Family Feud: Your Professional Facebook Page & Family

"Seriously?”

As soon as I read this first word of the text from my sister I knew I had to raise my shields.

“Your own Facebook page with 260 friends? With mutual friends? And not ONE of your family? That is really f*#@ed up!”

OK, let’s have one of those back in time moments like on TV when the screen starts to get wavy and the narrating character’s voice starts to get that echo effect and I’ll drop a little history on you viewers at home.


There is a Sullivan Family Facebook page where all our family and friends can read the latest adventures of our daughters ongoing potty training and people can look at pictures of things we may never even look at again ourselves and leave comments such as “I love this” and my favorite, the simple “Awe, CUTE!”.

Then there is the Ty Sullivan Facebook page where I gather all my social media and business friends to share in like ideas and subscribe to my groups and items of interest that would otherwise have my Sullivan Family followers racing for the exits like the audience at an Adam Sandler film.

So, the question came to mind, is it me? Have I committed a heinous social/social media faux pas?  Is it alright to not invite family and friends to a Facebook page you created for “another purpose” sans the evil intent of a Senator having somewhere to post “hottie shots’ of himself?

I opened the question up to the #UsGuys Twitter morning coffee gang and got answers ranging from the hilarious, “Separation of Church and State” (thanks Barry Peters) to the “Oh Hell to the NO” response like “I don’t even friend my family on my regular page!” (You tell them Brandie McCallum). But in the end it was a clean draw on the responses. Half said it was OK, half said heck no.  There was only one way to solve this.
It was time to turn to the Jedi of Social Media manners to restore order to the galaxy.
To call upon the Emily Post of new media.
It was time to summon the Divine Diva of etiquette, Dabney Porte who runs Twitters #SMMANNERS chat.

Dabney stated that there was no harm in mixing the two worlds for are we not the same people on both Facebook pages? She made a good point of saying its OK to let those that know you in the social media realm see you in your day to day life. It enhances the human factor that sometimes is hard to get a handle on in a medium where there are some that are not who they claim to be. It adds leverage to your authenticity factor. People like to see the other side of the person who may just post “statistical articles” or “just the facts” blogs.


Dabney does a heroic job merging all her chats, Facebook pages and her website SocialMediaGirlFriends.com and she does this freely because she wants everybody to share in what she is doing. She wears it all on her sleeve as do I.  I am open, authentic, and have nothing to hide. You want to know me? Look on my blogs, Facebook and Tweets, and there I am. If you don’t see what you want to know? Ask me.

But as for merging the Facebook pages? I guess it all comes down to a personal choice. But what say you fair reader? What do you think?

Inquiring minds want to know!
And Dabney….And me….and the guy reading your iPad over your shoulder…And so on and so on…And So it Goes....

You can follow Dabney Porte on Twitter @DabneyPorte and on SocialMediaGirlfriends.com
Barry Peters on Twitter @barrypeters
Brandie McCallum on Twitter @lttlewys and @SenseiMarketing

HELP! Leadership, Mentoring & The Beatles

 

What is “HELP”? Well, besides it being the blood curdling yell to summon someone who just happens to have a great big “S” under their dress shirt, it’s one of the words all leaders should have in their top 10 terminology list.

 In this case it has two meanings: the classic definition of aiding someone who requires assistance but it also serves as an acronym inspired by one of the greatest Beatles tunes of all times, “Help!”

Help
Elevate
Leadership
Potential

We can all agree that a great leader knows how to take their troops from point A to point B to help them achieve both the leader and the troop’s goal in succeeding. But an even greater leader knows how to see something in that person that they may not even see in themselves, and mentor them to the level that they didn’t even know they were capable of.

“Help! I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody. Help!  You know I need someone, HELP!”
A good leader can see when someone has the right stuff. A better leader knows how to answer the call for HELP in a manner that encourages and supports the individual rather than coming to their rescue. Instilling a sense of independence and confidence become the building blocks for their personality. Anyone can give instructions, but, to truly teach is to be a true driving force.

“Help me if you can I’m feeling down, and I do appreciate you being around”
A good leader’s job is to keep spirits and morale up with words and actions of encouragement. But a great leader gives them the crutches they need to lift themselves up when they fall.  Leadership is about getting others to wake up, make their dreams come true and realize their true potential.

“Now my life has changed in oh so many ways …”
John Lennon, used to light a fire under the lads when the vision of success was dimming. He would ask them “Where are we going, fellas?” And they would shout, “To the top, Johnny!” “Where’s that, fellas?” “To the toppermost of the poppermost!” . They knew where they were headed. There was a target.  A goal, and John, as their “leader” had a destination. A vision with a definitive desired result.  A leader leads the team or individual to a destination, otherwise that person is just in front of an assembly of people as the Nowhere Man.

Why not find that person or person in your company and take them from Yesterday into today escalating them into tomorrow with your mentoring. They will become great leaders themselves due to a little help from their friendly leader!

“Our care and dedication to our children will be reflected in the generations to come.”

- Chantal Wiebe

You can follow Chantal on Twitter @chantal_wiebe

Just "Because": More Beatles Lessons in Customer Service

I believe that everyone should work as a waiter at one point in their life.
Not because the money is pretty darn good or because you get one shift drink that can turn into two or three if you are good chums with the bartender. Rather, they should become a waiter to learn the true value of great customer service and its rewards.
It worked for me and I can say, with no ego but pure fact, that I am one of the best customer service people I know due to years spent employed as a waiter.
I was later promoted to a Manager, followed by General Manager and eventually became a CSR Training and Development builder,  all before becoming a Director of Marketing and Social Media.
But I digress.
Let me tell you why I grew passionate about Customer Service. As a waiter I relied on 3 main things:

• Personality
• Diplomacy
• Financial Gain

I realized from the offset in my days of frolicking about in an apron and hideous bow-tie that the more time I spent listening to the consumer, and addressing their needs with my authentic good nature and friendly attitude, the better the financial rewards would be in the end when it came time for my tip.
That was it. Bottom line!
Great service + Wining Attitude = Financial gain.
I continued to apply that philosophy to my day to day existence with some slight alterations. Great Attitude + Confidence = Spiritual and Personal Gain. I’m a happier person when I’m doing good or helping others better themselves and achieve their goals.
Do I have my shortcomings that I need to work on? Oh, yes I do! But at the end of the day if I know that I have helped someone begin to realize that they can be great at what they do and see results personally or financially from it? Well, then I will sleep comfortably that night.


I’m a huge fan of The Beatles and one of my favorite songs of theirs is “Because”. Not only because of the relaxingly haunting melody, which I now sing to my daughter every night, but the word itself. 
Because.
Because why? Because it meant something to me and who I was;
Being
Engaging
Centered &
Authentic
Ultimately
Serves
Everyone
The same mind set is what made me successful in the Social Media arena. So many businesses forget the main word there; Social. It’s about engaging the consumer and making them feel comfortable with you as something more than a logo or brand, but as someone they can trust. I was able to do so with a major company I work with as well as in my own personal branding. I listened. I engaged. They came back for more.
I enjoy what I do. I enjoy people and the relationships I have built with them.
Why?
Because.
The same thing I say to my daughter when she asks too many questions about why something is the way it is!

From the Mouths of Babes: Ending Childhood Hunger through Share Our Strength Dine Out 2011

It’s funny how kids are.

My daughter overheard me discussing my companies involvement in the Share Our Strength Great American Dine Out program and about the fact that kids were going hungry everyday in our own backyard. She seemed puzzled that children had to deal with such issues as she sat at the dining room table noshing on chicken fingers and “bean beans” (her way of saying Green Beans).

“Some kids have no food?” She asked. My wife and I explained to her, in the best way we could, the reality of some children’s lives. She asked what we can do to help and I explained that my company is helping the best we can as is so many others are. She wanted to help so, short of getting her to help on a Tweet-Out (Tweeting is not very easy on her little fingers) or hiring her at our restaurants as a Dine Out Ambassador, she volunteered her busy block building time to appear in our PSA awareness video.




The point here is that if a 3 year old can get involved in Dine Out and Share Our Strength to make a difference shouldn’t all restaurants be doing it? We are so fortunate to have so many amazing restaurant groups and independently owned businesses joining in on this amazing campaign. But we could always use more! The other point I want to compose is ‘make this personal’. Make this a view from the parental mind’s eye about the fragility of this situation.

I look have to look at it from a parent’s point of view.

What if, heavens forbid, something was to happen to me or my wife’s economic situation? What if the school my daughter attends ran low on funding for a proper meal program? Sometimes we take for granted what others long to have and have rights to like a meal for their children. Even slightest experiences with hunger can leave lasting negative impressions that impair health, learning and well-being on children as young as 3 years old. The same age as my daughter. That is something that I as a parent cannot risk.

When you think about the fact that 17 Million children in this country have to deal with daily hunger, that number alone should be a call to action for those that have the ability to alter and redirect the course of that tragic fact. Share Our Strength’s Dine Out For No Kid Hungry™ brings together thousands of restaurants and millions of consumers across the nation to help make sure no child in America grows up hungry.

That’s why it’s so very important that people, particularly if you are a parent, come out the week of September 18-24, 2011 as restaurants raise funds in a variety of winning ways to support the Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry® Campaign to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. Visit DineOutForNoKidHungry.org for a direct link to restaurants participating in your area.

As a parent I want to thank all the amazing people from the trenches to the boardroom at Share Our Strength who make this program work. It’s a group like this that will help us as a human race, cross the finish line together.