Rothacker Reviews

Come to Expect

So I'm waiting in line at Wal-Mart the other day.

Actually, it was nine o'clock in the morning and there was just one lady in front of me in the pharmacy line. We stood there for seven or eight minutes before I spotted a person working behind the counter. But she was about sixty feet away on the other side of the department and I'm not sure she saw us standing there. Another ten minutes went by and the pharmacist called out, "she'll be right with you."

I said to the lady in front of me (in a friendly tone), "it's Wal-Mart, what do you expect?"

She shook her head and then it dawned on me, she expected some other type of service than what we were getting.

Prior to losing my job, I bought my medications at Publix. Co-pay allowed me the luxury of friendly, competent service. One of their pharmacy assistants even called me by name.

Without insurance, we had no choice but to start using Wal-Mart's pharmacy. That was two years ago. Since then, I've had six or seven problems/hassles, with getting my prescriptions filled. That doesn't include standing in line or unfriendly service.

I'm not mad however. This is Wal-Mart. This is what I expect out of Wal-Mart. There are reasons other than Wal-Mart's strangle-their-vendors-until-they-bleed-buy low tactics and superior logistics's systems that they are so low priced.

I really didn't mean for this to turn into a rant on Wally-Mart, but my fingers simply wouldn't let me tell you what I really wanted to say until we got that out.

You, me, the guy selling hot dogs down on the corner, the 7-11 girl, Publix and Wal-Mart all condition people on how they want to be treated. People are going to come to expect something out of you, good or bad. Make it good, you have that power.

So, after picking up a few other items at Wal-Mart that day, I wheel the cart up to the store greeter and take my bags. He looks up at me, smiles and says, "thanks for making my job so easy!"

"No problem brother, no problem."

Personal Branding..........................From 1927

Read each of these and think about yourself and how you are perceived by others.

Thanks to my sister Debra Estep for both images.

Social Nation

Social Nation How to harness the power of Social Media to attract customers, motivate employees, & grow your business by Barry Libert.

There is a group of people out there, dare I say nation, that can prosper from reading Barry's book. It isn't who you might think...

I read a book review of Social Nation that said if you were responsible for a company's social media, this book is a must read. I would clarify that. If you are responsible for how your company goes to market, the culture and overall philosophy behind your company, this book is a must read. If however, you are the social media manager of your company and your company isn't Apple, Best Buy, Google or the likes of companies like Nike, you might not want to read this book. Let me break it down Ms. Manager. You are attempting to cross the Atlantic in a company issued ten foot rubber dingy. You have food, water and a book about the Allure of the Seas. Do you really want to read about the largest most luxurious ocean liner while trying to sail your shark-bitten dingy to England?

My first reaction after reading Social Nation was - this isn't about social media, it's about how to build a company that will thrive in today's market. Social Nation is about social media. It's about how to convert your customers and employees to fans and followers and build a Social Nation using today's social media tools.

Author Barry Libert tells us how social media creates value and why social skills matter. He also includes a chapter tied to his Website, that allows us to test our social skills. The meat and potatoes of the book is based on the following seven principles for building your own Social Nation:

1. Develop your social skills
2. Let culture lead the way
3. Mind you online and offline manners
4. Monitor and measure your communities' contributions
5. Involve your fans in everything you do
6. Rely on your community for growth and innovation
7. Reward others and you will be rewared too

Barry says that there are three types of companies out there (and I paraphrase):

1. Those that don't know what it means to build their own Social Nation
2. Those who are trying but can't quite get it
3. Those who are prospering at it and are trying to bet better

One might think that CEO's and owners of #'s 1 & 2 would be prime candidates to benefit from Barry's lessons. # 1 is out. That's like a CEO pondering four years ago if his company should have a Website. The mentality and mindset behind Social Nation can be traced back to the mid to late 90's. If the CEO doesn't get it by now, there's no hope. The only way # 2 will get it if she understands that social media is not a department but a mindset, methodolgy and roots of a culture. As for # 3, if I'm out there kickin' butt and takin' names, I love to read about those who are doing the same.

I would die to work for a company that truly gets Social Nation. Imagine going to work everyday with engaged coworkers following clear and simple principles. And customers, whose valued feedback is taken seriously and utilized (which encourages the stream to never go dry). You are working in the 10's not the 70's. Transparent communication and knowledge gives way to opportunities and innovation. Now. The hive buzzes with like-minded people and those who want to push boundaries - not those who punch in and punch their mind out. Your world evolves right before your eyes.

Who will benefit the most from reading Social Nation?  Those who want to work for cutting edge companies that value their coworkers and customers. Barry's lessons help to identify such companies. The sweet part? Company's actions speak louder than words. Research is but a mouse click away.

 I received a copy of Social Nation from Barry's literary agent for review.

Bird on the Wire

Leonard Cohen recorded this beautiful song in 1968. According to Wikipedia, Cohen's girlfriend, in trying to help him out of depression, handed him his guitar. He went onto compose this song.

For me, the most powerful line in the song is "I have tried in my own way to be free."

Whether or not we call it depression, isn't our own "guitar" the pathway to personal freedom? Maybe our guitar is auto mechanics or sewing or painting or laying bricks. Or maybe, it's writing.

When we're in that black hole of despair, when the future looks bleak, when hope is something that keeps slipping away, when confusion throttles the life from our soul and no one is there to hand us a guitar, what should we do? Most of us know where that guitar is. With every ounce of our being we should muster our strength, embrace the guitar and try really hard to make our own music.

This is Katey Sagal's (Married with Children & Sons of Anarchy) cover.

  

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Kate Middleton

I was holding a newspaper yesterday, looking at a picture of Kate Middleton and reading the story. All of a sudden I felt an internal jolt, and thought about Princess Diana and then back to Kate. I have this gut feeling that Kate Middleton is going to make a difference in this world to many, many people in need.

Photos: Bauer-Griffin

A Timeless Post - Revisited

I originally wrote this in December of 2006. I wanted to update the links to two of my most favorite people in cyberspace, Penelope Trunk and Pam Slim. I recently read an article in the last issue of Good, where a college grad with a master's degree said, "I honestly had no idea to how to explain to people who I was and what I did." Both Penelope and Pam offer advice on this topic here. I'd also like to explore a bit about it in my next post.

In the tenth grade I was asked by a guidance counselor, "what do you want to be when you grow up?"  The thought that I put into my answer was equivalent to a four-year old saying he wants to be a fireman. The year was 1972, and I said I want to work with computers. To quickly dispel any thought that I took this statement, dedicated my life to it and followed in Bill's footsteps - I just learned how to copy and paste on computers about four years ago...although in reality I've been working with computers for twenty two years...the same way a clerk at Target works with computers.

While trolling around doing research for our last Starship Mission, I came upon Penelope Trunk and her site Brazen Careerist. Penelope is an old school blogger who has cataloged a ton of useful information over the years. Penelope is also a prolific syndicated columnist. She might find it odd that I find more significance and relevance in her blog than that of print media (advertisers will eventually figure this out). Penelope writes a thought provoking post in Answering the question, What do you do? She links out to Pam Slim of Escape from Cubicle Nation and Pamela's most timeless post: How do you introduce yourself?

When asked the question, "What do you do for a living?" I've never been able to look someone confidently in the eyes and say, "I'm a...." I'm not trying to do the "woe is me thing" here. It's simply a fact. I believe it's been that way because I've never been satisfied with any position in my entire life. As Pamela says, "By wobbling around in your introductions..."  I've been a master wobbler.

Here is an example introduction from Pamela:

The way you will start really owning your new business venture is to introduce yourself as an entrepreneur. Examples:

New Acquaintance: "So, what do you do for a living?"

You: "I help homeowners use solar technology to reduce their energy bills by 400%"

New Acquaintance: "Wow, that is cool!  How long have you been doing it?"

You: "For the last year or so" ("or so" is the key word ... )

New Acquaintance: "And this pays your bills?"

You: "It will in the next year as I complete the first phase of start-up. In the interim, I moonlight as VP of Marketing for IBM."

Of course I have no business ventures but there is much to be learned from Pamela's words. She finishes with:

A Buddhist friend once told me that the words that you say form a force field of attraction around you.

Pamela shines a beacon of light with this post. I should be able to see it once I get the chicken feathers out of my eyes.

Hugh of Gaping Void published Pam's Work Manifesto this past Sunday. This is good!

Update December 9, 2006 - So I go to a party armed with this fresh new knowledge. I'm ready and set to introduce myself as a writer when the first bloke I happen upon turns out to publish and own five magazines. The dude doesn't ask me what I do, but I was prepared to chuck the writer spiel and labor down the "I am a manager..." Yuck!