An Open Letter To Executives: It's Time To Address The 'Consciousness' Of Your Business

It’s time leaders take ownership of the “consciousness” of your businesses.

For those who are quick to dismiss consciousness as some sort of spiritual woo-woo, let me offer a quick reference point for even the most scientific, analytical and skeptical amongst us.

Reflect briefly on your own inner life for a moment. Your thoughts, the conversation and sensory experiences you have within yourself, private to you. When I’m referring to your consciousness, I’m pointing to the quality of that inner dimension of yourself.

Is your inner-space a critical and judgmental experience or a still, quiet and deep state of inner peace?

Everyone is somewhere on this continuum.

It shouldn’t be a stretch to understand that the internal dynamics at play inside every human at a company and particularly its leadership team -- inform the quality of the consciousness of the company itself.

It shows up in your daily communications, reactions and decisions -- and most especially, as one of my most curmudgeonly mentors says, "when the shit hits the fan."

It seeps out into teams, clients and customers, and yes, the public. Many companies do not address this below-the-surface dynamic unless and until it’s so bad that it’s become a clear and present danger to the business or of course, when the news hits the press.

Read the rest on Forbes.

The Social CEO: What You Need To Know

Sir Richard Branson named Top Social CEO in compilation done by Hootsuite and Xinfu (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Let me start off by saying -- this isn't about tweeting. This is about the critical Social Paradigm Shift CEOs and the other C-suite need to make -- and fast.

Almost a decade ago, I created a ‘How to Tweet’ graphic for distribution to CEOs and other senior executives at the Aspen Ideas Conference. Back then, it was just about tweeting, about exploring, about connecting with peers ... Ten long years later and social media has gone from a bleeding-edge, cool-to-use playground for the tech set to a complete and total Social Paradigm Shift affecting nearly every human -- and organization -- worldwide.

This shift has built juggernaut businesses from scratch (Buzzfeed, DogVacay, Dollar Shave Club, just to name a few) and destroyed businesses in the same very short time period. And let us be clear -- we are only at the very beginning of this cultural revolution. The inherently-social, inter-connected global world of digital is the new world and it’s mission critical that your leadership catches hold and doesn’t let go -- ever again.

When it comes to CEOs in particular, an astounding 61% of Fortune 500 CEOs are still not active, according to CEO.com. And after consulting and training CEOs and CMOs for a decade, one of my biggest concerns is that too many still think this is just about tweeting or participating on LinkedIn. That is wrong and let me be clear -- putting-your-business-in-danger wrong.

So, how does a CEO become a Social CEO? Here are the 5 Steps you must take: Read the article on Forbes here.

And after that, if you're READY, join us in our latest course: The Social CEO startingSeptember 5th. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/The-Social-CEO-Course
 

Busting The Myth On Social Media ROI With MTO Agency CEO and Founder, Gretchen Fox

If you have any doubt that social media is an absolute goldmine primed to be picked out of the ether like an apple off a tree, you need to invest the two or three minutes it will take to read this post.

The first thing you must realize is the notion that social doesn’t drive serious business impact and, let’s be clear, revenue-specific impact, is perpetuated by an industry rife with self-described gurus and smoke-and-mirror imposters who’ve never had to demonstrate ROI.

Stop listening to anyone who tells you that social media can’t generate revenue. What those people are really telling you is that they simply don’t know how.

It’s not rocket science. It’s social science — and there is an absolute, surefire, step-by-step path to success.

While most companies still haven’t figured it out yet, if you take just a quick look around, you’ll notice almost every big brand is investing heavily in social, with teams of 30-40 full-time employees, multiple agencies, millions in social ads, and technology dedicated to social. Why? Because they already know it’s a goldmine.

If you’re not using social media to drive revenue, not only are you missing out on money, you’re risking the entire future of your business. Before you know what’s happened, your competition can swoop in and, in a very short time, take what you’ve spent years building. Just ask the entire taxicab industry.

Read more on Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/gretchenfox/2016/04/20/busting-the-myth-on-social-media-roi/#4d4656ec60a3