Thoughts on a business in transition... the first of many it seems.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

Recently I have been having in depth discussions with a colleague of mine regarding businesses in transition, what it means, its impact, and how our backgrounds offer a unique perspective on this topic; particularly on the commercial side (Renee is quick to remind me that Sales and Marketing is much clearer than saying "commercial"; this is another point of discussion). Call it Commercial or Sales and Marketing, we definitely can offer insight.

Transition (the noun) is defined as the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another*, and with respect to business, I will say this is a constant state... the exception I suppose is when a business is stagnate (showing neither growth nor decline). Even this stagnation though will tip either towards growth or decline in time and return the business to its natural state of change. BY DEFINITION, A BUSINESS IS ALWAYS IN TRANSITION... sometimes fast and sometimes slow, but always transitioning one way or another.

There are four considerations that come to mind when it comes to transition that frame up the real world aspects of dealing with it:

Transition due to internal factors - Transition and change in the organization driven by internal activities and initiatives by leadership and employees to build a more viable and successful business. An example of this would be the implementation of a new CRM system for the sales force to manage customer opportunities and increase revenue.

Transition due to external factors - Transition and change in the organization driven by external forces that impact how the company conducts business. Examples of this can range from new government regulations, through new competitive products, to the countless changes that can happen with the customer's ever changing expectations. 

Transition by "evolution" - Transition and change that occur at a controlled pace as part of long term strategic planning, the companies goals, and market considerations. 

Transition by "revolution" - Transition and change that occur because of a dramatic event... either externally or internally. A merger or leadership change (with very different philosophies) represent the more colourful examples of transition by "revolution".

It was at this point I literally looked up from my computer and asked myself, "Do you really believe you can tackle this topic with a 500 to 700 word blog post?"  I will definitely need more words and future posts, and with that said, I will lay the foundation regarding a business in transition by saying,

"Transition in business is a natural state that is under constant influence by external and internal factors, and it is the responsibility of leadership and employees alike to manage this as proactively as possible... ever prepared to deal with the change of revolution" 

The gauntlet has been thrown down... I will organize my thoughts on a business in transition, particularly with the commercial function, and tackle it with gusto 500 to 700 words at a time. I invite my colleague Renee Cormier, as well as anyone else, to offer insights on a business in transition.

Because in a very practical sense, it will touch us all throughout our careers.

iamgpe

* Thank you internet for one of the many definitions.

What's in a picture? Well for one... it seems a black suit should be!

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

I found this email in my inbox from a good friend a couple of days ago,

"Meant to share this earlier, and apologies in advance if I already have. For those relying on online profile photos for job hunt, client hunt, etc hunt - the website www.photofeeler.com provides a free tool for the evaluation of your mug. Just submit your profile photo, evaluate a handful of other submissions, and receive your unbiased feedback. Don't like the feedback - change the photo. Give it a try."

So I did.

As I got into PhotoFeeler I found that a "quick evaluation" was available for free, but like so many things of this ilk, you can use cold hard cash to upgrade and get more feedback. The categories for photo evaluation are Business, Social and Dating and each category has three characteristics that people rate you on; for example, with the Business category people rate your picture on "Competency", Likability, and "Influence".

I have a standard business photograph that I use on my website and various social media sites including beBee. It made sense to start with this, and this was the feedback:

Not bad... really high in the areas of "Competence" and "Influence" and just the right level of "Likability"; what I mean by this is if you are too likable people will think you can't make the tough decisions. That's true isn't it?

Since I'm a curious fellow and do like my data, I couldn't help but try out the other two categories. I started with the Social category; with that I determined I needed a new photograph because Social is different than Business - Isn't it?

Well this isn't exactly what I expected. I'm good with the confidence, but what's with "Authentic" and "Fun" being less than 60%?

I think I'm pretty true to myself, and after a martini or two I'm a bunch of fun... this is disappointing!

As the saying goes, "In for a penny, in for a pound", so it's a new photograph and onto the "Dating" category; after setting some parameters regarding age and orientation, I submit and waited patiently.

"WTF!"

So it seems a shiny penny is brighter than I am, that you probably can't trust me as far as you can throw me, and as looks go, it has been suggested that I've been beaten quite liberally with an ugly stick.

There had to be something wrong!

Something just had to be done. This had to be fixed!

I knew what I would do! The black suit to the rescue.

Now, that response is much better!

I can live with 86 % attractive... after all, I am no Brad Pitt.

But now what?

Well, after burning up twenty minutes of my life that I will never get back, I suppose it may be worth looking at what I've learned from my efforts... 

1. This was fun. Yes, I have added more pictures onto the web that people with "facial recognition software" can exploit but hey, that's the way of the world and we have to learn to live with it.
2. 10 votes is probably not statistically relevant so all of this data is suspect. PhotoFeeler offers the ability to gather more data, so depending on your goals and how you want to use your image, it may be very helpful.
3. With consideration to point number two, there is some indication that having a black suit may offer some advantages for presenting a positive image. With this said, it may also suggest that wearing sunglasses offers up a negative one ... my guess is people want to see your eyes.
4. Data is just data... you can't say it's good when you like it and bad when you don't. The question to ask is, "What are you going to do with the data to help meet your goals?"
5. Like it or not, people will judge you.
6. People will make interpretations based on your photograph, so choose wisely regarding the image you want to portrait.

In all of these photographs I am the same person (with all the same strengths and weaknesses of the human condition), and because of this twenty minute exercise I ultimately asked myself the simple question, "Am I pleased with who I am?" And although I am still a work in progress, the answer was "Yes".

In the end, using the appropriate photograph is just an exercise in good "Marketing". 

iamgpe

PS: I have no association with PhotoFeeler whatsoever. 

It is interesting how people define business on LinkedIn...

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

"It's only Tuesday and I am having such a great work week. Enjoy everyone!"

"Sorry, but I am having difficulty understanding the context of this message as it applies to LinkedIn. Is it not better suited to Facebook and your friends who might care?"

"Thank you for your comment <name removed>. The context of my post is everyone can identify with how their work week is going and this is part of my social media strategy, as this is a social media platform. I'm a visual merchandiser so hence the engaging visual and hey, it's summer"

"LinkedIn is a business networking site. This is not an outlet for 'how peoples <sic> work week is going'. It is about education and insight NOT Fluff."

I will say with full disclosure that this post and exchange is real, and the person who made the initial post is my daughter; as you may appreciate I am working really hard to be constructive with what I'm about to say. (Add "winky face" emoji... unless you are reading this on LinkedIn, then please disregard as I understand it's for business only.)

I initially found out about this when my daughter sent me a text explaining she was a little upset. I will admit it took me a moment to suppress my fatherly instinct to PROTECT and DEFEND but quickly settled into a more "constructive mindset". My daughter is a very capable and industrious young lady so after a quick discussion I left her to her own devices. I then did what any good father would do; I stalked the person on LinkedIn.

He is an executive sales professional with extensive experience, solid picture and a face that commanded authority... all very credible.

Just then I happened to see one of his posts in my stream (as it was shared by a mutual connection); I just rolled my eyes and smirked as I realized what it was. This "genius" <insert sarcasm>, who called out my daughter for working her social media strategy and not understanding the LinkedIn channel, had just posted one of his company's product banner ads (without even bothering to add any personal content). Any credibility regarding this person's insight into "how to and how not to" use LinkedIn (and social media in general), evaporated.

A Question...

"How is my daughter's post on "How her work week is going" any different than this "genius's" banner ad post for office furniture?"

It isn't any different... other than my daughter's content was more socially engaging and arguably more aligned to the channel. What I find fascinating is how people take on the role of content police based on their interpretation of what business is (which I might add seems to be aligned with their domain expertise)... "Based on what I know about business and what I think LinkedIn is all about, I deem this inappropriate content and should be stopped!"

For the sake of argument and moving this along, let's say business is defined as the "building of relationships that directly or indirectly lead to revenue generation"... deliberately broad, but no less accurate I will wager. If your content is engaging, connects with people and supports the building of relationships with an end game to generate revenue (same as income) then it's business appropriate.

But is it appropriate for LinkedIn?

I guess it depends on what your social media strategy is (as part of your broader business strategy).

For my daughter who was looking for a job and developing her domain expertise as a visual artist, LinkedIn was just one of many channels that included her website, Instagram and Twitter to bring a holistic message to the market; for the genius who started all of this, I suspect LinkedIn is something he uses between meetings to pass the time.  

LinkedIn, like all social media channels is just a tool to be used as part of a larger strategy; I would like to suggest spending much more time learning how to use social media channels, optimize content you drive through the various channels, ensure it's aligned with your strategy, and stop spending any time questioning the business relevance of other people's posts. 

Look, if you don't like what you see in your stream scrub your connections or block those who just don't align with the content you want to see... if it's really, really bothering you, switch to a more affinity based platform like beBee where you can choose your interests.

Just have a strategy because if you don't, it doesn't really matter how you define business content.

iamgpe

PS: It didn't take my daughter long to get a job, thanks in part to her efforts on LinkedIn.

PPS: Left to her devices my daughter "blocked" the executive because she saw little value in what he was saying. I wonder if he knows?