Latest posts from Danny Brown

Enjoy the latest posts from Danny Brown, and feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments after the post.

The Most Important Job in the World?

In life, we often place merit on someone by the job they have. We may not mean to, but it’s no real fault of ours if we do – it’s been ingrained from us almost since we could walk.

Parents tell us to get an education, or we won’t get a good job.

Teachers tell us to study harder, or we won’t get a good job.

Potential girlfriends and boyfriends can decide whether or not we’re worthy of their attention, based on the job we have and the material things that can bring.

We see someone being chauffered from place-to-place and feel they must be really important.

Ironically, in social media, this feeling can be exacerbated.

Our blogs become popular; we get hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter; conferences invite us to speak; we have badges of merit that show how smart we are.

When you have that kind of “adulation”, it’s easy to mistake your importance and think your job is something it’s not. Sure, you may have a great job with a personal secretary; or your golf course fees cost more than it takes to send a child through college; or your blog is quoted in the New York Times.

But does that make you owner of the most important job in the world?

Think about it:

If every single blogger in the world stopped blogging tomorrow, we’d still get our news and opinion pieces. They might be watered down a little, but we’d still get them.

If every chauffeur quit tomorrow, we’d still have cabs, buses, trains, motorbikes and even bicycles to get around on.

If every girlfriend or boyfriend dumped their partners tomorrow, we’d still get by on our imaginations. Life would go on.

Now think about some of the jobs we often look at as lesser, and ask the same question:

If every trash collector quit tomorrow, we’d be faced with disease on the streets as the rats came to town.

If every security guard quit tomorrow, our businesses might follow suit, as we see the bad people come to town.

If every sewage worker quit tomorrow, our streets would be overrun by crap.

If every school crossing guard quit tomorrow, how long would our children stay safe at busy intersections?

We look at life through funny lenses. We see people in lesser light when often we should be shining the light on them. We celebrate our own importance when, often, that importance could be survived if it were to disappear overnight.

The point is, we all have important stuff to do and offer. Let’s try remember that more – yes?

image: Auntie P

Serve Yourself. Ain?t Nobody Gonna Do For You

This is a guest post by Marjorie Clayman.

A few years back, Yoko Ono released a comprehensive anthology of tapes that John Lennon had left behind. It?s a treasure trove of songs, some that you would know right away and others that he hadn?t yet gotten finished.

One of the latter is a song with the blog title as the chorus. It is, of course, acerbic and hilarious, as one might expect from John Lennon.

This song popped into my head the other day as I was thinking about the world of social media.

I am finding more and more that social media is like the ocean, and it has tides that can carry you out or bring you back in.

These tides can be ways of doing things (or not doing things), ways of thinking about people, ways of presenting yourself, and just about everything else. You meet a person who knows a person who?s connected to a person and they?re all of a like mind, so you float in with them. Then you meet other people and they pull you in a different direction.

Pretty soon, if you?re not careful, you can actually lose your footing and just become a piece of driftwood in this restless sea.

The sad fact of the matter, as you discover as you start treading water here in the online world, is that most people have some sort of agenda, and their ability to influence you towards that agenda is what makes social media extremely powerful.

Maybe a person wants you to think poorly of another person because they are competitive with that person. Maybe someone else wants you to avoid certain things because, really, they?re worried you?d be better than them.

You never really know the full story. You never know when the sea floor will randomly drop, pulling you under.

That?s why you need to follow John Lennon?s advice, online and offline.

It?s easy, very easy, to fall in with a crowd. It?s how we gain acceptance. It?s how we feel part of a group, or to use the oft-used online term, ?tribe.? Thinking for yourself or remaining unaffiliated can be really exhausting. There are so many decisions to make on a daily basis. There is so much content to sift through, so many viewpoints to evaluate.

But you have to serve yourself.

Nobody else is going to gear your towards things that will always 100% be for your own good. You have to achieve yourself, too, because ain?t nobody gonna do for you. You can talk to people, you can befriend people, and you can listen to everybody. But don?t let yourself become that piece of driftwood.

Serve yourself. Ain?t nobody gonna do for you.

Truer words were never spoken.

About the author:?Marjorie Clayman works for her family-owned agency,?Clayman Advertising, Inc., where she represents the third generation! Margie is the resident blogger at?MargieClayman.com, and can be found on Twitter at?@MargieClayman.?

The Difference Between Acumen and Accruing

Acumen and accruing. Two words that share a few letters, and yet are miles apart in every other sense.

Acumen means you have something of use; accruing means you’re in the process of gathering stuff that isn’t necessarily useful.

Acumen means you connect the dots between idea, execution and success; accruing means you’re more concerned with collecting the dots as opposed to connecting them.

Acumen means you know your shit; accruing means you think anything below a certain number is shit.

In other words, someone with acumen will always – ALWAYS – beat someone that prefers accruing.

Because the numbers that come as a result of acumen far outstrip any importance that the simple act of accruing numbers offers.

Something to keep in mind when you next want results in anything you do…

Lessons From An Asshole

Over on Facebook yesterday, technology blogger Robert Scoble opened a discussion about Twitter versus Facebook versus Google+, based on an observation by Digg founder Kevin Rose and how these platforms offered different engagement.

One of the commenters, Aimee Giese, left her take, and offered a counter to Robert’s view that Twitter was basically a dead zone now, and all the social media interaction is happening on Google+ and Facebook. To which Robert offered the reply as seen in the image below:

If you think Robert’s reply to Aimee, and his claim that she can’t have many friends or family members, is over the top, you wouldn’t be alone.

As well as people that continued to have a debate about the merits of Twitter, Facebook and Google+, many offered their take on Robert’s jibe (intentional or otherwise):

As you can see, the responses ranged from disbelief to anger and disappointment. Yes, we all get riled up, and yes, we say things we probably regret – but that used to be to a limited crowd. Friends down the pub, or work colleagues, for example.

With social media, though, that local crowd has become millions-strong, and everything we say is up for grabs. And if you’re in a position of “influence”, as Robert Scoble is to many, then that amplification becomes even louder (as of writing, the image Aimee uploaded to TwitPic has had just over 16,500 views).

In fairness to Robert, he did apologize to Aimee on Google+, and admitted he had been an asshole and stepped over the mark (although an apology on the original Facebook thread would perhaps have made more sense).

So can we learn anything from what happened yesterday? After all, it’s a prime case of what many brands are afraid of when it comes to social media – a negative interaction. There are a few things.

We Are Always On Display

You might think that a comment or notification is flippant, or not as important as others might see it. The problem is, people have very different views when it comes to what they see as acceptable and what they see as insulting.

Before we (or brands) make a statement, we need to think a little bit more to see if it will be misconstrued. Many of the people that commented on Robert’s apology feel Aimee took it too personally, and Robert wasn’t in any way to blame. Personally, I disagree with this – I think it’s exactly what Robert said it was in his apology (“way over the line”).

But others obviously disagree.

So just consider if the tone of response is appropriate, and even needed. Brands especially have detractors (customers hate to be let down), so it’s even more important to be on your game when making public statements.

Apologies Are Better When Immediate

When the Facebook wall lit up last night with support for Aimee, it was clear that many felt she was owed an apology from Robert. And, as I mentioned, he quickly apologized over on Google+, and made sure to tag Aimee too, so she knew he had mentioned her.

Too many people and brands leave their apologies until long after the event – this doesn’t help their cause. The belief then is that it’s just a carefully orchestrated corporate PR ?response, and the intent isn’t really there.

Sure, for some cases an apology and how it’s worded may have to go through legal channels for approval, to ensure more damage isn’t done. But for something like Robert’s gaffe, a speedy (and honest) apology not only helps douse more flames, but shows people you actually have the balls to admit when you’re wrong, and take ownership.

That goes a long way in reputation management.

Fanboys Wear Shit Goggles

One of the interesting/sad aspects of the whole thread was how many people “Liked” Robert’s reply to Aimee (17 at current count). Does this mean 17 people think it’s okay to insult someone, and raise questions about that person’s ability to make friends?

Then on Robert’s Google+ apology, more people are chipping in and saying Aimee (and those that felt Robert’s comment was out of place) are over-reacting, and need to grow up. A couple of examples:

At least DeWayne Lehman admits to being a professional asshole…

Yes, healthy debate is good, and that’s the beauty of the web – we’re offered far more open options to have a debate, as opposed to just having the views of one with no option to disagree.

Unfortunately, you’ll always have the fanboys that seem to wear shit goggles, as it feels like anything others say is just shit (unless it’s from the object of their affection).

We just need to accept that some people’s opinion will more than likely always be skewed, and no amount of debate is going to change that view. So don’t waste your energy there, and move on to where you can have a healthy debate.

We all make mistakes. Or we all say something that can be viewed as a mistake.

Some people handle it better than others. Kudos to Robert for rectifying his. If only more would step up to the plate in the same way…

Stop Kidding Yourself, You’re VERY Replaceable

This is a guest post by Marcus Sheridan.

I?m going to sound like the most conceited jerk in the world for a few sentences here?.but bear with me.

Over the past few years I?ve probably sold more swimming pools than any single person in the country. My company, which happens to be one of the country?s top fiberglass pool installers, has done quite well during this time period and I?ve been the driving force at the kitchen table, helping hundreds of families choose our services over many competitors in the process. To put it simply, I?m really, really good at the skill called selling?

And I?m also incredibly replaceable.

Inflated Values

That?s right, replaceable. I?m not nearly as valuable as many folks think I am to my company. In fact, I know there are people out there, if put in the right position and given the right tools, that can do just as well if not better than I have over these past few years.

For those of you that don?t know my history, when I?m not passionately writing about all things business, marketing, and personal development on The Sales Lion?I also happen to own a pool company, River Pools and Spas, which was started 10 years ago by me and my two great business partners.

Like any company selling luxury items in a wild economy, these past 10 years have been one peak and valley after another, but for the past few I have known that my time was soon coming to an end. Although I enjoyed talking to families and assisting them in the process of creating memories in their backyard through the pool ownership experience, I knew being a ?pool guy? wasn?t my ultimate calling.

As I talked to a few people in the industry about my desires to move on, the comments were almost always the same: ?Marcus, you?re really the face of your company, and you?re the guy that sells everything, there?s no way you could just leave.?

And although I?d like to think (as we all would) that my importance and worth to the company is as great as these some of these folks would have me believe, the reality is that they?re simply stuck in a paradigm that most businesses and business owners fall in?that employees, especially the owners, are irreplaceable.

Replace Yourself

Fact is, most business owners are too involved in the day-to-day operations of their companies anyway. As Michael Gerber famously said?They?re too busy working in their business to work on their business.

Such has been the case for me as well. I?ve been so busy selling that it has impeded my ability not only to work ?on? the business, but also reach out into the areas of my life that I?m most passionate about and feel called to do.

This is exactly why I?ve replaced myself. I now have commissioned sales persons that have taken my place, and the results thus far have been tremendous. Simply put, they?re better than I was. They?re more driven, more motivated, and take the time to care for each prospect as they should?otherwise, they don?t get paid.

In the past, with so much on my plate, I simply wasn?t able to be the best I could be, and therefore, although the sales numbers may have looked great on the outside, I knew there was room for improvement on the inside.

That?s the thing about being successful in business. We?ve got to be willing to step away. We can?t always have our arms wrapped around every facet of the company. Eventually, if we truly want the ?freedom? that entrepreneurship is supposed to bring, we?ve got to lean on others.

So that?s what I?m now doing. My business partners and I essentially ?oversee? the company but we?re no longer in backyards digging holes or sitting at kitchen tables trying to make a sale. From now on, I?ll spend about 10 hours a week working on my company?s inbound marketing and the rest of my time will be pursuing the goals of the next phase of my life.

The Fire Returns

And if I may be completely frank, I?ve never been so excited and invigorated as I am right now. My smile is unrelenting. I only wish I had learned to lean on others in the past and not allowed myself to overrate my overall importance to the success of the company.

So that?s the challenge folks. Are you replaceable? Chances are, at least in some areas, the answer is ?yes?. And if it is, get with it. It?s time you started owning your business instead of it owning you. And as you do this you will once again start to create, imagine, and dream big?instead of being caught up in the minutia of day to day.

Can it be done? Sure it can. Now the only question is?.. Will you?

Your Thoughts

Why is it so hard for business owners to replace themselves? Also, are you spending more time working ‘in’ your business or ‘on’ your business? Why?

I’m a guy that loves to converse, so please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and comments below.

About the author:?Marcus Sheridan?is the author of The Sales Lion, offering sage advice?on business, marketing, blogging, and life success principles. You can also?connect with him on Twitter at @TheSalesLion and on?Google+.

image: OFU