Community Connect
A life of Significance… 8/2/10
A Gallup Poll of 250,000 successful people found that “the highest levels of personal achievement came when people matched their activities with their strengths.”
It is evident that every company, city, state, product or book possesses unique strengths – characteristics – that distinguish it from all others.
The same is true for people. Each of us has abilities, talents, skills, knowledge, connections and experiences that distinguish us from others.
A company will always do better – and make more money – by focusing on its proven uniqueness and that of each member of its team.
Career experts estimate that at least half of those working are not in jobs suited to their primary interests and abilities. It is important for you to identify your strengths and gifts, particularly in the work arena so that your passions and energy are allowed to be released.
Keep living a life of significance, by telling your story through your time, talents, treasures and touch!
Being Informed Is the Real Key to “Cutting Edge…” 7/16/10
It seems that we all know those two or three people that seem to effortlessly and legitimately know something about everything. These are the people we quickly grow to hate or depend on for the answers to all of our menial inquisitions throughout the day. Ever wonder how they do it? They probably just made an effort.
In business, making an effort to stay informed is an oft overlooked part of the day. Good ideas don’t come to those that just wait around, contrary to the actions of most small-business operators. To be a leader in your industry you can’t just wait around for your shtick to work and your idea to take off. You have to do some prep work.
Spend thirty minutes to an hour each day perusing some quality blogs and relevant news sources to see what is currently happening in your field. This kind of dedicated pursuit will help keep you on your toes, and before you know it maybe you’ll have that world-changing idea that shuts down your competitors forever. But hey, worst-case-scenario is that you spent some actual time researching your field and have a much better grasp on your competition. Doesn’t sound like too much of a downside.
These are some great blogs and sites to start with…
Figure Out Social Media Already! 7/14/10
The endless harvesting of updates about who’s single, who’s playing subpar, Flash-based games, and who just ate a cheeseburger makes all social media forms seem incredibly daunting at first. But, its really not that complicated. No longer can the wary business practitioner cross their fingers in some Prince-esque fashion and wish away the effect social media is having on the commercial landscape today. Its time to make a genuine attempt to understand and utilize it.
In all reality, its not terribly complicated. Like any difficult situation, reduce the problem down to its root cause and go from there. For social media, the single most important idea is conversation. Sounds simple right? Good, because it is. Below is a video from Common Craft that is one of the best short explanations about why you should pursue a social media presence.
We all know our way around advertising, email blasts, cold-calling, sales calls, and those other traditional means at this point. Think of social media as the Herculean love child of all of those. Its created a way to have a real give and take with your customers.
You may very well feel like you are behind the times a little bit, and you probably are. But, that is no reason to fall further behind. Get with the program! Begin to familiarize yourself with some of the language and venues involved in social media. If you want help doing this, we at CN have a brief but informative resource covering many of the social media outlets being used today. Let us know if you want one. What do you really have to lose?
Community Networks Helps Fire Rescue House 6/21/10
Community Networks was hired to provide marketing assistance and design for the Fire Rescue House of Madison County. Community Networks is currently creating a marketing campaign to attain a $250,000 grant from the Pepsi Challenge for the Fire Rescue House.