James Dimmer III

Who likes meetings ?

Do you go for the donuts or bagels ?

What is the point of meetings any how ?

To be frank … I HATE meetings that waste my productive time.  So why don’t more businesses use tools to communicate with their teams all of the time ?  Meetings are a necessary evil.  There must be a better way.

America is one of the most efficient countries in the world … So how can we continue to gain more productivity and efficiency ?  If we are already one of the most productive countries …. How do we get better?

How do we improve in soft economic conditions ?  We have to get BETTER !  We must work together !

Let me share a word with you ..  Collaboration

I know… that’s it ?  Sure you tried this before, like card scanners* or other efficiency drivers that were suppose to revolutionize your marketing and sales departments.  But wait – Don’t jump to hasty conclusion. These items work and have most of the “bugs” solved.  Just because you tried something once and it was crap…  does not mean that it has not improved.  That’s the beauty of software.

Collaboration is defined as “working together”.

Sounds like we are already collaborating… right ?

If you consider conducting meetings like we did in the 1950′s….  The only thing that has changed is the addition of power point…  and the white board.

Let’s look at this from a different angle ..

If you could have a meeting without disturbing your teams daily schedule would it create more efficiency ?  What about feedback on ideas and concepts in real time ?How about eliminating travel and reducing that wasted time ?  What about interrupted customer contact during the “out of office experience”.  This brings us to “presence” but we will address this in another post.

Collaboration today is working together more closely and communicating through mediums supported by the internet.  It can be a connection at home, a coffee shop (where I am now), or from a remote office.  With a wireless card from your cellular carrier you can collaborate from anywhere (there is cell coverage).  It involves email, bulletin style board posts, and real time communications.

Try thinking in different terms.  Video conferencing, web conferencing, even voice conferencing can assist your team in coming together with a common purpose to accomplish the goal.  And the kicker is, when someone has a new idea… they can SHARE it with everyone in a closed forum.  When you have a few minutes you can respond and share your idea.  it is not simply email, this is a discussion forum for the ideas and success or failure of the common team goal.

Imagine having a feedback forum for your choice clients.  What would your best clients think ?  “excuse me Mr./Ms. Big Client, can we please get your input on some new products we would like to Beta ?”

How many sales would you make BEFORE you roll the product out… and what great feedback would you receive from the Beta test with these tools?  You would become an asset to these clients…  Releasing products as a SOLUTION to business challenges.

Where would your team take your objectives or mission given a small amount of input and respect for their individual ideas ?

This is revolutionary and being adopted more readily than most people realize.  Help your team by giving them tools to collaborate and set them out to accomplish your mission statement.

We are in business to hit our goals…. or we are OUT of business.

Let me help you hit YOUR goals through optimizing your network to support collaboration tools.

Have a profitable day !

James J Dimmer III

email@jamesdimmer3.com

888-352-6563

* I use a card scanner made by neat and it works wonderfully.  Neat Co. has a wonderful software package and is really easy to use.  Get yourself one today !

How does loyalty affect sales ?  How does it effect you on a personal level?  Would you bank at an institution that lacks loyalty ?  Would you use a disloyal attorney ? I define loyalty as trust over time.  Someone who is loyal is completely trustworthy and dependable over time.

Of course this affects sales.  Anything that sways the prospect emotionally will affect the sale.

Be loyal to your company, your clients, and explain your thoughts on this to prospects…  They will appreciate it and even if they don’t buy today, they eventually will buy if you are  persistent.

Happy Selling !

James J dimmer III

email@jamesdimmer3.com

888-352-6563

Finally a place for professionals in Lansing to network

and help one another !

Capital City Connect

The site is up and ready to help with networking in the Lansing Area !  The inaugural event was held at Olds Park last week and was a smashing success !

Hop on the site and get connected !

A special thanks to a great customer and friend Ann Andrews from Redstone Results who is the Lansing Area Coordinator.

Welcome to Lansing Capital City Connect !

James Dimmer III

www.jamesdimmer3.com

email@jamesdimmer3.com

888-352-6563

I had a wonderful lunch conversation on Friday with a gentleman who asked me about loyalty.  Philosophers have said that to be loyal one must be just.  Not justified, just.

What does that REALLY mean ?

My belief is that it requires us to be fair.  Fairness to your tribe, your family, your friends.  Fairness is gentle and bold at different times.  Leadership requires positive and negative feedback.  Loyalty could be described as allegiance, but I feel this really misses the point.  The best representation of loyalty I have found is written in the book Tribal Leadership.

This book is a must read for anyone wishing to enable change in the workplace.  Loyalty is a burning desire to care for those who in turn take care of you.  Examples can vary by individual.  Personally my definition relates to my Grandparents.

They lived next door when I grew up and were extremely loyal to me.  They were devoted to my success and doted over me as if I was the only 15 year old boy on the earth.  My grandfather was a World War 2 vet and had served in the Army Air Corps out of his loyalty to country.  He always flew the flag and was very quiet about the service he provided to our country.

There was a reason for this…..

Many years later my grandfather and I were riding together on the way to the Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio.  You would not think that this would be a lesson on loyalty, but it was.  You see, my grandfather had flown 52 missions in the South Pacific during World War 2.  He was an extremely loyal person.

Before, during and after this trip my life was completely changed.  Let me explain ….

It was raining and the windshield wipers on my car were slapping away, we had to pull over it was raining so hard.    In my youth, I had invested in a small tape recorder and had it resting in the cupholder, recording.  He began to relate how he had made many friends early in the war and how later on he realized that the only ones who mattered were the ones on the plane with him.  His tribe…

He related how terrible it was to see his friends die.  He wept in the car telling me a story about how an entire plane full of 11 0r 12 0f his friends died on take off in the South Pacific.  He watched them burn alive in the exploding plane.  A true warrior, lamenting the loss of his pals.

I will never forget what he said.

“We have a duty to live up to the responsibility we carry.   We were chosen to live.  Loyalty and duty compel us to live up to the standards set by our fallen brothers.  Because they are gone, we now have an opportunity to demonstrate our loyalty. ”

Loyalty transcends position, power, even wealth.  Loyalty is a frame of mind.  There is common purpose and common goals that teams reach for.  Loyalty is seeing the mission through until the end.  Loyalty is staying at the task until it is finished, even if the outcome is not desirable.

Loyalty is standing by a friend after a car accident….  Carrying him to the ambulance and watching my other friend who was driving the wrecked car….  hide in the bushes.  I have never told this story until today.

Loyalty is knowing first aid and coming upon a car accident were no one was helping, stabilizing the victim and fading into the background to make sure my family was not traumatized.   And never seeking fame or bragging about it.  Loyal to your beliefs that we should always try to help others.

Are you Loyal ?