Great things in business are never done by one person. They are done by a team of people. - Steve Jobs

With graduation seasons in sight, we see an increasing number of university talented students pounding the pavement to look for a suitable job for themselves. As competitive as it is, graduates today seek for job opportunities that are able to meet their requirements at work. That being said, one of the important aspects that these new generation of employees look forward to is the ability to gain sufficient industry knowledge at work.

Traditionally as we learned from Frederick Taylor’s principles of scientific management, he proposed that the work productivity will only increase as we simplify each tasks at work. Fast forward to the present, it is the exact opposite. Most jobs today demand employees to continuously embrace the opportunities to learn, and to develop new skills and expertise for their professional development in building up their careers.

With millennials slowly taking up the majority of the workforce, this has also created a change of perception in how employees get hired and trained in the company. As mentioned by CEO of Hogan Assessment Systems, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, higher career security is a function of employability, and that in turn depends on learnability. As much as academic excellence is essential to being one of the aspects in hiring, most organisations have to wake up to the reality that they are able to pay an equal attention towards hiring the “learning animals” who are able to be a standout among the pool of other candidates, by demonstrating their passion in asking insightful questions that may be beneficial to unlock a deeper insights for the clients.

As organisations step foot into providing lifelong learning for employee’s professional development, Tomas suggests how organisation leaders can do a better job at fostering learnability in the workplace by starting with the three (3) most simpler steps: 

________________________________________

Select For It 

Don’t waste training budgets on employees who have yet to demonstrate learnability, even if those employees are otherwise skilled, collaborative, and productive. To maximise the benefit of limited training investments, focus on employees with higher learnability: curious and inquisitive individuals who are genuinely interested in acquiring new knowledge. Just like some people are more likely to benefit from coaching than others – because they are humbler, more open to feedback, and ambitious – certain individuals are more trainable than others because of their hungry mind.

Nurture It 

Managers who want their employees to learn new things will encourage that behaviour by doing it themselves. We are all time-deprived, but high learnability people make the time to learn new things. What is the last book you read that opened your mind? (Simply reading the articles your Facebook friends share doesn’t count.) When did you last devote time to study another industry? When was the last time you spoke to someone about stuff outside your area of expertise? How hard do you try to break up your default routine at work? How often do you ask “why”?

Paradoxically, instant access to information may suppress our natural curiosity and appetite for knowledge. It is to our learnability what fast food is to our diet: a ubiquitous vice with no nutritional value and the potential to make healthy food tasteless. High learnability enables people to dive deeper to translate information into actual expertise. It is the key intellectual differentiator between those who can go online and those who become smarter in the process.

Reward It 

If you want to change people’s behaviour, you should show them that you mean it. It is not enough to hire curious people and hope they display as much learnability as you do. You should also reward them for doing so.

One of the best ways to reward high learnability is to provide new and challenging opportunities for those individuals where they can continue to be stimulated to exercise their learnability and be rewarded by broadening their expertise and increasing their value to the company and themselves. Another suggestion is to promote people only if they have acquired sufficient expertise in other jobs in the organisation, not just their own.

Or you could give awards for individuals who organise events or activities to promote learnability in the company, for instance, running internal conferences, bringing external speakers, and circulating information that is intellectually stimulating and has the potential to nurture people’s curiosity. Even simpler habits, such as writing a blog, sharing articles on social media, or recommending books and movies, can be rewarded.

Though people differ in their natural curiosity and learning potential, the context will also determine how much learnability people display. Executives and senior leaders should be tasked with enhancing employees’ learnability throughout the organisation. Since leaders play a major role in shaping the climate of teams and culture of organisations, they will act as either catalysts or blockers of employees’ learnability. 

Inspiration: It’s the Company’s Job to Help Employees Learn

Image Source: roraimamais.com.br

Chia Yi Jing | Bubbling with enthusiasm, bright ideas, and confidence, Yi Jing set foot in the PR world with Orchan Consulting, where she was offered permanent employment after a successful internship. She is determined to make her mark in the industry, and her bosses know that she will. 

Leaders don't create followers. They create more leaders. - Tom Peters

The evolution of technology has made us more connected than ever before. Having said so, marketers today can no longer get too carried away with their old, one-dimensional marketing strategies to triumph their business. As we enter the digital era, evolving global digital marketing trends have made it more imperative for marketers to adopt and integrate new marketing strategies in a whole slew of new platforms and technologies.

That’s true; Social Media is our new reality.

As a good marketer, one has to value new opportunities more than anything else. With the world changing more significantly than we already know, social media is the current wave for savvy marketers to be successful at meeting the demand of potential customers, particularly, millennials. Whilst it is now the big thing among the tech savvy generation, more and more marketers have the potential to invest and focus on unconventional approach to building sustainable marketing strategies. Social media makes it more possible for businesses to innovate, improve efficiency, and master skills beyond their experiences to come up with good ideas.  

In the following article, Cameron Brain from everyonesocial.com shares the top twelve (12) Internet trends that every marketer should be aware of. 

________________________________________

We're not Even at 50%

Hard to imagine (maybe not), but we haven’t even reached the 50% mark for global internet users. You can probably see why Facebook and Google want to deploy drones to beam Internet to places like Africa. At present, North America, Europe, and China are largely saturated. India is up next, along with the rest of Asia Pacific.

India is The Next Major Market

In 1995, there were only 35 Million internet users, primarily in the US and Western Europe. Today there are 3 Billion, and China is the primary reason for this growth. What surprised us is, India is up next. In fact, India recently surpassed the US to become the Number 2 global internet user market behind China, and its growth is continuing to accelerate (over 40% year-over-year). To further elaborate, five (5) years ago, India’s internet users only occupy 7%. However, at the end of last year 2015, it has approximately increased up to 20% of India’s population was connected to the internet at the end of 2015. Five years ago the number was 7%.

50% of Global Smartphone Owners are in Asia

The Global smartphone adoption may be slowing (currently at 21% year-over-year, globally), however as marketers, we should be aware of the fact that in the US or Canada, it represents a small fraction of total smartphone users (somewhere around 10%). Currently, there are over 50% of global smartphone owners are in Asia.

China and Asia Growth in a Picture

In 1985, over 63% of global GDP ($19T, at the time) came from North America, Europe, and Japan. In 2015, 63% of global GDP (now $114T) came from China and emerging Asia. To put things into perspective, the photos taken back in 1987 and 2016 about Shanghai, the fastest-growing city in the world, gave a significant comparison about the growth in China. That explained the amount China spent on infrastructure alone in the last six years (2010 – 2016) has surpassed what they spent in the previous 30 years (1980 – 2010).

There are 5x More Android Smartphones

As an Apple / iPhone customer for many years, it’s hard to imagine that there are more than 5x as many Android phones being used globally. Further and for the first time ever, iOS phone shipments actually declined last year, while Android device shipments continued to grow by over 10%. This has then increased the awareness for all marketers to consider about the mobile strategies for their marketing plan.

Adblock Usage Way Up, Especially on Mobile

If you’re a marketer, chances are adblocking software has hit your radar in the last year or two. A double digit percentage of internet users employ these solutions; some sites report ad block usage as high as 40%. Well, these are some bad news for paid advertisers: it’s getting worse. There are now more people employing ad bloc solutions on their mobile devices than there are on the desktop. No wonder “native ads” are all the rage.

Video is Bigger than You Thought

Consider this for a moment: there are 20% more video views per day on Snapchat than on Facebook. In total, Snapchat received 20 Billion video views per day in Q1 2016. Based on their growth, that likely means they’ve reached something like 12 – 13 Billion views per day at present. And few days back, Instagram keeps up its pace by introducing a new feature – Instagram Story that allow the users to share photos and videos as their day-to-day story. Simple amazing. 

Remember the Chewbacca Lady? 

Remember that lady in the car wearing the Chewy mask? Well, it was the most viewed Facebook live video of all time, with over 153 Million views in just one (1) day. Further and because she mentioned Kohls a couple times, where Kohl’s had received an unexpected marketing boost, making its app (Kohl’s) to the number 1 ranking in the US iOS store. 

15x More Photos Shared Per Day than Five (5) Years Ago

Visual mediums are dominating shared content on the internet and there are really only two (2) companies that generate the bulk of shared photos: Facebook (Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp) and Snapchat. We have over 3.5 Billion images shared on a daily basis, up 15x from only five years ago. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that the internet is becoming increasingly visual.

Messaging Continuing to Grow, Bigtime

Hard fact: Twitter and Linkedin not only have the least number of monthly active users, combined they don’t even reach the top three (WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat).  While growth has largely plateaued with the former, the top three plus Instagram continue to see 25% annual growth. Remember when Facebook paid $1Billion for Instagram? It’s now worth more than 40x that.

Self-Expression for All

Emojis are so five years ago. Heck, photo filters are so five years ago. Gifs and lenses are the new way to creatively express yourself on social media and a great way for brands to insert themselves into conversations. Consider these numbers:

• Taco Bell Cinco de Mayo lens on Snapchat received over 224 Million views, with an average session time (amount of time a Snapchatter played with the lens) of over 20 seconds.
• Gatorade Super Bowl lens on Snapchat garnered over 165 Million views with the same, 20 seconds average session time.
• Iron Man Filter from MSQRD on Facebook garnered 8 Million views.

Duh: Those born after 1981 prefer chat and social to phone and email

For millennials will be the future leaders in the world, it is crucial for marketers to adopt the right way of communication channel to reach out to their target audience. Almost everyone owns a digital device that is connectable to the internet now, thus, this has increasingly become the go-to communication channel for business, transactions, and everything else. 

Inspiration: 12 Global Trends Every Marketer Needs To Know Now

Chia Yi Jing | Bubbling with enthusiasm, bright ideas, and confidence, Yi Jing set foot in the PR world with Orchan Consulting, where she was offered permanent employment after a successful internship. She is determined to make her mark in the industry, and her bosses know that she will. 

Sell the problem you solve, not the product - Unknown

- Seventeen year old students preparing for their upcoming SPM examinations, unsure of

the impending decision of a degree course;

- Fresh graduates experiencing and embracing the differences of the workplace, reminiscing 

the final years of student-life;

- Married couples in their thirties, juggling between full-time career commitments and a 

newborn child;

All three groups share a common trait, a commonly used denomination to refer to a particular category of people. They are increasingly becoming the target for brand strategies, gradually and eventually being assumed as the primary consumer and contributor to the market. If you haven’t guessed it already, all three fall under the category of Millennials.

Definitions of the age range of a Millennial vary, with estimates extending as far back as the mid-1970s, to as recent as the early 2000s. A general rough estimate would suggest those born between 1980 – 1998 as the appropriate range to be considered as Millennials. However, it still represents a large demographic of differing age groups and cultures, each with different viewpoints and definitions of the world. To label such a diverse group under a monochrome umbrella of representation that is ‘Millennials’ is not only inaccurate, but jeopardises brands which intend to specifically target millennials as a priority for their brand strategies.

Lumping university debutants with parents in their thirties is problematic, as they have different priorities, and have contrasting views on brands and products. A Subway sandwich might be a healthy, simple lunch option for the younger crowd, whilst being a lazy alternative to cooking dinner for the latter. The multitude of perspectives on the socially constructed intra-millennial spectrum makes it difficult for brands to converge on “Millennials” as a general marketing target.

Emojis, selfies, and hashtags are starting to make the transition from their initial refreshing debuts to clichéd norms. Brands are increasingly inclined towards creating a millennial-friendly image, in fear of not progressing in line with the ever-adapting status quo. The fear of losing out to the millennial market creates a self-perpetuating notion within brand marketing strategies, whereby the idea of ‘millennials = priority’ is continually resonating between brands. Brands continuously vie for attention from millennials, and view targeting millennials as a means of keeping up with the times. 

Brands which have a blanket marketing strategy to target millennials risk ostracising consumers from other demographics. By associating certain trends or habits with millennials, and applying strategies which directly target them (under the assumption that all millennials conform to those trends), brands potentially lose out on consumers which might have been their primary source of revenue. Compelling advertisements might generate good coverage and attention, but does not necessarily translate into profit.

For instance, if Ferrari decides to advertise towards millennials, they have the potential to create positive social media awareness and attention. However, teenagers and fresh-collared workers might not have the financial capacity to commit to purchasing a Ferrari.

Instead of targeting at sweeping terms of categories such as millennials or baby boomers, brands are better off identifying audiences at a micro level. Following the release of Pokemon Go in Malaysia, brands have begun advertising aimed at catching the interests of Pokemon Go players.

The colloquially associated millennial-traits such as emojis and hashtags are foregone, in place of simple targeted advertising at Pokemon Go players, which span across various demographics. Instead of equating Pokemon Go with an up-and-coming millennialist trend, brands can utilise it to engage with a broader audience, which would translate into a more potent marketing strategy which transcends traditional demographic labels.

The highlights below provide a more in-depth perspective as to what brands should emphasise on to create an effective marketing strategy. Brands should refrain from engaging in targeted marketing at millennials, since they are represented by a wide demographic range, encompassing that of age, culture, race, nationality, socio-political, financial… #yougetmypoint

________________________________________

“It seems less about measuring sales or even Net Promoter Score, but about social engagement and likes. It’s given rise to comments like this, from Katie Elfering, a CEB consumer strategist and resident expert on Millennials at Forbes:

“Beyond just being innovative and useful, the brands that give Millennials a reason to engage, whether that’s branded content like what Intel has produced, or creating an experience that they couldn’t have without the brand, like many of Red Bull’s events, have figured out how to connect to this generation in a meaningful way. These brands know how to provide what matters most to Millennials in a way that is additive to their lives and entertaining, which in turn compels them to share their experiences with their friends.”

There’s nothing wrong with that, but to mistake it for targeting is foolhardy. Re-read the quote, but with people in their 40s in mind. It still applies.”

“Instead, brands should be talking about gardeners with Snapchat or Pinterest accounts. Or people that own tablets that also like NFL. Or people that drink soda twice a day and live in New England.

There’s so much more nuance and potency in targeting at this level of granularity than sweeping terms like Millennials, Generation Y or Baby Boomers can ever offer.

These are the kinds of groups that can be targeted with meaning, and not only have a genuine impact upon the nature of a marketing strategy, but will also transcend the buckets we’ve created to label the world.

So the next time you’re having a conversation about targeting in marketing, please think more about who it is you’re trying to target, and why you’re trying to do it.” - Joel Windels, VP, Inbound Marketing at Brandwatch

Image Source: 

(1) rp-blog.resultsplussoftware.com

(2) socialmediaweek.org

(3) Tokyo Kitchen Facebook Page 

(4) myBurgerLab Facebook Page

Benjamin Lee Cheng Han | Benjamin is a student of International Relations at the University of Nottingham, currently exploring unchartered realms in the Public Relations field. Writing is clearly his interest – a decisive contributor to his foray into the public relations industry. To date, he boasts the proud record of having tamed one of the office cats, and drinking expired tea from the pantry.

The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks. - Mark Zuckerberg

Walking outside alone in the night playing Pokemon Go; having a round of Monopoly with your friends; trying the spiciest Korean instant noodles; all three might seem unrelated at first sight, but share a common trait amongst each activity – each entails a certain degree of risk.

Staying out alone makes you an easy target for those with criminal intentions; board game politics has the potential to create petty arguments between the best of buddies; the intensity of spiciness could give you severe bowel issues. What differs is the severity of risk involved in each situation, ranging from life-threatening to temporary tussles.

Similarly, change management projects incur unavoidable risks as well, since change involves (but is not limited to) financial, social, logistical, and managerial aspects of an organisation. Organisational leaders should be well-equipped with skills in identifying and managing these risks, as they are an imperative aspect for successful and sustainable change.

Recognising the potential risks faced when undergoing change is the initial step in ensuring successful change projects. Leaders need to be informed about what’s at stake before following through with any form of initiation. However unsubstantial they might seem to be, failure in identifying possible risks can result in the most insignificant of risk factors ultimately jeopardising the overall change.

After identifying potential avenues of risk, organisations should then be prepared to respond appropriately should they encounter any of the initial risk factors which were diagnosed. For instance, if an organisation is aware of possible financial issues which could arise from the change management project, contingency plans have to be established to relieve the organisation from any consequential setbacks.

In order for change management projects to have the desired outcome, organisational leaders must be able to pinpoint potential risk factors which may adversely affect organisational change. Leaders should be exposed to appropriate training methods, not only on how to identify risk, but also on their capability to respond to risks which have materialised.

Leadership training in recognising and managing risk is imperative for successful change. The article below provides in detail examples of how situations spiral downwards when organisations / leaders are unprepared in realising existing risk factors, and how successful risk-managing approaches can salvage projects from irreversible damage.

________________________________________

Risk is unavoidable. Whether we’re driving in fast-moving traffic, arguing with a colleague in a meeting, or investing our hard-earned money, we are engaging in risk taking. As an investor, I think about financial risk a lot, and I’ve become interested in using the tools of the investor’s trade in managing the large and small risks we face regularly. Those are:

·         Right-sizing

·         Right-timing

·         Relying on knowledge and experience

·         Maintaining skepticism about predictions and promises

Let’s see how the tenets might apply to three very different cases, each containing substantial risk.

Sara Campbell, a talented dress designer, sold the majority of her apparel as a private label supplier to national chains. When both Talbots and Laura Ashley collapsed in the financial crisis of 2008, Sara suddenly lost the vast majority of her revenues. Making matters worse, she was bound to fulfill contracts with manufacturers and suppliers despite the drop-off in client orders.

Steve Starr, the owner of Starr Real Estate in Austin, Texas, was worried that Eve, his commercial leasing manager, was becoming a problem. Eve was causing conflict with colleagues, taking excessively long lunches (from which she returned tipsy), and missing client appointments. When Steve took her to lunch near the office to discuss how things were going, he found out it was even worse than he thought: The restaurant manager called him into a back room to tell him he had good reason to believe Eve was selling cocaine out of his restaurant.

                         

Christine, one of our clients at my asset management firm, wrote to Nicole, our director of customer service, saying that she was overseas and had found some fantastic antiques for which she needed us to wire a fairly large sum of money. Nicole assured her over email that we would transfer the funds immediately. Two minutes later Nicole received a new email from “Christine,” asking for an even larger amount to be transferred for other “purchases.” Nicole realized with horror that she had been duped. Christine’s Gmail account had been hacked and we had been conned by a pro.

I interviewed Sara, Steve, and Nicole for my book, Even the Odds: Sensible Risk Taking in Business, Investing, and Life. How they responded to these risk-filled situations shows the power of right-sizing, right-timing, relying on knowledge and experience, and staying skeptical. Even if you can’t control all four of these variables, controlling a couple of them can sometimes be enough.

For example, Sara had not recognized that she was violating the tenet of right-sizing by depending mostly on two customers. In addition, Sara and her partner, Peter Wheeler, had no control over the timing — the economy was terrible, but there was no way they could wait for a better macro environment. They needed to act immediately to counter the triple threat of plunging sales, commitment to production capacity they didn’t need, and very limited liquidity.

Relying on their knowledge and experience, they came up with a brilliant idea: Given the economic crash, commercial space could be leased relatively cheaply. They’d lease inexpensive space for Sara Campbell–branded boutiques to sell the clothing they were committed to producing. Although their advisers were suggesting bankruptcy, Sara and Peter borrowed from family and friends to fund the expansion. Their bet paid off. Today they have 13 Sara Campbell LTD stores up and down the East Coast and the business is more profitable than when they were primarily third-party providers. They used knowledge and experience to turn the terrible economic timing into a benefit.

Steve’s case was a bit different. Sara and Peter had no control over the timing and no choice but to risk their whole business — not ideal conditions — but Steve had a flourishing business to protect. He used right-sizing and right-timing to mitigate the risk Eve posed.

When it sunk in that he had a big problem on his hands — a dysfunctional and combative employee who was selling cocaine on the side — he moved quickly. He told his attorney about the situation, and they agreed that Steve needed to dismiss Eve immediately. But there was potentially significant risk to Steve’s reputation and his relationship with his clients if the whole messy story emerged.

They decided that because Steve could quantify several lapses in her work — the combativeness, the missed appointments, and the absenteeism — he could fire her without mentioning anything about her outside activities. Still, there was a risk she would try to sue. Steve and his lawyer decided it was a risk worth taking, since it was a smaller risk than either continuing to employ Eve or exposing the messy truth about her involvement with illegal drugs. And, indeed, when Steve fired her, Eve did sue for dismissal without cause and gender discrimination, but the attorneys settled the case quietly and without much pain.

In the case of my own business, there was no way to recoup the money. We contacted the FBI just in case, but they confirmed our fears: The money was gone. After I fully grasped that the money sent from Christine’s account was gone, probably forever, it only took me a minute to decide what we should do. The reputational risk to our firm was very high. We knew we had to tell Christine right away and reimburse her the money, which was a meaningful amount. Despite that cost, it would have been both unethical and bad business policy to follow any other path.

I called Christine, filled her in, told her we were making her account whole, and apologized. She was extremely grateful that we acted so quickly, and she’s continued to recommend us to other people. We’ve since changed our financial transfer policy to reflect a healthy amount of skepticism: We require a phone confirmation of any unusual transfer over $5,000, which is now typical across the financial services industry.

The tenets of sensible risk taking, right-sizing, right-timing, relying on knowledge, and remaining skeptical are useful as tools we can apply across business, investing, and life. Applying them mindfully will improve our risk-taking ability and lead to better outcomes, no matter what kind of mess we find ourselves facing. - Karen Firestone, President & CEO of Aureus Asset Management

Image Souce: 

(1) pennythots.com

(2) blog.soton.ac.uk

Benjamin Lee Cheng Han | Benjamin is a student of International Relations at the University of Nottingham, currently exploring unchartered realms in the Public Relations field. Writing is clearly his interest – a decisive contributor to his foray into the public relations industry. To date, he boasts the proud record of having tamed one of the office cats, and drinking expired tea from the pantry.

With the pace of technological advancement, we see an emerging change of how traditional business models evolve in the business world. With that, it seems that the digital world has trampled the brick-and-mortar business model. Whilst navigating the digital world is one of the many challenges that can keep your head above the water in business, many entrepreneurs have neglected the need to tap on the wisdom of advice when they make their ways into the new business world. For this reason, this will eventually draw a line between the difference in success and failure of a business.  

As an entrepreneur yourself, you probably know that there is a significant percentage of startups or new businesses that will fail, and that it would be one difficult lesson to learn.  Against all odds, there are a lot of successful entrepreneurs out there who have been through their hardest fall, and are more than willing to share out their toughest experiences, and profound advice to people like you. Now, are you ready to hear golden nuggets of advice for your entrepreneurial journey? 

In the introduction of their book, Not Taught by Jim Keenan, he discusses how the internet, social media, and access to information have changed the definition of work forever. Being a consultant, author, and sought-after speaker, Keenan has inspired Eric, who is the Business Lead at Waze, to share the three (3) remarkable takeaways for new entrants who will embark on their journey into the business world.

________________________________________

Experience Does Not Matter

Expertise augments experience. The latter, as Keenan puts it, is just a matter of hours logged. You may have done something for x number of years, but did you actually grasp the concepts? “Expertise is the actual amount of knowledge, understanding, precision, effectiveness, accomplishment and delivery that someone can provide in their role," Keenan says. "It’s not based on time spent.”

What really matters is whether or not you can execute in your role. And expertise is a big factor. Whatever you’re interested in, study it profoundly. Alexander Hamilton came to the American colonies as a 14-year-old orphan. But he set out to learn everything he could about law and commerce. Through intense study and apprenticeship, he earned himself a position as General Washington’s aide-de-camp. After the revolution, he was instrumental in establishing our financial system. As the immensely popular Broadway musical tells, he was a self-starter who worked harder. Many have called him a genius, but Hamilton himself said:

“All the genius I have lies in this; when I have a subject in hand, I study it profoundly. Day and night it is before me. My mind becomes pervaded with it. Then the effort that I have made is what people are pleased to call the fruit of genius. It is the fruit of labour and thought.”

Dive deep into the subject you’re interested in. Seek out mentors and books in the field and get involved in any way you can. Before I moved to the Bay area, I read everything I could on startups, technology and business. I turned my local Barnes & Noble into a public library. I read, read and read, only to return the next day for more of the same. The time I put in there allowed me to gain some expertise in the field I wanted to get into - startups. And more importantly, it gave me a blueprint from which to gain experience.

Master Sales

If you want to succeed in the new economy, you have to master selling. As Keenan mentions in his book “sales is a catalyst for change.” Our lives revolve around sales. You need to sell your friends on going to the concert. You need to sell your dad on why he needs to change his diet. You need to sell the girl in your Crossfit class on why she should go to dinner with you.

We have an icky association with sales. We think it involves manipulation, greed and lying. Sure, some sellers fit that profile, unfortunately. But they’re not salespeople, as Keenan points out. They’re charlatans and scumbags. If you care about what you do, and if you care about helping others relieve a pain point, then you need to become a good seller. “True selling means understanding the needs, goals and problems of ...everybody in your sphere of influence," Keenan says.

With Waze Ads, we understand our brands need a relevant medium to communicate their message. We help brands like Dunkin Donuts and Wells Fargo connect with people in a meaningful way. Drivers on Waze are already navigating to these locations. So if we can pin these brands on the map, we deliver value by making them more navigable and, at times, offering discounts and promotions. To me, this isn’t sales in the Mad Men way. It’s about stimulating change to make for a meaningful and enjoyable driving experience.

Ultimately, sales is about delivering value to the right audience. And if you can internalise and build upon it, you will be valuable to any company or cause looking to drive change.

Start Creating Content

Creating content allows us to show our expertise and establishes our credibility in a given field. But most of us do not have the slightest clue where to start. Part of the challenge, I believe, is we have so many mediums to choose from. Should we blog? Podcast? Blogcast? And once we decide on what medium to use, how do we know what platform to pick? Before I started blogging in 2011, I spent more time researching the different types of platforms than I did writing. But as Keenan points out, none of that matters. “Pick the one (medium) that fits your personality and style, but pick you must.”

I may have ugly handwriting, but at least what I write is pretty. Two years ago Stephen Key asked me if I wanted to contribute to this fine outlet. He knew I blogged and he knew I worked in business. Of course I said yes. Writing for Entrepreneur would lead to an opportunity with Observer and Thought Catalog. Throughout this journey, I’ve been able to interview fascinating people and meet selfless mentors. If you told me five years ago I’d be writing for FastCo, I would have told you to stay off the lean. There are many more fascinating stories out there about individuals who just started with something and got better as time and practice went on.

Don’t get caught up in the weeds and paralyse yourself with analysis. Just start somewhere. If you start podcasting but later realise that you prefer writing, that’s okay. But until you get going, you won’t be able to get better.

Inspiration: Words of Advice on Succeeding in the New Business World

Image Source: 

(1) ravepubs.com

(2) nordenergi.org

(3) salesmanagementworkshop.com

(4) toprankblog.com

Chia Yi Jing | Bubbling with enthusiasm, bright ideas, and confidence, Yi Jing set foot in the PR world with Orchan Consulting, where she was offered permanent employment after a successful internship. She is determined to make her mark in the industry, and her bosses know that she will.