in general

It’s a good and bad thing that I’m a bit of a tech early mainstreamer and in this case it didn’t pay off. Returning my Jawbone UP device for a refund tomorrow as should everyone - no questions asked, refund. However - the concept is valid - how bored are you on the treadmill? What would you give for a personal assistant to get on ya for sleep, water intake, food choices and over all movement - we all would.
My best to all of the folks who take this concept and build on it - I loved the focus on sleep, mood - brilliant!
Bring on the next gen gadget - and for those 2 people who read this - I promise to indicate when I’m on a trial vs. recommend a buy. Lesson learned - *bows*

Recently, I had the opportunity to work with a client who was facing what is becoming a common dilemma among marketers. Their budgets were cut drastically, they had the same workload as before the cuts and had aggressive revenue growth targets for the coming fiscal year. Sound familiar? Me too.

So - what was especially interesting was that each agency the client was working with had obviously done a lot of work in the previous year, and there were efforts to integrate social, digital, advertising, etc on a tactical level - but somewhere along the way an imbalance occurred that compromised the client’s business goals altogether. The problem - a lack of integrated “new” marketing strategy exacerbated by the “new” (read: chaotic) marketing services landscape.

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Excellent film about an amazing artist who had a global impact on our culture. Definitely worth a watch that will leave you inspired. Imagine the reach Keith would have in the digital age….

To state the obvious, everything is changing. There’s massive change occurring in the way we work, play, connect, learn & live. It’s exhilarating and sometimes very overwhelming. While I don’t know that my point of view is unique, I’m certain there are folks in my network struggling with the same things I am so I thought I’d share a few thoughts on navigating life 2.0. 

• Be Your Own Start-Up - There’s never been more of an opportunity to design your own path to success. Considering the boom of new industries, the fact that on people hold 10+ jobs on average in a lifetime, the amount of educational content online and now-boundless networking opportunities there is no excuse for complacency. Which leads me to….

• Set & Track Goals - Struggling with time management myself while working in social media marketing I found a great e-book that reminded me of this fundamental, but with an approach I adore. Jim’s process starts with with identifying your core values and then setting lifetime, 6-months-to-live, annual and quarterly goals. This is an invaluable way to ensure your goals are well-rounded and include both your personal and professional passions. 

• Filter - Focus is the New Competitive Advantage - I am the worst offender of sometimes over-committing and hyper-socializing with my network of friends, family and colleagues. I’m addicted to people and social media has been the best and worst thing to happen to me! However, I learned quickly to be extremely selfish with my time and how I spend it - being raised as an only child helped this immensely. There is no way to know everything, read everything or publish everything possible - so pick the best sources and do your best to block out the time wasters (like reading the same thing retweeted 50 times).Some examples, limit your twitter feed to 2-3 sources per category of interest, use G-mail/Outlook filters to de-clutter your inbox (yes, retailers, I’m looking at you) and timebox yourself on Facebook. 

• Don’t Burn Bridges - For Real. - This sage, and obvious advice has never been more important than in the digital age. Pretend you have ratings & reviews tied to your existence for life. You do. Aim for 5 stars in all your interactions in business and in life.

• Unplug - Again, I’m working on this one myself, but I know after spending the past year in a very balanced work environment that emphasizes quality of life in support of quality of work how important this is. Eight hours of sleep, mediation, yoga, feeding your brain, exercising, whatever your mix, prioritize it and back away from the technology enough to recharge. 

Most of all - establish your own best practices and share them. We are all adapting and by no means is the above comprehensive enough to address the rate or spectrum of change happening in our lives.