Golden Rules

Here are two golden rules guaranteed to help you make a good first impression:

1. After the person you are calling picks up the phone, say hello, identify yourself and ask: "is this a convenient time to talk?" Rocket science? Not really. But you can bet it is a critical step in having your contact pay attention to the next 15 words you say.
   
   
2. When going to a meeting, be there when you say you will be there. If you can, be there early. There's nothing worse than showing up late. We've all been late before. Sometimes things happen that are out of our control. The mobile phone was (and still is) a great invention. Use it.

No one is perfect. I'm sure as hell not. But making your very best effort and being respectful of others' time is a great place to start.

Thanks to Mike Figliuolo of thoughtLEADERS for a great coffee discussion on Friday, which reminded me to write about the golden rules.

People Fighting for Change: EcoStudio

My thanks to Eric Elizondo of EcoStudio for turning me on to some great sustainability resources. His blog is jam packed with information on products, ideas and so much more.

Green City Blue Lake is a website created by EcoCity Cleveland, a nonprofit organization that has been at the center of sustainability activities and creative planning efforts in Northeast Ohio since 1992.

Here's an excerpt from their newsletter that Eric forwarded to me:

Warming towards Earth Day
It may have seemed like a long Cleveland winter, but there are signs that our climate is growing warmer. Based on recent temperature data, the national Arbor Day Foundation has published an updated version of the 1990 USDA plant hardiness zone map. The new map shows that much of Ohio has warmed a full zone.

Go here to see an animated display of how the hardiness zones have shifted north.

If you only click on link in this post, click the last one. You'll be directed to an animated map that shows the change in hardiness zones since 1990. It's absolutely staggering.

What are you and I doing to prevent this situation from getting worse?

What Social Networks Accomplish

In a recent email, my uncle stated that he was unsure exactly what social networks accomplished.

While this is a much larger debate, here are a few ideas on why I believe these networks are valuable. Feel free to agree, disagree or share your own ideas:

Data Portability
Have you ever changed mobiles or computers, and lost contact information in the process? A significant advantage of social networks, both personal and business, is data portability. By maintaining your information via the web, you reap the benefit of centralized platform accessible from anywhere.

Reasons to Connect
In both business and personal settings, almost all social networks provide updates on your contacts activities. When someone makes changes to their profile, makes a new connection, even asks or a question, you will be alerted. This automated intelligence can be help provide legitimate reasons to reach out to any given contact.

User Generated Intelligence
In a few simple clicks through a profile in your network, you can learn about your connections work history, who you know in common, where they went to school, what level of degree they have, their accomplishments, and on and on. What's more, this data is updated by them - not a third party.

As adoption of any network becomes more wide-spread, the overall value increases. As your own personal network grows, you'll see an increase in the data and opportunities that are delivered.

On the flip side of that, without some type of control system in place, network value can also be lost. MySpace is a good case study to follow on that. I guess it's just human nature to create pandemonium if we're left with no rules.

For a fairly comprehensive list the social networks, click here.