At the beginning of January, I posted Reading List: How to Master LinkedIn in 7 Days or Less, and noted that Jan Wallen’s book includes a tip that by itself is worth the price. Well, Jan was kind enough to allow me to post her tip here.
Read the tip. Continue reading
Godin’s email checklist has been around for a few years, so you may have seen it. If not, it is definitely worth a read. There are too many recommendations to be practically used as a checklist, however, they are all good. Here are the most important recommendations to consider for your professional email:
13. Am I angry? (If so, save as draft and come back to the note in one hour).
14. Could I do this note better with a phone call?
21. Could this email be shorter? Continue reading
Posted in Effectiveness, Management, Networking, Practices & Habits
Tagged Email, Godin, Seth Godin
This is as much about your personal effectiveness as a professional as it is a benefit to the universe. The Email Charter has some great recommendations for reducing the overall volume of email at the macro-level which can be applied to the individual-level, as well. I’ve included a few other recommendations of my own here:
The Email Charter was created in response to widespread acknowledgement that email is getting out of hand for many people. It started life as a blog post by TED Curator Chris Anderson and TED Scribe Jane Wulf. The idea struck a chord. More than 45,000 people read the post and it generated hundreds of tweets, comments and suggestions. That is how the final Charter was shaped. Some of the key contributors are listed here.
The Charter is a private, non-commercial initiative, a simple ‘idea worth spreading’.
Posted in Effectiveness, Management, Practices & Habits
Tagged Chris Anderson, Email Charter, Jane Wulf, TED
Jan Wallen’s Mastering LinkedIn in 7 Days or Less is a must read for LinkedIn newbies and experienced users alike. Because of Jan’s extensive professional experience in Fortune 500 and Big 5 firms, her book focuses on the very practical aspects of utilizing LinkedIn to find a job, identify new clients and grow your business.
The book covers the basics from creating your initial profile to searching for and connecting with people in your network. As an extensive user of LinkedIn for her own business, Jan provides many of her own insider secrets, tools and services throughout.
There are specific steps for days #1-7 starting with determining your LinkedIn philosophy. On Day #6, you’ll learn about The Most Important 10 Minutes You’ll Ever Spend in LinkedIn. This information alone is worth the price of the book and the time spent reading it. Each day covers a different topic and by Day #7, you will have had the full tour. Some of the other important topics include:
There are many books covering LinkedIn. This is one of the best.
Related Posts:
Happy New Year! For the start of 2012, here is a bit of leadership inspiration from Mike Myatt, Forbes.com contributor and a leadership advisor to CEOs & Boards, and author of the book Leadership Matters.
This One Leadership Quality Will Make or Break You
One of the most often overlooked aspects of leadership is the need for pursuit. Great leaders are never satisfied with traditional practice, static thinking, conventional wisdom, or common performance. In fact, the best leaders are simply uncomfortable with anything that embraces the status quo. Leadership is pursuit – pursuit of excellence, of elegance, of truth, of what’s next, of what if, of change, of value, of results, of relationships, of service, of knowledge, and of something bigger than themselves. In the text that follows I’ll examine the value of being a pursuer…
The conclusion of the article says. . . “All leaders would be well served to go back to school on what I refer to as the science of pursuitology.” Read the full text here.
[Editors Note: I like Myatt's new term: pursuitology. 
]
Posted in Effectiveness, Leadership, Management, Practices & Habits
Tagged Business, Education and Training, Leadership, Management, Mike Myatt
Jan Vermeiren and Bert Verdonck have written the second edition of “How to REALLY use LinkedIn” and are making it available for free. Vermeiren’s first edition is one of my top recommendations on the subject of LinkedIn.
The 2nd Edition has been completely revised and there are 53 extra pages which include:
Finally there is the new free “Video & Tools Library” with video tips, assessments, tools and webinar recordings. The book can be downloaded for free from http://www.how-to-really-use-linkedin.com (the library can also be found on that website).
Is your LinkedIn profile a resume repository– an online resume where you maintain and exhaustive and comprehensive record of all of your professional experiences and educational credentials? It is easy for the sake of being complete to treat is as such, however, you’ll be missing the real power of the LinkedIn as a social media marketing platform for you and your business.
Jeff Haden in an Inc.com article offers six simple steps to fine tune your LinkedIn profile:
Step 1. Revisit your goals. Who you are isn’t as important as what you hope to accomplish, so think about your goals and convert your goals into keywords, because keywords are how people find you on LinkedIn.
Step 2. Layer in your keywords. The headline is a key factor in search results, so pick your most important keyword and make sure it appears in your headline.
Step 3. Strip out the clutter. Sift through your profile and weed out or streamline everything that doesn’t support your business or professional goals.
Step 4. Reintroduce your personality. Share why you love what you do in your profile. Share what you hope to accomplish. Keywords are important but are primarily just a way to help potential clients find you. No one hires keywords; they hire people.
Step 5. Take a hard look at your profile photo. A photo is a little like a logo: On its own an awesome photo won’t win business, but a bad photo can definitely lose business.
Step 6. Get recommendations. Recommendations add color and depth to a LinkedIn profile, fleshing it out while avoiding any, “Oh jeez will this guy ever shut up about himself?” reactions.
What does your LinkedIn profile say about you?
Posted in Interview Skills, Networking
Tagged Inc.com, Jeff Haden, LinkedIn, social media
