Instigator Blog

I’m not a sheperd, nor do I know any sheperds. I read The Alchemist awhile ago, which is about a sheperd, but that’s about it.

I do know that even sheep need incentives to do what you want them to do. That’s why there are sheep dogs, who incentivize sheep to move in the appropriate direction on the fear of getting barked at. Woof! (Ok, an incentive isn’t quite the same thing as instilling fear as a motivational tool, but it’s still a funny example. More importantly, I wanted to use sheep for my metaphor…)

Employees are not sheep.

Ah, there’s my point.

So don’t treat them like sheep. Actually, given my lack of knowledge about being a sheperd, who am I to use that phrasing, except for the fact that it’s fairly commonly used. We consider sheep to be:

* All the same / lacking individualism
* Easily herded around
* Fairly mindless

Don’t treat employees like sheep. Right. Next point.

We’re human (at least, I think we are…*he says peering carefully at a few people he’s held suspicions about for some time…*), and humans need motivation. Hopefully a lot of it comes from the inside, and you want to hire people like that, but people are people, and as such, they need incentives.

Maria Palma at CustomersAreAlways comments on a news story about Home Depot, where they’re now offering $1,000 monthly to employees that provide great customer service.

My first reaction was: “What exactly does the person have to do for their $1,000?” It’s a legitimate question even if it brings up all kinds of potentially lascivious thoughts.

Maria thinks cash incentives = bribes. I hadn’t ever really given it much thought, since I don’t give cash incentives at my office, but I can see her point. And she notes that numerous studies claim that tangible rewards (particularly travel or merchandise) are better than cash ones. That makes sense to me. It’s the same principle as giving cash as a gift versus something tangible. The feeling is that a tangible gift had to have some amount of thought behind it, whereas the cash was just stuffed into an envelope or a lousy gift card and that’s that. Minimal thought required. Of course, lots of people prefer cash, so they can spend it on what they want, and don’t have to feign excitement over a label maker, but when it comes to incentives, I can see tangible ones working better.

All of that aside, I’m on the fence when it comes to incentives. I can see them working well in larger companies (where it becomes almost impossible to really hire great people for every position), and I can see them working well for certain types of jobs (like call centers; boring, tough jobs, where an extra wee boost might be nice.) But I have other ideas when it comes to incentives:

1. Bonuses. I like bonuses (be they cash or otherwise.) To me, a bonus says, “Job well done. Keep up the good work.” I know in some places bonuses are expected, and at that point, I think they lose some of their effectiveness. Small companies can really give their employees a boost by surprising them with a bonus. And the bonus doesn’t have to be huge. It might be a couple hundred bucks and you’ll be surprised how positive the response will be from your employees.
2. Training. Pay to have your people trained. Give them a boost in their skill set and you’re benefitting them and benefitting yourself. When employees see that you’re investing in them they’ll feel more appreciated than they would through an incentive program. You’re giving them a chance to improve themselves, which can lead to all kinds of opportunities (i.e. promotions, if there are jobs to promote the people to, or at some point, a new job elsewhere if they grow out of the one you have for them.) You benefit by improving your employee’s skills; suddenly that person can do more, probably faster, and can increase his/her value to your company. That increased value is going to improve your bottomline. I’ve done this a few times and it’s worked extremely well.For one employee (when we sat down to chat about the future) I gave him the chance to find the training/learning opportunities. It wasn’t for me to say, “You absolutely must go take these courses, and do such and such the way I want.” The format (online school, university, college, books, etc.) doesn’t matter to me, as long as the employee knows that I care about investing in him and the employee’s skills improve.

So…what have you used to incentivize and motivate your employees? What do you think about cash incentives? Is Maria right, are cash incentives tantamount to bribes? And how many of you are going to apply for jobs at Home Depot, do “whatever it is they want” and reap the $1,000/month rewards?

I’m getting tired of reading, “ideas are worthless.”

Here’s the argument: Ideas are worthless unless acted upon/executed.

I can’t disagree more.

People say ideas are worthless because:

* Everyone has them (I say, “who cares?”)

* A great idea is nothing without great execution (I say, “not true.”)

* A mediocre idea can be successful with great execution (This is true)

* Value is generated through a risk/reward ratio. Ideas have no risk, so they can’t lead to a reward (I totally disagree)

I think ideas have immense value — they feed our creative spirit. Someone with a new idea comes alive with excitement. It bubbles inside them like a super fizzy drink. Sure, most of the time the idea will fizz out, but who cares; the idea creation process, the brainstorming, the creative vibe of coming up with an idea is extremely valuable.

Ideas are a Dime a Dozen…So What?

It’s true: everyone has ideas. And your point is what exactly? The very fact that everyone has ideas should tell you how valuable they really are. And even though you may have a million ideas in your lifetime that go nowhere, there’s a chance you’ll have one idea that becomes more than just an idea. Should we all stop having ideas because they’re “worthless” and don’t instantly make money?

Yes, Execution is Important, But the Idea Came First

I agree with people that say “execution is key.” Some great ideas never go anywhere because of poor execution. And crappy ideas can make millions because of brilliant execution. Sure, that’s true, but that doesn’t disqualify or disprove the value of ideas themselves. It just proves that execution is extremely important if we’re measuring the success of an idea in terms of it going beyond the “idea stage.” But diminishing the creative process, the “idea stage” itself, is a mistake.

And even if you want to get past the “fluffy nonsense” about creative-this and creative-that, think about how idea generation can help your business even if the ideas don’t happen - here’s one:

* Ideas create communication. Try some brainstorming sessions, see what comes out of it. I guarantee you’ll get something of value - be it a usable idea, employees that appreciate being heard, a better feeling of togetherness amongst the team…(all of which can improve performance, and your bottomline.)

Ideas Have No Risk? Says Who?

Ideas can be insanely risky. People have been thrown in jail, tortured and murdered for the ideas in their heads. The execution (good, bad or barely in existence) may not even be relevant.

From a corporate level, ideas can be risky too. Employees may have an idea that’s perceived as criticism. The corporate culture may not foster idea generation/discussion, so people see it as risky to present ideas. “Will my boss think it’s a stupid idea?”

Just like people say, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question,” I would say, “There’s no such thing as a stupid idea.” (In actual fact, I think there are stupid questions and there can be stupid ideas: but they might still be valuable.)

Here’s what ideas do:

* Ideas help us be more creative. Coming up with ideas is a creative process that feeds upon itself, generating more creativity.

* Ideas lead to change. Execution is still important (often from brave people), but without those that dare to dream, we’d be nowhere.

* Ideas foster communication. Whether this is in a brainstorming session, or sharing your idea with friends, ideas give people a reason to communicate.

* Ideas are the birthplace of businesses. You can’t start a business without the idea first.

* Ideas beget more ideas. One idea leads to another, which leads to another. At some point, you may find an idea that you want to truly pursue, but you might not get there before going through fifty ideas first.

* Ideas foster enthusiasm. When someone has an idea they think could be pursued it creates a spark of excitement. Sure, the idea may never be pursued, but that spark of excitement is still valuable. And yes, when an idea is not pursued it might lead to disappointment, but I say the excitement outweighs the disappointment.

Ideas are not worthless.

Now, if you want to pursue an idea beyond its initial stages then you need to look at the advice the “ideas are worthless” crowd constantly gives (although they give it as an argument for why ideas are worthless, which isn’t true, but I agree with this adivce):

* Execution is key. How can I pull this off? Who would I need to help me? How would I fund it?

* Share your idea. If you don’t share it, you can’t get other people’s perspectives, and you may be blinded by your own belief in the idea. Plus, getting feedback is always worthwhile. Just know how to ask for it.

* Think about value and problem solving. What value are you bringing to the table? What problem are you solving? (Note: I don’t think you have to solve a problem for your business to be successful, but that’s another story.)

* Sit on the idea, let it grow. An idea pops in your head. It’s a good idea to let it sit there, grow, evolve.

* Research. Find your competitors, understand your industry and research every single aspect of the business and the business environment.

All of these points are critical to taking an idea to the next level. But none of them prove that an idea is worthless.

In the spirit of providing the “other side” here’s some links I found while searching Google for “ideas are worthless”:

Ideas are just a multiplier of execution

Billion dollar ideas are WORTHLESS

Why most ideas are worthless

Ideas are worthless

Obsessing over Lost Ideas

[tags]ideas are worthless, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, bootstrapping, ideas, creativity[/tags]

Once you get even remotely serious about blogging, you’re bound to go out there looking for advice/ideas/information. There’s plenty of stuff out there, much of which is quite good.

I think the most important thing to remember is this:

There are no hard-and-fast absolutes when it comes to blogging, only things that have worked and not worked for others.

That’s not to say that there aren’t better (and worse) ways of doing things, but doing X or Y isn’t a guarantee of anything. That’s the mystery of blogging.

I’ve been doing what I can to improve this blog over time, gathering information from a variety of sources including Darren Rowse’s Problogger, Performancing and a host of others.

One of the first things you realize is the importance of your blog post titles.

Here’s what I’ve learned along with my own thoughts:

1. Be Specific: This is probably the most important thing. And this is where I learned my lesson last night. I had joined open mic night (which is a blast), and when we got on the topic of Fawlty Towers (which is hysterical) I decided to run an impromptu contest.

I quickly came to my blog and posted about it, using the title:

I Cook Like I… (Join the Fun at Successful Blog Open Mic Night, Win the Fawlty Towers Complete Collection DVD)

Liz Strauss put it on reddit but it didn’t get as much traffic as I expected. Then I realized why — the title isn’t specific enough. “I Cook Like I…” - What the heck does that mean? Someone seeing that, amongst a list of 20 other blog posts won’t really pick up on it. I should have made it clear that it was a contest, and for 1-night/day only. People love contests and I bet that would have generated more traffic.

Lesson learned. Be specific.

Copyblogger agrees: How to Get 53% More Readers for Every Blog Post You Write (Go Read This!)

2. Long Blog Post Titles: I wish I had some references for this, but I’ve seen a general consensus among some successful bloggers that long blog post titles work better. In some ways this makes sense to me, and I’ve been experimenting with longer titles recently. For one, it’s often easier to be specific when you’ve got a few more words to use. But, just because you can be wordy doesn’t mean you’ll be more specific and doesn’t mean your title will mean much of anything. Don’t be a blabber mouth.

Others, btw, disagree. For example: 5 Tips for Crafting Blog Post Titles (read #1)

3. Stand Out: This is tricky. Writing good blog post titles is like writing good newspaper headlines (and knowing someone that does that, I know how hard it is). Writing in general is hard. But if you can, and the mood/theme of the post warrants it, say something that stands out in the title. Say something daring. Here’s an example:

Are You a Fat Pig? Beer Naming and Advertising at its Fattest.

Now, originally, I wanted it to just say, “Are You a Fat Pig?” But then I was worried that would be (a) a bit too offensive, (b) not mean much to anyone. So, I extended it. I’m not sure that was a good idea in this case because it loses some of its punch. But it does help with points #1 and #2 above.

4. Use Effective Keywords: Almost everyone will tell you this, and I think if anything, this is the most “absolute” of my points. Use effective keywords in your blog post titles. Use words that are related to your blog, use words that you want/hope people will search for using Google, etc. so that they can find your posts. It’s a fairly well-known and accepted truth that search engines eat up blog post titles with vigor, so if you’ve got good keywords in there, your search traffic will improve.

Bottomline — writing blog post titles is tough. It seems like it’d be easy, but it’s not. You have to experiment with different approaches, mix it up a bit - go long, go short, go quirky/zany, go serious. Always be as specific as you can, and always think about using valuable keywords (without losing the meaning of your titles).

Meanwhile, I’ve learned my lesson. The contest was a huge success during open mic night but I was hoping to draw others from the outside into it. You can still throw in your submission by the way, so go check out the contest (it’s the post right below this one!)

[tags]blog post titles, writing blog posts, blogging[/tags]

Many entrepreneurs have a “tackle the world” mentality. Many entrepreneurs have an “I will not be defeated” attitude. Both are great. Both are of value to entrepreneurs (perhaps even a necessity). But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for help. In fact, I’d recommend it.

Entrepreneurs are often experts in a particular subject.

“I’m an expert marketer, therefore I’ll start a business in marketing.”

“I’m an expert software programmer, so I’ll start a business developing a software application.”

It’s rare to find an entrepreneur, particularly a first-timer, with enough experience in all facets of running a business to be successful. The programmer builds a great software product but can’t figure out how to sell it. The marketer can rip the pants off a marketing campaign, but doesn’t have the technical know-how to setup a good website.

If you’ve got the money, you can pay for the help you need, but lots of us are bootstrapping our businesses. Sure I’d love to hire a web designer and a marketing expert and a PR person…but where’s that money going to come from?

Instead, you have to find a way to ask for help. (Woohoo! I’m getting to my point, finally.)

Asking for help is fairly easy, once you understand that it must come in the context of a dialogue between people, not just a question + answer format. I wouldn’t recommend emailing someone and saying, “I need help with X, Y and Z. Please get back to me.” It’s unlikely you’ll get a good response (or a response at all). And that’s not because people are unfriendly, but that’s because you haven’t given them a reason to help. You can’t just ask a PR expert to give you all her secrets for free; she’s running a business too…

Instead, you need to present the person with something of value. “I scratch your back, you scratch mine.” (Grrr…that feels grand!)

So what might be valuable to the other person?

1. A compliment. Flattery never hurt, but don’t do it without really meaning it. It can be too transparent, and if you come off as a phony, you’ll lose any “first impression respect” you might have otherwise had.

A compliment should come from the fact that you’ve read that person’s blog, used one of that person’s products, or gained something of value from that person, so you can truthfully say, “thanks.”

Few people can ignore a compliment, and it is a good segway into asking for help.

2. Participation in their community. This one goes out mostly to the bloggers. Every blogger wants more people in their community; reading their blog, posting comments, etc. Once you become an active member of a blogger’s community it provides you with a closer relationship (even if you’ve never spoken or emailed directly), such that you can go ahead and ask for help, comfortable in the knowledge that the blogger should “know you” and be more interested in helping a community member out.

3. Advice. This is a tricky one. Some would say, “don’t give advice unless asked for it.” That’s probably a good idea; no reason to come off looking like a pompous know-it-all and then turn around and ask for help. But, if someone you know is looking for advice, be willing and ready to give it. The recipient of that advice should be eager at that point to help you out.

Remember: “Give advice as you would like it to be given to you.”

4. Help. Help is different than advice. In my post Testing Your Blog on Multiple Browsers is Very Important, I noted that I often find broken blog layouts, and I do what I can to email the blog owner and tell them. I think that’s being helpful.

Recently I received an email newsletter with two typos in it. One of them was very strange, it ended up creating a funky URL out of the text which went to a bizarre site; nothing in relation to the email newsletter. I emailed the newsletter owner and told her.

You can’t go wrong with being helpful. Approach it delicately though, you don’t want to insult people, and the context/intention of email is often hard to interpret (I’m assuming you’re giving help via email here.)

5. Information. The other day I pointed someone to a blog I’d been reading for some time. “I thought this might interest you because…”

Notice the word “because”. It’s important to tell people why you think what you’re sending them is of value. If you don’t, it can look rather random.

6. A contact. If you give someone a referral (whether it’s a referral for a potential client, business partner, or general contact) they’ll love you forever. Ok, maybe not, but networking is a powerful beast. And networking works. Whether online, in-person or through smoke signals, networking works. It helps grow your business, and your experience. And everyone appreciates help with expanding their network.

I’m a huge advocate for asking for help — mostly because I need so much of it!

Do it properly, respectfully and provide something of value beforehand (and after you get the help…don’t just drop the person!) and you’ll get more free and useful advice than you know what to do with. More importantly perhaps, you’ll build quality relationships with people that you didn’t have before. So you got help, you helped someone, and you’ve made a friend. Sweet.

No, this isn’t a post about MarketingSherpa’s blog awards and the voting trouble they’ve had. This is a post about MarketingSherpa’s customer support.

About a week ago, I got into a conversation (via email) with Paul Allen about IGotNewsForYou. As usual, I was looking for feedback, as well as expressing my appreciation for his blog. Paul responded quickly, emails went back and forth and at one point he referred me to a MarketingSherpa interview transcript with the CEO of AmericanGreeting.com.

AmericanGreetings is a behemoth in the e-card business, and since IGotNewsForYou is in a similar business, it makes sense that I should read this interview, where, according to Paul, the CEO of AmericanGreetings shares their entire story of pricing, marketing, using freebies, etc.

Great! I need as much help as I can get, so off I go to MarketingSherpa’s website to find this transcript. Paul told me it was “a couple hundred dollars” so that would probably help me find it.

I’ll skip all the details of my search through MarketingSherpa’s website and get to the point: I couldn’t find it. I found other AmericanGreeting references, but not what I was looking for.

So, I emailed MarketingSherpa. That was on June 21st. Ok, so it’s only been 2 days, but I expected a faster response, particularly from a website that promotes marketing, business success, etc. With that expectation, I’m being disappointed, slowly but surely as each moment passes and I don’t get a response. Am I wrong to have an expectation of quick response? I don’t think so…

Meanwhile, at Bazaarblog I’ve just read Brant’s post, How to Create a Customer for Life and that makes me even more disappointed with MarketingSherpa, but also encourages me that some companies get it when it comes to customer service.

Ok, MarketingSherpa, the ball’s in your court…

[tags]marketingsherpa, marketing sherpa, customer service, american greeting, american greetings, ecards, e-cards, online cards[/tags]