Here’s a hint: you already do!

Every company, person, entity, organization, coffee shop, and neighborhood has a reputation. All that can be done is to dictate whether that reputation is positive or negative.

Every unrequested phone call, unwanted email, un-original advertisement is a hit to a companies reputation. As in negatively impacts it. This annoyance then makes business that much more difficult in the best of times, and alienates your target markets at the worst.

We’re in a new world, with new tools and opportunities to create a positive reputation, why keep the old tools, old ideas, and more that creates a negative reputation?

Why?

To get you out of your rut!

If you inundate yourself with creativity and innovation eventually you reach a nexus moment.

Like your bucket being filled to overflowing, if you surround yourself with enough inspirational material: your brain will eventually spark.

And hopefully that spark will create a flame. A flame which will bring light and warmth to the world (to paraphrase Mr. Hilton).

To start I’d like to focus on a photo tagging website called Piccsy.

Piccsy allows its users to tag photos and share them with the community. Is some of it racy? Yes! But look at how the presentation of all the photos immediately makes them artistic. Even something as mundane as a coffee cup takes on an artistic air.

What does that mean for you? Two things:

Presentation is still everything! How something is staged and presented can make the difference between great and crap.

Change your perspective. Try looking at something in a different light. Take something ordinary and try something different with it.

Let’s kick this week into high gear!

Apple Steps It Up - Steve Jobs is buying and acquiring companies like crazy. You might be next!

100 Blogs in 100 Days – Utopia Inc, has decided to make every one of their employees blog for the next 100 days. Should be interesting to see what happens. And they’ve made it an open forum. Go share your viewpoint.

“I Don’t Know” – Tim Berry praises the idea of not knowing. Read to get the full perspective, I don’t want to spoil it

Be More Approachable – Seriously. Take these lessons to heart, be a better leader by being more approachable

From Seth Godin – I groove on Seth Godin right now for two reasons: It’s an easy read; and it’s true.

Recharge! - Take a break and recharge your creativity. Yes, I said creativity. How can you reach new clients if you aren’t trying new things?

ROCK OUT to: Lose Yourself by Eminem.

I am currently sitting in the airport terminal in Baltimore and I have experienced the full range of customer service (remember, there are only two options). Two great instances occurred in the last place I thought possible: a TSA checkpoint.

For starters, the officer checking IDs and tickets, actually chose to engage me in a brief conversation. I had forgotten to open my ticket folder. Meaning he had to open it for me, when I apologized he merely said “It’s no problem sir.” Promptly checked my ticket and ID, and then proceeded to actually and sincerely wish me a wonderful flight.

How often does it happen that you run into someone who enjoys working for the TSA?

Second great story:

There was a canned, propaganda poster for the TSA there at the security check point. Standard “meet Pat, TSA officer” stuff. The kind of marketing to put a face onto what is normally a horrendously inconvenient process. In a vain attempt to keep people from going insane.

But to my surprise, out from a scanner walks…Pat! The man in the poster! So I read the next poster, and I start looking for the woman pictured in it. How cool was that? Instead of some politically correct, generic poster. I’ve got a poster specifically created for my TSA line! The wait suddenly wasn’t an inconvenience anymore.

Those were two simple ideas that made a world of difference. Can your company say the same about their customer service?

The hint for customer service: If its not spectacularly memorable; then it’s crap.

I’m a strong advocate for the six to seven hour work day. If those two extra hours from work were eliminated would the same amount of work get done? Yes. In fact, I would argue that MORE would be accomplished in six hours then in eight. Why? Focus, and a reduction of the unnecessary and inessential work that is loved by bureaucracies and hated by workers.

What does this have to do with sales?

Lots of call lists claim to shorten the sales cycle. Which would be spectacular! Imagine talking to individuals who actually want to buy a product, good, or service! The sales process would be so easy, everyone would do it.

But that’s not the case. No cold call list can guarantee those claims, because their very nature prohibits it. Their cold for a reason. It takes a lot of energy to warm them up.

Energy that could be spent elsewhere in a more productive manner.

The question then is, how does one shorten the sale cycle? Thus making it more productive?

The answer isn’t new: Referrals.

The down side to “everyone share” is that you don’t learn how to be respectfully confrontational. Like Milton not demanding his piece of cake, the inability to confront what you don’t like is dangerous. And eventually leads to an unexpected, and often unpredictable outburst.

The same is true for competition. How can you learn to be a good sport, to win graciously and lose gracefully, if you never know who won or who loss? Are those tough lessons to learn? Of course, like anything important in life.

In sales, there is an occasional call to be confrontational. The entire sales process is effectively a debate. The client doesn’t realize that they need a good or service, the sales pro engages the individual with the intent of creating that realization. That “aha” moment.

It is confrontation at its finest.

Why is it most of America views salesmen as pushy? As rude? As jerks? Because those three characteristics mark an individual who is confrontational, but in the wrong way. Whereas President Obama (whether you agree with his policies or not) is never considered rude, but he is confrontational. One need only look at the health care debates to see that. What then is the trick? How can a person be confrontational, without being a jerk?

It starts with respect. Whether I agree with someone or not, I try to respect their position. No matter how blatantly wrong I believe it to be.

Secondly, I know I’m right. My products are the best in the market, and Company X needs the best. I’ve researched it, studied it, weighed the variables, and I know my Super Widgets will create more profit and cut costs.

Armed with the knowledge that I am right, I can now confront their arguments and disbelief with patience. Patience is the key. Frustration leads to anger, whereas patience leads towards change. Like the river washing over a rock, slowly wearing it down. A patient, well crafted argument can wear down the strongest opposition.

Lastly, don’t be like an elephant. After a particularly difficult sales meetings, full of confrontation and heated words; let it go. Elephants, the proverb goes, never forget. I say forgive. It was a heated discussion, you said your piece and it’s best to let it go at that.

A word of warning however: Learn when to walk away. There will be situations where everything is conspiring against you. It’s almost like a trap. If I may quote De Niro from the movie Ronin “Lesson one: If there’s doubt, there’s no doubt.” Meaning if you’re instincts are telling you it’s a bad situation, trust them. Choose your battles, and commit to them.

To sum up: Respectful confrontation is built upon patience, confidence, and the ability to let it all go. It’s nothing new,

One of my favorite movies is “Tommy Boy.” Is it juvenile? Yes. It’s also hilarious and highly quotable. But there’s a line from near the start of the movie that has always stuck with me “If you’re not growing; you’re dieing.”

Growth is a painful process, marked by failures and hard lessons learned. Did anyone ever really like sixth grade or being a freshman in high school? No, and if anyone tells you otherwise: They’re liars.

In business growth is harder to define. Companies can become large without actually growing, and the inverse is entirely true also. Many large businesses haven’t grown, they’ve merely swelled, or become bloated.

Growth in business, is marked by innovation, risk, dream chasing, game-changing and any other buzzword that can be tossed around. Google has grown, Apple has grown, the small banks that capitalized on the financial crisis have grown, Hyundai has grown. GM has swelled, Goldman Sachs swelled, Enron swelled.

Companies that swell eventually burst.

Companies that grow, change the face of business. Google revolutionized what was a boring industry (search engines). Apple ushered in the age of MP3 players. Hyundai is the little car company that keeps winning big awards. Twitter, Facebook, blogging, Flickr, Tumblr, Squidoo, Digg, Reddit, and more have all changed how the world works and interacts for the better.

Can Chase Bank say the same? Maybe at the beginning of their life.

At some point, the focus transitioned from growing the business, to growing the profits. And that’s when the swelling started.

The question you have to ask yourself, are you growing your business or merely swelling it?

All the information you need to get your week started right. Right now!

Twitter’s New Ad Model

Businesses rejoice and let your tweets be heard round the world! Twitter has released details on premium tweets. This looks to be huge for businesses.

Lost iPhone 4G Found… And Dissected

Apparently a courier lost one of the prototype iPhone 4Gs, Gizmodo found it and tore it apart to let you know what Apple goodness awaits. Personally, I think this was a publicity stunt. Like Apple would ship a prototype iPhone with anyone but Steve Jobs himself.

Does GE still have it?

General Electrics managers are legendary. Were legendary. Can GE reclaim that legend or are they doomed to fail?

Complex Business Models Are Passe.

Based around the research of Joseph Tainter, Clay Shirky argues that complex business models are destined to falter, fail, and fall apart. Simplicity is the key to success it seems.

iAd And What It iMeans

Apple recently revealed it’s new advertising platform. Here’s why it’s great!

From Mashable: 40 of the Best Twitter Brands

These are 40 great companies using Twitter in amazing ways. Learn from them young padawan, learn and become strong.

ROCK OUT TO:

The Reeling by Passion Pit

Service comes from the word “serve.” As in to serve. To meet the needs of others, a servant.

I had to rent a truck today for work. Normally this is an amazing experience. For whatever reason, I love to drive trucks. The bigger, the better. And if it’s got a manual transmission: I’m that much closer to heaven, friend!

Anyways, I walk into the local rental place (practically floating on air at this point). And I’m greeted with two employees, one customer. Perfect, should be an easy in and out as far as I’m concerned.

One employee greets me, asks if I’m here for to pick up a reserved truck. I was, so he starts heading for the lot, and lets me know that the other employee will help me.

This is where things start to get interesting.

The truck was reserved ahead of time through the office. Meaning I should just walk in, confirm that I am me, get the keys and go!

Oh no. Not that easy. The need for a credit card to reserve the truck on the website, doesn’t translate into an actual rental. We call the help line, and I am informed:

In order for this to happen, they need a faxed copy of the credit card, the card holders license, with the card information written as well because “sometimes, you can’t make it out.”

1) Who uses a fax machine anymore?

2) Wouldn’t it just be easier to rent the truck through the website?

A minor frustration, but I’ve got it covered. Although I am irked somewhat that no one alerted me of this situation. Most likely because no one knew it would happen.

I start filling out paper work, and signing on the touch screen. Which begins to malfunction. While the employee is trying to fix the credit card machine, she is asking me the obligatory sales questions. I say no to everything.

I sign the touch screen, and then she hands me a copy of the receipt. Shows me the important information, but neglects to really explain everything well. Folds it up, and slides it forward to me with a carbon copy on top.

“sign here please.” This looks official, so I sign it. Carbon copies are always official. She folds everything up again, and hands it all to me. “He’ll be outside with the truck.”

I walk out to the truck, get in, and drive over off to the site. Just down the block.

We load everything up, and head off through DC’s traffic. We get on the freeway and quickly realize that the side mirrors flop back and forth through the air like metallic dog ears. And I remember that the guy who set up the truck for me, asked if the mirrors were okay.

He should have realized how loose they were when he moved them. Then the breaks start to fade out.

And when all is said and done: I realize that the official carbon copy, is in fact a purchase order for travel insurance. Which I had said no to before…

Officially, the worst customer service I have ever had. There was no service to me, no desire to meet my needs nor respect my business. At what point did the servant side of service get lost?

Building a Brand on a Budget

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Don’t Waste What’s Left of This Crisis

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6 Lessons from World Entrepreneurship Day

The future is mobile, at least according to the entrepreneurs who gathered to mark the second annual World Entrepreneurship Day at the United Nations in New York City.

Use Social Media To Enable Innovation

Social media tools have many important business uses.

One of the most powerful is the ability to foster innovation.

The Art of Naming a Fantasy Team

I know it’s not really business related; but man it’s important!