Should you stay connected with everyone you have met?

LinkedIn has a feature that I haven't used, until this week. It is the "See Who You Already Know on LinkedIn" utility that offers to send invites to people whose email addresses are stored in your email account. 

A way to conveniently extend your LinkedIn community to people you know seems like a good idea. Why not send invites to people you have emailed in the past?

On Saturday, I decided to investigate this function. I was curious about how it worked and whether I could filter my email connections for those I wanted to connect with.

I hit "continue" in the pop-up menu and instantly had second thoughts--what about all the people who are copied on business emails? I decided to exit the window, no harm done.

Immediately, I noticed the red email indicator light up on my Blackberry. I looked at my email (a Pavlovian response) and saw two acceptances of my LinkedIn invites. Oh no. I was mortified. 

I had sent LinkedIn invites to everyone who has been copied on an email in my Gmail and Outlook accounts since the beginning of time--presidents of client organizations, professors, dentists, plumbers, you name it.

The acceptances kept coming in. How many invites were sent out, I wondered. How many were ignored? It felt like a popularity contest. 

The more the acceptances arrived, the more relaxed I became about my invitation bonanza. It's only an invitation to connect, I rationalized.

Most people I recognized and was glad that we were now connected. I was surprised that I wasn't already connected with others. Some I wouldn't have sent invites to because either I didn't have relationships with them or the invites might be viewed as requests inspired by personal gain. 

In total, I have received 60 acceptances in 6 days, a 4 percent increase in my total LinkedIn community.

Knowing what I know now, would I do it again? Absolutely. Like change management, my personal goal is to positively influence people to change how they think and act to be more successful. Influencing more people extends my influence, even if it has pushed me out of my comfort zone to achieve it. 

Helping someone decide whether to use a LinkedIn feature may seem like a small thing, but it might be more important to some readers, and that's what makes writing this blog meaningful to me. You never know what influence you can have.

So should you try out this LinkedIn feature? The meaningful connections you gain might be worth it. They were worth it for me.

Phil

The Importance of Year-over-year Results

Yesterday, I gave a talk at the HRPA Conference, Canada's largest annual human resources event.

After my session ended, I visited the conference bookstore to sign copies of Change with Confidence. As I was chatting with a bookstore employee, I realized I had done the same thing one year ago almost to the day. 

I am a fan of measuring year-over-year results, both professionally and personally. Finances, running statistics and adherence to guidelines get year end reviews.

What I hadn't reviewed this year was the progress of my book. I reread a blog post I had written after the last conference for clues about what I was measuring. This was little help since my focus was on how I got to the conference in a three-day snow storm in New Jersey.

I do remember that the number of sales was very important to me. As a first time author, it was a tangible measure of acceptance, or the importance of my book. I checked often.

Also important were the number of reviews, interviews and the number of articles I got published. More concrete measures of approval.

As the year progressed my focus changed. The biggest accolade was a reader who emailed me to say how much my book had helped him. "Just what he was looking for," was what he wrote. Also, a few professors had added it to their reading lists and a company believed in it enough to create an online course on the content, which meant a lot to me. 

My focus had changed from acceptance to influence. 

I hadn't realized that my change in focus has affected my promotional efforts. It had become part of my decision making criteria for speaking engagements and the businesses and institutions I approach. 

I feel good about my progress and the types of results I will make this year.

Phil

Is photographing ourselves more important than the photo?

I have been spending a lot of time lately digitizing old family photos, slides and 8 mm films. Boxes and boxes of them.

Many images haven't been looked at in decades, which feels like a missed opportunity.

Could it be that the desire to capture these moments is more important than the captured images?

I have come across many series of multiple photographs of the same moment. And this was before the days of no cost smart phone photos. Why spend so much time getting the photograph just right?

I think the process of picture taking signifies that the moment is special and worthy of capturing. Taking multiple photographs of the same scene reinforces the importance of the event. The importance of getting it right is a message in itself--this moment matters.

For many years, I would ask teams working on organizational changes if I could take their picture. I would do so for both project teams and workshop participants. The photo taking process was always a social activity that lightened the mood no matter how immersed in content they were. It was an up beat event.

 For these work teams, the photo shoot implied that they were creating important outcomes that were worthy of being acknowledged. They were building the future.

This acknowledgement also happens in our personal lives. For example, the setting up and taking of a 'selfie' signifies that our image at that moment is important and worthy of being captured. The actual selfie is a byproduct of the event―the  recording is more important (and valuable) than the record.

For the last few years, in workshops, my camera has been focused on capturing flip chart notes versus the teams that created them.

I now realize that I have stopped performing an important function for the team and its productivity. Teams are important and they need to be acknowledged. Their work around change builds the foundation for a better organization. 

Regardless whether anyone looks the picture, the process of taking it represents productivity, progress and promise. People and the good work they do are worth capturing because they matter.

Phil

10 Tips on How to Hold a Meeting in a Coffee Place

More and more I work with clients remotely, which is changing how I work. Email, phone, Skype and Google Hangouts are our modes of communication. I only meet my clients in-person when I am leading key meetings or workshops.

Since my face-to-face meetings are at my clients' offices or their chosen off-site locations, I have no need for commercial office space. This expense would only add a commute to my life, reducing the amount of time I could work on my assignments.

I do have a need to meet with other consultants and contacts to work on projects or to network. For these meetings, coffee places are excellent. Chains like Starbucks, Costa and Tim Horton's and independents offer a dynamic space with ample room and refreshments. They are inexpensive too. 

Here are some tips to make the most of your coffee place business meetings:

• Pick a location that is easily accessible for all parties―commuting time is a cost for everyone
• Visit the cafe before scheduling a meeting around the time you plan to meet―is there enough seating, is it too noisy, is it conducive to collaboration and conversation?
• Check for wi-fi access―invariably someone will need to access something on the internet
• Arrive early so you can find the best spot to sit―this week, I arrived second and five minutes late, which is bad form
• Pick a spot away from the door―weather and constant traffic can be distractions
• Offer to buy your meeting attendees coffee―it's good form
• Tip those who take your order―it's a small recognition for the use of their space
• Ask if you can check the time―it's difficult to do surreptitiously and I always go overtime if I don't
• Offer to dispose of everyone's cups, etc.―it's a courtesy
• Ask others if they liked the cafe as a meeting location―this could become a regular meeting spot or somewhere you won't return to

Coffee places are excellent business meeting spots. This week, I had a meeting in a converted book store that had the old world charm of its 88 year history. It was a perfect backdrop for our conversation.

Phil

3 Words to Guide My Actions and Behaviours in 2015

The holidays is a perfect time to plan for the new year. I spent mine thinking of the three words that will guide my actions and behaviours to achieve my goals and live the life I want to lead.

An assessment of my use of last year's words (Purposeful, Groundbreaking and Global) helped make my selection—when I used them well, when I didn't and when I forgot them altogether. 

This year, I have vowed to use them for all substantial decisions on how I spend my time.

I realize that every decision impacts whether or not I am progressing against my goals. Everything counts. For example, if I agree to do something that is unplanned, the benefit must be greater than doing something else. It's a choice. That's why my first word is 'Choiceful'. It will remind me of the implications of my decisions before I make them.

This year I want to grow by taking on new opportunities and challenges. This will require limiting the amount of activities that are repeats of things I have done in the past. New experiences and challenges are what I am motivated by this year.

My first two words will have limited impact if I don't leave room in my schedule to seize opportunities. Michael Hyatt calls this creating margin. That's why my third word is 'Flexible'. I must keep enough room in my schedule so I can choose take on new experiences.

I felt the pain of zero margin over the past 3 months when I over-extended myself well beyond capacity. My cost was working non-stop, day and night, missing out on other parts of my life. I did it to myself and don't want to do it again.

I am excited about my 3 word selections and how I will use them over the next 12 months. They are posted by my computer so I don't forget them. I also plan to conduct a couple of check-ins over 2015 so I get the best use of them.

So what do you think? If you chose 3 words to help guide you in 2015, what would they be?

Phil