Hopefully you know which of your customers spends the most money. And you might have some additional anecdotal evidence about them, but you probably haven’t dug deep enough.
How big is your ego? Too big? Too small? Just right?
We’re probably not the best judges of our own ego and whether it’s the right size to be a great leader. After all, our egos would get in the way and skew our judgment. But we certainly should recognize the importance of ego and its role in leadership.
Although ego isn’t a leadership skill it’s certainly one of the most important elements of measuring leadership. As Steven Smith, author of egonomics: What Makes Ego Our Greatest Asset (or Most Expensive Liability) points out in an interview with Guy Kawasaki:
“There are other important elements on the leadership ‘table,’ but ego has the most weight—in large part because of the affect it has on everything else.”
“I don’t know.”
3 simple words. They’re not always easy to say. No one likes to admit they don’t have an answer.
Some people won’t say “I don’t know.” They’d rather stumble their way through a bogus answer, pull something out of thin air (or elsewhere!) or outright lie. For some, avoiding “I don’t know” is an art. Think: politicians. Masters at filling the air with sound and carbon dioxide but not much else.
“I don’t know…”
Alone, the phrase isn’t all that important. What matters is what you say right after.
I’ve never met a Request For Proposal I liked. They’re typically poorly designed, laden with pointless questions and ripe with ridiculous demands. Truth is: RFPs aren’t even meant to find the best vendor. They were invented by process-loving bureaucrats, whose sole mission in life is to procrastinate, justify their jobs and cover their asses.
RFPs suck. I make it a point never to fill them out. Not anymore.
But when a client does ask a reasonable question, for the love of padding your bank account, answer them.
Here are 4 laws of giving great proposals & project quotes that you should never break:
There are plenty of social networks designed for personal use, but they all have professional implications and opportunities. And to ignore those issues is a mistake.
Most social networks have some level of privacy to keep prying eyes away from your profile and content, but don’t assume it’s full proof. It’s safer to assume that anything you put on the Internet is public and always will be.
You can’t completely control who sees what you put online. Employers and potential employers can do a quick Google search and find out all kinds of things. The same holds true for a host of other people: law enforcement, creditors, business partners, etc.
On the positive side, business opportunities abound on social networks, even if they weren’t designed for business. It’s simple. You put people together bound by common interests and get them hooked on participating with one another, and presto, business opportunities emerge.
Since starting on Facebook a month ago I’ve connected with numerous people from a business perspective, which may lead to future opportunities for Standout Jobs. I could have connected with those people via email, but social networks like Facebook (or tools like Twitter) captivate people’s attention; so it’s easier to reach them. When it comes to email, people are overwhelmed and generally hate it. So they’re slower to respond. But send someone a “friend request” on Facebook and they’ll answer almost immediately.
Regardless of whether you’re connecting with people online over your shared love of dogs, photos or cartoon dolls, you’ll build real relationships that can lead beyond the original purpose of the social network.
I'm Benjamin Yoskovitz, CEO & Co-Founder of Standout Jobs. I've been an entrepreneur in the Web for 10+ years, with a particular focus on blogging and social media for the last two. This blog covers my topics of interest, including startups, entrepreneurship, business, blogging and social media. You'll also find content on personal development, productivity and marketing.
