How can IT/ Technology innovate and help a company win business?

http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&gid=1831025&discussionID=3601341

Alison's Contribution:

Here are a couple of ideas (which have nothing to do with innovating the future, but rather to do with being there when your client is ready to buy):

1. Who knows whom: a) Integrate your CRM with Social Networking Site(s) contacts. Add others you'll want to track into the mix and monitor when they first appear on a Social Networking site (they will certainly be grateful to know someone who can show them the ropes).

2. Set up a huge Google Alert type system to track every instance of clients being mentioned in the news - and filter it to your CRM so everyone stays up today. May also want to alert industry news from around the world.

3. Set up tracking systems which detail all customer contact from everyone in the company and leverage it to get your key messages to potential customers and to keep your finger on their buying pulse.

4. Twitter responsibly for Blog updates which set out our market leadership position.

5. Use technology to set up an annual "10 touch plan" - their key company dates, a share event date, anniversaries, etc.

6. Have your developers come up with a "give away" series of "no need to support" games/utilities which your clients get to use as a benefit of working with you... I'm thinking something like Google Gadgets.

7. Use the CRM to track referrals from your clients - eg ask for them as the November "10 touch" event and follow up over the holiday/New Year season. Write the thank you to the referee in early December.

Although Jefferson had the technology to copy his handwriting, there is no substitute for the personal touch in winning new and ongoing business.

So, my recommendation boils down to using technology to keep track of the data and organise it so you have More Time for the Personal Touch. This way, you'll have the best info at your finger tips every time you pick up the phone or go to meet your clients.

How many tweets per day from one Twitter user are too many?

Alison's Contribution:

I believe three good tweets a day will keep everyone "twitching" for hours - if you have mastered the art of a crafting really compelling tweet.

I have stopped following a few people who seem to believe that all and sundry are interested in their every bowel movement and other nonsensical messages.

Why the magic number 3?

Well for me, One tweet just isn't enough - there is usually something worth RT (retweeting) and quite often at the "end of the day", one finds a really good gem to share.

Twitch away!

Alison
posted 10 hours ago |

How do you protect your company recipe

Alison's Contribution:

From your profile, I'm going to assume you mean cooking recipes.

I suggest you publish the obvious, and at the same time:

1. keep some ingredients secret
2. keep the quantities unkown - eg a "pinch of parsley"

In terms of protecting yourself from staff taking your core knowledge with them, have them sign a confidentiality agreement that they will not use or disclose quantities of certain ingredients and key recipes which are your trademark or signature dishes.

If all else fails, publish the official recipe book and earn the royalties from it - that's how I found my killer recipe for Christmas chocolate mousse...

Hope this helps.

Alison
posted 10 hours ago

I will rate this question... I've notice a significant decrease in the number answers to LinkedIn questions. Do you think the quality of the questions

Alison's Contribution:

Why is there a significant decrease int he number of answers to LinkedIn questions? is one starting point and in my opinion, the best to elicit the best response.

NB: I haven't read the rest of the answers, just wanted to note a couple of things.

Starting point: The community of Answers is but an insignificant fraction of 1% of the total membership of LinkedIn.

1. Many questions are answered with the first answer - which is great because no one else needs to spend time answering. Bad on the ratings front though because why would you give the sole answerer the best answer simply because they were the only answerer.

2. Quality of answers is probably a more important factor. So is there any evidence that the quality of Answers has decreased? I don't think so. Over the past three years, any technical question in a niche has suffered until a leader appears to take an interest in helping out the community. Do they make the leaderboard? No - because the leaderboard is biased towards those that answer any question going - some by posting one word/one line quips which add no value.

I would think many of the technical questions would be better served by Group discussions - provided there was critical mass and participation by their members.

Rating questions is a red herring in my humble opinion (and again, no I don't expect to be selected as best answerer on this one because I don't happen to agree with one of your pet peeves at the moment).

Is there a drop in participation? Now that is a different question.

In terms of questions asked, I don't have absolute numbers. There are more than 500 questions being asked within a 24 hour period on a regular basis on Answers. Don't have any idea about the effect of Group activity on Answers, but would expect there to be a decrease.

Now a completely different question to ask is "Do people feel put off answering questions because the "leaderboard" targets are too high for them to aspire to?"

And yes, one of my pet peeves at the moment are Answerers who provide a single word or single line quip to "chalk up" another answer to maintain their lead. I think that is more of a deterrent than anything else I've mentioned.

Hope this helps.

Alison
posted 10 hours ago

Do you consider your comments, opinions, ideas at work to be professional advice?

Alison's Contribution:

As a consultant, all my comments, opinions and ideas are my "professional" advice at work. Professional indemnity insurance is the price tag I pay to protect myself.

How do I ensure everyone gets the same message?

Where possible, I write it down - both to clarify my thinking and to ensure that when it does get passed along that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet. Chinese whispers can ruin a good message in no time as people "fiddle & fix" it to match their perceived nuances.

Imitation is the best form of flattery - so don't be surprised if people claim your words as their own. In terms of protecting confidentiality - if it really is confidential, then keep it so. You can always say "we're in the process of drafting...."

Words are very important. The ability to select the precise word which has the unique and consistent "inter-rater" scoring and meaning is all important to a budding artist like myself.

The challenge I see is to flood the office and external grapevines with the right kinds of information so that they never miss the fact that they don't know everything.... that would be one of the signs of a true artist.

All the best,

Alison
posted 11 hours ago

I will rate this question.... Did you know you should rate your questions on LinkedIn when they close? Its real easy to do in "My questions". Thank yo

Alison's Contribution:

Whilst it is nice to get a rating for an answer given, it is not a prerequisite for people supplying the benefit of their experience.

There are many who don't agree with the principle that one needs to rate answers in the first place.

Add to this the fact that many Askers may not have the knowledge to understand which is the Best Answer - particularly for technical questions.....

Does not rating answers lead to poorer answers? Not in my experience... so don't even try to hold that one as a reason to rate.

You might try asking a different question - perhaps something like

"What would motivate you to rate your question?" or
"Is there some reason why you feel unable to rate the answers given to you?"

Perhaps they don't want to appear to be "playing favourites". Perhaps they don't want to give a rating to the sole answerer. There may be many reasons.

One "solution" is to simply have the option of selecting NO Answers as a Good or Best Answer - I haven't tried this yet, but it would be a way of closing the perceived "gap" between Askers and "Those that Rate".

So back to first principles.

The ultimate test - So What?

Why does it matter so much if Askers don't rate questions?

If you are looking for self validation, then clutching at LinkedIn for a definition of self worth is not the kind of action you need to take.

Does the Ask & Answer function need to do something to retain quality participants - apparently not. With 40 million users, even if only 1% of them participated on Answers, that would be 400k resources.

So let it be like water off a duck's back and let's focus on something which really would make the world a better place.... like eliminating packaging from food.

(I don't expect this be award best answer. In my experience, when one asks a biased question, then one tends to only reward those who agree with the point of view of the Asker - which of course leads to more interesting questions like

- Does the way you ask a question affect the quality of responses you receive?).

All the best,

Alison

(and if you search my answers really well you'll spot that I recommended at least 3 years ago award for different kinds of thinking using the deBono thinking hats as a reward mechanism alternative - which at least would have enabled many more to think about their thinking as they answered questions).
posted 11 hours ago

does anyone know how to get the 3rd degree connections to consistently show up in a people search?

Alison's Contribution:

People search results are limited by the type of account you have. With a free account, you will need to narrow the search significantly to find all the level three contacts in the 100 result limit.

Rather than go through the hassle of doing a search multiple times in LinkedIn, a different way (and I would say better for many instances) is to do a GOOGLE search (which will let you look at up to 1000 results) with the following parameters:

"search terms" site:linkedin.com -inurl:dir/ -inurl:companies/

if you simply use "New York", there are over 2m results with the following string (so you'll need to add more search parameters):

"new york" site:linkedin.com -inurl:dir/ -inurl:companies/ -inurl:events. -inurl:groups -inurl:groupinvitation -inurl:jobs -inurl:updates

Let me know if you want any help finding a closer match to what you seek.

All the best,

Alison
posted 11 hours ago

Please provide tips for using LinkedIn if you searching for a new job

Alison's Contribution:

I hate to say it, but the quick answer is to do a search on Answers for tips on using linkedin.....

My advice would be to use your network wisely. There is no point "burning" your contacts on a bi-weekly basis with emails that you are job hunting - use the status updates and a personalised approach After you research the companies you are targeting. By all means, use LinkedIn and Facebook to research them.

Hope this helps you.

Alison
posted 12 hours ago

how many connection request invitations are we allowed?

Alison's Contribution:

It widely believed that the invitations limit is 3,000 and that if you receive 5 "I don't knows" that you will have your invitation sending privileges removed until you promise to be more circumspect.

I have just tried searching the online help section and can't find any reference to them.

Also be aware that there is also a limit of 30,000 connections in total.

In terms of being able to contact people, messages can be sent to mutual group individuals who have elected to receive inmails.

In terms of being able to find people - particularly leads, a combination of using maps.google.com and a query limited to the linkedin site is one of the ways I've found to mine information. If you'd like details, please let me know - I'm in the process of writing a how to guide and am looking for feedback.

Hope this helps you get to where you really want to go.

Alison
posted 12 hours ago

What is the best method to determine the financial valuation of a web 2.0 type startup

Alison's Contribution:

I think a lot depends on the Goodwill and key people rather than assets.

Goodwill I take to embrace the community already developed.

Without golden handcuffs for key personnel (assuming you need them), the value is significantly less than what it would be if you keep them on board.

Off course, all this assumes that the development is well documented (programme annotations), has support and maintenance processes which are streamlined and easy to understand and action and of course the data model is detailed and manageable.

Hope this helps.

Alison
posted 12 hours ago

When selling consulting services business-to-business can non-quantified benefits be as powerful a marketing tool as quantified benefits?

Alison's Contribution:

From my limited experience, when clients are looking to purchase consulting services, they are really looking for Value for Money equations and are likely "to buy" a Prius or even a Rolls Royce over the old banger/jalopy options.

Value for Money equations are about perceptions rather than simple facts. Whilst everyone may claim to be looking for the "biggest bang for my buck" - the reality is that some people want a small "pop" and others want an explosion which brings the building down in one "hit".

Still a student in managing perceptions - but if you look at the big players versus the niche providers and sole practitioners, it's not hard to spot the USPs each target - all of course claiming to provide the best Value for Money based on the Risk profile of their clients.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 12 hours ago

Can anyone recommend a good transcription service? And/or is there a piece of software available that can take an audio file and create a written docu

Alison's Contribution:

I've been looking for decent voice recognition software for some time... Currently my experiments with the Vista speech recog software have made some bizarre novelettes - but alas too much work to sort out what they were meant to say to make it a viable input mechanism.

So, in looking for some software on line, I ran across Research Lab who have a product which does exactly what you have described you want - and it's not too expensive.

No doubt you'll have to spend a bit of time checking the transcription, but you'd have to do that anyway, wouldn't you?

Hope it helps.

Alison
Links:
http://www.research-lab.com/

Why does computing education is perceived to fails to develop the decision making and thinking skills? Does this situation call for an intervention?

Alison's Contribution:

From my perspective, it is not just computing education which fails to educate students on communication, learning, thinking skills and team dynamics.... It is missing as an organised skill set from most, if not all agendas.

My current efforts are focused on setting up a measurement framework for these areas. I'd be happy to collaborate - if you would like.

No doubt you'll want to check me out - I recommend looking at some of the musing from my LinkedIn Answers which you can access via my web-site.

All the best for now,

Alison
posted 21 hours ago

Before you ask a question here do you use the "advanced answer search" function to see if the question has already been asked?

Alison's Contribution:

No,

Trying to find a needle in a haystack of "related" questions or answers which happen to include a word of my search term usually does not yield good results - however interesting the distraction may be.

So, I generally opt to use the goodwill of those who have the time an inclination to craft a helpful response - and I'm often amazed at the results.

All the best

Alison

I am currently looking to work towards a qualification in recruitment and selection and was wondering what courses there are?

Alison's Contribution:

Go directly to CIPD and REC. I think you have picked the best CIPD course for what you want to do.

All the best,

Alison
Links:
http://www.cipd.co.uk/qualifications/choose/compare.htm
http://www.rec.uk.com/home
posted 1 day ago

Someone recently told me the difference between networking and not working is one letter. Anyone care to elaborate?

Alison's Contribution:

it's also one letter removed from NEW WORKING - which I find more interesting and full of more possibilities.

Alison
posted 1 day ago

What percent of your calls with skype do you use video?

Alison's Contribution:

I don't use video with Skype - no need. Do you GotoMeeting and other online conferencing facilities - for me, it's more important to be looking at the same information than seeing rather blurring shots of the eyes.

Hope this helps.

Alison
posted 1 day ago

Is a behavior change a deliverable on a project?

Alison's Contribution:

All change starts with Behavioural Change..... so if it isn't part of your programme, then it should be... I've even built a course around it which I run as Team Dynamics on Projects - or How to Get Things Done when You Don't Speak the Same Language.

Governance as you describe is a useful starting place - just as long as

a) everyone has the same has the same definitions of their responsibility
and
b) understand the content and context of the requirement or action in the first place.

I would waffle on here for quite some time which would bore most people who haven't got an interest in the power of human behaviour to misunderstand something which seems so simple in theory.

Rather than make that mistake, feel free to contact me - I'm between "gigs" so I'd certainly be happy to help you hone your thinking and achieve great things for the greater good.

All the best,

Alison
Clarification added 1 day ago:
Apologies for not reading through my answer before posting... hit submit by accident.
posted 1 day ago

Do you think you have ideas that are wasted?

Alison's Contribution:

The challenge I see is in taking the best of the thoughts which grow out of ideas and maintain the sense of urgency and ownership which will see them through fruition.

Sharing your ideas on a global platform is one way of seeking validation. In my experience, ideas morph as contributions hit them, so I prefer working with Mind Maps.

In terms of Innovation this is particularly important so that one can find a reasonably quick way of referencing ideas in a structure which makes sense of the "hay stack" of ideas available from an organisation.

So for me, the picture is more like a set of blobs which can be interconnected in separate paths which are connected to the whole (and with the ability to penetrate deeper in each section), rather than a random list of ideas in a random order as shown on ideas4all.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 1 day ago

Registration / Online

Alison's Contribution:

tend to use one that I have set up specifically for this purpose. If I get spammed, then at least the pollution doesn't go to my work email or my personal account.

Hope this adds some food for thought.

Alison
posted 1 day ago

Experts or Expert "Post"ers?

Alison's Contribution:

For the one word/one line quips which aren't useful - FLAG THEM! And go to their profile and FLAGG all their Answers... Why?

A leaderboard is only as useful as the leadership that make the cut off. There are many who have the "points" - literally thousands of them who show the dedication to contribute... I'm one of those who contributes when I can to the best of my ability.

I gave up trying to make the leaderboard because for every one of the replies to which I tried to add value, I noticed that there were those who could answer 10-20 questions in the same time.

Have I given up on Answering - no, I'm just trying to come to a sensible balance between finding my next "Gig", revamping a "Team Dynamics" course (in other words, "How to get things done when you don't speak the same language") and run a home, enjoy the fine weather we're having and ensure my son does as well as he's capable of doing on his national exams.

Am I an "Expert" - well I'm "pert" and an "ex" many things, but I wouldn't call myself an Expert - only one who wants to share the best of what they have learned to date in the hope of making this world the better place we all aspire to build.

All the best

Alison
posted 1 day ago

Linked in Answers seems to be missing some functionality.

Alison's Contribution:

) Search by person.. not possible. However, you could do as I have done and set up a blog of most of the sensible (and not so sensible) answers I've given on LinkedIn.... Useful to have in one's back pocket.

2) Agree - it would be great to have a 15 minutes to modify function as we get on supplying Group discussion items.

3) Subscribing to questions - I have gotten around this one by setting up a bookmark/favourite group to which I add the ones I like. A Bit cumbersome LOL, but better than nothing. Again the Group discussion Follow function would be great to have.

What I don't know is what impact there would be on the computing requirements to put this in place.

Now for the unasked question which I assume is at the back of everyone's mind.... How do we get LinkedIn to listen to suggestions from us? I don't have the answer on that one - however, I've started looking at the LinkedIn Blog Archives and I intend to go directly to the people who have announced new functionality in the past.... in a POSITIVE way - so that it's a WIN-WIN-WIN for everyone.

Hope this helps.

Alison
posted 1 day ago

This may sound silly:

Alison's Contribution:

There is no "spam" folder, so lay that myth to rest. Inmails go to the LinkedIn Inbox. If the user has elected to receive emails as well, they get a second notification.

Based on my experience a couple of years ago, "Expired" InMails are those which aren't opened before 7 days have elapsed since it was sent.

I used to have a subscription account. I was getting so many expired InMails, it was like have a double service.

Eventually I learned the lesson and started picking up the phone instead of relying on InMails to reach my target.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 1 day ago

Okay, nobody stole my cheese. Has anybody seen my bluetooth?

Alison's Contribution:

Are you sure your bluetooth isn't your cheese?

I'm just thinking it might be a unique variety.... and of course, it's easy enough to get confused.
posted 1 day ago

How do i delete Messages in Inbox of Linked in?

Alison's Contribution:

It's one of those things you have to learn to live with - I'm sure there are legal reasons why LinkedIn needs to keep a record of the message transactions.... As Bryan says, just Archive them and they will disappear from your inbox.

So, also be aware that you have a few other limits to live with:

1. Total number of connections: 30,000 (may seem like a lot, but just know it is there -
2. Invitation sending - 3,000. Please note that if 5 people say they don't know you, your sending privileges get revoked until you promise to be more circumspect. (I recommend approaching outside of LinkedIn asking for a connection here).
3. Groups - you can join 50. May seem like a lot, however, invariably there are multiple groups for the same kind of thing... If you want to have a look at all the groups, just leave the criteria empty and they will all appear in order of the most members. Best to figure out which work best for you because size does not always equal valuable activity.
3. Answers - there is a limit as to how many answers you can do a day, it is fairly high. Whilst the leaderboard indicates who's answered the most in the last week (including the one word/one sentence answers which aren't necessarily helpful), you get to decide by awarding good/best as to who has been the most helpful to you. You can always search Answers for insights into what has been asked before; however, it can be daunting and time consuming, so sometimes just asking will get a quick response or perhaps a newer insight.

And of course, if you're willing to share some of the benefit of your experience, there are certainly people here that are eager to learn and share.

All the best,

Alison
posted 1 day ago

Connection requests

Alison's Contribution:

I tend to ignore unless they are in my areas of interest.

As you only get 3,000 invitations and are limited to 30,000 connection, it is a good thing to use them wisely to grow your network.

I think it is great to have people who are open networkers. However, if you want to maximise your reach, go for the ones who have 30k connections - they may have many which are the same; however they should have a wealth of tentacles which don't overlap as well. Try Toplinked.com - I'd ignore those that have more than around 26k connections - chances are the list is slightly out of date and once they hit 30k, they can't accept any more invitations, so you will have wasted one of yours.

Hope this helps,

Alison
Links:
http://www.toplinked.com/top50.html
posted 2 days ago

What are some of the best Social Networks to utilize for a corporate presence. LinkedIn, Ning... any others?

Alison's Contribution:

Another one to add is Xing.

All the best,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

Lions, Tigers and Bears OH MY - To Connect or not to Connect

Alison's Contribution:

Please be aware that there is a limit of 30,000 personal connections to your account. I recommend picking and choosing.

So, by all means, connect with those who you believe will either be a good contact or be able to put you in touch with good contacts. I would be wary of the ones who say they never forward introductions...

One of the reasons you are getting unsolicited invitations is that you have your email address in your contact settings. You might also want to include a statement that you don't accept every invitation and those wishing to connect should make first contact outside LinkedIn.

If you need to search for somone specifically, try something like the following criteria for your Google search:

health "los angeles" site:linkedin.com -inurl:dir/ -inurl:companies/ -inurl:answers/ -inurl:events.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

If you were looking to hire someone to help improve your customer service, would you use Google? What words would you be inclined to use?

Alison's Contribution:

I would do some research on the keywords ideas by using the Google tool... I've included the link in the private message. Click use synonyms.

It will give you an indication of the kinds of things users input when they search for your type of service - for instance, "customer service" was used over 4 million times in the last year or so.

Good luck,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

Is there a CRM software that allows for social networking aspects (or vice versa)?

Alison's Contribution:

I heard that SalesForce.com had the capability of including LinkedIn connections - I have yet to see it in action, so you may want to check it out directly. I found searching on the site helps.

All the best,

Alison
Links:
http://www.salesforce.com/
posted 2 days ago

What are you willing to give to someone while expecting nothing in return?

Alison's Contribution:

For me, it is a hand of friendship and the benefit of the doubt... then all we need is a little time together when we can both contribute to the greater good.

All the best,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

Identifying individuals with a large network

Alison's Contribution:

Kendra has offered one avenue. Please be aware that you have 3,000 invitations to work with, so be mindful how you use them. If you get 5 "I don't know this person", your invitation sending privileges will be suspended until you promise to be more circumspect.

You might also try looking for LIONs - LinkedIn Open Networker groups - here at Linked In and also on Yahoo.

Not many people appreciate the dynamics of network "reach" vs quality of contacts. I for one believe that if you have a compelling reason for making contact and know how to pinpoint the kind of person you seek, then you don't need the breadth of reach anymore - as long as you can pick up the phone.

If you really know the kind of person you seek, do a Google search, with the following string appended

site:Linkedin.com -inurl:dir/ -inurl:companies/

so for instance if I was looking for graduate recruiters in New York, I'd start with something like:

"graduate recruiter" "new york" site:linkedin.com -inurl:dir/

and whittle away from there. You can find a wealth of information in the Companies Section of LinkedIn too.

Hope this is of some help to further your thinking with what you ultimately want to achieve.

All the best,

Alison
posted 3 days ago

Q & A on Linkedin

Alison's Contribution:

I too agree that I have too much time on my hands - currently between "gigs" and need a break from focusing on a course I'm creating for Team Dynamics.

What better way to take a break and help out someone seeking answers?

And of course, there are those of us who are just seeking a way to "give back" or "passing it on" or "paying it forward" for the greater good.

Hope you find what you seek!

Alison
posted 3 days ago

Connections

Alison's Contribution:

I think it is great that LinkedIn can be used in different way for different people. With 36million users, I think they have a pretty good idea of what works.

Now, your "big problem" is not being brought to LinkedIn's attention - you need to contact customer support to do that.

Regarding your specific request to network:

1. Be aware that you are limited to sending out 3,000 invitations. Use wisely.
2. If you get 5 "I don't know this person" rejections, your connection request privilege will be removed until you promise to be more circumspect.
3. To indicate that you would be willing to network with people who want to join the UTSA Police Department - just put that (and any other types of networking contacts you welcome) in the space with your contact settings.
4. To narrow your search for the types of people you would like to network with at LinkedIn, I recommend the following:

A. Run a Google search on

USA (federal | government) site:linkedin.com -inurl:dir/ -inurl:companies/

B. Then see if you can find an email address for them and approach outside of LinkedIn (check their links, check the internet for references to them, check professional association which might have life-long email addresses, etc).

C. When you have made a connection and believe they will accept your invitation, THEN send a LinkedIn Invite.

Hope this helps
posted 3 days ago

Google profiles. They are watching You!!

Alison's Contribution:

I think your profile looks like a good start - much more information than I have currently populated, so thanks for some great ideas!

In terms of "being found", the challenge I see is that people with a common name like yours or mine have an additional challenge of "associating" with the content which is ours rather than a namesake.

I checked on LinkedIn and there appear to be over 120 James Garner registered. (and I thought I had a tough time with 38 Alison Murrays - LOL). Like you, I included my middle initial in my google profile name.

I think Profiles is a good place to start to "hang other content off of" - I can't think of a better way to express it. So rather than get a bunch of "Stuff", one could find the correct James Garner and then find all the internet resources associated with that person.

For me, I'm happy for the US to test bed it and get the bugs sorted out.

In terms of what's next on Google's radar, I hope it involves something I have never thought of before - I'm sure someone will find a clever way of using it... a bit like using maps.google.xxx to job search.... LOL

All the best,

Alison
posted 3 days ago

how do I invite someone to join a group?

Alison's Contribution:

The ways I know about are:

1. Go to the Group Overview page and Select Share Group - I recommend additing a personal message.

2. Copy the Group Name and URL into an email or LinkedIn message and send that way.

3. I've been told that the group owner can send out invitations. As I'm not a group owner, I don't know how this works.

Hopefully one of these three ways will work for you.

All the best,

Alison
posted 3 days ago

What is the best piece of advice you were ever given and why?

Alison's Contribution:

Mine occurred a long, long time ago. A college professor pointed out to a class which was about Professional ethics that

"No one can pay you what you are worth. You'll need to decide what value you place on yourself for the task at hand."

This doesn't mean to say that you wouldn't just go ahead and do something if the spirit moved you... simply it means that you should not look to the amount of money you make as your sole indication of the value you have as a human being contributing to the greater good.

All the best,

Alison
posted 3 days ago

Can You Help Me Come Up with a Product Name?

Alison's Contribution:

I had a quick look at key words and spotted where your fewest competitors are - currently my favourite is

Online Marketing Strategies

Hope this helps.

Alison
posted 3 days ago

Which are the top 3 webbased project management and network systems?

Alison's Contribution:

I suggest you check out Top Ten Reviews - I believe they have reviewed 13 solutions for on-line project management. Their checklist may give you some ideas as to how you can evaluate the ones which perform the functions you seek.

All the best

Alison

PS, You'll have to open up Page 1 to the rest of the solutions reviewed.
Links:
http://online-project-management-review.toptenreviews.com/index2.html
posted 3 days ago

Groups and Answers Privacy: What information about me is viewable to others?

Alison's Contribution:

You are a 3rd level connection to me.

I can see your public profile which currently includes your Full Name, Location, Summary, Experience and Education along with your Contact Information.

If you want to change this, go to Account & Settings, and the two options - Name & Location, and Profile - Edit Public Profile Settings.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 3 days ago

How has twitter, facebook, linkedin, myspace or other forms of social media impacted you? Professionally and/or personally?

Alison's Contribution:

I "twitch" a lot more - meaning that I check up on the new updates I get more frequently during the day.

It's a good way to take a mental break from my work which can involve intense concentration. And yes, I do tend to investigate interesting links -or send a personal message back.... so they benefit is two fold = I benefit from the edification and secondly, my "network" is the stronger for it.

When I'm between "gigs" I would say that the interaction is definitely worthwhile as it provides and additional link to the world around me. When I am on contract, it can be a bit daunting to read everyone's updates in one fell swoop, however, it's worthwhile.

I'm a big fan of LinkedIn (with an RSS feed for network updates), I'm learning to tweet responsibly and I have accounts at Facebook and Xing. I've yet to figure out how to use MySpace... so if you learn any tidbits, I'm all ears.

All the best,

Alison
posted 3 days ago

What is a simple yet free site to use for my first blog?

Alison's Contribution:

I suggest you start with blogger to get a feel for the mechanics - just experiment if you like. Then once you have a good idea of what you want to achieve and the mechanics of blogging, move to your own system.

If you want to check out a master blogger, I recommend looking at Guy Kawasaki's site.

All the best,

Alison
Links:
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/
posted 4 days ago

How do I invite someone to join a group?

Alison's Contribution:

Here are a couple of options:

1. Post a discussion in existing Group (A) to join another Group (B).

2. Go to your Group (B - the one you want people to join). Go to the Overview page and Share the group with individuals.

3. Individual invitations. I understand from what I have read on Answers that as a Group Owner, you can send out a limited number of invitations.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 4 days ago

account on the internet

Alison's Contribution:

I suggest you do as Joep has suggested and wait for the indexer to update.

You could also either change your display name (Account, Name & Location) to your first name or try Amending your Name so that it blends in with the crowd.

As you say Kim Assink come up with you in pole position. However, I didn't spot you in the first 100 of a search on Assink. Perhaps using a nickname of just using the Initial K.

Hope this helps,

Alison

PS there were 38 Alison Murrays last time I checked, so I have a different problem - LOL.
posted 4 days ago

British Parliament Members - Expenses schandal.

Alison's Contribution:

I think the jury is out on this one. Because of the transparency, lots of the mistakes which have been made are being aired in public. Such is one benefit of a free press.

Perhaps it is time for other governments to provide the same level of transparency.

BTW, I heard that the justification for the complex expense rules in the UK is that "base" salaries raises have been kept to a minimum and that the expense allowances were an attempt to offset the cost of being able to conduct the business of governing the state.

I agree with your premise that the British are not the worst; they are simply the first to air the dirty linen in public.

All the best,

Alison
posted 4 days ago

Bring employee to work on Saturday and Sunday

Alison's Contribution:

First I'd like to clarify, Does the new week-end port arrival increase your traffic or is it just shifting traffic from week-days to the week-end? If it is simply a shift of arrival dates rather than increasing traffic, you'll need to readjust M-F staffing levels.

Have you considered advertising for new positions? Perhaps people looking for a 2nd job would consider it.
Is there anyway of getting documentation from vessels arriving over the week-end ahead of time - eg faxed on Thursday, Friday morning?

Obviously, you'd want experienced management to deal with special situations which arose over the week-end - perhaps putting them "on call" on an as needed basis.

The challenge to move from a 5 day work week to a 7 day schedule may seem a big leap. My suggestions are to ask for volunteers first. Perhaps some recognition - shift leadership, etc could be offered.

In the current economic climate, I'm sure you could find staff who would jump at the chance of keeping their job if they felt their hours were under threat. So, take a look at the total staffing requirements and determine how best to fill it.

In one client I was at a few years ago, their overnight requirement was simply to fax the arriving documentation to a clearing service overseas - something which easily trainable and could be done by a part time employee without upsetting the work force.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 5 days ago
x

Do you think that a company like Linkedin could do a successful IPO?

Alison's Contribution:

Three different questions:

1. Do you think a company like Linkedin could do a successful IPO? Yes, if they created the vision in the market place.

2. Internal practices and management - most companies coming to their IPO have management teams which are "unknown" and internal practices will always remain internal - so what's the point in speculating?

3. Will I invest in Linkedin? Only with money I can afford to lose - just as with any other investment.

Perhaps a different question you might pose is "What would a firm like LinkedIn get out of an IPO that it can't do as a private entity?"

All the best,

Alison
posted 5 days ago

How to be mentored? How to approach a desired counsel for guidence that has start-up experience? I'm launching high potential growth business opportun

Alison's Contribution:

First of all, did you know that there is a way of posting your question to two categories at a time?

Wow, Three completely different questions.

1. How to be mentored? My recommendation: Approach it as a learning experience and take the opportunity to record your sessions if possible so you can go back and learn from them. You might also consider getting a coach rather than a mentor.

2. How to approach... My recommendation: Go directly; ask them whether they have the time and inspiration to mentor you.

3. Not quite sure what your 3rd question is about - it appears to be a statement. My recommendation - a) brainstorm/draw a mind map of the industries and what they have in common as well as key differentiators. b) research competition and how to approach the biggest initial buyers of your product/service. c) test out your plan with a few companies, learn from it and then fast forward at the rate to which you can service your clients.

All the best,

Alison
posted 5 days ago

Can LinkedIn be updated directly from my twitter?

Alison's Contribution:

The short answer is "Not Yet"....

Alison
posted 5 days ago

Is the lack of people closing questions hurting the community?

Alison's Contribution:

Is it hurting the community - No... Is it hurting people who live by their Best in recognition - perhaps, but let them deal with it.

Have I noticed it? No more than 2 years ago.

What impact does this have on the community aspect of LinkedIn? None what so ever.

The basic premise is that people will people Stop Answering questions if they won't get a reward...

I see little sign of this happening - LOL... just take a look at the "leader board".

There could be a myriad of reasons why someone doesn't close their question - perhaps they are waiting to catch a new set of contributors over time - perhaps they have yet to find the answer which satisfies them. I don't have all the answers, but I'm more than happy to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 5 days ago

How do I invite a friend to join a group?

Alison's Contribution:

Another option is to go to the group Overview page, and use the Share Group option from there - you can message it to several people at the same time.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 5 days ago

What is the etiquette on blogging/tweeting about interesting conversations that are going on at LinkedIn?

Alison's Contribution:

By all means, tweet away... or is that twitch?

Just be aware that your link will be to a member only site, so those that don't have an account may be left out - twitching in the dark.

Do you lead like a dad? Or do you lead like a mom?

Alison's Contribution:

I lead like an individual.... gender differences have no business in the world of business today.

It's simply a case of whether you inspire performance by positive mechanisem or fear of the consequences

Which habit is most important .... for Success? ...for Happiness?

Alison's Contribution:

I believe there is one habit which can be used for all three areas - Success, Happiness and Relationships. It's quite simple to learn and easy to do, it's success merely depends on you....

Learn something new every day - focus on the positive and you just may.

Does “confusion” impede delivery efficiency? If so how and how much?

Alison's Contribution:

First I want to make sure that you distinguish confusion from ambiguity. Happy to discuss separately.

Your question gave me cause to wonder whether you have heard of NLP? Neuro Linguistic Programming addresses the communication aspect of how individuals process and comprehend information.

If your challenge is to paint a picture which can only be interpreted in one way, it is certainly a tool which might be useful.

If however, your concern is that individuals are only focusing on a part of the information they need to focus, then techniques in improving Thinking Skills would be beneficial.

A third factor is the overall comprehensible level of the information in the first place. If the Fogg factor is too high, only PhD with degrees in that subject area will be able to understand and interpret the information.

So, three possible avenues for you to explore. Happy to help in any way,

I have an employee who wants to stay working for me, but she's moving... What advice do you have for me about how to manage this.

Alison's Contribution:

I've worked on project spanning the globe, so I know a little bit about this area.

My main concern would be to maximise the effectiveness of her time interacting with internal staff and your suppliers.

As an owner, you will need to keep her abreast of your vision for the company, priorities, challenges and decision making. Obviously, she'll be updating you on projects, decisions required, etc.

She'll then need to rally the troops - which can present challenges if her position is not respected. However, managing virtual meetings effectively remotely can be learned. It's a bit more difficult if you can't see the whites of their eyes, so I'd invest in video conferencing facilities - I believe they are much more effective than a simple phone call or webex presentation because the present the holistic personal touch.

As long as you trust her, then I don't see any issues which cannot be overcome with the right attitude and perseverance.

A team of committed managers with individual IQs above 120 have a collective IQ of 63!

Alison's Contribution:

I've been a Senge fan since The Fifth Discipline and the Fieldbook came out. I've just been listening to Presence whilst I read the book.

I believe there are ways to improve team dynamics so that the collective IQ is equal to at least the maximum score achieved. I've been working on this area for the last 10 years - with a particular view to improving team performance on Projects.

I believe there are some simple, behavioural responses which can be trained and ingrained to deliver the best performance possible under any conditions.

So if you're interested, please connect or check out out my profile. I love bouncing ideas back and forth to come to better conclusions for all.

All the best,

Alison
posted 17 hours ago | Delete my answer | Clarify my answer

If someone gives you a recommendation, do you feel you need to return the favor and give them one?

Alison's Contribution:

First, if someone gives me a recommendation, I am likely to ask if they would like to me to write something about them.

Do I write recommendations for everyone that asks me? No.
Do I write recommendations without being asked? Not without qualifying them first.
Do I recommend people I don't know. No. I have offered to write a recommendation for one person who has spent a considerable amount of time looking into the technical solutions for a question I asked. His view was that he didn't need it.

There was a period a while when people were asking for recommendations for all and sundry. Whilst they may have collected 50+ recommendations, they are of little value unless they are specific. I think that if they are not to the point, then they are a distraction.

Second, do I accept all invitations and forward Introductions? Where I feel comfortable, yes. As with all things, I assess the risks associated with being associated with the approach.

For invitations, I am likely to accept the invitation, and unless I start getting spammed, I'll maintain the link however tenuous.

For introductions, I will give the benefit of the doubt whenever possible. However it there is a huge mis-match, I don't forward and write a note to explain why. There is nothing worse than an introduction stuck "in limbo land".

When someone asks me to write a recommendation for them in order to expedite the process, I only write what I know about them.

Hope this gives some food for thought on the front line of "paying it forward".

Alison
posted 4 days ago

Any comments on 'Dijongate,' Obama's choice of Grey Poupon as a burger topping?

Alison's Contribution:

Tastes good or good taste?

Is Twitter just Fashion or does it bring something to our social relations?

Alison's Contribution:

Interesting question. At this point, I'm not limiting the realm of possibilities as to how I view Twitter. Here are what I have seen so far:

1. The ability to find and follow interesting people enables me to expand my thinking.
2. The ability to rebroadcast these thoughts I trust is helping me become a more interesting person to those that follow me.

In turn, I trust that they too take the same steps as me above.

Does that mean I "Twich" every time I get an update.. well no... my method is to go through the "Tweets" I've received periodically through the day. Like you, I suspect I needed to find a balance between getting things done and looking for inspiration.

Does it enable me to "know" someone better? To an extent, yes.

Does it enable anyone who follows me to know me better? To the extent of what I share on Twitter, yes.

As a professor of communications, I tell my students that there is an "art" to communicating. Our choice of words often defines our speak. What are yo

Alison's Contribution:

I recommend NLP as a methodology for effective communications, coupled with addressing the Fogg factor. In case I lost you, the Fogg factor determines how many years of education you need to understand what is written in a particular piece. Interesting read.

Gosh, my power words. Well, I'm a curious person, by which I mean I ask a lot of questions.

Asking Questions - Where to start? - Well the first thing to do is to get their attention - use a command voice.. tatatataa (falling inflection as in the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony). Then take a Deep Breath, Smile and ask with a speed of no more than 120 words per minute (and with the voice raising on the end). Practice this until you get it perfect and it is an automatic way of asking questions.

I find the following phrases useful to get the best response (when using the correct inflection and tone of voice)...

"Would you mind if I asked"
"I wonder"
and of course, combined,
"I wonder if you would mind if I asked you..." (Smiles helped too).
and always, "That's interesting. I never saw it that way. Thanks for sharing that."

As long as you are genuine, you will receive the best answer they can. What's the best way to be genuine? Well, it start with being interested in what they have to say.

"No" and "Not Yet" and "Not Now" are other power words. Which have very different meanings. So mean what you say when you say it.

All the best,

Alison
posted 19 hours ago

Hello all, does soemone of you all have a connection at the Blokker company in the Netherlands?

Alison's Contribution:

Quickest way is usually the easiest. Here's How:

1. Go to Companies in top menue bar.
2. Type in Blokker and return; select correct one.
3. Choose any of the people which appear and call directly.

All the best,

Alison
posted 20 hours ago

Your last word (sentence).

Alison's Contribution:

I'd struggle saying just one thing.

"Smile always, enjoy the highs and the lows, give gratitude to those you love and inspire those who follow you, letting your light shine so that they will have the courage to let their own light shine too."

All the best,

Alison
posted 20 hours ago

So what's funny?

Alison's Contribution:

I'm all for fun which doesn't hurt someone's else esteem. Here's one that was passed on last week:

"About 30 years ago, if you asked when would a black man win the ballot to become President. More often than not, the response would be something like "When Pigs Fly."

Well Obama won.

One of the first things that happened? --

You guessed it -

"Swine Flew".

All the best,

Alison
posted 20 hours ago

Are you impressed with LinkedIn members who have thousands of direct contacts in their network?

Alison's Contribution:

I think there are a couple of factors which determine the right strategy for you when using a tool as powerful as LinkedIn.

As I have said on more than one occasion, I see myself as the spider thread connecting an archipelago of talented individualists. Some parts of this grapevine are very active. Others are too busy with the day to day stuff that they don’t visit often. I view it as only a factor of time before one of them finds a friend they have yet to meet through me.

I encourage you to think about the picture you have of LinkedIn; can you compare it to an animal, bird, or insect grouping? You have an awesome responsibility of representing the power of LinkedIn to people who have never heard of it before. It’s an opportunity to paint a picture of possibilities instead of limiting their anticipation as to what they want to do.

So first, isn't it great that a tool like LinkedIn can be used in so many different ways by so many people? Gone are the straight-jackets of formalised database usage! Hooray!

For me, I love connecting islands of technologists and other professionals - many of who don't know each other because they are too busy at the coal face or inventing new things. Sure, some of them know some of their suppliers and, yes, they compete for the same clients.

And yet.... And yet some don't know who amongst a competitor (or even in a different industry) might be able to help them produce a new product/service which would enhance both their bottom lines. The ability to facilitate an introduction is a function of how wide your reach is, how compelling your approach is and how willing to “pay it forward” your “thread” is to leaping from A to D (from them to you to your contact to the target). With 40 million individuals, trying to connect to everyone is probably beyond the realms of possibility for most people.

When viewing each Individual an Entrepreneur in charge of their own destiny, I would have thought you would want to extend your reach as widely as possible - new sales leads, possible partnerships, and of course contact points for investment ideas. That doesn’t mean connecting with any an all, it just means to be open to the possibility of a chance “meeting” which may lead to something more. Unlike cold calling, if you say no to them once, they can’t ask you again.

Whilst Answers and Groups are great forums to extend one‘s thoughts, I would have thought connecting and building relationships one at a time is an activity best practiced daily.

Let me know if you want to quote me for your book.

Alison K Murray
posted 20 hours ago

How are you staying positive?

Alison's Contribution:

How clever you are. I like your sense of fun coupled with creativity.

I also like puzzles I'm always looking for some good clean humour.

Recipe : Take equal doses of both, work on it like a super sudoku and what do you get? Some interesting observations....

So the other day, I was thinking, what has gotten my almamater to the top of the pile - LBS has worked quite hard, attracted the kind of students who will inspire the world. At least that is what the world knows... And yet I ponder. Perhaps it is something more..

Lets see what other things LBS might mean - I came up with LESS - ok, got that.

Less I got now for the rest. BS.. where did that take me - why to Less is Best of course! - although it really doesn't matter if you parked at Less BS

So what? Well, I sent a few bits of humour to some of my friends - good clean humour - the kind that gets a REAL laugh, and I got a wonderful one back from my teammate, Steve Nixon, which helps understand the way the world works...

What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? Striving for 110% or giving that extra mile.

So, that made me wonder, What makes up 100% in life?

Now, I mentioned I liked puzzles. So here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

can be represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%*


and


K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

However

B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

AND look how far ass kissing will take you.
A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude that while Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, its the Bullshit and Ass kissing that will get you to the top.

However, if you need to KISS IT - Keep it Simple & Sweet.. and have only 5 letters on which to depend, then TRUST Trumps the lot of them.

So can you guess what card game I love to play to keep my brain ticking over? LOL Counting cards is fun - particularly if you can keep a pleasant conversation going in between hands.

All the best,

Alison
posted 1 day ago

in your opinion what is the number #1 professional social networking site with the exception of Linkedin? and why?

Alison's Contribution:

Seek and you will Find... For me, the questions are slightly different.


Me finding you: LinkedIn only. Face book is happenstance / by accident. Great for personal stuff, but you wanted "Professional".

Even if you sign up for the others, chances are that you'll NEED to Have a presence here too.

Well, I don't know about you - it's just that I haven't figured out how to be in two places at the same time. So, "Why waste time?" I ask myself. Why not make the best of the hand I'm dealt and learn to play one "game" many ways. So, build your profile to disclose as much as you want. Participate on the forums (Answers and Groups) and play with the Apps on offer. Stay abreast of your network "news". Read what others have found has spoken to them.

Now to the more difficult task: Finding Me:

For this I ask a different set of questions:

I wonder what they would be doing/thinking when they were looking for me?
Where would someone be looking for me? (would they be starting from LinkedIn, Facebook or a search engine)
What would they be looking for? (me, my company, my unique being)

Then the Critical Question:
How can I make it easy for them to find and even "stumble" across me - in case they needed to find me "by accident"?

LinkedIn is obvious. Facebook possibly... more difficult.

Why is it more difficult?

Have you noticed though that even though we're all in one place that it can still be difficult to find exactly the right person. For instance, take me. How would you find "Alison Murray"

Where I grew up, Alison was not a common name. It can be spelt in many ways - Alison, Allison, Alyson, Allyson - I even had it spelt by my 4th grade teacher as Aliceson.

My last name, Murray again wasn't very common. So I did okay.

Here at LinkedIn, there were 38 Alison Murrays - enough to start a small firm even though it might be confusing to figure out which Alison Murray was the one you needed. On my last "gig", the firm had 4 Alison/Allison Murrays - so I got to know my counterpart in New Zealand and fielded calls for the one everyone from outside invariably called to speak with. - LOL - No Problem. Imagine coming up with all the variations of Allison coupled with ALL the variations of Murray.

Why am I saying all this?

1. Well, perhaps Linked In Should do Fuzzy Matching searching like we do in the city to find duplicate applicants for limited share offerings. That might make it a bit easier to find someone whose name could be spelt a number of different ways.

2. To expand your thinking by pointing you to a different way of thinking.. perhaps you might want to think about having your own web site, where you can combine all the information you want to say about yourself, all the misspellings of your name along with pertinent key words and all the linked you have to your various professional following sites. In other words to build an online identity. My thinking on this is still evolving, and has yet to get to the point where I see personal branding being the deciding factor.

In case my last points have struck a chord with anyone, Google
"50 social networking sites" and go through the list. It might raise more possibilities to consider. There was a great article last week, which I forgot to bookmark in del.icio.us which had a sorted list of sites - I can't find it now. Perhaps someone else saved it.

I hope this has helped you in some small way.

Alison K Murray
posted 1 day ago

Do you keep and recall your login details for your email communications?

Alison's Contribution:

I'm the kind of person that organises my life to suit me best. I suffered a lot of spam in the early 1990s so this is what I do.

1. More than one email address set up. Two point to a recogniseable me. Another one is where all my emails from business school (un unfortuantely the spammers ends up).
2. If I think I'm going to end up with spam, I use this third account. I may sign up for info from this third account just to test the spam numbers received.

3. If I decide I trust them, I sign up with one of my two "real" ids... Their purpose is set in different ways - one I'm signed in most of the time, the other I check once a week or so.

This elimiates the need to redo my email accounts continually.

All the best,

Alison
posted 1 day ago

How do you handle consistent negative response of team members

Alison's Contribution:

I'm curious, I'd like to find out if the fact that this team member always wears a "black" hat means that no one ever listens to anything he/she has to say...

Regardless, I think some help thinking about making different kinds of thinking and focus time (eg say 5 minutes on each facet) will help...

I suggest training in the de Bono Thinking Hats... and go through a structure thinking process where each person can only contribute their one top priority first time around.. Then praise contribution. See if there is anything major missing.

All the best,

Alison
posted 1 day ago

My goal is to end up in first page in a google search with 2/3 keywords, suggestions please!

Alison's Contribution:

I agree that Content is King - well I would, wouldn't I.

However, it's how your phrase that content which is the difference which makes ALL the difference.

Here's a formula I used for writing web site content on contract. Once you decide which are your specific tags, use them in the following.

1. URL
2. Title
3. Content field
4. Put text at top of page and then use keywords
- three times in the first paragraph
- one or two times in the rest of the paragraphs on the page
NB: pages should hold no more than 800-1000 words.

You may need to refine the formulae if you aren't getting the rankings you seek.

How to choose Keywords (which is the important bit to write right).. Start from your customers,

1) What are the search terms they would use for their first or second attempts to find you? What else might they be looking for when they need your service/products?
2) If they were not specifically seeking you, what else might they be seeking? It's worth considering piquing their interest by appearing mid page (I'm assuming 100 entries / page).

Hope this helps your thinking.

All the best,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

What song lyrics define you?

Alison's Contribution:

There is a book call The World in Six Songs which I'm currently reading - you might enjoy it to.

It is by Daniel Levitin, who wrote Your Brain on Music (which I recommend even though it might not seem straightforward).

I believe there are universals in Music - which comprise rhythm and phrasing of melodies/sound. Lyrics (and orchestration) are the paints with which the composer creates their work of art which has it's purpose to move you. I'm currently exploring improvisational structures in case you're interested.

I find that good, original work with a lyric I can understand will move me. I'm also interested in learning more about Rahman's work - you may remember Jai Ho (which I understand means Hallelujah) from Slumdog Millionaire. I enjoyed this piece so much, I sought the lyrics in English. I encourage you to look for them as well so that you can "get" the music "better".

All the best,
What am I listening to currently.... well Louis Armstrong is the one that I like most, and then there is Paul Simon, Dan Fogelberg, Gavin deGraw, Cat Stevens, amongst many others.

If I had to pick just one, right now I'd pick Fogelberg, Longer than...

All the best for now... would love to find out the ones you like.

Alison
posted 2 days ago

Organisational behaviour

Alison's Contribution:

You have had some very good suggestions. I'd like to tack on a slightly different perspective which is that one has to first understand both

1) one's own behaviours and
2) how individuals interact.

NLP is the technique I have found allows you to understand yourself and the motivations of those you work with.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

How do you figure out what to read and what not to?

Alison's Contribution:

Yes, a very pertinent question seeking to use your time wisely.

How do I figure out what to read? That simple, I make a list of the trends I want to follow and the leading online sources for news.

How do I filter it? My solution is not perfect, I simply know it appears to be working for me. Here's my HOW:

1. Use Google desktop to fill up the page with new links.
2. Follow on Twitter the newspapers and reputable / inspirational leaders
3. RSS feeds to Google Reader when possible.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

How do you manage your own knowledge/information?

Alison's Contribution:

I'm the kind of person who likes to keep every bit of useful information so I can find it easily when I need it.

So what do I do?

1. Any interesting PDF or other type of file, I download it to a relevant folder (sub-directory).
2. Any interesting web page, I print to a PDF file and again, store it in a relevant folder.
3. I bookmark my "best stuff found" online at del.icio.us (see http://delicious.com/alisonkmurray) and include either the point made, or enough of the article just in case they rename the link and I have to do an internet search for it. Then I put high level tags on it.
4) My "knowledge" I wish to share - I recently set up a number of blogs. I'm happy knowing that they aren't read. I use it to do a brain dump of my thoughts and ideas... again, I'm looking to have something to look back to.

How do I tie it all together?

Well that's easy - I use either the Google hard disk indexing and search function or Copernic desktop. These look and feel very differently, so test both out, perhaps at the same time and find what works for you.

Hope this helps. javascript:void(0)

Alison
Links:
http://www.copernic.com/
http://desktop.google.com/en/GB/?utm_source=en_GB-et-more&utm_medium=et&utm...

Who is the greatest motivational sales author of all time?

Alison's Contribution:

I'm interested in why you seek a motivational sales author. Would you feel comfortable telling me more?

The reason I ask is that I look for the specifics in terms of technique and attitude in order to model the kinds of behaviour which impact performance.

I haven't read every book on sales (yet). I have found the following useful are

1) The One Minute Sales Manager
2) Can I have 5 minutes of your time?
3) Psychology for Successful Selling
4) There is an NLP book for persuasion which I can't locate right now - I'll have a look for it.

I'm currently looking at Selling the Invisible and a book specifically for Women. It's on the shelf to read as quickly as I can.

Let me know which ones you find best and what you got out of them... I'm the kind of person who is always looking to learn something new.

All the best,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

How do you prove your value?

Alison's Contribution:

That's a great question.

I start in a different place... which is to ask the client what his challenge is and how I might be able to help make the difference which counts.

All the best,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

Do you have an overall LinkedIn strategy?

Alison's Contribution:

Yes I have a strategy.

It is very simple. - Which is to use it in everyway to find out more about opportunities and possibilities and wonder where it might take me next.

Is it time consuming to do this type of wondering... It can be, though if you combine it with mining the internet, you have a powerul knowledge base on which to do a myriad of different things.

Through it all, I suggest you have fun! Take what you need, share what you can. Respond with gratitude for the opportunity to connect.

All the best for now,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

What are some of the best ways to leverage your network to get the help and input you need?

Alison's Contribution:

I'm still learning on this one. Here's what I'm experimenting with.

1. Use Status updates to broadcast to the world at large what you want them to know about you, what you're sharing, etc.
2. Really think hard about who might be interested in helping you with your mission... on the basis what goes around, comes around. This of course means that you need to be committed to those you help.
3. Prepare your questions as though you were having a conversation.
I'd start with some simple yes/no questions to gauge interest and time.
(Happy to help you frame your conversation if you'd like to test the waters).

4. Listen to the advice you're given - suspend any judgements you have that it won't work for you. Just give it a go before you do anything else.

Hope this helps you start to think and break down your challenge into steps which you can follow easily.

All the best for now.

Alison

posted 2 days ago

Once I reach 44,000+ connection in Linkein, what can I do with it??

Alison's Contribution:

Any thing you like - with integrity, one person at a time.

Alison
posted 2 days ago

What are the most used (read over used) acronyms in your office?

Alison's Contribution:

xQu'est-ce que c'est PDG?

In other words, as long as they mean the same thing to everyone, there's no confusion.

PMT is often referred to as the Project Management Team, unless of couse it's that time of the month - in which case they are exactly alike sometimes.

All the best,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

Golf Fear and Bunkers! Who is the best mind trainer in golf today?

Alison's Contribution:

I don't play golf. I have some good friends that do though... I picked up "In the Zone" and am listening to it for those other life lessons...

Somehow I've misplaced the case where the CD is stored, so I'm afraid I have no more information.

Let me know if you can't find it... no doubt it will turn up.

All the best,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

if you are following someone on twitter, does that make you their twit?

Alison's Contribution:

“Does it matter.... As my son's stuck on the Song "The Bird is the Word", I'd say you can call them anything you like as long as it's done affectionately. All the best, Alison”

NB: further clarified that original question had meant to ask if you were their TWITCH.

Where can I find a network tree, where it tells you who knows the person you are looking for ?

Alison's Contribution:

I'm assuming from your question that you are looking to do something about building your network. If so, you'll be glad to know that there are some easy ways to get started - and you'll have the benefit of not having to learn the hard way that you can have unintended consequences. Let me set the boundaries of the "game" and then you can play it any which way you want.

1. You can send up to 3,000 individual invitations. Period. Use them wisely.
2. If you get rejected with an "I don't know" Lee, too many times (some say 5) - you get your invitation sending privileges suspended until you promise to use your invitations more wisely.

Many people who, like me, get eager and enthusiastic, upload all their email contacts and hey presto - one click and everyone you ever knew gets invited to connect with you. BBBEEEPP - WRONG MOVE.

This is likely to wind you up in a LinkedIn TimeOUT faster than the blink of an eye. Try this instead.

A) Branding:
1. Make your Profile Link unique to you - something like Lee_Schwartzberg is probably okay since there is only one other Lee Schwartzber here. (unlike Alison Murray - last time I looked there were 38 Alison Murrays here at linkedin).
2. Copy your link and put it at the bottom of your email signature of every system you use - both work and personal if you can. (EG make it easy for people to find you here easily).

B Invitations - think in reverse here to ensure best rate of success
1. Find the people you want to connect with by looking for them here
- try using the People Search (happy to help you with some tips and tricks once you explore a bit and get used to it.
2. For each contact you find:
a) By individual, think of a compelling reason that you should connect here at linkedin. Tell them that you would welcome their advice and guidance on how they get the most out of Linked In/ would be keen to know what things they really like about Linked In.
b) Send a personalised email letting people know that you've just joined and you would be honoured if they would send you an invitation to your email address at [email@domain.com]. Also include your profile link.

The best way to build any network is one person at a time. Whilst you can have many virtual relationships without committing "adultery", what makes LinkedIn so very special is that you can use it anyway you like - within some broad boundaries.

Now you may fear that this means you are open to being abused or raped and pillaged. Never fear, if you flagged someone for abusing you, the Powers That Be will take listen and take action.

Hold off enthusing about LinkedIn to everyone you know who isn't here - pester power doesn't work on an adult who has a different perspective of what they need to make their network work for them. Some of the people I respect most are the ones I miss seeing here at LinkedIn. So, whilst I might think it is the best thing since sliced bread, I recognise their right to not participate without judging them.

Well enough of me on the soapbox.

If you'd like to connect with me, please just send an invitation to me using the email address provided privately. I'm the kind of person who likes to make it easy for others to be successful here.

Best wishes for your successful use of LinkedIn.

Alison K Murray

PS This is only the beginning of the beginning of your journey here - if you are interested in understand network dynamics, then I'd be happy to share my thinking to date.
posted 2 days ago

Today is my day to give to you?

Alison's Contribution:

Belated Birthday Greetings. Do you mind if I ask, are you Native American? If so, which tribe?

I'm part Choctaw - not enough to show mind you. Definitely look more like my Scottish/English heritage - even if it was generations ago.

Nevertheless, I really like the idea of giving away your gift to the world on your birthday. Imagine how rich in spirit we would be if only we were showered with the kind offers of help one feels capable of offering.

I've got something that I'd like to run past you for your candid feedback. My goal is to make it very easy to read and understand, so that anyone following directions will have success on their first attempt.

I look forward to your feedback,

Bless your giving hand,

Alison Murray
posted 2 days ago

Is there an ideal day and/or time of day to post new blog entries, news to Linkedin Groups/Discussions for maximum exposure?

Alison's Contribution:

Great question - one that has intrigued me as well.

Well I'm of the opinion that you might want to consider when the rest of the world come on line and post in the evening - say between 11pm and 1 am in the morning?

That way you can pick up all the night owls on the east coast through to you. You can also pick up a different readership across the huge pond call the Atlantic.

Hope you enjoy this food for thought.

All the best,

Alison
posted 2 days ago

What's the best color?

Alison's Contribution:

Way back when PC networks were just a new thing, the consideration was given to causing the least strain on the eyes. I recall that an light orange on a light navy blue was the winning combination to avoid eyestrain.

However, the ubiquitous solution has been to make the screen look just like a piece of paper.

My suggestion is to use all the colour of the rainbow, just use some inspiration on how to use them best... Use deBono's thinking hats to guide you and you won't go too far wrong.

Just use the colour with purpose and intent to aid comprehension.

Come back to me if you have any questions or would like help.

All the best,

Alison
Clarification added 3 days ago:
It goes without saying that you should avoid colour coding where it would cause confusion for those who are colour blind, or have AMD, or causing the text to blur with the background.

In the UK, you need to follow the accessibility rules.
posted 3 days ago

What's an easy, quick way to learn Twitter?

Alison's Contribution:

I'm a Twitter newbie. All you need to do can be done with three simple rules of engagement.

1. Tweet everyone the first time - press enter
2. Retweet - RT @Orignator_name quote (eg give credit where credit is due.
3. Respond to a Tweet - @Target_name and type.

Tweet deck lets you integrate your FaceBook status updates.. and of course there is ExecTweets plus other sites who aggregate the best Twitterers.

All the best,

Alison
posted 3 days ago

ebooks - Kindle 2

Alison's Contribution:

I don't use the Kindle. Way back when my son was in Year 1, I bought 2 IPAQs on the strength of the promise that all school children would be issued one on which to do their homework. Bought the attachable keyboard too. Wanted to make sure my son is technically proficient - first PC at 2. The IPAQs bit the dust a few years ago - TOO Clunky - to big to fit my hand... Caused envy on the tube when I read a book.... LOL

Now I have a N800 - great screen; have put in a 8GB flash card - wireless connection to internet is perfect for on the go mapping and browsing. Would love to find a way to get solar power going with it as I am sometimes away from an outlet. There is a newer model with a push out keyboard which would make input even better. The handwriting on my is a bit hit and miss at present. Have yet to find an ebook reader with a library so I can "star trek" about with my neat, light gadget.

The market for Amazon's book store has taken a new twist - see my question about the iPhone reader application maker they bought last week.

So think a screen about the size of an iPhone if you want to compose and intelligible book to sell on it.

All the best,

Alison
posted 3 days ago

Which free calendar program should I "commit to" for the long term, so that it does not get defunct with time (details below)?

Alison's Contribution:

I have a similar need. I haven't found the answer yet.

My prime directive is to have it connect my contact information with my diary and task list... note this is a stand alone one - eg I'm not looking to have anyone else look at my calendar (at this point)

I trying to make sense of my requirements, mine include (in no particular order).

1. Ability to update (and to be updated by) contacts and external parties
2. Ability to click through to my master sets of data for the contact
3. Ability to schedule recurring events - daily, weekly, monthly, annually - including noting details for anniversary.
4. Ability to show daily, weekly, monthly schedules - with tasks
5. Uncompleted tasks need to fall forward... so they can be remembered
6. Alarms - a day ahead, an hour before I have to leave to make the appointment, 5 minutes so I can focus would be a BOON! Even better if it could send me a text in case I don't have it open at the time.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other MustDos for me.

In the meantime, I'm soldiering on with using a small 1 day per page diary - it doubles as a notebook, writing diary and log of interesting things I find along the way.

Hope this helps,

Alison
posted 7 days ago

if anyone can let me know good videos on management or team building or communication which can be bought over the counter, plz tell me names and wher

Alison's Contribution:

I have a couple of recommendations to make.

I don't know whether you can get a local supplier to source them for you or whether it would be simplier to order them from source.

Video Arts make great training material. We used to use bits of them to break up the serious business of getting on with performance improvement workshops. It was a great way of lightening the mood, creating a common experience and vocabulary and it was fun! If you want to inject humour, make sure it is seriously funny.

In particular, John Cleese has one about the Importance of Making Mistakes. I reviewed it at home prior to a training course. My mother was visiting at the time to baby sit whilst I would be away. She enthused about it being spot on - making the point clearly understood. I can't find it on the web site so I have an email out to them.

John Cleese now has his own training video shop. I have not yet had time to explore.

Links for both sites are below. In case you have never heard of John Cleese, I've attached the wikipedia link. He makes complex business issues seriously funny.

In my book, laughter is the shortest distance between two people. So if you can get your team to laugh at the same thing, it will build common ground.

Hope this helps,

Alison
Links:
http://www.videoarts.co.uk/
http://www.johncleesetraining.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cleese
Clarification added 7 days ago:
Vikrant,

The Importance of Making Mistakes is available through John Cleese's site.

Has anyone read 'The 4-Hour Work' Week?

Alison's Contribution:

“Derek, I put this book on my wish list at Amazon... I'm always keen to find quicker things to accomplish and even better way of doing things or an even better goal. (I'm also a keystoke/click/mouse movement counter... if you're interested, I'll expand.) 

I was fortunate to get TMI training when I joined KPMG - it was part of the induction course first week. I use many of the techniques every day. However, it's all too easy to lose sight of the balance one needs to keep... and bad habits have a habit of creeping up on you. Giving clear signals is key. 

I think the autoresponder is brillant. I'm going to use it! 

A Case for Authentic Leadership ... what do you think?

Alison's Contribution:

I think we're all searching, seeking something better than we have today.

Two inputs:

- They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery.

- Vincent Lombardi espoused that "Perfect Practice Makes Perfect".

These two examples to me are
a) working towards a common goal (united in purpose)
b) using shared behaviours to achieve the best results

Whether or not you call it "leadership", modelling your behaviours on those used who seem to be getting the best results is one technique to achieve great results.

It's not about making a one track mind. Rather it is about harnessing the creative intellect, energy and enthusiasm to contribute unique skills so that the whole is more than something less than the sum of the individual parts.

How to change the way people think? You might be surprised at how easy this is to do, once you have equipped them to analyse their own thinking - they can then learn to understand the thinking patterns of others.

If you can change the "group think" you can reduce misunderstandings and frustrations, you'll get better contributions which in turn inspire energy and commitment, which of course will lead to great things.

Hope this helps add some food for thought,

Alison
posted 7 days ago