November 2010

Nov 2010

24

3 reasons to give thanks for social media this Thanksgiving

by Lani Voivod

It’s Thanksgiving 2010. Turkeys will be gobbled. Gravies will be smothering stuffings and mashed potatoes. Football will be watched by millions of tryptophan-laden Americans.

fluffytheturkeyAnd you can bet that Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the text messaging underworld will be a cornucopia of social activity.

No doubt there will be grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles around the table who scowl at their junior relatives and mumble something about the rude behavior and deprived souls of “kids today” when said “kids” are more engaged with their computers, iPads, and smart phones than they are with the beautiful family rituals happening right in front of them. In many ways, that IS a shame…but it’s also a SHIFT that’s worth honoring, and deserves a heaping serving of gratitude. Here’s why…

1. The Magic of Turkey Day Will Live Well Beyond the Pumpkin Pie

On Facebook, family pics, videos, and comments  from the day will be uploaded and shared for all to enjoy, whether our out-of-town friends and relatives were able to get past the TSA pat downs or not. YouTube will host tons of sweet moments and hysterical bloopers that otherwise would have been relegated to vague memories. These sophisticated platforms have become the archivists of our lives, for FREE, asking nothing of us but to continue to share and play, connect and communicate. Not a bad deal at all.

2. In Many Families, Exchanging Covert Text Messages With Friends Is Nothing Short of a Survival Tactic

You know that time during Thanksgiving dinner when your father inevitably brings up your irresponsible financial planning? Or your mother shares with everyone that she hopes they can all help find you a nice date for next Thanksgiving? Or your uncle decides that good old-fashioned debates about politics, religion, and healthcare reform are exactly what the family needs after his third foray into the green bean casserole? At times like these and so many others, the fact that your cell phone is small enough to hide on your lap under the linen napkin is a life saver. Text SOS’s with your BFF – whether she’s 3,000 miles away or he’s sitting right across the table from you - are often the ONLY thing that’ll keep you from maniacal mutiny.

3. From Football Play-by-Plays to Confessions of Unabashed Gluttony, Twitter Unites Us in Real Time

According to the Twitter blog, Twitter users send over 95 million tweets every single day. Dick Costolo, Twitter’s COO, says the micro-blogging platform is now attracting 190 million visitors per month (though he estimates a “mere” 65 million tweets are generated on a daily basis). On Thanksgiving, a good portion of those tweets will likely be about football fumbles, overstuffed bellies, expressions of gratitude and blessings, complaints about family dysfuntion, and commentary on the Macy’s Day Parade. With Twitter, the world becomes smaller, details become brighter, and common human experiences become part of our universal chi. Twitter’s Trending Topics reveal the statistically popular banter. Retweets and “@” replies reveal the humanity. It’s the Zen of cultural 3.0 poetry - here for but a moment, gone in a blink of an eye, and captured for eternity in the SEO ether.

Holidays are often a time to talk about tradition. What we all seem to forget sometimes is that every tradition has to start somewhere. Social media channels are here to stay, and are only getting more robust, omnipresent, and hyper-integrated into our lives.

As we sit down with our buddies and brethren this Thanksgiving, let’s give thanks to all the brilliant programmers, bold leaders, and visionaries who are finding new and ever-better ways for us to connect, communicate, and play with the world and people around us…

…And let’s toast to the new traditions being invented with every text, tweet, “Like,” and status update we choose to share with our communities.

Happy Thanksgiving 2010!

Nov 2010

21

The catastrophic epidemic of “BUSY”

by Lani Voivod

My friends, family, and professional associates don’t know this, but I’ve been an undercover agent this past month. After noticing a growing trend in all manners of conversations and pleasantry exchanges, I assigned myself a covert mission of listening to how often we all use the word “BUSY” to describe, explain, justify, and even avoid our lives and the banter about them.

busybeeAt networking and business events, I’d tune my secret sonar devices (i.e. my ears), slowly weave around and through chat klatches, and listen to folks go about the usual back-and-forth. It was always the same.

“So, how’s it going with you [or your biz, work, project, company, etc.]?”

“BUSY.”

At family get-togethers:

“Hey, how’ve you been?”

“BUSY.”

Running into friends old and new:

“Hi! Nice to see you! How’s everything in your world?”

“BUSY.”

Sometimes the answer would be expanded upon in great detail. Other times that one word was cited — and accepted! — as a completely sufficient response to Life, The Universe, and Everything.

Frighteningly, during this undercover operation, several people even initiated conversations with me by saying, “Hi! Hey, I see you’ve been really BUSY lately…” (Thank you, Facebook.)

This is NOT okay.

“BUSY” is an epidemic of catastrophic proportions. It says nothing at all useful except to point out a major and growing plague of our culture. When we answer “BUSY” we’re trying to let people know we’ve got a lot going on. Maybe we’re hoping to sound important, engaged, successful, active, valued.

What we’re really saying, though, is we’re stressed, scared, tired, confused, feeling helpless, and/or being utterly run over by the overflowing nonsense of our lives.

As I personally attempt to banish this vile word from my vocabulary, I’ve been experimenting with other replacements. Not only has this exercise been FUN, it’s also shifted the caliber, flow, and potential of conversations.

In response to the usual “So, how’s it going?” inquiries, I’ve been playing with variations like  “FULFILLED,” “HAPPY,” “INSPIRED,” “EXCITING,” “PEACEFUL,” “ROCKIN’ & ROLLIN,” and “DYNAMITE,” to name a few. When people hear these types of answers, it’s like they snap out of a drug-induced state of “The Usual,” perk up, and tune in with more curiosity and genuine interest.

What’s more, they start sharing more interesting things that are happening in their lives, that were once lost in the white noise of “BUSY.”

There is no way, NO WAY, to overestimate the immense power of words in our lives. What tumbles out of our mouths becomes our living, breathing TRUTH. When we’re all “BUSY,” we’re saying no to so many things. We’re saying we don’t really have time to have coffee with a friend, or take on new projects, or soak in the beauty and wonder of the world around us. We’re saying there’s no room for joy, tender moments, sweet nothings, self-care, and gentle sighs of satisfaction because we’ve got waaaaayyyyyy too much to do, do, do DO DO!

“BUSY” is not a life goal. We don’t want the hyphen between the dates on our tombstone to be the equivilent of the word “BUSY.” As it’s been said, this life thing ain’t no dress rehearsal. YES, there’s a lot to do and even more to be done. YES, there are people in our lives who depend on us. We all wear many hats, play many roles, pursue many things. But there are so many better ways to describe this wondrous, unpredictable life adventure than to chalk it up to “BUSY.”

Of course, the best “solution” would be to slow down, unwind, unplug, and get off the life train for a stint – whether it’s for a 10-minute mediation or a two-month vacation. But even if we can’t change a single thing in our schedules, we can become more aware of the story we’re telling to ourselves and others.

And hopefully, we can remind ourselves that “human doing” is fine and necessary, but “human BEING” is what it’s all about.

Nov 2010

4

Are you a passive leader, or an active one?

by Allen Voivod

It’s funny, there *should* be a lot of parallels between leadership as practiced in the sporting world and leadership as practiced in the business world.

And yet, if you were to check out your local bookstore – those do still exist, don’t they? – you’d find that the lion’s share of books on leadership are written not by sports legends (coaches, players, or management), but by corporate-type CEOs, consultants, moguls and business owners.

Brandon RoyWell, I happened to be reading the NBA season preview issue of Sports Illustrated the other day, and came across this great insight in Lee Jenkins’ feature on the Portland Trail Blazers, including a quote from shooting guard Brandon Roy:

When the 2011 playoffs arrive, he will be the one in the middle of the huddle, demanding the crucial stop. He has come to the same conclusion that most great ones do, that leading by example is sort of a cop-out.

“I feel comfortable now being called a team leader, a franchise guy, where before I felt forced into it,” [Brandon] Roy says. “I’m ready to fill that void. And it’s not just about the rah-rah stuff. You have to push people forward. You have to help make them great.”

I’m not highlighting this as a way of saying that leading by example is unimportant. In fact, it has to be the foundation of your ability to lead, unless you intend to make yourself an object lesson – the “Don’t do drugs, look what awful things they did to me” sort of thing.

This story got me thinking about the next level of leadership, and not all of us take the extra step in our lives and businesses to get ourselves there. It’s relatively easy to lead by example. It’s another thing entirely to actively and successfully encourage the people around you to step up with you.

So…how are you urging people forward today? How are you helping your partners in possibility – vendors, clients, colleagues, and communities – raise their own games?