Archive for January, 2010

What We Can Learn About Trust & Brand from DK Diner

People around Grandview, Ohio know about DK Diner.  Word of the fresh baked doughnuts and the cozy environment definitely gets around local circles.  Google “DK Diner Grandview“.  Notice something missing? Unless I’ve missed it, I can’t find a DK Diner website either.  What I find is reviews in Yelp, Urban Spoon and other networks.  I find a few blog posts from some food-related blogs, most of which have an extremely positive sentiment. I’ve heard the brand name “DK Diner” from at least 3-4 of my close friends in conversation.  Sarah is also a huge fan. I checked in with Foursquare and shouted out what I was going to try.  Almost immediately, I received @replys and comments on Facebook from other locals, all raving about their DK experiences and the doughnuts. Remember Zappos?  On a smaller scale, people are talking about DK, too. Breakfast Today was the first time I had eaten at DK.  When my family and I walked in, we arranged our own tables with enough chairs to fit the group.  After sitting, Sarah made sure to point to the side of the room, where the self-serve station was steaming with fresh pots of coffee. “And if you need cream, it’s in the mini fridge,” she said before getting up. Minutes later as we were looking at the menu, Sarah told us about the doughnuts.  I had heard stories of these legendary doughnuts before.  The local delicacies were stationed near the checkout in a large display rack, complete with doors that opened toward the customer.  At DK Diner, the doughnuts are also self-serve. Sarah returned from the rack, arms loaded with everything from glazed to chocolate and a few flavors in between.  Looking at the half-dozen doughnuts that now crowded our table, I felt a little uncomfortable.  This wasn’t the [...]

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HOW TO Build Your Business Communications Dashboard

Managing business communication used to be much easier. Even five years ago, we had email, letters, fax machines, and conference and private telephone calls.  Those tools usually laid the groundwork for a face-to-face meeting where real business – the human kind – took place.  Today, things are very different for business folks like you and I. Email has become the mainstay in business communication, supported by an ever-growing selection of social networks, blogs, microblogs (like Twitter) and VOIP software.  There are so many communication channels to monitor and, to my knowledge, no one has yet to figure out how to increase the amount of hours we have each day to take it all in, respond and continue to do actual work. Business Communications Efficiencies It’s no surprise that we business folk have no choice anymore but to become great communicators.  Our careers (and paychecks) depend on our ability to manage the flow, cut through the noise and be effective in sending and receiving messages both inside and outside of our organizations.  So what do you do?  How do you weed through the pile or even reduce the pile all together?  Here are some ideas on how I’m managing my own communications: If you can’t view this video, watch it on my YouTube channel. Build Your Own Business Communications Dashboard WARNING: What works for me, may not work for you.  The choices I’ve made on my dashboard fit my business strategy and daily routine.  One thing I forgot to mention is that I usually have Adium open as a chat client, so I can also leverage multiple chat profiles from Facebook to AOL and Google Chat.  Because it causes my Macbook Pro to slug along at times, I tend to get selective with that tool. Here are some other tips, tricks [...]

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Interview – David Meerman Scott & Seth Godin on Linchpin

One of the greatest influences in my career has been Seth Godin.  Between Seth, Chris Brogan, Brian Halligan and many others, one could wonder what the heck they put in the water out in Massachusetts that helps produce some of the greatest business minds of our era. I don’t normally completely hinge my blog on other people’s content.  That’s cheating.  But for today, I have to cheat because, frankly, there’s not much I feel I could add to this conversation between David Meerman Scott (another MA resident) and Seth.  It’s one of the most provocative and fascinating interviews I’ve seen recently.  I’m excited to read Seth’s new book, Linchpin, and have already ordered my copy. The interview is about 13 minutes long, so if you’re busy bookmark it and come back later this evening.  It’s probably the best investment of 13 minutes you will have this week. If you follow TED Talks, Seth’s ideology reminds me of a talk I watched with Sir Ken Robinson on how schools kill creativity.  I think both of these guys are spot-on in their epiphanies.  The emergence of the social web, free publishing technology and affordable hardware has completely changed the game. Think about the Linchpins you know Three years ago, if someone mentioned the name Chris Brogan, would you have had any idea who he was or why you should even care?  If you’re a wine buff, ask yourself this: three years ago, would the name Gary Vaynerchuck have meant anything? If it weren’t for this blog, my LinkedIn profile or my daily musings on Twitter, would you even know the name Nate Riggs?  I can tell you for sure that three years ago I had little access, even less leverage and no one who really cared about what I had to say. [...]

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