iGoogle - It's Wonderful for Bringing A Whole Lot of Things Together with my new Social page

This is what my new "Social" page looks like in my iGoogle power dashboard

This morning I'm ecstatic about Google's iGoogle power dashboard application all over again. After first creating a CRM tab and page where I manage all my Gmail, my Google Docs, and my Tasks, and my Google  Calendar, now I have created a special "Social" tab that manages all my social media on one page.

It's all there: My Google Buzz, my Facebook, and a cool Twitter Gadget that shows all the Tweets coming in. "Going Google" has been a great journey for some years now. Trying to grow my business the old way: hassling with Microsoft Outlook e-mail problems, and having to hassle with buying and installing countless other software updates, while loosing data files from local hard drive crashes, was not much fun. Neither has been trying to manage all these different social media sites.

Then Google  comes along to make my life a whole lot sweeter. It all started by getting my Gmail account and then discovering that this one account was a doorway to a whole cornucopia of great apps that keep getting, better and better, automatically updating me with newer improvements and additional functionality... without charging me a cent. Google has also been doing its homework developing strategic business relations with its partners, so my Google Account sign-in can even be used to login to third party accounts and importing my Google contacts in! What a time saver this is... Nice!

I could go on and on about the joys of "Going Google", so much so, that now its part of may consulting practice. Call me and let's connect and get together if you like to learn more... especially if you are re-thinking your business approach and could use some consulting help - 1.425.780.6872.

Let's Build a Bridge Together to Sales "Nirvana"

What I am visualizing this morning... more importantly...what I am feeling... is that bridge to sales "Nirvana" that can now be built in quality-assurable steps... in a tranquil almost meditative way... like walking slowly and contemplatively over a bridge in a peaceful Japanese garden. The "Sales" that I am feeling... and resonating... and attracting here ..are good and positive because they are a manifestation of serving people and organizations phenomenally well through all the steps...by helping them walk through a "virtual"...and "spiritual" door....to higher consciousness that also results... in miraculously higher sales. ..sales that happen by connecting with the heart. Sales "Nirvana" I'm calling it. 

This is not "Woo-Woo" science here or some drug-induced state that's getting me there... but just the way that the history of consciousness...in this world of ours is evolving and unfolding...educating us...as expressed in the new science, philosophy, art & culture... in the people connections...and in conjunction with marvelously practical and innovative use of technology-based tools & strategies that we are now experiencing... a new world consciousness.. that increasingly is becoming, more and more... self-evident.  How great it is to be a part of this new world of communications as it continues to unfold. 

Wow is this journey fun and full of joy and peace! And how wonderful it is ... once people and organizations also start "walking the walk" through that garden of joy and peace with me, experiencing it too, as the technology and the solutions continue to miraculously and almost effortlessly fall into place. Already I feel myself resonating some very high and positive energy here. If you are feeling it too... let's connect and work out the details...even as the technology continues to morph. 1.425.780.6872

Pepsi Refresh Project... Refreshes the Mind

With the Pepsi Refresh Project... every Pepsi refreshes the world:

http://www.refresheverything.com/

This morning. after thinking more about value innovation and the astonishing power of feelings...and ATTITUDE, its great when you see those feelings communicated positively, and what can happen as a concrete outcome of that. A case is point is Pepsi's marvelous Pepsi Refresh Project and what it does to "refresh everything"  using the power of value innovation, people development and community service over the Internet to do that.

Most important to me personally... is the take-away learning from this that refreshes and stimulates my mind....creating that buzz.. and feeling of joy in my heart that lets me know that more good things and ultra-creative initiatives are now on their way. 

How it works: Each month Pepsi gives away millions of dollars in grants to "refresh" individuals and communities that do important revitalization work in the following areas: Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods, and Education. Grants are awarded in $5,000, $25,000, $50,000, and $250,000 denominations, and $1.3 million is being awarded to projects that "Do Good for the Gulf". People browse and vote on ideas submitted and this determines the award.... it's brilliant.

This high-visibility national initiative is most "instructive" in a myriad of ways:  1) TECHNOLOGY-WISE it demonstrates how communications and e-learning can  be innovatively used in a marvelously human way to serve people well. 2) CONTENT-WISE, each positive new idea and the feelings that power them have the effect of attracting even more positive new ideas and even more positive energy, 3) BRAND DEVELOPMENT-WISE... this campaign is "off the charts". Now when you see the Pepsi logo, the Pepsi product line and when you sip a "refreshing" Pepsi product ...the emotional experience...the branding ... is that you are "refreshing everything". 4) SALES-WISE - Wow... imagine how Pepsi has now created a whole new blue ocean of uncontested market space ... making even its closest competitor Coca Cola... irrelevant... sales of Pepsi products must now be going through the roof.

What to take away: What I am taking away from experiencing all this...is the learning... Learning that can also be practically applied elsewhere by first studying the Pepsi Refresh Project model and secondly by "de-constructing" how campaigns like this can now be done, and thirdly by practically applying Blue Ocean Strategy to further raise the bar. Now for me every, Pepsi I drink...not only "refreshes the world"... but also refreshes my mind. Call me and let's connect about the power of all this and explore designing and implementing powerful projects like this ourselves - 425-780-6872.

Your Business: Like a Leaf Blown in the Wind?...or Have Your Cake and Eat It Too?

What's on my mind this morning after listening to the radio about the economy and our predicament... is the choice that we have that we oftentimes don't realize we have, and the power of that. Simply put, what do you want...and how do you feel about that?

Do you just want to have you and your business be blown around like leaves in the wind, not knowing where your next revenue is coming from, not meeting your financial obligations, and not getting "above water"... or would you rather have your cake and eat it too...by living more intentionally, with regular cash flow and repeat business, meeting your financial obligations  and actually accumulating wealth? ...even in spite of  "The Economy"?

It's not a trick question... that is not until you check in with your own feelings and see what they actually are attracting. If, for instance you can look at that cake and feel how great it's going to taste..even before you have it... then the positive high frequency energy that you are sending out will attract more positive frequency energy and that cake will be on its way. If, however you look at that cake and don't feel good, even looking at it, because you don't have it...and you say that because of the economy, you can't have it...feeling bad about that.. then the "no cake" negative low frequency energy you are putting out will attract more "no cake". It's as simple as that.

They call it the "Law of Attraction" and this is not just "Woo-Woo" popular science, because now even quantum physicists are telling us that these energy force fields really do exist. As a matter of fact, they say that all we really are is a bundle of energy...including the rocks, the trees... everything. Energy is what holds us together and what gets transfered when we die and our bodies decay. 

Interestingly enough, the reason why "The Economy" is so "bad"... is because of the way that people "feel" about "It" and all the negative energy they put out.... and this of course this makes things worse because more negative energy begets more negative energy... so the economy is at risk of even "double dipping"...because of lack of "confidence". People feel bad...so they make bad choices, laying people off because not enough revenue is coming in... and then they experience less revenue...because people with no jobs have no spending revenue..so then they also lose their houses, and go homeless. I know this may sound weird,  but its actually the power of our own feelings and the fields of energy that they collectively create that creates that phenomenon that we call "The Economy"... and it goes up or down depending upon how we emotionally go up or down. Just look at the stock market and how it works.

So what's the good news...? The good news is that if we learn how to get in touch with our feelings and learn more about how to use them to put out and harness positive energy, especially during "tough times",  then the more we will be able to "have that cake and eat it too." We can even turn the economy around, and starting with ourselves and our own businesses. 

So where does technology come into this? The answer is that it can help communicate and help us learn more about this stuff because it's so important... hence this morning's blog. For more info about how to use positive feelings to attract the things you want for you and your business, see this great book that I have been reading by Lynn Grabhorn - Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting: The Astonishing Power of Feelings. Feeling the way that I do now... I now know that more contracts are already on their way.  Call me and let's connect if you'd like. I'm onto something here...and imagine what good vibes can do when amplified via technology.  1-425-780-6872.

Wow! City of Seattle Business Casual Events Are Amazing Way to Connect

See the link to my "site survey" and screen test on You Tube

This morning I am ecstatic about how amazing City of Seattle Business Casual events are turning out to be. ...especially with so much change..and hope in the air.. in just about every area of life - e.g. Mayor McGinn's new Jobs Plan initiative just came out. And King County Executive Dow Constantine also dropped by ... and I could feel him buzzing with positive expectations...and good vibes.. King County's new county-wide Strategic Plan is about to be put into action with some excellent goals and objectives...This represents a huge opportunity for county-wide stakeholder engagement.

What's really different now is the feeling that I get that...this time around... diverse groups of people really ARE interested in connecting with each other, as decent human beings... rising to the occasion to build community and get things done in a hopeful and innovative way..and just in time too... to address our huge economic and environmental challenges...and opportunities.

And what fine folks were there, including my new client, friend and colleague David Della of Eco Ready LLC a sustainable business development consulting firm. (See his new website I just developed for him). And wow was it great to connect with folks there as interested as I am in developing virtual transportation-to-virtual architecture applications...eventually in 3D even.

I felt right at home...and what hope it gave me that a diverse group of folks ...across generations and across cultures..and across economic strata... could rise to the occasion to do amazing things together that can help turn our economy around, create new jobs, and make ours and even better world to celebrate our humanity in.  Several major issues have been on my mind that are critical to my own development as a small business entrepreneur and as a "new world communicator".

I've  been working with whole new suite of low-cost, almost no cost tools & strategies... so I decided to take my "Flip" ($89 digital "web televsion" camera) ... to "walk the walk" by doing a site survey and "screen test" to see how the lighting, audio, and the "talent" responded... Thanks Steve Johnson... you understood where I intend to go with this... immediately....and thanks Steve for putting on City of Seattle Business Casuals.  This is an amazing way to connect with folks and have ours become a better world for a lot more people.

I welcome and all comments to this post. Let's also connect by phone if you'd like 1.425.780.6872

Let's Us Help You Get Unstuck!

This morning I am thinking about all the ways that I can help business owners and not-for-profit managers both large and small get "unstuck" marketing communications-wise and learning-wise. Being caught in the middle of an economic recession is no time for a business..to be "stuck in the mud"...  not  being fully functional and mobile. Here are some resources that can help:

• Business & Technical consultation -New technology and new approaches that cost less and that do more can help you get "unstuck", especially if we work together to develop a strategic business plan that can have you reaching the people you need to get to with better communications and better learning. The new way to sell is to serve customers better by providing them with helpful information that help them address their issues. Then they put 2 + 2 together.. and Bingo! They do business with you. As communications and learning professionals, we can design that in that using a whole suite of smart tools and strategies....See next.

• Virtual File Server and Computing in the Cloud - Talk to us about "Going Google", putting your documents online,  using Google's virtual applications, and about powerful advantages of that. This radically cuts IT costs and helps prevent loss of valuable data. It also can  also have you working differently with your customers by collaborating with them on shared documents like proposal drafts that you can work on together..building the relationship...and closing the deal as you go. If you have people spread all over, or are a non-profit you can all work online to work on big projects and on partner grant proposals. Google applications - word processor, spreadsheet, forms, and presentations are great to use and easy to learn and we can help you get started. Your e-mail services will also be way more dependable.

• Web site Upgrade - If your website is only a few years old, you need to think about re-doing your website in order to deliver more communications power and at far lower cost and ease of administration.  In some cases, if you elect to "Go Google"  we can even eliminate your hosting costs while providing a lot more functionality via the integration of Google applications, third-party applications and "gadgets".

• ... and much, much more - Using affordable web conferencing, and web television, we can even have people meeting with you "inside" your website... and watching your own web television channel...streaming powerful programming that we can produce for you. We can even empower and train you and your staff to produce some of the content yourself. Working with us under contract, and over time, we can even do highly lucrative multi-day virtual conferences & virtual trade shows together ...using a scaled up version of the same tools and strategies.  

Call me today and let's talk about multiple ways to help you get "unstuck"...moving you and your business forward. 1.425.780.6872

Small Business Development - Let's Use Both Sides of Our Brains

For the longest time, I've felt that something's been missing in most approaches to small business development... including my own. Retrospectively, I have discovered that it has to do to with gaining a better understanding of what goes on in the right of our brains... in mine and the in brains of my customers. 

It's the difference between just knowing about something... and actually knowing it... feeling it... and living it. It's also the difference between the old dumb, manipulative way of selling, and learning how to "sell from the heart" by connecting with folks on a human level and understanding what they care about, especially about what they want in their lives. The technology-based tools and strategies that I have at my disposal - e.g. design of a new communications campaign,  new web website... new television channel on that website... webinar series... virtualizing their files and applications using Google... can't do much for them without that understanding. 

Wow! I am glad that I now blogging.. because it exercises that right side of my brain and helps me better understand what could be going on in the right side of my prospective customers. Nice! Let's connect and learn more about what we deeply care about. Then maybe technology humanly, and innovatively applied to that could help. Let's use both sides of our brains. 1.425.780.6872

NPR on Katrina: Learning in a 21st Century World Can Now Be World Class

This morning, when my radio came on, after listening to NPR's coverage of Katrina five years after, I was again reminded of how powerful learning can now be in our 21st century world. While still laying in bed, NPR treated me to an excellent "sound print" about Kids Face Differing Realities in New Orleans Schools. It's part of a whole series that NPR is doing this week.

This story was most "instructive" to me, and in a multitude of ways. First, the CONTENT itself told a most instructive story about what can happen educationally when people care.. and when they do not. Then there was the wonderful DELIVERY.. the richness of the the sound that had me visualizing the people and the situation...that's the "soundprint" piece to this. As an educator and as a designer of instruction myself, I am again reminded this morning about how "world class" learning can now be..if done with as much heart, spirit, and with as much innovation and skill as this. 

The model for it is right here. Now all we have do is learn from that model, "de-construct" how it was put together and replicate it... and the world class learning ourselves. Wow does this thought make me feel great this morning. Let me resonate it through the rest of my day.

Call me, if after listening to this excellent programming,  you are resonating too. 425-780.6872

Today's Web 3.0 Technology Explosion: Doing it Alone Is Like Drinking from A Fire Hose

This morning I am looking at this picture and thinking about all my existing and prospective customers, the micro-business owners, people who own small-to-medium sized businesses, people who run non-profits, people in government, and even folks I work with in really large enterprises... they all have the same issue... trying to deal with today's web 3.0 technology explosion is like trying to drink from a fire hose.

Think about it... so much new information about new Web 3.0 technology is coming so fast.. that many people I talk to are very overwhelmed, very uncomfortable, and very stuck, especially when they try to go it alone. It is an interesting dilemma, on the one hand there is all this great new technology out there that can save them time and money, and help them move their business forward, yet on the other hand, people are so stuck trying to manage all this new information on their own that they try to put off changing anything! 

Meanwhile the marketplace keeps changing, continuing to march forward as folks get left farther and farther behind, and putting themselves even more at risk...business sustainability-wise. So what's the solution? Actually, it's simpler than you might think... I have discovered that things can go a lot smoother when you don't try to deal with the Web 3.0 explosion all alone. The good news is that the new technology itself is a SOCIAL PHENOMENON... so take the hint... socialize.

Socialize online, not only through Facebook, but also in the physical world. MeetUp.com for instance provides a list of  meetings where you can connect with people.. not only online but also in the physical world. Once you do, then it's some of these people that you meet that can either help you directly or refer you to someone they trust who can. Even as a technology consultant myself, I am amazed at how many new things I learn just by connecting socially with other technology colleagues. Then this Web 3.0 fire hose becomes a lot easier to drink from. 

I am thinking about starting up a MeetUp.com group myself. Call me and let's connect... I or some of my colleagues can help you... one sip at a time. 1.425.780.6872

Denny Andrews: A Great Colleague and Resource Was At Bettina Carey's Staples Event Too.

This morning, Denny Andrews of DennyAndrewsConsulting.com, a great colleague and another "Bold Man" that my friend Bettina Carey of Women In Small Biz introduced me to me last year is on my mind. Denny and I presented again at Bettina's excellent Staples Best Tech Boot Camp event on August 20 up in Lynnwood, WA. I had forgotten how funny and how resourceful Denny is. 

He is yet another consultant who understands how to use the "secret sauce" of value innovation, combining his excellent comedic talents,  his public speaking skills, and his technology prowess to engage and connect with people and serve them well.  Watch this clever video that Denny produced with his dummy "assistant" Bolliver to engage his audience and introduce people to the power of Google applications and gadgets. Ten minutes is an awfully long time to watch any web television piece, but watch how Denny uses his creativity to keep his audience engaged and even teaches them something. This is fine work. Bravo Denny!

Denny is also is another person who gets it with respect to understanding the power of "Going Google". Call me and let's connect about that. I can also hook you up with Denny regarding his expertise on public speaking, and gis insights on using of social media and use of technology. It great when folks can work together as a team. 1.425.780.6872 

Bettina Carey... Nails It Again at Staples BestTech Bootcamp Event

Staples at 3011 196th Street SW in Lynnwood, Washington was the place to be yesterday from 10:00 am all the way 'til 4 pm.. (The time flew!). My good friend and strategic business partner Bettina Carey of Women In Small Biz.. and Bold Men (I might add) just did yet another great in-store marketing event with the Staples Office Superstore chain. This time the event focus was an all-day  "Best Tech Bootcamp" designed to empower small business owners with new ways to develop their business and improve their profitability using technology. The pizza and all the free drawings and give-away door prizes were great.

Of course this is when, just before presenting, the LCD projector Bettina had... didn't "like" my laptop... So I had to "connect" with folks the old-fashioned way... without presentation support...talking about my work...instead of being able to show it... and connecting with folks by having them visualize...in their minds...what the heck I was talking about... using their own imagination to make their mental "movie" even better than the one I could produce.

The experience made me feel like I was a living "public radio" program. (Hmmm! maybe I should also think about doing a web radio blog... I love This American Life... and WireTap.)  Luckily, I did take my Flip digital video camcorder along with me and was able to capture some of this great event. See the video on YouTube. 

Web television ... is a phenomenally powerful new way to grow your business that's in class all by itself as a communications medium... and it's low cost...almost no cost. Call me and let's talk about how you can use it to grow your own business..by creating you very own Television Channel on your website.

You can also "roll" best practice customer testimonial videos  into small business webinars and in e-meetings that we can help you with. Who wants Mickey D's when now, working with me, you can now offer a whole new Bento Box full of value? Call me today and let's get together and let's talk about working together to create a bright new future for you and your customers - 425-780.6872

Excuse Me...Your Business is Waiting... Here's a Great Read for You

This morning I am still buzzing over the joy I have discovered reading a book that my sister down in California recommended to me called Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting - The Astonishing Power of Feelings by best-selling author Lynn Grabhorn. Written in 2000, the book is an outcome of what she calls a "grand spiritual journey to get more out of life" as she learns about the Law of Attraction, first academically through formal study that didn't get her very far, and then by way of people she experienced and learned from along the way, and with way better results. 

My interest in the book has to do with two major things that affect all of us, especially me as a small business entrepreneur: 1) How to "unblock" myself so that I can make my business work and get more out of life, and 2) how to tap into the powers of the Universe and make things happen for me and my customers... and BINGO! did I hit the jackpot! 

What I have been really sensitive to lately is something that folks back in the day used to talk about, "vibes"... or energy vibrations.. and how important they are. This is what the Law of Attraction is about.  Modern day physicists in fact now all agree that this is what our so-called "physical" world is made of...pure vibrational energy.. everything... even the rocks..the earth, the wind, the fire, you and me.  

This world of energy also "responds" to human energy transmitted in the form of human emotions... not so much as by thought as by actually feeling things into being ... in a high energy way. Positive, high energy attracts more positive high energy, and negative, low energy attracts more negative, low energy. It's our own feelings that create our "reality"... not "Reality" itself... which is a giant energy field....Pure Spirit itself. There is no such thing as "facing Reality"...objectively. What we mistake for the "object" is our own subjective consciousness... our own feeling state that most often we are not even aware of or in touch with. 

This approach is radically different from than the way most of us approach life in a more mechanistic, billiard ball way. Here is the sequence that we have been indoctrinated with ... do, do, do, act, act, act. and be careful about all the dangers and the pitfalls along the way, then maybe if you are lucky you can succeed, and allow yourself to feel happy, safe, and loved. Wow, if you approach life this way, with these kinds of feelings the energy level that you attract is so low, so frustrating, and so brain-dead... it's no wonder that attracting and closing business is so tough, delivering more of what you don't want. 

What's so great his how the author shows you how to flip that around by focusing on what you want rather than on what you don't want. Amazing what the power of positive feelings can do.  Wow! What a goldmine this book is, especially the way it makes moving forward elegantly simple. Get it and let's connect around feeling and getting what we want for ourselves business development-wise. Here's my phone: 1.425.780.6872

Penny-wise but Pound Foolish: Why This Always Costs Small Businesses More

Also long as I have the bully pulpit, let me share what I have observed and learned about small business owners spending over the years, and I include myself in that. We all tend to be penny-wise, but pound foolish and it always ends up costing us more in the long run.

A case in point: The small business website and e-storefront business phenomenon. When the ability to do affordable web presence and e-commerce first came out about ten years ago, it was a lucrative business for a communications consultant like myself with a marketing communications and an adult learning background to be in. 

For a fair price, I could consult with a client, learn about their needs and requirements and then do it all for them. I would design their web presence and e-catalog, shoot and process all product photography and put folks entire catalog online in record time. These implementations were gorgeous, and online shoppers conveniently used them.  I would also do a thorough job of training these small business clients of mine, training them about what managing a web presence and e-storefront is all about. If they listened and learned, they did well.

Some of my clients would even call me back in to address and solve additional challenges they had, like upgrading and integrating their back-end accounting system or helping them re-think their point-of-sale approach by integrating it with online ordering and with that upgraded accounting back-end. 

Life was sweet... until the marketplace continued to develop and every small business son, daughter, relative, or employee ...jumped into the game, all claiming... without any marketing communications experience and without any adult learning background... that they could do what I could do....for less.

Over the years, I watched the consequences of that before my very eyes: Once small business owners with less than capable in house people tried to develop and manage their own web presence, the results were horrible, especially when websites were done by "techies" with no aesthetic skills...and with no communications or business development skills.  The results have been abortive and a lot of time and money has been wasted. And wow has this "penny-wise, but pound foolishness" cost small business folks dearly in terms of their brand identity and in terms of relationships with their customers. 

This experience really has changed me, not only bottom-line wise, but also learning-wise... teaching me where the real opportunity was... in developing the consciousness and business decision-making ability of small business entrepreneurs themselves... just so they can appreciate the value of what I uniquely provide.  Yes, the road has ended up being a bit longer, with some detours along the way... but now the trip is a lot sweeter.

Call me if you are in the process of re-thinking your business presence and building your brand in a more strategic way, I  can help you avoid many pitfalls that others have fallen into..making life sweeter for you too. 1.425.780.6872

Here's a great Rx for the "Non-Meeting"

Question: How was that last organizational meeting that you went to? Did meaningful conversation happen or was it the same old "non-meeting" that ended up being yet another grand waste of your time? What I mean by "the non-meeting" is the feeling I get  when I attend a meeting and discover that no authentic conversation really goes on, meeting after meeting, and month after month.

The networking with others before and after the meeting is great, but once the meeting starts... all meaningful communications stops. That's when the "non-meeting" begins, announcements, and committee reports from people droning on and on that put you to sleep. Maybe if you are lucky, the guest speaker may be engaging and get the conversation going... but what about the conversation between regular members during meetings? Where is that and why can't meaningful conversation happen there? 

Organizations then wonder why their membership keeps dropping off. Where are the crucial conversations between members that speak to their needs... especially when the stakes today are so high? Having crucial conversations is not so easy, especially when we consider the dynamics of group meetings. Here's a great book that has some great insights and tools for talking: Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes Are High  by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler, and Stephen R. Covey. See it in my Amazon-powered New World Virtual Bookstore.

Think about about all great things that could happen if people knew how to actually have "crucial conversations" and even got some important issues addressed when you met. Imagine the positive impact that this could have on moving more business forward. Call me and let's connect. 1. 425.780-6872

Comcast with its Excellent Digital Connectors Program Now Has Us All "Dreaming Big"

Comcast Digital Connectors graduate Brandon Edwards speaks

Yesterday morning, down in Tacoma, at the Tacoma campus of Evergreen State College, Comcast Washington, and its strategic partners Tacoma Urban League, The Evergreen State College, and a non-profit called One Economy had us all "dreaming big" as we all celebrated... the first group... The 2010 Class of Comcast Digital Connectors as program graduates received their certificates of completion and their complimentary gifts...  Flip Ultra Digital Camcorders and  Dell Netbooks.

Local and state public officials, Marilyn Strickland, Mayor of Tacoma, Councilwoman Victoria Woodards, Councilman Jake Fey, and U.S. Congressmen Norm Dicks and Adam Smith were also all there to celebrate. 

Actually the "gifts" related to this program were much deeper and more meaningful than just another after school program with free communications gear. Digital Connectors is an excellent well-thought out, instructionally designed yearlong after school program being rolled out nationally that not only teaches low income youth hands-on broadband-related media literacy, but also visionary leadership and service to the community. And wow, was it great to be there at the Tacoma campus of Evergreen State College and listen to one speaker after another celebrate all our  hope for new more positive, more inclusive and more friendly 21st century world.

It was great to share in their vision in a world where high-speed broadband access,  technology-supported economic development and world class communications and learning is made available to all.  I just kept pinching myself as one person after another not only "dreamed big" but also did the right thing.. investing time, money and resources in community by investing in our young people to create a new more positive future.

This was ethically responsible, innovative, social venture entreprenurship, and  community-based enlightened learning at its finest.  See shining student Brandon Edwards speech that I captured with my own Flip and sent up to YouTube.. using my own lighting fast residential Comcast Hi-Speed broadband service. Now I feel differently when I pay my Comcast bill. Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland then said what I thought.. 10 students a year in Digital Connectors programs is great... but how about 100? That's what can happen when you "Dream Big".

If you'd like to see more innovative business development like this happen. Let's connect. Here is my phone 1.425.780.6872

Web 3.0 Marketing for Small Business: Let There Be Profit!

What are you waiting for... before you can see profit ? For Charlton Heston pretending to be Moses to part the seas for you? That movie was great, but the one that you are now in is even greater.  That's because you can be the star to turn your business around,  using your own set of miracles...to part the seas. 

Wow, have a series of "mini-miracles" been happening for me....in my own movie.. in an awesome non-linear way. It all started when my friend Matthew Ferry turned me on to this book by Internet marketing guru Michael Tasner - Marketing in the Moment: The Practical Guide to Using Web 3.0 Marketing to Reach Your Customer First.  (See it in my Amazon-powered New World Virtual Bookstore) When I first started reading this book, it made me feel like a deer in the headlights, but then I got up the courage and started moving forward with  this stuff one baby step at a time:

• Blogging: I'm loving it! When I show up at my laptop first thing in the morning and start the creative juices flowing, miracles start happening as words start marching across the page. My keyboard feels like a Widja board, and the experience makes me feel like I am in Divine Presence. People are also responding positively to my posts and this is opening whole new doors of business opportunity. How sweet this is!
• Facebooking: I discovered that my blogging technology allows me to to do an instant post also to my Facebook profile via one button... Sweet!
• Tweeting: I also discovered that my blogging technology allows me to "Tweet" a link to my post. All I need to do is compress the link using a link compression utility - e.g. is.gd... Awesome... now I am "Tweeting" ...now gathering "followers" even as a "newbie".
• Google Buzzing: I also discovered that my blogging technology can automatically post to new Google Buzz technology.
• E-mail: I also discovered that I can do targeted e-mails to people via my blogging capability... this technology even accesses my contact list in Gmail... more evidence that "Going Google" has been one of the smarter things that I've done in my life... Awesome!

What's really great is how doing all this is now making me feel....even now as I go for it in now Web 3.0 world that I am now successfully navigating.  Now, I am starting to part my own sea... and sooner than I thought.  Call if me if you are tired of waiting for Charleton Heston.. You can do this too 1.425.780.6872

I Pause this Morning to Celebrate the Visionary Work and Art of Abbie Lincoln

This morning on NPR I learned that visionary jazz artist Abbie Lincoln and self-proclaimed "Warrior Woman" passed  away at age 80. I stop this morning to eulogize her because of the way that her work and art has spoken to me,  encouraged me, and guided me over the years as a human being.

Abbie was fearless in her quest for truth and beauty that she communicated through her raw emotional voice. Like Billie Holliday, her singing style was like a conversation she was having with Spirit that she shared with me. It was a gift not only to me but also to the entire world. It's wonderful that so much of her work has been recorded that can now be shared with people for generations to come. Abbie Lincoln was just that great. 

Just listen to " I Am Not Supposed to Know" in her interview with Terry Gross of NPR in 1993 and hear what I'm talking about. If you are still alive emotionally and still allow yourself to feel, it will bring you to tears as she celebrates human connections that oftentimes we can not find words for. There the words are that you were looking for. She talks about being the "Warrior Woman" and being introduced to and being saved by the World of the Artist. She speaks of the other artists whose work and art "spoke" to her, and what their lessons to humanity were to carry through her own deeply personal work, work that reaches for the stars. 

What's wonderful is the advice that Thelonius Monk gave to her about not trying to be so perfect, but to reach  for the sky, take chances, and allow herself to make mistakes, and  allow oneself to be possessed by her artistic muse that guided her.... and now her work and her art continue to guide me.

Listen to this interview and let's  all connect, blessed by the visionary art and work of artist and prophet Abbie Lincoln. 425.780.6972

Small Business Development Done Right is the Key to Economic Recovery

This morning I woke up with small business development on my mind... my own admittedly...but also the development of millions of other small businesses at various stages of development in this challenged, local, regional, national, and now global economy of ours. Economic recovery and how to have it happen sooner rather than later...was also on my mind... then BINGO! ...it came to me.... Small Business Development if DONE RIGHT... is the key to more rapid economic recovery...across the entire world.

Notice that I have intentionally capitalized the words "DONE RIGHT" here ... because currently this is both the CHALLENGE.. and the OPPORTUNITY for me and my company, New World Communications. It all has to do with DOING SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT RIGHT...content delivery-wise, and learning delivery-wise. Let me explain.

The problem with small business development and economic recovery today squarely has to do with COMMUNICATIONS, LEARNING, and MINDSET CHANGE. Let's start with COMMUNICATIONS. There is literally tons of of great CONTENT on small business development out there.  From great books on Amazon.com, from the SBA, through  universities and colleges, and through community colleges.  

Then there is the Kauffman Institute with its FastTrack business development curriculum.. and several community-based non-profits offering small business "incubator"... or "accelerator" capability-building services ...all trying to get small business development done right.  Then there are also the banks and the financial services companies,   the chambers of commerce, the urban enterprise centers, and now the "green" business developers, all focused on small business development and all vying for their slice of the ever-elusive small business development pie.

Then there are all the bloggers, Facebookers, LinkedIners, Tweeters,  budding authors, speakers, consultants, and  personal coaches in the world out there, working out of  our homes, offices and Internet coffee houses....like me focusing on that There is now literally TONS of CONTENT...and there are now literally thousands of CONTENT PROVIDERS out there... So what's the problem? And why does small business development and economic recovery have to take so long?

The CHALLENGE and the OPPORTUNITY ...however is in the DELIVERY. Trying to take advantage of this all stuff is like trying to drink from a fire hose, and personally there is just way too much clutter.. and just plain too "noise" ..and  way too much or what I call organizational "non-events" out there...You know the ones that I am talking..the promoters of these non-events are also the ones that ask you to pay your hard-earned money.. and then waste your time! Here is right where the need for MINDSET CHANGE comes in.

And who in their right entrepreneurial mind has the time or the money for conventional Instructor Led Training (ILT) and for group facilitation these days? Why not make small business development easier, and the learning faster... and even more effective? What I am specifically talking here is the LEARNING DELIVERY and what we know now about how adult learners, prefer to learn in our now 21st world.  

Now don't get me wrong here. I love the engagement of marketing and networking events, and of physical world capacity-building events. It's all great, but what about leveraging physical world small business development events by "virtualizing" them using special "green" communications and e-learning so that others  can log in remotely and also "be there"...saving time and money... while reducing our carbon print and doing business more sustainably? 

And what about the fact that  folks in between these real-time physical world events are also using online search, accessing learning portals and viewing "on-demand" learning "snippets".. using informal learning modalities... to get what they need to know.. "at the speed of need"...80% of the time..right when they need it? Just think about it? Who actually has the time to access small business development leanring content the way it is currently being mostly "served" up... the old-think... time-consuming formal learning...Instructor Led Training (ILT) way...with its huge carbon footprint.. high cost, and  increasingly more questionable sustainability?

It's why small business development remains so challenged... and part of the reason why economic recovery remains so delayed. For years... the pundits say... while I am looking for economic recovery... this month... to meet my financial obligations and to grow my small business... NOW. 

That's where a change in MINDSET is needed...but the good news is that I can now innovately apply these new tools and strategies to even accomplish that so that small business development finally can be DONE RIGHT... and DONE RIGHT NOW.

Again small business development DONE RIGHT will be the key to more rapid economic recovery that will benefit multiple stakeholders... from the smallest wanna-be micro-business person ...to local, regional, and national goverment, and to the largest multi-national corporation, are even nation-states.  By all working together, we can do this.. for more information call me today and let's connect... our "secret sauce" is value innovation. Call today to learn more... 1.425.780.6872

"Going Google" Feels Like Getting Repeated Gifts From Heaven

After deciding to "Go Google", computing-in-the-cloud with Google applications. and upgrading my website, I ended up saving myself a whole lot of time and money. Wow! Now it feels like I keep getting repeated gifts from heaven. I feel this way because of the continual software updating and improvements that I keep receiving at no extra cost...and with no time wasted! How cool is that! I even get Google Update e-mails letting me know about all of the improvements. Google most definitely got it right! Here just a few of the applications I am using and enjoying:

• Google Docs - This is a free virtual file server with the Docs word processor and an excellent drawing program. Google Spreadsheet is also great and so are Google Presentations. I just keep thinking about how much money and time I used to spend buying and installing software and paying for all these updates. What's really great is also my peace-of-mind, knowing that if my hard drive crashes.. I lose not one document and my e-mail.. never goes bonkers.
  
• Google Sites - An amazing, elegant application in the cloud that is a small business and not-for-profit business dream.  It's way better than having to hassle with more complicated and more problematic approaches to site development and administration.. and what I discovered is that the hosting is actually free! Incredible!
  
• YouTube - YouTube is also a Google offering that integrates nicely with Google Sites thematically and allows for the creation of my own Web Television Channel page.
  
• Picasa - This yet another Google offering that allows me to manage images as well as collaborate with my clients regarding image choices.
  
• Blogger - That's what I am doing this blog with. Wow! What a great and elegant application this is. What I really like is the way that my blog can be "Shared" and "Followed" and what a pleasure it is to do these posts.
  
• ...and on and on. There are many more applications that I am looking forward to working with.

"Going Google" really is like getting continual gifts from heaven with all the continual product improvements and tweaks. I feel really blessed. What about you and your own situation? Wouldn't you like to enjoy all this cool new stuff too? If so, call me and let's work up a cost-effective way to help you "Go Google" too. 1.425.780.6872.

Are You Ready to Bring New Life to Your Online Meetings?

If you are ready to bring new life to your online meetings, then you may be interested in attending VenueGen's 3D virtual meeting session coming up on August 10:30 AM (PST).  VenueGen is the exciting new 3D immersive web conferencing capability that we've been evaluating, and this is good time for you to experience itself first-hand yourself. See their video.

David Gardner, VenueGen's CEO and "pragmatist" has also written some impressive whitepapers that make the case for 3D immersive conferencing's superior engagement and why VenueGen's approach to 3D immersive conferencing is in a class all by itself. We've been evaluating VenueGen for our clients for several weeks now and really like the power of this... especially the multiple "venues" ... even a virtual yacht that you can do cool blue ocean strategic "meeting cruises" on with cozy seating for up to nine people. Here I am as my "avatar" cruisin'. Wow is this a great way to e-meet and e-learn!

If you are interested in attending... call me at 1.425.780.6872 and I'll hook you up.

About the Difference Between "Consulting" and "Coaching"... Thank You Dr. Maslow

Maslow's Hiercharchy of Needs

What's on my mind this morning are my customers' needs and about how to best address them. Then... Bingo!  ..the excellent monumental work of Dr. Abraham Maslow and his now famous pyramid, his hierarchy of  needs, comes to mind. (A Theory of Human Motivation  - originally published in Psychological Review, 1943, Vol. 50 #4, pp. 370–396). Then Bingo #2 happens... understanding the difference between  just shallowing trying to "sell" a product or service to someone ...as contrasted with going way deeper, and connecting with that person where they are at needs-wise and serving them well ...by being a good listener and by being a better human being.  

Then Bingo #3 happens.. helping me understand that difference between being a more formal "consultant" as contrasted with being more of a personal "coach". Way more territory can be covered where personal trust is established and where actual human feelings and human motivations can be safely shared. Then Bingo #4 happens.. it's about the realization that "coaching" has why more space, silence and calm in it..and way less noise and clutter in it... while at the same time more vibrant...living...quantum energy is shared.. almost like you are in some kind of aura..or energy field... or in Divine Presence with  that person...Deep! 

Then Bingo #5, I realize how recently I successfully entered into new business with a new client... something miraculously happened as outcome of the wonderfully deep relationship that we had built over time. As an outcome of that relationship,  the product/service solutions that I had provided ended up being way better than either of us had ever imagined...because of the way that we connected  and the way that we continue to connect as playful, joyful, caring human beings continually creating new meaning.

The final Bingo #6 has to do with looking at the top of that pyramid and gaining an even deeper understanding of why I am doing the things that I do in this blog .... being joyful, playful, as I bare my soul and self-actualize and explore my creativity, and try to be more authentic ... now makes a whole lot of good sense. 

Call me and let's connect if anything in this blog also makes sense to you. 1.425.780.6872'

Peace.

Communications Done Right ...is Like a Bowl of Cherries...Sweet!

When it comes to communications, here's a little more food inspiration for you here... This time it's a bowl of cherries, simple, elegant and sweet .. and its about the CONTENT and the DELIVERY and planning and caring that has to go into this to have that tree bear that luscious fruit and to have that bowl present it so nicely.

Communications ...done right... can be like a bowl of cherries...if you invest in developing and implementing a good communications plan that speaks to the needs of your audiences. 

The CONTENT needs to be ripe with meaning that people care about, as they personally experience the VALUE of your offering and what's in it for them ...FEELING-wise if they are to buy in. Feeling good.. is important because that in itself attracts other positive energy that results in action. 

This especially goes for important social causes and public policy issues that can improve the quality of our lives and the lives of multiple stakeholders. Think about kids for instance, and how great you feel when you step up to the plate and advocate on their behalf  so that all kids can have what they deserve to have: food, health, shelter, caring, love and a quality education. 

Now about the DELIVERY and the vessels that communicate and deliver your offering. In a 21st century world, we are talking multiple venues here that can comprise your marketing communications "mix" and campaign:

• Public relations events like political rallies and marches ... that are also documented by your trained web television production team. If your programs support kids, have some of them testify on their own behalf. These events can culminate a whole year of communications activity.
• Blogging campaign...with simultaneous posts to social media
• Web television channel that even includes videos produced by customers.
• Virtualized physical world outreach meetings.. that use web conferencing and roll in the television.
• Website..upgraded so that you can even meet with stakeholders "inside" your website.
• Virtual conferences and trade shows.
• Donor development and fundraising events...done both in the physical world as well as online

Communications...done right... can be like a bowl of cherries... and oh so sweet. Call me today if you need some help with this. 1.425.780.6872

World Trade & The Potential for New Big-Reach, Learning-rich Communications - New Possibilities to Work Things Out

What's been on my mind lately is the impact that low cost big-reach, learning-rich communications and value innovation could have in improving relations with world trading partners, now that the world has been made smaller by communications technology. When I look at the world, now brought down to size by NASA space flight pictures, and when I can now "fly" across the world on Google Earth, and view video content of people in other parts of the world, all this contributes to the realization that we all live on the same fragile planet, on that sale blue marble in space and that we had better work our differences out because we all have to depend upon each other. 

I may sound naive, but I think it really does help when you can actually connect with people in marvelously human ways that can transcend cultural, economic, and political differences and have you discover that you still have something in common to offer each other. Getting involved with face-to-face Internet conferencing  folks from Marratech in Sweden a few years ago really brought that realization home...and now with Gmail video chat, I can do that with anyone on the other end that has has the same capability. 

Fast-forwarding to now, what excites us the "green" communications and learning platform that we now have as a resource - e.g. special "green-metered" web conferencing,  new low cost web television... and our own value innovation that can work with larger groups of people. With these three things, we can have people from Washington State and people from China meeting in the same virtual room, "inside" of virtual architecture to do big-reach, learning-rich cultural exchange between whole generations of people. 

Kids in elementary school, kids in middle and high school, and kids in vocational school and in college. Kids learning about each others countries and what's own their minds with respect to their hope and aspirations for the world. Our kids the way that they connect with other kids can teach us adults something and that kind of positive energy attracts more positive energy that's capable of building that "harmonious" society that government dignitaries on both sides of the ocean which that they had more of. Our elders also car a whole lot of wisdom. We need to connect them up as well.

I am just beginning to outreach folks actually involved in world trade with some of my resources... the most powerful one... being my feelings of hope for the world. I welcome your own thoughts and feelings. 1.425.780.6872

Just More MickeyDs? ... or A Whole New Bento Box Full of Value?

"Just More Mickey Ds or A Whole New Bento Box of Value?" That "Bento Box" is what's been on my mind and what I have been up to, now made manifest in this post. Our Bento Box serves up some fresh new services, specially designed to deliver more value and move business forward... from the smallest micro-business... to not-for-profit organizations... and to government and the largest of enterprises... even nation-states:

• Strategic Planning - Strategic planning is a consultative process where we do basically help you do three things: 1) we help you assess where you are right now; 2) we help you focus and get clear about where you want to take your business, and 3) we work with you to design a strategy which serves as the blueprint and roadmap for how to get there.
  
  
• Web Presence - If your website is still mostly just text and graphics, and doesn't "sizzle" or represent your business presence or brand in its best light, then you need to talk with us. We've "Gone Google" and are now enjoying phenomenal advantage... partaking of Google's broad spectrum of resources. It's simple as that. Talk to us.
  
  
• Television Channel - That's right... a whole television channel.. that we can put right the on the website we design for you. Our background is in television, both delivery-wise and content development-wise and there are now awesome new low-cost, almost no cost ways to do television in a big-reach, learning-rich way. Talk to us.
  
  
• Webinar Series -  This is a way to serve your customer phenomenally well with information of value that we design to be of value. The technology is now way better and more affordable too.Talk to us.

Here's the number. Call me and let's connect today and focus on where you'd like to go...and we'll even include the Wasabi and the soy sauce. - 1.425.780.6872

King County's Strategic Plan 2010 Already is Amazing Visionary Document and Blueprint for Reform

Just in case you haven't seen it yet, King County's new County-wide Five Year Strategic Plan already is an amazing visionary document and blueprint for government reform worth reading and thinking about... and possibly being guided by. The first thing that hits you... is that green imagery on the cover which serves as the environmental context for social and governmental change. 

The content of the document is equally "green" ...and on multiple levels ...with respect to guiding principles and goals declared. The issues are complex and challenging... like a $60 million budget shortfall and how to "tighten the belt". Be sure to watch the video to get at least some idea about what's on King County Council's and Executive's mind and listen to Fred Jarrett's, Jane Hague's, Bob Ferguson's  carefully-chosen words.

This is no ordinary document here, but a rich cultural statement that reflects a whole lot work that's already been done engaging with people both internally in government and  externally with the community via outreach meetings, workshops, focus groups, surveys and key conversations done with folks for over eighteen months to discover what people and government of King County care about. It's also being positioned as a "blueprint for reform." The big question now is how well the plan is actually put into action over this next five years.

After reading this, I now find myself asking myself, could this be a time to get involved with this project? What could I do to help value innovation-wise and technology-wise to get folks working together as one King County? 

Take a look at this... What do you think? And what is your hope for the future? Government can work if folks are will to step up to the plate and do what they can to make things better. Call me and let's connect 1.425.780.6872

Our Same Old Physical World Thinking Won't Solve This

What's Wrong With This Picture?

More traffic gridlock? More hybrid and electric cars and buses?  More transportation infrastructure cost over-runs, more global climate change? More environmental pollution and degradation? More health problems? More higher energy costs? More layoffs and chronic unemployment? Just more "green" building retrofitting? What's WRONG with this picture?... besides the fact that we and our government officials are all in it?

What's WRONG is the same old limiting physical world thinking... that won't solve this... that's what's WRONG. Why not instead "re-think" TRANSPORTATION and ARCHITECTURE... by adding a VIRTUAL WORLD TOOLSET ...like next-generation low cost web conferencing and low cost almost no cost web television? And what not cultivate a HYBRID WORLD MINDSET that uses both physical world and virtual world approaches to transportation and architecture instead?  

Like why not use VIRTUAL TRANSPORTATION to "transport" our "virtual presence" and meet "inside" of VIRTUAL ARCHITECTURE... at least sometimes? And with a little VALUE INNOVATION added in as our "secret sauce", there's a whole lot that can done .."inside" that VIRTUAL ARCHITECTURE... like virtualizing meetings... like communicating and educating over a web television channel... like engaging folks in critical conversations and virtual focus groups... like doing remote consulting and e-learning.. and like even putting on multi-day virtual conferences and trade shows... all with zero carbon footprint and saving both time and money. With that time that you saved in commuting you could be tending your community garden, riding your bike, or taking a nice long walk breathing cleaner air....feeling great that you now have more green in your bank account. 

Is anybody listening out there... or are we all just BRAIN DEAD? Hopefully you are not and at least curious about what I am talking about. See my new NWC Overview 2010 our my New World Television Channel page and also take a look at what can now be done... "inside" 3-D architecture.. even right NOW.

Wake up world... The way that you are still thinking about TRANSPORTATION, ARCHITECTURE and moving business forward... is not as good as it gets. - 1.425.780-6872

Remote Consulting and E-Learning and Excellent Entrepreneurship Curriculum Would Do It

If you are as tired as we are, being invited to attend countless "multi-cultural" small business outreach events that rip you off, wasting both your time and your money, and delivering nothing of substance, then you need to talk to us. We continue to be amazed about how bad so-called business development services are in the Pacific Northwest, so much so that we are now on a mission to do something about that.

The challenge and the opportunity is that most of the organizations that offer business development services are not in touch with the needs of the people they try to sell their services to.  They also don't know how to consult with folks or how to design, develop and deliver a business development curriculum that makes a bottom-line difference with small business that also provides a greener and more sustainable approach.

What would be way better would be a remote consulting practice and an e-learning offering in entrepreneurship that would make a real difference.. business development-wise.  It could take advantage of powerful communications resources like e-meetings, and best practices web television that save time, cost less and that are way more cost-effective than expensive hotel and convention center events.

Also a program that develops "green" businesses by lowering carbon footprint, conserving energy and improving profitability would be most timely...and we are working on that... For more information call us today and let's connect and focus on what you need business development education-wise and how to get it. 1.425.780.6872

Engage the World in a Series of Critical Conversations and Virtual Focus Groups ..We Can Do That

One thing that government officials haven't explored yet is using affordable technology like next-generation web conferencing, and low-cost, almost no-cost web television and social media to engage the public and both inform and shape public policy. This unique approach can also be used to shape product/service offerings.

It's part of our strategy to add a virtual world TOOLSET and to cultivate a "hybrid world" MINDSET over time that can save both money and time, as well as serve the needs of a changing public better. The real-time web conferencing component also greatly reduces carbon footprint and phenomenally extends business reach. Remote subject matter experts can also add world-class learning richness.

Once people and organization understand the phenomenal benefit, imagine the wonderful  ways this powerful and innovative communications and learning approach can be used to make ours a better world.  It can help us gain more focus on what people want and need. People can even remotely consult and do e-learning with this stuff, and even do multi-day virtual conferences & trade shows with it that can engage more stakeholders.

Multi-day virtual conferences and virtual trade shows will cost way less than physical world ones, one  too cost-prohibitive for many stakeholders to even attend now. The communications can go all the way into businesses, community centers, classrooms, senior living complexes and homes... and all people to need to do to "get there" and to "get back" is to log on and off.

One doesn't have to be rocket scientist to do the math about the cost-savings here, especially as more and more people get comfortable doing next-generation e-meetings or "virtualized" physical world ones. Call us today and let's talk about how to get started...by doing a proof-of-concept pilot study that can actually document some of the benefits and help us all learn more.  1.425.780.6872.