Is Patience a Virtue?

It may be true that waiting is admirable but how often does it fit into our business goals and plans? We want the new idea started - NOW! We want the results - NOW! We want the changes we suggested implemented - NOW! But we know deep down that patience still rules the day.

I once had a boss who proclaimed that everything he did was "ready shoot aim". So he thought of an idea, fired it against the wall, cleaned up the mess, and examined what was left. In my opinion, the "ready aim shoot" approach is well-tested and the better strategy. We often aim too long and don't execute anything. Paralysis by analysis as many have called it. Maybe my old boss was right; stop overthinking and take the shot.

C'mon I Don't Have All Minute!

I think I was about 12 when I walked into the kitchen and my dad was standing in front of the microwave waiting for his warmed up coffee. He looked agitated. I thought, wow he can't wait 37 seconds for hot coffee? That image has stuck with me all the years since.

We do it all the time. We think we are being patient when inside our impatience is running a muck. We're looking at the clock, calendar, phone, or website, and wondering why the answer, result, or solution isn't there instantaneously.

Calm Down

Another cliché - never in the history of humankind has anyone calmed down by being told to calm down. It incenses us when we're uptight and someone tells us to chill. It's not that the guidance isn't based in reality or caring, but our emergency needs to be the world's priority - NOW!

I'm working on a project right now that has taken far longer than I originally anticipated. It's not the project's fault or those involved; it's my expectations that are faulty. I know this takes time and I'm battling excitement and perhaps a dash of panic to get it done. We don't want to calm down but if we do, it may make the inevitable waiting more bearable. And how often have you thought about a better idea while you are impatiently stewing over the current results?

The solution may lie in our patience after all. __________________________________________________________________

The Revenue Diet Plan

A large cheeseburger with condiments is approximately 600 calories; an hour of high impact aerobics for a 200lb man will burn about 600 calories. A slice of pumpkin pie is about 350 calories; an hour of ice skating for the same man will burn about 340 calories. We know we need to eat better, work out more and take better care of ourselves but (on average) we don’t do that.

Often companies will look at the success of a certain campaign or promotion to get a sense of customer reaction or appetite. This kind of strategy is both flawed and short-lived. Patience is a virtue but rarely a business plan. We love cheeseburgers but don't want to gain weight; we want revenue but know it doesn't happen without effort.

Fries With That?

We want the customers now but can have trouble seeing the long term benefits of a sustained effort throughout the year. We wonder how these available channels can help us without realizing our contribution is critical to the equation. You and I have the collective patience of a three year old.

We are not built for strategy or long-term thinking. If things are bad, we want them to be good, immediately. If money is tight, we want money, right now. If someone promises that this campaign will help us get us out of this slide, we are happy to listen, right now. We want the burger and pie without the growing waistline.

Maybe this year we need more salad?
__________________________________________________________________

Hurry Up!

A large cheeseburger with condiments is approximately 600 calories. An hour of high impact aerobics for a 200lb man will burn about 600 calories. A slice of pumpkin pie is about 350 calories. An hour of ice skating for the same man will burn about 340 calories. We know we need to eat better, work out more and take better care of ourselves but (on average) we don’t do that. We eat the cheeseburgers and the pie then get acquainted with the couch.

After a two decades in corporate life and a bunch of years consulting on my own, earlier this year I was recruited by a recruitment firm to become an executive recruiter. It's fun work. It's frustrating work. It's highs and lows and grinding and disappointments and victories. Oh wait, it's like every job!

We Want it Now!

Often companies will look at the success of a certain campaign or promotion to get a sense of customer reaction or appetite. This kind of strategy is both flawed and short-lived. Patience is a virtue but rarely a business plan.

Unless you won the lottery, mom and dad left you money, or you're independently wealthy, you need new business all the time. It’s admirable to see some who have as many customers as they will ever need but the rest of us need to constantly build our business. Not for a week, not once in a while, every day.

The Downside of Now

We want the customers now but can have trouble seeing the long term benefits of a sustained effort throughout the year. We wonder how these available channels can help us without realizing our contribution is critical to the equation. We want the quick wins to sustain our revenue line forever. You and I have the collective patience of a three year old.

We are not built for strategy or long-term thinking. If things are bad, we want them to be good, immediately. If money is tight, we want money, right now. If someone promises that this campaign will help us get us out of this slide, we are happy to listen, right now. We want the burger and pie without waistline.

Maybe we need to start the new year with a salad.
__________________________________________________________________

It Has to Go to Space!

One of the most watched videos online in the last few years is Louis CK on the old Conan O'Brien Show discussing the fact that we are the most technologically advanced era in history yet we’re miserable. Our collective impatience has gotten worse.

He covers wi-fi, ATMs, the miracle of human flight, and more. When using smartphones, we wonder why the signal is down or why it's taking so long to send a message. Louis says; “Give it a second! It has to go to space! What, the speed of light is no longer fast enough for you?” Been there? Done that?

C’mon Hurry Up!

His commentary points to a topic we discussed here recently. We have less patience than a three year waiting for her ice cream. We want it now, we want it to work, and we we may even look for a shortcut.

You see it with marketing campaigns that don’t garner instant results, new hires who aren’t up to speed in their first week, careers that aren’t moving as fast as we’d like, customers who don’t sign right away.

We're All The Same

I recently made a major purchase that took me three months to decide on. I’ve had prospects who have taken longer to get to a no or not right now. We want others to move fast, but we’re not always happy to reciprocate. Decades from now, we'll be complaining the newly invented gadget isn't working properly.

This isn't an era or technology issue. And it's often worse when you look to business culture and leadership. But we can learn to harness our impatience by managing realistic expectations before we begin and take breaks for perspective. We can have more open collaboration and look at how we can positively affect the situation rather than continuing to hope the situation morphs to our wishes.

Now if I could only get this stupid phone to work!

Kneale Mann

cbc

Marshmallow Logic

We don’t want to wait until next quarter to see if that new initiative worked. If there’s an easier way, we generally pick it. Credit cards and impulse buys are tied at the hip. Three year olds have more patience than most grown-ups.

You see it on the social web. People start a LinkedIn group or Facebook page and wonder why new customers aren’t stampeding into their arms in a matter of days.

Want it Now

It occurs in the business world when a group has an idea and wants investors and customers to flow to their door. There's seemingly endless examples in leadership when someone reaches another achievement and wants the rest of the team to immediately embrace it.

It can be found with high potential leaders who want to fast track to VP stripes and omit all that pesky work that’s involved in earning them. It’s the guy tailgating you in traffic or the kid who wants to grow up too fast or the woman who can’t believe there are people in line at the gas station when she needs gas, and the list goes on.

Two for One

Imagine if you can have one million bucks right now, tax free. Interested? Well before you jump at it, you can choose the second option which is two million bucks, tax free. The catch, you have to wait a month to get it. The choice is a million now or two million in 30 days. The decision seems obvious. Or does it?

More than forty years ago at Stanford University, Walter Mischel and his team conducted a study on deferred gratification. The premise was simple. Each child was offered a choice – one marshmallow now or two later. The facilitator then left the child in the room with the treat for 15-20 minutes. More than 80% couldn't wait.

Wait and Succeed

Mischel’s team analyzed how long each child resisted the temptation and whether or not doing so was correlated with future achievements. They followed many of the kids for the next few years to document any patterns.

The marshmallow experiment has been challenged, replicated and accepted. Some of the brightest have studied will power and linked our ability to control ourselves to our health, wealth, leadership abilities, and success.

How's your patience?


Kneale Mann

flickr | walter mischel

This Stuff Takes Time

Years to become an overnight success.

I attended a dinner in April 2008 that changed my life. When I returned home that night, I started this site. And 965 days and almost 600 posts later, I have had the unique privilege to be able to interact with some amazing people.

What Now?

It all came back to me this past weekend as I was back and forth with someone on Twitter about his new online journey. He just started blogging, his Twitter profile has been launched and he finally dove into Facebook. His cynicism over how social networking wasn't going to work for him has been crushed by his wonderment of what else he can now do.

He asked how often he should publish new material, what interface he should use and whether I had any feedback on his writing so far. I congratulated him for starting, because that is half the battle, but now the work begins. Patience is not our friend and like a new workout regimen we get discouraged when results aren't immediate.

Navigate and Congregate.

Part of my gig is helping companies and organizations better understand the online world but I’m still blown away by you taking your valuable time to visit here for a while.
I reminded my new colleague when others shoved me in the deep end.

I was looking at some numbers the other night and the readers of my little spot on the www come from literally everywhere. I am honoured and in shock. Top three places are Canada, U.S. and of all places, South Africa!

Top 100 include: India, Australia, Germany, France, Netherlands, Brazil, Singapore, Philippines, Italy, Malaysia, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Romania,  Morocco, Egypt, Kuwait, Nepal and Malta. Isn’t that crazy?! In the past 12 months, this website was visited by people from 154 countries.

It is quite overwhelming. Thank-you for making time to drop by.

The increase in traffic from all over the planet fuels me to write better posts and help even more. And do more travelling! It also reminds me of the sustained focus and work that is involved when someone asks what will best work for them.

There are no short-cuts. This stuff takes time.

The essence of my consulting work is to help companies integrate all they do with all they do, specifically in the areas of marketing, social media and training. And I am always interested in meeting business owners and managers I can help. If that's you, let's have a chat sometime.

I don't help clients do what everyone else does. It has to work for them and it has to be something they will actually execute. This isn't a bottle of diet pills and an ab roller.

If you are wondering whether you or your company needs to get more active online, remember one crucial element, the results will not be obvious for a while. But if you work at it every single day without exception, people will start to pay attention.

And if you think the large companies have it all figured out, they are working at it every day like the rest of us.

What's your story?

knealemann | email


image credit: psychologytoday

The Allure of Twitter

Patience is a virtue not a business plan but often people get onto the social web and expect instant results. For some reason, the online world can be a tempting mistress for hard work. She can give clues that one more tweet or blog and all those nice things others are saying will turn into revenue.

What is often forgotten is that the online world is the real world in one person increments. Those connections, followers and friends are actually real people hoping they can make a connection too.

Twitter is an interesting and rapidly growing channel that is an exciting place to find similar people along specific thought silos void of geographic constraints. But it is not a bottle of diet pills. There are no short cuts.

Business is conducted constantly on this and many other social networking channels with people who have taken the time to get to know each other.

Nice to meet them.

If someone invites you to a backyard barbecue and they are the only one you know at the party, it’s clear you wouldn't show up with a box of business cards. So it is essential to let others get to know you.

Be genuinely curious about them.

We read words such as authentic and trust all the time with reference to channels such as Twitter but the only way you can truly define those for your own experience is to put in the time. If I don’t know you, how can I trust you and why would I buy from you?

We reside on both sides of the counter. 

We are all providers and customers. Give thought to how you want others to approach you before you approach them. If you don’t want spam, then don’t spam. If you don’t want someone to go directly to the sale or talk about themselves, reciprocate.

If you do the work and remain yourself, you can build relationships that you would never have elsewhere. Twitter is the conduit. It is the people that make it a living entity. Respect and decorum go a long way.

If your goal is to simply get to know people, then be patient and let them get to know you. If you want Twitter to help build your business, it requires just as much work and time as building any other relationship.

What are your thoughts?

knealemann | email



Join me for Movember.
image credit: twitter

Patience

It is a virtue, rarely a business plan.

Have patience for that guy in accounting who doesn’t get Twitter. Have patience with the prospect that needs more explanation. Have patience with yourself if you need extra time to figure it out.

Have patience with those who act like they have all the answers. Have patience with the rest of the team catching up to your cool new idea. Have patience before you send that email.

Have patience with the members of the team who aren’t pulling their weight once you remind them tactfully. Have patience as you navigate new avenues of communication. Have patience with your business partners who want to play it safe.

Have patience when you want to get there faster. Have patience with others who don’t get the concept. Have patience and read the instructions.

Have patience with the guy who keeps posting stuff on your Facebook wall. Have patience with the dinosaur in sales who thinks all this online stuff is a waste of time. Have patience with someone like me who finds patience the toughest part of the gig.

Have patience?

knealemann

image credit: maximenz

Finding Your Voice

Paralyzed With Fear

It was the day before my first on-air shift. Years of work had culminated in my chance to speak on the radio.

I had no experience. This was for skilled professionals.

All the people I admired made it seem effortless. I was terrified.

So I sought advice from a mentor.

Find your own voice and have fun.

Fun? I was petrified. I was excited for the opportunity but this was too real.

There were thousands of listeners hanging on my every word (or so I thought) and they would know I was a fake. They would be able to hear the nervousness in my voice and be laughing hysterically at this talentless idiot.

Who is this guy? How did he get on the radio?

Time gives us perspective and knowledge.

Twenty years and thousands of on-air shifts later, I was coaching others on how to find their voice. From that first horrifying moment of panic to the last time I was on-air, I always felt a twinge of nerves. This was still important.

My radio career continues to help when clients and colleagues lament their lack of experience in the online world. Everyone will know they’re a fake. They are over their heads. They don’t know what they’re doing and everyone knows it. They don’t know where to start. They don’t know what to say.

The customer can now find her own voice.

We all have the ability to build our own radio station then try to find an audience. We can build profiles and discussion platforms that give us a chance to broadcast whatever content we want. Understanding that the audience doesn't just appear and our content may not be desirable to others is the first step of acceptance.

The Three P's...

Patience | There are no lottery tickets, there are no short cuts, this will not happen immediately. This is not a campaign. Look at those you feel are doing it well and you will soon discover they are constantly revising and refining.

Practice | Whether you run long distances, drive a million dollar race car or perform surgery, you are won't master your craft the first time you try it. And thousands of procedures later, you will still be trying to get better.

Pay Attention | If your goal is to find an audience or paying customer base, you need to heed their feedback. If you make it about you, you may be your only listener. And the audience will not show up simply because you are looking for your own voice. Patience and practice will help.

While the classic rock station plays Zeppelin, the alternative station features the new Weezer album and the hit station does another story on Lindsay Lohan, you need to find your own voice.

And have fun!

knealemann
Create experiences not campaigns.

image credit: istock

Is Your Business Social?

They're talking about you anyway.

Relationship and conversation are mentioned relentlessly on the social web but what do they really mean? Are we friends simply because we follow or connect?

Imagine if you arrived at a private party where you only knew the host and began to hand out business cards. Or worse, how would you feel if you were on the receiving end of this sales pitch?

In Six Pixels of Separation, Mitch Joel refers to praising slow.

These channels are not one-night stands and your business is not a campaign. If you are in the space, spamming and yelling won't work. Simply "being on" Twitter or "having a" Facebook page is not participation.

What Will They Say?

There is a common fear that opening yourself to online scrutiny is dangerous.

The issue is not whether these channels will discuss your business or industry, that's already happening. So do you want in or would you rather hide?

The Power of The Web.

As witnessed by the story of Tanner Bawn last week. Air Canada dismantled his wheelchair on a trip to NYC and were unable to reassemble it.

Then the bumbling began.

The social community had gathered in NYC as a fundraiser for Tanner and the same people created online outrage when this happened. The story quickly spread through the larger Twitter community and Air Canada couldn't ignore it.

Use stories like this as fuel for how you respond to the online reality.

Get involved in the conversations of your customers and potential customers and initiate new ones, then give it time and patience and be human.

Social media are not quick fixes or cheap campaigns to boost outbound messaging but rather essential to business, research, education and integrated activities.

People are social, media are not.
David Armano

It's interesting to note that after all this talk of gadgets and channels, the old adage rings true - treat me like you want to be treated. Your customers concur.

Patience is a virtue not a business plan. It is up to us to change that.

What says you?

knealemann
strategy. marketing. media.

image credit: socialmediatoday

The Wonderment of Children

It was refreshing to be in a client meeting this week where ideas were flowing freely on both sides of the table. If you are unsure of the social channels and digital options, this may help.

In reference to many social web opportunities someone in the meeting said: “Treat me like I’m an 8 year old”.


The intent was to outline their perceived lack of knowledge in this space but the deeper meaning and the smile on their face created a wide open door of possibilities. They wanted to learn and explore.

Maybe the next time you or someone you know begins to tense up while worrying about instant results and return on investment, the reminder of what is possible can replace doubt?

A kid resides in all of us.
Perhaps we need them to run the meeting once in a while?

@knealemann
strategy. marketing. social media.

photo credit: sidhere

Social Media | 37 Things

• This is not advertising.

• Trust is earned over time.

• There are no short cuts.

• Do something.

• Spam is not content.

• Let us get to know you.

• Never fixate on the numbers.

• Have patience.

• Ask a lot of questions.

• Share. Often.

• Don’t get caught up in stats and surveys.

• Be helpful.

• We need you to lead.

• Social media efforts must integrate with your overall business plan.

• Write well.

• Have fun. Always.

• Navigate the digital space like your life space.

• Contribute to the conversation.

• Be yourself.

• The answers won’t land on your lap.

• Never take yourself too seriously.

• Tighten your helmet and get in there.

• It’s up to you to decide what you need from this space.

• Engage don’t just broadcast.

• Tell us what you learned so we can learn from you.

• Twitter alone will not save your business.

• Respect your community.

• Read others’ profiles don’t just expect others to read yours.

• Open your mind and imagine.

• Learn the tools. Then understand it’s not about the tools.

• Educate yourself. Constantly.

• Treat us with respect. We'll do the same.

• Learn from others. Then carve up your own thing.

• There is not only one way to do this.

• If you want others to join you, ask yourself why.

• You get out what you put in.

• We are in this together.

What would you like to add to the list?

@knealemann
Helping you create your best business,
marketing and social media strategy.

Words To Ponder

No diatribes or lectures or theories today. Just some thoughtful words…

What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.
Yiddish Proverb

One moment of patience may ward off great disaster.
One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life.
Chinese Proverb

What is bought is cheaper than a gift.
Portuguese Proverb

How beautiful it is to do nothing, then to rest afterward.
Spanish Proverb

Listen or thy tongue will keep thee deaf.
Native American Indian Proverb

For breath is life. If you breathe well you will live long on earth.
Sanskrit Proverb

I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.
Jewish Proverb

Everyone is the age of their heart.
Guatemalan Proverb

A kind word is like a Spring day.
Russian Proverb

What may be done at any time will be done at no time.
Scottish Proverb

Men can bear all things except good days.
Dutch Proverb

Don't speak unless you can improve on the silence.
Spanish Proverb

Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty.
Sicilian Proverb

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