Zane Safrit

Considering a Peer Advisory Board?

Are you considering joining a peer advisory board?

If not, you should be. Peer advisory boards are one of the best resources for business leaders seeking solutions for today’s economy. There's statistics that show a higher rate of growth for companies whose leaders use this resource. From the Entrepreneur Circle Blog:

Fast Company Magazine and Business.com sited several statistics regarding business owners who participate in a facilitated peer advisory board. 64% report an increase in bottom line profitability. 56% report an increase in top line sales. 60% report an increase in productivity. Other points that support the idea include: increased quality improvement, improved customer service, improved team work, and increased job satisfaction. The overall positive revenue impact of a peer advisory board can be from 19-43% of gross revenues.

Here are three intangible reasons you should find and join a peer advisory board.

1. Accountability. Peer-pressure works. We all want approval, recognition and praise from our peers. Its power is magnified as it is used to help us reach our goals. A peer advisory boards holds its members accountable for the commitments they make to reaching their goals. The members also help with solutions to reach those goals, as well.

2. Support Group. Peer advisory board members support each other. They support each other with their own solutions and resources, with sharing their own challenges (which in turn brings out more solutions and resources among their peers), with perspective, with creating a safe refuge where C-level execs can share vexing challenges, problems, setbacks in an open, trusting, confidential forum among their peers. And yes, with accountability, too.

3. Authenticity. Peer members keep each other...real. In a peer environment of trust and confidence, leaders can showcase their strengths and non-strengths. And members can help their peers remember them, pursue them and use them to reach their goals. Sometimes, it is as valuable to point out a strategy that does not ring true with a leader’s abilities.

These were shared by Steve MacGill, CEO and founder of Peersight Online, and Dr. James Norris, CEO and founder of KAART Business Solutions. They were recent guests on my BlogTalk Radio show. You can listen on-demand at this link.

Here’s a link to excerpted highlights from our conversation.

Disclaimer: I was a member of Peersight Online’s virtual peer advisory board service. I found tremendous results from my investment in those meetings.

2 Recommendations:

* Virtual Peer Advisory Board. I highly recommend the format. It has all the benefits of a peer advisory board with the added benefit of its schedule and use of technology to save you time. Visit either of their sites, Peersight Online or KAART Business Solutions to find out how to become a member.

* The Alternative Board. The other option is a traditional peer advisory board. I recommend David Halpern’s TAB Boards. Tell him I said ‘hi’.

Main point: Find one. Become a member. Make use of the wisdom of your peers and they of yours.

Being strategic is the antidote to fear

That was the best point of a seeming endless series of best points offered by  by guest today on Erika Andersen on BlogTalk Radio.

What a timely quote, don't you think?

Being strategic is the antidote to fear.

• What's happening now?
• Can I get there from here?
• What's in my way?
• Where do I want to be in 2 years?
• How do I make that vision clear?
• How do I communicate it?

Answers to those questions are the answers that begin to build a strategy to create your future, our future.

These aren't my insights. ( But, wow, do they make sense!) They're Erika's insights. She shares them in our conversation today.



And, she shares them in her book Being Strategic.



I have 5 copies to give away (after May 26.) Leave a comment with your email. Say you want a copy. The first 5 to do that get a copy. How's that?

BlogWorld Expo Was Excellent!

BlogWorld Expo, in Las Vegas, was excellent!

I saw a few presentations. Instead, I spent a lot of time helping with the booth for IBNMA: Sharing the message, hearing what bloggers and podcasters and digital media types are doing and want to do, asking them to join IBNMA and share their knowledge or share in others' knowledge...ultimately, networking.

* Graphic from Marta Lamovsek

Deborah Micek at BlogWorld Expo

Just got out of the presentation, How to Seduce Your Tribe &  Create Raving Fans by Deborah Micek at BlogWorld Expo. Great presentation. Almost everyone there used Twitter.

Her central them:

People are tribal;
Business is Personal.

So true. Anytime anyone tells you It's not personal, it's business has already ended  both relationships: personal AND business.  There's a great scene at the end of The Godfather, where Michael Corleone's betrayer tells Tom, the Corleone's consigliere, Tell Mike it was never personal....But it was. And that's why he was...being taken to swim with the fishes.  (I just saw the movie again...That's how I remembered this scene.)

Deborah Micek's Website is Tribal Seduction. Her Twitter is coachdeb.

#bwe08

BlogTalk Radio Guest: Tom Fishburne

Tom Fishburne, author of This One Time At Brand Camp, will share his insights on branding, marketing, agencies, innovation, clients, customers, employees, great brands, what happens when good clients/agencies go bad (no that's just in there for fun) and what happens at Brand Camp.

Tom shares a tremendous amount of wisdom and insight on the process of marketing and branding and how it all works, or doesn't, in creating a brand, a customer, a marketing plan, word-of-mouth...through the use of humor and cartoons. He started sharing his cartoons with friends and colleagues. Before he knew it, he had 10,000 people subscribing to his weekly newsletter.

Join us at 9:30 AM Central, today, Wednesday, September 17 at www.blogtalkradio.com/zane-safrit.

Tom's already done a series of interviews about his career, his passion, his book and his cartoons. You can read them  at the links below:

*  Fresh Peel | Aug. 25
*  Church of the Customer | Aug. 26
*  Dan Roam | Aug. 28

John Moore from Brand Autopsy generously shared these links and notes from his conversation with Tom.

Disclaimer:  Tom's gladly and quickly agreed to license his cartoons for use here on my blog. I've chosen his cartoons on Innovation. They appear each Thursday when I discuss Innovation.  You can see the first 3 here , here and here.

BlogTalk Radio Guest: Patrick O'Keefe, Founder of iFroggy Networks

My guest this morning on my BlogTalk Radio show is Patrick O'Keefe, founder of iFroggy Network.

The show starts at 9:30 AM, Central. You can listen live, or later in streaming mode, at www.blogtalkradio.com/zane-safrit.

We're going to talk about Patrick's experience in building this online community, what worked, what didn't, what his plans are and tips for others building or planning to build an online community.

Patrick's also speaking at the BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas.

BlogWorld Expo: I'm going

I'm going.

You should, too. Here's why:

* 130+ speakers on blogging and podcasting, how to make it work for you.

* Thousands of attendees.

*And it's Vegas.

Stop by the booth for IBNMA, International Blogging and New Media Association. Me and Paul Chaney, the President, will be there. Say hi. 

Use Twitter to keep up with all the announcements for this great event.