A Rusty Fan Pushing Hot Air!

June 5, 2011 by Raul Colon

The other day I was sitting in front of my computer with only my fan on. Since I was working from my office at home in this tropical heat wave we have had these last few weeks, it has been an uncomfortable working environment. So I changed the fan mode to high but I realized I was just getting hot air and bringing the speed up only accelerated the path of hot air. So after using my fan, and feeling as I was in a portable sauna, I decided to turn the A/C. I rarely do this since we live close enough to the ocean to get a decent breeze and save on the costs of energy on the A/C.

This hot air was a sign indicating that I needed to move over to option b the Air Conditioner.

How many times do people push hot air through many situations and expect a cool outcome on the other side?

I have been in many situations where they hire someone who is not up to par with the requirements but they expect good results from them. Over time the situation gets worse and the client can’t figure out why the person did not perform. The same happens with some software. If you put bad data in you are going to get bad data out. There is no way that if you enter the wrong numbers or input to a database you will get precise results at the end.

This last year I have been dealing with many situations where a client has requested a solution that will bring them a comfortable outcome (let’s say I am the A/C). But the client has opted to go for someone who is pushing hot air ( “let’s say my competitor is a dirty fan”). So when I step up to the plate with what I propose, I end up selling them a completely different product than what my competitor is selling them. The only issue is that they want to receive a cooling effect to the issue and I am offering it. My competitor to win the bid is offering a fan which is old and rusty and can only push hot air.

In the long run I have to say the Rusty Fan is winning most of the time in the short term but long term my client ends up feeling the heat and never receives the cooling sensation of a problem being solved.

For some reason in Tropical Island it is very easy for people blow hot air (since it is accesible year round).

Are you as a customer looking for a solid solution or for people to blow hot air your way and up in having to start from scratch.

photo credit by takomabibelot

Enchantment Book Review from the Island of Enchantment

May 31, 2011 by Raul Colon

Out of the business books I have read, not many are as diverse as this book. I met Guy Kawasaki at the Samsung Bloggers Lounge just before he was going to hand out complimentary copies of his latest book Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions (Amazon Affiliate Link). I had the privilege to receive a copy autographed by Mr. Kawasaki himself and was able to shake his hand and talk for a full 30 seconds.

At first I was very skeptical that the title would not fit me because I am more about finding people with my interests than trying to please everyone. As I started reading, I realized how Guy directed the book to genuine enchantment without each person having to stop being themselves.

He focuses on the Importance of what people are thinking, feeling, and believing. Another interesting point in the book was how Guy guides you into the importance of swearing in some occasions and how that can also help enchant. The book overall is a guide towards creating win-win situations from various aspects. From creating relationships by achieving trustworthiness, to making a better presentation using powerpoint and becoming more effective using email.

In the chapter dedicated, “Achieving Trustworthiness”, it was interesting to see how trust between people leads to business and recognizing when they are playing games.I will be using that one as an indicator every time I see people are playing games with my clients or myself. I am very transparent and Guy urges people to disclose their interests.

His points on Reciprocity and the 3 forms which he states are explicitly expecting something in return, an investment in the future, and for intrinsic reasons. Guy does a great job explaining which one is not enchanting and which one is the best representation of enchantment.

Here are great pointers on how to overcome Resistance. I found these two examples most useful like:

Making people understand your products
Finding Bright spots that are already working

I am a big fan of treating everyone right. Guy also dedicates a whole chapter on Enchanting your employees. He gives some great tips on allowing your employees to do the right thing and using inspiration over intimidation, you can achieve a lot more.

Enchantment also gave me the opportunity to learn and understand of the following terms:

Making Crow’s Feet
- Staying away from the Pan American Smile
10-20-30 rule of creating a presentation
- No more than 10 slides
- No more than 20 Minutes
- No font smaller than 30 points
Keeping your email to 6 sentences
- Why you are contacting the person
- Who you are
- What your cause is
- What you want
- Why the Recipient should help you
- What the next step is
- Where the Term Devil’s Advocate Derives from
- Will make sure I get my copy of Presentation Zen Design based on Guy’s Recommendations

The value I got out of Enchantment made me plan to go back and read some of his previous books.

Was J-Lo Imitating the Original Rump Shaker?

May 26, 2011 by Raul Colon

For those of you who watched American Idol last night, you were able to experience the presentation by Marc Anthony, Sheila E., and Jennifer Lopez.

This performance and a comment of one of my Facebook friends, Elisamaris, brought me memories of when I was a kid.

An 80's Icon, Iris Chacon

In the 80's almost every household tuned in to see a performer similar to what you saw JLo do last night. Yes, I am talking about what Puerto Rico's ultimate female artist would have done, Iris Chacon.

Iris Chacon Number 1 Fan

I remember my neighbor, who was around the same age as my grandfather at the time, would call me over to view Iris Chacon's show every week. Everyone's excitement intrigued me, and I made sure not to miss out.

What I enjoyed was listening to Spanish music presented to a primarily English speaking audience. Recently Ricky Martin sang in Spanish on Jay Leno as did @calle13oficial on the Jimmy Kimmel show.

American Idol and all these other mainstream shows who bring in performers to sing in another language are brilliant. It allows the right kind of energy to be conveyed about Latino culture.

Puerto Rico's Mainstream Ambassador

Iris Chacon was an Ambassador of our culture who broke barriers and was able to make it to mainstream American television programs way before Jennifer Lopez, and Marc Anthony was known. She appeared on shows like Merv Griffin Show and David Letterman.

For those of You who don't know who Iris Chacon is... I have included a few videos of her performances and you can get the idea where JLo's was inspired to get her rump-shaking moves from.

Imitation as a Form of Flattery

They say an imitation is a form of flattery and you will see why Iris Chacon was the best at this body movement.

To keep up with the traditional introduction of Iris Chacon, I will switch to Spanish.

Peligrosa ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ Fabulosa ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ y con su movimiento.... ( OK just watch the videos).

Iris Chacon's Show

Iris Chacon's Coolant Ad

Iris Chacon On Late Night

No Crossover but @calle13oficial’s Message Was Powerful

May 11, 2011 by Raul Colon

Here I go again with another post dedicated to the Musician and Artist that I mostly admire for his commitment with getting a message from his community to the masses.

Last night @lucymfel indicated that @calle13oficial was going to be on Jimmy Kimmel. Lucy who really initiated my love for @calle13oficial’s music is always watching out for me when he is making an appearance. I stayed up to watch Jimmy Kimmel and to my surprise Good Old @calle13oficial was able to surprise many by tying his efforts towards things that are very dear to me and to some of his fans of Chile.

I think many of us with blogs can learn a thing or too on how to get our communities voice out.

Yesterday an article was posted where I collaborated along Mr. Nelson Alcantara from Eturbonews.com to facilitate an interview with the Director Of Tourism. The main purpose of the collaboration was getting to share some of the issues that have been pointed out from the real and online communities I participated directly to the Puerto Rican Tourism Company management.

“Pal Carajo La Couta”

As I have written previously, the Puerto Rico Government imposed higher fees on students and it has been issue after issue where the government has violated Human Rights.

For those of you that saw his t-shirt that read “Pal Carajo la Cuota” (which translates into hell with the Tuition fee) that is the clear explanation.

“No al Gasoducto”

The next message was geared towards the Gas Line that the Puerto Rican Government wants to construct with the resistance of the people that live near where the line would be constructed. The government has tried to use social media and traditional media to make it look attractive but overall we can clearly see it only benefits the Puerto Rican Electric Authority and poses many environmental risks.

“Patagonia Sin Represas”

The last message he had written on himself was “Patagonia Sin Represas” which goes in line with the official twitter account of that effort @sinrepresas if you want to learn more on the effort feel free to go to the Official Website.

Once again Rene shows he is loyal to his followers and how he makes sure to use the platform he has to give his international community a voice. I would call him an expert in building and maintaining community.

Once again a big applause to @calle13oficial. And if you where not able to read his messages he made sure to scream them out during the performance that I have enclosed in the video below:

Video no longer available

Book Review: @jimkukral’s Attention!

January 17, 2011 by Raul Colon

A little more than a week ago my friend @chrisbrogan recommended @jimkukral’s book in his post ATTENTION MATTERS IN 2011. It really caught my attention and I decided to buy and start reading Attention! This Book Will Make You Money: How to Use Attention-Getting Online Marketing to Increase Your Revenue (amazon affiliate link).

I have to say that like @chrisbrogan expressed on his post I am a fan also of this book. I am an avid reader and although the last book I read Content Rules(affiliate link) was awesome Attention! was able to help me integrate many of the ideas from Content Rules with real exercises I can do for my company @cimapr or my clients.

One of the first lines that really stood out was when he makes the equation Attention=Revenue. He also identified Revenue as leads or something as accomplishing a minor goal. In my case having a small business getting a lead or accomplishing a goal can help you get motivated into moving along on those big obstacles when you are not meeting the larger goals.

It was a delight to see how he explains that Traditional Marketing is a competition for the biggest spender. A great comparison of people who are self promoters using social networks to Amway and Mary Kay representatives.

Defining brand as Who you are, what you are passionate about, and what you have expertise in will help me in explaining this to many of my clients and community.

There are many subjects which you can learn or see differently throughout the book like:

Steps on creating a solid elevator pitch.
Importance of being a source of information.
How to create and execute Attention getting ideas.
3 D’s Determination, Diligence, and Discipline
Importance of Cross Pollination
How do you get attention that helps you and how it can benefit yourself or business?
Importance of creating a tight community instead of having many contacts.
Great Tips on creating a Unique Value Proposition!

Favorite Lines and/or quotes of Attention!

” You miss 100 % of the shots you don’t take”~Wayne Gretsky

“Social equity> Financial Equity”~Gary Vaynerchuk]

Conclusion

I would recommend this book for those non-believers in using online and social marketing. Also if you like a challenge and think you are very creative then you need to sign up for his first chapter challenge.