Leaders In the Know

Lessons From the Webinar School of Hard Knocks

Every consulting company seems to be jumping on the webinar train.  Unfortunately, many turn out to be "salesinars".  I hope the scales tip in the right direction: where webinars truly offer deep content and the potential for communities of interest to gather.   

As a presenter and as a participant, I really like webinars. As a presenter, it's a great way for me to connect with a large audience of folks who are interested in the same thing I am and I learn a lot.  I learn a lot being on the receiving end as well, and it gives me time I seldom find otherwise to de-clutter my desk, files or email.

Webinars illustrate why social computing is so tough. two of the five webcasts I was involved with this week had technical problems (both audio and visual) that actually never did get resolved during the hour. 

If your're thinking about presenting a webcast, here are some personal observations:

• Have something meaningful to share. The web is all about rich content - whether text, video, podcast or webinar. Thumbs down on salesinars.
• A rehearsal walk-through is a must - especially if you're not hosting the webcast yourself - but it isn't a guarantee. 
• Webinars resemble radio or TV news more than they do live seminars. That translates to brief self-contained segments and lots of visuals that keep changing.
• Webinars may not be for you if you hate the feeling that you're talking to yourself. There's just no way to describe the sensation of talking into a black hole.
• Webinars test your ability to engage in entertaining banter and storytelling when you're the only one in the room. It helps if you're not the only presenter.
• Answer questions submitted through chat as you go along rather than wait until the end. If one person's thinking it, probably others are too.

This week, Charlie and I had a terrific experience. We gave a Web 2.0 webinar for The Marketing Executives Group (MENG) where we engaged in conversation working from the same presentation deck. It was a lot more fun for us and I hope for the audience as well.

Princeton Community Works

Last evening 400 of us followed the balloons that led the path up Washington Road in Princeton, NJ to gather at the Frist Student Center on the Princeton University campus for Princeton Community Works.  (For those who aren't familiar  with it, this is an annual event that provides training and networking opportunities for leaders of non-profit organizations in the area.)

I was invited to give two sessions on "Using The Internet to Advance Your Non-Profit Organization: The "why to" and "how to" blogs, social networks and Web 2.0 Websites". 

We were filled to the brim.  An amazing array of organizations were represented.  What a lively conversation we had.  I typically speak in front of business audiences, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

We had some super questions that illustrate what so many people are wondering about the web but feel silly asking. Here are just a few.

"What's the difference between a blog and a wiki?" (You'd be surprised how many times a week I"m asked that question.)

"How do organizations use sites like LinkedIn and Facebook?" (Did I ever mention that Haldemann Ford in East Windsor tried to friend me? Yech.)

"Do you have to pay when you sign up for an RSS feed the same way you do when you subscribe to a magazine?" (Another business model for monetizing the web?)

"How on earth does anyone find the time to keep up with email, Facebook, blogging and following blogs?" (A real-life example goes a long way. Joann, who works here at Cognetics, agreed to share with the stunned group that she follows 100-plus blogs; I won't tell you how they reacted when she mentioned Flickr-ing and Tweeting.")

and my personal favorite:

"How do you get Web 2.0? Do you have to pay extra for it, or does it come with the Internet?"

The Social Web is a terrific platform for the non-profit, mission-based world. They know how to work relationships. They understand the importance of evangelists to their cause. They're used to working from the ground-up, relying on the grass-roots to grow.  Because most don't have a lot of money, they're used to low-budget, do-it-yourself  or get a volunteer to help. 

Once they learn to translate these skills in the web environment, watch out!  I suspect it will be transformational in terms of reach and in leveling the playing field between the Davids and Goliaths.  Go Princeton Community Works!

It's Hard to Remain Presidential While Engaged in a Brawl

Watching Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton duke it out on last night's presidential debates reminded some spectators of watching a boxing match.  No TKO's but plenty of blood.

We heard audible "boos" and gasps of disbelief from the dignified Myrtle Beach audience.  John Edwards just stood there taking it all in, waiting for his opportunity to rise above the fray.

The irony is that the brawl was over who has more (or maybe less) integrity: Hillary (accused of being a former board member of Walmart and recipient of big company financing) or Barak (who apparently represented a slum lord and worked the Illinois legislative process by voting "present" rather than "no" on 100 bills)?

The content of the accusations didn't seem to matter nearly as much as the venom with which they were hurled.

The American public knows everyone has skeletons in the closet; no one is perfect - most especially, it seems, elected officials. (Although, personally, I think Hillary's got some explaining to do about her Walmart connection.)

Business leaders come under fire and personal attack all the time; it comes with the territory. They learn to develop a thick skin facing irate employees learning of cuts to their health care benefits one week and executive bonuses the next.  They hang tough when their email is jammed with links - from just about everyone they know - to YouTube videos re-enacting customer experiences with their company's customer service department.

We expect leaders to remain cool under pressure.  We want our presidents - of a country or a company - to look the part no matter what.  But what does integrity look like when the first punch is thrown?  Or when the gloves come off?

Mercer Study Shows Respect is #1 with Employees Worldwide

Engagement seems to have replaced  "empowerment" as the Holy Grail of corporate relationship with people. We want you to be engaged with our company, our goals, our stock, our products, our website ... you get the idea.

To couples all over the world engagement represents love, loyalty and commitment ... presumably leading to life-long marriage. 

It's easier to make the analogy with customers. Think Tide, Ivory Soap, Kleenex. Many of us use the same familiar products we grew up with.  But are there any employees (in Corporate America, at least), even those most engaged, who believe that in exchange, their employers will be equally engaged to them?

If you've ever worked on a team, chances are you've experienced some pretty dysfunctional relationships. While more pleasant, I've found it's not essential for us to form deep interpersonal relationships with the people we work with.  It makes sense; we rarely form these relationships with anyone. Yet, sometimes despite ourselves, we can work together to get the job done.

On the other hand, respect is the one element a team can't do without. Team members can't give it their all unless they know the others can and will deliver (or at least give it their all). 

But there's a rub. We don't all see respect in the same way. For some, it's earned; for others, it's a given, unless lost.  It's shaped by our life experiences.

I was excited to learn that the large HR consulting group Mercer found the same result. The firm's  What's Working study asked employees in 22 countries around the world about their attitudes and perceptions of 12 factors that contribute to  engagement. You can go the site to download a free pdf of "Engaging Employees to Drive Global Success."

Worldwide, of the 12 factors, respect was rated overall as the one that most influences their engagement at work.  It was rated first with employees in the US.

Not so with employees working in different countries. For example, workers in France and India chose type of work  for the top slot.  They found some big differences from country to country. For workers in the UK, being able to provide good customer service was rated highly but not so in Japan, where it was ranked last.

The researchers learned that differences in national cultural, the state of economic development and  economic conditions accounted for very different answers. Organizational differences also have a big impact.

This means context matters. There's no silver bullet or cookie-cutter solution to encourage employee engagement. But if you haven't surveyed your employees about what gets them charged up about your company, it seems you can't go too far afield starting with fostering respect.

Hillary Isn't The Only One To Find Her Voice

I'm hooked on watching the Presidential debates on CNN.  Reality TV at its finest. 

Unlike American Idol viewers who had to vote and wait until the next episode to find out whom the country found lacking, the web has made putting your two cents in by phone or text message antiquated. 

Now, anyone can go on the Facebook politics site  to watch the debate, vote or even comment in real time.  And that's what 1 million of the 60 million Facebook members did. A small group, for sure, but this is the start of something really, really big.

Polling the voters is no longer limited to pollsters. Offering one's assessment to the public is no longer limited to pundits. Focus groups are no longer the only way for candidates to refine the message.

The genie is poking her nose out of the bottle. This site  - along with others, including those put up by the candidates themselves - demonstrates that participating in social media is not just for teenagers or people with nothing better to do. 

The web is where thinking people, people who care, can get in the game and be heard. 

The early adopters are doing their thing.  Slowly but surely, joining online conversations and communities will be the norm for all sorts of people. And not just for presidential debates but in the workplace as well.

Did you go on Facebook during the last debate? If not, why not? If yes, tell us about your experience.