Brown’s Gamestorming
• David Sibbet’s Visual Meetings
• Nancy Duarte’s Slide:ology and Resonate

I also ran out and bought things to help me practice my new skillset:

• Sketchbook Pro for Mac and iPad
• Wacom bamboo tablet
• Two whiteboard and two acrylic boards
• A lot of butcher paper and many sharpies

At first, my work products were terrible. My handwriting was awful and my drawings were terrible. But with all things, it just takes practice, practice, and more practice.

I’m not there yet. I’m still honing these skills.

In June, I’ll be attending Edward Tufte’s course on Presenting Data and Information. I hope to have him sign my iPad.

In September, I’m taking a course through The Grove International on Principles of Graphic Facilitation and Workplace Applications.

Are you a visual thinker or graphic facilitator? How did you get started? Who inspired yet?

Have you learned something completely outside of your field and applied it? How did you do it?

photo credit: Alex E. Proimos

When small business is competing with big business, money usually beats out when it comes to hiring. Nevertheless, this doesn’t stop small businesses and even governments from attracting the best and brightest by offering perks and benefits that big business cannot provide.

Small businesses are nimble and can offer an entrepreneurial environment that big business may not always be able to.

Here are three things that Michael Hess, founder and CEO of Skooba design, suggest to make create an attractive environment for potential employees:

• Create an outstanding work environment
• Find anything and everything that can be turned into a benefit, no matter how small
• Still, pay as well as you can

Beat the Big Guys at Hiring the Best {BNet}

It’s a fact of life, social media is here to stay. Sites like Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter are all reaching critical mass. It’s not just a network for college students or adolescence teenagers anymore. We’re starting to see professionals, celebrities, and even politicians publishing profiles, blogs, and even tweets. Rather than use a wait and see approach, companies should be proactive and take steps to build a framework for a well developed company policy on the use of social media.

Companies should develop and formalize official company policies and procedures for the use of social media and social networking. For purposes of this post, I refer to social media as any usage of Web 2.0 technologies and sites such as blogging, microblogging (twitter, plurk), photosharing (flickr, twitpic), video sharing (YouTube, Vimeo), lifecasting (blogtv, qik), networking (Linkedin, Plaxo), and so forth. If you don’t understand what social networking is, refer to the short video in the media box.

photo credit: : amanda

Developing formal company policies on social media

The Virginia Lawyer’s Weekly published an article suggesting that companies develop formal policies regarding employee blogging to manage risks. Increasing use of social media, for professional and personal reasons, calls for the needs to clearly defined allowable uses of these tools.

A good policy should clearly define the extent and definition of social media and social networking. It includes blogs, networking sites, photo sharing, video sharing, microblogging, podcasts, as well as comments posted on the sites. Because social media is relatively new and growing exponentially fast, policies should be general enough to encompass new technologies and media, yet be specific enough to cover all areas of concern.

Putting disclaimers and disclosures

If you work for a corporation, nonprofit, or government agency, it’s always a good idea to be clear to your readers and network that the information you post is not reflective of the company you work for.

Here is an example of a disclosure statement to include in your personal blog to ensure that readers are aware that the content of your blog is yours and yours alone and do not represent the views of the company:

“The posts on this site, including but not limited to images, links, and comments by left by readers, are my own and don’t necessarily represent my employers positions, strategies or opinions.”

Sample Social Networking Policies

Below are some suggested policies that you can incorporate into an official company policy:

The following is the company’s social media and social networking policy. The absence of, or lack of explicit reference to a specific site does not limit the extent of the application of this policy. Where no policy or guideline exist, employees should use their professional judgment and take the most prudent action possible. Consult with your manager or supervisor if you are uncertain.

1. Personal blogs should have clear disclaimers that the views expressed by the author in the blog is the author’s alone and do not represent the views of the company. Be clear and write in first person. Make your writing clear that you are speaking for yourself and not on behalf of the company.
2. Information published on your blog(s) should comply with the company’s confidentiality and disclosure of proprietary data policies. This also applies to comments posted on other blogs, forums, and social networking sites.
3. Be respectful to the company, other employees, customers, partners, and competitors.
4. Social media activities should not interfere with work commitments. Refer to IT resource usage policies.
5. Your online presence reflects the company. Be aware that your actions captured via images, posts, or comments can reflect that of our company.
6. Do not reference or site company clients, partners, or customers without their express consent. In all cases, do not publish any information regarding a client during the engagement.
7. Respect copyright laws, and reference or cite sources appropriately. Plagiarism applies online as well.
8. Company logos and trademarks may not be used without written consent.

Remember that this is only a sample and framework for social media policies. In developing policies and procedures for your company, you should tailor the language to reflect the culture and the company environment. Depending on the usage of social media, policies should be more or less explicit, particularly in defining terms.

photo credit: Hyaku Shiki

Resources

The following is a list of social media policies. If you have any other good resources, please let a comment so I can update the list for others.

Company Policies:

• IBM Social Computing Guidelines - IBM has a well developed set of policies for social computing.
• Sun Microsystems Guidelines on Public Discourse – SUN also has a well developed guidelines for publishing online.
• Harvard Law Blogging Policy – They have a very legalese disclaimer language you can use for your own blog.
• Ernst & Young Facebook Page – E&Y has a well developed careers page on Facebook. They are clear with their participants on their policies.

Blog posts on social media policies:

• Fast Wonder Social Media Policies – Good post and includes some explicit topics to include in your policies, as well as things to NOT include, particularly over bureaucratic processes.
• Jeremiah Owyang Variance of Corp Social Media Policies – Forrester researching polling the community of social media practices. Jeremiah is a leading resource for all things social media.
• Blogging Policy Examples – Another Forrester researcher on blogging policies, for company and personal blog policies. Also see Forrester Blogging Report – You have to register to get the report (for free).
• About.com Social Media Policy Sample – This is another fairly comprehensive policy. It’s one of the most well developed policies out there and can be a great starting point to developing your own.
• 30 Tips to Manage Employees Online – Ari includes a fairly exhaustive list of online guidelines.

A Call for Help

This post is by no means a comprehensive set of policy examples, guidelines, and resources. Please leave suggestions and references in the comments. I will update and grow this post to reflect your feedback.

Edit: 3.3.2010 – Thanks for coming to read. The search engines have been pulling a lot of you to this post. If your company is looking for an assessment, my firm offers performance based management system reviews that also addresses your social media strategies. Check out my professional profile on my company website.

A few months ago, I read a tweet regarding a teleconference with Guy Kawasaki, John Jantsch, and Penelope Trunk. It was to promote Guy’s new book “Reality Check.” Up to this point, I had no clue what Author Teleseminars were about, other than a few of my trusted twitter friends had posted a phone number and a conference call code. What the heck I said and I dialed in.

To my surprise, it was facilitated very well by book marketer Elizabeth Marshall, of Marketing Marshall. The conversation revolved around entrepreneurs and panel provide real world insight into starting a business, bootstrapping, working with investors, and more. Unlike a real book tour, a virtual conference calls allows you to participate in the convenience of your own time and location. The most insightful part of the call was the Q&A session at the end, where people posted questions and asked the panelists.

At the end of the call, and almost every call, Elizabeth usually presents a special offer. For example, in Guy’s case, it meant buying three of his books, and getting three other books for free. Other offers include a free seminar by the book author to improve marketing efforts.

Upcoming February 2009 calls

To give you a feel for the type of quality authors and panelists on the call, here’s a sampling of the February calls.

CALL #1: Wed, Feb 11 at 3pm ET (Get Content Get Customers #2

This is the 2nd call in the Get Content Get Customers book tour featuring Joe Pulizzi and Newt Barrett and experts Brian Clark (copyblogger) and Rohit Bhargava (big following on twitter).  Their first call was a BIG hit, so I know this one will be great as well.

CALL #2: Mon, Feb 16 at 12pm/Noon ET (It’s Not What You Sell Book)

This book is big, with endorsements by Bill Clinton, Herb Kelleher, and Jim Collins.  It’s the first call for Roy Spence and his book, It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For.  In a nut shell, Roy talks about how remarkable companies always sell based on what they stand for and how having an authentic brand actually helps you sell more, not less.  He gives a blueprint for discovering what you stand for and leveraging that with sales/customers. Roy’s company is the GENIUS behind all the successful Southwest Airlines ads over the last 30 yrs – brilliant!

CALL #3: Thurs, Feb 19 at 2pm ET (Rubies in the Orchard)

Lynda Resnick is a brilliant business woman – one that you have seen the evidence of her work.  She’s the genius behind POM wonderful, the pomegranate juice that created an entirely new industry that had Oprah raving about her product.  She’s also the reason that Fiji water is the number #1 bottled water company, with an 300% increase in sales since 2004. On the call, we wil talk about her key marketing secrets that have made her into one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country. By the way, she rubs shoulders with some of the most well-known CEOs and celebrities, so she’s someone you want to get to know!

How do I participate or learn more

The best way is to sign up for the email list at Author Teleseminars. I’m a member myself and receive a very reasonable amount of email. They are usually to announce the upcoming call, give you the call in number, and provide you a link to the .mp3 recording. Alternatively, follow me on twitter @danielhoang and receive my updates.

Disclaimer: I’m a member of Elizabeth Marshall’s Author Teleseminars ambassadors group. We meet monthly to discuss ways to share this resource to a wider and broad audience. I receive no monetary compensation for participating.

Holidays are a great time to “Press the Reset Button On Your Life.” Whether you’re taking time off for Christmas, or protesting for a more inclusive holiday season free from religion, the fact is, that people are socializing, spending time with family, or on vacation. Other than the service industry, things do slow down, and this presents an opportunity to revisit your priorities, plan for the upcoming year, and reflect on the concluding year:

1. Refine and validate that your goals are still aligned with your values. Call it New Year resolutions or what you may, goals are important because it gives you milestones to track your progress. A healthy balance of long-term strategic goals and short-term quick wins can help you monitor your success. Reflect on what has worked and what hasn’t worked in 2008 and what you can do differently in 2009.
2. Revisit and prioritize your commitments. In a world of limited resources, primarily time and money, we have to ensure that we’re committing our resources to what’s working and reduce or eliminate to what’s not. This means evaluating what social networks you belong to, whether it be virtual (twitter, facebook) or real (clubs, associations), and determine the time and resources you are committing to each. Are you putting in too much effort for little return? If so, consider eliminating that from your commitment and focus your energies on the ones that are providing you a healthy return (more contacts, personal satisfaction, conversations).
3. Secure your life though financial independence and adequately insuring it. Take the steps needed to financial peace of mind. If you’re not there yet, try Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps. This means saving for an emergency fund, paying off debt aggressively (if you have debt), and taking steps to save for retirement (never to late or never too early). Also don’t forget to make sure that you’ve adequately insured yourself to prevent catastrophic losses. This includes home insurance or renter’s insurance, adequate insurance for autos, particularly for bodily harm, and flood/fire/etc as relevant in your geographic location. The more you have, the greater you have to lose, so protect yourself accordingly.

Regardless of the amount of reflection, planning, and prioritization, be thank for for what we have. In these tough economic times, we’re lucky to have a job, a roof over our heads, and a warm meal. Things can be worse, and they are for 95% of the world.

What else are you doing to prepare for the new year?

$700B to the financial sector. $25B to the auto makers. A couple billion here and a couple billion there. At the national and federal level, decisions are made that affect millions and cost billions. At the local level, say city and county, decisions affects thousands and costs thousands to hundreds of thousands to a few million tops. It can be as simple as where to transplant a tree to how far back from the curb should the property be.

“When you choose to serve — whether it’s your nation, your community or simply your neighborhood — you are connected to that fundamental American ideal that we want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not just for ourselves, but for all Americans. That’s why it’s called the American dream.”

Lessons Learned

I recently applied for and was appointed to the City of Davis Finance and Budget Commission. As a commissioner, I review technical finance and budgeting issues that the city faces and make recommendations to the City Council. Here is what I’ve learned so far:

1. Local government is very low level work. The issues that face local government does not have the same appeal as national issues. It includes how much to budget for fire and police services and whether to fund another fire station. However, local government is where the real action happens. It’s where the Billions from the federal government finally get spent and effect positive (or negative) change.
2. Participating can be very rewarding. While participating in local government for a small city won’t give you the press that most politicians get or even A-list bloggers get, it can be very rewarding. Decisions made and recommendations presented affect people. This is real change down to the lowest level.
3. It’s great on the job training. Where else can you learn about development impact fees, the city budgeting process, or financial forecasting but actually see it and experiencing it. True, most of my undergraduate and graduate courses have already covered these topics, however, seeing it first hand is something else. Depending on how you participate, it can provide subject matter knowledge and experience.
4. People you meet are well established. Local government is typically resourced by experienced and well established people. There are also very many 20-somethings in prominent local government positions including City Council, Mayors, and County Executives.

photo credit: Chuckumentary

How to Participate

There are many ways to participate in local government above and beyond voting. Here are just a few ideas.

• Sign up for President-Elect Obama’s “America Serves“
• Visit your city’s website and search for appointed positions, such as commissions, committees, or work groups
• Volunteer for local city services such as libraries, public safety, parks
• Run for office
• Attend city council meetings
• Attend public meetings for transit agencies
• Make sure that government is open
• Find resources at change.org
• What other ideas do you have? Post them in the comments below.

Since joining the commission, I’ve found that the lessons learned, connections made, and reward are many fold. Not only does participating returns positive results, it affects the community you live in and the lives of those around you.

Brazen Careerist, an online community known as the career center for Generation Y, recently revamped its site and make it more socially interactive. It started as a network of 50 beta bloggers and has grown to over 350 20-something, Gen-Y bloggers (I joined in May 2008). First off, congrats to the BC team for their hard work and how far they’ve gone and how far they’ll continue moving forward.

What is amazing about the site/community is the commonality shared among the entrepreneurial members. Each member brings unique aspects of their young, yet accomplished careers. For example, I met Allie, a public relations and social media analyst who had a great podcast interview with Blagica, an Internet Marketing consultant. Earlier today, I had a brief phone conversation with Clara, a recent MBA grad and we bounced ideas on social media marketing. We exchanged over twitter. Additionally, I wrote a post on experience and political careers and referenced Jen who now writes for change.org on Women’s Rights. This goes on and on and on.

I look forward to future opportunities and doors opening by remaining active in the community.

Networking used to be attending special interest meetings, exchanging business cards, and making phone calls. Today, it’s still that. However, the growth of social networking sites has enhanced the experience in many new ways.

Social Networking

Sites like Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIN, and other community oriented groups makes it easy to connect with old acquaintances and new connections. I’ve been to professional meetings and later connected to people I met over LinkedIN. On the flip side, I’ve been to casual social gathers and connected on Facebook. Other status updating sites like Twitter, makes it even easier to connect to random people you’ve never met. More importantly, as you “follow” their stream of updates, you eventually get to know them really well, often even better than your real friends. Many active social networking advocates even go as far as recommending that you build an online presence, or more accurately, an online brand through these social networking sites. See Social Media Reality Check: How Deep is Your Brand – Tiffany Monhollon.

The logic behind this is simple: social media has the ability to connect you to some of the most influential, popular, and interesting people in the world. The problem behind how many people apply this logic is also simple: simply having the word “friend” or “follow” between you and someone else doesn’t mean a real connection exists. – Tiffany Monhollon

The act of “friending” someone is very similar to trading business cards, except the online profile reveals so much more information. Rather than simply a contact tool, it opens the window into a person’s personal and professional portfolio. While person to person networking is essential (See Networking is Critical to Business Success – Newly Corporate), here are five reasons for using social networking sites to connect to people:

1. Economies of scale – Unlike your Rolodex, it takes very little time to go from a handful of connections to hundreds and even thousands. With a few keystrokes and a click of the mouse, you can broadcast information to your network, as well as receive a constant stream of information from them. Just don’t forget about quality vs. quantity: It’s about the QUALITY of your connections – Jun Loayza.
2. Ease of use – While it can be intimidating to understand the concepts of feeds and streams, once you have things setup, it’s pretty much “set it and forget it.” The amount of resources (time and money) required to maintain online networks is vastly less than person-to-person networks. Even tools such as socialminder sends you weekly e-mails to remind you who to contact and even recommends articles to send to your contact.
3. Record keeping and analysis – For better or for worse, online interactions are logged and archived, usually at the loss of personal privacy. However, it also keeps a history of your social interactions to your network. New tools, such as socialminder, even provides analytics on how often you are communicating with key contacts, and even recommends news articles to initiate conversation.
4. Open doors – Social networks grants you access to a vast range of issue topics and group interests, all at your finger tips. There’s no geographical constraints or resource restrictions. For example, go search Twitter for key words and you’ll have instant access to thousands of people interested in that topic.
5. Leverage the power of crowds – Never before has it been possible to pose questions to your network and get responses so quickly. Sites such as Digg uses the power of the crowd to percolate items of interest through online voting whiles sites like Alltop uses complex algorithms along with the constant “chatter” online to bring resources of interest to the top.

photo credit: Andrew Feinberg

Conclusion

While nothing beats having a sit down cup of coffee with a business associate, it can’t hurt to expand your network exponentially using social networking tools. However, just don’t think that your online social network is a real indicating of how many “friends” or “followers” you truly have. That requires old fashion “keeping in contact” with people through real conversations and discussions. Social networking sites are only a mechanism for doing so and doesn’t replace one-on-one interactions.

Furthermore, the ease of these sites and the ability to reach hundreds and thousands of contacts can be a curse in of itself. As the number of sites you use, and the number of friends or follows you have increases, the level of effort also increases and brand dilution occurs.

My next project is to develop a social media/networking goal setting worksheet and strategy document a la Social Media Reality Check: How Deep is Your Brand – Tiffany Monhollon. The tool will assess your goals and purpose for maintaining each site and determine the optimal sites to allocate your resources. Any preliminary thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated in the comments section.