Tough Love: We Have Work To Do

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I say “we”, because I include myself in what I’m about to say.whip

Yesterday, I posted that what we really need is more people with solid business skills. And Justin commented, rightly so, that many of the people shouting AMEN might just be part of the problem. He’s not wrong.

It’s not likely that each of you reading this post have all of your business skills down pat, even as you agree with me about the need for them. I know I certainly don’t. But I’m working on it.

For example, financial operations is something I know at a basic budget management and profit-and-loss level, but I don’t always understand financial management strategy and revenue modeling. So I’m learning from people that do, so I can be less ignorant in that regard, and more useful to my business and projects. That’s just one thing on my list.

Go back to the second to last point on yesterday’s rundown:

People who can admit what they don’t know, and seek knowledge or help.

That means you, too. US.

Each of you undoubtedly has a solid set of things you do well. Meg Fowler is an outstanding writer and wordsmith. Bill Sledzik is an experienced educator. Kellye Crane is a solid PR professional.

But each of us could do with a gut check about the things we need to improve. And we can help hold each other accountable.

I’m thrilled beyond measure that you guys come here and comment and like what I write. It makes me feel good to know you’re out there, and that you want to spend time to connect with me. I love that people shared yesterday’s post on Twitter and Facebook and said how much they agree with the premise. But here’s the thing.

Don’t you dare come here and say “great post” or “Amen”, write a few words of endorsement, and walk away. That’s lip service, and I’m challenging you to something better than that. Something bigger.

Don’t comment here that you agree with me. Don’t tell me this post was awesome. I’m here to change the way things are done, and that means mobilizing people to action, not talk.

What I need is for you to know what you don’t know. Have the stones to face it down. Think about and communicate what will help you be a better business person, and then do something about it. Share it here if putting it out publicly motivates you. If it doesn’t, leave here and go do whatever compels you to move. I would much rather your silence than your inaction. Please.

If you share this post, please do it because you’re encouraging others to get real, too. My having a voice out here does very little good if all I can ever get people to do is read, tap out a few words, think briefly, and go back to doing things as they always have. There’s work to be done, is there not?

Are you with me?

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  • Steven

    The conversation seems to have digressed from Amber’s original point. It seems to now be about the value of learning and whether we ought to learn more about more things. But the original gist – that those of us who do social media have to get closer to the business – is sooo true. It’s true about all of us who work in the business world and support, drive, enable, nourish, facilitate but don’t necessarily participate directly in the revenue-generating profit-turning moments of that business. Lose site of this – and fail to understand the business it at some level and especially where your efforts fit into the big picture – and you risk being ignored or becoming irrelevant. In my experience, humility is the key.

  • http://GenerosityMarketing.com/ Bryan Bliss

    Amber,
    i have a few confessions.
    first, I dont usually have time to keep updated on your blog, and often i skip most of the comments so Please forgive me if this point has already been addressed.
    I agree about examining the business skills.

    I just have a hard time believing the large enterprise model of business you most frequently address here is that great a model of effeciency.
    If an enterprise has 1/2 dozen staffers and 5 or six figures $ a year to “invest in social media” then in my book, they are more “corporate media” than ” social media”.

    They may have similar intentions, similar tools but they probably dont usually share the stealthy, frugal, truly ROI driven mindset that a smaller , hungrier, entrepreneur operates from. I personally think a streamlined, agile approach can be more effective and simpler to profit.

    I wonder how many of the self proclaimed social media managers ever had to justify their time and expense to a crew of employees (and their families) waiting on a weekly payroll, a landlord demanding shop rent, or to a crowd of customers waiting for the job to be completely done for a contract to be paid and closed.

    In regards to your your point and challenge that we examine and improve our own business skills,I’ll admit i have a lot of work to do improving my own time management, delegation and team management skills to really optimize my business.
    Hiring, focus and leadership are where I’m disciplined to constantly improve.

    p.s. maybe I could use some work on being more concise, and not being so repetitious or repeating myself too. ;)
    thanks and take care
    bry
    .-= Bryan´s last blog ..“Simple formula” how to make More Money PPC split testing =-.

  • http://generositymarketing.com Bryan

    Amber,
    i have a few confessions.
    first, I dont usually have time to keep updated on your blog, and often i skip most of the comments so Please forgive me if this point has already been addressed.
    I agree about examining the business skills.

    I just have a hard time believing the large enterprise model of business you most frequently address here is that great a model of effeciency.
    If an enterprise has 1/2 dozen staffers and 5 or six figures $ a year to “invest in social media” then in my book, they are more “corporate media” than ” social media”.

    They may have similar intentions, similar tools but they probably dont usually share the stealthy, frugal, truly ROI driven mindset that a smaller , hungrier, entrepreneur operates from. I personally think a streamlined, agile approach can be more effective and simpler to profit.

    I wonder how many of the self proclaimed social media managers ever had to justify their time and expense to a crew of employees (and their families) waiting on a weekly payroll, a landlord demanding shop rent, or to a crowd of customers waiting for the job to be completely done for a contract to be paid and closed.

    In regards to your your point and challenge that we examine and improve our own business skills,I’ll admit i have a lot of work to do improving my own time management, delegation and team management skills to really optimize my business.
    Hiring, focus and leadership are where I’m disciplined to constantly improve.

    p.s. maybe I could use some work on being more concise, and not being so repetitious or repeating myself too. ;)
    thanks and take care
    bry
    .-= Bryan´s last blog ..“Simple formula” how to make More Money PPC split testing =-.

  • Barry Dalton

    Hey Amber,
    apologies in advance if this has already been mentioned (I would lose what little eye sight I have left if I tried to read them all on my phone.

    So I have another hypothesis. I too have a bit of a pet peeve as well about the “great post” comments. It hits me in the same way the “thank you” return email does. The only difference is that those emails don’t influence google rankings and other SEO algorthms. Comments, especially early ones do. So, I’m wondering how many of your “Amen” posters know exactly what they’re doing.

    No offense or to anyone. Just another possible take.
    .-= Barry Dalton´s last blog ..Want to Improve Customer Service? Your Staff Wants to Help – Really. =-.

  • Barry Dalton

    Hey Amber,
    apologies in advance if this has already been mentioned (I would lose what little eye sight I have left if I tried to read them all on my phone.

    So I have another hypothesis. I too have a bit of a pet peeve as well about the “great post” comments. It hits me in the same way the “thank you” return email does. The only difference is that those emails don’t influence google rankings and other SEO algorthms. Comments, especially early ones do. So, I’m wondering how many of your “Amen” posters know exactly what they’re doing.

    No offense or to anyone. Just another possible take.
    .-= Barry Dalton´s last blog ..Want to Improve Customer Service? Your Staff Wants to Help – Really. =-.

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  • http://soloprpro.com Kellye Crane

    Wow, I’m late to this, but wanted to chime in on this interesting discussion. First, a thanks for the shoutout and — in the spirit of this post — I’d like to point out that in addition to the financial modeling you mentioned, I know next to nothing about Internet marketing and email marketing. But I’m trying to learn.

    Regarding the “yes, yes” nature of the comments, I understand the annoyance but I believe certain posts elicit that kind of response. For example, if someone wrote a post that said “dogs are cute,” lots of people would respond and say “yes they are!” People who don’t think dogs are cute would probably avoid the post/comments all together. I mean, is anyone actually going to come on this blog and argue that business skills are *not* important?

    I also respectfully disagree with Justin’s comment — most people I encounter are participating in social media primarily to learn. Many of us are driven by the fun and camaraderie of finding and sharing info, and I think inherent in that is an admission that we don’t know everything. And thank goodness! Wouldn’t life be boring if there was nothing left to learn?
    .-= Kellye Crane´s last blog ..Is a Business Coach for You? =-.

  • http://soloprpro.com Kellye Crane

    Wow, I’m late to this, but wanted to chime in on this interesting discussion. First, a thanks for the shoutout and — in the spirit of this post — I’d like to point out that in addition to the financial modeling you mentioned, I know next to nothing about Internet marketing and email marketing. But I’m trying to learn.

    Regarding the “yes, yes” nature of the comments, I understand the annoyance but I believe certain posts elicit that kind of response. For example, if someone wrote a post that said “dogs are cute,” lots of people would respond and say “yes they are!” People who don’t think dogs are cute would probably avoid the post/comments all together. I mean, is anyone actually going to come on this blog and argue that business skills are *not* important?

    I also respectfully disagree with Justin’s comment — most people I encounter are participating in social media primarily to learn. Many of us are driven by the fun and camaraderie of finding and sharing info, and I think inherent in that is an admission that we don’t know everything. And thank goodness! Wouldn’t life be boring if there was nothing left to learn?
    .-= Kellye Crane´s last blog ..Is a Business Coach for You? =-.

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  • http://www.graphxevolution.com Darlene Jaye Hill

    OK, so you asked not to just say “Yeah” or “Nay”…so I’ve blogged about it. I agree with you on the entire article. We try and look every day at what we can do to work smarter, not harder. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. I admittedly am a control freak and have issues giving up control of things I know I do well. We work through it and sometimes the solution is right in front of us. It’s usually a person who brings a whole new facet to the company.

    Here’s the link to my blog post: http://graphxevolution.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/just-admit-it/

  • http://www.graphxevolution.com Darlene Jaye Hill

    OK, so you asked not to just say “Yeah” or “Nay”…so I’ve blogged about it. I agree with you on the entire article. We try and look every day at what we can do to work smarter, not harder. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. I admittedly am a control freak and have issues giving up control of things I know I do well. We work through it and sometimes the solution is right in front of us. It’s usually a person who brings a whole new facet to the company.

    Here’s the link to my blog post: http://graphxevolution.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/just-admit-it/

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