The Future Is Now

Coming off of the success of FutureMidwest, this past weekend (April 16 & 17), co-founder Adrian Pittman shares his thoughts about the conference, Detroit and its potential.

My goal for the Module conference last year was to collect and highlight some best practices from the world of new media. It was essentially a launch party for my company’s brand. I expected a small crowd of friends, coworkers and clients who were already involved in that space. But I was wrong. Purely by mistake, I had tapped into a much broader audience that wanted to understand the impact new media could have on their company and brand. I learned metro Detroiters were much more interested than I expected in learning about new technologies. Many were looking for the same answers at the same time. With the Module conference, we had grabbed the attention and focus of a very large audience.

When I met Jordan Wolfe last year after TechNow, I realize there was a piece missing from Module – the entrepreneurial focus. Entrepreneurism is heavily tied into where this region finds itself economically and perceptually right now. Detroit was once the center of the universe, but that rapidly changed. The Midwest never fully came through to the other side as the economy, industries and technology evolved. When the economy flipped, it was obvious that the way our region became accustomed to doing business was no longer working. To survive, we had to change.

Most other conferences were already speaking to those who understood the importance of using the social Web as a new method of communicating and conducting business. But those conferences didn’t speak directly to the entrepreneurs. Jordan’s TechNow conference did. TechNow didn’t draw in the tech geeks, rather people striving to improve their businesses and industries. It felt very much like an event you would find in California, not Michigan.

It was obvious that Jordan and I were telling two sides of the same story, and we needed to bring everything together. As we were doing research to determine if this new conference idea had any legs, we found that blending the entrepreneurial-focused message with the new media educational message from Module created a huge outpouring of support. We put together a team that could make this conference come alive, and FutureMidwest was born.

We’ve been happy to see people from diverse industries in metro Detroit and beyond registering for FutureMidwest. Our audience won’t be comprised of only marketers and tech-savvy people, but also those who have a high-tech need for their business and industry.

What does the road ahead look like? Our goal is to create a melting pot of industries that all come together for this annual conference. We want FutureMidwest to change the way people think about growing their business, building relationships and communicating.

There’s a need for passionate thought leaders in our region who aren’t afraid to take a risk for the sake of business growth.

Originally posted on Time, April 16, 2010.

Forget About The “Leadership Secrets of Attila The Hun”!

If you’re like most small business professionals, you’ve got a stack of business books sitting somewhere near your desk — many of the classics that every smart business manager supposedly needs to read. However, some of these “classics” didn’t became popular because they were particularly insightful but because they reinforced conventional business wisdom of the time.

Many small business books perpetuate the use of harmful myths and, unfortunately, some of these myths have become strongly ingrained in the business lexicon. These myths are harmful because they misapply “established knowledge” and result in many professionals practicing unprofitable business tactics.

In this article I’m not talking about truisms that fail in specific cases but, rather, business phrases that are often false, even though they may seem true on the surface.

For example:

1. A good salesperson can sell anything

Actually, no. A good salesperson in the wrong market or unfamiliar with the needs of their customers can not sell anything. Each industry and regional market is different, and you’re only as good as your knowledge of the prospects’ needs.

2. The customer is always right

This cliché dates back roughly 100 years. Most people call it the “Field Rule”, named after the Marshall Field’s chain, where it was famously put into practice. The Field Rule came from the French phrase “Le client n’a jamais tort” (”The customer is never wrong”) back in 1908. Whoever is responsible, should be smacked in “le bouche.” This is a perfect example of marketing fiction being perceived as fact. In reality, to say that “the customer is always right” implies that the salesperson is always wrong and, thus, does not engender the customer’s trust or respect.

3. Anything 80 percent complete is “good enough”

This myth is just plain crazy and confusing. Does your employer (or client, if you’re self-employed) compensate you 100% for 80% of your effort? No, they require 100% effort for 100% compensation. Anything worth doing is worth doing right — and completely. If we’re talking about launching a product, the same rule applies. It should be no surprise that releasing an “80% functional” (read: incomplete or unstable) product into the market can cost your company its reputation and you a lot of time and money.

Get Real

These few examples of “off-the-shelf” knowledge demonstrate that just because it’s in black-and-white does not necessarily mean it’s true — or relevant.

It’s a sad reality that such business myths are still being perpetuated by modern day professionals — many of whom should know better. Just recently, two of my Conversationalist colleagues overheard an experienced sales exec recite cliché #2 in a client meeting. This just means that it’s even more important for the rest of us to validate the business advice we are given before adding it to our professional repertoire and putting it into practice. Skip the unsubstantiated clichés and the unproven, of-the-moment thinking and the business world will be a better place.

Defining the Digital Handshake

How do you define a handshake?

That’s an easy question to answer, right? I mean, to just about all of us, a handshake is physical ritual. It’s a greeting or conclusion to the exchange of dialogue or ideas; the physical representation of connecting. So how does a handshake translate to the digital world?

That’s a question that may not be so easy to answer. Or maybe it is, because how we behave physically translates to the digital world. So if we think of a handshake as the initial greeting before a conversation, then a digital translation is not out of reach.

It’s still about connecting.

Let’s use the internet phenomenon Twitter, as an example. This is one of the fastest ways you can shake hands digitally. There is already a conversation happening, you just need to make your introduction. Sign up, enter your bio, add a picture, and you’re ready. The application itself is the handshake.

However, like any initial greeting and conversation, it can’t be one sided. The same practices and courtesies that govern our relationships in the physical world, apply online. You still need to give a reason for someone to want to shake your hand back.

How do we accomplish this?

Simple, begin how you would start any conversation, smile and say hello. Provide an atmosphere where a healthy conversation is encouraged. Those you greet should feel their ideas are welcome and that you truly care and want to listen. This is the foundation of community building and the same principles apply on any of the digital applications that are available to you whether you use Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs, etc.

You can’t expect to walk up to someone, shake their hand or slap them on the back and just walk away. That doesn’t work in the physical world and it won’t work online.

That’s not relationship building.

So as we wrap this up, chew on this thought:

Over the course of your lifetime, think about all hands you’ve shook. How many of those physical handshakes turned into meaningful relationships, which ultimately turned into business opportunities? Now think about all the potential online connections that are waiting for you to extend your hand.

Are you ready to shake hands in the digital world? I thought so.